Author Note: Ahem. This chapter is a complete transformation of ALL temples. Now they follow a structure, and much more. It's much cleaner. I've added the changes that affect Liu Shu's stats to the Excel sheet as well, so yeah, I won't miss anything… I hope.
It took quite a long time to organize everything, think of the evolution paths, etc. Anyway, this chapter is for those Dears who really like skill changes, etc. There is little to no plot advancement other than some reactions to the temple changes from people around. Just some fun snippets to make the MASSIVE stat dump feel amenable. Haha.
(I've also tried to compare what they were before with what they've become with arrows and such. Idk if it is cleaner or not, to be honest. It might've been better to just upload them without arrows… Anyway, tell me if you prefer with or without them.)
EN~JOY!
***
Liu Shu was 355 years old when her domain, quite literally, trembled. It wasn't subtle either. All World Trees, Life Trees, and anyone above Level 100 were startled and began looking around, their senses perceiving the changes.
The first thing they felt was many of Liu Shu's blessings leaving their bodies.
[You've lost
[You've lost
[You've lost
[You've lost
[You've lost
[You've lost
[You've lost
For a second, everyone felt their hearts drop to the pit of their stomachs. Just for that moment, they thought that something had happened to Liu Shu, the Heavenly Willow. Even Zaros and the others, who were on the front lines, felt their faces pale for a few seconds.
Liu Shu, meanwhile, was dazed. Even her Avatar stopped, her eyes staring at the void. The Sylvans around her panicked a little.
"L-Liu Shu!?"
"Love! What's wrong?"
Liu Shu didn't answer for a few seconds, and when chaos was about to descend, the world stopped. It was a momentary freeze that affected the whole domain, as if something had unlinked and relinked.
This was caused by the deep effects the new
"Ah… My babies have finally evolved. No wonder it took so long."
Hearing Liu Shu's words, they instinctively looked toward the
Liu Shu's initial
Within seconds, the structure became a gorgeous black-and-green lotus, with opposite-colored spots cycling around each other. The lotus was over 500 meters tall, towering above most of the golden Sap City's
Everyone noticed, their eyes widening.
[Congratulations!...
That voice snapped everyone out of their daze and made them look at their system.
…You've gained blessing:
***
Life + Death + Reincarnation | Nemesis Path
Learning and comprehension of Life-, Death-, → Life-, Death-, Soul-, and Reincarnation-aligned Aether, spells, or principles increase by 400% → 1000%.When killing a creature not under this Blessing, you may absorb a portion of its fading vitality to restore health and accelerate regeneration. *NEW* Killing beings whose deaths benefit the Mortality Cycle may also reduce accumulated negative Karma.All Life-, Death-, and Soul-related healing, weakening, purification, decay, and restoration effects become 25% → 40% stronger.Resistance to Death-aligned → Death-aligned energies, Soul attacks, decay, rot, miasma, curses, and similar effects increases by 30% → 50%.Natural lifespan increases by 40% → 70%.Experience Points required to improve Life-, Death-, Soul-, or Reincarnation-related skills are reduced by 20% → 25%.*NEW*
***
Everyone's jaw dropped. Every number and description was crazy, but what was the most ridiculous thing was the lifespan. Liu Shu already had a buff that increased lifespan and reduced aging in her
As for the rest, especially the unique
But this was nothing but the start.
Even as everyone was digesting, Liu Shu's seven daughters were ruthless, and the next one completed her transformation.
The temple of
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing:
***
Destiny + Prophecy + Causality | Synergy Path
Comprehension of Destiny-, Fate-, Probability-, Prophecy-, → Destiny-, Fate-, Probability-, Prophecy-, and Causality-aligned Aether, laws, or principles increases by 400% → 1000%.You gain enhanced
***
Fortuna thanked the branches above her that she was a tree, because she saw some of the Star Chart Newts around her trip or collide with each other from shock. Some of them even fainted.
This
They also noticed the
And it was while the Star Chart Newts were tripping about that the third one blossomed.
The
The new 500-meter-tall behemoth revealed itself and boomed out her blessing.
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing:
***
Craft + Civilization + War | Synergy Path
Comprehension and innovation in Craft-, Civilization-, → Craft-, Civilization-, and War-related techniques, technologies, and principles increase by 500% → 1000%.Construction, crafting, refinement, → Construction, crafting, refinement, and maintenance speed increase by 50% → 70%, *NEW* with an additional 20% efficiency when working on military equipment.Working → Working or fighting alongside allies increase efficiency, precision → efficiency, precision, and coordination by 35% → 50%, *NEW* improving both collaborative craftsmanship and battlefield formations.Crafted items have a 0.5% → 1% chance to gain a minor blessing, improving their quality by one sub-tier and granting a simple special effect. *NEW* Equipment used by its creator or a trained wielder gains 20% effectiveness.Created or maintained tools, structures, and devices gain 30% → 50% durability *NEW* and 20% functionality (excluding Temples). *NEW* During organized combat or territorial defense, your
***
This time, it was time for the military establishment to almost lose it. Forget the crafters, who were, by no means, calm. The soldiers and everyone in combat professions felt as if everything was suddenly flipped upside down, in a very good way!
The cheers of soldiers as they hugged each other were an emotional sight. They had never felt even an ounce of complaint, but this change made them feel seen by the Supreme Heavenly Willow. To say that the morale of the military was at an all-time high was not an exaggeration.
It was far from over, though. Everyone now understood what was happening, and their sights shifted toward the next
The temple bloomed. The
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing: .]
***
Summoning + Dimensions + Connection | Synergy Path
: While under its influence, your connections with summons, dimensions, and other realms strengthen. Summoning bonds become more stable, subdimensions grow sturdier, and connections between separate spaces become easier to establish. There is a faint chance of becoming
Comprehension of Summoning-, Dimension-, Space-, and Connection-related techniques or principles increases by 400% → 1000%.You may maintain up to 3 → 5 summons without consuming energy, provided their individual upkeep does not exceed your maximum sustainable output.All Golem-, Living-, and Dimensional-type summons gain 50% Stats and improved stability. *NEW* Their bonds become harder to sever.Summoning upkeep costs decrease by 70% → 85% *NEW*, while contract stability and energy-transfer efficiency increase by 30%.*NEW* Subdimensions and summoning spaces gain 50% capacity and stability. Creating passages between compatible spaces costs 30% less energy.*NEW* Summoning success and dimensional manipulation efficiency increase by 35%. Experience requirements for related skills decrease by 25%.*NEW* : When two or more allied summons or connected realms work toward the same objective, their shared connections gain 20% effectiveness for one hour, allowing limited energy and perception sharing. Cannot stack.
***
This time, it was both summoners, World Trees, and the ant colonies who cheered. Even the everworking ants raised their jaws and clanked them in happiness at the gift given by their Eldest Sister.
Ignatia laughed as she hugged Liu Shu and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Baby."
Liu Shu giggled. "You should say that to Little Link as well."
"Of course, your sisters and I will go later to pamper her. I will leave several ants to take care of her gorgeous flowers!"
The World Trees, and even Tree and Stella, were delighted, as this helped them to a level beyond words.
The next one was the baby Liu Shu was, personally, the most excited about. What happened at the next temple stole everyone's breath.
The
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing:
***
Eternity + Infinity | Synergy Path
*NEW*
*NEW* Comprehension of Eternity-, Time-, and Infinity-related energies, techniques, laws, and principles increases by 1000%.Temporal buffs you give or receive last 50% → 100% longer, while temporal debuffs you inflict last 50% → 100% longer.All temporal effects gain 25% → 40% potency *NEW*, while temporal manipulation costs 20% less energy.*NEW*
***
It wasn't just Liu Shu. All Explorers, soldiers, and practically absolutely everyone were stunned. This
It gave stats, domain strengthening, ternary essence capacity, and many more interesting buffs that could benefit everyone from Level 1 to Level 300 or more.
Liu Shu giggled, delighted by her baby's evolution path.
The next temple that bloomed was, in most people's opinion, the most beautiful. As it bloomed upward, its form reminded everyone of a certain someone.
Where the
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing:
***
Faith + Divinity | Synergy Path
*NEW* Comprehension of Faith-, Divinity-, Holy-, and Belief-related energies, techniques, laws, or principles increases by 1000%.Faith Essence generation and efficiency increase by 50% → 100%. *NEW* Faith-related abilities also gain 30% increased effectiveness.Once a month, you may invoke the presence of your chosen object of worship. Your
***
The
Liu Shu naturally noticed her intent, and she almost ran over to hug her baby and squeeze her with a thousand root hugs. Forget almost, her roots hugged all her darlings tightly! Super proud of their changes.
As she did that, the final baby matured. When it grew to 500 meters, it didn't inspire awe like those who came before.
The Temple's structure was incredibly… uncanny.
Half of it looked like a gorgeous tree with a white trunk and black leaves. However, the tree's branches and leaves felt odd; they looked unnervingly symmetrical. Each leaf was identical to the other, the distance between them identical to a mind-disturbing degree.
The other half was not any better. A white, twisting trunk that grew branches wherever it wanted entered their sights simultaneously. Its black leaves were all different: some bloomed from stems, others became flower-shaped, and a few twisted into one another as if they were ingrown.
Yet, right in the middle, a small section mixed black and white in the leaves and trunk, showing a perfectly normal tree.
The combination of the three parts that made it whole made people who looked at it too long feel a touch of vertigo.
Liu Shu tensed up and crossed her roots, hoping that her baby's combination would result in something positive.
[Congratulations! You've gained blessing:
***
Order + Chaos | Nemesis Path
*NEW*
*NEW* Comprehension of Order-, Chaos-, Change-, and Transformation-related energies, techniques, laws, or principles increases by 1000%.Random variance in the effectiveness of your actions ranges from -20% to +20% → -10% to +30%. Negative outcomes are less likely, *NEW* while favorable fluctuations become more frequent.*NEW* Every
***
Liu Shu threw her arms up with her
"YES! YES! IT CAME OUT GREAT! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, MY BABY!"
This was exactly what Liu Shu had been expecting from the combination of Chaos and Order. A fun yet relatively harmless mix of both Blessings! Now, there was no need for Order Zones. She could finally spread the
Moreover, with the
"Hehehe! Random explosions for everyone! HEHEHE!"
Liu Shu was so delighted that her massive roots reached toward Little Change and wrapped around her, giving the strange Temple an enormous hug.
"Ughhh! My baby is so good! Such a wonderful Blessing!"
The Temple of Change trembled happily, its orderly and chaotic halves swaying in completely different directions. Yet, strangely enough, neither movement interfered with the other.
The other six Temples watched their youngest sister being pampered and couldn't help but laugh. Soon, all seven joined in, their enormous bodies swaying gently as their roots extended toward their mother.
Liu Shu noticed and giggled. "What is it, babies? Do you all want hugs too? Come here! Mommy has enough roots for everyone!"
However, instead of immediately embracing her, the seven Temples exchanged a peculiar resonance.
Liu Shu blinked. "Hmm?"
The next moment, seven different lights bloomed from their cores. Each carried a distinct energy, yet none clashed with the others. They flowed toward Liu Shu like seven gentle streams, entering her roots before spreading throughout her enormous body.
Ding~!
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
[Congratulations! You've acquired
Liu Shu widened her eyes. "...OwO!?"
She looked at the notifications, then at her seven daughters. "Wah! You updated Mommy's titles first!?"
The Temples swayed happily, their branches and flowers rustling as if answering the most obvious question in the world.
Liu Shu felt delighted, thrilled. 'Ah! I love my babies!'
She had built them, raised them, protected them, and watched them slowly grow into the magnificent structures they had become today. Seeing their evolution was already more than enough to make her happy.
Yet, here they were, offering their mother the greatest gifts they could give.
Liu Shu's branches trembled softly. Then, her expression bloomed into an enormous smile. "Hehehe… My babies are really the best!"
Her roots surged forward, enveloping all seven Temples in a gigantic embrace.
"Mommy loves you all so, so, so much!"
And under the gentle laughter of seven enormous living Temples, the Heavenly Willow spent the next several hours doing something far more important than reviewing her newly acquired Titles.
She pampered her daughters.
A lot.
