428 The Morning Under the Shade of the Night Everred Tree, The Hatching of a Revolutionary Idea (1/2)

Day 74 - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon

Another day had come. The day after Mark planted the Spirit Tree, at the Center of the Base. The Night Everred Tree that was one of the icons of the Blood Demon Race.

The uproar that happened yesterday had yet to die down. It was primarily because of the tree with blood-red leaves towering over their heads. The unusual-looking tree could be seen from anywhere inside or outside the base. Furthermore, the shade of the seven-meter tall tree covered a rather wide area inside the Mountain Base.

Still, the sight they all witnessed after the sunset was spectacular.

As its name had said, the true beauty of the Night Everred Spirit Tree would only show during the night and when it was dark. When the night fell, the whole base was enveloped with a reddish glow. It was because the leaves of the Spirit Tree exuded such light in the darkness.

The light emitted by the leaves of the Night Everred Spirit Tree was not painful to the eyes. It was more like a dim ambient light. The most amazing thing to see, however, was how red glowing wisps of light flew like fireflies around the Spirit Tree.

As to how the story they knew had gone, Spirit Trees were not harmful unless its owner or the tree itself were felt threatened. As such, they exist to protect the race that raised them. And that was not everything. Each kind of Spirit Tree could provide benefits to anyone living around it, authorized by its Master.

The Night Everred Spirit Tree could provide what the Blood Demon Race needed the most in the borders of the Spirit Dimension.

The borders could be said as one of the most unstable parts of the Spirit Dimension. Even with the ability of the Blood Demons to adapt to the environment effectively, there were times that they found it hard to adjust. This instability caused them to be weakened for a prolonged time than usual. Then, there came the Night Everred Spirit Tree. These red glowing wisps would provide them the ability to resist the harsh conditions of the borders.

And at usual times when the borders were stable, these red wisps provide vitality to everyone enveloped by it.

Last night, everyone was able to sleep peacefully because of these red wisps. When morning came, they all woke up with the fullest energy they needed for the rest of the day.

***

Mark, Mei, their daughters, Odelina, and her children, Aephelia, Amihan, Spera, Pefile, and Jaeya with Theodore, were at the balcony for breakfast.

Edzel should have been here too, if not for him requesting a separate place to live with Pearl. It was because of Pearl having trauma about her experiences in the New Infanta Settlement. Being outcasted there, she found it hard to suddenly live along with many people.

There was no reason to disagree with it. Mark understood her as he was also like that. If not for everyone here sticking around him, he would rather live in isolation.

While having breakfast, they were discussing the next plans they needed to do in the base. Also, the idea to visit the Spirit Dimension in the future. Amihan was happy about that, and for some reason, Pefile felt a bit undecided about something.

However, the chance to do that would not be too soon.

The Spirit Tree might have grown big in an unexpected and rushed manner. However, not everything was ready. Even if the Night Everred Tree already exhibited some of its characteristics, it was still lacking its sentience.

It was no different from Lesser Spirit Tree that Amihan had used as her home. A magical tree without sentience.

The sentience of a Pure Spirit Tree was needed to open a portal and enter the space inside it. It was also required to open a gateway to the Spirit World and back.

Usually, a Spirit Tree would need some time to slowly grow. The length would vary depending on the person planting it. Along with that slow growth, its sentience would also develop. The Spirit Tree and the sentience would reach maturity at the same time. This would enable the tree to communicate with its master.

As for the instances where the tree grew faster than it developed its sentience, it was a very rare occurrence. The circumstances of the Night Everred Tree that Mark planted was even more unique.

At times like this, it was hard to determine how long it would take for its sentience to fully develop. They could only wait.

And this was the crucial part they needed to prepare for. As a Pure Spirit Tree existed in both dimensions, it was obvious that the tree had grown large inside the spirit dimension. It would be fine if the tree was planted in the Spirit Dimension because it would appear as a normal tree in the Mortal world. However, it was the exact opposite this time.

Because of this, it would surely attract the attention of the races that lived near where it grew.

As Spirit Trees were precious existences, most threats would unlikely happen to the tree. However, a Night Everred Tree suddenly appearing in the Spirit Dimension would surely cause a huge uproar.

And thus, Mark's group should be prepared to deal with any kind of situation that they might face upon entering the Spirit Dimension.

***

They finally finished breakfast and everyone went their own ways. It was time for the children to study until noon. Odelina and Spera would handle the housework. Jaeya, on the other hand, would only spend time inside her room with Theodore while doing anything she thought of doing.

Mark and Mei, on the other hand, stayed on the balcony to work on things Mark had been working on since yesterday. Amihan and Aephelia were also here to help since, for some reason, Mark needed the presence of the two.

Lastly, Pefile also remained at the balcony to watch. What Mark was designing was made him interested. Furthermore, he already exposed himself to the people here, there was no point to keep on hiding anymore. As for the things about him, everyone was sensitive enough to not ask. His name and his relation to Mark was enough for them to trust him.

As for what relationship they had, Mark just told them that he was the father of someone he knew. That enough was shocking since Pefile looked nowhere like a father at all. At most, he looked like a student in the late college years.

What kind of work was Mark doing right now that was enough to make someone from a Spirit Race interested? Mark was experimenting with how a stick, a slab of wood, and a block of wood, that came from a Lesser Spirit Tree, could conduct magical energy.

Together with the soil around the altar, that sealed the Deity of Bloodshed, Mark cut and uprooted the withering Lesser Spirit Tree near it. Since that Lesser Spirit Tree was already on the verge of dying, he might as well take it and experiment on it.

Spirit Trees absorb and exude magical energy. Maybe, the wood could conduct magical energy, right? As such, Mark proceeded with the experiments with this idea in mind.