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Reborn as a Demonic Tree #2
Reborn as a Demonic Tree 2
Book 2 of a unique reincarnation isekai LitRPG Series set in a Cultivator world. With millions of views and tens of thousands of followers, this was one of the most popular web serials of 2023. Now, experience the definitive version of the hit story on Kindle, Print, & Audible!
690 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2024
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91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
May 29, 2025
I mean I just had to see how that would go. Still a tree.
January 3, 2024
A great follow up to first book that expands on the world. I think this series does a good job of maintaining and building momentum. Note, I read the second book on royal road, so the published version may have some differences.
February 23, 2024
Mundane.
The beginning is rather boring, it is all set up and weak character work. The ending is cliche cultivators nonsense. Basic dime a dozen fare, no originality. After book one I expected more.
The beginning is rather boring, it is all set up and weak character work. The ending is cliche cultivators nonsense. Basic dime a dozen fare, no originality. After book one I expected more.
March 28, 2024
Great Continuation
A solid follow-up to book one that expands the world without getting bogged down. Ash is a fascinating main character and it was great seeing the side characters get their moments to shine as well. Already pre-ordered book 3.
A solid follow-up to book one that expands the world without getting bogged down. Ash is a fascinating main character and it was great seeing the side characters get their moments to shine as well. Already pre-ordered book 3.
February 27, 2025
Reborn as a Demonic Tree 2 by Xkarnation is a massive improvement from the first one. After the earlier volume, I was indifferent about whether I would even continue to read the series. But by the time I finished this one, I am looking forward to continuing this journey later on down the road. Additional characters, working through some of the main cast's character flaws, and incorporating a more sophisticated plot all do a great deal to elevate the material. Its still a cultivation fantasy with a couple gimmicks, but overall its pretty good.
February 19, 2024
Tree is back with a vengeance’
Second book delivers spectacularly. The protagonists are in over their head and still playing catch up, but every detail has been fantastic throughout the book on reflection, murder, and self improvement. This one has it all. Can’t wait for the next book.
Second book delivers spectacularly. The protagonists are in over their head and still playing catch up, but every detail has been fantastic throughout the book on reflection, murder, and self improvement. This one has it all. Can’t wait for the next book.
February 20, 2024
The series continues. It continues to be good, but perhaps not great.
I continue to enjoy the protagonist, who is a surprisingly well executed. Most author's struggle to portray a genuinely non-human protagonist; at most we tend to get "human, but with one or two aspects of their personality enhanced or supressed". See, eg, Dragon's Justice where the protagonist comes across as "human, but short tempered and prone to jealousy and greed" which is, well, not that different than a lot of actual humans. And to some extent that's unavoidable and present here (as humans, we naturally struggle to write or process truly alien perspectives), but the author does a very good job of portraying someone who is fundamentally a tree, not a human.
The other main characters, sadly, continue to be pretty two dimensional, although there's some improvement. The slowly bloomly relationship between Elaine and Douglas is welcome, as is the slow progression of Stella and Diane into being more than two-dimensional sillouettes (although more progress is needed).
The overall plot is a bit vague. The book is very much not (in my view) a cozy slice-of-life, but at the same time, there's no big mysteries here. The world is large but pretty straight forward, the antagonists don't really have complex motiviations. Unless the author has some big twist lined up, it's pretty obvious what's going on here.
And the world continues to be prettttty generic.
Ultimately, I think a great book really needs to motivate the reader to want to read the next chapter, usually through some mix of:
● Wanting to find out more details about some big plot mystery, eg, what does the main antagonist want, what does the McGuffin actually do, who is the mysterious stranger, why did the historical cataclysm happen, etc. None of which is really present here; the closest we get is the hints about the cycle previous world trees have been trapped in, but it's spelled out pretty clearly.
● Wanting to see some beloved characters have a moment of awesome (something Rise of the Weakest Summoner: Volume I really does well), but again, not really happening here because the non-tree characters are thin enough it's hard to care deeply about them, and they don't tend to get a lot of triumphant scenes anyhow (more of "ouch, hard fight, I better cultivate harder", which is fine, but not exactly a recipe for a page turner).
What we do get is getting to see the protagonist gain power through his LitRPG system, and it's fine, but building a series on the back of "wow, I wonder what cool skill Ashlock will pull from the gacha system this time" is a big ask, in part because Ashlock doesn't really have any agency over it (it's a gacha system) but also because, in order to avoid rampant power creep or tons of worthless draws, it doesn't happen very often.
I do think this volume is better than the first, and if you enjoyed the first one at all, it's certainly worth reading this one. And I honestly am enjoying the series enough I'm quite looking forward to the sequel. And again, considering the author's age and lack of experience, this is a very impressive showing.
Recommended, even if I can't quite justify 5 stars.
I continue to enjoy the protagonist, who is a surprisingly well executed. Most author's struggle to portray a genuinely non-human protagonist; at most we tend to get "human, but with one or two aspects of their personality enhanced or supressed". See, eg, Dragon's Justice where the protagonist comes across as "human, but short tempered and prone to jealousy and greed" which is, well, not that different than a lot of actual humans. And to some extent that's unavoidable and present here (as humans, we naturally struggle to write or process truly alien perspectives), but the author does a very good job of portraying someone who is fundamentally a tree, not a human.
The other main characters, sadly, continue to be pretty two dimensional, although there's some improvement. The slowly bloomly relationship between Elaine and Douglas is welcome, as is the slow progression of Stella and Diane into being more than two-dimensional sillouettes (although more progress is needed).
The overall plot is a bit vague. The book is very much not (in my view) a cozy slice-of-life, but at the same time, there's no big mysteries here. The world is large but pretty straight forward, the antagonists don't really have complex motiviations. Unless the author has some big twist lined up, it's pretty obvious what's going on here.
And the world continues to be prettttty generic.
Ultimately, I think a great book really needs to motivate the reader to want to read the next chapter, usually through some mix of:
● Wanting to find out more details about some big plot mystery, eg, what does the main antagonist want, what does the McGuffin actually do, who is the mysterious stranger, why did the historical cataclysm happen, etc. None of which is really present here; the closest we get is the hints about the cycle previous world trees have been trapped in, but it's spelled out pretty clearly.
● Wanting to see some beloved characters have a moment of awesome (something Rise of the Weakest Summoner: Volume I really does well), but again, not really happening here because the non-tree characters are thin enough it's hard to care deeply about them, and they don't tend to get a lot of triumphant scenes anyhow (more of "ouch, hard fight, I better cultivate harder", which is fine, but not exactly a recipe for a page turner).
What we do get is getting to see the protagonist gain power through his LitRPG system, and it's fine, but building a series on the back of "wow, I wonder what cool skill Ashlock will pull from the gacha system this time" is a big ask, in part because Ashlock doesn't really have any agency over it (it's a gacha system) but also because, in order to avoid rampant power creep or tons of worthless draws, it doesn't happen very often.
I do think this volume is better than the first, and if you enjoyed the first one at all, it's certainly worth reading this one. And I honestly am enjoying the series enough I'm quite looking forward to the sequel. And again, considering the author's age and lack of experience, this is a very impressive showing.
Recommended, even if I can't quite justify 5 stars.
January 7, 2025
Weird justifications in the moment that feel like preordained knowledge kinda OOC but otherwise good
This book feels like Ashlock is making rather random choices for evolutions, his sect, and everything else. It's obviously plot/author knowledge driven decisions by the end, but the MCs justifications are...weird or flimsy or outright dumb in the moment.
He constantly thinks about not having enough Qi, but when someone goes boom and he has the choice to, essentially, take all that Qi and turn it into his he....decides not to. I get why the author had him make the choice he made, but at the time his main complaints were "not enough Qi" but he almost immediately passed up a chance to get a more.
He chooses an evolution which he can "see the potential of," despite having never heard or seen the affinity before. He doesn't even think of a potential use for it before haphazardly choosing it. He eliminated one of them because "the world is too unforgiving for an all-rounder" when that isn't what the description said. "Unique power for offensive and defensive encounters" does not translate to "It's an all-rounder."
In just the last book, he dismissed an evolution for Larry for being "too stealth focused" because this world isn't kind to stealth skills, but this "Infant Ink Serpent" description hits literally all the same things and he chooses it. We can see why later, but in the moment it literally feels like he went "too much defense, too abirtrary, I think this is an all-rounder so nope, and hey this is stealth, that's bad and I passed on it last time for that reason so lets pick it this time." Like...wut? And that wouldn't have even been a month ago in story.
That said, things do work out. It does come together nicely. The characters do experience growth.
Diana, for some reason, forgets that Ashlock literally asked her about a form and she tries to hide it from him. Why? Who knows? Anyway, Stella starts on her path to being a Tyrranical Cultivator Cultist, which is nice.
Anyway, yeah, 4 stars for the random weird justifications to bring things together.
This book feels like Ashlock is making rather random choices for evolutions, his sect, and everything else. It's obviously plot/author knowledge driven decisions by the end, but the MCs justifications are...weird or flimsy or outright dumb in the moment.
He constantly thinks about not having enough Qi, but when someone goes boom and he has the choice to, essentially, take all that Qi and turn it into his he....decides not to. I get why the author had him make the choice he made, but at the time his main complaints were "not enough Qi" but he almost immediately passed up a chance to get a more.
He chooses an evolution which he can "see the potential of," despite having never heard or seen the affinity before. He doesn't even think of a potential use for it before haphazardly choosing it. He eliminated one of them because "the world is too unforgiving for an all-rounder" when that isn't what the description said. "Unique power for offensive and defensive encounters" does not translate to "It's an all-rounder."
In just the last book, he dismissed an evolution for Larry for being "too stealth focused" because this world isn't kind to stealth skills, but this "Infant Ink Serpent" description hits literally all the same things and he chooses it. We can see why later, but in the moment it literally feels like he went "too much defense, too abirtrary, I think this is an all-rounder so nope, and hey this is stealth, that's bad and I passed on it last time for that reason so lets pick it this time." Like...wut? And that wouldn't have even been a month ago in story.
That said, things do work out. It does come together nicely. The characters do experience growth.
Diana, for some reason, forgets that Ashlock literally asked her about a form and she tries to hide it from him. Why? Who knows? Anyway, Stella starts on her path to being a Tyrranical Cultivator Cultist, which is nice.
Anyway, yeah, 4 stars for the random weird justifications to bring things together.
January 24, 2025
This is such a puts review;
I love this book/story/series and think it is wonderfully entertaining and I look forward to the next audiobook, but it is so poorly written and so incredibly stupid and everything is just so dumb and this is one of the few reading (listening) experiences that actually made me viscerally cringe in total second hand embarrassment for what the author was writing;
the whole "father" and "my daughter" thing just had me flinching.
It's the same with the first book: I hated this series initially and reframed my reading experience around imagining the author as a blogspot-era fanfic writer making Stella her self insert based off Misa from Death Note; the whole story has dumb-goofy name schemes like "Crestfallen" and "Voidsomething" and "Larry the spider" and characters wear fish-net leggings and hoodies ("artefacts from another world") despite the cultivation setting--it just seems like this comfy nightcore/emo version of a cultivation setting, and I like it for that; but this book, this second book starts to veer off into strong 'harem' tones and the one dimensional characters flatten even more into an impossible 0.8-dimension and much of the dialogue starts to feel like a secondlife family roleplay therapy session with the same emotional umphf as direct messaging a stranger you've been chatting with for months on the bdsm server and then, one day, in a stewing heady roleplay fervor, you message them "good morning father.."
I love this series so much and it really is just terrible but it's a lot of fun, and sometimes that is all you want.
I love this book/story/series and think it is wonderfully entertaining and I look forward to the next audiobook, but it is so poorly written and so incredibly stupid and everything is just so dumb and this is one of the few reading (listening) experiences that actually made me viscerally cringe in total second hand embarrassment for what the author was writing;
the whole "father" and "my daughter" thing just had me flinching.
It's the same with the first book: I hated this series initially and reframed my reading experience around imagining the author as a blogspot-era fanfic writer making Stella her self insert based off Misa from Death Note; the whole story has dumb-goofy name schemes like "Crestfallen" and "Voidsomething" and "Larry the spider" and characters wear fish-net leggings and hoodies ("artefacts from another world") despite the cultivation setting--it just seems like this comfy nightcore/emo version of a cultivation setting, and I like it for that; but this book, this second book starts to veer off into strong 'harem' tones and the one dimensional characters flatten even more into an impossible 0.8-dimension and much of the dialogue starts to feel like a secondlife family roleplay therapy session with the same emotional umphf as direct messaging a stranger you've been chatting with for months on the bdsm server and then, one day, in a stewing heady roleplay fervor, you message them "good morning father.."
I love this series so much and it really is just terrible but it's a lot of fun, and sometimes that is all you want.
March 22, 2024
4 I Defy The Heavens At Every Turn Stars
Reborn as a Demonic Tree 2 is the second book in the Isekai LitRPG Adventure series by XKarnation.
The mysteries hidden in the Mystic Realm and those few discovered in this book are truly the best parts. The possibilities of what could be hidden within these Qi infused Realms has only grown. Beyond Qi rich enough to advance cultivation and beast to challenge their members.
Then, there is Ashlock's growing list of abilities and how he has overcome the many downsides to when he was initially reborn as a human conscience within a tree. I'm glad Senior Lee made an appearance in this book, and for all the guidance and support he has bestowed upon Ash. I think their future meetings in the realm above will only lead to grander moments of triumph and even tribulation.
The new members joining their growing sect: Elaine and Kaida especially. The Redclaw sect has gained their trust and only flourished under Ashfallen sects' leadership. I'm excited to see where their cooperation takes them and the heights to which the Redclaws may reach their former glory. With the arrival of Elder Mo's inheritance and the cheat that is Ash's alchemy related skills.
They have yet to face the patriarch cultivating in seclusion. They must rise above their current power and cement themselves as the new leader in this area before reaching their roots any further.
And the mysteries of the bloodlines..
Reborn as a Demonic Tree 2 is the second book in the Isekai LitRPG Adventure series by XKarnation.
The mysteries hidden in the Mystic Realm and those few discovered in this book are truly the best parts. The possibilities of what could be hidden within these Qi infused Realms has only grown. Beyond Qi rich enough to advance cultivation and beast to challenge their members.
Then, there is Ashlock's growing list of abilities and how he has overcome the many downsides to when he was initially reborn as a human conscience within a tree. I'm glad Senior Lee made an appearance in this book, and for all the guidance and support he has bestowed upon Ash. I think their future meetings in the realm above will only lead to grander moments of triumph and even tribulation.
The new members joining their growing sect: Elaine and Kaida especially. The Redclaw sect has gained their trust and only flourished under Ashfallen sects' leadership. I'm excited to see where their cooperation takes them and the heights to which the Redclaws may reach their former glory. With the arrival of Elder Mo's inheritance and the cheat that is Ash's alchemy related skills.
They have yet to face the patriarch cultivating in seclusion. They must rise above their current power and cement themselves as the new leader in this area before reaching their roots any further.
And the mysteries of the bloodlines..
June 2, 2024
This review is for the audiobook.
I think this book needed more editing in and of itself, but to the audio..
I found the editing and audio performance to be suboptimal. I can only guess at the reasons behind the many small errors in the narration, but in the end, I consider it a matter of questionable professional ethics. A lack of all the cooks meshing to make for a proper outcome along with probable cost saving measures.
This sort of sloppy lack of quality has sadly been the norm for a while now. Not saying that this was an especially egregious case, for it was not, but it was noticeable to the point that I skipped back several times to re-listen to what was said.
Having read this as a work in progress on Royal Road I was hoping that a published commercial audiobook version would be better and not come across like a story in the pre final edits stage.
I think this book needed more editing in and of itself, but to the audio..
I found the editing and audio performance to be suboptimal. I can only guess at the reasons behind the many small errors in the narration, but in the end, I consider it a matter of questionable professional ethics. A lack of all the cooks meshing to make for a proper outcome along with probable cost saving measures.
This sort of sloppy lack of quality has sadly been the norm for a while now. Not saying that this was an especially egregious case, for it was not, but it was noticeable to the point that I skipped back several times to re-listen to what was said.
Having read this as a work in progress on Royal Road I was hoping that a published commercial audiobook version would be better and not come across like a story in the pre final edits stage.
November 25, 2024
Fairly enjoyable and engaging but there are a few aspects that never sat well with me:
- Stella never seems to learn a lesson, recklessly doing as she pleases and it always works out
- the writer seems to continue this line almost throughout of 'needing to stay out of sight and quiet', but the characters kill, torture, and freely lash out drawing constant attention to themselves.
- speaking of killing, I'm rapidly losing respect and association with many of our MCs as they are rapidly becoming more and more arrogant and barbaric. Answering everything with murder and violence.
The plot is interesting and the world building is fun. I'll continue to book 3 after a short break but I really hope for some MUCH MUCH needed character development.
- Stella never seems to learn a lesson, recklessly doing as she pleases and it always works out
- the writer seems to continue this line almost throughout of 'needing to stay out of sight and quiet', but the characters kill, torture, and freely lash out drawing constant attention to themselves.
- speaking of killing, I'm rapidly losing respect and association with many of our MCs as they are rapidly becoming more and more arrogant and barbaric. Answering everything with murder and violence.
The plot is interesting and the world building is fun. I'll continue to book 3 after a short break but I really hope for some MUCH MUCH needed character development.
July 15, 2024
Really enjoyed the second book in this series, in this case they are gathering more allies for the ashfallen sect and even building up their defences on how something work. You learn a little more about different types of energy, specifically about the void energy and also the lightning energy. In this story their survival is by a plot instead of dumb luck and intervention which did make aspects of it more enjoyable. At the end they are able to set the two families on each other and you also find that strong alchemist they were looking for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2024
This was a fun read. I lost some sleep at night to finish this. It seems the tree is embracing the cultivation world.
I will pick up the sequel.
3/5 Stars
I will pick up the sequel.
3/5 Stars
April 1, 2024
Even more unlikely girl power
The book is mostly about alchemy, constantly comforting and supporting Stella and an absurdly vast worm. Such a ridiculously oversized creature would starve in such a deserted area. I was no fan of these oversized cultivators either..
After fighting through the book, I think i am done with the series..
The book is mostly about alchemy, constantly comforting and supporting Stella and an absurdly vast worm. Such a ridiculously oversized creature would starve in such a deserted area. I was no fan of these oversized cultivators either..
After fighting through the book, I think i am done with the series..
June 17, 2024
Good book but..
It’s a good story, but it tends to drag a lot. There was even one chapter completely dedicated to having him make a decision about picking something. You could’ve probably removed 30% of the words in this book and still came out with the same story. Plus he may have gotten a few new skills, but he hardly advanced throughout this entire book.
It’s a good story, but it tends to drag a lot. There was even one chapter completely dedicated to having him make a decision about picking something. You could’ve probably removed 30% of the words in this book and still came out with the same story. Plus he may have gotten a few new skills, but he hardly advanced throughout this entire book.
December 31, 2024
I thought this book did a great job writing a story arc. I just confirmed that this is a Webnovel which I suspected because of the author’s pen name. But I wouldn’t have known that this was a Webnovel off how this book was written. I really enjoyed the alchemy competition story, which is a common cultivation trope. Everything was well done and I will definitely continue with the future books.
August 15, 2025
Another good read!
There was less progression in this book in terms of cultivation compared to the first one, rather it spent more time on clan politics, sect building and introducing other more immediate threats to the Ashfallen Sect. Pacing felt smooth, elements introduced were handled with enough depth to keep me engaged throughout my read. Finished it in a day, 10/10.
There was less progression in this book in terms of cultivation compared to the first one, rather it spent more time on clan politics, sect building and introducing other more immediate threats to the Ashfallen Sect. Pacing felt smooth, elements introduced were handled with enough depth to keep me engaged throughout my read. Finished it in a day, 10/10.
February 29, 2024
Great
I thought this was a great addition to the series. I really can't wait to see what's in store for book 3
I thought this was a great addition to the series. I really can't wait to see what's in store for book 3
March 5, 2024
love these books
This is very well written, and was a joy to read.
Give the series a try, you won’t regret it!
This is very well written, and was a joy to read.
Give the series a try, you won’t regret it!
March 5, 2024
Excellent
This was a great read, highly recommended reading. Really enjoyed it, the characters and plot are excellent.
Give it a go.
This was a great read, highly recommended reading. Really enjoyed it, the characters and plot are excellent.
Give it a go.
March 8, 2024
I didnt enjoy this book as much i really want to..... sorry tree......
March 11, 2024
fun
Good read highly enjoyed please read
Good story Characters grow Plot thickens
Great continuation of previous and I look forward to the next one
Good read highly enjoyed please read
Good story Characters grow Plot thickens
Great continuation of previous and I look forward to the next one
March 25, 2024
I lost sleep
It was so enthralling that I lost sleep. Stayed up last night to reach the end of what was written on royalroad. It really hit the feels
It was so enthralling that I lost sleep. Stayed up last night to reach the end of what was written on royalroad. It really hit the feels
June 3, 2024
Just as good as the first book! Or characters keep making strides to ascend heaven!
June 14, 2024
Fun cultivation fantasy , if you liked the first book you’d like this one too
December 5, 2024
Some parts felt a little bit like you were slogging through but overall I had a fun time reading it!
Once again the voice actor is awesome!! He adds so much personality to everyone.
Once again the voice actor is awesome!! He adds so much personality to everyone.
January 22, 2025
I loved it
April 3, 2025
Love my LitRPG/Cultivation series with weird twists... This one is cozier than expected given the premise, and I love it...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews