Chương 322: Strange Heat. Cinderielle's Flowers.

Cinderielle's Flowers.

Liu Shu continued living normally after what happened in the Dark Aether Swamp. Her roots reinforced the edge of the swamp, preventing it from expanding further. If any Tree or flora from it tried to expand, Liu Shu would attack and kill those trees. The sight was such that there were people who went to look, full of curiosity. While looking, roots would suddenly coil up on the trees and crush them into splinters. The attacks were extremely aggressive and violent.

Seeing the World Tree act so far away from where her main body was brought marvel and awe to most spectators.

"Hm~. So that's the World Tree."

"It looks like so. Quite gutsy to confront the Dark Aether Swamp head-on. What do you think her aim is, master?"

"I am unsure. She seems to be keeping it in check, waiting until she becomes strong enough to push forward and attack it." The man rubbed his bearded chin, letting out a scratching sound with his motions.

"Regardless, her actions tell a clear message. She is confident that, eventually, she will be able to expand in this direction as well. Currently, she is controlling the border, but she might start pushing later. Once she does, it will be quite the sight." The younger man by his side smiled.

"I hope it happens in our lifetime. World Trees are quite slow, after all."

"Are they?" The bearded middle-aged man laughed.

"I don't feel that Golden Sap City's expansion has been slow. I think that settling down in Golden Sap City is worth it." The younger man frowned.

"However, master. I've heard that in the past, the Explorer Association has forced a few Explorers to fight for the World Tree. Isn't that a bit much?"

"That's an exaggerated lie." The bearded man commented.

"What I've heard is that they offered a reward and hired as many mercenaries as they could. Those complaining and creating falsehoods are the groups that lost too much for the compensation and regret participating." Clicking his tongue, he sneered.

"A pathetic bunch, really. Our [Green Wolf Fang] group is different." It wasn't only this group. As time passed, many more groups decided to visit and take a look at the Golden Sap Province's environment. Only pleasant surprises appeared to those who decided so. Sadly, as people came, they carried customs of the outside. Hence, some conflicts arose during this time. Nevertheless, the conflicts were fleeting.

The ants and other enforcement groups moved and pushed those arriving down a peg, delivering a death sentence to those who didn't understand their place. With an iron-fist-like ruling, the slightly turbulent times flashed by as quickly as they arrived. With a decent population and high-level residents, those who wanted to make trouble didn't dare even if they wanted to.

As Liu Shu was dozing off and observing everything within her domain, a strange heat suddenly rushed out from her core, making her physical eyes widen.

'H-Huh? What's this?' Her <World Tree Eye> was able to look into herself, so she zoomed into the place that felt hot. Sadly, a strange aura seemed to be blocking her view of that location. This place the heat was spreading into was located slightly below where she would usually have a belly button. The Arboreal Serpent, acting as her clothes, felt the heat emanating as well and opened her comfortably closed eyes.

"Hm? Liu Shu, are you okay?"

"Ugh…" Liu Shu groaned and muttered, her mind being a bit dazed.

"I don't know. I feel strange…" The serpent frowned faintly in a very human-like expression.

"Liu Shu, I am going to stop covering your chest to slither down and look, okay?"

"Mhm. Go ahead." The massive serpent folded its enormous wings and moved down Liu Shu's body. For starters, the only reason that the Arboreal Winged Serpent could cover both her breasts and her other private area was because the wings were enormous. They often reached a length similar to their body length. Once she slithered down Liu Shu's body, the serpent felt a strange heat pulsing out of the place Liu Shu said.

"Hm… If we were going to locate this in a human female's body, it would be where the uterus is, no?"

"Y-Yeah…" Liu Shu muttered, her face gaining an uncomfortable frown.

"Do you see anything? A strange aura is blocking my <World Tree Eye>, and I can't see myself." The serpent hummed and was about to say no, but as it was about to speak, she noticed the soft and smooth bark splitting. The location was exactly where the belly button would usually be. The serpent blinked twice, confused.

"Um… You are gaining a belly button. I think?" This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Ha?" Liu Shu was flabbergasted and looked over, seeing the belly button as well.

"Huh? Why did I grow a belly button?" The Arboreal Winged Serpent squinted and commented.

"Actually, I can see a strange entrance in your belly button, but… I don't think I can enter with my girth. One of my little sisters could do it if you want."

"Enter… me?" It sounded so lewd that even Liu Shu became flustered.

"Um. How about I ask… ask…" Liu Shu froze. Who could she ask? Flor crossed her mind, but somehow, asking her mother figure to enter her body through the belly button felt very wrong. While she didn't have many human sensibilities as a World Tree, some of the habits stuck with her. After all, she was raised by creatures with human-like values. Eventually, while her heart was about to burst in embarrassment, she muttered.

"How about we ask one of the four Sylvans?" The Arboreal Winged Serpent chuckled and looked up beyond the voluminous chest of the World Tree.

"Are you sure?" While the serpents were her summons, they naturally cared for her and knew a little gossip about their summoner. Liu Shu's close relationship with those four Sylvans was common knowledge between the winged serpent. Their eldest brother, Ophion, also told them that, as long as Liu Shu's safety wasn't jeopardized, they should protect those four, together with a few other important individuals. Liu Shu hesitated for a few moments.

The heat had already disappeared as if the change had already took place in her. Still, she wanted to check and know what happened. Therefore, she ended up humming in agreement.

"... Yes."

"Sure, go ahead. I'll return to my comfortable hugging position~." The serpent slithered up her massive body and spread her wings, covering Liu Shu's gorgeous breasts once more and tightly hugging her.

"Sigh… So nice." This serpent was large even when compared to her peers. She would dwarf even Ophion in terms of sheer size. Her length reached an astounding 300 meters in length, and her wings each had a length of nearly 120 meters. Looking at the enormous serpent comfortably resting in her embrace, Liu Shu giggled and asked.

"Is it really that nice?"

"Yeah~." The serpent hissed comfortably, a large part of her upper body squeezed between Liu Shu's surprisingly soft breasts.

"Your aura and body warmth are so nice, Liu Shu~." Since the strange heat had subsided, Liu Shu took her time to move a few branches and pet the serpent.

"Cute~. If there weren't so many, I would love to name each of you." The Arobreal Winged Serpent smiled gently and hissed softly.

"No need to, Liu Shu. Our numbers are too many, and you can summon more of us as you continue to grow. You might run out of names if you needed to name us all."

"Hehe~, okay. I won't linger on it!" A few moments ago, Cinderielle was walking leisurely around one of the largest plazas of the town when she suddenly heard a few gasps. Looking around, he saw many people looking toward Liu Shu with various reactions, ranging from astonishment to shyness. Cinderielle was confused and followed their gazes, and her eyebrows started twitching severely.

'Why has the Arboreal Winged Serpent moved!? Stupid snake, can't you see that you've left Liu Shu's sacred breasts completely uncovered!?' While she was fuming, her eyes were glued to the gorgeous revealed pair. Now that Liu Shu's female shape had completely matured, Cinderielle could barely resist the heat rising around her groin area.

'U-Ugh… She is so beautiful. So perfect. Ah! I want to have fun times with her- Huh?' Cinderielle placed a hand on her head, and a deep red blush spread on her face.

'No way!? Am I blooming just from this!?' When Sylvans were very aroused or feeling deep amounts of love, they would usually have flowers bloom on their hair. This was an uncontrollable physiological reaction, so it was highly embarrassing. Looking around, Cinderielle saw a few older women and men raising eyebrows and smirking when looking at her. The heat on her face was high enough that ice would probably melt just by touching her skin.

When she was about to flee, the place where she stood welcomed a nature-like and profound presence. Together with it, a gentle and beautiful voice that echoed with the will of the forest spread.

"Cinderielle, can you come for a moment?" It was clearly the voice of the World Tree. When the people around heard that voice, many kneeled and lowered their heads in reverence. Some people even started muttering mantras and other words. The divinity and sacredness World Trees had for the general population was undeniable—some thought of them as gods walking the earth. While she didn't like these reactions, Liu Shu had become accustomed to them. Therefore, she didn't react and allowed them to do as they pleased.

Cinderielle coughed and passed her hands through her head. A few soft popping sounds occurred as she plucked the gorgeous red flowers from her hair. Liu Shu noticed those flowers and couldn't help but praise them in her heart. The red flower had thin and slightly curled petals resembling wisps of smoke or flickering flames. They had a layered, ruffled appearance, as if it was fire dancing in the wind. Their color was a gorgeous gradient.

At the bottom, a dark ember red caught the eye, turning into a molten orange and ending in beautiful golden-yellow tips. Then, the short stem that could be seen after Cinderielle plucked them was dark charcoal green with glowing orange veins. It gave the illusion that the flower was internally burning. To finish it off, it had a bright yellow core, making one imagine how gorgeous it would look at night.

'Such gorgeous flowers…' Even when Liu Shu understood the meaning of Sylvan's growing flowers in their head, she was so mesmerized by them that she didn't notice. Sadly, as she was about to say it, she saw Cinderielle using her flames to turn the flowers into ash.

"Ah…" A disappointed sigh escaped Liu Shu. She would for sure love to see them more closely. Cinderielle coughed and smiled.

"I'll go to your side quickly. Wait for me." Then, the Fire Sylvan started running toward Liu Shu.