Emerging from the warehouse, Xiao Mo's gaze once again fell upon the hundred-meter-tall ancient natural tree. Its sprawling canopy and thick, straight trunk spoke volumes of its age.
"Lord, that is my original form!"
At that moment, a clear voice sounded behind Xiao Mo. A maiden with exquisite beauty, appearing no older than sixteen, materialized out of thin air. Clad in a blue long dress, her bare, fair feet seemed to glide as she floated forward like a gentle breeze.
Xiao Mo's alertness spiked, and Mo Wuxin and Xian Meng'er immediately shielded him. The maiden descended slowly, offering Xiao Mo a slight smile, a faint dimple appearing at the corner of her lips. She then curtsied respectfully to him.
"Esteemed Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you personally! My name is Mu Ya, the ancient natural tree of this Wooden Man tribe. My primary duty is to guard the tribe and nurture the Wooden People!"
"Greetings, Mother!"
Upon seeing the maiden appear, Mu Chunrou and the other five shamans bowed respectfully. The surrounding Wooden People also showed signs of great excitement.
Xiao Mo, however, paused as his gaze fixed upon the maiden, a system notification interface suddenly appearing before him.
[Esteemed Lord, congratulations! You have discovered an ancient natural tree belonging to your territorial forces. This is a troop building for the Natural Wooden People! As it originates from the native forces, it needs to be converted before it can be used as a troop building.]
[Do you wish to immediately convert the current ancient natural tree into a troop building?]
[Yes] [No]
Xiao Mo had never expected that the ancient natural tree could serve as a troop building for the Natural Wooden People. Yet, upon reflection, it felt entirely natural. After all, this ancient natural tree, besides guarding the Wooden Man tribe, was also responsible for nurturing young Wooden People. An ancient natural tree with reproductive capabilities indeed resembled a troop building.
"How can I convert it into a troop building for the Immortal-Demon tribe?" Xiao Mo inquired silently in his mind.
The system notification interface provided the answer:
[To convert it into a troop building blueprint for the Immortal-Demon tribe, you will need to use the blueprint and consume certain resources to construct it within your territory.]
Xiao Mo nodded thoughtfully upon reading this explanation. He wasn't concerned about resource consumption; he had plenty. While perhaps not enough to upgrade his territory to a mid-level tribe, it was more than sufficient to build a troop building.
The biggest question was: if the ancient natural tree of the Wooden Man tribe were converted into a troop building blueprint, would the maiden, the mother of all the Wooden People, still exist?
However, the answer soon became clear.
[Upon conversion into a troop building blueprint, the spirit body of the ancient natural tree will not be annihilated, and its current peak Monarch-tier strength will remain unchanged.]
[The only change will be its nurturing capacity, which will revert to Level One. Similar to other troop buildings, its nurturing capacity will increase with its level. The higher the level, the more troops it can nurture.]
[Furthermore, as this troop building is converted from a native ancient natural tree, there is a chance for its original power tier to increase when its level is raised.]
Reading this, Xiao Mo felt a surge of excitement. These details indicated that converting the ancient natural tree into a troop building was entirely beneficial.
"Heh heh..."
Xiao Mo grew increasingly excited with his thoughts, letting out a laugh. He failed to notice Mu Chunrou, standing beside him, repeatedly calling out to him.
"Lord!"
"Lord?"
Ever since their Mother had appeared, the Lord's gaze had been fixed upon her. Not only had his eyes grown brighter, but he had even started chuckling foolishly, his mouth almost watering. This situation filled Mu Chunrou and the other shamans with apprehension. Was this Lord harboring some ill intentions?
"Hmm? Ahaha..."
Hearing Mu Chunrou's call, Xiao Mo jolted back to reality. Noticing the peculiar expressions on the faces of the Wooden People around him, he instinctively touched his nose and awkwardly chuckled. He then turned his attention back to the maiden, Mu Ya, a slight smile playing on his lips, intending to propose a trade.
"I have a very good deal for you. Would you be interested?"
Mu Ya, her bright eyes twinkling, pursed her lips and smiled. "Lord, if there is anything you require, please do not hesitate to command."
"No, no! Not command..." Xiao Mo hastily waved his hand with a smile, explaining to Mu Ya, "I'm talking about a mutually beneficial transaction. The only disadvantage for you is that once the transaction is successful, you will no longer be able to break away from the Immortal-Demon tribe! You must pledge your loyalty to me forever; betrayal will be impossible!"
Mu Ya heard Xiao Mo's words and smiled faintly, then shook her head. "Lord, you do not yet fully understand our Wooden People. We are a race that highly values the spirit of contract. Since we have chosen to pledge our loyalty to you, we will never betray you in this life."
"However, I hope that Lord can also grant me one request." As she spoke, a hint of longing appeared in Mu Ya's eyes, and her expression became more serious.
Xiao Mo remained silent, waiting for Mu Ya to continue.
"I sincerely implore you, Lord, never to force my lineage of Wooden People to attack other Wooden tribes in the future."
"Mutual slaughter among Wooden People will incur the wrath of the entire continent's Natural Wooden People, and even the Wood Emperor of the central Wood Imperial Empire will surely mete out punishment!"
Hearing this, Xiao Mo nodded without hesitation. This was a trivial matter; he had no intention of pitting the Wooden People against other Wooden tribes.
Seeing Xiao Mo agree, all the Wooden People present showed expressions of excitement. Simultaneously, their loyalty to Xiao Mo instantly surpassed eighty points, and the overall loyalty of the entire Wooden Man tribe approached eighty.
"Esteemed Lord! Will you attack other Wooden tribes in the future?"
At this point, another female shaman, at the peak Spirit tier, asked Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo smiled and nodded, as this was an undeniable fact. However, to stabilize the Wooden People's hearts, Xiao Mo stated his attitude towards other Wooden tribes.
"My territory needs to expand, and the scale of your Wooden tribe needs to grow. Therefore, whenever there is an opportunity, I will indeed attack Wooden tribes."
"However, do not worry. As long as other tribes are willing to surrender voluntarily and submit to my Immortal-Demon tribe, I guarantee that I will treat them as I treat you!"
As his words fell, all the Wooden People present involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief. This was their greatest concern. Now that the Lord had given his assurance, there was room for maneuver...