Chương 543: Ceperet, I am Tianlian Liu Shu.

Ignatia was preparing to comfortably give birth to the daily batch of babies when her precious baby's voice reached her.

"Mommy! I learned so many new things! You need to listen to me before you start laying more little sisters!" Ignatia's antennae twitched twice, and she smiled. She was naked on her bed, surrounded by nursing ants that would take her babies as she laid them. Of course, she didn't care and proudly showed her gorgeous curves.

"What's wrong, love?" Liu Shu proceeded to explain what she learned from the Earth Dragon, and Ignatia listened quietly, comfortably lying on her padded leaf-bed.

"So… To summarize. You need to start giving birth to intelligent little sisters, Mommy!" Ignatia hummed, rubbing her smooth and wide hips.

"Alright. Since my baby said it, I guess I can start with them before I reach my previous objective of 1 billion ants. Perhaps it will also give me better rewards for my <Sylvan Quest>."

"Right!" Liu Shu asked, full of curiosity.

"Mommy, what is your next <Sylvan Quest> about?"

"Taking over the world," Ignatia answered with laughter in her voice.

"WAH! Mommy! I love you lots, but the world is mine! You can't steal it from me! QAQ!" Ignatia burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, taking over means spreading my ants throughout all continents. Once you take over Skyflower and the others, I can send a few princesses so they populate the other continents."

"Oh! But…" Liu Shu asked.

"How are you going to take over <Origin Water Continent>? The middle of the continent is a <Dungeon>!"

"Huh?" Ignatia tilted her head, confused.

"Since when did it change to a <Dungeon>? Did I miss important information while laying eggs?" Liu Shu realized that the opening of the <Dungeon> was still not known to people.

'Right. I am barring people from entering… And those who entered the <Dungeon> without permission… Well, they are all dead already. So, it is not a big problem." Because the methods to escape the <Dungeon> without fighting the final boss were not known, those who had entered <Origin Water Continent> without permission and fell into the <Dungeon> went to fight the Earth Dragon. The result was as you would imagine. They were squashed like Level 0 bugs.

"Ahem. Mommy didn't miss anything. I discovered and entered it myself, so I came back to you after entering… Well, it's a bit complicated; don't mind it. I will announce it later." Ignatia chuckled, but then, she paused.

"Wait… YOU entered the Dungeon? How?" Liu Shu didn't hide it and showed her skill to Ignatia.

"I had this: <World Embracing Dimensional Roots (S- Rank Level 1)>."

"Hic!" Ignatia hiccuped, an egg almost escaping her from the shock.

"T-That… Um… Since when…? Never mind, I don't want to hear it. Congratulations on getting such a powerful skill, love."

"Hehe. Thank you, Mommy! I love youuu!" Ignatia's lips arched softly.

"You are already a mother, and you still act so spoiled."

"Of course! I will always be your baby!" If Ignatia's insectoid eyes could show emotions, right then, they would be giving a motherly and loving feeling impossible to confuse.

"I love you too, baby."

"Hehehe. Anyway, since the <Dungeon> is open, I will go inform the others and also communicate with Big Sister Skyflower and the others. It is time to start spreading into their domains!"

"Good luck, love. If you need an army, tell Mommy, and I will go and flatten them~." After Liu Shu retreated, Ignatia focused on her egg-laying skill. It was an A Rank skill, so it gave her a lot of ease when manipulating what kind of progeny and the numbers that she wanted.

"Let's see… If I want to lay an egg with intelligence… Ugh!" Ignatia groaned.

"Why is it so expensive? The nutrient and Ternary Essence cost of a princess with basic intelligence is the same as one thousand without intelligence…" As she sighed endlessly, Ignatia decided to spend the next month giving birth to intelligent ant babies.

"I will use one month every half a year to give birth to intelligent ants, while the rest I use them to fill numbers." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. With that in mind, the Ant Queen began to lay eggs seriously, her gentle moaning due to effort echoing in the royal chambers of the underground Ant Empire. Meanwhile, Liu Shu went and communicated with Pelagia, Skyflower, Azure Rose, and Celestial Lotus.

"Big Sisteeerssss, I have come to extend my roots into you and make you all feel super good~. Hehehehe." Azure Rose answered with a laugh.

"You really like innuendos when it comes to it, don't you?" Liu Shu answered shyly.

"What are you talking about, Big Sister Azure? We are going to tangle roots tightly, making it difficult to distinguish them from each other, rubbing our barks together and exposing our cores to each other~." Celestial Lotus was amused and answered.

"Will we coil each other so deeply that little saplings might be born from the coiling? Little Liu Shu, I am ready if you want to. I don't know about other things, but I am extremely confident in my fertility; I will make a good mom."

"Wah!" Liu Shu's roots squirmed, and she whispered.

"Pervert. Sister Lotus is a pervert! She is trying to seduce a married tree!" Pelagia spoke, her tone somewhat helpless.

"All of you… When are you going to be serious? This is a very important moment." Skyflower joined the conversation with a calm and gentle tone.

"What is so serious? Liu Shu has proven that she is trustworthy… Only, Liu Shu, I have a few things that I want to say to you before you start." Liu Shu noticed the slightly serious tone and asked, intrigued.

"What's wrong? Did people from above tell you something?"

"Well, they did, but they don't mind that you will take over. They wanted clarification of the exact situation, and I just explained it in simple terms. In the first place, our power came here because we didn't want the Abyssal Void Nexus to gain another World freely."

"Oh! I see. Then, what's wrong? We dealt with those who wanted to revolt a few years ago, didn't we? There should be no more voices of dissent." Azure Rose sighed.

"Well, as you know, we are not the only World Trees in our continent. We lent land to some World Trees and shared territory. Some of those World Trees have become somewhat stubborn during the years and… Well, to put it bluntly, they are a bit difficult to convince. We've tried our best, but just a bit more than a decade is not enough to convince them." Liu Shu was confused.

"But… Have you told them about my strength?" Celestial Lotus spoke lightly.

"Of course. Azure, Skyflower, and I were discussing whether we should eliminate them before you started to take over. Nevertheless, we eventually decided to ask you first. What do you think, Little Liu Shu?" To be honest, Liu Shu was confused. Hasn't she shown that no World Trees other than the corrupt ones have actually fallen in her Domain? Her reputation must've reached those World Trees as well.

'Even knowing… They remain stubborn? Moreover, these World Trees are Level 74 at most. After all, they have been suppressed by Skyflower and the others. Have they become entitled to their terrain because Skyflower and the others were kind enough not to uproot them?'

"Well…" Liu Shu commented.

"It doesn't matter what we plan now. For now, let me enter your domains. When I encounter them personally, I will deal with them. I have a few titles that help me when dealing with stubborn trees." Skyflower commented.

"Oh? You do? Were we affected by it as well?" Liu Shu harrumphed.

"Big Sister Skyflower, you know that I am not someone who would try to rootwash you. Don't joke around with such a serious matter." Skyflower chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist."

"Tsk, tsk. Big Sister Skyflower is so bad! Hmph!" After a bit of banter, Liu Shu's tone shifted. All playfulness disappeared, and a solemn presence enveloped her. When her aura shifted, Liu Shu manifested herself where her roots reached and beyond. Skyflower and the others helped carry Liu Shu's voice and presence, effectively covering over 90% of the World's surface. Wherever people were, Liu Shu's voice could be heard. The sound was evenly distributed, making sure it wasn't too loud for people.

"Ceperet, I am Tianlian Liu Shu." Everyone heard her words and looked up, surprised. The voice carried gentleness, yet commanded such respect that the hearts of all beings in the world couldn't help but tense up.

"I am the World Tree that will take over from now on. I will become your <True World Tree>." The declaration exploded like a bomb in the minds of those unaware. Many became worried for their local giant flora, while others looked at their World Trees or Life Trees with confused expressions. After all, the Continents were filled with people holding different beliefs and values.

"I understand… No, I can feel your nervousness. You are worried that I will start a rampage and destroy everything that is not part of me. I promise, as long as your World Trees comply and come under my rule, nothing like that will happen. Your local World Trees and Life Trees are not in danger." People didn't trust Liu Shu's words; it was "common knowledge" that World Trees couldn't even share an inch of space.

The second that was breached, the World Trees would start attacking each other until one of them remained.

"You doubt me. It is normal since your knowledge is limited. But, as I said, you don't have to worry. My existence is special, and I can coexist with your local plant life and help them coexist with one another, including World Trees and Life Trees. Today, I speak to you in this manner to warn you. Please, don't resist." Liu Shu's gentle voice, carried by the wind all around the world, penetrated the souls of every single being. Of course, not everyone was convinced. But Liu Shu didn't care.

"I will enter Lady Verdant Skyflower's, Lady Azure Rose's, and Lady Celestial Lotus's domains today and expand inwards. Please, World Trees and Life Trees of the World. Don't resist. I've already spilled too much blood destroying the Abyssal Void Nexus, I don't want to spill more blood and sap in Ceperet. I want to rule the place and benefit you with my buffs quietly." She didn't mention Pelagia because Pelagia was unknown to the general public.

Moreover, there were no intelligent species in her domain, making her assimilation the easiest of the four <Fourth Energy Cycle> World Trees. That day was the day the Golden Sap Arborarchy declared sovereignty over the world, and the sacred Heavenly Willow moved to fulfill such a declaration.