Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 529 - 508 Purple Tassel Sophora

Dragon Cypress had always thought that Little Rattan was especially clever.

Truly clever!

He had actually managed to swindle a Lily of the Valley Ring from the caravan, one that looked almost identical to the Rose Halo.

Ink Orchid was utterly thrilled, loved it so much he wouldn’t let go, kept playing with it and didn’t want to give it back to Little Rattan anymore.

...

...

...

When the spring roving trade ended,

Dragon Cypress took Little Rattan along, touring the continent, traveling between various Origin Force Points, searching for Divine-Given Seeds.

Eventually, they arrived at the Purple Tung Insect Nation,

The Dominating Throne had just entered the Land of Origin Force, Ink Orchid kicked out with her legs, flickered and landed into the forest below, gliding low.

Dragon Cypress took Little Rattan, flying straight toward the Central Region.

The spiritual power of Jinhe’s Divine-Given Seed drifted over.

"Ant!"

"Little Rattan?"

"Little Rattan? Where’s Boss Yellow?"

Jinhe’s Divine-Given Seed was surprised, asking questions.

Dragon Cypress helped answer, "Boss Yellow is at Huagi Mountain."

Jinhe: "Ant, how could you take Little Rattan out on your own?"

Dragon Cypress: "I brought him to see the Flame Spider Roving Merchants."

Little Rattan: "Yeah, yeah! So many big spiders!"

Jinhe: "And then? How did you end up at Purple Tung Insect Nation? Why didn’t you send him back to Huagi Mountain on the way?"

Dragon Cypress: "It’s not on the way."

Dragon Cypress explained: "Ink Orchid and I are searching for Divine-Given Seeds, and while we’re at it, we’re taking Little Rattan on a tour of the continent to widen his horizons, visiting Insect Clan Warriors at every Origin Force Point in the Cloud Trace Continent. We came over from the direction of Black Fruit Mountain."

Jinhe: "Ant, be careful! Little Rattan’s only at the mid-level stage, very fragile, if he gets even a little hurt, Linnan will poke a hundred holes in you."

Dragon Cypress: "No way, no way."

The killing intent of Linnan Divine Tree’s spiritual power drifted through chillingly.

Spruce hurried over as well, "Dragon Cypress Ant King! Little Rattan? You came too? Where’s Boss Yellow?"

Little Rattan: "Lots of things in spring at Huagi Mountain, Boss Yellow is busy. Spruce, I actually came to tell you to hurry back to the mountain to help..."

Little Rattan really knew how to spin a tale too...

Everyone started chatting idly beneath Jinhe’s Divine-Given Seed Tree.

Little Rattan, looking smug, took out his Lily of the Valley Ring, showing it off to Spruce, Jinhe, and Linnan, and shared the story of his dealings with the Flame Spider Roving Merchants...

Really hadn’t intended to collect gifts, and didn’t care for the little trinkets from the caravan, but...

Just as they were chatting,

Dragon Cypress and Spruce suddenly felt something, both activating Soul-Setting Ability perception at the same time, locking onto Ink Orchid’s position.

"Second King? What’s wrong?"

"Great King! Great King! Discovered a Divine-Given Seed!"

"!!!"

"Purple Tassel Sophora! Is it the seed sent by Wormwood Spider King?"

"No, wait..."

Dragon Cypress had only been happy for three seconds when he suddenly realized a very serious problem: the place Ink Orchid was in was the central ring of the Land of Origin Force, land co-managed by the Barley Bug Tribe.

Communication cut off.

Dragon Cypress exchanged glances with Spruce.

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to take off, dashing away.

Spruce followed closely behind.

...

Purple Tassel Sophora blooms beautifully, planted on both sides of the ant trail that Dragon Cypress’s ant group uses, as landscaping trees.

On a Purple Tassel Sophora tree over twenty meters tall, a flower spike, a small purple blossom emitting faint Origin Force fluctuations, was hogging all the nutrients; all the other flowers on the spike were half-withered, easy to identify.

The enhancement effect of Purple Tassel Sophora is a particularly rare cold resistance boost, classified under comprehensive physique and environmental adaptation type.

"Dragon Cypress, who planted this tree?" Ink Orchid was also hesitating.

"Sigh—"

Dragon Cypress lamented: "The problem isn’t who planted it. According to the agreement, this is territory of the Barley Bug Tribe, and a Divine-Given Seed born in Barley Bug land naturally belongs to a Barley Bug Warrior. That’s a foundational rule of the Origin Force Star Realm. Wherever, whenever, it doesn’t change."

Ink Orchid was reluctant, responding, "Yeah—"

Spruce and Little Rattan gently tapped their antennae in sympathy, feeling sorry for Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid. They’d searched the whole world for a Divine-Given Seed all these years, finally found one, and now this...

Spruce: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, so what now?"

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, you stay here and guard it..."

Little Rattan kicked off, jumping from the top of Dragon Cypress’s head to Ink Orchid’s head, lying there obediently.

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress paused, then said, "I’ll go notify Black Birch or Round Cypress to bring Worker Ants over to help. Spruce, could you please inform Fuzzy Flower Lord and have them come take a look, then assign warriors to guard it?"

...

Fuzzy Flower Lord received the news and hurried over at top speed, and in excitement, gave Ink Orchid a big round of thanks.

Black Birch directed the ant group’s Worker Ants up the tree, carefully trimming away all the extra flower spikes.

Other warriors of the Barley Bug Tribe arrived one after another, celebrating excitedly and offering more thanks.

This was Dragon Cypress’s fortieth year as lord of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, and the Barley Bug Tribe had also managed their territory for forty years. After all this time, hope had appeared at last—the birth of their very first Divine-Given Seed.

Fuzzy Flower Lord spread his elytra, signaling for the noisy insects to be quiet.

Fuzzy Flower Lord looked at Dragon Cypress and solemnly asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, in your opinion, how should this Divine-Given Seed be handled? Should it be bred into a God-Given Life Seed to relieve our tribe’s current poverty and help more members evolve to Lord-Level? Or naturally sown and cultivated into a Wild God-Given Seed?"

This was a dilemma for every Ling Chong—hard to choose.

After persecution from the White Poplar Ant King, most Barley Bug Warriors at the scene had chosen unprofitable plants as their Life Seeds.

The Barley Bug Tribe’s collective returns had been so low that, even at the Mountain Lord Level, their territory’s output totally couldn’t support further advancement.

Mountain Thorn and Magnolia Bark had pooled all resources to help Fuzzy Flower break through to Lord-Level.

But that model was hard to promote tribe-wide. The reason was simple: who would be sacrificed? Who would be lifted up?

Dragon Cypress waggled his antennae non-stop.

The yield from a single Purple Tassel Sophora Divine-Given Seed was extremely limited, hardly able to change the Barley Bug Tribe’s impoverished situation.

Getting involved in another tribe’s internal affairs would not be wise.

Dragon Cypress unfurled his membranous wings, pinning down the fidgeting Ink Orchid and Little Rattan, signaling for them to quiet down, then said seriously:

"Both approaches have their pros and cons. I can’t offer a suggestion, but the Huagi Divine Tree will definitely be able to help you make the best possible decision."

Spruce chimed in, "That’s right. The Huagi Divine Tree saw the Shield Grasshopper Tribe rise, led them to the summit of the continent. For tribal development, Huagi Divine Tree has the most experience."

All the Barley Bug Warriors tapped their antennae in agreement.

You might not submit to Fuzzy Flower Lord, might not to Dragon Cypress, but to a sage like the Huagi Divine Tree, no insect could help but respect it.

Fuzzy Flower Lord: "Then, Dragon Cypress Ant King, Spruce, may I trouble you..."

Barley Bug Warriors can’t approach the Huagi Divine Tree lightly.

Dragon Cypress: "Too many insects shouldn’t go at once. Fuzzy Flower Lord, Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord, Mountain Lord Magnolia Bark, Mountain Lord Wuye, Mountain Lord White Vine, come with me."

Dragon Cypress: "Spruce, Little Rattan, you too. The other warriors stay here for a bit."

The insects all agreed.

...

Under the Huagi Tree, Dragon Cypress and his group greeted.

Little Rattan spoke up first, "Huagi Divine Tree, the warriors of the Barley Bug Tribe have a question for you."

Huagi Divine Tree: "Go ahead."

Fuzzy Flower Lord: "Thank you, Huagi Divine Tree!"

Fuzzy Flower Lord pointed toward the Purple Tassel Sophora and said, "A Purple Tassel Sophora Divine-Given Seed is developing within the tribe’s co-managed territory, about to be born..."

Fuzzy Flower Lord briefly explained the situation.

Huagi Divine Tree answered without hesitation, "Once tribal management rules are set, they can’t be changed lightly. For co-managed tribal territory, a Divine-Given Seed born there that’s suitable to become a Wild God-Given Seed must be nurtured as such."

Huagi Divine Tree: "If you change the rules for the sake of poverty, your tribe will never be prosperous. Frankly, short-term thinking might bring a little temporary wealth, but it always leads straight back to poverty in the end."

Huagi Divine Tree paused two seconds, then continued: "But now, Cloud Trace Continent is in an Origin Force Silent Period. Things are different. Preserving the inheritance is the core issue for the present and many thousands of years to come."

Huagi Divine Tree: "A Divine-Given Seed like Purple Tassel Sophora should certainly be cultivated as a Wild God-Given Seed, and it’s worth the tribe’s effort and expense to plant it. But if the co-managed territory produces an elemental Divine-Given Seed your Barley Bugs don’t need, then you can consider raising it as a Life Seed, and, while Dragon Cypress Ant King is still here, try to convert it to Source Stone as much as possible."

Huagi Divine Tree: "Source Stone is mainly for Divine-Given Seeds to use when breaking through to Evolution King Level. If you can get eight or ten wild king-level Divine-Given Seeds like Purple Tung, your Barley Bug Tribe has hope of surviving the Origin Force Silent Period."

The Huagi Divine Tree’s answer was already very clear and the logic was well explained.

"Understood."

"Thank you, Huagi Divine Tree, for your guidance." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Then we’ll cultivate the Purple Tassel Sophora Divine-Given Seed as a Wild God-Given Seed."

The Barley Bug Warriors voiced their thanks; the matter was settled.

Spruce escorted the Barley Bug Warriors away.

Dragon Cypress stayed with Little Rattan, hesitated a long while, and finally asked the question he’d always wanted to but never managed to:

"Huagi Divine Tree, if you want to continue your inheritance, why not consider staying in the much wider, much more Origin Force–rich Purple Tung Insect Nation? When Origin Force recovers in the future, you can just migrate back to Huagi Mountain."

Huagi Divine Tree replied calmly, "That question, I’ve always been considering. Let’s see how things go. We’ll talk about it in the future."

Dragon Cypress: "In the future?"

Huagi Divine Tree: "First, let’s confirm whether you can, as planned, slip across to Wanglan Continent, circumvent the Natural Law, and have the Insect King migrate only at the 9th Age Period."