Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 525 - 504: Guidance from the Quandong Divine Tree, The Path to Supreme Power_2

Chapter 525: Chapter 504: Guidance from the Quandong Divine Tree, The Path to Supreme Power_2

Ink Orchid: "Yes—"

Dragon Cypress: "Our goals are clear: Divine-Given Seeds, wealth, and Divine-Grade Fruits that grant abilities."

Quandong Divine Tree: "And territory. You two are quite fixated on expanding your territories."

Ink Orchid: "Expanding territory is just to harvest more Divine-Given Seeds. Dragon Cypress and I have decided that for every Age Period Evolution after reaching the Mountain Lord-Level, we will use a Divine-Given Seed as our Life Seed."

Ink Orchid: "For our Age Period Evolutions, we will only consume Divine-Given Origin Force Food and Divine-Grade Fruits. We aim to become the wealthiest and most powerful insects!"

The wealthiest?

The most powerful insect...

Quandong Divine Tree: "Do you know how to become the most powerful insect?"

Ink Orchid: "By undergoing Age Period Evolutions with only Divine-Given Origin Force Food and Divine-Grade Fruits? Eating them until one becomes a 9th-Age Period Insect King should make one the most powerful, right?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "It’s not that simple. It’s not nearly that simple..."

The Quandong Divine Tree seemed to be awakened by ancient memories. Emotions of nostalgia, yearning, and reflection tinged its tone as it slowly said, "Once upon a time, Huagi Mountain also had an insect with ideas similar to yours, one who started planning from the Mountain Lord-Level and put them into practice. Its name was Mercuries, born in the best of times. It awakened the Water, Earth, Wood, Fire, Wind, Metal, and Thunder Elemental Systems, as well as the Strength and Life systems."

"!!!"

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were stunned.

Quandong Divine Tree: "Do you know how it evolved after becoming an Insect King?"

Ink Orchid: "...We do not know."

Dragon Cypress: "Please enlighten us, Quandong Divine Tree!"

Quandong Divine Tree: "As a 1st-Age Period Insect King, Mercuries used its Water Element Ability to condense three Divine Marks: Big Snow, Frost Sky, and Frost Thorn Light Armor."

"???"

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were puzzled. Three Divine Marks?

Quandong Divine Tree: "After reaching King-Level, with every Age Period, condensing a Divine Mark allows one to break free from the shackles of the Natural Law, undergo a Molting Evolution, and achieve a qualitative leap in strength. However, the Natural True God did not rule that one can only condense one Divine Mark per Age Period. On the contrary, if you have enough talent, you can condense ten Divine Marks."

Quandong Divine Tree: "However, after each Age Period Evolution, one must condense at least one more Divine Mark to undergo the next Age Period Evolution."

Ink Orchid: "Understood."

Dragon Cypress: "So that’s how it is!"

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid felt as if a whole new world had opened up to them. Their tentacles stood erect, waiting for what came next.

Quandong Divine Tree: "Likewise, during its 2nd-Age Period, using its Earth System Abilities, Mercuries condensed three Divine Marks—Sandstorm, Earth Cover, and Stone Thorn Heavy Armor—and underwent one Molting Evolution."

Quandong Divine Tree: "And so on, with each Age Period condensing three Divine Marks, until it evolved into a 9th-Age Period Insect King. Mercuries must have been the strongest, possessing the ability to confront the Natural Law by the time it was a 9th-Age Period Insect King. The Natural Law called for it to depart; it didn’t want to leave, resisted with its abilities, and forcibly stayed in the Origin Force Star Realm for another thirty years."

"!!!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were once again astounded, standing still and awaiting what came next.

The Quandong Divine Tree remained silent for a long time.

Ink Orchid asked, "Quandong Divine Tree, what happened after that?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "But it couldn’t break through the Natural Law’s suppression on its evolutionary level. It couldn’t surpass King-Level, so Mercuries eventually left."

Quandong Divine Tree added, somewhat speechlessly, "Last time you mentioned the Heavenly Frost Divine Tree? That fellow, Heavenly Frost, saw how strong Mercuries was and followed it."

"Er..."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were lost for words.

Quandong Divine Tree sighed softly. "So, afterward, Huagi Mountain no longer allowed such practices. Later on, the Crimson Vein Mountain Catastrophe erupted, the golden age of Origin Force prosperity passed, and it was no longer possible to gather so many Divine-Grade Fruits that granted Elemental Talents. And there were no more extraordinarily perceptive Insect Clan Warriors like Mercuries."

Extraordinary perception?

Dragon Cypress: "Quandong Divine Tree, what do you think of my perception?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "Ink Orchid is quite remarkable. You, Dragon Cypress, seem to be a bit slow."

Dragon Cypress: "Oh—"

Ink Orchid: "Heh heh heh."

Quandong Divine Tree: "Every life should have its own goals to strive for; only then does life have meaning. If you aspire to become the strongest warriors, Mercuries is a very good example to learn from. Of course, reaching the absolute peak isn’t the only option."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid bobbed their tentacles.

Quandong Divine Tree: "Gathering nine Talents is the hardest part; Abilities are relatively simple to acquire. Once you’ve awakened a Talent, opportunities to comprehend Abilities will naturally arise during evolution. When you evolve to King-Level in the future, if you consume a fruit that grants an Ability, a little time will be enough to understand that Ability; there’s no need to wait for a Molting Evolution. Fruit that grants Talents, however, still requires one sleep-evolution cycle. So, if you want to follow Mercuries’ path, prioritize Elemental Talents, with Abilities being secondary."

Quandong Divine Tree: "Dragon Cypress has already awakened Talents in three Elemental Systems: Strength, Water, and Wood. Ink Orchid only has Talents in two Elemental Systems: Wind and Wood."

Ink Orchid added, "Dragon Cypress just ate a Mountain Pillar Fruit that grants Earth Talent!"

Quandong Divine Tree: "I know. Hopefully, it will be successful."

Quandong Divine Tree: "You hold an unprecedented advantage: the ability to communicate simultaneously with the Ten Thousand Clans continent, the Wan Country continent, Bayonet, and Zhibai—the four great continents currently in their Origin Force Era."

With more continents to communicate with, the chances of finding the needed Divine-Grade Fruits naturally increase.

Quandong Divine Tree: "Since you possess a multitude of Divine-Grade Fruits, you are qualified to ask the Flame Spider Caravans on the Ten-Thousand Tribes Continent to search for any Divine-Grade Fruit you need. These Flame Spider Caravans communicate and exchange information with each other. So, if a caravan can’t find what you’re looking for, there’s usually only one reason: insufficient profit."

Quandong Divine Tree: "Alternatively, thinking differently, you could offer a very high price to purchase the needed Divine-Grade Fruit from a caravan."

Quandong Divine Tree: "The Divine-Given Life Seed you already possess is sufficient to support this."

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress and I still owe the Flame Spider Caravan 12,000,000 Source Stones."

Quandong Divine Tree: "The lack of Source Stones is only temporary. Once you and Dragon Cypress have both evolved to Lord-Level, your Divine-Given Life Seeds will be highly productive. 12,000,000 Source Stones will be nothing at all."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid: "A very high price?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "That is for Dragon Cypress Ant King to consider."

Dragon Cypress: "I will try communicating with the caravan first."

Ink Orchid felt a bit dissatisfied.

They kept incurring debts.

Just when there was hope of settling all the debts...

Ink Orchid: "Quandong Divine Tree, didn’t you say that condensing Divine Marks is very difficult?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "It is very difficult indeed. For the majority of Insect Clan Warriors, condensing even one Divine Mark is extremely challenging."

Quandong Divine Tree: "However, having awakened more Elemental Talents and a variety of Abilities provides more options, making the process relatively simpler."

Dragon Cypress: "Quandong Divine Tree, I would like to learn specifically how an Insect King condenses Divine Marks."

Quandong Divine Tree: "It is simple: comprehend Abilities that are uniquely your own. The simplest way is to combine two or more existing Abilities into a new one. Take your Water System Talent as an example. So far, you have mastered the Water Control, Hydrology Shield, Boiling Water, Freezing, and Water Making Abilities, correct?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes—"

Quandong Divine Tree: "You could use your Water Making Ability as the core, combine it with your Freezing Ability, and turn the created water directly into ice. If you perfect this to the extreme and form a new Ability, Ice Making, you can condense a Divine Mark. Similarly, you could use your Water Making Ability as the core and combine it with your Boiling Water Ability to form another new Ability, Fog Making, correct?"

Dragon Cypress: "I understand!"

Quandong Divine Tree: "You also have the Tranquility Ability from the Wood Element system, which requires water mist to execute. If you then combine the Wood Element’s Tranquility Ability with the Water System’s Fog Making Ability, it becomes a more powerful version of Tranquility that does not depend on the natural climate. This can also condense a Divine Mark."

Dragon Cypress: "!!!"

Dragon Cypress: "Having more Elemental Abilities means countless combinations are possible!"

Quandong Divine Tree: "Correct. But that is not entirely true. You also have to consider whether different Abilities are compatible. For example, your Soul-Setting Ability and your Water Making Ability—no matter how hard you try, they cannot be combined, can they?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes!"

Ink Orchid’s eyes lit up. "I understand! Youlian Step! I have been doing something like this since I evolved to Mountain Lord-Level!"

Quandong Divine Tree: "That is why I say Ink Orchid is highly perceptive. You have the potential Mercuries had back then."

Ink Orchid demurred, "Not at all. Absolutely not. I still fall far short..."

Despite her words, Ink Orchid was brimming with confidence, happily waving her tentacles.

Dragon Cypress humbly interjected on her behalf, "Quandong Divine Tree, you are too flattering. Ink Orchid is quite slow; it was just a fluke..."