The warm breeze made for a slightly tipsy evening.

Black Lotus Lake Shore.

Ten Specialized Blue Soldiers took turns applying their Boiling Water Ability to the stone pot, simmering beef bones.

Black Cory directed Worker Ants to cut juicy beef into slices, hang them on hooked wooden sticks, and set them into the pot to be blanched.

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and White Willow sat around the pot, each with two wooden plates made from the remains of King-Level Mulberry Divine-Given Seed.

The plates were round, about twenty centimeters in diameter, engraved with intricate insect and orchid grass motifs.

One plate held ice cubes made from a mixture of fresh water, ant honey, and fresh fruit.

The other contained fragrant ant honey made by combining meat and dried fruit; blanched meat slices would be dipped in the honey.

This was Dragon Cypress's recent improvement—a brand-new way to eat, perfect for summer.

Eat a piece of piping hot meat.

Lick a bit of ice cube.

One hot and one cold, one savory and one sweet—the comfort it brought was beyond words.

White Willow was brimming with happiness.

After repeated questions and confirmation, Black Cory decided to stay at Black Lotus Lake, at least until the reclamation and construction of Black Lotus Lake was finished.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, where are you heading next? Are you still going to the southeastern coast to look for Source Stone?" White Willow asked.

"Yep! Dragon Cypress, what are we going to do next?" Ink Orchid suddenly remembered and asked as well.

Ink Orchid sighed, "Feels like there are so many things to do, but none urgent, and also nothing in particular to do."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "Let's go check out that region between the southwest and the southeastern coast first."

Ink Orchid: "Looking for what? Glinting Gold?"

Dragon Cypress: "We'll scour from south to north in a zigzag, looking for Land of Origin Force, and on the way, we'll dig into the ruins of those three tribes that, according to Night Fragrance God-Given Seed, once owned Glinting Gold."

Ink Orchid: "…I feel…we won't dig up anything good…whatever, your call…"

...

If Ink Orchid says we won't find anything, then we definitely won't.

Sure enough, nothing was found.

...

Time flew by like a shuttle.

A plain forest stretching beyond sight.

A torrential downpour lasting a whole day and night.

A massive reservoir clearly carved by the Insect Clan, the great water burst beyond the embankment, forming muddy floods in the downstream rivers, roaring away into the distance.

In the morning sunlight,

a rainbow arched over Grey Fox Mountain.

The Dominating Throne docked at the mountaintop.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid lay on the Throne, gazing absentmindedly at the rainbow in the sky.

It had been easy to find the entrance to the ruins here, but sadly, there was only the exuviae of Divine-Given Seed in the treasury.

Divine-Given Seed Exuviae were very useful, able to make Life Seed Plants grow vigorously, permanently strengthen them, and increase their yield by ten to thirty percent.

But these couldn't be sold; when you found a lot, they lost any value.

"Dragon Cypress, should we keep heading north?"

"Of course."

"Go further north, and that's basically the eastern region of Cloud Trace Continent you divided up, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Five of the ten tribes that, according to Night Fragrance God-Given Seed, had Glinting Gold, are all in the eastern region."

"We'll dig them all up for a look."

The sun at summer's end was still scorching.

Steam rose, and the rainbow vanished quickly.

"Beautiful scenery is gone in a blink, just like this insect life." Ink Orchid sighed deeply and withdrew their gaze.

Dragon Cypress didn't reply, their mind moved, and the Dominating Throne lifted straight into the sky, zigzagging eastward.

Ink Orchid stood up, stood at the edge of the Stump Ant Nest, gazed at the Forest Sea below for a while, bored, then hopped onto the top of the Throne's backrest, turned around to gaze behind them, daydreaming in boredom.

On a morning with the golden sun hanging at a slant and high in the sky,

Ink Orchid suddenly shivered, excited, raised a claw to point due north, and said nonchalantly:

"Dragon Cypress. Origin Force fluctuation."

"Finally a little discovery."

Dragon Cypress muttered, steering the Dominating Throne to turn, soon sensing the Origin Force fluctuation as well.

At noon, they approached the Land of Origin Force.

In front, endless mountains and forests.

The Dominating Throne slowed down.

Dragon Cypress: "This Land of Origin Force isn't very large. Head straight in?"

Ink Orchid: "Just go straight in."

The Dominating Throne accelerated, climbing a bit higher, and headed straight into the Land of Origin Force.

"Dragon Cypress——"

"Divine-Given Seed fluctuation?"

Originally not holding much hope, Ink Orchid was suddenly alert, gently leaped to the top of the Stump Ant Nest, lay at the edge, and poked their head down for a look.

Dragon Cypress also felt a faint sensation, directly steering the Dominating Throne to descend, searching along the direction of the Origin Force fluctuation.

Soon, a towering tree came into view.

All around were also Origin Force Fluctuations from common Origin Force Plants.

Curiously, there were as many as sixteen, yet their auras were so weak they were almost undetectable.

—Could it be two Insect Clan Warriors with very low evolution?

—Doesn't quite feel like it~

The Dominating Throne lowered its altitude again, heading straight for the Divine-Given Seed.

Closer now—clear to see—it was a cypress tree!

Long, flat leaves, bark a pale reddish-brown.

Red Cypress Tree!

A kind of cypress, part of the Flat Cypress family.

Great Tall Tree—even a common Red Cypress could grow to fifty or sixty meters tall. Like Dragon Cypress, its enhancement effect was of the Strength System, a naturally top-level plant seed, and moreover, a seed found in neither the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent nor the Wan Country Continent.

A Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed over a hundred meters tall!

"That's not right~" Ink Orchid frowned in confusion.

"Something's very off~" Dragon Cypress brought the Dominating Throne closer, hovering above the treetop, observing up close.

A spiritual power fluctuation was present—thick with sorrow.

Not a Wild God-Given Seed.

Its state was terrible, on the verge of death.

As if infected by the Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed's emotions, Ink Orchid was suddenly swept up in sadness too.

Ink Orchid: "…I know now."

Ink Orchid: "This is a Life Seed God-Given Seed… its warrior… died… and it is about to die as well."

Dragon Cypress: "Looks like it…"

Dragon Cypress looked around, steered the Dominating Throne to drift closer to a not-far-away black bean Life Seed.

Three main vines, the thickest with a diameter of thirty centimeters, coiling up the hillside, about fifty meters long.

It hadn't suffered any injuries.

But its leaves were withered and yellowed, its vitality waning, about to die.

About fifty meters away was another Flat Cypress Life Seed, the whole plant yellowed and dry, already lifeless.

This is how the Life Seed Plant dies.

Their warriors had died.

Destiny Bond—the Life Seed Plant dies along with them.

The Dominating Throne climbed higher, scanning the surroundings from above.

"Dragon Cypress——"

Ink Orchid raised a claw, pointing gently.

Farther away, on a mountainside, below a cliff, amidst weeds, a cave mouth could be faintly seen.

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne over, stopping at the cave entrance, spiritual power sweeping inside.

Deep inside the mountain tunnel,

a plump, just over a meter long beetle corpse, its carapace a metallic, iridescent hue.

Its right tentacle hung limp, trailing on the ground, its left tentacle broken off at the node.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles, sniffing—there was no scent at all. He sighed softly, "It's been dead for two or three years."

This lined up with the state of the Life Seeds outside.

The weak ones had already died, the vigorous ones were close to death.

Ink Orchid was silent.

Dragon Cypress extended spiritual power to scan and check, saying, "Rainbow Walking Insect, age period 2 or 3, High-Level Warrior—died of natural causes."

"Dragon Cypress, the Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed is still alive…"

"Alive."

"Is there any way to save it?"

"…No."

"Use your head, think of a way." Ink Orchid was grief-stricken.

"..." Dragon Cypress fell into thought.

All Origin Force Life has a soul.

Between Life Seed and Insect Clan Warrior, there is a bond of souls.

With the warrior's death, the common Life Seed's already weak soul is left ravaged. Soon, it collapses, and the plant withers.

The Divine-Given Seed's soul is strong, but its bond with the Insect Clan Warrior is even deeper. When the warrior dies, the Divine-Given Seed is doomed as well.

There's no saving it—maybe at best, a few more years of struggle.

Unless…

The One-Glimpse Fruit…

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