Black Lotus Lake.

The golden autumn sun hung slantwise in the western sky.

White Willow stood at the crown of a large willow tree by the lakeshore, lightly swaying with the breeze.

Black Cory crouched by the lakeside, commanding the Blue Soldiers, quietly guarding beneath the Black Lotus Life Seed.

A Common Life Seed, unlike a Divine-Given Seed, does not have all its fruit mature at the same time; instead, they ripen one after another.

The fruit of a Common Life Seed also accelerates Origin Force absorption during ripening, and undergoes a process of Primordial Energy quality change, only the amount of Origin Force absorbed in this process is extremely small.

White Willow's three Black Lotus Life Seeds bore a total of thirteen flowers this year, producing thirteen lotus pods, among which the fastest-developing lotus pod was about to reach full maturity.

This is an Origin Force Food that could help one leap from Worker Ant class into the Assistant King class.

Black Cory had waited a whole year for this, camping beside the lake for seven days and nights.

The setting sun gradually sank behind the western mountains and disappeared.

The clouds blazed like flames, painting the sky red, only to slowly cool, dim, and extinguish.

Twilight.

Nightfall.

Midnight.

The Black Lotus Mother Plant ceased providing Origin Force, stopped sending nutrients, and the last wisp of vitality in the yellowing lotus pod expired.

Ripe!

Black Cory wiggled his tentacles, issuing a command.

A Specialized Blue Soldier opened its mandibles, bit off the stem, carrying the lotus pod, dashed through the water onto shore, and placed it before Black Cory.

"Wow! It's finally ripe!"

"Black Cory!"

White Willow spiraled down to land, even more eager than Black Cory, and seeing Black Cory holding the lotus pod in his two claws examining it, anxiously urged, "Hurry, eat a few and try them!"

As the long-awaited treasure reached his claws, Black Cory suddenly felt in no rush. Instead, he began to wonder at the arrangement of the lotus seeds on the pod: [Why does every lotus pod yield exactly fourteen lotus seeds? Why not fifteen, or sixteen?]

Ordinary Black Lotus pods, after all, bore seeds in variable numbers, anywhere from fifteen to seventeen.

—Why is there this difference?

—Perhaps the Great King would know.

Black Cory mused in silence, glanced up at White Willow anxiously pacing in place, then picked out a lotus seed with his claw tips, deftly stripped the seed coat, and chewed it down.

The familiar aura of Origin Force, upon absorption, surged straight to his head.

The familiar, wonderful sensation.

"Tastes great!"

Black Cory waggled his tentacles enthusiastically.

Black Cory had no spiritual power, so White Willow could not communicate mentally, nor transmit messages in the manner of the Ant Clan, but just by their actions, one could understand.

Just as everyone predicted, Black Lotus Seeds were indeed able to help Black Cory continue evolving.

White Willow breathed a sigh of relief, lightly flapped his wings, shot straight up, cheered as he zipped in a circuit around the lake, and floated gently back onto the old willow tree.

Black Cory rested for a while, then dug out a second lotus seed from the pod, shelled it, and ate it.

Rested for a while longer, ate the third one.

Still, only three seeds a day—any more would be a waste.

The remaining eleven seeds were all pried out in one go, shelled, handed over to the Blue Ants for refinement into Origin Force Ant Honey, and stored.

There were still thirteen lotus pods in the lake, set to ripen one after another over the next four or five days.

Black Cory and White Willow kept watch, picking each pod as it matured.

…

…

…

Deep into the night.

On Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, flames soared skyward.

Mulberry walked amidst the raging blaze, manipulating fire to burn and snuffing it out as he went.

Ink Orchid swung his scythe-like, razor-sharp forelimbs, helping deal with the branches not yet burned thoroughly.

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne, floating high in the sky, always monitoring the direction of the wind currents.

Using Fire System Ability for land-clearing came with inherent risks.

Mulberry was just a high-rank warrior of 3rd age period, and his abilities at Fire Control and Extinguish Fire were limited; if a sudden gust were to come up, he might not be able to contain it.

Thick forests surrounded on all sides—if the fire spread out of control, that would spell big trouble.

So, fires could only be set when there was no wind, or a mild breeze at most. Even then, in a breeze, extra caution was needed, always moving against the wind.

This was a land-clearing method subject to weather, but incredibly efficient.

In half a month or so, about half of Southern Sour Jujube Mountain was burned.

The breeze picked up tonight—another night shift.

Dragon Cypress guarded the windward side, watching the wind direction and strength with vigilance.

Luck turned, and a strong gust whipped up suddenly.

"Stop!"

"Mulberry, stop a moment."

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne down, approaching.

Mulberry received the order and quickly used his ability to douse all flames.

Dragon Cypress docked the Dominating Throne, jumped down to help out.

The gale came sweeping in.

After a brief flurry of panic, they stamped out every visible flame, then spent considerable time making sure every smoldering, smoking stump and branch was properly attended to.

Just as they finished, the wind died.

Damn weather~ Dragon Cypress cursed inwardly. It was getting late, so he called out, "Mulberry, Ink Orchid, that's it for tonight. Everybody's tired—let's get some rest."

After a busy day, Mulberry was indeed exhausted, and slowly crawled up to the Throne.

Ink Orchid, still brimming with energy, leapt onto the Dominating Throne, fetched a gourd, then a tray carved from Keg Vine Seed, poured out ant honey, and called everyone to eat and recover.

Dragon Cypress circled in the air for one last look, then landed, satisfied, and remarked, "The wasteland we've burned so far is enough to keep us busy for a year or two. Mulberry, your territory can't go too long without any insects stationed—half a month away now... I'll take you back in the morning!"

"Alright—"

Mulberry couldn't help feeling a bit worried for his own territory.

Ink Orchid waggled his tentacles and said, "If only there were a Giantification Soldier Ant stationed to help guard Mulberry's territory, then we wouldn't have to worry. Once the orchard is set up on Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, at the very least a permanent post of Intelligent Soldier Ants should be kept."

Ink Orchid turned and added, "Dragon Cypress, we're short on Command Ants—train another Intelligent Worker Ant, how about it?"

Dragon Cypress hesitated, saying, "If we're going to nurture one, it should be a Giant Blue Soldier."

Ink Orchid: "Why's that? Who will command the Worker Ants to build the orchard? Haven't we already got Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, and Cypress as combat Command Ants?"

Dragon Cypress: "I can take turns with Round Cypress. Black Lotus Lake is close to Southern Sour Jujube Mountain—Black Cory can swing by to help as well."

Dragon Cypress explained: "Once the orchard is established and the seedlings are planted for several years, the main tasks are weeding, pest control, irrigation, plus the stationed ant colony needs to hunt and provide security. Giant Blue Soldiers can command both Soldier Ants and Blue Soldiers, fully capable of handling all tasks."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid caught on quickly, wiggled his tentacles in agreement, and suggested, "Then let's nurture another Giant Blue Soldier!"

Dragon Cypress had been vexed for some time by the shortage of Command Ants, pondering over and over, yet unable to decide.

Seeing Ink Orchid so enthusiastic, he sorted out his thoughts, organized his words, and laid it out point by point:

"Every additional Command Ant means another capable helper. With large-scale land clearing and cultivation of top-level plants, it's uncertain if we'll secure Divine-Given Seeds as hoped, but it will definitely require a hefty outlay of Origin Force Resources."

"Currently, it looks like we've got more Origin Force Food than we can eat, but that's only because both of us have suppressed our growth in recent years, holding back on full evolution and resource use."

"Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress are only at mid-level; their consumption is limited, but once they evolve to high-level stage, their yearly needs will spike. And we have to think about, if they reach Evolution Mountain Lord Level, whether to let them go on to Lord-Level. If so, the resource demand…"

"Every extra Command Ant shares the work but also means a huge resource investment. If we can't get a matching Divine-Given Seed in return, we won't be able to support their continued growth."

"Command Ants are intelligent, independent. After so much time together, could you bear to abandon them? If not, but there aren't enough resources to provide, what then?"

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, you decide—shall we nurture another Giant Blue Soldier?"

Dragon Cypress laid out the situation, weighed the pros and cons, tossing the question to Ink Orchid.

Quite a serious decision~ Ink Orchid bowed his head, thinking carefully.

Mulberry glanced left and right, murmured, "...I think we should."

Ink Orchid looked up, said, "Then let's nurture another Giant Blue Soldier! We're bound to get more Divine-Given Seeds!"

You are blessed by the Natural God—if you say we can do it, then it's as good as done!

Dragon Cypress answered briskly, "Great! We'll start tomorrow."

Ink Orchid cheered, asking, "Dragon Cypress, will its name be 'Silver Cypress'? This is your last Cypress Life Seed, so there's no other choice, is there?"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

After all that, don't tell me you just wanted to name something?

Dragon Cypress continued, "Let's watch Black Cory first, see if he can successfully evolve into a Command Ant! If it works, my idea is..."

He paused. "Afterward, the Intelligent and Giantification Ants will be based on Xianglan Mountain. Those like Black Cory—all-around Command Ants—will be sent out to lead colonies, independently managing Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, Jianlan Plain, Molan Mountain, Cold Orchid Mountain, White Lotus Lake—those Land of Origin Force sites..."

At present, there were no less than five unclaimed Land of Origin Force sites, and the thought made Dragon Cypress's head spin.

Ink Orchid asked, "Dragon Cypress, are you sure the Ant Nest can still produce another ant like Black Cory?"

Dragon Cypress: "If there's been one, there's bound to be a second, a third—it's a question of probability. Maybe one in a thousand Specialized Worker Ants, maybe one in ten thousand or a hundred thousand before one like Black Cory shows up. Only time and numbers can tell."

Dragon Cypress: "A Command Ant like Black Cory who can do everything, managing an unclaimed Land of Origin Force, saves resources and spares me a lot of headaches."

Ink Orchid nodded his tentacles in understanding and suggested, "Dragon Cypress, since Black Lotus Seeds help Black Cory evolve… if we used them on larvae, might that increase the chances of getting a Specialized Worker Ant like Black Cory?"

Dragon Cypress: "I've thought about that—we can try it..."

"Let's try!" Ink Orchid agreed, waving his forelegs and urging:

"Eat up, eat up. Then get some rest. Tomorrow morning I'll see Mulberry back to Scarletlight Mountain. Afterwards let's visit Black Lotus Lake to check on Black Cory."

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