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Chapter 546. Returning to Her Roots. [AotSC]
🕑 Added 2025-09-22 19:01:46 +0000 UTCLiu Shu’s Avatar sat on her bed, holding her swollen stomach while resting dazedly and looking at the walls of her <Core Room>. On her other arm, Liu Shu held a few-month-old Sanguine Blaze and fed it. As her hand gently caressed her belly and patted the back of her baby, Liu Shu’s mind recreated what had happened a few days ago.
‘...’
Even while recalling, there was not a single thought in her mind. She was just running the basic processes in her head, but the rest was just dazed. While staring forward, a pair of arms gathered her in a firm yet soft embrace. Liu Shu looked up with her amethyst-colored eyes. “Oh… It’s Tempestria.”
Tempestria sighed softly at the stiff tone. “Liu Shu. Hiding yourself won’t do anything. I know you are in a bit of a shock because you are angry, but—”
“Oh.” Liu Shu shook her head and leaned on Tempestria’s shoulder, careful to position her swollen belly and child so that they weren’t uncomfortable. “I am no longer angry. I was no longer angry the second I realized what I did.”
Tempestria sighed and placed her lips on Liu Shu’s forehead, hugging her pregnant lady and the Sanguine Blaze. After the lasting and gentle kiss, Tempestria spoke softly. “Are you really not suffering? You’ve been avoiding approaching the World Tree cities these days, right?”
Liu Shu closed her eyes comfortably. “I am thinking, and taking my time to do so.” Liu Shu answered. “When have I ever… taken a step back and looked at things from a distance? Since I was attacked by Froorar all those decades ago, I have been in a state of constant development. If it wasn’t a Level Up, it was a war. If it wasn’t a war, it was a political conflict with the surrounding powers. If it wasn’t that, monsters were threatening us…”
Tempestria nodded and continued caressing Liu Shu’s back. Nestled in Tempestria’s embrace, Liu Shu sighed comfortably. “I just… wanted to stop being active. You know, become a [Tree] once more. Go back to my origin and just behave like what I am at my core.”
“I see.” Tempestria separated a bit and looked down at Liu Shu, smiling. “Even if you want to be a tree, we and the others don’t intend to stop bothering you. So, you'd better prepare to be a tree with wives.”
Liu Shu’s eyes shone with faint laughter. “Good luck exploring my cave. Now that I am over 6,000 meters tall, my real… lower entrance is a moist cave around 600 meters deep that leads into this <Core Room>.”
Tempestria’s lips twitched. “Honestly, at this pace, you will remain a virgin with your main body forever.”
Liu Shu’s eyes widened in shock. “T-That… Huh?”
Tempestria grinned. “Eternal Virgin Tianlian Liu Shu. Won’t that become a <Title>? Moreover, the larger you are, the more impossible it will be for us to explore your actual… pistil~.”
Liu Shu was like a startled deer, eyes wide and frozen in place. Tempestria almost burst into loud laughter. She lowered her face, laughing as she kissed her lover’s little mouth. “Haha… You are so adorable, dear. I love you.”
Tempestria laughed and kissed Liu Shu for a while. Liu Shu grumbled between kisses. “You are really… bad! W-Who calls their lover Eternal Virgin?”
“Hahaha. I love you.”
“Ma! Maaa!”
Liu Shu blinked and looked down, separating from Tempestria’s voracious lips. She saw the Sanguine Blaze look at her with teary eyes while she glared at Tempestria.
Tempestria sighed in amazement. “To think that Sanguine Blazes understand these types of interactions from so young and are capable of becoming jealous… They are really a dangerous species if the parents are not careful. No wonder they are considered a taboo species.”
Liu Shu smiled wryly. “They are really clingy babies. There were times when they actually tried to use their vines! On me.”
Tempestria was baffled. “Really? Why have I never heard about this?”
“They were too little.” Liu Shu rolled her eyes. “Also, it’s not like I can come and say. ‘Hey, my daughter almost… without consent!’ It’s just their basic instinct going out of control.” She clarified to the frowning Sylvan. “Nothing has ever happened, so don’t look so bothered.”
Tempestria grumbled, gently pinching the Sanguine Blaze’s cheeks. “You pervert little children. Coming with a hardwired mother-con problem is truly a problem.”
Liu Shu slapped the Wind Sylvan’s hand. “Leave my baby alone. Can’t you hear her cries?”
Tempestria muttered, a bit wronged. “I was gentle…”
“As if that matters.” Liu Shu placed her nipple on the baby’s mouth, and she quickly stopped crying and suckled happily. “At this age, it's not pain but psychological reactions. A loud clap will make them cry if it startles them, the same with a gentle cheek pull at a wrong time.”
Tempestria looked at her lover and laughed softly, her grey eyes tender and loving. “It’s great to see that you are not too affected.”
Liu Shu sighed, resting her head on Tempestria’s shoulder again. “I am affected. Those I’ve killed went through my roots, becoming part of the life and death cycle circulating through me. I can empathize with their pain and unfairness to a certain extent. How wrong are they?”
Tempestria remembered the last sentence from Liu Shu’s <Soul Enthralling World Tree> passive skill. “Right… If I remember correctly, it says: All souls of those who die within your domain will be purified by you and reborn within your domain if possible.”
Liu Shu hummed. “That’s right.” She sighed. “The feeling is really… unique. If I had to compare it with something you can relate to. It would be like actively feeling your blood flow through your veins, sometimes being able to hear your cells cry out what they feel.”
“That’s… not too helpful as a comparison.” Tempestria smiled wryly. Then, she kissed Liu Shu’s forehead and sighed. “Still, it creates a clear picture. It’s really… impressive how you could remain clear-headed when that happened.”
Liu Shu blinked. “But I didn’t. I utterly spaced out and went into life-saving mode. I couldn’t even hear Mom’s voice until I finished. If it weren’t for her, I would’ve confused the voices of the dead with those of the living and continued searching an empty disaster location.”
“...Creepy.”
Liu Shu slapped Tempestria’s shoulder and scolded her gently. “That’s so inappropriate as a comment! You dare call me creepy? I should push back today’s session!”
Tempestria almost jumped. “Sorry, sorry. I was wrong! Don’t say such things!”
Seeing her genuine flusteredness, Liu Shu burst into laughter. “Do you want to do it with me that much?”
Tempestria rubbed her nose with Liu Shu and smiled. “Yes. When we do it, I feel like I am where I belong. While this will sound a bit perverted… Filling you fills my existence.”
Liu Shu burst into laughter. “It really is perverted! Hahaha.” Then, she smiled softly. “But I love it.”
They shared another kiss, and then Liu Shu looked down. She noticed the Sanguine Blaze sleeping, so her gaze turned seductive. “She is asleep. I guess you’ll have what you wanted~.”
The moment a root coiled down to carry the child away, Tempestria jumped onto Liu Shu like a hungry beast. “Oh my~.”
A few hours later, Tempestria was lying on the leaf-bed with a tired but satisfied expression. She looked as if she had been enlightened. Around them, dozens of fruits could be seen rolling on the ground. These fruits were snacks Liu Shu’s Avatar ate when she wanted.
Meanwhile, Liu Shu was lying on Tempestria’s side, held as the little spoon. The big spoon, Tempestria, gently held Liu Shu’s pregnant belly. Even when her World Tree’s face was flushed and full of energy, there was no dissatisfaction on her.
Held so dearly, her heart felt full of sweet honey.
Meanwhile, outside, Liu Shu’s eyes were opened as she looked at the horizon. By now, Liu Shu towered over most mountains in the entire continent. Therefore, she could look very far into the distance and observe the world through her gaze.
“So peaceful…”
A sigh full of relaxation escaped her, her gentle voice startling a few birds who lived near her mouth. In terms of size, a normal build like a sparrow was not larger than a dust mote. So, it didn’t bother her in the slightest.
Her sharp gaze saw a few birds flying, and she laughed. “You silly birds, who chooses near my mouth as a nesting location? My bark is also really smooth for my size, so I bet it’s uncomfortable.”
Her gaze moved up, and she noticed a few flying intelligent beings around her branches. They were the berry workers, who worked almost all around the clock. “Is gathering my berries so fun?”
She was thinking aloud, not caring if they heard her. Of course, her voice startled a few of them, throwing them off balance. Of course, it didn’t matter; at their current height, they had minutes to react before they collided with the ground.
“So clumsy and cute, haha.”
Liu Shu smiled, and the berry workers who tripped blushed furiously. The rest were not much better when they saw Liu Shu’s gorgeous smile.
“Thank you for helping me pluck my berries. I know there are too many berries monthly… 120 million currently, right?”
The leader of the berry collectors was able to maintain her composure better, so she flew down and bowed at Liu Shu. “Lady Heavenly Willow must not worry. It is delightful and an honor to collect the Lady’s berries.”
Liu Shu smiled at the Rose Fairy flying in front of her. This Rose Fairy was relatively tall for her species, showing an elegant temperament. Moreover, she was impressively at the B Tier.
“I am glad. Tell me a bit about your operations. I’ve always been curious. How do you all even manage to collect millions of berries?”
The Flower Fairy explained slowly, her tone measured. “Lady Heavenly Willow, we have these specialized baskets. Each basket allows us to collect almost 50,000 berries. Thankfully, Heavenly Willow’s fruits have not grown to your size, so they are easy to carry as long as you are Level 50 or above.”
Liu Shu joked with the fairy. “Oh? Are you calling me too big now?”
The Rose Fairy was close to Alba, the current Queen, so she was familiar with Liu Shu’s personality through Alba. Therefore, she laughed, not flustered. “Yes. Lady Heavenly Willow is the biggest.”
Liu Shu chuckled and observed the rest of the flying creatures. “Speaking of which… How do you all keep the animals in my canopy from eating my berries?”
“That…” The Rose Fairy was a bit careful when she answered. “We actually control which species live in Lady Heavenly Willow’s canopy.”
“Oh?” Liu Shu, who usually didn’t pay attention, was somewhat surprised. “How do you do that? Extermination?”
The Rose Fairy shook her head. “Extermination… We did that once in the past. After that, we’ve been careful not to allow animals that eat berries to live in Lady Willow’s branches. We did this using our strength. Even then, there are plenty of different critters living within Heavenly Willow’s canopy. Their diet is mainly formed from Lady Liu Shu’s leaves. There are also plenty of bee species and even ants that help pollinate and balance Lady Liu Shu’s beautiful ecosystem.”
“I see.” Liu Shu hummed. “It's quite interesting.”
The Rose Fairy sighed secretly and smiled. “I am glad you think so, Lady Heavenly Willow.”
Liu Shu looked at the horizon, and the Rose Fairy silently retreated up, back into the canopy.
“Who knew…” Liu Shu sighed. “I’ve been looking outwards so intensely that I lost sight of my own surroundings. I didn’t even know how they managed my own canopy.”
She was not upset that they did so; the berries were a precious resource and couldn’t be lost to wild animals. “In a way…” Liu Shu chuckled. “What they’ve done is similar to what I’ve done. First, a cleanup, then control.”
The World Tree sighed, her verdant green eyes shining softly with the slowly setting sun. “I’ll just… live for a little while. Take care of my family, and beyond that, expand all around the world. Is there even a need to rush dealing with the World Trees?”
She remembered what the Earth Dragon told her. “I’ll conquer everything else besides their territories. Then, I’ll give them an ultimatum as I did with Big Sis Warlya. Those who accept it, great. Those who don’t… I am sorry.”
As the wind carried her words of forgiveness, the World Tree’s heavy heart relaxed as she truly connected with nature.
Comments
Michael Cassidy
I definitely agree but also can't blame Liu Shu for reacting as such. Everything, always has been important, fast and immediate for our poor girl for 50 years. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. This is the first time since her very first days as a World Tree where she CAN just.. be a tree. A big one, but nonetheless. The next step has no real time limit and in fact would be better if it took longer to an extent. An extra century before joining the solar system could make a huge difference. And for the majority of the populace who actually matter 1-300 years is long but inconsequential simultaneously.
Andrew Miles
Well who knows how they Sylvan Transformation will change with energy cycles and evolutions/ascensions. They might get big enough that it's possible.
Erza Bear
This chapter does make me wonder if Liu shu can even lose her virginity in her main body. They mentioned a gigantifying potion before but is that even enough anymore?
Kimball Black
I’m glad this is happening. Liu Shu really does need to take a step back and do some introspection. This will definitely be good for her.
