Rain scanned his soul space but found no vortex; instead, there was already a second black mirror. He was astonished—he had already established the connection. Without delay, he directed his thoughts toward the black mirror, passed through it, and entered the soul space of his new clone.
Opening his eyes in an unfamiliar body, Rain examined his surroundings and discovered he was inside a hollow tree in a dense forest. The muffled sound of voices reached him, speaking in an unfamiliar language, yet he grasped their meaning intuitively. He discerned three distinct male voices:
The first man spoke with a harsh tone, "Where's that brat? When I find him, he's getting a beating."
The second man replied, "You can't damage him. If he's hurt, no one will pay for him."
The third man chimed in with a dismissive note, "I think he's already dead from those injuries."
The second voice agreed, "True, but the boss ordered us to find his body, dead or alive."
The first man concluded with determination, "Alive or dead, we'll find him. Our team has the ravine surrounded, and others are searching inside it."
Rain examined his new body carefully. His wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding, likely from the restraints he had struggled against. A sharp pain radiated from his arm where an arrow had punctured the flesh. He knew he needed to act swiftly to escape this predicament but first he has to fully grasp the situation he was in.
Determined, Rain closed his eyes and entered the soul space of this new body to form the soul chip. Once established, he asked, "What led to this situation?"
The soul chip responded promptly: *This body is a half-tree spirit with the appearance resembling a tree spirit.* An image materialized in Rain's mind, showing his current appearance alongside that of a full tree spirit. He noted that tree spirits bore a striking resemblance to elves, with delicate features and an ethereal quality. As a half-tree spirit, Rain's own appearance closely matched that of a full tree spirit, enough to pass for one unless scrutinized closely.
Rain processed this new knowledge, understanding that his mixed heritage had played a significant role in his misfortune. From the memories of this body, he learned that the boy's name was Glenn Golden Oak. His father was human, and his mother belonged to the Golden Oak tribe of tree spirits, from which he had inherited his surname. Glenn had lived in a village at the edge of the tree spirit territory. Due to being a half-tree spirit, he had never been permitted further into the heart of their lands.
The tree spirit territory bordered several human kingdoms, and human nobles were known for their obsession with the ethereal beauty of the tree spirits. This desire led them to hire hunters and slavers to capture tree spirits and bring them back for their own purposes.
Glenn had been one of their victims, captured while hunting near the border. However, during the journey to the slavers' destination, he had seized a moment of opportunity and managed to break free from his bindings. In his desperate escape, an arrow had struck his arm, wounding him but failing to halt his flight. He managed to reach the ravine and found temporary refuge inside a tree hollow high above the ground.
Rain's eyes darkened as he muttered, "Then these people are slavers." A new wave of memories surfaced, and he exhaled in relief as he realized that the hunters searching for him were ordinary humans. However, Glenn's body was also ordinary. While tree spirits possessed natural strength far surpassing humans, Glenn, being half-human and not yet having reached adulthood, had not developed such power.
Rain assessed the situation and thought, *If this body were uninjured, I could deal with them one by one using my skills.* His mind turned to the question of power—he was sure that beings existed in this world with strength rivaling the star immortals of the Star Immortal World. There had to be cultivation methods for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary abilities. He asked the soul chip if there was any information on such methods in Glenn's memories.
Moments later, the soul chip transmitted a surge of memories. As Rain processed them, he gained an understanding of this world's intricate structure: it was dominated by four main races, each with their own god, alongside various minor races that lacked deities and were considered lesser. The main races were the tree spirit race, whose god was the God of Life and Plants; the stone spirit race, worshipping the God of Earth and Metals; the sea spirit race, devoted to the God of Ocean and Darkness; and the human race, which uniquely revered two gods: the God of Light and Fire and the God of Alchemy and both of them are each other enemies.
The gods, except one, were primordial beings born from the natural world when it was formed. The God of Alchemy, however, was different. He was once a human who, through cultivation, ascended to the heavens and claimed his divine throne 10,000 years ago.
Rain realized there were only two paths to power in this world. The first was through prayer and devotion to one of the four gods, hoping to be granted divine favor. However, this option was closed to him—not only because he refused to put his faith in any god, but also because the gods only accepted prayers from their respective races. As a half-human, half-tree spirit, he belonged fully to neither.
The second path was to become an alchemist. Fortunately, before Glenn's father departed for the City of Freedom, he had left him with the foundational practice method for alchemy. Rain now understood why the boy had not pursued this path. The practice of alchemy was divided into distinct realms: Shadow Crown, Phantom Crown, Virtual Crown, Magic Crown, Real Crown, Truth Crown, and finally, God Crown. The first four realms only served to unlock the latent power of the soul, leaving the alchemist's physical strength and lifespan unchanged. Only upon reaching the Real Crown realm could an alchemist surpass the natural limitations of their body and extend their capabilities.
A typical tree spirit had a lifespan of 1,000 years, and even as a half-tree spirit, Glenn's life expectancy was around 300 years that is reason Glenn did not practise. Given his mixed heritage, Rain's only viable option was the path of alchemy. He had already attempted to practice the warrior methods of the Star Immortal World but had been unsuccessful. The genetic warrior path from the radiation world was also out of reach since he lacked access to genetic medicine.This left alchemy as his only choice.
Determined, Rain focused on understanding how to begin practicing the alchemist's way. He now grasped how to reach the Shadow Crown realm. The practice of alchemy was akin to a scientist uncovering the truths of the world and believing in them so fully that, through sheer willpower, they could forge a crown within their soul space.
Rain closed his eyes and entered his soul space. Normally, the alchemy practice method required meditation to access this realm, but for him, it was unnecessary. He first attempted to use the artistic conception of the Spring Rain Sword, but nothing happened. He then tried the rule of the rain stone, but again, nothing materialized. Finally, he focused on the vitality rule, and this time, he felt a shift. His understanding of vitality began to coalesce into the shape of a crown, though it remained incomplete, lacking the cohesion needed to hold it together.
He realized that the missing element was belief—unwavering conviction in the truth of his understanding. Steeling his mind, he strengthened his resolve and fully embraced the belief that his grasp of the vitality rule was correct. Slowly, a shadowy crown took shape in his soul space, fragile and flickering, as if it might vanish at any moment.
With his eyes still closed, he sensed a faint awareness of the one-meter space around him. The Shadow Crown realm did not enhance his physical strength, but it did grant him the ability to extend his perception and use his soul power to hypnotize ordinary beings. Rain considered this new power. While it might help against one opponent, it was not enough to influence multiple foes at once. He knew it would not be enough to escape his current predicament.
Just then, he heard the voices of the three men again. Rain sharpened his focus, listening closely to their conversation, as it was his only way to discern the slavers' next move.
Man 2 said, "The boss told us to check by climbing the trees."
Man 1 grumbled, "I think we should just set fire to the forest in this ravine. If he's alive, the fire will flush him out."
Man 3 objected, "If he's still alive, he might not escape the flames because of his injuries, and the boss wants him alive. The others we captured are all half tree spirits, but this boy is from the tree spirit race. Selling him could make us enough money even after divided among us, to live comfortably for years."
Man 2 added, "Yes, we need to find him. I pray to the God of Light that he's still alive."
Man A barked orders, "You climb that tree, you take that one, and I'll climb this one."
Rain heard the rustling of leaves and the creaking of wood as one of the men began climbing the tree he was hiding in.