Reunion at the ashes, and the oldest tree.

Year 0196 of the MunYu empire, day 18 of four Moons

Lee Yenshu had been walking for several days now through the dense forest. As he followed the winding dirt road, memories from seven years prior flooded his mind. He was approaching the place that had changed his life - the Immortal Cave of the Pine Tree Spirit.

The memories of his early days in this world flooded his mind. He thought back to the kindness the old Pine Tree spirit showed him when he first arrived, frightened and alone. How she nurtured him and helped him understand this mystical realm of cultivation. However, before him, stood nothing more than a pile of rubble and ash, he still remembered the wondrous sight of the ethereal pine tree stretching to the heavens when he first arrived. This sacred place had saved him when he was but a battered slave boy resigned to death's embrace. Here, he was gifted new life and hope in the form of the gentle Pine Tree Spirit and her sapling son, Guang Zhishu.

Before long, the crumbled cave ruins appeared through the thick trees. Lee Yenshu stopped, a sudden heaviness weighing down his heart. Guang Zhishu's Dire message rang in his mind once more - "Hurry! Run! The cave will burn out!" His friend had stayed behind, sacrificing himself so Lee Yenshu could escape the flames. Would anything still remain? Had he survived?

He quickened his pace, eager to see his sworn brother Guang Zhishu who should now be sprouting back to life at the remnants of the sage's immortal cave. It had been seven long years since he last saw his young sapling friend.

Lee Yenshu arrived at the cliffside that once held the tranquil cave. His heart sank seeing the aftermath of devastating flames that destroyed the haven all those years ago. Only scattered blackened rocks and a few stubborn weeds pushing through the ash remained.

"Could anything have survived this?" Lee Yenshu worried.

Lee Yenshu cautiously entered the destruction, vivid memories overlaying the grim scene before him. Barely anything remained of the once vibrant immortal cave. Only a gaping, charred hole marked its place. Strangely, there was no sign of new growth despite nearly a decade having passed. The fire's scars ran deep it seemed. Lee Yenshu circled around surveying the rubble when a glimmer caught his eye. He frantically searched the area for any signs of new growth. Then he saw it. A tiny green shoot poking through the debris near where the great pine tree once stood tall. Lee Yenshu raced over and knelt down before the seedling reverently.

- Guang Zhishu...is that you brother?

His voice was soft, filled with hope. The leaves seemed to quiver happily in response. Lee Yenshu's eyes welled up with tears of joy.

-Brother! I can't believe you waited all this time for me.

The voice of the young tree spirit echoed in Lee Yenshu's mind just like when they were children together.

"Of course I waited brother! Though it took all my energy just to regrow. I'm still too weak to form a full body yet. But I'm so happy you came back!"

- My brother, it brings me such happiness to see you well! But how? When the flames engulfed everything, I feared the worst.

"Easy brother, I'll explain, you see, this place was never a true immortal cave to begin with. What made it special was my Mother's presence. She used her ancient spirit powers to convert the primordial energy in this place into abundant life force which nourished everything you saw before."

Lee Yenshu listened intently as his friend continued.

"When she departed to the higher realms and left me her spirit sapling, I simply didn't yet possess the same capacities being so young. Still I managed to uphold a portion of the skills she taught me. But ultimately, I was already living on borrowed time relying solely on her lingering energy."

Lee Yenshu nodded remembering when he first met baby Guang Zhishu, he only had a single leaf clinging to life.

"The fire depleted the last remnants of my mother's energy which returned this place back to a ordinary cave."

- But brother, you survived! And seem to have grown even stronger than before in her absence. You should be proud.

"That was not only my doing brother. But, first, tell me about you, how did you survive all this years?"

Lee Yenshu told Guang Zhishu tales of everything that happened since the fire. Guang Zhishu was amazed to hear how powerful his sworn brother had become.

"Brother you even saved a storm spirit?! You really are incredible. Mother would be so proud..." Guang Zhishu voice echoed with a hint of sadness in Lee Yenshu's mind.

The two brothers talked for a while, and a gentle scent filled the air as they would talk. This made Guang Zhishu leaves move around excited.

"Please take me with you brother! Now that my roots are stable I can go anywhere as long as I have soil and sunlight. I was waiting for you to come back. There's someone I want you to meet"

Lee Yenshu smiled broadly.

- Sure brother. But, who could you meet in such a desolated place?

Lee Yenshu gingerly uprooted the Guang Zhishu sapling, placing him in a traveling pot packed with rich soil.

"Are you ready to meet my master?"

-Master? What master?

"I'm sure you will be surprised, it took me many years to make myself heard by my master, but he taught me a lot of things. If mother didn't left some of her wood Qi inside my roots, I would never be able to meet him"

Lee Yenshu gazed at his brother in awe. Unfathomable sadness and suffering would have shattered the wills of lesser beings. But like twin saplings, they both endured life's tempests through a steadfast bond to the other. And the gifts left by the benevolent Pine Tree Spirit nurtured them even in her absence so they may continue growing tall.

As the pair venture further into the ruins, enjoying the peaceful moments together again after so long, Guang Zhishu halted suddenly under the cool shade of a massive oak tree. Strange symbols glowed mysteriously on the bark which Lee Yenshu did not recognize.

Guang Zhishu nodded for him to stand back. With an elegant wave of his leafs, a door sized rectangle etched itself into the oak's trunk. Ancient energy rippled from the opening.

-What magic is this brother? And this tree? It's even larger than the pine tree spirit, and if fells so, so much older...

"This tree is ancient, far more than you know. In fact it stood here long before mother ever arrived in this world. The events from years past disrupted the dragon lines surrounding this area. And the destruction of mother's artifacts release a lot of primordial Qi. That allowed this one to finally awaken fully."

The oak leaves rustled loudly as if responding to Guang Zhishu's words. Lee Yenshu stared up at its expansive canopy in wonder.

-Awaken, brother, do you mean?

"Yes, the consciousness slumbering in this Great Oak has returned after ages of dormancy. Like myself, it is a spirit tree, a custodian of the forest. Older and wiser than mother, and much, much more powerful as well."

Reverence filled Guang Zhishu's voice.

"I discovered its presence shortly after regaining my strength. But could only reach him after years of trying, I almost erased my core in the process."

Lee Yenshu struggled comprehending the sheer enormity of such a being having lived undiscovered within their very forest home for untold eras. The Oak spirit's energy fluctuated wildly as if impatient.

Noticing this, Guang Zhishu's voiced echoed again in Lee Yenshu's mind, but at the same time, it felt as if it resonated in the area around then as well.

"Yes ancient one, we shall continue our conversation shortly, I know you dont like to speak outside of your domain"

"Brother, please, set me down here, and cross over that light. I can go inside with my mind, but you, need to go inside, otherwise you wont understand the voice of the old tree. This portal leads to the spiritual landscape of my Master. He has graciously taken me as disciple, allowing me access between this realm and his. But since I could not move before, he taught me how to enter using only my mind. You however, would not be able to do so, since you are human."

Lee Yenshu needed no further convincing. Gripping his sword, he stepped into the glowing doorway ready to meet his brother's master. Blinding energy enveloped him completely the moment he entered, an otherworldly pulling sensation surged through his body and while he gripped the eight Branch Sword, he was drawn through spacetime itself.

After a few breathless moments, Lee Yenshu's vision cleared finding himself miraculously transported into a whole different realm, in there he was greeted with countless varieties of exotic flowers and spirit trees, this was no mere spiritual landscape, no, it was more like a small pocket universe brimmed with primordial life force.

Gazing about in marveled awe, he wondered just how many more secret realms awaited discovery in the vast worlds of cultivation.

Ethereal blossoms perfumed the air with heavenly fragrance. Gentle beams of celestial jade light filtered through the vibrant canopy enveloping everything in a dreamy glow. Otherworldly spirit beasts similar to those described in mythology back home roamed freely giving musical voice to this surreal landscape. Was this the famed paradise written of in legends?

- Welcome young guest, to my humble abode.

A thundering yet benevolent voice echoed from above. Lee Yenshu craned his neck towards its source. High up nestled between the outstretched limbs of a colossal, twisting Qilin shaped tree, sat an aged, mossy Treant. Bushy lichen covered its immobile body resembling shimmering jade robes. Eyes crinkling with kindness, it warmly greeted Lee Yenshu again with booming laughter that shook loose a flurry of fragrant petals from nearby spirit trees.

- Come closer, let these old eyes get a better look at you! Guang Zhishu speaks often of his dear brother. Hoho! Seems his stories hardly do justice for your noble bearing. And, look at that sword, so well kept, and filled with wood Qi, it reminds me of a sappling I once planted.

Rooted by overwhelming awe, Lee Yenshu managed a clumsy bow towards this ancient, legendary guardian now gazing down at him full of mirth.

- Greetings master, my name is Lee Yenshu! I am humbled by your invitation here to your exquisite domain and gracious words.

The imposing tree spirit chortled loudly in response sending several dazed spirit creatures fluttering away from the deep reverberations.

-So polite! No need for such formalities. Any young friend of my apprentice is most welcome in these gardens. Please relax! It has been an eternity since I last entertained mortal guests.

His sprawling branches ushered Lee Yenshu nearer towards a hollow opening the old Spirit had fashioned into a crude shelter.

Heart pounding with exhilaration, Lee Yenshu complied settling onto a cushion of emerald moss as the venerable master peered down in clear delight.

-There now! Much better, we forest dwellers prefer open communion under boundless skies... Now then! Let us waste no further time on trifling cordialities. You wish to take my young apprentice with you in your journey? If you do, I ask you to wait for 5 years.

Lee Yenshu was saddened by this, he was finally reunited with his brother, only to learn, he would have to wait 5 years, to once again be at his side.

-Now now, dont worry, I'll make sure you too can keep connected, and I'm most grateful that you found his body, being the size that I am, I couldn't delve that far into the cave, without endangering his roots. What I want to say is, please plant him besides me, so that I can help nurture his real body. Also, that creature inside you wont be able to hurt him, if I protect his roots.

-How did...

-When you are as old as me, you can sense a demon or two.

-My inner demon, he is still a danger to..

But before Lee Yenshu could speak, the old tree interrupted him.

-That's no inner demon. It may be feasting on your insecurities, just like a inner demon, but what you hold inside you, is a real demon, a soul parasite, the same one that killed you in your last life, when you were first born into this world. You are the reincarnation of the Sage, and that demon, is the one who sent your soul to a place that had no Qi, so it could torment you.