Chapter 171 Advancement
She handed over the data she held to Su Han, which included information about the usage of the Spiritual Energy mine, the absorption rate, and whether there had been any anomalies or erosion.
"The Spiritual Energy mine is very safe. If the relative intensity of the energy in the ordinary foggy environment outside the spatial rift is 2, and it's 3 above the islands inside the rift, then the mine would be a 4,"
explained Bai Qilan through an illustrative comparison. Holding a piece of Spiritual Energy crystal in his hand, Su Han asked, "Can we speculate as to how it was formed?"
The birth of such a thing in the chaotic sea of Spiritual Energy blood was somewhat unexpected.
"Isn't it a normal occurrence for such a vast sea of Spiritual Energy blood to possess such things?"
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Bai Qilan retorted before adding, "The exact reason for its formation is unclear, but if I must conjecture, this material could be considered an impurity relative to the sea of Spiritual Energy blood."
If chaos is the nature, then the coalescence of stable and orderly impurities doesn't seem so strange after all.
"The role of the Spiritual Energy mine is no less significant than an injection, and it greatly aids in research as well," Bai Qilan implied meaningfully. Su Han nodded; he knew what she meant.
The significance of the spatial rift and the island beyond once again took on a heightened importance for any Contractor, as they were treasures that could enhance their strength.
After Bai Qilan left, Su Han began issuing orders to establish the Second Stronghold centered around the Third Hospital.
Over at the Tree Domain, people started to be transferred, with two hundred search teams, a hundred patrol teams, and Zhang Dahai's construction team, approximately five hundred people began working.
Su Han also dispatched the fused Scorpion Spider Demon to construct metallic gates and walls at various strategic passes.
The fusing of the Scorpion Spider Demon lasted a day and a night, and upon completion, it consumed about twelve to thirteen thousand corpses of the Gray Inferior Demons.
The Scorpion Spider Demon's Essence of Flesh escalated by two levels, rising from LV2 all the way to LV4, and the two fusions allowed it to successfully breakthrough to a Third Order Intermediate, significantly enhancing its strength.
There were two benefits gained from the advancement, both in the realm of skill development.
The Blood Qi Blessing evolved to LV2, while the already powerful Coagulation Cannon was further enhanced to LV4.
With the two skills working in tandem, the single-combat capability of the Scorpion Spider Demon greatly improved.
With the Scorpion Spider Demon's help and the assistance of the Mother Nest Ancient Tree's vines in transporting materials, the construction of the temporary base progressed swiftly.
In just two days, the encircling and sealing of the surrounding routes were completed, securing the area around the Third Hospital as a relatively safe place.
Although it was not as secure as the Tree Domain ring zone, it was not easily breachable.
The personnel stationed at the spatial rift had to be trustworthy, thus the first batch stationed there was led by Zhu Xiong.
Zhu Xiong's search teams made up the core, supplemented by parts of the patrol teams, tallying three hundred members stationed there.
The chief officer was Zhu Xiong, the deputy officer was Guo Gang, and they were accompanied by two beasts of burden, set against guarding the location from six Second-grade Monsters.
With such a force, except for someone like Su Han, it would be very difficult to wipe them out.
The stationed troops had three primary tasks: observation, hunting, and training.
The sea of Spiritual Energy blood continued to spawn monsters, and if not cleared in a timely fashion, they would accumulate into a disaster, hence periodic cleansing was necessary.
Since the birth of monsters from the sea of blood was neither regular nor confined to specific locations, patrolling became routine for the stationed members.
They were not only to hone their combat proficiency through fighting the monsters but also to continuously strengthen their Angel Envoys in the heat of battle.
In such a rich environment of Spiritual Energy, frequent combat made getting stronger much more feasible.
Apart from that, they were tasked with monitoring any changes in the spatial rift, as well as recovering Spiritual Energy crystals that appeared on the beach and delivering them to Su Han.
The advantages of being stationed became apparent quickly, as Su Han received a handful to a dozen Spiritual Energy mines each day.
The strength of the stationed members also changed rapidly over the course of a few days.
Zhao Yimin, who was part of the second echelon, reached the racial bottleneck of the Angel Envoy and attained the peak of First Order Upper Grade, influenced by the previous injections and environment of Spiritual Energy.
Through slaying monsters and completing the Divine Initiation Ritual Fusion, he broke through to become a Second-order Contractor.
Although none of the remaining warriors had yet progressed to Second-order Contractors, within the troop of three hundred people.
The 20 people who made the breakthrough to First Order Upper Grade, as well as the 187 who reached First-level Intermediate, will soon make their breakthroughs if they haven't already; it's just a matter of days.
With such significant increases in overall strength, the Tree Domain's power has also become increasingly formidable.
However, as the spiritual energy from the rifts in the alternate space continued to leak out, troubles followed suit.
Monsters surged towards the area where the Third Hospital was located, not only the flesh corpses but also some First Order Upper Grade and even Second Order monsters initiated attacks.
Battles occurred almost daily, and the area outside the Third Hospital was almost piled high with the bodies of monsters.
The large number of battles was also a major reason for the stationed troops to achieve a massive breakthrough.
A considerable number of these monster corpses were transported back to the Tree Domain belt area and then buried underneath the roots.
The Mother Nest Ancient Tree's vines did not immediately assimilate these monsters but instead followed Su Han's orders to fuse other materials.
LV2 Lamp Tree Crystals 67%
Su Han had been controlling the Mother Nest Ancient Tree to fuse the accumulated Lamp Tree Crystals. Compared to the last fusion, an accumulation of over a month provided him with a substantial stock.
On one hand, there were about 50 to 60 Lamp Tree Crystals generated by the Tree Domain itself, and on the other hand, the South City camp and the surrounding camps engaged in trade with the Tree Domain, which allowed Su Han to accumulate a large number of Lamp Tree Crystals.
About 300, that was his current inventory.
As time passed, the fusion degree of the Lamp Tree Crystals was slowly increasing: 67%, 68%...
Before long, a familiar prompt popped up in his consciousness.
[LV3 Lamp Tree Crystal fusion complete, Mother Nest Ancient Tree gains skill advancement: LV2 Ancient Tree Crystal]
With the fusion successful, the Mother Nest Ancient Tree's figure rapidly changed, becoming thicker and taller, with vines spreading continuously.
From over sixteen hundred meters, it suddenly transformed to two thousand meters; the increase in distance was accelerating, and the Tree Domain became all the more worthy of its name.
Observing the strengthening Mother Nest Ancient Tree, Su Han's mind remained calm as he gave the order to continue the fusion.
With an abundance of Lamp Tree Crystals, more than two hundred left after one fusion, Su Han had no desire to hold back.
So the fusion continued, and approximately one night later, the fusion degree reached 100% once again.
[LV4 Lamp Tree Crystal fusion complete, Mother Nest Ancient Tree acquires the skill: Blade of Light and Shadow]
Light flickered between the vines, particularly at the tips of the vines, which, with the skill fusion, shone with the semblance of sharp blades.
Su Han showed a look of surprise and immediately ordered an attack.
"Whoosh"
Under his control, the vine rapidly shot out, aiming at a concrete column of a building.
With a 'puchi' sound, the tough concrete column was pierced instantly; the fearsome sharpness of the Blade of Light and Shadow made the penetration process seamless.
If it were not a concrete column but the body of a monster, the result would likely be even more neat and clean.
"Under simultaneous control, I can only manage about thirty vines?"
Su Han carefully sensed the current limit of the skill, which was somewhat similar to the Man-eating Vine; it didn't apply to all vines but had certain restrictions.
While in use, only thirty vines could be endowed with the Blade of Light and Shadow.
This was still somewhat short of Su Han's vision of Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin, but for the time being, it should suffice.
After all, stabbing a monster with thirty blades should be quite sufficient.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"An eighty plus meter height, vine spread distance reaching three thousand meters; both the belt area and the Shanhu Villa District are now enveloped."
Su Han pondered the changes of the Mother Nest Ancient Tree: "With the Mother Nest Ancient Tree present, the defensive force in this part of the Tree Domain can be slightly reduced; then we can rotate in defense training to enhance overall strength. The northern city is not small, but with a little overall strengthening, it should be possible to take it down.
However, should I fuse the Spiritual Energy mine or not?"
With around 50 Spiritual Energy Crystals on hand, which wasn't too few, he was unsure about the fusion effect; he feared they might not be enough.