Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were both very curious about Sang's flame ability.

Since Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple had decided to set roots at Kiwifruit Mountain, they simply called Sang along to try using the flame ability to help them reclaim land.

...

The Dominating Throne flew at full capacity.

Atop the giant Stump Ant Nest stood Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, Sang — three big insects — and on Sang's head stood the two little guys, Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple.

Swaying and wobbling, they landed on a slope ruled by Green-Red Kiwifruit.

Blue Catalpa: "Sang, look!"

Snakebark Maple: "Sang, isn't it huge!"

Sang gazed ahead at the massive trunked, lush-leaved kiwifruit tree, its canopy covering an area with a radius of over a hundred meters, and was honestly quite shocked.

Insect Clan Life Seeds and Divine-Given Seeds, so long as given enough time, could grow to a hundred, even several hundred meters tall—nothing surprising there.

But for an ordinary plant, especially a vine, to reach such a vast size was truly rare.

Looking around, many other gigantic 'Green-Red Kiwifruit' trees were growing nearby.

This wasn't just an isolated case.

This proved that this plant itself possessed exceptional life force. Once it evolved into a Life Seed Plant, it would be even stronger, and likewise, the Origin Force Food it produced would be plentiful.

Blue Catalpa: "Sang, what do you think of this kiwifruit variety?"

Snakebark Maple: "Isn't it especially amazing?"

Sang: "If the enhancement effect is good, then this plant is definitely excellent."

Blue Catalpa: "It won't disappoint."

Snakebark Maple: "It's definitely powerful."

Sang: "..."

The two of them had obviously grown fond of the kiwifruit plant and were thinking about specializing in cultivating it.

Dragon Cypress chimed in appropriately: "I'll find a way to get more seeds of different kiwifruit varieties. If you two like them, you can plant all kinds."

"Great!"

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple cheered enthusiastically.

Led by Dragon Cypress, everyone landed and examined the 'Green-Red Kiwifruit Tree King' up close, praise flying back and forth among them.

Back to the Throne, they took off for the highest peak of 'Kiwifruit Mountain'.

On the southern mountainside, at a nice gentle slope.

The Dominating Throne lowered in altitude, hovering close to the ground.

Dragon Cypress lifted a foreleg and pointed: "Sang, this spot is pretty good."

"Blue Catalpa! Snakebark Maple! You two, get down!" Ink Orchid was quite displeased with the two little ones.

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple sensibly spread their wings and flew down, landing on Ink Orchid's back.

Sang walked to the edge of the Stump Ant Nest, unfolded its elytra, spread its membranous wings, and glided down.

Water and fire know no mercy. Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne to take off, keeping a safe distance.

Sang stood on the ground, turning in a slow circle as it looked around. Targeting a cypress, it crawled over and spat out a long stream of flame.

The cypress's branches and twigs ignited.

Sang retreated slowly, continuing to release Origin Force.

Amid crackling and snapping, the flames shot up suddenly.

With a whoosh, the entire cypress erupted in a blaze.

Sang's first awakened Fire System Ability was 'Fire Control', basically the same as Dragon Cypress's 'Water Control' ability.

Under Sang's control, the fire on the cypress stretched and elongated, igniting another nearby cypress, and then extending downward to set a shrub below on fire.

The blaze began to spread, centering on Sang, forming a ring of flames with a radius of about twenty meters, burning fiercely.

After a while, all the plants were burned to ash. Sang began moving forward, the dying flames ahead suddenly flaring up, leaping forward to ignite the vegetation ahead…

Sang could not only control the burning flames but could also absorb and extinguish the blazing fire through the black spots on its coleopteran beetle shell.

It cautiously controlled the burning area.

After half a day, the lush woods on the chosen slope had become scorched earth.

Sang put out whatever fire remained, to avoid causing a wildfire.

Ink Orchid, with Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple in tow, followed behind to clear away tall trees that hadn't burned completely.

Dragon Cypress, meanwhile, commanded the Worker Ants to dig caves into the cliffside—digging deep, since Ink Orchid and Spiked Cypress would need to take turns coming to protect and care for them in the future years.

After Sang and Ink Orchid finished clearing the leftover flames and trees, they turned back to till the soil, level the land, and dig drainage ditches.

After busying themselves for five days, winter was about to end.

Ink Orchid stayed with Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple to get familiar with the environment and sweep the mountains for beasts that could threaten the two little guys or their Life Seeds.

Dragon Cypress took Sang back to Scarletlight Mountain, then returned alone to Xianglan Mountain.

…

…

…

The Molan Life Seed bloomed — a new spring began.

Dragon Cypress immediately sowed the Silver Cypress Life Seed, built enclosures, and personally led Soldier Ants to protect it.

One after another, all the Common Life Seed Plants that Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid had cultivated at either the Primary or Mid-Level stages began to flower.

Some of them needed thinning, and Dragon Cypress had to do that personally too.

Round Cypress continued directing Worker Ants, digging the Shandong Reservoir.

Fragrant Cypress and Cypress led the Worker Ants and Blue Soldiers to dig up and transplant Purple Kiwifruit seedlings from the nursery, watering and irrigating them.

They tilled and organized the nursery, sowed new seeds, and carried on with seedling cultivation.

Plus, there was loosening the soil, weeding, irrigation, fertilizing, and so on in the regular orchard.

Spiked Cypress, stationed at the mountain fortress, was called back to take charge of territory patrol and security.

After more than twenty busy days, Dragon Cypress finally finished all their own responsible work, commanded the Dominating Throne, and hurried to Kiwifruit Mountain.

An exhausting two and a half days of flight.

Noon.

Under the warm sun.

Ink Orchid was leading Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, weeding on the slope around their home cave.

Many times, some plants prove more resilient than expected — on land burned by fire, all sorts of weeds would keep sprouting up as soon as spring began.

On a broad area over a hundred meters long and forty to fifty meters wide, four catalpas had been sown at thirty-meter intervals. They'd already grown into seedlings four or five centimeters tall.

Two Purple Kiwifruits had also been sown near the steep slope, to be trained upward later with spider silk ropes.

The large open area in the middle was set aside as a nursery, sown with normal Green-Red Kiwifruit seeds, to grow seedlings first; if the enhancement effect turned out well, some would be transplanted to Xianglan Mountain.

As long as it was a high-quality plant species, Dragon Cypress loved them all and would plant them all.

"Dragon Cypress."

"Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

The Dominating Throne slowly approached, landing at the cave entrance.

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple cheered, running over.

Ink Orchid also stopped working, jumped up, and glided onto the Throne.

"You finally made it."

"Told you. Leave the weeding to me."

"I had nothing else to do." Ink Orchid waggled their tentacle, and asked, "How's the fruit-bearing of our Common Life Seeds this year?"

Dragon Cypress: "About as expected. I pruned off all the extra flower clusters."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid: "And the Northern Gorgon and Fruit-Scented Orchid?"

Dragon Cypress: "Don't worry, they were fertilized in time."

Ink Orchid: "What about my common orchids?"

Dragon Cypress: "They were all sown on time..."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid had a brief talk to report the situation at Xianglan Mountain.

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple ran over.

Dragon Cypress immediately asked: "How about you two? When will you evolve?"

Blue Catalpa: "Soon!"

Snakebark Maple: "Me first!"

Blue Catalpa: "Me first!"

Snakebark Maple: "You get out of the way!"

Blue Catalpa: "You evolved first last time, so now it's my turn."

The two little guys jostled and shoved, looking about to fight.

Dragon Cypress tapped their tentacle, pointing at Blue Catalpa: "It's Blue Catalpa's turn this time."

...

After five days and with the help of Dominating Throne, Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple smoothly evolved to the 5th Age Period.

At the 4th Age Period Primary Warrior stage, they chose 'Green-Red Kiwifruit' as their Life Seed.

This kind of Great Vine Wood usually took up more room than Great Tall Trees, so the open space in front of their cave could only hold two Purple Kiwifruit Life Seeds.

Dragon Cypress then commanded the Worker Ants to clear two new plots on the nearby slope and sow the two new Green-Red Kiwifruit Life Seeds.

They built a protective enclosure, stationed Soldier Ants there day and night, and Dragon Cypress stayed with Blue Catalpa, Ink Orchid with Snakebark Maple, all watching over their own Life Seeds, from germination and growth up to about ten centimeters tall.

Ink Orchid stayed behind.

Dragon Cypress returned alone to Xianglan Mountain.

The mountains were in full bloom.

After some quick tidying up, it was time to set out for the Ten Thousand Nations Continent.