Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 435 - 415: Little Wild Chestnut Divine-Given Seed

Chapter 435: Chapter 415: Little Wild Chestnut Divine-Given Seed

At night, Dragon Cypress gathered with the other insects for a simple discussion.

The next day,

Dragon Cypress followed Ghost Fan, Snakebark Maple, and their group to train beneath the Linnan Divine Tree.

They trained in the morning,

and in the afternoon went to the orchard to command the ant colonies in their work.

Up early and returning late, finding a balance between work and rest.

A tight work rhythm, a regular daily routine.

Unconsciously, summer arrived.

Amidst the noisy calls of cicadas and frogs, the blazing summer days neared their end.

The northern fish-breeding reservoir was completed.

Dragon Cypress sent White Rice back to the mountain to rest.

Immediately afterward, he headed straight for the Areca Rainforest.

...

Late at night.

At the foot of a low hill.

Beside the Little Yunmu Tree, there was no sign of Black Cory, nor any trace of the Divine-Given Seed that had been developing on the tree.

Dragon Cypress felt a faint chill in his heart and hurried at full speed toward the split nest location.

"Great King?"

Inside the ant nest, the sleeping Black Cory was startled awake.

"Great King! You finally came!"

"Where’s the Divine-Given Seed?"

"It was harvested twenty days ago. The orchard in the Areca Rainforest hardly needs any care, and I was bored to death here, so I caught fish for twenty days."

"Oh—"

He thought something unexpected had happened.

Dragon Cypress secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Black Cory waved his tentacles, issuing commands.

From the next nest chamber, a large Soldier Ant carried in an oversized metal case, placing it in front of Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress opened it, glanced inside, then swallowed the seed straight away, storing it in his Life Pouch.

"Black Cory. Well done. Take a rest first. Tomorrow morning, we’ll depart for Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."

"Alright, Great King. But..."

Black Cory: "Great King, I think I can evolve to the Evolution Mountain Lord Level now."

This soon?

Dragon Cypress was a bit stunned. He swept his spiritual power over Black Cory, considered it for a moment, then said, "Let’s send you back to Black Lotus Lake to evolve first."

"Alright, Great King!"

Black Cory agreed.

He could finally go home for a visit—he was so happy he didn’t sleep a wink all night.

...

Before the Dominating Throne even entered the Land of Origin Force, White Willow sped over to greet them.

Black Cory energetically waved his tentacles in greeting.

"Oh! Black Cory! You’re back!"

White Willow circled around the Throne, then landed on the top of the backrest.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, didn’t you say there might be a Divine-Given Seed about to be born on Southern Sour Jujube Mountain? How come Black Cory is back?"

"During the spring trade with the Flame Spider Roving Merchant, I gave Black Cory an extra ten thousand Source Stones’ worth of Ant King Honey. The evolution happened ahead of schedule."

"Oh—"

"Evolving to the Evolution Mountain Lord Level?"

White Willow beat his wings and did a somersault in the air, delighted.

They entered the Land of Origin Force,

ate and drank their fill,

placed the Dominating Throne in the ant nest. Black Cory climbed onto the Throne to rest and prepare for his evolution.

White Willow kept watch at the cave entrance.

Dragon Cypress, with nothing pressing to do, wandered around.

Nearly the entire mountain, top to bottom, had been cleared out by Black Cory—every bit of the limited land put to use.

A circle of Azure Trees grew along the lakeshore, and beneath them, Black Lotus covered the ground. Fifty or sixty meters from the shore, lotus leaves formed a continuous sheet of lush green.

Noticing that many of the fruit trees in the orchard were poorly maintained, Dragon Cypress gathered a team of Worker Ants and directed them to prune everything again.

Two days later,

Origin Force Fluctuations came from the mountain—Black Cory fell into deep sleep.

Five days later, once again there were Origin Force Fluctuations from the mountain—Black Cory woke from his sleep.

"White Willow? Great King?"

Black Cory had shed his shell, and tried to extend his spiritual power, sending out a call.

"Black Cory?!"

White Willow’s wings trembled as he shot straight up, then dropped straight down again. "Black Cory? Are you alright?"

Black Cory: "I’m fine!"

"Rest first. Recover," Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles, signaling the Blue Ants, who had been waiting for days, to enter the cave and feed him.

He finally developed spiritual power and could communicate that way.

After taking a few bites of Ant Honey, Black Cory couldn’t wait any longer and squeezed out of the cave.

"Wow!"

"Black Cory, you’re almost as big as Dragon Cypress Ant King now."

White Willow soared in the air, hovering low to get a better look.

Black Cory was about the same size as Dragon Cypress, rather plump and chubby, and after evolving to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, grew to three meters long.

His belly was a bit sunken.

"I’m going to find something to eat!"

White Willow turned and disappeared in a flicker among the trees.

Soon he returned carrying a wild hare.

One wild hare was far from enough to eat.

White Willow dropped the prey, turned and disappeared again, coming back with a wild pheasant...

Dragon Cypress and Black Cory, together with their ant colony, went down the mountain to catch fish from the lake, and cooked soup by the lakeshore.

They held a little feast, a small celebration.

White Willow kept hunting, and in the end brought back a wild boar.

"White Willow, that’s enough food."

Dragon Cypress called to everyone and signaled for them to eat together.

"Alright—"

White Willow stood beside Black Cory, scooped two chunks of meat from the stone pot with his claws, scarfed them down, then looked up and asked curiously:

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, it’s summer now. Shouldn’t you be in the Purple Tung Insect Nation keeping watch on the White Poplar Divine Seed? Why did you suddenly come over to help Black Cory evolve?"

Black Cory explained, "Back in spring, the Great King and Second King found a Little Yunmu Divine-Given Seed that was about to mature in the Areca Rainforest and sent me to guard it. Second King stayed at Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."

"Oh—"

White Willow felt envious and buried himself in eating.

Dragon Cypress said, "White Willow, I see your Life Seeds are growing well and don’t need much care. Why don’t you and Black Cory go play at Southern Sour Jujube Mountain for a while? I’ll bring you back when I pass by for the late autumn trade."

White Willow: "Sure!"

White Willow asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, who’s on watch at the Purple Tung Insect Nation? Still Spruce and Snakebark Maple?"

Dragon Cypress: "White Rice, Ghost Fan, Areca, and Red Moonseed are all there. Last winter, we even found a rare Dry Stone Green Ground Beetle Little Warrior named Chinese Clematis..."

Eating and chatting idly.

From midnight, they ate until dawn.

Dragon Cypress was just about to call for departure when Black Cory suddenly raised a claw and said hesitantly, "Great King, I think I’ve comprehended a Strength System ability too... Rend?"

As Black Cory spoke, primordial energy gathered at his claw tip.

Dragon Cypress tapped his tentacle and gestured toward the open lake surface ahead.

Black Cory swung his claw.

A sharp burst of primordial energy sliced through the air, leaving ripples on the water.

"Not bad!"

"Much stronger than Round Cypress."

Dragon Cypress praised, and with a thought, manipulated a one-meter-diameter Water Sphere to leap out of the lake, morph into a cylinder, and freeze on the bank.

"Black Cory. Give it a try."

"Okay—"

Black Cory raised his claw, focused, and swiped.

The Ice Pillar was cut in half.

Dragon Cypress now had a detailed assessment in his mind.

Black Cory, like other Assistant Kings, was about average in combat, and after evolving to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, the inherited ability among Strength System types was much weaker than Spiked Cypress and Giant Cypress, but much stronger than the logistics Command Ants like Round Cypress.

Of course, such strengths and weaknesses can always change.

The Mountain Lord Level is a brand-new stage in the journey of life evolution. From there, continuous growth can be achieved through Origin Force Food, Divine-Grade Fruit, combat training, comprehending abilities, and so on.

Dragon Cypress: "That’s enough. Black Cory, White Willow, go pack up your things so you can set off early."

...

"Dragon Cypress!"

"White Willow!"

"Black Cory?"

Ink Orchid came up and, getting a closer look, stood there stunned for several seconds before snapping back to reality. "Black Cory, you’ve reached Mountain Lord Level?"

"Yes, Second King."

Black Cory swung his tentacles in response.

"Wow! Congratulations!"

Ink Orchid circled around the Throne.

After greeting them, White Willow sensibly took off, giving Ink Orchid room to land.

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, you harvested the Little Yunmu Divine-Given Seed smoothly, right?"

Dragon Cypress: "Of course, it’s already in the pouch. I took the Linnan Divine Tree’s advice, and this winter I’ll train harder, so by next spring I’ll evolve to Age Period 5."

Ink Orchid: "I need to step up my combat training too... So, where will you plant the Little Yunmu Divine-Given Seed? At Southern Sour Jujube Mountain?"

Dragon Cypress: "Southern Sour Jujube Mountain! Near the Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed, find a suitable spot."

The Dominating Throne landed beneath the Red Cypress Divine Seed tree.

"Dragon Cypress?"

"Red Cypress, this is Black Cory!"

"I recognize him... he’s grown up."

"Indeed. As a High-Level Assistant King evolving to Mountain Lord Level, his size increased tremendously."

Dragon Cypress turned to look at Black Cory.

Black Cory: "Great King, I can receive mental messages from the Red Cypress Divine Seed now."

"Red Cypress?"

Black Cory tried communicating with his spiritual power.

Red Cypress: "Black Cory, hello—"

Just awakened to spiritual power, this was Black Cory’s first conversation with a plant. He found it fascinating, and began chattering away, "This is White Willow, my friend. We live together at Black Lotus Lake..."

Wonderful!

Dragon Cypress felt reassured again.

Black Cory, like other Assistant Kings, could now smoothly communicate with his own Life Seed Plant.

For many years to come, Black Cory would spend most of his time on Southern Sour Jujube Mountain.

Black Cory could chat with Red Cypress and take better care of him, and also help look after the Little Yunmu Divine-Given Seed...

Dragon Cypress surveyed the terrain and picked a good spot for the Little Yunmu Divine-Given Seed to take root.

Black Cory led the ant colony to dig a hole.

Dragon Cypress, meanwhile, traveled alone piloting the Dominating Throne, gathering all kinds of Divine-Given Remains from various ruins and transporting some over.

First, make the preparations needed for planting.