Gently undulating hills stretched out before them, and from afar they could see a towering, solitary giant tree.
Growing on the mid-slope of the small mountain range, the treetop soared above the ridgeline, radiating a powerful Origin Force fluctuation that could be felt even from a great distance.
"Wow! Wow! Wow!"
"Dragon Cypress! Wild Divine-Given Seed!"
"Dragon Cypress? Dragon Cypress?"
Ink Orchid accelerated.
"I see it. Slow down."
Dragon Cypress reminded, "Since a Wild Divine-Given Seed is rooted here, there's a good chance some Insect Clan Warrior used it to survive..."
"Oh!"
Ink Orchid reduced speed, flying side by side with Dragon Cypress.
They drew closer, studying the scene.
Perhaps the evolution of this Wild Divine-Given Seed had advanced so far, changed so much, that it was a little hard to tell which kind of tree it was.
Neatly terraced orchards had been cultivated around it, planted with mango trees.
There are Insect Clan Warriors!
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid instinctively slowed their flight further, climbing higher into the sky.
They circled, observing.
Soon, on the other side of the hill, they discovered a Life Seed plant.
There were Yellow Vein Berries just ripening, the rare Jade Ling Puto Peach, and lychee trees four or five meters tall...
And two mulberry trees of unknown species, their ripe fruit fallen and rotting all over the ground.
Origin Force Fruit had matured, but no insects had harvested it?
That could only mean one thing...
Seeing this, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid both felt a heaviness in their hearts.
But then, a subconscious hint of delight.
An insect once lived here, but it had passed away. Then the ownership of this immense Wild Divine-Given Seed...
"Dragon Cypress? That cave."
"I see it. Let's check it out."
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid lowered their flight altitude at a measured pace, observing as they went, releasing waves of Origin Force at full strength.
An Insect Clan Warrior about one meter long, with an orange-red carapace covered in black spots, its body an oval dome, limped out of the cave.
A warrior of the Ladybug Tribe?
A severely wounded, 'disabled' warrior.
The left antenna was snapped in the middle.
The left middle leg broken off at the tibia.
The right elytron was half gone, exposing the brown-black membranous wings beneath.
The left elytron was also gashed, a savage crack over ten centimeters long.
"Hello—"
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid greeted it, landing ten meters away.
Ink Orchid: "You're hurt! Are there any other Insect Clan Warriors here?"
"...Wait!"
Dragon Cypress noticed a healed scar on the other's front leg tibia as well.
A faint crack marked its left eye.
Insect fighting couldn't possibly cause wounds shaped like this.
"Oh!" Ink Orchid realized, too.
The other one was a High-Level Warrior, each Age Period evolution bringing a sudden increase in size.
This was clearly a case of lacking comprehensive physique enhancement—especially the carapace—injured during molting evolution as the body ballooned in size.
This was a 'ladybug' warrior on the verge of death.
The other stared at Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid in silence, calm but perhaps a little bewildered.
Dragon Cypress: "My first Life Seed was a Dragon Cypress Tree. My name is Dragon Cypress."
Ink Orchid: "My first Life Seed was Ink Orchid. I'm Ink Orchid. What's your name?"
A long silence.
A raw, but tranquil mental voice.
"Mulberry—"
Ink Orchid asked, "Mulberry, which Age Period High-Level Warrior are you?"
Mulberry: "...Second Age Period."
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid exchanged glances: Just as they thought!
But…
Ladybugs are even smaller than male Ant Kings of the Giant-Headed Ants.
If this was only a Second Age Period High-Level Warrior, why was its body so much bigger than Dragon Cypress's?
Seemed there was only one explanation...
Ink Orchid politely asked, "Mulberry, does the strengthening effect of that Wild Divine-Given Seed across the mountain make you gigantic?"
Mulberry: "No."
No?
Ink Orchid: "Then why are you so large in size?"
Mulberry: "I was always this big."
Dragon Cypress suddenly noticed a detail: Mulberry's antennae were thin and long—unlike a ladybug's.
"I'm from the Giant-Headed Ant Tribe. Ink Orchid is from the Orchid Mantis Tribe. Mulberry, you're..."
"Nine-Star Roach—"
"Blattidae?!"
"Uh—"
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid rummaged through their inherited memories, suddenly understanding.
A Blattidae Clan Warrior.
They'd mistaken its identity.
The Nine-Star Roach looked astonishingly like a ladybug.
This insect was so rare that at first glance, they thought it was a Nine-Star Ladybug.
An awkward silence ensued.
Dragon Cypress: "Mulberry, judging by your life breath, you're still very young."
Mulberry: "...Perhaps."
Another silence.
Dragon Cypress formally introduced himself, "I am the King of the Creator Civilization, guided by the Natural God, bearer of the Creator Civilization's inheritance, and wielder of the Dominating Throne..."
The Dominating Throne wasn't on hand right now.
Dragon Cypress's introduction trailed off. After a pause, he continued, "Ink Orchid and I are Roving Merchants. Riding the Dominating Throne, we cross Origin Force Vacuum Land, moving from Origin Force Point to Origin Force Point, trading and conversing with Insect Clan Warriors..."
Introduction complete.
Mulberry gave no reaction, lifeless and numb.
It was badly wounded, crippled, and unlikely to survive the next Age Period's molting evolution.
It had only one option: stop eating any Origin Force Food, cease growth, and eke out whatever years it could.
But life would be mere survival.
Its insect existence had lost all hope; life itself had lost all radiance.
Dragon Cypress: "Wait here a moment. Ink Orchid and I will bring the Dominating Throne over."
...
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid beat their wings and took flight.
Instead of leaving directly, they flew across the mountain range, making a detour around the Wild Divine-Given Seed.
The trunk alone surpassed fifty meters in height!
Maybe sixty, maybe seventy meters.
Too tall, too massive—the exact measurement was hard to judge.
Sparsely, the tree's branches bore fruits of all sizes, shaped like morning star maces.
Many fruits clustered together, forming these peculiar globes.
On closer look, the fruits fell into four size classes.
The smallest were four or five centimeters in diameter—small fruits.
Then medium fruits, seven or eight centimeters in diameter; large fruits, twelve or thirteen centimeters; and extra-large fruits with diameters over fifteen centimeters.
Clearly ordered.
It was easy to understand—this Wild Divine-Given Seed flowered every year, but its fruit needed to mature for at least four years
Not like the common species, which flower and ripen all at once.
More akin to plants like Keg Vine and Green Torreya with similar blooming and fruiting patterns.
What species of plant was this?
Closer examination: oval broad leaves, each tip ending in a "tail."
They searched their inherited memory…
"Golden Light Fruit!"
"A variant."
"Mountain Lord Level?"
"Just one step from Lord-Level."
"The tastiest fruit in the world."
"Now it's only second! First is Azure Fruit."
"Ah well… strong Fire System Origin Force fluctuation..."
"What a pity."
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were a little disappointed.
Plant mutations and variants didn't always mean improvement—they could decrease value as well.
The strengthening effect of this mutated Golden Divine Seed was Fire Element Ability. Not high in value, but not low either.
The native Golden Light Fruit, on the other hand, provided Visual System farsightedness enhancement, which was actually more valuable.
"Let's get the Dominating Throne first," Dragon Cypress urged, preparing to leave.
"Dragon Cypress, would White Rice Ant King Honey help heal Mulberry's wounds?"
"Yes."
"So, should we help it?"
"..."
Dragon Cypress didn't know.
A Wild Divine-Given Seed that had grown for over a thousand years, now fully mature with high yield—even if merely Fire System enhanced, it could still be traded for a vast amount of Source Stone.
Soon, once the Ant Kingdom's Soldier Ant numbers grew and their territory became secure, they could openly trade with caravans.
Good goods never lacked buyers.
Mulberry was on the verge of death.
After Mulberry died, naturally, the Wild Divine-Given Seed would belong to Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid.
Faced with such enormous profit, Dragon Cypress could not find peace in his heart.
Ink Orchid was hesitant too.
They sped back to the Dominating Throne.
Dragon Cypress fetched an empty jar, opened the lid, and hesitated, unmoving.
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress. There are only a handful of us insects on Cloud Trace Continent. Let's save Mulberry."
Dragon Cypress: "..."
If he coldly refused, his noble image in Ink Orchid's eyes would shatter.
Dragon Cypress shook his antennae, signaling the Specialized Blue Ant carrying White Rice Ant King Honey to step forward.
PS: The prototype for Nine-Star Roach is known domestically as 'Ladybug Roach.' Easter egg image above.