Art of Creation [Eco-Cultivation Prototype]

Devor's appearance had changed so drastically that it left even Zinqi and Master Nie in stunned silence.

He stood amid the rippling aftermath of his transformation, his breath slow and measured as he took in the new sensations coursing through his body.

Poisonous energy licked at his skin like a living aura—calm yet dangerous.

He raised his palm and watched the faint wisps of violet energy swirling around his fingers.

"This feeling… it's incredible," Devor murmured, awestruck. "My body feels lighter. I can sense everything—every root, every particle of Poison Qi around me. I can even see it now."

Thin streams of Poison Energy floated in the air like mist, invisible to the naked eye—but Devor's perception now registered them naturally, effortlessly.

He was no longer tuned to nature.

He was part of it. Redefined by it.

Master Nie studied him with a subtle frown. "Are you… still yourself?"

Devor blinked at the question. "Of course, Master. Why? Was I supposed to turn into someone—or something—else?"

Zinqi chuckled softly, but his eyes gleamed with interest. "Your transformation is rare, nearly unheard of. Most cultivators who undergo spiritual fusion experience degradation in their consciousness. Either their minds dull from the overwhelming power—or their personalities… shift."

"Shift how?" Devor asked cautiously.

"You wouldn't be asking that question if it had happened," Master Nie muttered. "Which is what's so strange."

Master Nie reached into his sleeve and casually tossed a mirror toward Devor, who caught it one-handed.

When Devor looked into the glass, his breath caught.

He still saw himself, but something was off.

His features were sharper, his eyes more intense—amethyst irises rimmed with a thin, dark line.

There was a quiet cruelty etched into his expression, the kind one might expect from an assassin or a warlord.

Someone who'd killed hundreds. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

"What the hell?" Devor recoiled, setting the mirror down hard. "Why do I look like some kind of villain!?"

His voice cracked in disbelief.

"I'm still me," he thought, but… was he?

"That's the natural aura of your energy now," Zinqi said, stepping forward to inspect him more closely. "Venom cultivation is rooted in entropy and decay. Your body carries those principles now—so your spiritual presence is going to reflect it, no matter how righteous your intent."

Devor sighed and ran a hand through his shadowed purple hair. "Great. So I'm strong now… but I look like someone who poisons wells for fun."

Master Nie gave a slight smirk. "You're not wrong."

Zinqi's expression grew more serious. "Are you certain you don't feel any shift in your thoughts? No urges, no strange impulses? Nothing that feels foreign?"

Devor closed his eyes and did a full mental sweep. His memories, his goals, his emotions—everything still felt real, still his.

But something was stirring at the edge of his awareness… something new.

Something other.

"For now… everything feels normal," he replied carefully. "But there is something faint—like another presence."

Zinqi and Master Nie both tensed. Their gazes locked, the tension between them spiking.

"Another presence?" Master Nie echoed, stepping closer. "Be precise."

"It's… small. Weak. But definitely conscious." Devor paused, concentrating. "I think it's trying to reach the surface."

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Without hesitation, he sat down again and raised his hand.

"Wait, you're going to extract it?" Master Nie asked sharply. "Devor—this isn't like manipulating Qi. You could tear open your spiritual core—"

"I trust him," Zinqi interrupted, voice like steel. "Let's see what lies beneath."

Devor closed his eyes, gathered his will, and extended it deep into the center of his soul core.

Within moments, the Venom Seal stirred—and from its depths, a swirling mass of violet energy began to rise.

The sphere floated above his palm—dark purple, pulsing softly. It trembled like it was afraid.

And then—

"Where… am I? Why am I here?" a voice asked, quiet and childlike.

The temperature in the room dropped.

Master Nie and Zinqi exchanged a look of disbelief.

"That voice…" Devor whispered. "Venom?"

The spiritual orb pulsed again.

"Brother Devor? I… I was dreaming. Then I woke up here. I… I think I'm you now. Or… you're me?" The voice was unmistakable.

It was the voice of Venom, the Spiritual Tree that had once stood rooted in the soil of Devor's garden—now reborn within his very soul.

Master Nie stepped forward, his face caught between awe and calculation.

"In all my years, I've seen soul companions… I've seen Beast Masters and Symbiotic Cultivators… but never something like this," he murmured.

Zinqi's voice was low, reverent. "The Venom Tree… achieved sentience. It's not just a companion anymore—it's a soul fragment. A second consciousness, formed through the Seal."

"But it's not hostile," Devor said, visibly moved. "He's still… Venom. Just more aware now."

"Uh, Brother Devor?" Venom's voice rang out, childlike and uncertain. "Why am I… here? In this form?"

Devor let out a tired sigh, glancing down at the soft-glowing orb floating above his palm—Venom's spiritual essence, now fully conscious and independent.

"I was experimenting—trying to fully merge with your power," he replied. "And somewhere during that… I think I pulled your mind into my soul."

Venom's silence stretched for a beat.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" the spirit chirped. "Does this mean I finally have a body like you?"

"Not quite," Devor thought. But it was better than nothing.

Across the room, Master Nie exchanged a subtle glance with Sect Master Zinqi, both men still reeling from what they had witnessed. Devor's transformation had gone far beyond any theoretical application of the Boundless Seal.

"Any side effects?" Master Nie asked, keeping his tone neutral.

Zinqi closed his eyes for a moment, scanning Devor's aura with a sliver of his divine sense. Then he exhaled. "None that I can detect. No internal distortion. No soul clash. His spiritual field is stable."

Master Nie's brow furrowed.

"Incredible," he thought. "Even Juyin—who pioneered the cultivation path of Spirit-Bonded Trees—never achieved this. His seal must have only been a fragment of what the Boundless Seal can become."

Devor spent the next few minutes explaining the situation to Venom, describing the transformation, the spiritual fusion, and what it meant.

Venom, ever excitable, was absolutely delighted.

"So I'm the core of your cultivation now?" he beamed. "That's amazing! Do I get to grow taller inside your soul world too? Will I look like you someday?"

Devor blinked. "You… want to look like this?"

He walked over to the mirror Master Nie had given him earlier and frowned at the reflection:

Sharp-edged eyes that glowed faint violet, hair tinged a dangerous shade of amethyst, a smirk that hovered somewhere between predator and noble.

"I look like a demonic prince," Devor muttered. "If I go walking around the Sect like this, people are going to think I poisoned the Elders for fun."

Venom hummed thoughtfully. "I think it looks awesome."

Devor chuckled but got to work. He gathered his Qi, focused his intent, and began pulling the Venom energy inward—trying to suppress its external presence and revert his appearance.

Bit by bit, the shadowed tones faded. His hair darkened back to black. His expression softened. The lingering menace ebbed away.

His outward appearance had returned to normal. But the aura—the weight of his presence—remained unmistakably Venomous.

"It seems… this is a tremendous success for you," Master Nie said, his voice low with something like awe.

The true power of the Boundless Seal wasn't just fusion—it was harmony without compromise. Devor hadn't lost anything. In fact, he'd only grown stronger.

Zinqi stepped closer, his gaze sharp as a sword. "Now… can you shift back into the transformed state at will?"

"Let me try," Devor replied, lowering himself into a meditative pose again.

Five minutes passed.

Devor's brow furrowed in deep concentration. He reached inward, not to suppress the Venom energy, but to reignite it—to call forth the form he had awakened.

But something was different this time.

The shift was slower, more resistant. It wasn't the effortless change from before. Instead, it felt like pulling something massive through a narrow gate.

Eventually, the transformation resumed—but far more sluggishly.

Devor opened his eyes and shook his head, his breath slightly ragged.

"I can still do it," he said. "But the process is… heavy. Slower than before. Like I'm dragging a mountain uphill."

Zinqi nodded knowingly. "That makes sense. Your transformed state isn't just a boost in strength—it's a higher state of being. You've stepped into the power of a Core Formation cultivator, but not through normal progression. You're wielding a vessel of higher energy, temporarily anchored to your body."

Devor blinked. "Wait—so I am at Core Formation now?"

"Not quite," Master Nie interjected. "You haven't broken through conventionally. This is more like an incarnate overlay—a manifestation of power that exceeds your current cultivation tier. A divine body wearing your bones."

Devor sat back in silence, trying to digest it all.

A Core Formation-level power… but only when transformed. A temporary boost. A spiritual incarnation, not a true realm ascension.

It was amazing. And terrifying.

"So my foundation isn't unstable?" he asked cautiously.

"Not yet," Master Nie said. "But it will be—if you rely too heavily on the Venom Incarnation. The foundation must be yours, not borrowed. Not even from a being as close to you as Venom."

Devor nodded solemnly. He understood.

If he wasn't careful, he'd stagnate—like a cultivator who only trained in borrowed techniques, never forging a Dao of their own.

And worse… the more he leaned into the Venom Incarnation, the more that form might take root as his default self.