Daozi was thus far quite satisfied with the realms progress.
He was already leaps and bounds ahead of the previous Heavenly Dao. From his inherited memories he knew that his predecessor was still blindly roaming the void by this point in its life, still millennia away from creating the initial spatial boundary.
As long as he kept up this pace he'd soon reach and even surpass the former myriad realms.
Of course, that was assuming the unknown variables were kept under control. He couldn't help but feel a pang of worry as he thought of the sudden appearance of faith energy.
'Should I just play it safe and take the initiative to remove Weodrothis?"
He was seriously considering snipping the potential danger in the bud. The only reason this glorified shrub was alive is because of the inevitable ramifications that'd ensue from its destruction.
As it stood, Weodrothis was the realms strongest lifeform. It was not only capable of processing the greatest volume of spiritual energy, but it was also linked to the only two cultivators.
If something happened to the fruit folk because of Weodrothis's death, he'd have to start the process all over again. There also was also no other way to rapidly produce sapient life. It'd be especially pitiful if he made all those sacrifices just for faith energy to re-emerge.
'Maybe I shouldn't be too hasty. If I can properly utilize the power of faith, then it might actually be a massive boon.'
He was immortal after all so there was no need to rush. Let alone Weodrothis current foundation establishment strength, even if the hulking tree reached nascent soul, it would be helpless against him. Unlike the old Heavenly Dao, he wasn't dumb enough to leave a vulnerability for the mortals to exploit.
'Oh, have they finally decided to move?'
Bluog and Auopi had successfully broken through to the early stage of body tempering, and with the woods free of his earthen dogs, they seem to have worked up the courage to return home.
Auopi had even copied some of the early murals from the monolith onto a smaller piece of stone. The illustrations were a lot worse than the original, riddled with uneven proportions and jagged lines, but they got the general point across. As a reference piece it did the job.
Daozi watched as they carefully made their way through the woods. The journey was largely uneventful other than the occasional jumpscare from stepping on a twig or hitting an unsuspecting branch.
Seeing them effortlessly navigate the dense foliage, he felt pretty confident there was some kind of invisible connection between them and Weodrothis. Their path never once strayed from the crimson tree. Spells hadn't been developed yet, so the most likely answer would be some kind of racial ability.
It made sense in hindsight; the pair were directly born from the leaves of Weodrothis after all.
An hour into their travels, the duo finally saw the unmistakable traces of mist up ahead. They had reached the fog perimeter.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Bluog scampered over to the edge and spoke; "We ask for safe passage into the divine sanctum!"
A narrow segment of fog cleared up in front. Not wasting a beat, the duo excitedly made their way inside.
Daozi watched as they made a beeline for Weodrothis, who was staying motionless in the center of its domain. Sensing the approaching fruit-folk, the tree gradually opened its eyes and directed its attention at the duo. As Bluog and Auopi reached the base of the tree, they immediately dropped to their knees and began recounting their experience outside the fog.
Starting from their initial impressions of the forest being empty, they went on to narrate the sudden flash of light and the ensuing pursuit. As they got around to the monolith and engravings, Auopi pulled out the small stone to highlight some of the teachings. Even their personal insights into body tempering and the need for sunlight were brought up. No detail was omitted.
Weodrothis remained silent through the recount. It had also sensed the terrifying light, but the subsequent hounds and the presence of a unique power system piqued its interest. Who knew there were so many things outside its fog!
"Good, good. You two did well. In the face of danger, you managed to find opportunity. I am proud to have such dutiful followers." Weodrothis shook the surroundings as it spoke.
Unperturbed by the pressure, Bluog and Auopi listened intently. When they heard Weodrothis praising them for their hard work, the piety in their hearts only deepened.
"But, there exists a very real threat in the outside world." Weodrothis felt a cold shiver as it recalled the earlier light.
It paused briefly before continuing; "You are temporarily forbidden from leaving the fog. We will focus on solidifying our foundation."
Weodrothis wanted to tell its followers that even it was suppressed by the golden light. But its followers clearly found solace under its protection, so breaking that illusion of safety might cause irreparable harm.
"As you command!" Bluog and Auopi bowed their bodies three times before leaving. They each found a location that wasn't covered by the forest canopy and began tempering their bodies.
From the spatial boundary, Daozi carefully inspected the streams of purple mist that were escaping Bluog and Auopi.
Ever since the duo returned, he noticed that the amount of faith energy they emitted only seemed to grow. It was reasonable at the start, but by the end of Weodrothis's speech the purple mist was essentially pouring out their bodies.
'Don't make me regret keeping you around...'
He had yet to see what this faith energy was capable of. Despite the large concentration that had funneled into Weodrothis's core, nothing seemed to have changed.
Well, since they planned on being hermits for the foreseeable future, there wasn't much he could do besides wait.
Fifty Years Later
The once sparse forest was now bustling with life.
After Bluog and Auopi returned from their excursion, Weodorthis had taken the liberty of producing more fruit folk. On its golden crown, one could spot a total of forty-two leafless branches.
Now, in addition to the original duo there were another forty individuals. Twenty of them bore the distinct characteristics of an apple like Auopi, while the other half were more reminiscent of Bluog.
Since Weodorthis prohibited the fruit folk from leaving its fog, they were able to enjoy a long period of peaceful development. On top of Auopi and Bluog, twenty others had also embarked on the path of cultivation.
Currently, everyone was gathering around the crimson tree. Mediating directly beneath it were the two eldest fruit-folk.
"Will they be able to do it?" A blueberry person asked the living apple next to it.
"With the divine creator personally supervising their breakthrough its sure to succeed!" The apple replied with conviction. Its eyes firmly fixated on the two people in deep mediation.
Through repeatedly honing their bodies, Bluog and Auopi had been the first fruit-folk to reach the pinnacle of body-tempering and push for qi-refining. They were now sat under the golden canopy of leaves, collecting their thoughts and readying themselves for the final push.
"You two laid witness to the original teachings and are the most senior of the fruit-folk. I hold full trust in you. Once you are ready, you may begin." Weodrothis broke the silence with its thunderous voice. The forty spectators immediately ceased talking and kneeled on the ground.
Daozi was also interested in the breakthrough. He wondered if qi-refining would bring a change to the fruit folk. In the previous myriad realms, it wasn't unusual for monster beasts to gain a wide variety of skills as they cultivated to higher realms.
Above Weodrothis he saw the formation of two spiritual energy vortexes. They had begun the breakthrough process.
Ten minutes passed. Thirty minutes passed. An hour passed.
The amount of swirling energy finally spread to the material realm. Around the duo gusts of wind were kicked up and leaves began to sway.
He was already familiar with the convergence of energy because of Weodrothis's birth, which was orders of magnitude more intense than a qi-refining breakthrough, but for the fruit-folk this was the first time they'd felt the effects of spiritual energy.
He watched as they all stared in awe at the two, many of them having never felt winds this intense before.
Only the giant tree continued to remain calm. It was already equivalent to a late-stage foundation establishment cultivator. Just leaking a fraction of the energy held in its core would bring about greater shifts.
As the vortexes reached their peak, they suddenly stopped growing and instead began funneling the accumulated energy into the pair.
Cold sweat started to form on Auopi's body. Bluog looked to be fairing a little better, but its shaky arms betrayed the internal struggle going on.
Daozi couldn't help but worry as he saw this scene. At the current rate these two were heading, their meridians would likely rupture before the breakthrough could succeed. Sadly, there wasn't much for him to do.
He could only sigh at their misfortune.
Five minutes later, Weodrothis also realized the duos predicament. The sudden influx of spiritual energy had clearly overwhelmed them, putting heavy strain on their meridians.
Much like Daozi, it also began to worry about their safety. These two were its most prized fruit-folk and also the most pious of the bunch. Tapping into its core, a strand of spiritual energy shot out to stabilize their condition. Unfortunately, the foreign energy seemed to only worsen their condition. Realizing it was helpless against the current situation, it could only anxiously watch.
Ten Minutes Later
The out-of-control spiritual energy was turning Bluog and Auopi into inflated flesh balloons. Their fruity skin was stretched thin, and their innards continued to expand with no signs of stopping. It really looked as if they were about to blow up.
Even the spectators could notice something amiss. They dared not voice their opinion aloud, but this was evidently not the natural process of breaking through.
As they approached the verge of exploding, Daozi saw the unexpected appearance of an intangible crimson tree above the two. Purple mist started leaving Weodrothis and entering the apparition, causing it to exude a subtle crimson glow.
As the radiance intensified, a miracle occurred.
The out-of-control spiritual energy started to stabilize, and their rapid bodily expansion stopped. Shockingly, any damaged meridians were quickly repaired.
Under the crimson tree, their bodies began to shrink and actually continue the process of assimilating spiritual energy. With this newly found strength, they were able to forcefully pry their meridians open. In a matter of second, they had gone from accepting death to having a successful breakthrough.
Silence. No one dared to speak a word.
With a slight twitch Bluog was the first of the duo to open his eyes. He immediately saw the mixed expressions on his peers. Their eyes filled with a variety of emotions. From shock and joy too seemingly disbelief.
Eagerly returning his attention to the changes in his body, he noticed more than just the presence of flowing spiritual energy. His body had grown slimmer, his appendages were no longer as stubby, and a strange organ had taken hold within him.
Looking over at Auopi, he noticed that her body had also changed. It was slimmer, less stubby, and also more...appealing?
He couldn't control this feeling, but seeing her red physique spurred something within him.
Snapping back into reality, he nervously rotated his body to face Weodrothis.
Yet embarrassingly he couldn't stop the wave of pollen that had ejected from his pores.