Ant Lord in the Star Realm

The Dominating Throne took a detour to fly toward White Rice Mountain, searching for Lands of Origin Force along the way.

After the transaction was done, it circled back to Xianglan Mountain, unloading cargo and restocking supplies.

The Ghost Fan Divine-Given Seed would mature this autumn.

Dragon Cypress took 1000 Source Stones and then detoured toward Ghost Fan Mountain for another trade.

With all that circling about, a whole month quickly passed.

Most of the time was spent drifting about in the central region of what Dragon Cypress had designated the 'Cloud Trace Continent Southwestern Area,' with nothing to show for it.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid arrived at Scarletlight Mountain once again.

Before the Dominating Throne could even land steadily, Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple came running, flapping their wings to fly up and hop on.

—Ink Orchid!

—Dragon Cypress Ant King!

—You finally made it!

—We're about to evolve.

Blue Catalpa: "I'll go first!"

Snakebark Maple: "I'll go first!"

Blue Catalpa: "It was you last time, this time it's my turn!"

Snakebark Maple: "Last time was you, so this time it's mine."

"Quit arguing!"

Seeing that the two were about to start squabbling and fighting, Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles and gave each of them a smack, saying,

"Blue Catalpa, last time was you first. This time, it's Snakebark Maple's turn."

Dragon Cypress scolded, "Off. Off, both of you. Go unload the Ant Nest first."

Ink Orchid waved its tentacles to shoo them, then followed by jumping off the Throne.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King. Ink Orchid."

Mulberry also came over.

After exchanging a brief greeting, they started by moving the large bags of cargo collected from Ghost Fan Mountain into the cave, then unloaded the Stump Ant Nest.

Snakebark Maple went first, ate some Origin Force Ant Honey, and then fell into evolutionary slumber.

It woke up in just two days.

Blue Catalpa went next, also needing only two days to finish easily.

Sixth-age-period, Primary-Level Sky Ox Warriors, Snakebark Maple chose Dragon Cypress as its Life Seed, Blue Catalpa selected Dominant Chestnut as its Life Seed, each enhancing strength and muscle, and they could cooperate in eating, producing and selling by themselves.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, are you leaving again?" Mulberry was a bit reluctant, waving its tentacles and pointing at Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple.

"Let them stay with me."

Ink Orchid: "That won't do!"

Dragon Cypress: "They're not that young anymore; it's time for them to learn how to manage their own territory."

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple looked at each other, hesitating, wanting to stay here and play, but also worried about their own Life Seed Plants.

Dragon Cypress flicked its tentacles, "Don't dawdle—pack up, head out!"

…

…

…

Midsummer.

Cypress and Fragrant Cypress returned to Xianglan Mountain to manage their territory.

Ink Orchid stayed at Kiwifruit Mountain, taking care of the two youngsters Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, and started teaching them small tricks about territory management and caring for plants that weren't included in their inherited memory.

Dragon Cypress remained at Xianglan Mountain; Round Cypress, Spiked Cypress, and Giant Cypress each used the Dominating Throne's auxiliary functions to molt and evolve once.

The resources needed for the growth of Intelligent Ants and Giant Ants are about 50% to 60% of what's required for an Ant King, with evolution intervals at the mid-level stage best kept at more than half a year. Fragrant Cypress and Cypress would need to wait a while before evolving.

Time entered high summer.

Spiked Cypress and Giant Cypress took turns, leading Soldier Ants out for patrol and scheduling Soldier Ants to take shifts protecting Life Seed Plants.

Cypress led Blue Soldiers every evening to use their Water System Abilities to bring water for irrigation.

During the cool morning and evenings, Round Cypress and Fragrant Cypress led Worker Ants out to dig irrigation channels or clear wasteland in the mountains and forests.

There had just been a burst of rain the past two days.

This year's dry season wasn't obvious, and there wasn't much to do up or down the mountains. The five of them were quite leisurely, spending most of their time resting in the Ant Nest.

As for Dragon Cypress, the Ant King was even more idle. Out of boredom, he made enough 'Origin Force Honey' wooden tags to last two or three years.

There was really nothing to do…

In the restaurant at the entrance of the South Mountain Ant Nest, Dragon Cypress spent a whole day sketching out a map of the 'Cloud Trace Continent Southwestern Area' on the stone wall, calculating distances, and finally circling a few blank zones yet to be explored.

By rough estimate, only about a fifth of the area remained unexplored.

After some thought, Dragon Cypress decided to go it alone.

...

Featherlike clouds swept away, the blazing sun scorched the sky.

The black carapace absorbed heat especially well.

Dragon Cypress tore a pile of taro leaves and spread them atop the Stump Ant Nest, layering two more on himself.

The Dominating Throne skimmed the ground, rising and falling with the mountainous terrain.

Compared to the heat, Dragon Cypress found it even harder to withstand the loneliness of being a solitary insect—and the endless fruitlessness.

At noon,

he parked the Throne in a quiet canyon.

Dragon Cypress buzzed his wings and took off, scouting the area and catching a python to toss onto the Ant Nest before shaking his tentacles and ordering the Worker Ants to eat and rest.

He himself went to the cliff face, lifted his forelegs, made quick sketches and marks on the smooth rock, and did mental calculations.

Feeding and resting.

At sunset and twilight, the Dominating Throne lifted off, heading out in the set direction.

By midnight with a bright moon high, the Dominating Throne stopped again to rest.

At dawn, with the sky just lightening, they set out once more.

The golden sunlight became increasingly savage. Dragon Cypress, head down and watching below, was about to pick some large leaves to cover the Stump Ant Nest, when a jolt ran through him, his tentacles stood erect, and he focused his perception.

Origin Force Fluctuation!

Southeast direction.

—Finally, a find!

After thinking a bit, Dragon Cypress steered the Dominating Throne down, picked a shady big tree, and parked.

Hunting.

Ate and drank his fill.

Slept soundly.

Only after sunset did he take to the air, following the direction of the Origin Force Fluctuation.

By midnight, he approached the Land of Origin Force.

Dragon Cypress searched the area, parked the Dominating Throne over a natural lake, buzzed up into the air, and went out to scout.

The standard exploration routine.

First, a high-altitude reconnaissance to confirm there was no Wild Divine-Given Seed present.

Below, the land was undulating with mountains, there was a majestic mountain and a stream.

Lower in altitude, flying and searching, but unfortunately, he still didn't find any Origin Force Plants.

Most likely nothing again.

Dragon Cypress skimmed low, searching carefully.

Until noon the next day, he managed to ascertain: it was centered on the majestic mountain, a Land of Origin Force about five to six kilometers in diameter.

He could confirm there was no Origin Force Life here.

Another ownerless patch to the list.

Finding empty places like this had become routine; Dragon Cypress wasn't disappointed.

He returned to the natural lake, piloted the Dominating Throne to the foot of the lofty mountain, and parked in the shade by the stream.

He laid down wooden planks and issued instructions: Blue Ants to fetch water, humidify and cool the Stump Ant Nest; Worker Ants and Soldier Ants could go to the ground and move about around the Throne.

Dragon Cypress himself wandered leisurely through the forest, surveying terrain, soil, animals, and plants.

There were quite a few wild fruits here, and up the mountain, he found a large patch of the rather rare 'Waterfall Strawberries,' ideal for refining 'Fresh Fruit Light Fragrance'-flavored Ant Honey.

Come autumn he could pick a batch, and next year find a spot on Xianglan Mountain to plant them; he could spend time on selective breeding or crossbreeding to get larger and sweeter quality plants.

Strawberries were a highly aromatic plant variety, well worth the time and effort to experiment with.

The 'Origin Force Honey' co-produced with White Ivy, if things went well, could earn more Source Stones a year than even a single Divine-Given Seed.

Dragon Cypress was keen to keep optimizing various flavor and fragrance profiles, to refine and stabilize the business, which called for more varieties of high-quality fruits.

He kept searching and soon was happily surprised to find a type of 'Black Cory Grape.'

Grapes were Great Vine Wood, a much-loved fresh fruit; on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, many tribes specialized in cultivating grapes, and Dragon Cypress was sure those people didn't have this variety.

The neighboring Wan Country Continent probably didn't have it either.

As a Life Seed, Black Cory Grape produces Origin Force Food with the effect of reinforcing Water Element Ability—a middle-of-the-road, standard variety.

Tribes that specialized in grape cultivation, and those Insect Clan Warriors who loved grapes, would no doubt pay Source Stones for seeds.

Once upon a time, Dragon Cypress might have thought to sell seeds to Flame Spider Roving Merchants in exchange for Source Stones.

Now, though, no need for those extra Source Stones—he could make this an exclusive specialty crop of Xianglan Mountain, selling it only in 'Honey' form.

—Not bad! This trip wasn't wasted after all.

Dragon Cypress returned to the mountain river gully.

He planned to spend two days thoroughly surveying the place for valuable plant species.

It was the season for Black Cory Grape ripening, so he could assign Worker Ants and Blue Ants to pick grapes and refine Ant Honey.

He shook his tentacles and called back the nearby wandering Worker Ants and Soldier Ants to the nest.

He retrieved the planks, and the Dominating Throne lifted off, just about to head to where he'd found the Black Cory Grape, when a Specialized Worker Ant popped up from the gully below, frantically waving its tentacles: "Great King, wait for me!"

"You again..."

Dragon Cypress was speechless.

He recognized the fellow.

One of the Specialized Worker Ants he'd cultivated just after evolving into a High-Level Ant King—especially clever, and especially lazy when it came to work. From eclosion's birth till now, it hadn't done a single honest day's work, and often instigated other Worker Ants to shirk together.

So Dragon Cypress made it a negative example, picked it out for special attention, and for harsh jobs like sweltering summer expeditions, especially brought it along.

—What's it doing over there?

—Maybe I should pretend not to see it and ditch this loafer?

Dragon Cypress hesitated, feeling a twinge of pity, so he maneuvered the Dominating Throne to land, darted out with his wings, grabbed the lagging Specialized Worker Ant, tossed it onto the soft pad of the Throne, whipped it with his tentacles, and ordered it to get back to the nest.

This Specialized Worker Ant, though, kept emitting innocent pheromones, refusing to return, waving its tentacles and pointing down the gully, sending ambiguous signals: "Dig! Dig! Dig..."

Dig your head!

You loaf every day when I tell you to dig reservoirs!

Dragon Cypress lashed it twice more on the head, then piloted the Dominating Throne to lift gently off the ground.

The Specialized Worker Ant still refused to return, grew anxious, jumped off the Throne, and ran toward the gully below.

Halfway there, it turned and shook its tentacles again frantically: "Great King! Dig!"

"Hm?"

Dragon Cypress suddenly sensed something was off.

Could this thing have found something while digging down there?

He landed the Dominating Throne again, took off, and dropped straight into the gully below.

Beside the stream, under a huge rock, in a dug hole, there was a silver-white metal shard sticking out.

—Starship Wreckage!

—It recognized the value, and it's digging for this!

Dragon Cypress stared closely, swept mental power over it, went around to the back of the boulder, and with effort shoved it aside, moving a stone over a meter thick away.

It was simply a single, flat fragment.

Less than three centimeters thick, a separating panel from some unimportant room in the Starship—not worth much.

However,

If there's one piece scattered here, could there be many more around?

This Land of Origin Force is no ordinary place!

This Specialized Worker Ant is a bit special too—how did it recognize Starship Wreckage? It surely didn't, but it realized it had value!

"You come here!" Dragon Cypress waved its tentacles to call.

The Specialized Worker Ant came over.

Dragon Cypress: "Great King bestows on you a formal name: Black Cory."

Dragon Cypress: "From this day forward, you have a name: Black Cory."

Dragon Cypress laid down plank walkways, waving his tentacles in greeting.

The ten accompanying Large Soldier Ants and twenty Large Worker Ants came out of the nest onto the ground.

Dragon Cypress pointed at Black Cory with his tentacles and gave the order: "You all follow it! Listen to its commands."

Dragon Cypress: "Black Cory, take them and go down the river—see what else you can find."

"Okay—" Black Cory reluctantly led the team out.

Dragon Cypress took the opposite direction, following the mountain stream up the mountain.