Chestnut was closely looking at the state of Apricot's side. It wasn't that she felt guilty or anything of the like. As a World Tree, Chestnut just acted true to her instincts. What she was checking was whether Liu Shu would take over and finally destroy Apricot. Because of Xara and her nine companions, Chestnut had been gathering strength silently and expanding in the opposite direction.
After all, Chestnut didn't have anyone at Xara's level on her side. There was not even a single Level 200+ in her domain. Xara and the other nine didn't bother with Chestnut because they opposed killing World Trees. Of course, if she overstepped, they would fly straight to her world and uproot her.
Still, as she waited, nothing happened. Apricot's roots at the edge of her domain remained perfectly healthy. 'Hm… She is not killing her yet?'
For a second, she thought that Liu Shu had been serious when offering to live together, but then she shook off those feelings. 'I tried back then. The feeling blooming from deep within me is impossible to resist. We, as World Trees, can't live together.'
It wasn't that Chestnut didn't try. Back then, even when resisting her unease, Chestnut had tried her best to live with Apricot. However, as the years passed, Chestnut felt an urge deep within.
'What if she decides to attack me first?'
'What if she suddenly goes back on her word?'
Being the weaker party in a situation where a surprise attack could be lethal was detrimental, and eventually, Chestnut was unable to hold back her urges and struck when nobody expected it. Not even her own people expected it.
She told no one, and one day Chestnut struck Apricot's sturdiest roots and threw her entire root network into disarray. The backlash damaged Apricot's core badly, and as they fought more, Chestnut dealt an almost fatal blow.
'If Xara and the others had been a month late…'
As she was pondering to herself, a massive wave of an unknown essence took over the vast expanse of space where Apricot lived. Chestnut was not surprised.
'There it is. I guess I'll be next.'
She was not sad. World Trees didn't really fear their death. When it was a situation where death was imminent and certain, instead of struggling, they just let go and silently closed their eyes.
So, Chestnut just calmly accepted that the story she had heard was indeed too good to be true. 'I don't understand why a World Tree of her strength would do something like that, but it doesn't matter… Hm?'
However, as Chestnut was just calmly accepting her eventual death, something changed. Apricot's roots were not weakening. Her domain wasn't either; it wasn't dissipating or weakening.
Suddenly, Apricot's aura began skyrocketing as her strength not only returned but was elevated further than what Chestnut remembered. It happened so quickly that Chestnut thought she was momentarily hallucinating.
"...What happened?"
Liu Shu answered her indistinct murmur. "I healed her."
"What?"
Liu Shu looked at Chestnut, who had already lost one Solar System to Liu Shu without even a chance to struggle, and spoke gently and soothingly. "I healed her, Chestnut. She has regained her strength from back then."
Chestnut frowned deeply. "That's impossible. A broken core is not something we can fix just with healing arts. If that were the case, the healer in Xara's group would've long fixed her."
Liu Shu laughed gently. "I didn't use healing arts. I used
Momentarily ignoring Chestnut, Liu Shu turned to look back at Ceperet and the surrounding Solar Systems. The Faith flowing into her was not just from the people.
It was the Life Trees and World Trees.
Every single strong enough flora was connected to Liu Shu's I-CARE system. So, as long as they had enough strength to travel through Liu Shu's roots, everywhere within Liu Shu's domain was visible.
Many of them, out of curiosity, boredom, or anything else, followed Liu Shu's expansion journey. It felt quite rewarding to see Liu Shu, who once had been so small and cute in their eyes, become a behemoth who could now swallow a Solar System within a few years.
Until now, most large flora had treated Liu Shu like a strong family. After all, in a lethal situation like core destruction, Liu Shu couldn't bring them back to life like she would a normal individual. Even her Soul Well skill couldn't accept the massive souls of the World Trees and Life Trees.
Therefore, once dead, they would just return to nature's embrace. That was true until Liu Shu pushed her skill to at least SS- Rank. And even then, she might only be able to influence the souls of Life Trees, not World Trees.
So, they knew that Liu Shu was someone who was attaining divinity, but they didn't really hold her in such high esteem deep within them. At least, in their hearts, Liu Shu was just a very talented individual of their species, not a higher power.
However, when Liu Shu used the
In what could be considered an instant, Liu Shu had brought a dying World Tree back to its peak. In those moments, her presence, essence, strength, and self had truly attained a realm beyond Levels.
A realm beyond the
It was just an instant. Just a fleeting moment while using her
And so, a small piece in their perception of Liu Shu… shifted.
Now, they could deeply understand why the Intelligent Species used two names for Liu Shu. For them, our dear tree was Tianlian Liu Shu, a gentle, slightly mischievous, and very adorable tree.
However, the Heavenly Willow was as much part of herself as Tianlian Liu Shu was. These two identities made up everything our tree had become, and you couldn't just separate them.
As Life and Death coexisted.
As Light and Darkness interlocked.
As Creation and Destruction cycled…
Liu Shu existed as Tianlian Liu Shu and the Heavenly Willow.
Our Liu Shu asked curiously, not understanding what had changed in their perception. "Um… Is everyone okay? Why are you all looking at me so strangely?"
The World Trees and Life Trees laughed, and some of the little sisters spoke loudly and admiringly. "Big Sister Liu Shu was so cool! You glowed so brightly that I almost got blinded!"
Tree smiled gently. "You did well, Little Sapling."
Warlya chuckled. "I guess… I still saw her as that little tree who once arrogantly told me that she would become stronger than me and make me submit."
Skyflower corrected her. "She is still our Liu Shu, just… she is also 'Her'."
Liu Shu looked back and forth between the speaking trees with a completely bewildered expression. "Um…"
Tree was the one who reassured her. "Don't worry, love. We are just awed at your miracle. That's all."
"... Is that so?" Liu Shu hummed and decided to trust their words. Their attitudes were the same as usual, and as long as that attitude remained truthful, receiving faith from them was a great thing.
'How much does each of them give…WOAH.'
Each
This compared thousands of individuals to hundreds of billions, and even with that difference, the saintesses, avatars, etc. gave Liu Shu a quarter of her yearly
As she was now, Liu Shu gained a little over 978
'Each World Tree gives me 5
A welcome surprise for sure!
Welcome as it was, Liu Shu refocused on the problem in front of her, and her mood settled. 'I can celebrate later as much as I want. I need to convince this stubborn one this time around.'
"Chestnut, I am truly not trying to deceive you. I promise that after you join, that impulse will slow down. Look, I have
Chestnut, even after reading those titles, remained stubborn. "I won't accept you, Heavenly Willow. If you want to conquer my Solar Systems, kill me first. If you do so while I am here, I will attack you with everything I have."
This was also a matter of importance for an average World Tree. Walking into their domain was like stepping into their house. If someone entered and ignored their presence, it was both threatening and deeply disrespectful. So, Chestnut would not change her mind.
Liu Shu looked at her for a few moments and then sighed deeply.
Apricot's voice reached them. "Chestnut, what she is saying is the truth."
Her mind, having been perfectly healed back to normal, changed both her tone and way of speaking. Recovered beyond her peak, Apricot could now communicate with Chestnut like in the past.
Hearing that voice caused many emotions to surface within Chestnut's heart. Nevertheless, she spoke with the same tone. "Apricot… You know it is impossible. We tried and failed."
Apricot answered without hesitation. "And I've tried again and succeeded."
Chestnut was momentarily speechless at Apricot's confident voice. Still, she didn't buy it. "You've attempted a folly again, Apricot. I won't change my mind. That moment was not something I felt good about as well."
She didn't feel guilty, but the sensation of stabbing someone you've tried to see as a close friend in the back was anything but pleasant. The emotional burden was much easier to bear as a World Tree, who was tied to the cycle of Life and Death and could see the worst tragedies by just shifting her gaze to somewhere within their domain.
Nevertheless, it had not been a good experience, and Chestnut didn't want to repeat it.
Apricot, who knew Chestnut very well, sighed deeply and didn't interrupt again. She knew this World Tree very well and how she thought. "...I knew you would attack."
"..."
Liu Shu glanced at Apricot. Apricot spoke with a soft sigh. "I was about to attack as well. Back then, I could feel your tense emotions and roots twitching. I could feel it, and so I also thought about attacking before you did."
In the end, though, she didn't. She just chose to close her eyes and accept it.
"This time is different, Chestnut. Please, give yourself a chance."
Chestnut answered, her voice slightly tired. "...It won't be. I won't accept it. Just do what you must do."
Liu Shu sighed softly and spoke. "...As you wish."
Having dealt with dozens of World Trees, Liu Shu knew when a World Tree could be convinced. If, after all that happened and was said, she remained stubborn, it was not a matter of convincing. It was a matter of belief.
Chestnut, from the bottom of her heart, believed that it was impossible. So, she refused. Therefore, Liu Shu accepted it. "Apricot, I am sorry."
Apricot was silent for a moment before speaking softly. "Don't be. You've done more than enough. Goodnight, Chestnut. It was fun while it lasted."
Chestnut hummed softly and stopped answering.
Liu Shu waited for a few moments. Then, her roots began pushing forward.
As promised, Chestnut resisted. Her roots moved through space, her skills flared into existence, creating a gorgeous ripple through the void. Everything she had accumulated in her long life clashed against the insurmountable existence named Heavenly Willow.
Yet, there was no desperation in her resistance. Her resistance was active yet hollow. Her attacks always made sure that no world was damaged.
One Solar System fell.
Then another.
The World Tree's initial fierce struggle faltered, her energy essence reserves unable to keep up with Liu Shu's.
As Liu Shu pressed on, the resistance she encountered grew weaker and weaker. Roots that had once stretched across stars were broken, pushed aside, and swallowed into her domain.
Apricot watched silently.
Eventually, Liu Shu's push, observed by everyone, reached Chestnut's home world. By the time she arrived, Chestnut was only a vessel of her former self. Her massive ternary essence reserves were dried up. Her figure, soaring far beyond the clouds, looked silent and hollow, while the city that had surrounded her was deserted.
Everyone had left as Chestnut warned them of Liu Shu's advance.
Many stood nearby, floating in the air, and looked to the distance at the towering and gorgeous World Tree. Chestnut, named after the first few fruits she ever blossomed, looked up, her sky-blotting canopy tilting back as she looked at the death descending from the sky.
Liu Shu's roots descended. Their blue glow and gargantuan size were enough to rival Chestnut's main body.
There was no resistance. Chestnut just glanced at those roots, and slowly and gently, she closed her eyes.
Liu Shu's massive roots coiled around the True World Tree's main body, and then, one of her roots pierced through Chestnut's chest.
There was no grand explosion. No final struggle. The ancient World Tree simply became still as her core was shattered by a swift and silent root strike.
That year, a True World Tree died.
Her society mourned her passing, while Apricot remained silent for the whole series of events.
Then, life continued.
The people living within those worlds slowly welcomed their new World Tree and adapted to their new lives.
One World Tree had chosen to change.
The other had remained still until the very end.
Yet, both stayed true to themselves.