stonecrandall Chapter 45: The Fruit of God Ripenes
Chapter 45: The Fruit of God Ripenes
After insect warriors advance to the Mountain Lord level, they will awaken elemental abilities based on their racial "talents." Ye Zhi guessed that it was a kind of compatible gene fragment that could be activated by the Force and would gradually become manifest as the evolution progressed.
However, he is only a junior warrior now, and it is still a long time before he awakens his elemental abilities. He himself does not know that he has awakened his elemental abilities so early.
Seemingly sensing Ye Zhi's confusion, Qing Yuan shook its antennae and pointed to its compound eyes, saying, "Little guy, in addition to the slender ant's innate ability [Self-Sharpening], the Wu Yuan Ant King has also awakened an ability that affects its compound eyes [Weakness Perception]. I inherited this ability, so I can't be wrong."
"Perfect timing. The wild black-veined citron divine seed left behind by the Green-Citrus Ant King will ripen soon. Little guy, you can eat some of the fruit when it ripens, so you can use your abilities better when you advance to the Mountain Lord level."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhi immediately raised her head, her compound eyes gleaming as she stared intently at Zuo Wang Qingyuan in front of her.
The fruits of plants imbued with primal energy contain most of their primal energy in seeds that no longer have the ability to germinate. However, these juicy, divinely bestowed berries still contain a significant amount of primal energy in their peels and flesh.
These fruit peels and pulps cannot be stored or transported for long periods, and naturally cannot be traded through the Flame Spider merchants. They can only be eaten locally, and any uneaten portions become waste.
It is said that on the neighboring Cloud Continent, where all races coexist, most tribes deal with the flesh of this divinely bestowed seed by setting up a "divinely bestowed seed fruit feast" similar to the banquet in Ye Zhi's previous life, inviting nearby tribesmen and even other warriors from other races with whom they have good relations to share the food.
But this is the Dragon Bamboo Continent, a place of constant warfare. The Tree Ant Kingdom is depleted, and all surrounding powers are eyeing it covetously. It's impossible for them to do something like aiding the enemy. Therefore, in previous years, most of these fruit pieces were only eaten by the Black Ant King and the two Assistant Kings, with the excess simply being wasted.
Ye Zhi didn't have much to say about this; she was just excited that she could finally eat the legendary divine food, even though it was just from wild divine seeds.
In an instant, the cutting speed of the two ant silk blades controlled by his mental power increased significantly. He quickly reduced a corpse to bones. However, since it was his first time dissecting a corpse, he was a little inexperienced, and there were still many scratches caused by extremely fine ant silk on the bones.
The marks on the bone were also smooth, which was enough to prove the sharpness of the extremely fine ant-silk flying blade.
With a thought, the primal force stopped flowing into the ant silk. The tough and sharp ant silk blade immediately lost its original cold gleam and turned into an ordinary, translucent white thread that snapped with a single pull.
Is it really a metal-based ability? Ye Zhi pondered to himself. He knew nothing about the Force, a product unique to this world, and his experience was naturally no match for the native tree ant kingdom's ants.
However, this ability seems to have some similarities with the "self-sharpening" of the slender ant race. Both involve attaching energy to the surface of a structure or injecting it into the structure, thus significantly strengthening the original structure.
By carefully sensing the scene I had witnessed before, where the combat worker ants under the command of Wu Yuan used [Self-Sharpening], and trying to recall the flow of primal energy attached to the stinger, it seemed that I could refer to some of it?
While she was pondering, the "Chimera" tree spirit beside her sent a somewhat urging mental fluctuation. Only then did Ye Zhi react, pick up a piece of flesh, flap her wings and take flight, skillfully throwing it into the insect trap.
The growth and development of the "Chimera" continued rapidly. The insect traps were temporarily fixed at a size slightly larger than a human head. Instead, the focus was on strengthening the main vine and the broad leaves to improve the efficiency of absorbing natural energy and photosynthesis.
At this time, its main vine roots are already as thick as a fist, spreading more than five meters. Long and wide leaves stretch freely in the sunlight, and the dark red petioles make the leaves look incredibly green.
As it absorbed fresh flesh and blood, the tree spirit of the "Chimera" emitted a wave of joy and satisfaction.
Seeing that the tree spirit's appetite was temporarily satisfied, Ye Zhi flapped her wings and took off, continuing to control the two extremely thin ant silk blades, waving them at the remaining rabbit corpses, practicing her fine control over the ant silk blades.
......
Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Judging by the time, it should already be autumn, but the location under our feet is in the tropical zone of the planet, where the four seasons are almost indistinguishable, with only ripe fruits telling the story of the changing seasons.
The Tree Ant Kingdom primarily cultivates citrus plants. Large tracts of native, tall Dipterocarp trees within its territory have been replaced by citrus groves, which have been converted into orchards.
It is said that during the heyday of the tree ant kingdom, the weaver ant and slender ant tribes managed orchards covering thousands of square kilometers, selecting and cultivating high-quality varieties through generations of selection, hybridization, grafting and other methods.
However, nowadays, insect populations are scarce, and the slender ant colony, lacking complex worker ant differentiation, finds it difficult to manage large areas of trees on its own. Coupled with the shrinking of its territory, the current orchard area is much smaller than before.
Every year during the fruit harvest season, the king ant still organizes worker ants to harvest on a large scale, partly to search for possible divinely bestowed seeds and partly to provide a relatively stable food source for the worker ants.
Both weaver ants and slender ants are omnivorous with a preference for plant-based diets, specifically referring to various sugary fruits. Worker ants rarely consume much meat in their daily activities; only the larvae rely heavily on animal protein for development.
Located in the tropics, the area is rich in various fresh fruits. The slender ant colony is not very large, but it is able to maintain its current population of several thousand worker ants, with elite combat worker ants accounting for one-third of the colony.
Citrus fruits are called "citrus fruits" among fresh fruits. They have relatively thick peels, making them more resistant to storage and transportation than other fresh fruits. In addition, ordinary fruits do not have to worry about the loss of the Force, so they can be stored for several months.
Afterwards, the worker ants responsible for logistics consume it, partially digest it, and store it in their social stomachs, where it can be stored for a long time to supply the daily food needs of the worker ants.
In recent days, the citrus seeds of the citron queen have begun to ripen one after another. They are then harvested by the worker ants organized by the citron queen and stored in large cobweb bags in the sunny and well-ventilated nest chamber.
The fruits produced by these ordinary species can be stored for several months and can withstand long journeys. They are also purchased by Flame Spider merchants, so they are temporarily stored by Wu Yuan, waiting for the arrival of the merchants each year.
During the fruit-ripening season, the atmosphere in the Tree Ant Kingdom territory became somewhat busy. Ye Zhi, being only a beginner warrior, could hardly offer any help and could only silently nurture the ant colony in preparation for evolution.
Another week passed, and suddenly, Zuo Wang Qingyuan once again brought several worker ants to the foot of Ye Zhi's tree nest. He transmitted his spiritual power and brought good news - the wild black-veined citron seed that was bestowed by the gods was about to ripen!