Immortal Druid

[POV: Tao Wolong]

Tao Wolong perched atop an enormous moving tree, his balance shifting with every slow, deliberate step the creature took across the broken ground.

From that high perch, he could see just how many of them there were, a vast host advancing in silence and rustling wood, their numbers so great they looked less like a gathering and more like an army that had grown out of the earth itself.

“What are those? Are they even alive?” asked the boy, the apprehension in his tone impossible to hide.

The Sage’s long ears twitched as he surveyed the living forest on the march. “These are Elder Treants. From this day forward, they will be the protectors of our home.”

Tao Wolong studied the nearest one. It looked like an ancient tree given life with thick bark ridged like old armor and branches swaying without wind. Emerald motes drifted around its crown like fireflies. Every so often it groaned, a deep, resonant sound that seemed to rise from somewhere behind the rough suggestion of a face carved into its trunk.

“Are they in pain?” Tao asked, frowning at the noise. “Why do they keep groaning?”

Sage Wo Li shook his head. “What you hear is the creak of living wood, the stirring of the elements, and the whisper of the winds. Treants are magical creatures. Those sounds are their attempts to speak. They move slowly, yes… but the older they grow, the wiser they become.”

He rested a hand on Tao Wolong’s shoulder. “We must hurry ahead of them. Your mother is worried about you.”

Before the boy could answer, the Sage’s form shimmered and expanded. Feathers burst outward. An enormous eagle spread its wings, seized Tao by the shoulder, and swung him onto its broad back in one fluid motion.

Tao Wolong screamed until his lungs burned.

Only when the ground fell away and the wind roared past did he realize he was not falling. Relief crashed into fury. He pounded the eagle’s back with both fists.

“You bastard! Warn me next time!”

The eagle’s laughter rolled through the air, rich and unbothered. “At least you didn’t pee. This must be the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced, right?”

The teasing somehow took the sharpest edge off the fear. Being kidnapped by the Heavenly Domain Sect had been terrifying enough. The Sage’s easy levity, even the way he had forced that scream out of him, dulled the memory of those cold halls and colder eyes. Tao Wolong still did not understand why they had taken him. The dread of never seeing his mother again still sat heavy in his chest.

They reached the Touch Grass Sect at last. Below them, the land bore the scars of the Heavenly Domain’s invasion. The eagle spiraled down and set Tao Wolong gently on the familiar tree that had always been home, the same place where his mother had first taught him his letters and words.

Sage Wo Li returned to his elven form. “I am needed elsewhere. I must go.”

Tao Wolong bowed his head. “Take care, Sage. And thank you.”

The moment the Sage's footsteps faded, a soft rustle came from the hollow of the tree. Zhen Ai stepped into the open, eyes wide, then shining with tears. Tao Wolong ran to her. She caught him hard against her chest, arms locked around him as though she meant never to let go again.

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[POV: Willow]

“Oh, Roo,” Willow cried.

She had only just returned from the Holy Emperor’s Tear. Before her stood the gallows, and hanging from them were the vengeful ghosts of people she had believed still lived. Each of them acting out the final instant of their death. She stopped in front of the kangaroo she had always found so bizarre.

An eagle plummeted from the sky and landed in a swirl of light, reshaping into the familiar form of Sage Wo Li. Silver hair, long ears. The sight of him lifted something heavy from her chest.

“Sage!” she called.

Wo Li’s gaze swept over her. “You look different,” he said, noting the silver of her hair and the absence of feathers. Then he turned toward the gallows. “Please take a step back.”

Willow’s voice shook. “Can you bring them back to life?”

“I don’t know,” the Sage answered quietly. “They will have to want it, too.”

He drove the end of his staff into the ground. “Revive Life!”

Heavenly tribulation lanced down from the clouds while the pits of Hell roared upward from below, both forces striking him at once. Wo Li staggered but held his ground, teeth bared.

“Not yet!”

The noose around Roo’s neck began to smolder and burn away. The Sage’s voice rose to a raw shout.

“You do not have my permission to take them from me! It is not their time yet! Come on, Roo—I know you want this! You’re going to become the greatest martial artist under the heavens, right?!”

…

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[POV: Roo]

Roo's eyes slowly fluttered open. The first thing he saw was the familiar outline of the gallows against the gray sky, the same place where he remembered drawing his last breath. A strange emptiness lingered deep inside him, as though some irreplaceable piece of himself had been left behind. He could neither describe nor understand the sensation. It was not pain, nor was it weakness. It simply felt... incomplete.

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He pushed himself upright and found a silver-haired woman staring at him with watery eyes. Her appearance reminded him so much of Sage Wo Li that the words escaped his mouth before he could think.

“Sage? Since when did you turn into a girl?”

The woman immediately smacked him across the head.

“It’s me! Willow!”

Roo blinked in confusion while Willow rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Sometimes... when a spiritual beast takes human shape, they end up resembling someone they admire.” Her cheeks reddened as she sighed. “Ugh... let's forget about me. Sage!”

She hurried past him toward a pile of black charcoal resting upon the ground.

Roo followed after her, his heartbeat quickening. “What happened to him?” he asked, fear creeping into his voice.

Willow looked over her shoulder, her expression filled with worry. “He brought you back from that.”

Roo slowly turned around.

The gallows still stood where they had always stood. Vengeful ghosts remained suspended from the ropes, forever trapped in the final moments of their deaths. Their lifeless eyes stared endlessly into nothingness, their twisted expressions frozen between agony and despair. Then Roo noticed one empty noose with hints of ember gently swaying in the wind.

His pupils shrank.

“I... I was like that too?” he whispered.

A chill crawled through every bone in his body. For the first time since awakening, he truly understood what had happened. He had died. Had Sage Wo Li not intervened, he would have remained hanging there forever like the others.

“Sage!” Willow suddenly cried. “Sage!?”

Roo spun around.

The earth beneath the pile of charcoal cracked apart.

From the soil emerged another Sage Wo Li, fully clothed and completely restored. He climbed out slowly, leaning upon his staff before brushing the dirt from his robes. Aside from the charcoal silhouette lying nearby, there was no sign that anything had happened at all.

Relief washed across Roo's face.

Yet as he looked closer, the relief gradually faded.

The Sage stood upright, his body appearing perfectly healthy, but something about him felt... absent. The warmth that had always shone behind those calm eyes had dimmed. They still watched the world with kindness, yet there was no longer the vibrant spark that seemed capable of embracing heaven and earth alike.

Roo did not understand what had been lost.

He only knew that the Sage standing before him was no longer quite the same man who had brought him back.

…

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[POV: Li Ming]

The news of Roo's resurrection spread throughout the Touch Grass Sect faster than wildfire.

The moment Li Ming heard the impossible rumor, she rushed toward the gallows without stopping to catch her breath. By the time she arrived, a crowd had already gathered around the clearing. Disciples, elders, cultivators, and ordinary villagers stood shoulder to shoulder, each wearing expressions that shifted between hope, disbelief, and cautious anticipation.

“Where is the Sage, Willow!?” Li Ming called as she forced her way through the crowd.

She found Willow standing beside Sage Wo Li while Zi Wen knelt nearby, gently feeling the Sage's pulse with the concentration expected of an immortal physician.

“Calm down,” Willow said softly. “The Sage... has been acting differently.”

Zi Wen slowly withdrew his fingers before speaking with visible reluctance. “His body appears perfectly healthy. I cannot find anything physically wrong with him. However, there is undoubtedly something different.” His brows furrowed as he fell into thought. “I do not believe the problem lies within his mind either. I may need to consult the ancient records of my sect to be certain... but I fear his soul has been injured.”

Li Ming's knees struck the ground.

Tears blurred her vision as she clasped her hands together.

“Please...” she begged. “Please bring back my grandma.”

Silence settled across the gathering.

Sage Wo Li looked at her with gentle eyes before speaking quietly.

“I cannot promise you that I can bring her back the same.”

Even so, he stepped toward the gallows.

He planted his staff firmly upon the earth.

“Revive Life.”

The heavens answered with roaring lightning while crimson flames erupted from beneath the ground. Heavenly Tribulation descended from above as infernal fire climbed from below, both converging upon the Sage once more. His body trembled beneath the punishment, yet he refused to retreat even a single step.

Li Ming fell forward until her forehead nearly touched the ground.

“Grandma... please!” she cried from the depths of her heart. “Please! Come back to me!”

Her eyes locked onto the vengeful spirit hanging before her.

Without hesitation, she poured every strand of quintessence she possessed toward her grandmother's lingering soul. Her breathing became ragged as her spiritual energy rapidly drained away, but she refused to stop.

“Please!”

The noose slowly unraveled.

The hateful aura surrounding the ghost dissolved like mist beneath the morning sun.

Then Li Qing opened her eyes.

“Grandma!”

Li Ming threw herself into her grandmother's embrace, crying harder than she ever had before.

“Sage... thank you...”

She turned to express her gratitude.

Instead, she found another charcoal silhouette resting upon the ground where Sage Wo Li had been standing only moments earlier.

The clearing fell silent.

Some lowered their heads in mourning.

Others stared with disturbed expressions, unable to understand the price the Sage continued to pay.

Li Ming remained frozen until she felt someone gently tugging at her sleeve.

“Excuse me,” Li Qing said hesitantly. “Can you let me go?”

Li Ming hurriedly released her embrace.

“S-Sorry, Grandma... it's just...”

…

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[POV: Li Qing]

“No, my dear child,” Li Qing said gently, uncertainty lingering behind every word. She carefully studied the young woman before her, whose face was soaked with tears despite smiling through them. Nothing about the girl's affection appeared false, yet Li Qing could not remember ever meeting her.

Her brow furrowed.

“But...” she asked quietly, “who are you?”

The question struck Li Ming harder than any blade.

The joy of their reunion froze upon her face as realization slowly settled over everyone gathered beneath the gallows. The resurrection had succeeded, but Sage Wo Li's warning echoed within their minds.

He could not promise they would return the same.

Li Qing's memories had not returned with her.

She looked from one unfamiliar face to another, searching for someone she recognized, yet every expression staring back at her belonged to a stranger. Confusion slowly replaced the uncertainty in her eyes as silence spread through the crowd.

Not a single person knew what to say.

…

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[POV: Guo Yimu]

“Is it true!? The Sage is back!?”

Guo Yimu practically sprinted toward the gallows.

He burst through the gathering crowd before finally spotting Sage Wo Li standing beneath the hanging spirits. Beside the Sage rested two charcoal silhouettes shaped uncannily like human bodies, their blackened remains silently testifying to the terrible price of the miracles taking place there.

His heart immediately seized upon hope.

“Sage!” he called. “My grandpa, my father, and my brother—”

“Yimu,” Li Ming interrupted softly, “I believe now is not the right time.”

Guo Yimu stared at her in disbelief.

“What do you mean now is not the right time!?”

Only then did he notice Lady Li Qing standing quietly behind Li Ming.

His expression brightened.

“Lady Li Qing, please talk sense to your—”

Li Ming grabbed his shoulder before he could continue and gently shoved him back.

“Please,” she whispered into his ear. “Calm down.”

Guo Yimu frowned.

He looked around the clearing and finally noticed the strange expressions worn by everyone present. Hope remained upon many faces, yet beneath it lingered grief, fear, and uncertainty. The atmosphere was unlike any celebration he had ever witnessed.

Li Ming clasped both of his hands, pleading with trembling eyes.

“Please, Yimu,” she begged. “Maybe... maybe there will be a better time.”

Before Guo Yimu could answer, Sage Wo Li stepped forward once more.

He raised his staff.

The entire crowd instinctively fell silent.

The staff struck the earth with a heavy thump.

“Revive Life.”

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