Ant Lord in the Star Realm

All the Scarletlight Fruit pulp, once refined into Ant King Honey, was collected by a High-Level Specialized Blue Ant, filling a little less than half its abdomen.

The seeds were rather large, so Dragon Cypress directed the little Worker Ants to transport them to the top of the Stump Ant Nest to dry.

Ink Orchid, holding the wooden dish made from a Keg Vine Seed that she usually used for her daily Ant Honey, placed it before the Specialized Blue Ant.

Understanding the cue, the Specialized Blue Ant bent down and regurgitated half a dishful.

Ink Orchid dipped her tentacle in, tasted it, and her eyes immediately shone with red light.

"Dragon Cypress, this Scarletlight Ant King Honey is so delicious!"

"Eat less!" Dragon Cypress, watching with a pained expression, hurriedly waggled his tentacles and ordered the Specialized Blue Ant to retrieve the Ant Honey.

"I—" Ink Orchid, displeased, licked her tentacles, then turned to Mulberry and asked, "Mulberry, do ordinary Golden Light Fruits mature in winter?"

Mulberry replied, "...Yes."

Ink Orchid turned her head back to Dragon Cypress. "Dragon Cypress, shall we come gather a batch this winter?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "Of course!"

Dragon Cypress said earnestly, "Scarletlight Fruit is already a top-tier delicacy; mixing other fruit flavors would only be counterproductive. We'll come over during winter to gather a batch of Golden Light Fruit, refine Ant Honey, and use it to blend with the Scarletlight Ant King Honey. If there's any surplus, Ink Orchid, you can have more."

Ink Orchid chirped, "Okay!"

Ink Orchid then said to Mulberry, "Mulberry, Dragon Cypress and I can give you Source Stones if you plant more ordinary Golden Light Trees in your territory!"

Mulberry was speechless.

Dragon Cypress wanted to grow Golden Light Trees to produce Scarletlight Ant King Honey. Ink Orchid, however, purely wanted them for eating...

「...」

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid didn't rush to leave.

They spent five or six days loosening the soil, weeding, and hunting beasts to dig pits and bury them as fertilizer for Mulberry's Life Seed and the Divine-Given Scarletlight Seed.

After some tending, the Scarletlight Seeds also dried and were stored in a Spider Silk Bag, ready for their journey.

They took a winding route, hurrying to White Rice Mountain for trade.

This year's trade goods were somewhat lacking in variety for Common Life Seeds, and their quality was also quite average. Consequently, Dragon Cypress had to trade Divine-Given Ghost Fan fruits to White Rice.

Then, taking another winding path, they arrived at Southern Sour Jujube Mountain.

They checked the Keg Vine Seeds planted last autumn. Most had sprouted successfully and were growing quickly. They helped by pulling out the surrounding weeds.

The fruit of the Divine-Given Southern Sour Jujube Seed was about to ripen, so they loosened the soil for it and added fertilizer.

Journeying further south, they reached Ghost Fan Mountain.

At the intersection of two gullies beneath the encircling mountains, Ghost Fan and Woodberry were busy in the mudflats.

Following Dragon Cypress's advice, they had widened the riverbed here, shaping it into a bell-mouth. During summer's heavy rains, the surging mountain floods would slow at this point, depositing most of the sediment. This would prevent the downstream riverbed from silting up and flooding the territory.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King! Ink Orchid!"

From a distance, Ghost Fan looked up and waved its tentacles in greeting.

The Dominating Throne accelerated, approached, and landed on the riverbank.

"Ink Orchid! Dragon Cypress Ant King!" Woodberry exclaimed as it crawled out of the mudflat. It quickly ran to a nearby channel, rolled in the clear water to wash off the dirt, and then hurried back.

"Little Woodberry, you can help with work now!"

Holding a Metal Can, Ink Orchid leaped down gracefully, landing lightly.

"I can! I'm in my eighth Age Period."

Eagerly, Woodberry took the Metal Can and opened it to inspect.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, this is..." Ghost Fan raised its foreleg, pointing at the surprisingly large Stump Ant Nest.

"Oh, an Ant Nest made from a Paulownia Tree. It's convenient for cultivating new ants during my journeys as a Roving Merchant—making money without neglecting the Ant Kingdom's development," Dragon Cypress briefly explained. Carrying a large Spider Silk Bag with two Metal Cans, he vigorously flapped his wings and landed gently.

"Ghost Fan, these two cans contain Origin Force Food that strengthens Comprehensive Physique, including 100 high-quality Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds. They are 2,000 Source Stones per can."

"Take your time finishing them. Ink Orchid and I don't have anything particularly urgent; we can stay and help you dig the riverbed until you enter your Evolution slumber."

Ghost Fan replied, "Great! Thank you."

Ghost Fan took the Spider Silk Bag. "Let's go to my cave first."

Dragon Cypress maneuvered the Dominating Throne to land on the flat ground beside the cave, where it slowly shrank.

Ghost Fan and Ink Orchid helped unload the Stump Ant Nest.

Woodberry, also very eager, came to help.

All the goods from the Throne were carried into the cave.

The Dominating Throne was parked inside the cave, shrunk to two meters in diameter.

After Ghost Fan had eaten and drunk its fill, it held a Metal Can, lay on the Throne, and began to eat with concentration, preparing for its Evolution.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid gathered some thorny plant branches for the cave entrance; then, taking Woodberry with them, they went to dig and widen the riverbed.

They left early and returned late.

One day, two days, three days...

「On the fourth day, at twilight.」

A faint Origin Force fluctuation was detected.

Woodberry returned to the cave to check on the situation. It then rushed back, fluttering its elytra excitedly as it announced, "Ink Orchid! Dragon Cypress Ant King! Ghost Fan has begun its Evolution!"

"Let's go back and check!"

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid climbed out of the mud, quickly washed themselves in the stream above, and hurried back to the cave.

On the Dominating Throne, Ghost Fan had fallen into a deep slumber. Vast amounts of Origin Force were gathering on it, gradually forming a huge cocoon that emitted a hazy white glow.

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Woodberry all restrained their spiritual power and held their breath.

Dragon Cypress gently waved his tentacles, signaling.

Together, they carefully moved the thorny branches they had prepared earlier, stacking them to block the cave entrance.

Stepping a little further away, Dragon Cypress instructed, "Ghost Fan is in good condition. It should complete its Evolution successfully in four to five days. Ink Orchid, take Woodberry and guard the cave entrance. I'll continue to widen the river mouth."

"Alright!" Ink Orchid and Woodberry replied in unison.

They rested for the night.

The next day, Dragon Cypress went to work at the river mouth alone.

One day, two days, three days...

Four days later, in the mid-afternoon, the sky changed abruptly. Fierce winds blew, dark clouds gathered, silver lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled as torrential rain poured down.

What terrible summer downpour weather at Ghost Fan Mountain!

Dragon Cypress erected a Hydrology Shield to seal the cave entrance, isolating it from the wind, rain, and thunder.

He maintained it for the rest of the afternoon and throughout the night.

The rain stopped.

Inside the cave, intense Origin Force fluctuations erupted. The Dominating Throne accelerated its absorption of Natural Primordial Force. This continued for a short while before quickly subsiding.

「At dawn,」

The highly concentrated Origin Force enveloping Ghost Fan gradually weakened and dispersed.

Ghost Fan awoke, bathed in the morning light.

It shed its old shell, its body rapidly expanding, stopping when it reached about 2.2 meters in length.

With the assistance of the Dominating Throne, Ghost Fan had completed this Evolution with relative ease.

It was now an eighth Age Period High-Level Wooden Darkling Beetle Warrior.

It was just one small step—and one crucial large step—away from the Mountain Lord Level.

「...」

The early summer Roving Merchant trade concluded after a total of 37 days.

They inventoried their goods.

The Scarletlight Ant King Honey and Scarletlight Seeds would be wholesaled to White Ivy at the lowest price, for a total value of 26,754 Source Stones.

There were 520 Ghost Fan fruits, totaling 13,000 Source Stones.

The various Origin Force Foods collected from White Rice Mountain were nearly depleted, with a combined value of 1,600 Source Stones.

Additionally, common Origin Force Food recently collected from Ghost Fan Mountain was valued at 4,200 Source Stones.

The Blue Ants possessed exceptional storage abilities. The Ant Nest still contained Southern Sour Jujube Refined Ant King Honey, which was nearly five years old and had not spoiled. This would also be wholesaled to White Ivy at the lowest price, valued at approximately 16,000 Source Stones.

These constituted the total assets of Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid, amounting to roughly 61,500 Source Stones, give or take a little.

The total assets seemed substantial, but they were mainly concentrated in three types of Divine-Given Origin Force Food: Scarletlight, Ghost Fan, and Southern Sour Jujube. The internal Roving Merchant trade on Cloud Trace Continent was somewhat sluggish. Consequently, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were hesitant to consume the Origin Force Food that strengthened Comprehensive Physique.

The growth and Evolution of Round Cypress, Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, Fragrant Cypress, and Cypress were temporarily halted.

If they could hold out for two years and successfully trade with White Ivy, selling the Scarletlight and Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Origin Force Foods, their current predicament would be easily resolved.

If their cooperation with White Ivy proceeded as planned, flourishing and expanding, everyone would have an inexhaustible supply of Origin Force Food each year.

「...」

「Xianglan Mountain.」

Under Round Cypress's leadership, the excavation of the Shanxi Reservoir was completed.

Built on a ridge, it was only 30 to 50 meters wide and about 200 meters long.

Overall, it was rectangular, though somewhat irregular.

The deepest part was about 6 meters.

Its four sides sloped gently from shallow to deep, eliminating the need for dikes. It was backfilled with clay and humus to facilitate the creation of an aquatic ecosystem, with plans to raise fish later.

Water was channeled from mountain gullies. Taking advantage of a heavy rain before the dry season, the reservoir was filled to half capacity.

「In the blistering heat of midsummer.」

Most Worker Ants returned to the Ant Nest to escape the heat.

At night, Round Cypress led some Worker Ants out of the nest to continue excavating the channel connecting the Shanxi Reservoir to the Southern Gorgon Reservoir.

Fragrant Cypress managed the Ant Nest's logistics.

Cypress led the Soldier Ants in defending the territory.

Cypress and Fragrant Cypress also cooperated in managing the orchard.

Giant Cypress and Spiked Cypress led Soldier Ants to garrison the western mountain peaks. Occasionally, Spiked Cypress would lead an ant troop to hunt in the direction of the Divine Force Barrier.

Everything at Xianglan Mountain proceeded in an orderly manner, with nothing requiring Dragon Cypress's personal attention.

「After resting for two days,」

They set out northward, carrying the Stump Ant Nest.