1: Landing on the Life Tree
Lin Feng's world ended in a blink.One moment, he was hunched over his laptop in his cramped Lucknow apartment, fingers flying across the keys as he outlined a new fantasy tale. Rain hammered the window, thunder rumbling ominously.
He'd been deep into a scene—primordial chaos, demon gods stirring in the endless gray—when a freak power surge fried his old PC. Sparks flew, the room plunged into darkness, and a jolt like lightning arced through his body.
Pain. Endless, searing pain. Then... nothing.
When awareness returned, it wasn't the sterile white of a hospital or the fiery pits of some underworld. No, this was wrong. Utterly, primordially wrong.Lin Feng's eyes snapped open to a nightmare of gray. Endless, churning mist stretched in every direction—no up, no down, no horizon. It pulsed with a malevolent hunger, tendrils of fog coiling like living smoke, whispering erosion into his ears.
His body—his actual, fleshy, mortal body—tumbled through the void, weightless yet crushed by invisible pressures. Lungs burned for air that wasn't there; skin prickled as if dissolved by acid rain.
"What the hell?!" he gasped, voice swallowed instantly.
Panic clawed his chest. He wasn't a soul projection or some ethereal transmigrator from the stories. This was his 28-year-old frame: scrawny from too many late nights and instant noodles, no golden finger, no system panel flashing cheats. Just raw, terrified humanity in the primordial chaos—the formless sea before all creation.He flailed, arms slicing through denser mist. It stung like nettles, drawing pinpricks of blood that evaporated into nothingness.
"This can't be real. Mortals don't survive here. The void devours flesh in seconds!"As if summoned by his dread, the mist thickened. Shadowy wisps materialized—formless horrors with jagged maws, eyes like black holes. They swarmed, nipping at his legs. Flesh sizzled where they touched, pain exploding up his nerves.
Lin Feng kicked wildly, but they reformed, endless. One latched onto his calf, dissolving muscle in greedy slurps."No! Get off!" He punched it, fist passing through vapor. Blood trailed from his leg, his vision blurring. Death loomed, cold and inevitable. Transmigrated just to die like a bug.Then, a verdant miracle.Far below—or was it above?—a colossal presence pierced the chaos.
Not a god's silhouette, but a tree. Immense, ancient, its trunk thicker than mountains, bark etched with glowing emerald runes that pulsed like heartbeats. Roots writhed like serpents through the mist, each tipped with blooming lotuses that exuded soft green light.
Branches stretched infinitely, leaves rustling with a sound like a thousand whispering winds, heavy with fruits that dripped nectar defying the void.The tree moved. Slowly, deliberately, a massive root arched upward, blooming into a cushion of vines and petals. Lin Feng tumbled straight toward it, the wisps pursuing.Impact. Not bone-shattering, but soft—like crashing into a bed of living moss. Vines coiled gently around his body, arresting his fall.
The nectar-soaked petals sealed his wounds instantly, a warm vitality flooding his veins. Pain ebbed; the wisps recoiled, screeching as thorny tendrils from the tree impaled them, dissolving into green sparks.Lin Feng lay there, panting, staring up at the canopy. The air—somehow—felt breathable, infused with sweet, life-giving essence. His calf knit together, flawless.
"I... landed on a tree? In chaos?"The tree shuddered.
Leaves parted, revealing a core: a feminine face carved into the trunk, eyes like twin jade lotuses blooming with curiosity. Petals framed her features—gentle, ancient, radiating maternal warmth amid the deathly fog. Her voice rustled forth, melodic yet resonant, like wind through eternal forests."Little one... what manner of being are you? Chaos births no flesh such as yours. Soft, fleeting, yet enduring the void's kiss. Speak, before the mists reclaim you.
"Lin Feng scrambled to his knees on the root-platform, heart hammering. This wasn't some random spirit plant. The aura—vast, primordial—screamed Demon God. "Y-You're a demon god? Life essence everywhere."Her lotus eyes widened fractionally, petals fluttering in amusement.
"Demon god? A title? I am root and bloom, life amid the gray. Titles are for shapes with schemes. But you... your form—two legs, no scales or horns, essence thin as mist-dew. Not beast, not innate spawn.
Explain, soft-kin."He swallowed, mind racing. Play dumb? No—this was survival. Honesty might buy time. "I'm Lin Feng. From... beyond chaos. A world called Earth, lower realms, no qi, just mortals scraping by. I was writing stories about places like this when I got pulled here. Body and all.
No powers. I'm dead meat without shelter."Zuluo's roots shifted—he sensed her name her own, unspoken yet fitting. She cradled him closer.
More nectar dripped, invigorating his weary muscles. The chaos around them calmed, her presence a bastion.
"Beyond chaos? The gray sea is all—eternal, unyielding. Yet your words ring true; your essence carries echoes of distant stars, laws alien to this void. Earth? Mortals without qi? How do you persist?"She paused, roots probing the air. Wisps gathered at the edges, testing. One lunged; a leaf fluttered down, ensnaring it in vines that bloomed into carnivorous flowers, devouring it whole.
"See? Chaos hungers ceaselessly. Your flesh would unravel in heartbeats—skin to vapor, bones to dust. No innate defenses, no adaptation. Why hurl you into my branches, beyond-wanderer?"Lin Feng shuddered, watching the flower retract. "No clue. Freak accident? Back home, tales say weaklings get sent here with cheats. Me? Zilch. I'd last minutes solo." He glanced at her trunk, tracing glowing veins. "You're pure life force—tree in the void, birthing vitality. Your nectar saved me. Can I... stay? I'll share knowledge. Stories of worlds, beings, chaos secrets I've read."Curiosity bloomed in her eyes, branches swaying.
"Knowledge from afar? Tempting. Chaos is lonely—wild shapes clash blindly, no words, no tales. Very well, Lin Feng. Nest here. My roots shield, nectar sustains. But prove worth: teach me of this 'Earth' and beyond."Relief flooded him. He settled against her bark, warm as sun-baked earth.
"Deal. Earth basics: no flying swords, but machines rival beasts. Cities taller than trees, webs of light sharing all knowledge."Hours—or eternities?—passed in the void's timeless flow. Lin Feng spoke, voice gaining strength from the ambient vitality. He described bustling Lucknow streets, smartphones connecting billions, novels weaving myths like hers into entertainment.
"We dream of chaos realms, demon trees like you—fans obsess, write fanfics expanding your legends."Zuluo listened rapt, roots coiling protectively. "Fanfics? Dreams made tales? Your kind crafts stories without living them? And 'phones'—echo-roots across voids?" Petals unfurled, releasing pollen that formed illusory scenes—towering spires, glowing screens—mirroring his words.
"But you, soft-kin," she mused, a branch extending like a hand, leaf brushing his cheek. "Thin essence, yet sharp mind. Chaos would grind you to nothing. My scan confirms: your body rejects raw mist—lungs corrode, blood boils without mediation. Stay, and I temper you slowly."As she spoke, nectar seeped into his pores.
Not power—yet—but his body toughened: skin resisting mist-stings, lungs drawing chaos "air" without choking. Distant rumbles echoed—chaos beasts stirring.Suddenly, the gray surged. A mega-wisp, house-sized, barreled through, spawned from churning depths. It engulfed the tree's edge, acidic fog boiling leaves.
"Danger!" Lin Feng yelled, scrambling.Zuluo's face serene. "Watch, child." Roots erupted, forming a thorny cage. The wisp slammed in; flowers bloomed en masse, petals clamping like jaws. Green fire—life essence—erupted, reducing it to sparks absorbed into her trunk. "Chaos gives; life takes."Lin Feng gaped.
"God-tier. Teach me?""Soon. First, endure.
" Her vines wove a hammock around him, shielding fully. "Rest. Gray tides rise and fall. You stay, Lin Feng. My curiosity binds us."He nodded, exhaustion claiming him. As sleep took hold, visions danced: not dreams, but Zuluo's memories—ancient roots delving chaos veins, birthing first sprouts amid death. Wild shapes lumbered nearby, feral roars echoing.He awoke to a new cycle—wisps probing, but Zuluo's pollen repelled them. Body subtly changed: veins faintly green-tinged, strength doubled. "Okay, lesson one: Earth hobbies. We write chaos epics—your life, but with twists.
"Their talks deepened. Zuluo probed: "No qi, yet you thrive? 'Science'—a dao of mechanisms?"Lin Feng laughed. "Kinda. Rockets pierce skies like low immortals. Yours now too—tree-mom tales."She rustled laughter.
"Bold. Earn it."As wisps massed anew, Lin Feng gripped a thorn—first weapon. Together, they faced the tide, bond forged in curiosity.The chaos sea churned, but life took root.
There is saying that great dao is 50 so that means he won't be punished for leaking secrat