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Chapter 522. Surprising Discovery In The Lake. New Ally! [AotSC]
🕑 Added 2025-08-29 19:02:08 +0000 UTCTo Liu Shu’s confusion and surprise, her conquest of the Abyssal Void Nexus Continent advanced without a hitch. Her roots spread, and whenever she encountered a fortress, she would unleash <Elemental Lord Willow Catastrophe> to deal with it.
Besides that, the forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes couldn’t even slow her down. The second she approached them, Liu Shu's aura would force any flora and fauna to submit.
‘The continent is quite large, but…’ Liu Shu observed the terrain, using her extremely advanced mind. ‘It’s quite empty.’
That didn’t mean that there weren’t forests and other varied landscapes. The terrain in this continent was as rich and diverse as that in her own continent. What Liu Shu meant by empty was the lack of World Trees and other similar flora.
“I’ve only found two World Trees that were mentally corrupted and three Life Trees of Level 40 and below.”
Liu Shu’s purifying skill forcefully reincarnated the two World Trees, while the Life Trees were nursed back to health. Other than those five, the largest flora she had encountered were ancient but common trees.
The intelligence of wild trees varied greatly. Some were like Tree, her mother, and had lived for long enough to accumulate basic intelligence. They were barely distinguishable from common Life Trees. As a matter of fact, most Life Trees were born from these ancient common trees.
“Oh?” Liu Shu felt a rare, clean aura and focused there. Using her Aether Mana, her roots moved swiftly underground, reaching the place where this pure essence came from. “What is here?”
When she arrived, what she saw was a lake. It was a lake that stretched for more than ten kilometers from side to side. Its depth was similarly impressive, reaching over 500 meters in the deepest parts.
“Hello?”
“Hm?” The voice of a sleepy female reached her. “Who goes there?”
The languidness clearly told Liu Shu that the other person had been sleeping and she had just woken up.
“I am a World Tree. I can feel a pure aura emanating from this lake, so I came to investigate.”
The other side exclaimed through her sleepiness, surprised. “A World Tree!” She yawned and spoke lazily. “It has been… Hm. Long. More than three… No, four thousand… Hm… Thinking so much is making me want to go to sleep again…”
Liu Shu chuckled. “So… What are you? You are clearly neither a World Tree nor a Life Tree… But I can still feel that you are a natural being of great power.”
“I am what you see, World Tree.”
Liu Shu observed for a bit and asked, confused. “You are… The lake?”
“Yes.” The lake answered and chuckled. “I am the lake. I am its waters, who have learned to think and manifest. I am its mind, and its will. I am the <Spirit Of The Lake>.”
“Spirit of the lake…” Liu Shu muttered and recalled all the information she had about them.
Almost all things in the universe could gain levels, intelligence, and strength. Be it mountains, worlds, stars, rocks, rivers, oceans, lakes, or moons, everything could bloom with life if the right conditions matched. Of course, it was so rare that the grand majority thought of it as a myth.
However, for large bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, it was too difficult. The reason was their ever-changing nature.
For a mortal, a lake was an unmoving water mass, and a river always followed the same path. Nevertheless, as years passed, the lakes shifted, and the rivers changed their course. This change mixed them with the water of the world, making it essentially impossible for intelligence to appear in any single lake or river.
Nevertheless, in the case of a lake, the conditions were much less restraining. If a lake didn’t shift through the years, and if that very same lake accumulated enough death and rebirth essence, it had an extremely slim chance for a spirit to form.
These spirits were carefree, bothered about nothing, and lived as the manifestation of the lake.
After recalling the information, Liu Shu spoke to it. “It’s nice to meet you. I am here to tell you that I will be establishing my roots in this area. You can try to fight back, but I recommend not doing that.”
“Huh?” The lake made a confused sound. Its voice spread out, slightly colder than before. “World Tree, I don’t know what you are doing here in the domain of those people, but I recommend you stay put.”
Liu Shu chuckled. “I am already invading their continent. There is no need to stay put. Also, when I say establish, I mean that you’ll be assimilated and become part of my domain. Don’t worry, though, I will not interfere with your sleep.”
“I refuse.”
Liu Shu’s roots spread forward, not listening to it. “Hm… Are you worried that I will override your thoughts or something? Don’t worry, I have plenty of World Trees and Life Trees under my influence. A single Lake Spirit isn’t that much. Also, it's not like you have the ability to refuse…”
The Lake Spirit manifested in the form of an androgynous humanoid, lacking clearly defined features but emitting incredible power around it. This figure was 10 meters tall, and all the water around it moved with intense fluctuations. “World Tree. I said I refuse.”
Feeling the power of the other side, Liu Shu could tell that it was a <Fourth Energy Cycle> being. However, the Level was around 80, not much higher.
“And I said that you don’t have the ability to refuse.” Liu Shu's roots suddenly burst into powerful white flames, and she sank them into the lake. A sizzle, accompanied by a burst of steam, covered the entire valley where the lake was.
“AAAHH!”
The lake spirit trembled as it screamed in pain.
Liu Shu didn’t continue the attack and stopped, resting her roots inside the water. “Spirit of the lake, I am not your enemy. I am trying to become the True World Tree. Therefore, I can’t leave any single place in this world outside of my influence. Don’t worry, since you are a living water spirit, I can slowly nurture you and let you control all the water of the world.”
“Huh?” The spirit of the lake, who was about to retort angrily for being attacked, paused immediately. What it just heard was too tempting to ignore. “What do you mean, World Tree?”
“There is no hidden meaning in my words.” Liu Shu spoke softly. “I know how difficult it is for a spirit like yourself to be born. So, I was thinking of allowing your influence to seep into the world’s water. With you supporting the water cycle, the chances of disasters related to water are almost impossible. Moreover, all water creatures will receive boosts and benefits from you, right? It’s a win-win scenario.”
The spirit didn’t speak right away. To be honest, Liu Shu’s offer was extremely tempting. Moreover, the strength the World Tree showed during that very short exchange was enough to let her know that resisting was basically impossible.
The spirit, who had lived for many thousands of years, could only develop the lake from a one-kilometer-wide and 20-meter-deep lake to what it is today. While it could’ve tried to mix her water with other terrains, it was too difficult and risky. If her water was contaminated too much with impure water, there was a chance that her consciousness would be erased.
However, there was one way for it to spread without problems. That was to have a creature with area influence control and share water bodies with it. That way, its consciousness would not be washed away unless its very essence was destroyed.
“Are you sure you have the ability to do that?”
It was doubtful. But Liu Shu questioned back. “Do you think an average or incompetent World Tree would be able to make you suffer so easily in just one exchange?”
The spirit thought for a bit. ‘Strength, rewards, and willingness to cooperate. Moreover, she has the potential to become the True World Tree, which would give me access to the water of the world.’
“Hm… Okay. I’ll join you. But you need to conquer at least one continent before I agree to your conditions.”
“Done~.”
“H-Huh?”
“Doooone~.”
“W-What do you mean?” The spirit of the lake was flustered. She could clearly feel that the other side still had a long way to go before she conquered the Abyssal Void Nexus’ continent.
Liu Shu giggled. “As I said before, I am not from this continent. I’ve come to conquer it. My original continent is already under my control. I also control 15% of the ocean~. Soon, when Big Sister Pelagia accepts me, I will control over half of it!”
“...”
“So…” Liu Shu trailed her words and asked mischievously. “Will you join me?”
[Tianlian Liu Shu is asking the Spirit Of The Lake if you want to join her domain.]
[Yes or no?]
The spirit looked at that message with a sigh. ‘A World Tree would not lie about the area it covers. They would not lie about almost anything… I guess I’ll need to join.’
She was reluctant, but the answer was easy. ‘My peaceful days are gone… Ugh.’
[You’ve accepted giving up your domain to World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu.]
[<Title: Galactic Overlord> detected in Domain Lord. Changing nature of <Spirit Of The Lake (B+ Tier)>…]
[Congratulations! You’ve learned <Recolocation (S- Rank)>!]
[Error. <Skill: Recolocation> is not suitable for <Spirit of the Lake (B+ Tier)>.]
[...]
[Congratulations! You’ve learned <Origin Water Source (S- Rank)>.]
<Origin Water Source (S- Rank)>: As a spirit of water under a World Tree, you can’t be content with just taking over the waters of one world. Your <Water Core> has evolved to an <Origin Water Source>. This <Origin Water Source> is made out of 100 water drops. You can produce one water drop every year. Using 10 <Origin Water Drops>, you can create a subconscious connection and attach it to any water source, allowing you to connect with yourself, regardless of distance. Extra effects: It can be consumed by water creatures for incredible benefits.
[<Origin Water Source (S- Rank)> detected. You have gained <Title: Origin Of Water>]
<Origin Of Water>: Your affinity for water is increased by 1000%. Any body of water you control will have an innate purifying nature. All creatures living within your waters will have a 20% increase in growth speed, lifespan, potential, and level. This nature won’t disrupt dark ecosystems, only those corrupted. Stats +25%.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked special evolutions to choose from during your <First Evolution>.]
Liu Shu saw the spirit of water freeze and then collapse, as if she had received a shock so great that it had caused her to lose her form.
“Um… Water Spirit, are you okay?”
The lake spirit didn’t know how to answer. Was she okay? She had never felt better. But she just couldn’t understand why she evolved like this!
‘What happened? Who am I? What am I?...’
[You will be affected by Tianlian Liu Shu’s buffs…]
[You are under the effects of <Sprouts Of Chaos>.]
[You are under the effects of <Destiny Blessing>.]
[You are under the…
…
“Ha… Haha… Ah. I understand.”
Liu Shu asked, curious. “What do you understand?”
The Lake Spirit spoke comfortably, as if she had been liberated from a heavy burden. “This is a dream!”
“Eh?” Liu Shu was stupefied.
“Of course. How could it be anything other than a dream? Yes, yes. It’s a dream.”
“Um… Lake Spirit…”
“Yes?” The lake spirit answered quite sharply. “What do you want?”
“O-Oh… Nothing. Nothing…” Hearing her tone, Liu Shu decided to leave her alone for a bit. “You… Have fun with your newfound strength.”
And so, Liu Shu’s roots passed through the lake and continued expanding inwards.
‘Thankfully, it all went well… Showing strength before making demands is useful.’ Liu Shu paused and thought strangely. “Right at the end… Hm… Did it really go well? She felt a bit strange.’
Still, she didn’t linger on it too much.
Comments
Alex Kaplan
Presumably she could drop the leaves in and just become the tea?
Kimball Black
Liu Shu, breaking brains, as usual. Though, I’m not sure how easy it would be to get that calming tea to the lake spirit. Can she even gain the effects of something like that? Can a lake drink tea?
Minerva
Imagine taking a long thousand year nap and suddenly getting S ranked skills lol
