Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Lu Yao opened his inventory to check the item he had obtained.
【Mysterious Rare Seed】: Knowledge +1. Planting it will remove the knowledge bonus.
After decryption by the 【True Sight Curse】, the seed was given a new name【Slumbering White Rose Seed】.
Lu Yao immediately thought of something.
Long ago, in the era of 【Dike Builders】, there was a Rose Kingdom on this continent. That kingdom gave birth to witches, transcendent beings, and it was said that their civilization was built upon roses.
Whether this rose seed had anything to do with the ancient kingdom was unknown.
Unfortunately, Isabella's memory had been erased. She had no recollection of the Rose Kingdom, making it impossible to verify any connection.
One thing was certain, though.
The seed must have been dug up by the pine tree followers and then offered to the Songlv God.
Lu Yao tried planting the seed in the soil.
A prompt popped up on the game interface.
Do you wish to plant the 【Mysterious Seed】?
He clicked 【Yes】.
Next, Isabella carefully buried the seed in the soil and marked the spot with stones. Then she hovered in the air, silently standing guard.
After a few minutes, Lu Yao noticed sprouts emerging from the ground.
He remembered he had an item in his inventory that was perfect for nurturing plants.
【Growth Ring LV4】— Possessing this item slightly increases the growth speed of nearby plants.
He equipped Isabella with the ring and had her stand beside the sprout.
Sure enough, the green shoot grew visibly faster.
Lu Yao even summoned rain to provide moisture and expanded the range of the scorching sun to offer ample sunlight.
Soon, the rose sprout unfurled its leaves, and the stem grew taller and taller.
Lu Yao watched with anticipation.
The stem continued to grow.
It grew taller and taller.
Lu Yao became puzzled.
Why was the rose stem growing as tall as the surrounding pine trees? And why was it growing without blooming? Could it be a mutation caused by its long slumber?
Just as he was scratching his head, a giant raindrop-shaped bud emerged from the oversized stem.
The bud was round like a tree canopy, full and robust.
Then, the white rose slowly bloomed.
It was a beautiful white rose, elegant and lovely even in pixelated graphics.
The only issue was that it was too large, dwarfing every tree around it.
The data panel for the white rose appeared.
【Servant White Rose LV10】
Health: 345/345
Mana: 98/98
Damage: 12
Defense: 10
Speed: 7
【Thick Skin】
Naturally possesses high health.
【Decay】
Can slowly regenerate health and mana by consuming corpses or decaying matter.
【Thorns】
Can attack enemies with thorns.
【Range Lv2】
Can attack enemies from a distance, with the range depending on the ability level.
Lu Yao was stunned.
This rose was not like the flowers he had imagined.
The roses of the Rose Kingdom were not meant to be worn or used as beautiful spellcasting items… but were giant rose turrets planted in the ground, used as defensive fortifications.
Soon, Lu Yao witnessed the Servant White Rose in action.
The challengers were two Fighting Beetles.
As the basin's aboriginal, the Fighting Beetles felt uneasy if they didn't fight daily. Especially when encountering foreign species, they felt compelled to put them in their place.
However, the Servant White Rose fired from a distance, its dense leaves shooting out thorns that covered the Fighting Beetles' wing cases with spikes. The breached beetles immediately fled in panic, not daring to come close again.
From that moment on, the status of the Fighting Beetles in the experimental field plummeted.
Although the white rose struck hard against the Fighting Beetles, it was gentle with the green and stink butterflies that came to collect pollen, allowing them to linger and rest among its vast crown and petals.
Aside from attacking provocateurs, the white rose stood quietly like any ordinary plant, basking in the sun and sipping rainwater, becoming a prominent landmark in the basin.
***
Lu Yao turned his attention to the Canopy City.
Having lost divine protection, many Songlv Mice and other animals had fled. The growth of the pine trees slowed, and with the continuous consumption by the beetles, the expansion of the pines was further restrained.
The scale of Canopy City could not expand further, and the Songlv Mice and monkeys became cautious.
Lu Yao clicked on Canopy City.
A new marker appeared behind the wonder (1000/1000).
Lu Yao understood.
He spent faith to claim this wonder for himself.
Thus, the number of available Apostle marks in the top left corner became 6.
The arrival of a new god ignited the fire of faith, exciting the once fearful forest elemental creatures. Most of them showed happy emoticons above their heads, though they still couldn't speak.
Only the Songlv Mouse prophet and heroes had 【Wisdom】, kneeling on the ground, expressing the entire tribe's gratitude and respect through prayer.
"Great God Yao, the Songlv clan is immensely grateful for your protection, and we will offer our faith to you generation after generation."
"Divine Lord, we are very weak, but we will faithfully obey all your commands!"
Lu Yao saw +3874 faith in the top right corner.
Just from this conversion of faith, so many had come over from the Apostle left by the Songlv God.
He had no experience leading an animal civilization.
But someone did.
Lu Yao formally assigned a task to the White God, asking It to reside in Canopy City, to start by driving the local Songlv Mouse civilization, waiting for his subsequent orders.
"Yes, Supreme God!"
The White God said, "This humble deity will surely develop this place! Lead the Songlv Mice to build a city that rivals Yao City and Salt City!"
Lu Yao didn't have such high expectations; since the Songlv Mice had developed a civilization, he just wanted to give them a relatively stable environment to see if they could advance further.
Individually, they couldn't compare to the Fighting Beetles or the Mighty Grass, but they had the advantage in numbers and social cooperation as a group. It was like scratching a lottery ticket.
"Supreme God, this humble deity has a small question…"
—Speak.
"Should this basin be closed off from the outside world, or should it be open? Are other species or humans allowed to enter? This humble deity is unclear. Should this tree city expand its population, or should the civilization itself be further advanced?"
Lu Yao had already considered this.
Of course, it should be open.
Isolation would slow development, while more interaction and collision would spark creativity and demand.
The humans and transcendent beings outside would catalyze this place.
Initially, Lu Yao sealed the experimental area's valley to try out new species. Now that a group of unique transcendent beings had formed here, and their numbers were no longer scarce and endangered, it was time to let them evolve on their own.
After stabilizing things here with the White God, Its next task would be to enter the Golden Plains…
Having arranged the current affairs, Lu Yao immediately set to work on the next project.
This was also one of the near-term goals, to further explore the Abyss.
The boss Curse Insect on the first layer, it was time to deal with it.
Lu Yao rubbed his hands together, began to mobilize manpower, and prepared for the big operation.
The Abyss raid team assembled again!