Chapter 76 - 58: Vein of Life
Chapter 76: Chapter 58: Vein of Life
Before he knew it, only two days remained in the month.
On this day, Lin Yu did not lead his team out to explore. Instead, he was reading in the Wisdom Library.
He sat in the library’s reading area, holding a book titled *My Experience in Territory Management: How I Went From a Pioneer Lord to Master of the Empire*. It was an autobiography written by the founding monarch of some unknown empire. Aside from a few self-aggrandizing tales, it contained a fair amount of information about the Otherworld’s local customs and cultures, as well as its strange systems and beliefs.
In particular, the section detailing the wars of faith sparked by major gods vying for the empire’s belief, which mentioned the relationship between deities and their followers, held a cautionary lesson for Lin Yu.
Sunlight streamed down from above, bathing Lin Yu and outlining his handsome profile with striking clarity.
The Wisdom Library was a magical place; every floor seemed to be the top floor.
During the day, sunlight would shine directly down from overhead; at night, specks of starlight would appear.
Furthermore, at night, the surrounding walls would emit a soft, moderate glow, providing readers with a comfortable and pleasant environment.
Looking up, one could see the sky of the Wisdom Library, but it was impossible to fly directly up to it.
Lin Yu had once asked a Druid to try. No matter how the Druid, transformed into a bird, flew, to an outsider, it seemed to be flying in place, unable to ascend at all.
To switch floors, one could only use the stairs.
To exit the library, one had to use the main doors. However, every floor of the Wisdom Library had a door leading to the outside world, which was convenient. It was just that the next time one entered, they would appear back on the first floor.
TAP... TAP...
A series of hurried footsteps echoed in the quiet space, followed by a voice like silver bells. "My Lord, My Lord, the Vein of Life is about to be completed!"
The voice jolted Lin Yu from the world of his book. He shook his head to clear it, then put down the book and stood up.
"Let’s go take a look. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time."
The two left the Wisdom Library together. Behind them, the book on the table slowly floated up and returned to its proper place on the bookshelf.
For the past two days, Lin Yu had been leading his team outside the territory to clear out the wild monsters at Recruitment Offices and search for promising new ones.
However, perhaps the Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow had used up all his recent luck, as he found no more valuable Recruitment Offices. Every evening, he would bring a batch of Natural Camp units back to the territory, but he hadn’t converted any more of the Recruitment Offices into architectural blueprints.
Today was the projected completion date for the Vein of Life, so he had Shadow arrange for someone to take the new recruits out to level up while he himself went to the library to read and await its completion.
Soon, Lin Yu and Lin Chenxi arrived at the base of the World Tree. Shadow and many of the territory’s residents were already waiting there, filled with curiosity.
The World Tree had now grown to a height of over three thousand meters, with a trunk diameter of more than one hundred meters. Numerous aerial roots also hung down from its branches, making it look like a towering, forest-covered mountain from a distance—what appeared to be a grove was, in fact, a single tree.
Lin Yu stood beneath the World Tree, looking on with anticipation at the constantly churning earth at its base.
He didn’t have to wait long. The rolling soil began to sink, revealing the structure beneath. A flight of stairs extended from underground to the surface. The Vein of Life was officially complete!
Walking down the stairs and through the great doors, Lin Yu entered the interior of the magnificent subterranean structure.
The main body of the Vein of Life was formed by the roots of the World Tree, located diagonally beneath it and extending deep into the earth.
Its interior was composed of multiple buildings with different functions, such as the Soul Hall for souls to rest, the Life and Death Spring for converting death and life, and the Heart of Death for absorbing Death Energy...
After touring the inside of the Vein of Life, Lin Yu led everyone back out.
At Lin Yu’s command, the great entrance of the Vein of Life—the Gate of Reincarnation—slowly closed. A low hum sounded from within as it officially began to operate.
The first things to be affected were the Springs of Life built around the World Tree.
The pools, which could previously only provide enough water for ten residents (by elven standards) to drink each day, immediately became much fuller, their output having doubled.
The pools also deepened. The basins, which had already run dry for the day, began to well up with Life Spring Water from the bottom, stopping only when the Springs of Life were half-full.
Following that, a dark, mysterious aura surged from the roots of the World Tree, spreading through the tree to the entire territory.
Every resident felt a sense of peace emanate from the depths of their soul.
From this day forward, all souls had a place to return to.
Then, Lin Yu opened the recruitment interface for the Vein of Life.
The recruitment costs for the Vein of Life’s units were as follows:
Death Devourer: Wood x10,000, Ore x1,000, Food x1,000, Gold Coins x10,000
Withered Messenger: Wood x1,000, Ore x100, Gold Coins x200
Shadow Reaper: Food x100, Wood x100, Ore x10, Gold Coins x10
After spending a considerable amount of resources (under the effect of Flourishing Branches II, all costs were reduced to 1% of their original price), Lin Yu recruited the day’s available units: 1 Death Devourer (Red), 50 Withered Messengers (Gold), and 200 Shadow Reapers (Blue).
The Death Devourer looked like a Tree-man, but there was a vast difference between it and the old Tree-man from the Wisdom Library, Renado Usman.
The old Tree-man, despite his age, had vines and leaves of a deep, ink-green color, showing the vigorous life contained within; he simply lacked the flourishing vibrancy of newborn, jade-green leaves.
The Death Devourer, on the other hand, was composed entirely of dead wood, fallen leaves, and withered yellow vines. Peering through the cracks that riddled its body, one could only see a darkness as thick as ink, utterly devoid of reflection.
[Name]: Death Devourer
[Tier]: Epic (Red)
[Level]: 1
[Attack]: 250
[Spell Power]: 500
[Speed]: 500
[Defense]: 450
[Health]: 750
[Combat Power]: 4000
[Skills]: Life and Death Conversion, Aura of Death, Aura of Life, Soul Shock, Corrupting Attack
[Talents]: Devour Death, Death Immunity
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[Life and Death Conversion]: The Death Devourer can convert the Death Energy within its body into Life Energy, and can also convert the Life Energy within its body into Death Energy.
[Aura of Death]: The Death Devourer can extend the death within its body to a 500-meter radius.
Allied units within the Aura of Death will be empowered, their attacks applying a random debuff.
Enemy units within the Aura of Death will suffer from organ failure and take continuous damage.
[Aura of Life]: The Death Devourer can extend the life within its body to a 500-meter radius.
Allied units within the Aura of Life will receive continuous healing, have their wounds healed, and have negative statuses dispelled.
Enemy units within the Aura of Life will suffer from mutation and abnormal tissue growth, continuously stacking debuffs.
[Soul Shock]: The Death Devourer can attack an enemy’s soul, dealing pure damage equal to 200% of its Spell Power. If an enemy is killed by this attack, its soul will be absorbed by the Death Devourer and converted into a soul servant to aid in its attacks.
[Corrupting Attack]: All of the Death Devourer’s attacks carry the power of decay, dealing damage equal to 1% of the target’s maximum health.
[Devour Death]: The Death Devourer can devour death. Within a 100-meter radius of where it stands, any death will be absorbed by it. (Passive, can be toggled off)
[Death Immunity]: Damage that carries a death aura cannot harm the Death Devourer.
As the territory’s first and only Epic Tier unit, the Death Devourer’s skills were undoubtedly formidable, fully worthy of its Epic Tier status.
Aside from Soul Shock and Life and Death Conversion, all its other skills were area-of-effect. It could both deal damage and heal, and against attacks imbued with death, it was completely invincible.
Lin Yu could already imagine his next encounter with the Undead Race.