Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos-Chapter 362. Liu Shu’s Suffering.

Feeling the trembling little body between their arms and hearing Liu Shu's sobs, Cinderielle and the others felt heartache. They wanted to go and face the Corrupted World Tree right there and then so that they could relieve the pain their lovely and innocent World Tree was feeling.

Verdantia hugged Liu Shu into her arms, and the other three took a small step back. Verdantia's body was clearly the softest and best to hug, so they didn't mind at all allowing Verdantia to be the one hugging Liu Shu. At this moment, their competition was put aside, and only Liu Shu's well-being mattered!

Cradling the petite Liu Shu, Verdantia kissed her forehead and smiled. "Liu Shu, did you notice the flower field I planted around my House Tree?"

Liu Shu looked up with her black and purple-colored teary eyes, showing confusion. Sniffing as tears dropped down her eyes, she nodded. "I-I did. It's very pretty."

Cinderielle chuckled and poked Liu Shu's glutinous cheek. "I also helped her a little~."

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Verdantia snorted. "Heh. You just planted a few fire-attributed flowers. How is that helping?"

Tempestria smiled faintly. "I helped you look after it for a week in the past, so it should also be considered partially mine."

"Shameless!" Verdantia spat.

Liu Shu couldn't help but chuckle slightly at Tempestria's comment. Harmonixia playfully grabbed one of Liu Shu's white and tiny feet and tickled her gently. "What are you laughing at, eh?"

Liu Shu laughed a bit more from the ticklish sensation, and she said in a teary but laughing voice. "N-Nothing, sniff. Haha."

Verdantia took out a soft and silky material and placed it on Liu Shu's nose. "Here, blow. My silly Liu'er doesn't even know how to ask so that she can clean her little nose?"

Liu Shu blew her nose, blinking her beautiful and moist eyes to signal that she was done. Verdantia smiled and cleaned her little nose. "Great~."

Cinderielle poked at Liu Shu's belly, making her squirm in Verdantia's arms. "Hm~? Have you been eating well these days? Look at your soft belly, have you eaten too much and now you are becoming a little fatty~?"

Liu Shu pouted and protested. "I am not fat! I am just... just... soft and pliant!"

The four Sylvans looked at the little girl speechlessly. "Pliant... Isn't that word better used to describe your branches?"

Liu Shu blinked. "Huh? Doesn't pliant mean soft?"

Tempestria grinned slightly. "It means easy to bend~. Thinking like that..." Tempestria glanced at Liu Shu up and down, and she smirked. "It might not be wrong to call you pliant, eh?"

Liu Shu strangely blushed, her previous pale and sickly face gaining a healthy, rosy color. "W-What does that gaze mean? I feel that you are thinking strangely!"

Even the other three were somewhat speechless. Wasn't Tempestria the serious and calm type? What was she saying this time around!?

Harmonixia sighed and shook her head. "It seems that I was underestimating you. I'll need to be careful!"

Cinderielle snorted and leaned back. "Didn't I tell you in the past? Tempestria is the silent type, but the moment you least expect it, she will reverse the situation! It is the same when we are sparring. Annoying woman."

Tempestria chuckled. "You praise me too much."

Harmonixia, Cinderielle, and Tempestria started speaking to each other merrily, and Liu Shu looked at them with an entertained gaze, laughing from time to time.

Verdantia glanced down at her and smiled softly; her eyes held a tenderness that threatened to spill over. 'Thankfully, we've managed to distract her slightly. Her main body is still brutally fighting, but the Avatar has calmed down. This will create an equilibrium with Liu Shu's primary mind.' A flash of worry flashed in her eyes. 'I don't know if it will work, but at least it will be harder for Liu Shu's subconsciousness to evoke strange ideas.'

Liu Shu noticed that Verdantia was not speaking and looked up at the woman who was hugging her like a baby. Her heart skipped a beat, and a blush spread on her cheeks when she saw Verdantia's tender gaze. "W-What wrong, Verdantia?"

Verdantia caressed Liu Shu's cheek and chuckled. "Nothing. I was just thinking that I love you lots~."

Shyness and happiness filled Liu Shu's mind. "T-Thank you... I love you too..."

The other three glanced at Liu Shu's improved mood and secretly sighed in relief. Seeing Liu Shu's appearance not changing, they knew that what they were doing was not reducing her corruption, but at least it seemed to help her mentally.

Liu Shu glanced around and saw the loving looks of the four tall and gorgeous women, shyness filling her heart. "U-Um... How do you think I should build the Colosseum!?"

Although the question was abrupt and utterly irrelevant to what they were talking about, the girls didn't mind. Tempestria pondered seriously and spoke. "How about a Colosseum with several floors? Instead of doing a traditional one, you could create a Tree structure with large arenas and many floors. The higher the floor, the more luxurious. Monetizing it will be easier that way. If you create a term that the Colosseum keeps all the equipment of the dead participants, we might profit even more."

Cinderielle shook her head. "That's not good enough. I think that if we get a percentage instead of everything, it will push more people to compete in deadly matches."

Liu Shu was speechless at the antics of these black-hearted businesswomen. "T-That... that's not good, right? I want the Colosseum so that people can fight, not kill each other."

Harmonixia chuckled. "How about creating deadly arenas for a price? People will be paying us to kill each other!"

Liu Shu glanced at Harmonixia unsurely. Although, due to the corruption, she was actually not that against it. Her pure heart was not something that could be easily overwritten. Hence, even with her current condition, Liu Shu still felt that it was not good.

Verdantia commented. "What if people have very deep grudges? With Harmonixia's method, we will give them a way to pacify that grudge without creating a commotion in the city. Moreover, if we make the fee not that high, it will create a legal and affordable way to solve conflicts."

Liu Shu stammered. "B-But, shouldn't we try to solve those conflicts instead of letting them develop?"

Verdantia smiled gently, kissing Liu Shu's forehead. "Well, the population in our city is just too high for us to control everything. Hence, we need to give our residents a degree of freedom. We already have tightly gripped their right to a personal living space by making them unable to buy residences permanently. If we also stifle their ability to solve grudges, many won't be able to resist the temptation to become evil and make evil things at the cost of innocent people."

Liu Shu was surprised and thought about it deeply. "I see... It's not bad, no?"

Harmonixia clapped gently. "Great! We'll work on the details then. Don't worry about anything else and just build it as you like, Lian'er."

Liu Shu nodded firmly. "I will!"

Tempestria leaned forward, stealing a little kiss from Liu Shu and making her blush slightly. Then, the calm and mature Sylvan spoke. "So, when will the Dungeon open? I am quite curious about the Dungeon you created~."

Her question made Liu Shu look toward the Dungeon System, but she still couldn't see the deadline. She shook her head and sighed. "The System is saying that the time until completion is unknown. I don't know when it will open... Still, before it opens, some functions need to be unblocked. Hence, don't worry! Once those functions unlock, I will know that there is not much left before it opens!"

Tempestria smiled. "I see."

Liu Shu's face turned red again. Tempestria's cool and calm face was too lethal when she smiled—like an ice rose blooming.

Liu Shu's face suddenly turned white as pain spread around her body. The Avatar tensed as she looked upward, and a small but strangled scream of pain left her mouth. "AH!"

The four Sylvans were startled and quickly looked at the Corruption meter.

[Corruption Level: 60%]

Verdantia and the other three saw how a few more black lines spread around Liu Shu's naked body, and her pearly white skin became a sickly shade. Verdantia quickly hugged her and whispered. "It's okay. It's okay. We are here, don't worry." She gleaned at Harmonixia, and the woman instantly understood.

She had carried her instrument with her, a gorgeous zither, and she started playing a soothing song. The trickling sound was like a clear mountain stream.

While they were doing that, Liu Shu's main body's uterine walls started releasing a strange black mist. However, Tempestria wouldn't allow anything to happen and controlled a strong gale to move that mist to the center of the room. Cinderielle's face turned cold as she snapped her fingers, summoning a small fireball.

BOOM!

The fireball exploded in the middle of the black mist, scorching it. Then, Tempestria controlled the gale and dropped it through the hole in the middle of Liu Shu's Core Room and out of her body.

Liu Shu's body continued to spasm in pain for a few moments before calming down. Her skin was glistening with sweat drops, and her face was tired and bloodless.

Seeing Liu Shu in this condition, the four Sylvans couldn't help but feel their hearts hurting. Even then, they showed nothing on the outside.

Liu Shu weakly opened her eyes and looked around, her eyes scanning the four gentle and slightly worried faces. She arched her lips in a frail smile and spoke. "I am fine..."

Sadly, her hoarse voice was even more prominent, leaving just echoes of her clear and melodious voice.

The four Sylvans felt their throats tightening. Still, Verdantia smiled and rubbed her nose with Liu Shu's. "Of course. My Liu'er is the strongest World Tree. How could something like this affect you, right?"

Liu Shu smiled and nodded. "Yes..." Then, she yawned slightly. "I feel... somewhat... tired."

Tempestria shook her head. "Don't sleep, Shu'er. Once we deal with the Corrupted World Tree, you can sleep as much as you want. You can even Level Up to Level 50 if you want. Okay?"

Liu Shu pouted, turning her head toward Tempestria weakly. "But... I am really sleepy."

Harmonixia started playing an upbeat music and smiled. "Then, let's sing along, Liu Shu. I know you really like this song~."

Liu Shu's eyes shone with interest, and she smiled, her tone sounding slightly more energetic. "Okay!"

Regardless of her hoarse voice, Liu Shu sang with Harmonixia happily. She felt that even if her entire body was hurting, with them by her side, she could bear any suffering.

Meanwhile, in the , Thalgryn finally arrived.