Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Autumn.

The bleak season where all things wither.

The Dominating Throne flew at an unhurried pace beneath the white clouds.

The wind stirred the air with a mournful whine and shrill hiss.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid nestled together atop the Stump Ant Nest, sprawled and listless.

Following the guidance of the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed, they had unearthed all ten relics of Glinting Gold's tribes; aside from the exuviae of the God-Given Seed, nothing else was found.

After half a year of searching, three new Lands of Origin Force had been discovered, but all were empty—not a single God-Given Seed, not a single Little Warrior.

A despairing outcome for Ling Chong.

The exploration of the eastern region of Cloud Trace Continent was nearing its end. Now in the far north, the chance of finding an Insect Clan Warrior further north grew even slimmer.

"Dragon Cypress——"

Ink Orchid stood up, raising a claw to point into the distance. "Land of Origin Force."

"Oh——"

Dragon Cypress moved his tentacles in acknowledgment and used his mind to guide the Dominating Throne to adjust its course.

Eastward,

They quickly saw at the eastern edge of the continent the Divine Force Barrier separating Cloud Trace Continent and Dragon Bamboo Continent, radiating with seven-colored rainbow light.

They arrived at their destination as the sun set.

A Land of Origin Force fairly close to the Divine Force Barrier.

Dragon Cypress couldn't be bothered to avoid notice anymore; the Dominating Throne flew directly in from high altitude, sensing—confirming there was no God-Given Seed.

They lowered altitude to survey the terrain.

A typical northern mountain forest, late autumn, the hills awash in gold.

Rivers meandered among the mountains, and there was a clear pool.

The scenery was pleasant enough.

"Eh!"

Ink Orchid leapt up. "Origin Force fluctuation from a Life Seed Plant! Down the mountain over there!"

With that, he soared through the air, sprinting toward the distant mountain peak.

Dragon Cypress hurried to speed up the Dominating Throne to follow, and before long, he too felt the aura of an Origin Force Plant.

Getting closer, his heart gave a jolt.

A special Origin Force fluctuation that only a God-Given Seed would have!

Ink Orchid sensed it as well, circling down to land in the forest at the mountain's base.

Dragon Cypress followed closely.

A God-Given Seed of Black Fruit Huckleberry, its tree around seven or eight meters tall, was releasing mental power filled with intimidation and fear.

Mid-level tier.

A God-Given Life Seed born of an intermediate warrior.

There were fresh digging marks beneath the tree; the soil had recently been loosened, the weeds cleared away.

"Finally found it~"

Ink Orchid cheered, moved.

After toiling for half a year, fortune turned at the last moment and something was finally discovered.

"Keep your distance, don't scare it."

Dragon Cypress was equally joyful.

They'd found a Little Warrior with a God-Given Seed!

The Dominating Throne ascended the slope.

Spiritual power spread out, scanning.

They quickly counted: a total of twelve Life Seed Plants.

A four-Age-Period intermediate warrior. A smart fellow—nearly all the Life Seed Plants chosen were fast-growing shrubs or vines with decent growth potential, hardly any repeats, and all were focused on comprehensive physique enhancement.

On an Origin Force Isolated Island, only Little Warriors both clever and lucky like this could survive alone through the primary and mid-level stages and evolve into advanced warriors.

Dragon Cypress kept searching higher.

A small mountain range, just a hill of thirty or forty meters elevation. Beneath its summit, in a cliffside natural cave, the entrance was a narrow fissure four or five meters long, at its widest just half a meter across.

The Little Warrior living here had filled the fissure with clay, leaving only a circular opening just over ten centimeters wide for coming and going.

Afraid of frightening the other party, Ink Orchid flew back to the Dominating Throne, straightened his posture, and stood side by side with Dragon Cypress.

The Dominating Throne slowly moved closer to the cave entrance.

——No movement.

——Still daylight, already resting this early?

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid simultaneously extended their spiritual power to probe inside the cave.

The interior was quite spacious, more than ten square meters.

Stone platforms had been carved into the rock walls, lined with dry grass and stocked with dried meat.

Ink Orchid: "Where's the insect?"

Dragon Cypress turned to overlook the undulating forest. "With all kinds of plant seeds maturing in late autumn, probably out searching in the mountains for God-Given Seeds."

Ink Orchid: "Could be… But after so long since autumn started, if searching, the whole Land of Origin Force should have been combed by now."

Sounds about right~

Dragon Cypress twitched his tentacles, catching the lingering scent inside the cave. "The smell is still fresh."

Ink Orchid: "Uh…"

Ink Orchid: "Did we scare it off?"

Ink Orchid: "The insect might run, but not the tree. We'll wait for it."

With a buzz of wings, Ink Orchid dived into the mountains.

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne down the mountain, parking by the pool below and starting up a pot for boiling water.

Before long,

Ink Orchid dragged back the carcass of a wild boar.

Dragon Cypress directed the accompanying Worker Ants to slice the meat, while the Soldier Ants punched holes to skewer it.

They ate. They waited.

At dusk,

The sound of buzzing wings came from the mountain.

Looking that way, they saw an orange-red Bee Clan Warrior flying towards them.

Its antennae, legs, thorax, abdomen—all slender and elongated.

A Beautiful Ji Bee Warrior, a parasitic bee of a solitary race. Its abdomen hid a slender poison stinger—an elegant, nimble, assassin-type insect clan warrior.

"Hello~"

This Beautiful Ji Bee Warrior had been hiding in the shadows for a long time, but knowing it couldn't escape, revealed itself openly.

It hovered ten meters away, eyes darting quickly among Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and the Dominating Throne, finally settling on the steaming metal can.

"Hello. I'm Ink Orchid, Orchid Mantis Tribe Warrior."

Ink Orchid warmly introduced, "This is Dragon Cypress Ant King, of the Giant-Headed Ant Tribe."

Ink Orchid asked, "What is your name?"

The Beautiful Ji Bee Warrior replied, "Red Moonseed."

Red Moonseed rummaged through inherited memory, pondering, then said, "Giant-Headed Ants and Orchid Mantises are insects of the hot southern regions."

Ink Orchid: "Yes. We come from the far south."

Red Moonseed: "So how did you come here?"

Ink Orchid pointed to the Dominating Throne.

Dragon Cypress released his spiritual power, piloting the Dominating Throne to rise from the ground, and gave a brief explanation: "An artifact from an outworld civilization called 'Creators.' It can store massive amounts of Origin Force and carry me and Ink Orchid in flight, crossing Origin Force Vacuum Lands."

"Oh..."

Red Moonseed stared at the Dominating Throne, awestruck.

Ink Orchid quickly said, "No need to be shocked. Once you've seen lots of Outworld Civilization artifacts, it won't seem strange anymore."

With that, he pulled out his usual Spider Silk Bag, opened it, and took out the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot, Rose Halo, and Metal Case, showing them one by one.

"You can try this."

Ink Orchid generously offered his favorite Rose Halo.

"Oh——" Red Moonseed hesitated, then circled down, walking over on six legs and taking the halo to try infusing Origin Force, while his gaze shifted to the Metal Case.

The Metal Case able to preserve seeds was even more tempting.

"Try this too."

Ink Orchid offered it up as well.

Dragon Cypress took two wooden plates from the throne and set them on the ground, then had the Blue Ants fill half a dish with Ant Honey, inviting, "Red Moonseed, eat with us."

Red Moonseed was a bit shy, unsure what to do.

"Like this." Ink Orchid promptly fished out a chunk of meat from the pot, demonstrating.

Red Moonseed: "..."

Red Moonseed: "Your way of eating is really odd. Inherited memory says nothing about this."

Ink Orchid: "Of course. Dragon Cypress and I invented it—a way of eating unique to Xianglan Mountain."

Dragon Cypress helped by poaching a piece of meat and setting it on a wooden plate, then routinely asked, "Red Moonseed, do you live alone here?"

Red Moonseed: "Yes."

Red Moonseed asked, "You came from Xianglan Mountain in the south? Is there a lot of Insect Clan Warriors there?"

Dragon Cypress: "No. Strictly speaking, it's just Ink Orchid and I on Xianglan Mountain. My Ant Kingdom raised a few Assistant Kings, and lots of Worker and Soldier Ants."

Red Moonseed gobbled a chunk of meat, then pointed at the Blue Ants. "What kind of ant is this? According to inherited memory, Giant-Headed Ants don't have this form of ant."

Dragon Cypress: "Blue Ants. Worker Ants that inherited my Water System Ability, and can perform refined food processing."

Dragon Cypress: "I mutated and gained a Water System Talent."

"Oh——"

Red Moonseed half-understood, half-didn't, but licked Ant Honey eagerly. "It's delicious!"

Ink Orchid voluntarily explained, "The continent we live on is called Cloud Trace Continent. Currently, it's in an Origin Force Silent Period. Everywhere is Origin Force Vacuum Land where Origin Force Life can't survive, with only a few scattered Lands of Origin Force remaining..."

...

The Cloud Trace Continent trading circle now had a new Beautiful Ji Bee Warrior member, but likely the last as well.

Red Moonseed, lacking elder guidance, scattered the Life Seed Plants messily within her territory and didn't manage them well.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid stayed and helped tidy things up.

Red Moonseed, like most Little Warriors, was quite a glutton and especially fond of Ant Honey.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid also hunted and killed all the large beasts in the surrounding forest that might threaten Red Moonseed's safety, refining them into Ant Honey and leaving the supply for her.

After all kinds of assistance, they finally felt at ease saying farewell and moving on.