Cycle 2

He came to consciousness from a seed. That seed had germinated into a small green vine with a small green sphere, a small fruit, that glowed with a pulse of energy.

Inside those fruits were small greenish creatures he could see- They were all his siblings.

As his body floated, he felt his creator- a word came to mind, a word he didn't know where it came from -his father, breathing. With each inhale and exhale, he released this small burst of energy, qi, that filled his tiny body with power. He felt safe around his father, so he floated until he reached his father's branches, where he could hide by his father's leaves. As he looked around, he saw many big monsters with long limbs and fur on their heads- There were also small ones too! As a pulse of energy filled his body, another word came to mind: Humans. He only knew these words referred to these hairless monsters, and nothing more.

He observed them as they passed by, they looked weary, they looked beaten, they looked like they were on the verge of death. They looked thin, like they hadn't eaten for so long- like trees in the desert.

He didn't think much about them- Until one of their little ones tried to take one of his siblings. Enraged, he latched out, throwing a small leaf from his father's canopy down to the little one's hand, cutting through the skin and making the child- the word echoed inside his mind -cry out in pain. One of the larger humans stopped what they were doing and looked over, seeing the little one and his siblings, they cried out with words and took the little one away.

Soon, more of the big ones came- they tried to take his siblings, so he lashed out, throwing leaves after leaves at them. Each time they were cut, they stopped and retreated! They eventually stopped when one of his many siblings hatched from his fruit right before their eyes, the fruit cracked and a small orb of green floated out, the small green orb slowly stretched out as small wings popped from it, and soon the small orb turned into a translucent butterfly. The oldest watched the newly hatched young one fly away, into the forest, as the humans watched in awe and fear.

They stopped trying to take his siblings after that.

Cycle 3

After watching the humans, all he did was lay atop his father's leaves, watching.

Everything was so… peaceful?

No, it was quiet.

Every day he would sleep, and every day his father's wisdom would greet him. He would learn things he didn't know about, and he'd grow with them. As time passed, more and more of his siblings were born, but none had the same degree of sentience he had- sentience, a word he learned from his father that meant having thought, being able to absorb and keep knowledge. "My name…" he had received a name from his father- Leaf. He liked the name because it was his father's favorite thing! His leaves protected him from the humans and their eyes, and protected him from the beasts that attacked too. A few moons after his first sibling was born, he watched as another one was taken by a bird with crimson wings and eaten, something he never thought possible because their bodies should be energy, right? But no, their bodies were physical! They're not made of flesh, they're made of the green of the leaves mixed with Nature qi and life. They floated because they could use qi to make themselves float, it was only natural too because if they didn't float, they would become prey to the rats, moles, or ants!

He hated ants, they were really annoying to deal with.

"Father, when will you wake up?" He had been waiting for his father to wake up, so much so that he watched his siblings fly away and be eaten by predators without a care. His father was his priority! But then again, wouldn't a father be sad if all his children died? Realization hit him hard, and he knew what he had to do! With his superior strength to his siblings, he gathered them, made them obey him, to stay close to father so could bless them with his energy too! They didn't seem to want to stay close, wandering off every chance they had, so the initial thousands were reduced to smaller and smaller quantities as time went on.

Cycle 5

A great drought came, and alongside it, hunger.

Leaf worked hard, twice as hard as his siblings, to bring whatever he could to their father- The trees everywhere started to wither and decay quickly, dying as they turned into ash and dust, but father stood strong! He wasn't a normal tree, that much was sure, he was superior!

With hunger, the beasts became restless. Many of his siblings were lost to the birds and rats, ants feasted on the ones that stood upon the ground for too long, but the ones that survived would eventually be killed by the new enemy- Demonic Beasts. They were animals that could use Qi, like them, but instead of the nature qi they used, these demonic beasts used the qi from blood! Leaf personally fought and took down many of them while above his father's canopy, using his leaves as ammunition for the endless barrage of attacks he could launch. Many of his siblings couldn't use qi offensively, but they could escape, they could run!

Although many didn't, because they were dumb.

Like, dumb as… rocks.

Rocks that the humans ate. He saw many little ones crawling, eating dirt, and he pondered if they could feed from sunlight and soil like he and his siblings could? He also saw humans eat like the demonic beasts, eat flesh and bone of their own little ones and big ones too! They ate each other like the beasts of blood and death, and some tried to eat his siblings, so he killed them too. He gave what little energy he managed to make to the soil, nourishing nutrients for his father, his siblings also did the same because that was what he made them do.

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After two cycles trying to make them obey him, he found a way to make them do what he wanted them to!

They worked on gathering energy from the sun, transformed that energy into qi, and gave it to the ground where his father rested. Feeding the soil with the nature qi they made was enough to create some nutrients, and from those nutrients, their father could survive. Once in a while he would also send the pulse of nature qi, to feed his children with what he could, to keep them alive. Leaf also absorbs this energy, for it keeps him alive as well

Cycle 5, Moon 6

A problem came.

Humans. But these ones were different from the humans that ate their young like it was natural. They were wearing these long clothes, and they were weird… They spoke words Leaf could barely understand after spending so many moons trying to learn the language of the humans. "Calamity" this and "Again" that, with something about going to keep happening? He didn't understand much, but they did say something about the cycle of nature qi and death qi from the Demonic Field.

They did notice his father and his siblings, but they didn't care.

One of them did try to take one of his siblings away, but Leaf threw one of his father's leaves at them, like he always did. This time the leaf did nothing to the human, only annoy the human and make them let go of his sibling- He watched in fright and determination to protect his father when that human gathered a large amount of qi that felt hot like the sun, and a bright orange flame appeared in his hand. The old human slapped the back of the younger one, saying something to the young one and looking directly at him and smiling.

He didn't know what that was, he only knew that the young one with the fire in his heart and hands stopped, looked embarrassed, and bowed towards his father. They recognized the greatness of his father!

They even left a small seed behind! When they left, Leaf took the seed and brought it to his father, the seed felt like one of his siblings, but with much more Nature qi than they could ever make!

That seed helped his father, because he started to lose his strength a little- Leaf could notice it -and his leaves turned lush green once again.

Cycle 5, Moon 8

The Demonic Beasts attacked.

A large majority of his siblings died. They were eaten and he couldn't do anything! He took as many of those beasts down as he could, but still, many of his siblings died.

He learned what crying was that day, because his nature Qi produced water, water that fell from his eyes into his father's bark, wetting him.

And as if the heavens were crying alongside him, water fell from the sky above, wetting the earth and bringing an end to the drought.

Root POV

'Let me see…' As Leaf floated towards one of his siblings under Root's request, Root called for his system and looked over at Leaf's status, because he was in his sect and as the great Grandmaster slash immortal leader, he could see anyone's status.

[Status]

Name: Leaf

Species: Nature Spirit

Cultivation Root: Nature, Sun, Water [Poor Quality]

Age: 9 Years

Qi Realm: Qi Gathering (3rd Stage)

Techniques -

F RANK: [Nature Spirit Cultivation]

F RANK: [Nature Spirit Floating]

E RANK: [Nature Spirit Authority]

D RANK: [Qi Connectivity]

He also looked at another random spirit- And what he saw was bad!

[Status]

Name: N/A

Species: Lesser Nature Spirit

Cultivation Root: Nature, Sun [Trash Quality]

Age: 8 Years

Realm: Qi Gathering (No Stage)

Techniques -

F RANK: [Nature Spirit Floating]

F RANK: [Nature Spirit Photosynthesis]

Apparently lesser nature spirits don't cultivate! They produce nature qi, and that's it. That's as much as he could find out about them! Only Nature Spirits could cultivate, and they were created when a larger amount of Nature Qi is used to make lesser nature spirits. "Huh." So Leaf was his firstborn? That's cool! "Leaf, tell your siblings to produce nature qi and release it in the atmosphere." He also started creating more and more seeds, each time he made one, he let it pop out. "Also, get some of them to take their new siblings and spread them through the forest. The more nature qi, the better we can survive this drought." Surviving this was something Root wanted to do very much- He received an affirmative answer from Leaf through the link they shared as he and a few of his siblings took the seeds he made and flew away with them.

In fact, Root had made connections to a few of his children, controlling them. Not controlling, more like ordering? Telling them what to do.

The only thing he knows right now is that nature qi is necessary, and the more nature spirits there are, the greater the nature qi! So, it's time to make babies as fast as he can! "That sounds so weird…" Also, he cultivated, gathering the energy he could and purifying it- Wait, he is a tree, why can't he just do the photosynthesis his children do?

As it turns out, he can do it.

[Sun Breathing Photosynthesis Technique

Rank: C

Description: Gather energy from the sun and turn it into Nature qi! Nature qi that is then dispersed into the atmosphere.]

That's it. He makes nature qi, and disperses it, so the soil could absorb it. Why? Because he needs the nutrients! He Is a tree goddammit. Also, his inventory? It isn't exactly an inventory! He stores things on top of his head, right on his canopy.

That's where a recipe lost to time is, apparently! He did his best to open himself up, his bark did move a little through his forceful qi manipulation, but nothing came out of it. He'll ask Leaf to keep it hidden, because there's no way he's losing this paper- Even though he has memorized the entire recipe already.

[Status]

Name: Root

Species: Spirit Tree

Cultivation Root: Nature [Heavenly Pure Quality]

Age: 110 years

Qi Realm: Core Formation (1st Stage)

Skills -

F RANK: [Flower Make]

E RANK: [Hibernation]

B RANK: [Seed Make]

S RANK: [Purification]

S RANK: [Pain Resistance]

Techniques -

F RANK: [Tree Breathing Technique]

C RANK: [Sun Breathing Photosynthesis Technique]

B RANK: [Mycorrhizal Network]

Sect - Spirit Forest Sect

Great Ancestor: Root [Core Formation (1st Stage)]

Sect Master: Leaf [Qi Gathering (3rd Stage)]

Members: Unnamed Lesser Nature Spirit (×982)

Inventory -

SSS Rank: Tea of Heaven (Recipe)