Chapter 796: Chapter 796. Reactions to Apothea. Sylvan Children’s... progress?

After creating Apothea, Liu Shu went to inform her close people about it. She gathered them, explaining her functions and such. Overall, though, the baby still needed a few years to truly mature.

"Therefore, I think it would be good to wait around five more years or so before <Ascending>."

After Liu Shu stopped speaking, over a dozen or so people present reached out and grabbed their tea cups, taking a deep sip.

Verdantia was about to speak when the tea’s effect popped up.

[Eternal Effect (S- Rank) Triggered!]

[You’ve gained 1 year of lifespan!]

[You’ve gained a 0.1% permanent resistance to curses.]

[You’ve gained a 0.1% permanent <Phoer> regeneration boost.]

Verdantia’s mouth, opened to speak, remained ajar as her eyes scanned the effects with a bewildered look. Verena glanced at her daughter’s surprised look and asked, curious. "Is there something wrong, love?"

Liu Shu and the others turned to look, curious. Verdantia’s lips twitched, and eventually she decided to just share the effects with everyone present.

Liu Shu blinked and clapped. "Wow~. Not bad."

This time, even Ignatia’s insectoid compound eyes seemed to show an exasperated look as she glanced at her precious baby. "Not bad? This is not bad? While I don’t know how often it can trigger, this is something we will drink across all our lives, and the gains are percentage-based. This is ridiculous, love."

Liu Shu tilted her head. "Is it really? I mean, Mom, it is an S- Rank beverage. Its effects should match its quality, right?"

Ignatia sighed softly, ruffling her hair as she picked her up and placed her on her lap. She kissed Liu Shu’s gelatinous cheek and smiled gently. "Yes, yes. My precious baby is right and Mommy is over exaggerating."

Liu Shu laughed, rubbing her face against Ignatia’s neck. "I love you!"

Ignatia smiled softly. Then, she asked something she had in mind. "By the way, love. About Apothea’s functions, can my children also take it?"

"Of course!" Liu Shu nodded and explained. "The first floor, the one with over 500 rooms, is reserved especially for my sisters! The top three floors are reserved, in order, for my babies, the higher one for my aunties, and the top one for Verdantia, the others, Mom and Mommy!"

Xakira, sipping tea nearby, sighed ruefully. "It’s really a shame I couldn’t go through <Ascension> this time with Little Apothea."

Liu Shu looked at her with gratitude. "It was thanks to Aunty Xakira that we could overcome the last war so smoothly! Don’t worry, when Aunty Xakira reaches Level 299, I will make sure you always have one room available for you!"

Xakira had spoken jokingly, but hearing Liu Shu’s earnest words, her heart couldn’t help but soften. She did not regret in the slightest the danger she went through fighting Rhazor. At first, she was thinking that Liu Shu would be a good hub for her species, and that was where most of her goodwill came from.

However, as they interacted, Xakira herself came to fall in love with Liu Shu. Not romantically, of course. She thought of her almost as her own and had decided to link her species with Liu Shu until death.

"Thank you, Liu Shu." Her emotions were a bit difficult to truly express, so she decided to speak with honest gratitude.

Liu Shu smiled sweetly at her and then recalled. "Right, right. Here, Aunty Xakira. The others will get their share when they go to <Ascend> within Little Apothea."

After she spoke, Space before Xakira twisted, and with a thud, a basket with a few berries appeared. The berries were neatly arranged, and since they weren’t too large, the seventy-plus berries didn’t take too much space. It was a big basket, but not overly large.

When they appeared, a deliciously sweet, clear scent wafted from the berries, making their noses twitch at the delightful scent. Xakira couldn’t help but pick one and look at the description.

<Core-Rank Energy Berry (S- Rank)>: Recover 15% Max Anima Energy Reserves. Minimum Recovery: 500 Anima Energy Cores. It is effective for creatures below Level 399, and it can be eaten up to ten times a day.

"Wow." Xakira was impressed and passed the berries around so they could examine them together.

Flor, looking at the effects, couldn’t help but feel a faint headache. "How many of these can you produce monthly, love?"

Liu Shu gave the numbers, and seeing that the numbers ranged from millions to hundreds of billions, her heart thumped wildly. "Although you’ve been producing amounts even larger than these... It is truly ridiculous. This time, these numbers are not for A+ Rank but for genuine S- Rank items. Each of these could sell at an incredibly high price, yet the number you produce is..."

The rest of them agreed, and Obsidianis and Seraphina felt it even more strongly. After all, they had been part of a sect. In their experience, potions with similar effects cost so much that people became reluctant to buy them. Not to mention the success chance to create such potions and their scarcity.

Obsidianis was quite blunt this time. "Even if you sell just 1% of these berries, you can probably support 10 Golden Sap Empires without any problems. Just these berries can become the income you need to create an economic foundation and positive relationships. There is really no need for anything else. Then, adding the A+ Rank and such berries and Eternal Tea... Liu Shu, I’ll be blunt, until you reach the Globular Interstellar Empire power level, you are settled."

Veyra agreed with her daughter and smiled. "Since you place me as the head of external trade, leave their administration to me, Liu Shu. I’ll make sure you have so much money that it becomes a number so large that it will feel meaningless."

Obsidianis looked at her mother’s intelligent eyes, calculating, and her lips twitched. ’Someone is going to have a bad time.’

While Obsidianis didn’t think Veyra’s talent was anything above average, in terms of intelligence, Obsidianis never even considered herself competing with Veyra. It was Veyra’s incredibly sharp mind and cunning tactics that helped Obsidianis get resources when she was young and talentless.

She also managed to push her to a point where, even when there was other competition, Obsidianis got resources equivalent to Seraphina’s, who had at one point become a talent worth nurturing.

Seraphina’s family was not exceptional, but she had the good fortune to be adopted by a quite prominent family. Their bond didn’t really go deep, but Seraphina was grateful to them.

Veyra’s influence was not comparable in any way to that family, but even then, she managed to squeeze her resources and push Obsidianis to keep up with Seraphina.

Therefore, Obsidianis deeply respected and loved Veyra. This deep love also led her to a decisive rift with the Covenant once she knew what they had done. Obsidianis’s dark eyes deepened for a second. ’One day, I will engulf the Covenant in darkness.’

One could tell that, given the previous conditions before meeting Liu Shu, Seraphina and Obsidianis’s paths would have been opposite and full of conflict, to the point that Obsidianis might’ve joined the Nexus just for revenge.

Liu Shu’s voice snapped Obsidianis out of her deep thoughts.

"Here, for you as well, Seraphina, Obsidianis."

Obsidianis glanced at the basket of fruits with different colors, and her dark heart felt soothed and full of love. Looking at Liu Shu’s smiling face, her dark eyes softened with love. ’My little light.’

Liu Shu glanced at Obsidianis, and seeing her eyes, a faint blush crept up her face. That look was truly cheating, making her squirm a bit. ’Obsidianis is so charming! Ah!’

Cinderielle, sitting by Obsidianis’s side, couldn’t help but kick her under the table. Obsidianis glanced over, annoyed. "What was that for?"

Cinderielle raised her eyebrow. "What? Are you angry? Then, how about you stop looking at another person’s wife with those eyes?"

Obsidianis smiled, a touch of arrogance in her eyes. "You being annoyed means that you are not confident about keeping your wife away from me. I guess I should thank you for acknowledging my charm."

Cinderielle’s veins bulged in anger, her lips arching menacingly. "What did you say, Obsihagnis?"

Obsidianis’s eyebrow twisted. "We are the same age, down to the day. Who are you calling a hag?"

Veyra chuckled and recalled her special feelings when she first met with Cinderielle and the other four. Glancing at them bickering, she couldn’t help but think of them as close sisters. ’Same day, same age... What a spectacular coincidence that all of Liu Shu’s lovers are like that.’

While she felt that it was not a simple matter, Veyra didn’t really delve deep into it because she didn’t care. Her daughter and the others, even when they looked as if they were about to tear at each other’s throats, were close. She had seen them working together, laughing, and even speaking of some intimate matters from time to time.

Seraphina sipped her tea and looked at Liu Shu. "When are you planning to <Ascend>, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu closed her eyes for a second, her gaze focusing on the Sun. "A bit longer. My roots are already reaching the core of the Sun. Once I reach its center and settle, I will start my <Ascension>."

Seraphina and those present knew about <Eternity Of Stars>, so they were not too surprised by Liu Shu’s words. Elyne couldn’t help but put her hands together. "Liu Shu, you are truly incredible. I have never heard of World Trees below Level 300 doing this. Yet you are doing it at Level 199."

Liu Shu smiled. "It’s a coincidence. I have many passive skills that protect me against environmental energies. If it were not because of <Eternity Of Stars>, I would’ve compromised on leaving the core alone. Even at Level 199, I feel that the core of a star is far too strong to assimilate without the help of <Eternity Of Stars>."

Her World Saint Bloodsap and other new S- Rank skills were very strong. Therefore, she was confident that together with her buffs, piercing the surroundings of the Sun would’ve been possible. Yet the core was such a violent space that Liu Shu trembled at the sight of it.

As she was speaking with them, Liu Shu suddenly felt an urge to check what Arlyn, her first daughter with Tempestria, was doing. Her gaze moved over, and she saw Arlyn sitting on Warlya’s head and speaking with a smirk. "You are as heroic as ever, Warlya. Have you thought about what type of being you would like as a partner?"

Warlya’s confused voice reached Arlyn. "Why do you ask, little one?"

Arlyn laughed. "I am not little anymore, am I?" With a calm smile, she used her hand to caress Warlya’s nearby leaf. "Say, Warlya. What do you think of me?"

Liu Shu and Warlya were both stunned. Liu Shu decided to look away awkwardly, not to intrude on their moment. ’Oh my. My daughter, the one I took as calm and collected, has quite the courage.’

She glanced at her other Sylvan children and noticed that they were also flirting with other World Trees! ’...They are quite bold.’

Well, as a mother, there was only one thing she could do...

’Good luck, babies!’

...cheer them on.