NOVEL NEXT Chapter 109: The Third Water System Ability
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Shed the old shell, and the new carapace quickly hardened. The body stretched at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon its length stabilized at around 70 centimeters.
Dragon Cypress briefly sorted through the newly awakened inherited memory, spread its membranous wings, sized itself up, wiggled its antennae, and asked:
"Giant Cypress, Round Cypress, what's going on? What are you two up to?"
Outside the King Nest, the gathered ant colony was in utter chaos, celebrating, scampering around, tossing larvae back and forth.
Round Cypress: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, the ant colony is out of control..."
Giant Cypress: "They're cheering for the Great King..."
Dragon Cypress fell silent, contemplating, then lifted its antennae, giving them a fierce shake and issuing a command: Stop! Stop! Stop!
The rioting ant colony gradually quieted down.
Dragon Cypress: Get out! Get out! Get out!
The Great King is angry~
The clustered ants scrambled away in panic.
...
"Why did the colony lose control?"
"No idea."
"Is it because your evolution level is too low?"
"It shouldn't be."
Currently, Round Cypress and Giant Cypress are at age period 4, mid-level; Spiked Cypress often needs to venture out to hunt, eating a bit more Origin Force Food, so it's at age period 5, mid-level.
Round Cypress and Giant Cypress have grown to around 70 centimeters, nearly equal to the advanced Ant King Dragon Cypress in size, and possess about half the strength of Dragon Cypress's strength at age period 4.
In terms of strength, they can definitely keep the colony under control.
But still lost control...
That must be due to life level.
Gigantification Soldier Ants and Intelligent Worker Ants are, after all, only Semi-Origin Force Life.
"Where's Spiked Cypress?"
"All the Soldier Ants ran back to the Ant Nest and ignored commands. Spiked Cypress is guarding the Six Paths Wood Life Seed sapling alone."
"..."
Dragon Cypress was speechless for a while, then lowered its head and spat out the purple kiwifruit seed it had nurtured, instructing, "No need to soak it, just plant it directly."
"Understood." Round Cypress directed a small Worker Ant forward, carefully picked up the seed, stored it in a petite bamboo tube, and hurried away.
Dragon Cypress: "Giant Cypress, take the Soldier Ants down the mountain. The Deep Blue God-Given Seed is an arbor, don't worry about it, just guard the Southern Gorgon God-Given Seed."
"Yes, Great King." Giant Cypress left.
Dragon Cypress wiggled its antennae again, and two Specialized Blue Ants tunneled into the Ant Nest.
Mid-level evolves to advanced; after sleeping for several days, upon awakening there's some weakness.
Devoured in one sitting all the Refinement Ant Honey stored in the bellies of the two Specialized Blue Ants; only then did the hunger abate and strength return.
Dragon Cypress once more observed the bodily changes after evolution. Influenced by its own willpower and mindset, the Silver Cypress Seeds eaten during age period 9 had an effect, making its body a bit slimmer and more slender.
——When I'm at age period 2, advanced Ant King, I should be able to pass smoothly through the Starship Passage.
——But it stops at age period 2. I can't overly slim down just to meet up with Melde and the others.
Dragon Cypress sighed inwardly, shifting focus to the abdomen.
A third blue ring pattern had appeared on its abdomen.
The third Water System Ability had awakened.
Silently sensing for a while, Dragon Cypress seemed to grasp something.
Its gaze turned toward the nest's bamboo tube filled with clear water.
It focused its consciousness and activated its ability.
Steam began to rise from the bamboo tube.
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Third Water System Ability: Heating
Similar to the 'hot water' function of the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot.
Dragon Cypress was speechless for a long time, then continued to check for changes in spiritual power.
Spiritual power extended with force, spreading out of the nest room, forward along the passages.
——The maximum range has reached just over 25 meters.
——Has the Six Paths Child's effect of strengthening the soul kicked in?
——Something worth 900 Source Stones! Why is the effect so negligible?
——Divine Grade enhancements are mostly weak and require consuming lots of things. Buying with Flower Origin Stones is way too costly. I'd better wait for my own Six Paths Wood Life Seed to grow.
Dragon Cypress pondered, retracted its spiritual power, rested for a while, then shifted its focus to communicate with the Throne and activated the Messenger function.
[Please select Messenger type]
[Guardian of Strength]
[Guardian of Hydrology]
[Producer: Agriculture]
[Producer: Refinement]
The Ant Nest needed another batch of Specialized Blue Ants.
Dragon Cypress selected [Producer: Refinement]
The Dominating Throne immediately sent back options.
[Please select quantity]
[Quantity: 1]
[Quantity: 2]
...
[Quantity: 7]
As expected, for age period 1 advanced Ant Kings, each production of 'messenger' has a maximum quantity increased to 7.
Having just completed a Great Rank breakthrough and needing time to recover, Dragon Cypress conservatively chose [Quantity: 4]
Blue light swept by.
The Throne drew energy and nutrients with a suction.
[Messenger: Producer: Refinement generated successfully, entering first stage of origin energy gestation]
Dragon Cypress wiggled its antennae, and two Specialized Blue Ants entered the Ant Nest, delivering food.
After eating its fill, it tucked a Silver Cypress Seed into its Life Pouch to be cultivated as its Life Seed during the age period 1 advanced Ant King stage.
From cultivation experience, ordinary Silver Cypress Trees grow faster and lusher in the southern warm, humid climate.
Life Seed Plants are several times more adaptable to the environment than ordinary plants.
Southern Insects can feel confident choosing Silver Cypress as their Life Seed.
...
Ink Orchid had been stationed at the southern entrance restaurant of the Ant Nest.
Felt the ant colony's riot, anxiously worried for days.
Several times tried to enter the depths of the Ant Nest via the passages, only to be driven back out by berserk Soldier Ants.
Tried to ask Spiked Cypress for information.
Yet couldn't communicate via spiritual mind... Spiked Cypress had also lost control over the Soldier Ants.
The chaos lasted five days, then suddenly everything calmed down.
At dawn, Spiked Cypress led the Soldier Ants in neat ranks out of the nest, letting Ink Orchid finally relax.
Ink Orchid flew from the Ant Nest, dashed toward the Divine Force Barrier, hunted down a Rock Python, removed its head and tail, and brought it back.
Just as Dragon Cypress finished resting and came out to take a look.
"Dragon Cypress? How did it go?"
"Evolution completed easily."
"What happened to the colony?"
"They sensed my life level was about to leap, and went out of control with excitement."
"Uh…"
Ink Orchid: "I was scared to death. Thought something bad happened."
Dragon Cypress: "No worries."
Dragon Cypress stepped up to help, dragging the python into the restaurant, calling for Worker Ants to carve it up, took the gourd from the stone platform on the wall, and poured Ant Honey.
Ink Orchid suddenly noticed the changes in the ring patterns on Dragon Cypress's abdomen.
"Dragon Cypress! You awakened a new ability?"
"...Yes."
"What ability?"
"Nothing special."
"Not powerful?"
"Not in the least."
"Let me see!"
"...Wait a second."
Dragon Cypress was a bit frustrated, wiggled its antennae, and issued a command.
Deeper in the Ant Nest, a Specialized Blue Soldier Ant grabbed a bamboo tube and rushed out, quickly returning from a nearby pool with half a tube of clear water.
Dragon Cypress focused its consciousness and activated the ability. The water in the bamboo tube floated up, forming a water sphere. With another thought, after two seconds, the water sphere began to steam.
"Oh——"
"Uh——"
Ink Orchid was silent for a long while, then said dryly, "That's the hot water function of the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot..."
Dragon Cypress: "That's why the Creator Civilization got destroyed. Too weak."
"It's not totally useless, though."
Ink Orchid tried to comfort, then thought and said, "Dragon Cypress, do you think you'll awaken a fourth Water System Ability when you evolve to Evolution Mountain Lord Level?"
Dragon Cypress: "So far, that seems to be the pattern."
Ink Orchid: "Will it be the 'Ice Making' function of the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot? Or the Water Making function?"
Dragon Cypress: "Most likely Ice Making."
Ink Orchid: "The Ice Making function is useful!"
Dragon Cypress: "I think so too..."
Ink Orchid: "So should we still buy an Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot?"
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Dragon Cypress: "If we have the money, let's still buy one. Who knows when a high-level warrior will get promoted to Mountain Lord."
Ink Orchid beamed: "Let's buy one!"
They ate together, quickly finished, and went down the mountain to check on the Deep Blue and Southern Gorgon Divine-Given Seeds.