Chapter 551 - 530: The Number One Medical Insect of Cloud Trace Continent

Black Leaf and Tie Bush stayed behind at Kiwifruit Mountain to help out.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid continued on their journey, completing the search for Divine-Given Seeds at each Land of Origin Force in the spring and finally arrived at White Lotus Lake.

After a month of growth, the Nine-Leaf Huangqian Divine-Given Seed tree had surpassed 3 meters in height.

Black Peach led the ant swarm, guarding under the mound, somehow managing to haul over a boulder, lazily sprawling on it to sunbathe.

Sensing the Origin Force fluctuations of the Dominating Throne zooming closer, Black Peach was startled and hurriedly leaped up to stand at attention.

"Great King! Second King!"

Black Peach vigorously waved her tentacles in greeting.

"Mmm—"

Dragon Cypress replied, leaping off the throne and walking up the mound to inspect the growth of the Nine-Leaf Huangqian Divine-Given Seed.

"Black Peach, no problems here, right?"

Ink Orchid asked routinely.

Black Peach replied decisively, "With my care, Little Yellow is growing strong!"

"Ha~ha~"

Ink Orchid burst out laughing, "Little Yellow is a great name! Let’s make that the official name for the Nine-Leaf Huangqian."

Huangqian is Boss Yellow, Old Yellow.

The Nine-Leaf Huangqian Divine-Given Seed of Huangqian is called Nine-Leaf.

So when it’s Dragon Cypress’s Nine-Leaf Huangqian Divine-Given Seed, it just naturally becomes Little Yellow...

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles and smacked them, "Black Peach, looks like you’re getting cheeky again since I haven’t disciplined you for a while, huh? Second King and I have been rushing day and night for over ten days, too busy to even eat—so why don’t you hurry and go hunt us some food..."

Black Peach: ???

Don’t you guys have the forest symbiont ability? Do you even need to eat?

"Oh! I’ll go right now!"

Black Peach gathered two squads of Blue Soldiers and marched off energetically.

Dragon Cypress stayed at White Lotus Lake for five days, continuously observing the growth of the Nine-Leaf Huangqian Divine-Given Seed and confirming everything was fine.

With nothing else to do, Ink Orchid went to play at Kiwifruit Mountain first.

Dragon Cypress, meanwhile, traveled back and forth alone between Snow Cedar Mountain and Huagi Mountain, quickly finishing up this year’s source stone deliveries.

...

In the early summer when the hibiscus bloomed,

Dragon Cypress arrived at Kiwifruit Mountain.

Nobody was sure if Blue Crab Warriors would also experience sudden massive body expansion and risk carapace rupture when breaking through to Mountain Lord Level.

Crab shells are hard but brittle.

For Alien Clan Warriors not blessed by the Natural True God, breaking through to Mountain Lord Level might be extremely difficult.

To be safe, Tie Bush lingered at high-level warrior of age 9 for three years, adjusting to peak condition.

Tie Bush didn’t have a Life Seed Plant,

So after some simple preparation and eating White Rice Ant King Honey, he began his final sprint.

Three days later, he slipped into a slumber.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid stood guard at the cave entrance.

The long wait,

Ten days passed with no sign of waking up, Black Leaf grew restless and came to check on things.

On the twelfth day,

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, Blue Catalpa, and Snakebark Maple also started to worry.

After fifteen full days, still no awakening.

By Insect Clan Warrior experience, breaking through to Evolution Mountain Lord Level at this stage meant entering a dangerous phase.

Soul-Setting Ability sensed Tie Bush’s soul growing weak and faint.

What now?

Origin Force Life must rely solely on itself to evolve in slumber—there’s nothing others can do but wait.

Another agonizing day passed,

As time dragged on, the group of insects neared despair, shrouded in sadness.

Late at night, Ink Orchid’s eyes suddenly flashed, he raised a claw and pointed gently at the cave.

Through Soul-Setting Ability, he sensed Tie Bush’s soul consciousness had successfully awakened.

He spread out his spiritual power and swept through.

Tie Bush was struggling to molt.

"Great King?"

Black Leaf was also keeping watch at the entrance, full of worry.

Ink Orchid: "He’s awake!"

"Oh!"

Black Leaf extended his spiritual power to check.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles, signaling Black Leaf and Ink Orchid to be patient, "Tie Bush has eaten plenty of Ant King Honey—as long as he wakes from slumber, there shouldn’t be much problem."

Though actually, it seemed there might be a problem.

Tie Bush squeezed halfway out of his old shell, then, apparently exhausted, stopped moving for a long time.

Seeing this, Dragon Cypress got a little anxious himself, debating whether to go in and help.

After thinking it over, he ultimately decided against it, not daring to disturb recklessly.

Some time later,

As if he’d gathered enough energy, Tie Bush suddenly sprang into action, quickly slipping out of his old shell as his body started to expand.

Dragon Cypress and Black Leaf both breathed a sigh of relief.

Ink Orchid jumped up and took off, "I’ll get Blue Catalpa!"

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple came running silently.

Inside the cave,

Tie Bush’s body grew, little by little, until his width exceeded 3 meters.

The situation was a complete mess.

Evidently, not enough Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Fruit had been eaten—carapace toughness was lacking, leading to dozens of tears.

The left pincer limb had even fallen off at the joint.

Thankfully, it seemed the Black Lotus Seed that Dragon Cypress had arranged for him to eat had worked—there was no damage to his head carapace at all.

Seriously injured, but his life was not in danger.

From midnight to dawn, Tie Bush’s body expansion finally ended, stabilizing at about 3.5 meters wide.

"Tie Bush?"

Dragon Cypress called, parting the thorny dry branches blocking the cave entrance.

Tie Bush was too weak to respond.

Dragon Cypress raised a claw, stopping Black Leaf and Ink Orchid, waving his tentacles in signal.

Blue Catalpa hurried into the cave, stood beside the Dominating Throne, waved his tentacles, swept over Tie Bush with spiritual power to assess the situation, and then, a surge of wood element primordial energy rich in vitality exploded out. He tapped with his tentacles, and countless green filaments wrapped Tie Bush up.

The primordial energy filaments first tugged the severed pincer limb, connecting it back.

Next, dense primordial energy filaments pulled together the torn muscles beneath the carapace, rapidly healing them, then wove the shattered carapace fragments back together.

A seamless, flowing operation.

In a short while, Tie Bush, who’d nearly been shattered into dozens of pieces, was pieced back together, only sinister scars left at some wound sites.

The cave was cramped.

Blue Catalpa quickly retreated, his gaze shifting to a regular Green-Red Kiwifruit Tree at the entrance.

He straightened his tentacle,

One tentacle aimed at the Green-Red Kiwifruit Tree, primordial energy burst forth, draining its vitality.

The Green-Red Kiwifruit Tree’s life force quickly ebbed away, rapidly withering and dying.

Another tentacle pointed into the cave at Tie Bush, an invisible power transferring into his body across the distance.

The frail, dying Tie Bush’s eyes gradually grew bright, his vitality clearly rallying.

"Is it done?"

Blue Catalpa slowly withdrew his tentacles, "Primordial energy is spent. I’ve got nothing left."

"Tie Bush?"

Ink Orchid darted into the cave, tapped repeatedly, giving Tie Bush a round of "Lightspeed Healing."

"I’m fine..."

Tie Bush blinked in a daze, got up, and said, "Many thanks, Second King!"

"You should be thanking Blue Catalpa!"

Ink Orchid said with lingering fear, "Never expected your evolution would be so dangerous! Luckily it was done at Kiwifruit Mountain! If we’d stuck to the original plan at White Lotus Lake..."

Origin Force Life is resilient—maybe wouldn’t have died, but serious maiming would’ve been unavoidable, and the next age period evolution would’ve been just as risky.

Looking at it now...

Tie Bush’s two pincers had always been one big right, one small left—the left, already smaller, broke halfway during his body’s expansion and looked even tinier now.

Natural life seeks balance—bodies are left-right symmetrical.

One big, one small was quite unbalanced to look at, but otherwise, there weren’t any big problems.

Black Leaf squeezed into the cave, helped open up a jar of ant honey, "Tie Bush, quick, eat and recover!"

...

Snakebark Maple brought back in one go a big wild boar and ten smaller ones—a whole nest.

Dragon Cypress caught a few large fish from a nearby creek and made soup.

Everyone sat encircled under the apricot tree nurturing the Divine-Given Seed, eating from dawn till noon.

"I’m full!"

Ink Orchid was the first to speak, glancing at Tie Bush, and asked, "Tie Bush, did you awaken the Metal System Talent?"

Tie Bush wasn’t sure, "I think so."

Ink Orchid: "What about abilities?"

Tie Bush: "Feels like I comprehended two. One is metal control, and the other is..."

A greenish-gray primordial energy shield rose over Tie Bush’s body.

"Oh! That’s similar to the Ghost Fan ability."

Ink Orchid raised his claw and poked at it. The primordial energy shield broke silently.

Ink Orchid: "..."

Tie Bush said awkwardly, "Without the blessing of a Natural True God, my abilities seem pretty weak."

—That’s not just weak, that’s pitifully weak!

—The primordial energy is chaotic, not pure metal system at all.

Ink Orchid and Black Leaf both turned to Dragon Cypress.

After silently observing, Dragon Cypress thought for a moment and said, "Blue Crab Warriors are obviously different from our Insect Clan Warriors. They have no innate elemental potential, so after evolving to Mountain Lord Level, their primordial energy should be chaotic and mixed, but..."

Dragon Cypress paused, searching for words, then said, "This kind of chaos primordial energy is easily ’tinted’ and therefore inclines toward a particular elemental attribute. Tie Bush ate the Divine-Given Fruit of Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree, so he leans toward metal, but he didn’t eat any more during the high-level warrior stage, so the attribute is still really mixed."

Dragon Cypress: "It’s not a big deal—after evolving to Mountain Lord Level, just eat more metal system origin force food and go through a couple more age period evolutions, and there should be a big improvement."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid, Black Leaf, Tie Bush, Blue Catalpa, and Snakebark Maple all looked enlightened, though still not quite getting it.

Blue Catalpa wondered, "What the Dragon Cypress Ant King says makes sense, but... then, if Tie Bush also eats wood system, thunder system or other elemental origin force food, could he also get wood or thunder talents?"

Dragon Cypress: "I fear not. Breaking through to Mountain Lord Level and awakening a talent—that’s a law of the world. Like Ink Orchid: as an Orchid Mantis, he’s born with the potential for earth, wood, water, and wind talents, but he can only awaken one. To awaken a second or third would require a divine-grade fruit that grants that elemental talent. That’s how it is for all Insect Clan Warriors blessed by the Natural True God—other races are likely the same. Once Tie Bush is confirmed as metal system, he’s fixed in metal—can’t switch, can’t gain a secondary element talent unless he gets a corresponding divine-grade fruit."

—Seems about right.

The insects felt they understood.

Dragon Cypress added, "Once, when chatting idly with the Huagi Divine Tree, I heard it say that what Insect Clan Warriors call talent potential is really a manifestation of a Natural True God’s bloodline—a limited activation. The Natural True God’s bloodline is all-encompassing, while we inherit only the tiniest drop."

"..."

There was a moment of silence.

That sounds amazing.

But...

Snakebark Maple raised a claw, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, that can’t be right! Beast Clan Warriors have no talent potential—just eat the relevant elemental origin force food, and whichever element talent you want, you eat that food, and you get it. Doesn’t that make them stronger than us, who are limited to fixed talents by potential?"

Blue Catalpa also added, "Tie Bush evolved to Mountain Lord Level and instantly comprehended two abilities—not less than us Insect Clan Warriors."

Snakebark Maple: "Exactly. Isn’t the Natural God screwing us over here?"

Ink Orchid twitched his tentacles in support, questioning, "Does the Natural True God’s bloodline become a shackle instead?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes! The Natural Law values balance—gain comes with loss."

Dragon Cypress: "The Huagi Divine Tree thinks the greatest effect of the Natural True God’s bloodline is to grant Insect Clan Warriors the Life Pouch’s ability to breed Life Seeds; second is vast knowledge inheritance."

Dragon Cypress paused and said, "Tie Bush prepared three years to break through to Mountain Lord Level, and what was the outcome? So, I think there’s a third purpose for the Natural True God’s bloodline: the talent potential it grants us must sharply boost the success rate of high-level warriors when breaking into Mountain Lord Level."

—Oh!

—Right!

—That makes perfect sense.

The insects all tapped their tentacles; now they completely understood.

On the whole, what’s gained is more than what’s lost.