Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 122. 184 Days. Consequences.

Liu Shu couldn't believe her own stats. She was looking over and over, but the numbers didn't change. 'Why are they so large?'

The World Tree expected her stats to reach around 300 points, which was already really high. However, even her weakest stat was in the 500 mark. That's not a tiny difference. It was ridiculously high. 

Therefore, Liu Shu started looking at everything that increased her stats. Soon, she found her answer. 'The branch accessories have evolved to Level 10 Low-Grade Flawed Level…'

Low-Grade artifacts were incredibly powerful. The stats they gave were enough to make a mediocre person capable of fighting above their weight class. 

The stats these three branches gave were the prime example of that.

[Level 10 Sylvanium Branch (Low-Grade Flawed Level)]

+1100 Aether Mana

+1100 Phoer

+1100 Anima Energy

Aether (+100), Physique (+100), Anima (+100), Willpower (+100).

Skill: You can use it to gain 2 Sylvanium Shards a day. 

Note: A powerful accessory only suitable for World Trees. It has incredibly profound latent potential, which is far from being brought out. As Levels and Tiers increase, the true shape of this masterpiece will come alight. 

[Level 10 Celestium Branch (Low-Grade Flawed Level)]

+550 Aether Mana

+1200 Phoer

+550 Anima Energy

Aether (+50), Physique (+100), Anima (+50), Willpower (+50).

Skill: You can use it to gain 2 Celestium Shards a day. 

Note: A powerful accessory only suitable for World Trees. It has incredibly profound latent potential, which is far from being brought out. As Levels and Tiers increase, the true shape of this masterpiece will come alight. 

[Level 10 Cognium Branch (Low-Grade Flawed Level)]

+550 Aether Mana

+550 Phoer

+550 Anima Energy

Aether (+50), Physique (+50), Anima (+50), Willpower (+100).

Skill: You can use it to gain 2 Cognium Shards a day. 

Note: A powerful accessory only suitable for World Trees. It has incredibly profound latent potential, which is far from being brought out. As Levels and Tiers increase, the true shape of this masterpiece will come alight. 

Liu Shu was stunned. 'In total, they give 200 Aether, 250 Physique, 200 Anima, and 250 Willpower… That's even more stats than what Flor has when all the buffs apply to her.'

Finally realizing why her estimate was so different, Liu Shu pondered about what to do now. 'First, I need to check the situation of my surroundings. Then, I can plan about everything else.'

<World Tree Eye> was swiftly deployed, and her vision and aura swept the surroundings in an instant. 'Huh? What happened? Who are these people?'

She could see that her walls were not pristine, as if there had been battles. Moreover, her <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> had been cut down, leaving nothing behind. Thankfully for Liu Shu, completely destroying the defensive structure was almost impossible unless the roots were damaged beyond repair. From what Liu Shu noticed, the Flower Field was just mowed down. Hence, there wasn't any risk of it dying off in the short term. Much less with her consciously being here as well, which allowed her to focus her energy on its recovery. 

So, for now, it was in a dormant state. 

The houses and other installations were currently occupied by people Liu Shu didn't know, and since there were no signs of them knowing that each house here was alive, she didn't bother them. 

Liu Shu was quite angry that someone came during her Level Up process, but she didn't lash out at everyone around her. What if Flor and the rest got hurt because of that? She needed to find them first. 

Seeing nobody above ground, her vision sunk into the underground, almost failing to notice the change in size from everything around her. 'Why is everything so small…? It doesn't matter; first, find Flor and the others.'

While Liu Shu searched, the awakening of the dormant World Tree came as a surprise for everyone in the town. Her aura swallowed everything like a voracious beast, and since the World Tree was scanning everything consciously, each time her gaze fell upon anyone in the town, they would completely freeze in fear from the terrifying pressure. 

During her Level Up, Liu Shu had grown to 60 meters in height. She was now a truly giant tree, with a canopy that covered as much as she was tall. Moreover, Liu Shu's connection to weeping willows endowed her with a majestic figure and an enchanting air of beauty and serenity, accompanied by a faint touch of nostalgia.

If you added her current stats to her overall aura, Liu Shu felt like an absolute monster. Not many would be able to match her strength or presence.

Still, even as the aura of the World Tree spread, a man in luxurious robes and a relaxed smile walked out of the <Lignified Town Hall>, approaching the giant tree. Behind him, several men and women wearing black clothes walked slowly. The group of more than 40 consisted of people at Level 15 and above, with the man at the lead being Level 20.

The man spoke in a relaxed voice, "World Tree, you are finally awake. We've waited for a while to discuss some things. We are the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>, and I am the leader. It seems that you were being held by monsters against your will, so we've made sure to liberate this area." 

Liu Shu remembered what Flor told her not to speak with others in the past, so she didn't. However, his words made Liu Shu feel a sinking feeling. 'Liberated? What does that mean? Have they all been killed?'

Power surged from Liu Shu's roots, and her mind sharpened to incredible levels. Her Willpower and Anima stats helped with mental strength, and with her new comprehension and <Energy Cycle>, the information her mind could process skyrocketed.

Everything that was touched by her <World Tree Eye> was processed by her mind and scanned at speeds that would probably burst the brain of a human of the same level. 'Found them!'

Deep inside the mines, she saw a small Rose Fairy looking around warily. Liu Shu didn't remember seeing this face, but considering that she was Level 4, it was probably a newborn. 'Hey, little friend, where is Flor?'

The Rose Fairy's heart jumped in fright at the enchantingly powerful and beautiful voice echoing in her mind, and she lost control of her wings, falling and hitting the ground with a weird sound. "GOGUH!?"

Liu Shu was speechless, not knowing how to react. It was the first time someone reacted so exaggeratedly to her voice. 

What Liu Shu didn't know was that her voice had changed in others' minds. Before, it was childish, with a touch of nature and ethereal softness—an adorable and pretty voice.

Now, her tone had lowered slightly, and her voice was much more mature. It sounded like the manifestation of nature's voice, which gained her the the voice of a young female adult and then added a touch of mystical gentleness with a faint echo tone. 

While it would be a voice that could probably lull to sleep even the most restless of souls, the underlying power behind it would cause something similar to the Rose Fairy's reaction if they were taken by surprise. 

The small Rose Fairy looked around, pointing one of Liu Shu's crafted amulets forward. "S-Stay away! You are not welcome!"

Liu Shu giggled, finding the little Rose Fairy quite cute. 'I am Flor's friend, little friend. If you tell her that Tianlian Liu Shu wants to speak, she will listen to you, I promise.'

The Rose Fairy's ruby-like eyes widened again, this time for a completely different reason. "L-Liu Shu!? Lady World Tree!?"

'Lady?' The World Tree was puzzled, but she nodded nonetheless. 'Yes. I am the World Tree. Can you call Flor now?'

The Rose Fairy's face turned gloomy seconds later, making Liu Shu's core twist in worry. 'What's wrong?'

The Rose Fairy said sadly. "L-Lady World Tree, Flor can't move… W-We don't even know if she can survive…" 

Liu Shu blanked out for a second, processing her words. Then, her Aether Mana and Anima Energy surged through her roots, and one of the roots on the wall burst out from the hard stone as if it were made out of mud. Liu Shu's voice echoed with an incredibly deep and authoritative tone. 'Guide me there.'

The Rose Fairy was stupefied by the root's ridiculous raw strength, but she quickly snapped out of her stupor and flew back toward the nest. Liu Shu focused her energy and growth on that single root, and it dug through the walls as if she was moving through water.

It wasn't long until they arrived. While they traveled through the tunnels for a long while, it was around 150 meters away in a straight path. 

Knowing Flor and the others' location, Liu Shu's entire root system began expanding outward and digging through the earth and tunnels.

Having reached 60 meters in height, her current root's maximum range was around 900 meters. 

From the outside, only faint tremors could be felt from those that were the most sensitive, but nothing that alarmed anyone. 

One of the man's followers commented. "Leader, why are you still waiting?"

The Level 20 spoke. "Trees are a bit slow to answer. I've seen trees answering a few hours later. Moreover, this World Tree has just woken up. It is normal that it is having some difficulty answering." 

One woman at the side sneered. "Trees are really st-."

Bang!

Malachai, the leader of the group, moved with a speed that the naked eye would have a hard time following and smacked that woman flying. "World Tree's can hear everything. Control your mouth." 

The woman quickly stood up, even when her legs were wobbly, and bowed. "S-Sorry, sir." 

Malachai ignored her and looked at the World Tree again, smiling. "Sorry for that. I will wait for a while for your answer."

Liu Shu naturally caught the entire interaction and sneered. 'Those in my houses have already said worse than what that woman was about to say, so don't worry. I'll deal with you depending on how Flor is doing right now.'

Liu Shu had many things she wanted to do, check her summoning, the new quest, test her powers, see how many berries she could produce, etc. 

But who would've thought that something like this would happen?

"L-Lady World Tree! We are here!"

Her roots started piercing the walls and spreading around the entire place, and as soon as her first root appeared, she noticed a presence shooting toward her root and punching with incredible physical strength.

BOOM!

However…

[-241]

The strike's damage was quite a pathetic number compared to Liu Shu's over 100,000 Phoer Body Shards. The creature who punched exclaimed, "What!? How is it so tough!? Wait…"

The Rose Fairy quickly exclaimed. "L-Lady Ignatia! Don't attack! It is-."

The voluptuous Ant Queen exclaimed like never before, her voice filled with surprise and joy. "Liu Shu!? Is it you!?"

Liu Shu had never seen the always-calm Ant Queen like this before. In her mind, Ignatia was impassive and always cold-minded. Yet, in just a bit more than half a year, the woman sounded so different. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. 'Ignatia… I am here. Sorry.'

Ignatia's face had a hard time expressing emotions because of her compound eyes. However, Liu Shu could see her lips arching softly. "Don't worry, little one. Now that you are awake, everything will be alright… Well." Ignatia paused, her face showing a bit of sadness. "Almost everything. Come."

Liu Shu's roots followed Ignatia and arrived where Flor was lying. Seeing the Rose Fairy Queen's current appearance, the entire earth began trembling as the roots of the World Tree writhed with seething anger. 

No wings. 

One arm missing.

One leg mangled beyond recognition.

Then, her face pale as paper.

Analyzing her, Liu Shu realized that even her maximum Phoer Body Shards had been reduced to half their original size.

Phoer Body Shards: 3,495/4,600

Ignatia was clenching her fist, but feeling the raising aura of the World Tree, she knew that vengeance was close. "It was those above and another group, Liu Shu."

A voice that Ignatia had never heard coming from Liu Shu slammed around the walls of the cave. 'Where are the Sylvans? What happened!?'

Ignatia shook her head. "Before they died, a woman appeared and snatched them away. And what happened? Well… Around four months ago…"