Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 622 - 564: Law Divine Tree_3

The Snow Velvet Spider King was puzzled, but did not pursue the question. With a turn of thought, it asked, "Shanglu Divine Tree, so you mean, that One-Glimpse Flower, is it..."

Shanglu Divine Tree replied, "It might be one of the Law Divine Trees, but it can't be confirmed yet. Perhaps the abilities it bestows clash with the natural laws of the Origin Force Star Realm, suppressing or sealing them. It could also just be a rather special Divine-Given Seed. Communicate again with the Flame Spider on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent; it's best to find a way to bring it back to Shanglu, and I'll confirm it myself. If the situation doesn't permit, at least make sure to protect it well—keep it firmly in the Flame Spider clan's claws. In the worst case, if you encounter irreparable trouble, arrange for a spider to take it away from the Origin Force Star Realm."

The Snow Velvet Spider King replied solemnly, "Understood..."

The Snow Velvet Spider King gathered up its courage and asked, "Shanglu Divine Tree, why is it always a fixed 55 Divine Trees?"

Shanglu Divine Tree said indifferently, "Just a bit of insight gained through the passage of ages."

Clearly, it was unwilling to reveal more...

The Snow Velvet Spider King pondered, then said, "Shanglu Divine Tree, you are the 56th, outside the destined number? If there can be a 56th, does that mean there can also be a 57th, 58th, right?"

Shanglu Divine Tree: "Yes! The probability is infinitesimal. In all the endless years, I haven't heard of another tree like me coming into being."

The Snow Velvet Spider King: "Understood..."

Shanglu Divine Tree: "You also want to ask how to distinguish between Law Divine Trees born by fixed destiny and those born by chance, right?"

The Snow Velvet Spider King: "I'm a spider without much curiosity, but also a spider thirsting desperately for knowledge."

Shanglu Divine Tree: "After using the fruit it produces, if there is Origin Force energy from heaven and earth, from all directions aiding you, if there is Law's blessing condensing a Divine Pattern, then it is a Law Divine Tree born of destiny. Conversely, if you use the fruit and there is no power from outside the Star Realm aiding you, only the Primordial Energy within the fruit condenses the Divine Pattern, then it is a Law Divine Tree born by probability."

The surrounding space shifted, and once again it became an ancient, towering forested mountain environment.

Shanglu Divine Tree was unwilling to say more.

The Snow Velvet Spider King did not dare ask further, and took its leave respectfully.

…

…

…

Two months flashed by. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The deep autumn harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the lush, vibrant spring of the Southern Hemisphere.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid set out once more, entering the Thousand Reef Archipelago in search of Divine-Given Seeds.

No gains.

They returned to Xianglan Mountain and began this year's autumn roving merchant trade.

White Rice Mountain.

The Dominating Throne sped over.

White Rice and Black Rice, who were guarding beneath the tree, rose and waved their tentacles in greeting.

"Hmm?"

Ink Orchid let out a sound of surprise.

"This is..."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid lifted their heads to look.

In the increasingly chilly late autumn, new branches were unexpectedly sprouting in abundance on the tree of the White Rice Divine-Given Seed.

This kind of out-of-season growth has only one explanation: evolution is imminent!

Ink Orchid withdrew its gaze, asking excitedly, "Red Fox, you're about to evolve to Lord-Level?"

Red Fox's mood remained calm and unruffled, replying, "At last, I'm able to evolve."

White Rice could not hide its joy, and said, "There were signs already at the end of summer."

Dragon Cypress: "Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Ink Orchid also cheered, "Black Rice, White Rice, Red Fox, congratulations to all of you!"

Back then, when everyone was still at the mid to high-level warrior stage, trading Divine-Given White Rice Fruit to Ink Orchid and Dragon Cypress had brought considerable profits.

Both Mulberry and Ghost Fan relied on the healing effects of the Divine-Given White Rice Fruit Pulp to get through their most arduous phases of evolution.

But now, the Mountain Lord Level White Rice Divine-Given Seed had started to lag behind in keeping up with everyone else's growth and advancement.

Lord-Level was still adequate, able to bring substantial returns to White Rice and Black Rice.

Over a hundred years, breaking through from Mountain Lord Level to Lord-Level, this rate of progress was exceptionally fast—at least twice as quick as conventional wild Divine-Given Seeds.

There's every chance it could evolve to King-Level before White Rice and Black Rice leave the Origin Force Star Realm, and even leave together.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were sincerely happy for them.

White Rice sighed with a touch of emotion, saying, "At last, fortune turns in our favor—it's our turn to be lucky. Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, here's more good news: this year, Black Rice and I also harvested a Divine-Given Seed!"

Black Rice: "I cultivated it, a Short-Pod Inca Bean!"

White Rice: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, do you remember when we explored the Southern Hemisphere Continent, collecting tropical plant seeds on Swinging Leaf Island? I collected over a hundred plant seeds, but in the end, only seven or eight actually sprouted and grew."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course I remember..."

Dragon Cypress: "I remember, we collected two varieties at the time: the Twisted Inca Bean and the Long-Fruited Inca Bean."

White Rice: "Through selection from the long-fruited Inca Bean, a mutated seedling was bred that adapted well to the White Rice Mountain climate. Its pods are thick and short, and I named it 'Short-Pod Inca Bean.'"

"Then, this must have triggered Law Divine-Given..."

Dragon Cypress tapped its tentacle lightly.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid had already reaped plenty of Divine-Given Seeds through similar methods, so this didn't feel particularly novel anymore.

Black Rice raced back to its dwelling cave, then returned carrying a Spider Silk Bag. It opened it, took out a metal case specifically for storing seeds, opened it again, and inside was a plump bean with a reddish-brown color and dim-blue Origin Force markings.

The bean was quite large, approaching two centimeters in diameter.

A faint Wood Primordial Energy aura.

Most likely, its function is comprehensive Wood Element ability strengthening, with a slight chance for a surprise.

"Not bad at all!"

Ink Orchid praised, then asked, "Black Rice, you cultivated this?"

Black Rice: "Me and White Rice!"

The seed was being kept by Black Rice—evidently, with its awakened Wood Element Talent, Black Rice would nurture it as a Life Seed Divine-Given Seed.

The elemental system fits, and the racial talent provides a boost. The resulting fruit will be higher in quality, and returns will be better as well.

Black Rice said shyly, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid Lord, White Rice and I discussed it—we think we can nurture it a bit sooner and plant it down, but we've always been strapped for resources..."

After Black Rice evolved to Lord-Level, it hadn't evolved further; resources were being concentrated on White Rice. Their plan was for White Rice to evolve to King-Level first, and then come back to help Black Rice progress...

But now, the plan might need to be flipped around.

Black Rice is only at the 1-age-period Lord Level now: evolving to 2-age-period won't take much.

Dragon Cypress readily agreed, "No problem. I'll lend you five hundred thousand Origin Force Ant Honey, and five hundred thousand Wood Element Ant King Honey. Is that enough?"

Black Rice: "Enough!"

Ink Orchid offered, "For Red Fox to break through and evolve to Lord-Level, you'll need at least a hundred thousand Source Stones in reserve, right? White Rice, Black Rice, do you have enough Source Stones on hand?"

Black Rice and White Rice waved their tentacles.

Ink Orchid: "Then I'll have Dragon Cypress quickly transport some over."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "At your command, Second King..."

Ink Orchid stayed behind to talk.

Dragon Cypress set to work.

The Dominating Throne could deliver sixty thousand Source Stones per trip—two trips would suffice, and an extra twenty thousand Source Stones would be prepared as backup.

After that, a few more trips to the nearest ruins to bring over a batch of Divine-Given Remains.

No rush—Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid stayed at White Rice Mountain, monitoring conditions for five days. Once they confirmed that Red Fox was indeed about to break through and evolve to Lord-Level, and in good shape with no risk of failure, they took their leave.

With nothing else pressing, they handled the search for Divine-Given Seeds at Land of Origin Force sites along the way while on autumn trade rounds.

Drifting along, they reached early winter.

Ink Orchid headed for Southern Sour Jujube Mountain to tend to the Divine-Given Seed.

Dragon Cypress set out alone, picking up White Rice en route to Swinging Leaf Island; using Earth System abilities to further reinforce the newly-dug subterranean waterway tunnels this year.

The intricate water vein network designed by Dragon Cypress was gradually taking shape year by year.

Silver Cypress, Black Birch, and Tie Bush had remained behind on Swinging Leaf Island, and their safety was now ensured.

The number of Worker Ants skilled at excavation and carrying had reached three thousand; Dragon Cypress then began raising Green Soldiers, Green Ants, as well as Specialized Blue Soldiers for garden operations, further enriching and improving the island's ant colony structure.