Chương 893: Temple Scramble.

Honestly, Liu Shu was quite stunned by the new skills and effects. There were many that left her quite dazed. Above all, her attack methods were now incredibly varied. With Aetherlord's Elemental Catastrophe, she could unleash devastating elemental attacks. With Moon Pierce Root Lance, she could deal tremendous physical damage and even attack the soul. Finally, with Well of Souls and Enchantment, she could attack souls with wide-area-of-effect bounces. That was not all.

Her normal attacks, so to speak, were equally powerful thanks to Force Essence Manipulation and her raw stats being pushed to the limits by her passives. All in all, Liu Shu had reached a point where she could be called a jack of all trades, while also being perfectly competitive in all those paths. As for her buffed stats after applying all the new buffs… Liu Shu looked at them with a look full of bewilderment. Almost 130 million in each stat and almost 50 million in Willpower.

My destiny has also increased to the point of surpassing 30, 000… And what had slowly but surely accumulated in the back was her regeneration. Liu Shu's natural regeneration was already high. And yet, when all bonuses stacked, Liu Shu discovered that she had achieved a total of a 2, 420% boost to all her regeneration! That was 24 times her passive regeneration! Not even Sylvans in their Sylvan Transformation state could achieve these numbers easily.

As for how that absurd value translated into numbers when she was buffed to the extreme… [+10, 740, 000, 000!] (+107, 400)! (+1. 074)! [+10, 740, 000, 000!] (+107, 400)! (+1. 074)! [+10, 740, 000, 000!] (+107, 400)! (+1. 074)! …

"That's my regeneration per second. If we translate it to per hour… I regenerate around 3, 860 Ternary Essence Stars per hour."

'This is ridiculous. My total pool of ternary essences when fully buffed with the defender buff is 4, 440 ternary essence stars, more or less. Even if I don't have the defender buff, the numbers drop by around 40% or so in terms of regeneration, while my pool drops by around 50%..." Even then, when she was in an offensive battle, Liu Shu would still recover 2450 or so Ternary Essence Stars per hour, or 0. 68 per second. With these values, Liu Shu would heal an average Level 199 in less than half a minute just by…

existing. As for a Level 200, she probably could heal them in less than two minutes on average. Again, these numbers were for passive regeneration. If you couldn't deal over one star essence of damage to Liu Shu after piercing through all her defenses, Liu Shu could just… ignore you. Like a little fly tickling at her trunk. For a World Tree, this regeneration didn't just mean combat utility. What did a World Tree need the most when spreading? Ternary essences.

A World Tree consumed Aether Mana, Anima Essence, and even Phoer when expanding and creating its roots. Liu Shu also used that for Berry production and many other activities. So, in the blink of an eye, Liu Shu's range of action had expanded to an absurd degree. If we further dive into dragged-out conflicts like the last war…

"Perhaps I should've boosted the passive skills to S- Rank before the war, no matter the cost." Had she had the new four passive skills that increased her regeneration, Liu Shu wouldn't have suffered as much as she did. Many lives would've been saved among her soldiers as well. Speaking of casualties… Liu Shu looked at the vast tomb area she had created for soldiers with a touch of melancholy.

'I lost over 7 million soldiers and over 9 million ants…' It was, by no means, a war without sacrifices. Looking at the total fighting forces from both sides, one could consider these numbers a miracle. After all, Liu Shu fought off almost 500 million soldiers with a combined force of just over 45 million. Even then, Liu Shu lost over a third of her army. The procession for the dead had already been done a while ago. It was the same as ever.

All those sitting at the very back would each carry one coffin for those who had their bodies recovered, or something of similar weight for those who lost even that. Politicians, judges, businessmen related to the military, blacksmiths, woodcrafters, etc. Everyone working at the back and supporting the soldiers fighting at the frontline each carried one of those coffins and proceeded onto the vast plain Liu Shu created for the last resting place of her soldiers.

The procession took several days, and naturally most people didn't work during that time.

'From now on, though, things will vastly change.' No more vastly outnumbered fronts. Liu Shu had 10 whole Star Systems with an average of 5 habitable worlds per Solar System to raise a proper several-hundred-million-strong army. Would she be attacked by several billion in the future? Perhaps. However, when it came to such numbers, the difference didn't matter as much. As long as the terrain was properly defended and Liu Shu built proper fortified areas to defend, she could defend as many enemy soldiers as came.

'Moreover, the <Eternal Church> is developing as well. When they enter the battlefield in the future, they will become an incredible help.' This had been developing behind the scenes. However, those who followed her faith didn't just receive abstract benefits. The normal followers, Saintesses, Avatars, and Apostles all learned many <Faith>-related skills. The <Faith> they used was a touch different from the one Liu Shu gathered, though. Liu Shu's gathered faith was like a lake receiving rainwater.

Meanwhile, the followers had small buckets that automatically refilled as long as their <Faith> toward Liu Shu remained true and pure. It was like an extra <Ternary Essence> pool, but a small one. Even then, the skills they could use were all related to Liu Shu's <Eternity> attribute. They were buff- and debuff-type skills that slowed, accelerated, and overall twisted the speed of enemies. [Speed] was the key word. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Only Liu Shu could manipulate time itself. The <Eternal Church> followers had a very watered-down version of her skills, so to speak. It was true acceleration and true slowdown. Meaning, the receiving end could easily perceive the changes. Don't let that make you underestimate their skills. They were powerful. Moreover, with the <Eternity Temple> in effect, all "lasting" type skills were lengthened and strengthened.

"Speaking of <Temples>... when is the Seventh Temple going to be completed?" She was puzzled to the extreme. It was not that she didn't choose one before the war. After Liu Shu reached Level 200 and completed her <Seventh Energy Cycle>, Liu Shu had opened a new <Temple> slot. For now, Liu Shu had six: Realms, Fatebrushing, Ingenuity, Mortal Growth, Eternity, and Faith. Not only that, but Liu Shu had also chosen the next "concept" to merge with them and continue evolving them.

Remember that she unlocked the skill to merge temple concepts together. That's how the new ones emerged in the first place. For example, Mortal Growth was a mix of Life and Death Temples. Liu Shu quickly made a brief summary of her available temples.

<Life, Nature, and Vitality>: Life, Death, Fertility, Nature, Growth, Seasons, Healing, Decay, Beasts, Flora, Fauna, and Vitality. NEW → Evolution, Rebirth, Ecosystems, Adaptation, Mutation, Reincarnation.

<Essence and Energy>: Phoer, Aether, Anima, Energy, Will, Power, Resonance, Flow, and Essence. NEW → Absorption, Conversion, Circulation, Fusion, Synchronization.

<Elements and Forces>: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Wood, Light, Storms, Lava, Lightning, and Elements. NEW → Gravity, Pressure, Inertia, Momentum, Motion, Magnetism, Force, Heat, Cold, Sound.

<Space, Time, and Dimension>: Space, Time, Infinity, Void, Dimensions, Reality, Moon, and Worlds. NEW → Distance, Position, Direction, Connection, Traversal, Layers, Anchoring, Stars, Cosmos.

<Order, Chaos, and Duality>: Chaos, Law, Freedom, Balance, Harmony, Origin, Endings, Renewal, and Eternity. NEW → Stability, Change, Destruction, Creation, Preservation, Absence, Existence, Foundation, Center.

<Mind, Emotions, and Consciousness>: Knowledge, Wisdom, Thought, Memory, Perception, Emotion, Dreams, Nightmares, Imagination, Fear, Desire, and Serenity. NEW → Information, Cognition, Logic, Calculation, Learning, Instinct, Awareness.

<Art, Civilization, and Society>: Music, Crafting, Architecture, Writing, Communication, Art, Civilization, War, Conquest, and Peace. NEW → Technology, Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Trade, Governance, Industry, Exploration, Transportation.

<Destiny, Divinity, and Higher Concepts>: Summoning, Destiny, Prophecy, Fate, Faith, and Ascension. NEW → Providence, Fortune, Causality, Divinity, Authority, Blessings, Miracles, Transcendence.

Liu Shu looked at that massive list and released a breath.

"There are so many concepts that I am lost, to be honest. The fact that I only have seven slots is driving me crazy sometimes." She even had some regret when choosing previous synergies. She would've loved to just gather all concepts in each major path and order them that way. That way, she would not be struggling so much. Sadly, she had not done that. Therefore, the paths were a bit mixed now. Not that she regretted her choices.

Still, she did feel that she could've chosen better if she had her current knowledge back then, when she first chose about the synergy paths and such. After going through the list, Liu Shu naturally chose from the newly unlocked concepts. Those were of a higher order than most of what she had developed earlier. Not compared to some like infinity and the like. Still, they were advanced enough to prioritize them when choosing merging.

"Let's see… these are the ones I have now and the ongoing fusions."

Life/Death → Nemesis Path → +Reincarnation Destiny/Prophecy → Synergy Path → +Causality Craft/Civilization → Synergy Path → +War Summoning/Dimensions → Synergy Path → +Existence Eternity → Synergy Path → +Infinity Faith → Synergy Path → +Divinity (Not built yet) Order → Nemesis Path → +Chaos ** Her last choice was not chosen because Liu Shu liked the concept of "order, but because she wanted to build the <Chaos Temple>. However, if she started with Chaos, things could get… dramatic.

As a reminder, the previous effects of the <Chaos Temple> Liu Shu discovered were the following: <Chaos Blessing (A- Rank)>: While under its influence, all beings gain 100% resistance to Chaos energies. There is a low chance of becoming <Chaos Touched>, granting the <Title> with the same name. While under the effects of the Blessing or the Title, you gain: Randomized stat variance per action: +20% to -5%. Every <Talent> or <Passive Skill> used has a 10% chance to be double-cast without cost.

Each hit has a 1% chance to cause a random elemental explosion with identical strength to the hit.

<Chaos Touched>: Unpredictable effects may occur during battles, crafting, or spellcasting.

It was, quite literally, chaos. If she built this, she could either hit the biggest jackpot in existence or cause her entire delicately built tower to crumble due to some massive sledgehammer striking at her foundation. When it came to the ticket stuff and the like, Liu Shu didn't mind gambling. She liked it, to be honest. However, when it came to gambling with her entire civilization… Well, Liu Shu was not that desperate yet.

"Honestly, it is a hilarious blessing." A chuckle escaped Liu Shu. If she were playing a game instead of truly building a civilization, she would've clicked on it 100% of the time.

"That's why I first need to build the Order Temple and later fuse it with Chaos to gain controllable effects." Moreover, she felt that the Chaos Temple would be very helpful if she could control its effects. The double casting effect alone was crazy, not to mention the rest. As for the <Order Temple>, the effects were milder but not weak in the slightest.

<Order Blessing (A- Rank)>: While under its influence, all beings gain 100% resistance to <Order> energies and their adverse effects. There is a low chance of becoming <Order Touched>, granting the <Title> with the same name. While under the effects of the Blessing or the Title, you gain: Random variance in the results of your actions is reduced by 20%. Negative variance is slightly suppressed. When repeatedly performing the same action, efficiency and precision gradually increase by up to 25%.

When cooperating toward a shared objective, interference between allies is reduced by 30%. <Order Touched>: You subconsciously perceive irregularities in familiar patterns, allowing you to notice actions, objects, or phenomena that noticeably deviate from their surroundings.

It was a… peculiar blessing. Liu Shu could not even start to understand the deep influence this temple would have. Variance, after all, was not bad. The world moved with change. Therefore, excessive order would cause stillness.

'I might need to control this blessing. This blessing is best suited to middle- and lower-rank individuals. High-rank individuals might feel constricted because of it.' As she reached this point, Liu Shu wondered.

"Why not… instead of just giving it to everyone, I decide to create <Order Territories>? That will lessen the impact this temple can have."