Root Maker: Tree Cultivation

Year 11, Day 32

Inner Circle

"Okay, you little green brat." 

"Who are you calling a green brat!? I'm a cultivator! A way better cultivator than you! You little snow pussy cat!" 

"You little arrogant green tea bitch-"

"Wei Wei!"

Cui Rong could only sigh. She held the rice - they had rice here, thanks to the immortal whose presence emanated enough Nature Qi to accelerate the growth of many normal plants mortals use to feed themselves - bowl with a small smile while looking nervously at the little girl's mother, who kept a small smile on her lips. "I'm so sorry." Cui Rong anxiously smiled, trying to keep an apologetic expression on her face. "Oh, don't worry." The amazingly kind woman smiled back at her, her fair appearance was really surprising for a mortal (or at least Cui Rong thought so) made her smile even more beautiful as she looked back at her child and Wei Wei who were… bickering. "It's nice to see her acting her age with someone her age for the first time in a really long time." She sounded happy too, which was something Cui Rong couldn't exactly understand. 

"Regardless, I apologize." Da Huren - when did he get here!? - spoke from beside her, making Cui Rong tense for a moment. The unnaturally tall dark skinned man held an even larger bowl of rice with a smile on his lips, his deep green eyes looking at the little brat's ("My name's Hui Yang!") mother as she graciously served them tea: "It's really okay, Immortal." She said, making Da Huren frown - for some reason Cui Rong couldn't really understand, he disliked being referred to as Immortal by Mortals… But Cui Rong grew up in a different place, so she wouldn't truly understand what was going through the big moose guy's head anyway - as he listened to the woman's words: "I see this as an opportunity for my child to make friends with fellow cultivators, so when I'm gone, she won't be alone in this cursed world." Ah, right…

Hui Yonnen - that's Hui Yang's mother name - was a kind, selfless, and polite mortal woman. She had the same dark green hair the little girl had, but her eyes were a darker shade than her daughter's eyes. She also carried herself in humbleness, while her daughter was slightly more arrogant… Maybe because she was a cultivator? 

Ah, yes, I almost forgot. 

Cui Rong, Yun Chen, Da Huren, and Wei Wei - alongside Anku, who apparently had the potential to be an Earth Cultivator and had even cultivated without noticing it… somehow? Alongside him came his son, the boy was like a small version of him, and Cui Rong had her suspicions about the real reason the Ancient Spirit Tree wanted them within the Inner Circle - were shown where their home would be, with Cui Rong getting a separate home from the others, since the trio of men were a family and she wasn't part of their family. They were invited by Hui Yonnen for a welcoming dinner at her home, and they agreed… Well, Cui Rong agreed because Yun Chen asked her to, much to her surprise. Apparently their dad - Da Huren - wanted to have a good relationship with the woman for reasons unknown to them… 

Maybe he liked her? 'Nah, that's too foolish.' It's a stupid idea to fall in love with a mortal when you are an Immortal! You'll be cursed to watch them wither away and slowly meet their end, which is something Cui Rong doesn't see herself or any other Immortal doing. 

"Well, your daughter is a very delicate-" Da Huren's eyebrow twitched.

"-you punk ass little white pussy cat son of a bitch-"

"-kind-" he kept the forced smile on his lips, eyes closed as there was a small commotion. His son Wei Wei and the little girl were throwing hands.

"-I'll fucking scalp you and turn you into my fucking carpet-"

"-and polite young lady." Da Huren ignored the words being said by said young lady, a smile on his lips as he looked back at her mother.

"-bitch!"

…yeah, let's just ignore that.

Beneath a Fire Cloud, Atop hot dry sand. 

With a steady footstep, the grand and "majestic" Flareburn family moved forward. Their bright red robes protected them from the sand that blew… A sandstorm battered them from all sides, making Jy-Hyung hold and protect the little Wei Flareburn, the still newest member of their family. "Elder-" A sharp voice cried out: "-beneath!" It was all the warning they could get before an explosion of sand knocked back the majority of the family, throwing them several different directions away. There was this shrill sharp and echoing cry, accompanied by several other cries, signaling that their attacker was not alone. 

Jy-Hyung and his fellow Fire Qi Cultivators brandished their flames, burning the ground until it crystallized into glass, stepping over it. This was not the first time they dealt with these monstrosities, in fact, every single cycle they went around the Demonic Fields, passing by the Endless Desert region or the Earth's Teeth region from the Canyons of Many Voices, they had to fight the long and annoying Earth Death Burrowing Worm. These long Demonic Beasts were able to use various forms of Earth, Sand, and Demonic Qi to burrow and attack others. Their hide and sandy armor protected them from various weapons and attacks, making them able to resist blunt, sharp, and piercing attacks of normal weapons and fight for longer periods of time. Thankfully, they were rather pathetically weak when it comes to their defense against heat. 

They were considered enormous sand bugs, their insides cooked really easily, and when faced with extreme heat their bodies turned into crystal statues. A good strategy to deal with them was to burn the sandy ground, turn it into crystals, and stand above it. These worms were completely blind, they sight was unique to them as they could feel anything touching the ground, so to "hide" from them the Flareburn family will turn the sandy ground into crystals and stay still atop them while the Elder and the stronger members of their family fight and exterminate the Earth Death Burrowing Worm. Of course, they are caught off guard sometimes, which means they have to know exactly what to do when they are ambushed by these enormous creatures.

"Heavenly Fire." A calm and experienced voice echoed out as Elder Flareburn slashed his fingers. Bright golden flames licked the skin of the giant sand yellow worm, making it let out this screeching scream of pain. The flames licked, burned, and crystallized the parts of the worm it touched, and under the Elder's control it consumed the life of their giant foe. Heavenly Fire was a technique Elder Flareburn used, it was a technique passed down by several generations of Cultivators… It was a technique created before the Cycle of Chaos was even a thing, before this world was even cursed. The flames burned with heavenly might and anger, the flames consumed the flesh of the Earth Death Burrowing Worm burning away the Demonic Qi within it faster than any other flame would. 

You see, the Elder Flareburn knew seven techniques passed down by generations of Cultivators of the Flareburn family. Only he knew all the seven techniques, while seven members of the Flareburn family knew one each. 

"Heavenly Fire!" A tall and long haired woman brandished her flames forward, they were also burning a golden color. She was known as "Heavenly Elder" Hyu Yhan, the only one - besides Elder Flareburn - that knew the Heavenly Fire technique. "Elder, there too many!" She cried out in a panic, seeing as there were way too many Earth Death Burrowing Worms than the last time they went through here. 

"All Elders, protect the Flareburn Family's future." Elder Flareburn's words were objective. They should protect and keep the future of their family safe, which is the younglings. "Cutting Blue Flames." Moving a single finger forward, Elder Flareburn used another one of the Seven Sacred Techniques of the Flareburn Family - Cutting Blue Flames. A single slash appeared on the boy of the largest Earth Death Burrowing Worm's body before it burned a bright blue color. This was the same technique he used to cut off Huy Yon's head some time ago for offending the only being that could potentially have saved the Flareburn Family from being a bunch of hermits that wandered after a flying cloud of Fire Qi. 

"Demonic Flames." A black flame emerged from a tall red haired man, wrapping around the rather large and brittle looking greatsword he carried, his impressive height was just another thing impressive about him because soon he let out this enraged scream as he ran towards the many Earth Death Burrowing Worms, his partner beside him just rolled his eyes as he softly whispered: "Cleansing Flames." A small sphere of white fire floated gently towards a lone Earth Death Burrowing Worm and upon touching it, the entire monstrous Demonic Beast was set alight with white flames that consumed and cleansed the enormous beast.

These two were the "Demonic Flames" Elder - Hyun Houn - and the "Cleansing Flames" Elder - Heron Houn. The two have been partners for a really long time, in this cursed world they were the only two besides the Elder Flareburn that could use the "Demonic Flames" Technique and the "Cleansing Flame" Technique. 

"YAHH!" Screaming with a valiant and never ending hatred, the "Demonic Flames" Elder felt a rush of power as the black flames consumed and used his hatred as fuel to increase the power behind the black flames, burning brighter and hotter, Yin Qi flowing through his entire being. On the other side of the spectrum, the "Cleansing Flame" Elder simply and calmly moved his white flames from within the insides and outsides of the enormous worms with careful control. These white flames pushed out the Demonic Qi within the Earth Death Burrowing Worms and burned every single small quantity of Demonic Qi within their bodies, which was a death sentence to them. 

Gold, Blue, Black, White. 

Heavenly Fire. Cutting Blue Flames. Demonic Flames. Cleansing Flames.

Four of the Seven Sacred Techniques of the Flareburn Family. 

The other three? Well- 

"Sun Wrath!"

"Chilling Flames!"

"Melting Green Fire!"

Three different flames of three different colors hit the same enormous armored sand worm body, igniting it into a show of light. Three elders that looked exactly like one another held out their hands in concentration. Meet the three Elders - "Sun Wrath" Hyu Taiyan - the oldest - "Chilling Flames" Hyu Hanlen - the middle child, and - "Melting Green Fire" Hyu Suan - the youngest. Their flames were of the bright orange color, the light blue color, and the bright sickly light green color, representing their effects.

The "Sun Wrath" technique mixed Sun Qi with Fire Qi to momentarily increase the heat of the flames an enormous amount. 

The "Chilling Flames" technique mixed Ice Qi and Water Qi with Fire Qi to completely change the effect of the flames, making them freeze instead of burn. It was a very difficult technique for a Fire Cultivator to learn, considering the opposition that Fire Qi and Ice Qi have, like Water Qi and Fire also have.

And at last but certainly not least, the "Melting Green Fire" technique combined Acid Qi, a very specific and special combination of Water Qi, Earth Qi, Fire Qi, and Dark Qi that could melt things so quickly that it was one of the most feared flames of the Seven Sacred Techniques, behind only the beautiful golden flames of the Heavenly Fire technique. 

"Elders!" The little brother Wei that Jy-Hyung held cried out in warning, making everyone look at where they were- A massive worm, easily twice the size of the largest Earth Death Burrowing Worm they were fighting previously, simply rose from the earth. It had this deep purple chitin armor as these rocky armor began to float surrounding the worm body. Earth Qi flared around the Worm's body as it let out the loudest, most gut wrenching screech. 

It was a Death from Below.