Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 516 - 496 Fey Oil Fruit

Areca Rainforest.

Ink Orchid soared up toward the Dominating Throne.

"Dragon Cypress? Why did you take so long?"

"Major harvest!"

"Major harvest? Speak, quickly. Speak."

"Let’s all talk together."

...

By the riverbank where Azure Trees and Sea Blue Trees were planted, Tie Bush scrambled out from the river channel.

Black Leaf led the Soldier Ants and came running at top speed.

"Great King—"

"Great King, are you safe?"

"Swinging Leaf Island is safe."

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to descend by the riverbank and said, "I landed on the island to check—Fragrant Silk Island and Twin Pillar Island also show no trace of visits from the bee swarms. The northeastern sea region should be safe."

Dragon Cypress: "I searched toward the eastern sea region of the continent and discovered another expanse of archipelagos. There are no mega-islands like Fire Wheel Island. Still, there are as many as seven Great Islands with an area over one hundred square kilometers..."

Dragon Cypress described the details of this exploration and finally analyzed: "Purely carnivorous Bee Clan Kingdoms—occupying the islands, their main objective should be hunting seabirds, maybe fishing along the coasts. The islands are covered in primeval forests, and they haven’t been cultivated or developed, so they likely aren’t searching for Divine-Given Seeds on these islands."

"The bee swarms are active during the day and rest at night. So, Ink Orchid, if we want to search for Divine-Given Seeds, we can only go ashore at night and withdraw before dawn."

Ink Orchid excitedly waved her tentacles in agreement, "Great King, wise as ever!"

Dragon Cypress: "However, we must also guard against Insect Clan Warriors attached to the Bee King or Ant King—some may get bored and wander the insect-free deserted islands."

Ink Orchid: "Like that time we ran into a Flash Butterfly Warrior on Fire Wheel Island?"

Dragon Cypress: "Exactly."

Dragon Cypress: "To be safe, I can spend two to three years quietly observing—getting familiar with bee swarm activity patterns, and keeping an eye out for any other warriors active on the islands."

Ink Orchid: "Two or three years?"

Dragon Cypress: "Not counting this year. Next year, the year after, and the year after that, I’ll go alone each winter, lurking under the sea for three months to observe."

Ink Orchid: "Isn’t that a bit too cautious?"

Dragon Cypress: "Last time on Fire Wheel Island, one slip on my part caused big trouble."

Ink Orchid: "Fine, then..."

Dragon Cypress looked at Tie Bush and said: "The Divine-Given Seed from the Swinging Leaf Ironheart Wood has borne fruit again, but the Xianglan Mountain Kingdom isn’t lacking those few fruits. Tie Bush, you decide for yourself—is it back to Swinging Leaf Island to tend to the Divine-Given Seed, or stay with Black Leaf here in Areca Rainforest and help out for a while?"

Tie Bush: "I..."

Tie Bush was very conflicted.

Very worried about the Divine-Given Seed of the Swinging Leaf Ironheart Wood.

Yet she really wanted to stay in Areca Rainforest; with Black Leaf and the ant colony for company. Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid pass by often, and occasionally there are gatherings back at Xianglan Mountain.

Cloud Trace Continent is really nice~

So many insects and so lively~

The life here is good too, every day it’s hot, cooked meats dipped in Ant Honey for every meal.

Dragon Cypress added, "Tie Bush, if you’re worried there’s still danger over on Swinging Leaf Island, you can stay in Areca Rainforest for a few more years. I’ll pick all the Divine-Given Seed fruits of the Swinging Leaf Ironheart Wood, let it rest from blooming and bearing, and nurse the tree for a few more years."

Tie Bush: "Danger~"

Tie Bush: "Then I’ll stay in Areca Rainforest. But, Great King, I still want to go back and visit Swinging Leaf Island..."

Black Leaf raised a claw, "Great King, I want to go visit too, may I?"

"Alright—"

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll take Ink Orchid over first and search through Swinging Leaf, Fragrant Silk, and Twin Pillar—the three islands. Then I’ll come back and take you over to have a look around."

Dragon Cypress: "In the next two months, I’ll be alone in the Molan Continent archipelagos, lurking and observing."

"Good!"

"Understood, Great King."

Ink Orchid, Black Leaf, and Tie Bush all agreed.

Without further pause,

Ink Orchid leaped onto the Throne, and they set off directly.

...

...

...

Active in the night, resting by day.

Arrived at Fragrant Silk Island around midnight.

Soul-Setting Ability was cast down to sense—no other Origin Force Life on the island; the Dominating Throne dropped straight down.

"Dragon Cypress!"

Still more than one thousand meters from the ground, on the Throne, Ink Orchid suddenly jumped up, peering downward, her tentacles writhing in perception, lifted a claw and pointed below, declaring, "Divine-Given Seed!"

Dragon Cypress: "!!!"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "First, we need to see what kind of plant it is."

Ink Orchid wasted no words, leaping into the air, body flickering as she shot straight into the rainforest below.

The Dominating Throne plummeted, close behind.

A lush, dark-green little arbor tree, six or seven meters tall.

The tree was laden with oval, deep green fruits.

One of the malformed fruits radiated a faint Origin Force Fluctuation.

No doubt— a Divine-Given Seed in its growth stage.

This tree...

Such an unfamiliar little arbor...

Both Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid rummaged through their Inherited Memory, both coming up with the identification: Fey Oil Fruit

A kind of small arbor, heat- and cold-resistant, favoring moist, rainy climates, tolerant of barren soils, but not drought.

Delicious berries, larger than apricots, a bit smaller than wild Hairy Peach. Green skin outside, crystal pale yellow pulp within, seeds are quite small.

On neighboring slopes, a few more were scattered here and there.

Unmanaged, insect-free deserted island—likely native species.

The strengthening effect is decent, a dedicated boost for Earth System Control Ability.

Ink Orchid happily said: "Little arbors are great too! We could make tasty Fey Oil Fruit Ant King Honey!"

After her excitement,

Ink Orchid grew worried again: "But... Fey Oil Fruit ripens at the end of autumn and the start of winter. By then, the Flame Spider Roving Merchants might have already made their way onto the island."

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, think—let’s put our heads together!"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress lightly touched his tentacles, carefully controlling his Strength, cast a Flourish onto the tree, counter-questioning: "What can we do? The Flourish and Tranquility Abilities only help plants grow better, but can’t make the fruit ripen faster."

Dragon Cypress paused, then said: "Don’t pick the fruit! The moment those Flame Spider Roving Merchants spot this tree, they’ll instantly realize other insects have landed here."

Dragon Cypress: "Leave all the fruit, let the fruit trees bear heavier loads, and try everything to delay the ripening time of the fruit nurturing the Divine-Given Seed..."

Dragon Cypress: "If it matures normally, this Fey Oil Fruit Divine-Given Seed should ripen in deep winter—which is high summer for the Northern Hemisphere."

Ink Orchid: "Isn’t that even worse? The Flame Spider Roving Merchants are very likely at that time to travel to Leafcutter Island, passing by Fragrant Silk Island on the way."

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles and said: "End of autumn or early winter is more likely. The Flame Spider Roving Merchants have to head back too, don’t they?"

Ink Orchid was bewildered.

Dragon Cypress: "Let me work out for you the general route and timing for the Flame Spider Roving Merchants traveling through the Southern Hemisphere."

"At early spring season, their tribe gathers to celebrate, merchants communicate, exchange what they’ve got. During Deep Spring Season, caravans set off from Shanglu, travel for one to two months, cross Dragon Cypress Continent, and enter Molan Continent at early summer. They spend about two months moving among the southern frigid zones."

"By end of summer and early autumn, the Flame Spider Roving Merchants head north, active in the temperate zones. End of autumn, entering early winter, they reach the tropics, then circle back, spending two or three months and returning to Shanglu Ancestral Land, just in time for the tribal gathering at the start of the new year."

Dragon Cypress: "The full merchant route is basically like that."

Ink Orchid: "Oh——"

Ink Orchid felt dizzy, a bit unsteady on her feet. Sounded complicated, but probably right.

Dragon Cypress waggled his tentacles, motioning her over to the Fragrant Silk Divine-Given Seed tree.

They looked up.

The Lord-Level Fragrant Silk Divine-Given Seed also bloomed and set fruit every year.

They carefully observed this year’s crop, just about to ripen.

By a rough estimate, they would mature at the start of winter.

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, so we..."

Dragon Cypress: "No other solution. Judging by the island’s activity traces, that Flame Spider Roving Merchant comes each year, but only follows a set route, wandering simply around for an inspection. The spot where Fey Oil Fruit is rooted is more than five hundred meters off that route..."

Ink Orchid interrupted: "The Insect King’s spiritual power senses at least eight hundred meters! The stronger Insect Kings can reach over a thousand."

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles and replied: "My soul is King-Level too. Why else would I bring a Mountain Lord Level mantis to look for Divine-Given Seeds? The Origin Force Fluctuation of the Divine-Given Seed is too faint. When spiritual power spreads out for wide-area scanning, there’s too much info coming in at once. All it takes is a moment’s distraction to miss it."

Dragon Cypress: "Each year, naturally occurring Divine-Given Seeds actually aren’t that rare. Many never get found by Insect Clan Warriors and perish for all kinds of reasons."

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, relax, leave it. When the Fey Oil Fruit Divine-Given Seed is almost ripe, I’ll sneak into Molan Continent and come ashore to harvest it."

Ink Orchid: "What about now..."

Dragon Cypress: "Ignore it for now. Come, let’s go check out Twin Pillar Island. And then search Swinging Leaf Island."