「Ghost Fan Mountain.」

Woodberry paced back and forth anxiously in front of his dwelling cave. In the distance, he sensed familiar Origin Force fluctuations.

A light azure shadow flashed by, and Ink Orchid arrived first.

"Woodberry!" Ink Orchid called out as she landed. Sensing something was amiss, she looked into the cave and called, "Ghost Fan?"

Inside the cave, Ghost Fan spoke calmly, "My condition is very good; I can start at any time."

Woodberry said leisurely, "You and Dragon Cypress Ant King are late again~"

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid then said, "We were only delayed a few days. Not late, not late at all. The Dominating Throne will arrive shortly."

Ink Orchid asked, "Woodberry, have all the Source Stones been moved under Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed tree?"

Woodberry replied, "They were moved over a long time ago."

Ink Orchid asked, "Does Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed have enough Origin Force stored within its Glinting Gold?"

Woodberry answered, "It doesn't seem like much."

Ink Orchid shook her antennae and said, "No big issue. Dragon Cypress was worried, so he brought an additional 4,000 Source Stones and 6 large bags of Divine-Given Remains."

"That's wonderful—" Woodberry looked up at the sky.

The overloaded Dominating Throne arrived shakily. It stopped in the middle of the depression, beside Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed, lowered a plank, and let the accompanying worker ants disembark first.

Ink Orchid rushed forward to explain the situation. Woodberry followed to help.

The cargo was unloaded from the Dominating Throne and brought into the recently expanded dwelling cave.

Ghost Fan climbed onto the Dominating Throne, ate some Ant Honey to replenish his physical strength, then slowly began to consume a can of Origin Force Ant Honey.

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Woodberry worked together to carry bundles of thorny vines, prepared earlier, to seal the cave entrance.

They then went to Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed. Ink Orchid and Woodberry dug pits, while Dragon Cypress directed the worker ants to scrape the Divine-Given Remains into dust and deposit it into the pits.

After half a day and a full night, Origin Force fluctuations emanated from Ghost Fan's dwelling cave at dawn.

The Dominating Throne began to absorb Natural Primordial Force at a constant rate.

Ink Orchid went over to stand guard at the cave entrance.

Dragon Cypress took Woodberry and 50 large worker ants to guard the area near Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed. They were preparing for the great breakthrough from High-Level to Mountain Lord-rank, an evolution that would occur simultaneously for both the Divine-Given Seed and the Insect Clan Warrior.

「After another day had passed,」

Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed started to react, its absorption of Origin Force accelerating.

「Another night later,」

The rate at which Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed absorbed Origin Force suddenly spiked, creating an Origin Force vacuum around its trunk.

Dragon Cypress remained calm. He waved his tentacles to issue commands. The waiting worker ants began their task, carrying Source Stones to the tree. They scraped powder from the stones into pre-dug shallow pits, releasing Origin Force.

Half a day later, one shallow pit was filled with Source Stone powder, and then covered with churned earth.

The anxious Woodberry sprang into action. Using a Bamboo Tube, he drew Swamp Water from the Marsh Gas Pool on the mountain to irrigate the pit. The water carried the fine Source Stone powder deep into the soil, where the roots of Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed could absorb it.

Another shallow pit was filled with Source Stone powder, and Woodberry continued to draw water and irrigate.

Five hundred Source Stones were used.

The rate at which Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed absorbed Origin Force slowed, then stabilized.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles to issue a command, and the worker ants returned to the Stump Ant Nest to eat and rest.

Noticing Woodberry was still a bundle of nerves and not in good spirits, Dragon Cypress gently tapped him with a tentacle.

"Woodberry, you're tired, aren't you? Go rest at the cave entrance for a while."

"I'm not tired," Woodberry said, then asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, so far, Ghost Fan's evolution and that of his Divine-Given Seed have both been calm and stable, right?"

Dragon Cypress responded earnestly, "According to my understanding, Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed is one hundred percent certain to complete its evolution successfully. So far, Ghost Fan is also in the best possible condition and will surely awaken from his slumber."

"Thank you, Dragon Cypress Ant King." These two assurances reassured Woodberry somewhat.

Woodberry, who had just awakened as a warrior, had been sent to Ghost Fan Mountain. He had lived there with Ghost Fan, who had raised him.

Dragon Cypress understood Woodberry's nervousness and worry well. He unfolded his membrane wings, gently patted Woodberry's carapace, and said again, "I'm watching over things here. Go lie down next to the Ant Nest and get some rest. Try to get some peaceful sleep."

"...Alright," Woodberry agreed.

「In the mid-afternoon,」

Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed erupted again, frantically absorbing Origin Force and creating another vacuum around it.

Dragon Cypress commanded the worker ants to scrape Source Stones, replenishing the Origin Force.

Woodberry woke with a start and hurried to help.

This continued late into the night, until Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed returned to calm.

The following morning, another eruption occurred, lasting until twilight.

Inside the cave, Ghost Fan was enwrapped in a huge Primordial Energy Light Cocoon, while the Dominating Throne steadily and rapidly absorbed Natural Primordial Force.

「Five days passed in tense anticipation.」

After occasionally flaring up, Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed finally calmed down completely.

「Another three days went by.」

The cave where Ghost Fan lay dormant suddenly erupted with violent Origin Force fluctuations, forming an Origin Force vacuum with a diameter of 400 to 500 meters around it.

This was the final stage of the dormant evolution.

Dragon Cypress and Woodberry both rushed over, joining Ink Orchid. They stood side by side in the distance to watch.

The intense Origin Force fluctuations continued for many hours, ending late at night.

Dragon Cypress ran forward, pushed aside the Thorn Strips sealing the cave entrance, and peered inside cautiously.

On the Dominating Throne, the Primordial Energy Light Cocoon encasing Ghost Fan was slowly dimming.

"It's done!" Dragon Cypress turned, waved his tentacles at Woodberry and Ink Orchid, signaling them to join him. He then quickly ran towards the center of the hollow, to the tree of Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed.

They waited for several hours.

Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed suddenly erupted, furiously absorbing the surrounding Origin Force.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles, commanding the worker ants to bring forth the Source Stones. They were ready to scrape off powder to release Origin Force when Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed suddenly calmed down again.

It had saved the Origin Force stored inside its Glinting Gold for the final moment of evolution.

"Dragon Cypress!"

"Woodberry!"

"Look quickly!" Ink Orchid cheered, raising a claw to point at the night sky.

Dragon Cypress focused his senses; his Heavenly Eye on his forehead keenly perceived two points of light flickering in the sky before vanishing.

"What happened?" Woodberry, half a beat slower, looked up at the dark night sky, somewhat puzzled.

"The evolution is finished! Both Ghost Fan and Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed have succeeded!" Ink Orchid cheered, staring intently at Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed before turning and rushing toward Ghost Fan's dwelling cave.

Dragon Cypress and Woodberry quickly followed.

Inside the cave, the Origin Force fluctuations had completely vanished.

Dragon Cypress stepped forward and pushed aside the Thorn Strips sealing the cave to look.

On the Dominating Throne, Ghost Fan had shed its old carapace. Its body was rapidly expanding. Its length had already exceeded 3 meters and continued to increase.

Dragon Cypress carefully extended his spiritual power, sweeping it over Ghost Fan in an instant.

He found no cracks or injuries on its new carapace.

Just as anticipated, the evolution had completed smoothly.

Dragon Cypress turned and said calmly, "Ghost Fan has succeeded! He is our Cloud Trace Continent's first Mountain Lord-Level Warrior. From now on, everyone should address him with the proper respect and use his title."

"Wow!"

"That's great!"

Ink Orchid and Woodberry cheered, rushing forward. They pushed aside the Thorn Strips to get a better look.

Ghost Fan's body length settled between 3.2 and 3.3 meters, and its carapace rapidly hardened.

After an 11-day slumber, he was extremely weak.

"Woodberry—" Ghost Fan called out, struggling to crawl down from the Throne.

Dragon Cypress swiftly shrank the Dominating Throne.

Ink Orchid and Woodberry pushed aside the dry branches sealing the cave entrance. They rushed in with the Origin Force Ant Honey they had prepared earlier, twisted off the lid, and placed it before Ghost Fan.

"Did Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed successfully evolve?" Ghost Fan inquired.

"Of course!"

"Absolutely!"

"It's a success!"

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Woodberry replied in unison.

"Ghost Fan, do you want some wood?" Woodberry hurried toward the cave where they stored their food. He was referring to their special stock: wood that was neatly cut, air-dried, then placed in a damp cave to ferment thoroughly until it became soft and crisp.

"Ghost Fan, you must be very weak after the breakthrough. Eat more meat!" Ink Orchid flapped her wings, took to the air, and dived into the forest.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.