Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Dragon Cypress docked the Dominating Throne on the surface of a lake in a region devoid of Origin Force, an Origin Force vacuum. Ink Orchid flew closer, soaring high in the sky.

They surveyed the area from above. It was a good place, abundant in Origin Force, with mountains, lakes, lush vegetation, and herds of animals—a truly fruitful land. Their first check confirmed there were no Divine-Given Seeds. Lowering their altitude for further reconnaissance, they found no Origin Force Plants either. That meant there were definitely no Insect Clan Warriors present. Lowering their altitude once more, they carefully searched the area again to confirm it was unclaimed territory. Another look around, and to their surprise, not even a single fruit tree suitable for making Ant Honey could be found.

"Dragon Cypress, is this the north?" Ink Orchid asked.

"You could say that," Dragon Cypress replied.

"Does it snow in winter?"

"Given its latitude, situated between Xianglan Mountain and Silver Cypress Mountain, it probably snows."

"Then we can plant ordinary Sky-Blue Persimmon Trees on the mountains!" Ink Orchid exclaimed.

"Of course."

"What trees can we plant at the foot of the mountain?"

"Peach trees, pear trees, apple trees, grapes, watermelons, and the like. Gorgon Fruit, lotus, rice—all can be cultivated."

"This is a good place! We can develop more orchards here!" Ink Orchid, usually dejected by fruitless searches, felt nothing but elation this time.

Dragon Cypress, however, was somewhat disappointed. The area had abundant water resources, fertile soil, lush plants, and herds of animals. There were even lakes for fish farming and fishing, providing an endless supply of food. Such a flourishing land, teeming with life, and yet it had nothing of special value to offer.

They retrieved the Dominating Throne and docked it by the lakeside, in the central position of the Land of Origin Force. Ink Orchid went north and Dragon Cypress south, swiftly combing through the woodlands with care. They spent two days thoroughly searching the area.

By evening, they met up by the lakeside.

"Dragon Cypress, find anything?" Ink Orchid asked.

"Nothing."

"I caught a piglet," she said, a little deflated.

"..." Dragon Cypress was silent.

It seemed their efforts were all for naught.

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles, and a stream of water beads leaped from the lake's surface, tracing an arc into a Metal Can. Worker Ants followed a wooden plank onto the ground, their mandible teeth slicing through the pork. Blue Ants carried wooden plates, delivering Ant Honey. Dragon Cypress walked on the water again and caught a few fish, adding to their evening meal. Ink Orchid cut several hooked branches. The fish bones and pork bones were tossed into the can to stew longer. The meat was cut into chunks, pierced, hooked onto the branches, and then blanched in the can before being taken out to eat.

The Worker Ants and Blue Ants traveling with Dragon Cypress, already accustomed to and fond of this way of eating, smelled the aroma and ran out of their Ant Nest. They congregated around the Metal Can, forming an eager circle, their eyes fixed on the food. One clever ant even carried out some larvae, held them aloft, and repeatedly signaled to Dragon Cypress: Great King, please feed the larvae some!

In reality, as soon as a piece of cooked meat was thrown their way, the larvae were swiftly discarded...

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid ate, occasionally tossing food to the others.

"Dragon Cypress, where to next?" Ink Orchid asked.

"Back to Xianglan Mountain," Dragon Cypress decided.

"But it's still summer."

"We are more familiar with the forests near Xianglan Mountain. While the season lasts, let's gather more wild fruits and brew Ant Honey."

"Alright..." Ink Orchid conceded. After a moment, she asked, "Dragon Cypress, are we going to search for Lands of Origin Force in the north from now on?"

"Certainly... though this place isn't really 'north'," he replied.

"Not the north?"

"You can do a simple calculation. Considering the current speed of the Dominating Throne, it takes us nine days flying north from Xianglan Mountain to reach Silver Cypress Mountain, and about thirteen days to reach the Divine Force Barrier at the extreme north. However, heading south from Xianglan Mountain, it takes only four days to reach Ghost Fan Mountain, and then a little over a day more to arrive at the Tropical Coast."

"Oh, right—" Ink Orchid realized.

"In fact, Xianglan Mountain is located very far to the south."

"Yeah..." As Ink Orchid was speaking, she abruptly turned around.

Dragon Cypress turned to follow her gaze.

Not far from them in the woods, beneath a Great Elm with a trunk over half a meter in diameter, a brownish-green figure vanished behind the trunk in a flash.

Dragon Cypress: "!!!"

Ink Orchid whispered, "A Little Warrior?"

Dragon Cypress responded, "Some kind of Beetle."

"Pursue?"

"Let's chase it and see!"

The ant colony sensed the emotional fluctuations of their King and quickly scattered out of the way. Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid simultaneously set off, racing towards the forest and expanding their spiritual power to sweep the area.

Soon, a Sky Ox, desperately flapping its wings in an attempt to escape, was intercepted by Ink Orchid, its path blocked. It turned back, only to find Dragon Cypress blocking its other escape route. It circled down to the ground.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid moved closer, bending over to look carefully. It was a tiny Sky Ox Warrior, only four to five centimeters long. It had a brownish-green carapace peppered with rust-like, matte granules. Its long tentacles, adorned with four clusters of fluff, were a very distinct racial identifier.

"A Furry-Horned Beetle?" Ink Orchid guessed.

"Yes," Dragon Cypress confirmed.

"It seems it doesn't know how to communicate with spiritual power yet," Ink Orchid observed.

"Or it might just be scared stiff."

"Do Sky Oxen feign death too?"

"No..."

"Then it..."

More than just scared, the little Sky Ox Warrior was petrified, lying on the ground with its six legs stiff and motionless.

"Little fellow, don't be afraid," Ink Orchid soothed.

"We mean no harm," Dragon Cypress said, trying to make his Mental Power as gentle as possible.

"What's your name? Which plant did you pick as your first Life Seed?" Ink Orchid asked.

The Little Warrior didn't move an inch.

"I am Dragon Cypress, the Dragon Cypress Ant King," Dragon Cypress stated.

"I'm Ink Orchid. My first Life Seed was an Ink Orchid," Ink Orchid added.

The Little Warrior still gave no response.

"Without elders to protect you, it will be tough to survive in the jungle," Dragon Cypress continued. "Ink Orchid and I mean no harm."

Ink Orchid quickly ran to the lakeside, fetched a dish of Ant Honey, returned, and placed it in front of the Little Warrior. "Little guy, this is something tasty—Ant Honey. Try some."

The Little Warrior's tentacles twitched slightly, but it continued to stay still.

It really is feigning death, Dragon Cypress thought.

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Ink Orchid: "..."

"We didn't bring any Origin Force Food on this trip," Ink Orchid said with a sigh.

"How about we just forget it?" Dragon Cypress suggested.

Forget it? Ink Orchid thought. A sudden realization struck her: Where had this little one hidden its Life Seed?

"Then let's just forget it," Ink Orchid said aloud, glancing at Dragon Cypress.

"Time to go back and eat," Dragon Cypress added.

"Let's go," Ink Orchid agreed.

"We're leaving now," Dragon Cypress announced, turning away with Ink Orchid.

The Furry-Horned Beetle Warrior watched the two insects leave. It remained prone on the ground for a while, then got up, approached the wooden dish made from a Keg Vine Seed, touched the Ant Honey with its tentacles, licked it, and then set off at a brisk run. It climbed a nearby great ash tree and flew away.

It crossed the plain forest and rested on a branch of a golden rain tree, lying quietly and observing for a while before continuing its flight. Finally, it landed on a half-dead Chinaberry tree on the mountainside. The tree, an arbor with a trunk thirty centimeters in diameter, was drilled with five insect holes. The Furry-Horned Beetle Warrior looked around cautiously before backing into one of the tree holes.

Not far away, from beneath the shadows, Ink Orchid's figure appeared. She leaped into the air and sprinted back towards the lakeside.

"Found it! It lives on the mountain," she reported.

"Oh," Dragon Cypress acknowledged.

"A very cautious little fellow, huh?"

"Any newly Awakened Little Warrior, as long as they're not foolish, knows to be cautious," Dragon Cypress remarked.

Ink Orchid: "???"

"Should we go capture it and bring it back now?" Ink Orchid asked.

"No rush," Dragon Cypress replied. "Let's rest for the night and go look for it in the morning."

"Bring it back to Xianglan Mountain?"

"That's the only option for now."

"And then what?"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress hoped for more Insect Clan Warriors to join the trade circles of Cloud Trace Continent to establish an internal cycle of Origin Force Food. However, he wasn't very keen on expending resources to nurture a Little Warrior. Stinginess was a quality a Roving Merchant should possess. Within Cloud Trace Continent, among the insects they currently knew, only Ghost Fan, and perhaps Mulberry, could afford to raise a Little Warrior.

Ink Orchid suggested, "We could send it to Southern Sour Jujube Mountain to help take care of the wild Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seed. We could offer payment."

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles, disagreeing. "That would be no better than me cultivating an Intelligent Worker Ant to lead an ant colony to settle in Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."

"Send it to Mountain Persimmon then?" Ink Orchid asked. "Or to keep White Willow company?"

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles again.

Mountain Persimmon could barely feed himself. White Willow was so poor, he practically rattled. And Mulberry's territory was a tropical rainforest, unsuitable for a Furry-Horned Beetle's survival.

After pondering for a long while, Dragon Cypress said, "We'll go over tomorrow. First, let's see what plant it chose as its first Life Seed... We'll take it back to Xianglan Mountain first. We can spend a few resources to help it evolve to its 4th or 5th Age Period, and then we'll make further plans next spring."