Unfortunately , it had proven easier said than done , forming a working mold for a Dao Array , even if he had a working blueprint for his Cosmic Core . And with his odd constitution , he found himself laughably bad at intuiting the correct path . Luckily , Zac found a solution that saved a lot of time . His two Soul Cores were now attuned , and they could nurture the molds on their own by leaving them inside the core .
It was a slow process , and he had to take them out and run Dao through them occasionally . Otherwise , the molds would be reabsorbed into the cores . In return , the Evolutionary Core had run its Dao through the knot tens of thousands of times , allowing it to grow increasingly complex over the past year .
The current iteration had gone beyond the classification of a Dao Braid , though Zac wasn’t sure it could be considered a Dao Array . For now , Zac called them his Dao Molds , and they provided roughly 15% greater power output compared to his old Dao Braids . Even better , they were incredibly convenient to use , making it easier for Zac to instill his attacks with his optimal strength .
The only downside was that the molds currently had only one setting : full blast . Meaning an expenditure of quite a bit of Mental Energy and Dao . That wasn’t a problem right now . Full blast was exactly what he needed .
A vibrant green haze poured out from Zac’s body as Primal Edict] activated , empowered by the Dao Mold . In return , the remaining ten enemies made their move . The soldiers steadily advanced , clearing the nearby trees without wasting much energy . However , none of them made any moves to target Zac .
He wasn’t surprised . Their energy wasn’t theirs to use . It belonged to their master . Besides , they clearly didn’t want to stray too far from Valsa . Both sides knew she was the key to the battle . As long as they didn’t spread out , they could collapse on him again . And with the trees being dismantled , it would be harder to force another ambush . Unfortunately for them , Ancestral Woods] had long since reached Peak-mastery .
The skill had been his next upgrade after Pillar of Desolation] , and he’d tried to accomplish the same thing inside the Orom World . He’d come up woefully short that time , yet he still managed to push a High-quality F-grade skill into a Peak-quality E-grade skill . Now that it also had reached Peak-mastery , it wasn’t so easy to get rid of , and new trees were constantly sprouting . The resilience of the woods had grown far greater . Technically , Zac could keep regrowing the forest as long as at least 20% of the trees remained standing .
The only downside was that each tree cost a little more Cosmic Energy than the one before . The cost would become prohibitive if the warriors were allowed to act as lumberjacks for too long . Even if he had the energy to spare , he couldn’t channel it fast enough to replenish what was lost .
The remaining mages remained like two statues , seemingly content to control what Zac assumed was the barrier . Of course , there was also the possibility of them preparing another nasty surprise like the one in the sky , so they were his main target .
Finally , there was Valsa . She radiated a blinding light like a celestial , and seven rivers of light emerged behind her . They ran through the sky above Zac’s head until they reached the other side of the dome . Zac felt a pang of danger .
They fell like raindrops—thousand upon thousands of daggers of light , stabbing toward the ground . No wonder Valsa waited to attack him until they reached this place . She had a Dao of Conflict to match her Dao of Light . Together , they formed intangible blades with incredible destructive capabilities .
In just a second , she had destroyed more ancestral trees than all her followers combined . Zac wasn’t much better off as a hail of projectiles harried him . No matter where he dodged , they followed . It looked like she could at least partly control the things that fell . Meanwhile , two alabaster wings covered Valsa and her followers , creating a dome within a dome .
Zac felt his domain crumbling and desperately tried to maintain enough trees—just a bit more . The emerald smoke released from his body had already permeated the whole dome , forming a beautiful moss that seemed able to live on just about anything . The ground was covered , as were the trees of Ancestral Woods] . Even sections of the energy dome made out of pure light gained a greenish tint as moss started growing on it .
Perhaps he shouldn’t consider it odd . Light was a common source of nourishment for Life .
The moss didn’t even need something to attach to . Floating clouds of green drifted about—for a second before getting ripped apart by the dagger rain . Even then , the surviving shreds formed the cores of new clouds and began growing . Everything was consumed , everything became nourishment . The only thing still pure were the rivers in the sky , as the falling daggers shredded any Dao or energy that tried to get close .
In a sense , the true alpha predators of nature weren’t the largest beasts that roamed the lands . The true terrors were the smallest members of flora and fauna . Mossy was a prime example of that , and the unique creature had been part of the inspiration for Primal Edict] .
Of course , creating a draining layer of moss was only the beginning .
Creaking sounds formed an ominous rattle before the world exploded with an exuberant hunger . Innumerable vines grew out from the moss , lashing out at anything that came close . They grew as quickly as Vivi’s vines , covering the whole battleground in an instant . The seven warriors found themselves under assault by a tide of vines , and their progress was greatly hindered .
The vines didn’t look quite like Vivi . For one , they were filled with as much Dao of Conflict as Dao of Life . As such , they weren’t fully smooth . They had three protruding equidistant ridges , each forming a natural edge with powerful cutting capability . They weren’t as strong as the blades of Nature’s Edge] , but the dome was already crawling with them .
The tip of the vines was extremely sharp , and they had three barbs with far greater hardness than the rest of the vines . If they managed to pierce someone , it’d cost a chunk of flesh to rip them loose .
The vines which sprouted close to Ancestral Woods] wound themselves around the trees , forming secondary armor before they shot toward the sky . Each vine was like the spear of an E-grade warrior , and Zac smiled upon seeing they were individually more powerful than the daggers . Between Adamance of Eoz] and his high Endurance and Vitality , they were extremely difficult to stop .
The vines shattered the raining daggers one by one until they were ripped apart , at which point they regrew . However , this came at a huge cost of Cosmic Energy and Vigor . The skill was already scaled to the point it could be mistaken for a D-grade skill , as were the seven rivers of light above . Zac wouldn’t stand there and watch . He was normally confident when it came to wars of attrition , but not when faced against an elite with a squad of walking batteries by her side .
Besides , Zac doubted his enemy would be content watching things play out like that . He was proven right as a cascading wave of light ripped through the domain . Unfortunately , the wave didn’t head toward him , but rather the four remaining pillars of Empyrean Aegis] . Zac sighed as he stepped into a tree , but he didn’t move over to protect the core of his defensive skill .
Instead , he appeared at a tree close to his enemies , where eight slashes of light greeted him . Zac growled as his arm turned to a blur , and Vivi aided as best as she could as he pushed toward the closest soldier . The golden world of Empyrean Aegis] trembled as he stepped within the winged domain and felt a noticeable weight on his shoulders . The moment his defensive skill failed , it would get far worse .