Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Chapter 772 - 614: Stone Persimmon

Red Cypress Mountain.

Towering mountains and steep ridges, secluded forests and deep valleys.

An end-of-summer morning, clouds and mist swirling around.

As the Dominating Throne approached the Land of Origin Force, with a whoosh, Ink Orchid's figure shot out from the mists, circling and descending onto the throne's backrest.

"Dragon Cypress, did King Cypress successfully relocate to Rainbow Island?"

"Of course! And I found something new! The Refinement Ability actually works on plants! I can refine Life Seed Husk into Cyan-Blue Refinement Beads. According to tests, the loss of Primordial Energy and nutrients is within acceptable limits."

"Wow—"

"You mean, you can even refine... the food that plants need?"

Ink Orchid's eyes lit up, and it said enviously: "I wish I had a Refinement Ability too~"

There's really nothing I can do about that~

In this world, many abilities can be imitated by combining basic powers, but as for the Creator Civilization's Refinement Ability, Dragon Cypress truly couldn't figure out how to obtain it.

Dragon Cypress directly changed the subject, asking: "Ink Orchid, did you successfully harvest the Yellow Cicada Orchid Divine-Given Seed?"

Ink Orchid: "Of course! It's already in the Life Pouch, and incubating."

Dragon Cypress: "What about the Purple-Bearded Round Leaf Grape hybrid bred by Black Birch?"

Ink Orchid: "That will need at least another two months to mature."

Ink Orchid: "Stick to the plan!"

Dragon Cypress: "...I'll await Second King's instructions."

...

The plan was for the Dominating Throne to carry Ink Orchid and Black Birch, speeding south to land on Rainbow Island.

Ink Orchid immediately began searching the island.

Dragon Cypress assigned tasks.

Cypress led three thousand Blue Soldiers out to sea to fish, training in the Refinement Ability at the same time.

At present, large, medium, and small Mountain Ants and Worker Ants had been born in succession; with Black Birch leading, the first order was to modify the Ant Nest.

Dragon Cypress personally stood guard at the mountain's summit, ascending skywards at intervals and using the 'Scorching' Ability to scout and observe the surrounding seas.

Of course, training in both the Heavenly Frost Remnants Realm and Explosive Jet abilities could not be neglected either.

At night, Cypress and the fishing teams returned to take up sentry duty, while Dragon Cypress took to the seas to practice the 'Nosh Remnants' and 'Whirl Beast Devouring' abilities.

Sometimes Ink Orchid joined Dragon Cypress for brief ability training, but most of the time it sprawled on the Dominating Throne, focused on nurturing its Yellow Cicada Orchid Divine-Given Seed.

Tides rose and fell, the sun and moon traded places.

In a blink, two months had passed.

With the help of a million Source Stones, King Cypress's recovery and growth remained swift, its trunk height once again breaking through two hundred meters.

Meanwhile, as more Mountain Ants and Worker Ants joined the labor force, the Xianglan Peak Main Nest, the Azure Lake branch nest, and the Wangbai Mountain branch nest were all successively renovated.

The main force for the island's reconstruction, the Specialized Mountain Ants and Specialized Worker Ants, had still not emerged from Feather Transformation.

Black Birch's duties were suspended, now tasked to the mountaintop as a sentry.

Cypress's fishing tasks were also paused, staying on the island to stand guard.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid swiftly set out.

...

Fragrant Silk Island.

The area around the three Wild Divine-Given Seeds was relatively clean, with evident signs of recent tidying—almost certainly done when the Snow Velvet Spider King's party passed through in early spring.

After twenty years of insect-free management, at some point the wild Twin Pillar Sumeru Wood Divine-Given Seed actually managed to break through on its own and successfully advanced to Lord-Level.

The tree's branches were lush with leaves but bore no fruit, surely the work of the Snow Velvet Spider King's group—resting from flowering and fruiting, allowing the tree to recover its strength.

All three Wild Divine-Given Seeds were in fairly good condition.

By contrast, the ordinary plants cultivated on the island...

Aside from a few resilient trees like cypress, Inca bean, and Fey Oil Fruit, the rest of the orchards were choked by weeds and climbing vines, ravaged by various pests and diseases, and were almost entirely dead.

The hard-won Fragrant Silk Island had fallen completely into ruin.

The ant colony left to guard the island had been wiped out. It would take another ten or twenty years, once Rainbow Island's restoration was complete and defenses strong, before there'd be spare capacity to open up this land again.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid flew at low altitude, making a circuit to patrol the island.

Ink Orchid found no Divine-Given Seeds.

They immediately set off for Swinging Leaf Island.

The mouth of the branch nest was overgrown with weeds, ditches clogged, and the orchard abandoned.

Unfortunately, this place had also been visited by the Eddy Scorpionfish Ant King; none of the Worker Ants or Green Ants left to guard the island had survived.

Without ant management, Swinging Leaf Island had likewise fallen completely into ruin.

Fortunately, the Eddy Scorpionfish Ant King still retained some insect instincts—the wild Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree Divine-Given Seed was entirely unharmed.

Beneath the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree, weeds ran rampant, and nearby, a river channel once dug by tie bush had been blocked by silt washed down by storms, diverting its course at the foot of the mountain.

With no insects to tend to it, and frequent droughts and water shortages, its growth status was at rock bottom.

"Stone Hunt Blue Ant deserves to die!"

Ink Orchid was furious.

The territory that Dragon Cypress and itself had toiled to reclaim and manage was utterly destroyed.

"Sigh—"

Dragon Cypress let out a soft sigh, comforting: "At least the most crucial Wild Divine-Given Seed is safe."

Ink Orchid: "The Divine-Given Seed is in terrible shape too. Let's clean up quickly."

Dragon Cypress said no more, releasing the Dominating Throne, leaping aboard, slowly ascending, and activating Hydra Power to manifest tendrils, plucking the fruit from the tree.

Ink Orchid got busy as well, waving its forelimbs to clear the weeds from beneath the tree.

With ability enhancement, the cleanup was soon complete.

Dragon Cypress then used the Refinement Divine Inscription, sweeping it over the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree Divine-Given Seed, then directed a massive bundle of clear water, wrapping up the picked fruits, harvested weeds, and assorted plant debris all at once.

Refinement turned it into a Cyan-Blue Refinement Bead.

A shallow pit was dug beneath the tree, the bead buried, and watered in.

Dragon Cypress joined Ink Orchid in digging and cleaning out the river channel together...

They toiled for three full days, tending to the wild Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree from top to bottom.

They stayed an extra three days, during which Dragon Cypress used Flourish, Tranquility, and Red Crow Pattern Ability to help the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree somewhat recover its condition.