Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 499 - 479: The Return

Returning to Cloud Trace Continent.

Dragon Cypress and White Rice first made a trip to the Areca Rainforest, handing over all the collected tree species to Black Leaf who was stationed there, and explained the growth habits of each plant in detail.

Black Leaf was entrusted with the cultivation work.

It took up a day.

Setting off again.

Escorted White Rice back to the mountain.

Delivered the good news to Ghost Fan.

Informed White Willow along the way.

Finally, returned to Xianglan Mountain.

...

The Dominating Throne had yet to enter the Land of Origin Force, when Ink Orchid sped over to greet them, circling and landing on the throne.

"Dragon Cypress? Why did it take you so long? Did you open the gate?"

"Opened."

"What about the passage?"

"Dug through."

"So you and White Rice visited Molan Continent?"

"Yes, we did."

"Did you see what type of leafcutter ants were on the opposite island?"

"No, didn’t dare to look. White Rice and I were afraid to alarm the island’s ant colony, so we dove and slipped away from the deep sea right away, putting distance between us. Then we searched for other islands in the endless ocean."

"Oh! So did you find any islands?"

"Of course..."

All the insects and trees of Xianglan Mountain Kingdom knew Dragon Cypress departed last winter to undertake a journey exploring the new continent.

As soon as the Dominating Throne entered the Land of Origin Force, the spiritual power of Azure and Black Yellow rushed to greet him, and the silly Southern Gorgon also energetically extended his spiritual power to join in the fun.

"Dragon Cypress, did you open the gate?"

"Dragon Cypress, did you dig through the passage?"

"Did you successfully infiltrate Molan Continent?"

"What’s the situation over there..."

"Great King!"

"Great King, you’ve finally returned!"

Sensing the Origin Force fluctuation, Fragrant Cypress and Silver Cypress, who were working in the orchard on the hillside, sprinted toward the Azure Blue Reservoir.

Spiked Cypress, too, rushed over urgently.

Dragon Cypress didn’t want to repeat himself, so he waited for everyone to gather before giving a unified, detailed account of the entire Molan Continent exploration.

After finishing,

Dragon Cypress sighed:

"A continent ruled by the Ant Clan and Bee Clan, and it’s quite obvious that the ants and bees of the Southern Hemisphere are much fiercer than our side’s on the Ten Thousand Nations Continent in the Northern Hemisphere. The few kingdoms I observed in secret, each one was more bold and tough than the last—not a one to mess with."

"Ink Orchid, it seems our previous plan to sneak into the unclaimed lands of the mainland to search for Divine-Given Seeds is probably a bust."

"For now, we can only garrison troops and develop on the distant ocean islands where the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree’s Divine-Given Seed has taken root. After we reach King-Level, we can consider whether to enter the mainland." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"However, as I observed, surrounding the main continent, there are many scattered small islands—some a few square kilometers, some dozens, even over a hundred square kilometers. We can check them one by one and make a record of the deserted islands unoccupied by insects. Ink Orchid, let’s schedule regular scouting trips..."

"Also, I didn’t have time to thoroughly survey the remote ocean areas far from the mainland. If there’s time, we’ll check them one after another—maybe we’ll find a bigger, insect-free island."

Dragon Cypress spoke out his plan.

All the insects felt both excited and a bit let down, disappointed.

The gate to the new continent was opened, and yet they still had to sneak around like thieves, hiding out on little islands?

Spiked Cypress looked left and right, raised his claw and asked, "Great King, what about after King-Level?"

Dragon Cypress: "That’s a ways off. We’ll talk when we reach King-Level."

Spiked Cypress: "Great King, our Xianglan Mountain Ant Kingdom isn’t weak, is it?"

Spiked Cypress suddenly got energized, waved his tentacles and shouted, "Great King, after we reach King-Level, we can fish the seas, prepare on the islands for a hundred years, train an army of a hundred thousand Blue Soldiers. We can stir up storms, sweep the continent—doesn’t matter if they’re Ant Kingdoms or Bee Kingdoms, we’ll wipe them all out! The whole Molan Continent will be ours!"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Ink Orchid imitated Dragon Cypress, waving his tentacle and fiercely smacking Spiked Cypress’s head, "Spiked Cypress, why are you so dumb? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot..."

Silver Cypress analyzed seriously, "We’ve got Blue Soldiers, and the ocean is our advantage. However, fighting on land, I’m afraid we’ll have no edge at all. A hundred thousand ant troops definitely won’t be enough. Even a million wouldn’t do. For something like this, you have to focus on strategy. First, don’t show off our strength; otherwise, the ants and bees of Molan Continent will join together against us. Instead, we should occupy the near-shore islands and target a conflicted Ant or Bee Kingdom nearby—take it down in one go. Once we have a foothold on the continent, we breed more Soldier Ants and Green Soldiers skilled in land and jungle combat, attack those Beach Kingdoms first, and with the sea as our support and endless food supply, we keep expanding the army while encroaching further inland..."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Silver Cypress is just as dumb as Spiked Cypress, but at least there’s a glimmer of wisdom amid the foolishness.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacle, threatening to strike.

Silver Cypress leapt aside, dodging a safe distance away.

Dragon Cypress: "Stop daydreaming. Who knows when we’ll even reach King-Level. Get back to your own work."

Dragon Cypress: "Fragrant Cypress, the trade with the Flame Spider Roving Merchants should start this year. Sort out the preparations."

The Divine-Grade Baihe Fruit harvested last year was still stored in the Huagi Mountain Treasury.

After a short rest, Dragon Cypress hurried off again with Ink Orchid.

...

...

...

The Dominating Throne hadn’t yet entered the Purple Tung Insect Nation, when Ink Orchid anxiously beat his wings and flew toward the Central Region.

The spiritual power of the Huagi Divine Tree, Linnan Divine Tree, and Jinhe Divine-Given Seed all came to greet him.

Jinhe: "Little Mantis, where’s the ant? What’s going on?"

Ink Orchid: "The ant is too fat! It flies slow. It’s behind."

Linnan asked impatiently, "What’s the situation? Did you open that big metal gate blocking the road?"

Ink Orchid: "Gate’s opened!"

Ink Orchid zipped and circled down, landing on the Huagi Divine Tree.

Purple Tung and Night Fragrance also extended their spiritual power to listen in and ask questions.

Yellow Stem, who was practicing combat skills with Linnan Divine Tree, fluttered over, hopping and rushing to join.

Cypress and Black Birch also arrived, flanked by Soldier Ants.

Ink Orchid, imitating Dragon Cypress, waited for everyone to gather, then slowly tidied her feelers and began her story at a deliberate pace:

"Dragon Cypress and White Rice Lord also dug through a tunnel to the seabed. They successfully infiltrated Molan Continent, did some preliminary checking and searching in the northern seas, found an island of around 150 square kilometers. There’s a wild Lord-Level Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree Divine-Given Seed on the island, and we’ve named the island Swinging Leaf Island..."

Ink Orchid proposed: the island behind the big gate occupied by leafcutter ants should be named ’Leafcutter Island,’ and the one with the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree should be ’Swinging Leaf Island.’

She gave a detailed retelling of Dragon Cypress’s infiltration and discoveries on Molan Continent.

When she finished,

Dragon Cypress arrived driving the Dominating Throne, parked beneath the Huagi Divine Tree, and greeted everyone in turn.

Silence.

Linnan Divine Tree broke the silence, speaking solemnly: "Ant, if the opposite main continent is controlled by the Ant Clan and Bee Clan, you guys must act with utmost caution. Still, this has its upside. The ants and bees are perpetually on guard over their territories, always plotting over their neighbor’s lands—rarely leaving their own kingdoms, much less traveling far to explore. If it were the Ten Thousand Clan, loads of those insects get bored and like to wander, maybe even into the ocean, where they might stumble upon you."

Night Fragrance agreed: "Exactly. Dragon Cypress, you’re an Ant King, and so green, nobody can even tell your original tribe. If you develop on the Molan Continent islands, even if other ant or bee clans find you, they won’t immediately see you as an enemy invader."

Dragon Cypress: "Yes. I’m not really worried about that. I’m not worried about much—I came mainly to report to the Huagi Divine Tree."

Huagi Divine Tree: "So, as predicted, things are about the same as we’d deduced before. The Flame Spider Kingdom should be over on Dragon Cypress Continent, that continent called ’Shanglu.’ Those Flame Spider Roving Merchants probably arrive at the tropical coast of Molan Continent’s mainlands during the winter, and dispatch one or two Spider Kings to Leafcutter Island, delivering supplies to the Leafcutter Ant Kingdoms there."

Huagi Divine Tree: "According to my calculations, the seasons of the Southern Hemisphere are exactly the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere’s winter lines up with summer in the North. Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, you should be careful to avoid Molan Continent during their summer. If you run into them, things could get complicated."

The seasons of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are reversed?

Why?

Dragon Cypress bowed his head in thought.

When he’d landed on Swinging Leaf Island before, seeing the plants, he’d already vaguely sensed something off about the season.

It was spring’s rebirth for Cloud Trace Continent, but over at Molan Continent, it seemed to be autumn with ripe fruit.

"Got it! Thank you for the advice, Huagi Divine Tree!"

Dragon Cypress replied.

He didn’t know how the Huagi Divine Tree figured it out.

No need to ask now.

He’d verify it again when entering Molan Continent, then ask later.

Huagi Divine Tree: "Regarding the trading patterns of the Flame Spider Roving Merchants, I’m only speculating. To get the specifics, you’ll need to evolve to Evolution Lord Level, get your soul strength up to King-Level, find a suitable spot to hide, use the Soul-Setting Ability to observe and confirm."

Huagi Divine Tree: "As things stand, during winter on the Cloud Trace Continent side, it’s relatively safe for you to head to Molan Continent. At that time, it’s the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Flame Spiders are likely moving in the cold and temperate zones."

Huagi Divine Tree reminded: "Don’t go in and out of Molan Continent too often. Every illegal crossing carries a risk of being discovered—do it too many times and the chance only increases."

Dragon Cypress: "I understand. We’ll be extra careful. Just one trip per winter each year."

Huagi Divine Tree: "Be careful. At Lord-Level Stage, don’t make any big moves."

Huagi Divine Tree: "I’m just a tree, I don’t have any better advice."

Dragon Cypress raised a claw, solemnly saying: "Huagi Divine Tree, I have a small question. In the near-shore region, when I used the Soul-Setting Ability to observe the condition on the island, I discovered a main nest of an Ant Kingdom and sensed the soul of a King-Level Ant King. But when I focused deeper intending to sense it more clearly..."

Huagi Divine Tree interrupted: "You were detected."

Dragon Cypress: "Yes."

Huagi Divine Tree: "The concealment of the Soul-Setting Ability is directly tied to soul strength."

Huagi Divine Tree: "After you evolve to Evolution Lord Level and reach King-Level soul tier, generally, you won’t be discovered. Only a few with especially powerful or sensitive souls—Insect Kings—might sense it. You should be cautious: don’t carelessly peek into the soul of an Insect King."

Dragon Cypress: "Understood. I’ll remember!"

Dragon Cypress’s main reason for coming was to report in, to let the Huagi Divine Tree know their investment in Divine-Grade Fruit and Source Stone from Huagi Mountain hadn’t gone to waste—or rather, results were already seen.

Dragon Cypress sincerely thanked him again: "Thank you, Huagi Divine Tree, for your guidance!"

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid and I have nothing more—heading back to Xianglan Mountain to arrange the spring trading."

Yellow Stem raised a claw: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, will you have time this spring? I need to use the Dominating Throne to evolve."

Dragon Cypress: "...How about at the end of spring?"

Yellow Stem: "...That works too."