Xianglan Mountain.

The forested land below Shandong Reservoir.

The Divine-Given Seed of Emerald Flower Cold Orchid has reached its final stage of maturation, absorbing a huge amount of nutrients. The mother plant nourishing it is becoming thinner by the day, with some leaves starting to wither and yellow.

Dragon Cypress drove away the Soldier Ants guarding the woods, leaving just himself and Ink Orchid to keep watch nearby.

A cold wind blew in from the north.

After a torrential rain, there was intermittent drizzle. Five or six gloomy, rainy days in a row, and finally, the sky cleared.

Basking in the golden sunlight, the stubbornly standing, somewhat misshapen, blue-green Seed Pod revealed yellowing along its veins.

This is the Divine-Given Seed ripening, and the mother plant has gradually stopped delivering nutrients to the Seed Pod.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid waited patiently, lying there side by side, staring without moving a muscle.

Three more days passed.

At last, at twilight, the Seed Pod naturally split open.

"It's ready!"

Ink Orchid jumped up, carefully plucked off the Seed Pod, peeled it open, and took out a sesame-sized speck of a brown-black seed.

Dragon Cypress picked up the metal case and began to channel Origin Force into it, opening it up.

Ink Orchid placed the seed inside the case.

Whew~

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid both let out a long breath at the same time.

"Dragon Cypress, are you able to discern what type of strengthening Emerald Flower Cold Orchid provides?" Ink Orchid asked.

"...No."

Dragon Cypress answered a bit uncertainly, focusing for a moment, then countered, "Ink Orchid, you're sensitive to Origin Force fluctuations, what do you think?"

Ink Orchid said uncertainly, "Wood Element Primordial Energy fluctuation?"

Dragon Cypress: "Same feeling!"

Dragon Cypress felt a very faint vibe of Wood Element Primordial Energy on the seed, way too subtle to be certain.

Since Ink Orchid sensed the same thing, then it must be correct.

Ink Orchid: "So, Emerald Flower Cold Orchid enhances Wood Elemental Ability?"

Dragon Cypress: "Most likely. There's a one-in-ten-thousand chance that it bestows a Wood Element Talent or Elemental Ability."

So that's a Divine Grade, then? You sure are bold! I wouldn't dare even imagine it!

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid urged, "Hurry up and put it away!"

Dragon Cypress didn't waste time, continued to channel Origin Force, letting wisps of Wood Element Primordial Energy wrap around the seed. The metal case quietly folded together, fluid as water.

Stored it into the Spider Silk Bag.

Dragon Cypress waved his claw, "Let's go hunting in the jungle for a feast tonight, to celebrate!"

...

It was the end of autumn.

Spiked Cypress, leveraging the Dominating Throne, evolved to age period 9, mid-level.

Round Cypress and Giant Cypress evolved to age period 8.

Fragrant Cypress and Cypress advanced to age period 6.

Silver Cypress's cultivation had already started; it just hatched from an Ant Egg to a Larva and was developing rapidly.

Ink Orchid also increased the daily intake of Origin Force Ant Honey, starting to prepare for evolution into a 4th age High-Level Flower Mantis Warrior.

Once again, a cold wind from the north.

The common Sky Blue Persimmon fruits planted on North Mountain began to ripen.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid packed up and set out on their journey.

First, they went to Molan Mountain, but couldn't find a Divine-Given Seed, so they picked a batch of wild fruits.

Next, they headed to Kiwifruit Mountain to visit Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, and picked a batch of Green-Red Kiwifruits while they were at it.

After that, they went north to White Lotus Lake, cleared a patch of weeds in a shallow spot by the lakeside, and scattered a bag of Black Lotus seeds.

Finally, they traveled north to Silver Cypress Mountain.

The output from Mountain Persimmon Territory was barely enough to maintain its evolution at the High-Level Stage, so there was no point trying to pitch the metal case there.

...

"Dragon Cypress, are we heading back to Xianglan Mountain?"

The Dominating Throne left Silver Cypress Mountain, Ink Orchid took out her Rose Halo to toy with, the vivid red Primordial Energy patterns covering her whole body.

"Heading back—"

Dragon Cypress perched on the edge at the top of the Stump Ant Nest, not even lifting his head, his limp tentacles bobbing gently.

He was simultaneously controlling the Throne to fly and commanding the big and small Blue Ants to continue refining the three big bags of Persimmon Fruits picked from Mountain Persimmon.

"Doesn't seem like there's much to do if we go back."

"Ink Orchid, you really need to rest up and get ready to evolve into a 4th age High-Level Warrior."

"Didn't you say it's not urgent?"

"Just get yourself into peak shape."

Dragon Cypress said it wasn't urgent, but was actually pretty anxious inside. Hurry up and evolve, so the Divine-Given Seed of Emerald Flower Cold Orchid could be put in the Life Pouch!

The seed of a Divine-Given Seed is incredibly precious. Dragon Cypress could be really cautious at times and didn't completely trust the metal case—only after it was inside the Life Pouch could he truly feel at ease.

Ink Orchid, unconcerned by any crisis, chirped, "I'm in great shape!"

Ink Orchid asked languidly, "Dragon Cypress, how long has it been since we went far afield together to search for a Land of Origin Force?"

"Didn't I already search the whole southwestern region?"

"That was you. I didn't go. I mean, both of us together."

"Does it make a difference?"

"Of course!"

Ink Orchid suggested, "Dragon Cypress, it's only just early winter, still not too cold. Let's go explore everywhere."

Dragon Cypress: "Let's go back to the mountain and rest."

Ink Orchid raised her foreleg, pointed east, and declared with conviction, "Dragon Cypress, trust me—if we go east, we'll definitely find a Land of Origin Force!"

Dragon Cypress: "Are you sure?"

Ink Orchid: "I'm a Flower Mantis Warrior blessed by the Natural God. If I say we'll find one, we'll definitely find one."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Completely unreasonable words, but Dragon Cypress couldn't refute them.

Seeing this, Ink Orchid smugly tidied her phrasing and began reasoning with Dragon Cypress:

"Dragon Cypress, right now within Cloud Trace Continent, there are too few Insect Clan Warriors we can trade with. Especially between Xianglan Mountain and Silver Cypress Mountain—it's such a vast distance, yet only Mountain Persimmon is an Insect Clan Warrior. We spend nearly twenty days every year going north to trade, but only get a little over a thousand Source Stones for our trouble. It's a waste of time and energy. We should quickly uncover all the Origin Force Points and Insect Clan Warriors between Xianglan Mountain and Silver Cypress Mountain."

Dragon Cypress divided Cloud Trace Continent into Southwest, Southeast, Western, Eastern, Northwest, Northeast, and Far North regions—a total of seven sectors.

The plan was to explore each region one at a time.

The Southwest was already explored. Next up was the Western Region.

The Western Region runs from Xianglan Mountain in the south to Silver Cypress Mountain in the north, and as for heading east…

Dragon Cypress lifted his head, looking eastward.

Currently, the division of the seven sectors of Cloud Trace Continent was just a concept in Dragon Cypress's mind; the dividing line between the Western and Eastern regions hadn't actually been set yet.

It really was necessary to make a foray east and get the lay of the land.

Besides, there honestly wasn't much to do back at Xianglan Mountain now.

Dragon Cypress did a bit of quick mental math, then steered the Dominating Throne to change direction and fly eastward.

"Ink Orchid, I believe in you!"

"You bet you do!"

...

Grasslands, semi-desert, forests, marshes.

Flora, fauna, and geography strikingly different from the south.

It was early winter. Vast swathes of golden yellow, and equally vast stretches of deep green. Huge herds of large animals galloped across the grasslands and darted through the forests, making Dragon Cypress's appetite stir.

Northern animal resources were no less abundant than the south's; in fact, they looked even tastier.

Three days straight of flying,

At the top of the Stump Ant Nest, Ink Orchid's antennae suddenly shot straight up.

"Dragon Cypress!"

Ink Orchid raised her foreleg, pointing southeast. "Found it! Over there!"

"...Okay."

Dragon Cypress said no more, controlling the Dominating Throne to steer in that direction and speed up.

The Origin Force Fluctuation grew clearer.

Half a day later, they reached the outer edge.

Dragon Cypress found a dense patch of forest and brought the Dominating Throne in to land and hide.

He'd discovered so many Lands of Origin Force by now, he no longer felt the excitement and urgency of his youth.

No rush. Rest first.

In the middle of the night, he left the Throne and took to the sky, flying high over the Land of Origin Force.

Confirmed: no Divine-Given Seed.

Dropped down to a lower altitude.

Didn't find any Origin Force Plants either, so it was safe to say there were probably no Insect Clan Warriors around.

Flew even lower, searching the area carefully.

A patch of Land of Origin Force, about five kilometers in radius, a mix of grassland and forest—absolutely nothing there.

No lake, no river, no water sources at all.

Ink Orchid hunted two wild rabbits and wanted to cook them, but Dragon Cypress had to steer the Dominating Throne on a half-day flight just to find a natural little water hole.

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