Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 518 - 498 Snow Velvet Spider King (1)
Beneath the Giant Beaked Ivory Palm blessed by the Divine-Given Seed, the Snow Velvet Spider King controlled two nearly invisible, delicate spider threads, swiftly cutting the source stones to release Origin Force.
Suddenly, its swinging forelegs froze mid-air. It slowly turned, gazing in confusion toward the southwest.
After pondering for a moment, it put down its work, hurried away, climbed the mountain peak, and looked around from the height.
The weather was beautiful, with gentle winds and bright sun, and the sea was calm as glass.
"Strange—"
The Snow Velvet Spider King muttered.
Just now, there was a vague sense of something watching it, a gaze that came from beneath the sea.
"Where did an Insect King come from?"
"Such a formidable scouting ability!"
"And it knows water?"
"What insect is it? What’s it doing wandering to a deep-sea deserted island like this?"
"Did it discover the Divine-Given Seeds on the island?"
The Snow Velvet Spider King spun around, spiritual power surging out, sweeping toward the Divine-Given Seed of the Fragrant Silk Tree on the mountainside.
Not a single fruit was missing from the tree.
Checking carefully around, there were no other traces of Insect Clan activity.
"Stealing a tree is impossible..."
"Trying to steal my fruit?"
"An Insect King with that level of advanced detection wouldn’t bother, would it?"
"Just passing through? Or pure coincidence?"
The Snow Velvet Spider King tensed at first, then quickly relaxed—more curious than anxious:
—What ability was that?
—It seems to gaze straight into the soul! Normal insects could never sense it.
The Snow Velvet Spider King ambled down the mountain, back beneath the Giant Beaked Ivory Palm blessed by the Divine-Given Seed, absentmindedly manipulating spider silk to continue cutting source stones and releasing Origin Force, while distractedly rifling through inherited memories.
After confirming twice, there was no record of a similar talent in the inherited memories.
Thinking back carefully, it had roamed Wanglan Continent and Zhibai Continent for over three hundred years, but never heard of any emerging tribe awakening such a soul-based talent.
—Not a racial talent ability.
—Not something that could be comprehended through evolution.
—Only one possibility remains: an ability bestowed by a Soul System Divine-Grade Fruit.
"But when did such powerful Divine God-Given Seeds appear on the continent? Impossible that this Snow Velvet wouldn’t know~"
"Besides, there aren’t many Insect Clan who can dive. I basically know them all, right? Are there any I, Snow Velvet, don’t know?"
The deeper the Snow Velvet Spider King thought, the greater its confusion, but then all of a sudden its eyes lit up.
"Diving? I can dive too! And far better than it!"
The Snow Velvet Spider King’s four legs moved in a flurry, four nearly invisible spider threads whirling as it sped up, crushing an entire large bag of source stones.
With a wave of its foreleg, the earth churned, burying the source stone powder beneath the soil.
Another wave, and the nearby river’s waters reversed, rushing out to flush and irrigate the area.
All done in a flash.
With another wave, two empty spider silk bags on the ground vanished into thin air.
A thought, and a silver-white original energy pattern flashed on its forehead—about a dozen loads of goods symbolically borne on its carapace disappeared as well.
The Snow Velvet Spider King hurried to the mountaintop reservoir, slipping beneath the water’s surface...
...
...
...
Dragon Cypress never imagined that that Flame Spider Roving Merchant would land on Fragrant Silk Island only during the depths of winter.
Not too nervous; the other hadn’t sensed anything, probably.
Still can’t be careless,
Dragon Cypress traveled day and night, heading southeast, stealthing deep beneath the sea, circling around the Fire Wheel Archipelago in a wide arc, eventually approaching Swinging Leaf Island.
It landed on the island for a quick look, then immediately dove back into the sea, patiently lurking and waiting.
Five days later,
Judging the Flame Spider Roving Merchant had probably left, it set out again, stealthily approaching Fragrant Silk Island.
Moving slowly, carefully controlling the Dominating Throne to avoid any Origin Force fluctuations, and once again, from a distance of ten kilometers offshore, it focused, activating its Soul-Setting Ability to instantly cover the whole island, then withdrew the power at once.
A spider-shaped soul!
On the mountain where the Fragrant Silk Tree’s Divine-Given Seed was planted, at the location of the reservoir.
—Still there?
—Hiding inside the reservoir?
—That’s a diving spider? Laying in ambush for me?
Dragon Cypress was startled, his thoughts racing, and immediately calmed himself, turning the Dominating Throne’s heading and gliding soundlessly toward the deep sea.
...
...
...
On the mountain reservoir,
At the center, a swirl of dazzling colors faded away, and the muddy stone hemisphere at the bottom cracked open. The Snow Velvet Spider King crawled out, slowly rising to the water’s surface.
It stood upon the water, eyes glinting, thoughts swirling with lightning speed.
—Why did it come from the east this time?
—Sure enough, it’s a soul-based detection ability; it sees into the soul!
—What an amazing ability!
—Even with both Illusory Color and Quicksand Shield active, it still saw through.
—That’s twice now; probably won’t dare come again.
The Snow Velvet Spider King hesitated, then felt something was off.
—Which tribe does this Insect King belong to?
—Why insist on landing on the island?
—With a talent that strong, surely it wouldn’t care about the meager yield from three Wild God-Given Seeds on an island?
—Don’t tell me it’s considering stealing my trees?
—They’re three huge Divine-Given Seeds—how could anyone steal them?
—Just simple curiosity?
—But why avoid me?
The more the Snow Velvet Spider King thought about it, the more confused it became, but then struck upon a new idea:
"First came from the west, then from the east—obviously trying to change approach. So if there’s a third time, it’ll be from..."
"The south? North?"
"I bet it’ll be north!"
"I’ll try lying in wait again!"
The Snow Velvet Spider King dashed down the mountain, skimming across the water, and dove ten kilometers north of the island, hiding deep under the sea.
...
...
...
After a moment of panic, Dragon Cypress regained his composure.
The Soul-Setting Ability’s sensory effect is undetectable to most Insect Kings, but there are always some wary and keen Origin Force Lives sensitive enough to feel themselves being watched.
Clearly, the Flame Spider Roving Merchant on Fragrant Silk Island is one of the lucky few.
No big deal.
Both times were from a distance of over twenty kilometers; the other only sensed being watched, not who the watcher was, nor could it have a clue to Dragon Cypress’s real intent, much less his origin.
At most it might wrongly assume some insect was coveting the Divine-Given Fruits produced by those three Wild God-Given Seeds on its island.
The trees are all towering giants; impossible to move them.
As a Spider King, would it care about a few Wild God-Given Seeds’ yield?
Probably the other will leave eventually.
Dragon Cypress was more worried that Ink Orchid, waiting back home, would be anxious if he didn’t return, so he made a quick detour back to Cloud Trace Continent.
...
Areca Rainforest.
Thunder boomed and rain lashed down in the black night as the Dominating Throne shot through the sky, trailing a long tail of azure light.
"Dragon Cypress!"
Ink Orchid came to greet him, "Did you get the Divine-Given Seed?"
"No."
Dragon Cypress said, "Unlucky. It’s full winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and that damn Flame Spider Roving Merchant is still lurking on the island. Worst of all, that guy can sense the Soul-Setting Ability’s probing."
Dragon Cypress: "It detected me. Still hiding on the island, hoping to ambush me."
"What???"
Ink Orchid, flustered, circled the Dominating Throne three times before spiraling down, asking, "So..."
"It’s not a big problem."
Dragon Cypress: "I used the Soul-Setting Ability from more than ten kilometers away. That Flame Spider Roving Merchant can’t figure out my background. I didn’t want you to worry, so I came back to let you know. I’ll rest a few days and then go check again." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
"Go again? Isn’t that too risky?"
Ink Orchid looked worried, "Forget it! It’s just an arbor Divine-Given Seed. Not worth the risk."
"Not really worth it, no."
Dragon Cypress: "The Divine-Given Ink Emperor Peach Fruit should be ripening soon, right? Come on, to Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."
Ink Orchid: "Now?"
Dragon Cypress: "It’s cool and rainy, perfect for traveling."
...
The Divine-Given Ink Emperor Peach Seed’s blooming and fruiting pattern is to flower and bear fruit yearly. It was only recently planted, and the first batch kept just ten fruits to test quality.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid lingered half a month in Southern Sour Jujube Mountain.
At the end of summer, the fruit ripened.
Ink Orchid leapt up, picked one, took a bite, and handed it to Dragon Cypress.
"Fragrant! Sweet! Delicious! Dragon Cypress, hurry and try it."
Dragon Cypress took it, flipped it disdainfully to another side, took a gentle bite, tossed it to a worker ant, and gave the command: shell the seed, remove the woody husk, pick out the kernel and return it.
"Dragon Cypress, does it count as top-level?" Ink Orchid urged incessantly.
Black Cory also stood at attention, tentacles raised, hopefully awaiting the verdict.
This Divine-Given Ink Emperor Peach Seed would give all command ants a five percent revenue share.
Dragon Cypress accepted the kernel, looked it over briefly, swallowed it in one gulp, ran a quick scan, and commented:
"Very high quality, meets the ’top-level’ standard."
"The pulp is worth 150 source stones!"
"The kernel is full and sizeable. One is worth 150 source stones by itself."
Dragon Cypress: "Each Divine-Given Ink Emperor Peach Fruit is worth 300 source stones. At Mountain Lord Level, this Divine-Given Ink Emperor Peach Seed will easily produce 400 to 500 fruits a year, which means annual revenue of over 100,000 source stones. Top-level Divine-Given Seed!"
"Wow! Oh!"
With confirmation, Ink Orchid cheered.
"Congratulations, Second King!"
"Second King, mighty as ever!"
Black Cory hurried to offer congratulations, secretly delighted: my earnings just went up again.
Dragon Cypress waved a tentacle, calling out, "Black Cory, less chatter, get to work."
Black Cory directed the worker ants up the tree, carefully picking the remaining nine peaches, sealing them with honey in metal cans, to be sent in the spring to the Flame Spider Roving Merchant for quality testing and price discussion.
