Astral Sand Locust

After crossing the continuous mountain ranges, the desert lies ahead.

How come this desert is so big?

It was all sand, and there was nothing to eat.

Fortunately, Shahuai and Mudou were alert. After traveling in the desert for two days and going hungry for two days, they realized something was wrong and decisively turned back.

When Mu Dou, carrying the sand locust tree, ran back to the oasis in the basin in a sorry state, it was already 80 or 90 percent dead.

He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for four days and was on the verge of dying.

……

"The desert is too big."

"We are too insignificant."

"In the mural, the dragonfly warriors flew straight over?"

"It was already a high-level warrior back then? And the Dragonfly is the fastest flying Zerg."

"I know that..."

In the dense forest of the basin, under a large-leaved Indian almond tree with a diameter of more than half a meter, the sand locust and the bean wolfed down a whole grassland deer. After a while, their exhausted bodies gradually recovered.

"Mudou, what do we do next?"

"Should we try crossing the desert again?"

"I won't dare to do it again."

"Should we not take the risk?"

"Mudou, no rush. Wait until I evolve into a mid-level warrior. Then you can complete one or two more evolutions. Improve your strength, make plans and preparations, and then try."

"good!"

"So what's next?"

"Search along the cliff face? See if there are any remnants of former inhabitants of other Zerg warriors."

"That's what I think too. I feel that this forest is more worth our time to search carefully. The chances of finding divinely bestowed seeds are greater in places like this."

"That's what I think too. We've traveled all this way to find the seed given by God."

"Rest first! Get back to work."

...

...

The circular basin has a circumference of about 50 kilometers. In the due north and northwest directions, there are caves left by ancient insect warriors every 1 kilometer, 2 kilometers, and 3 kilometers.

It also refers to graves and relics.

A total of 21 were found.

Most of them are solitary insects.

When they're lucky, two, three, or even four Zerg warriors can get together.

However, in the end, they all meet the same fate: evolution stagnates at a certain point, and they die of old age when their lifespan is exhausted.

"..."

Upon discovering this, both Sha Huai and Mu Dou were somewhat downcast.

For Zerg warriors to grow and evolve, they not only need a wide variety of Force foods for comprehensive enhancement, but also high-quality God-given Force foods for deep enhancement.

Two insects together are not very useful; at best, they can evolve into advanced warriors.

Advanced warriors only have a lifespan of a hundred years, and they will soon be gone.

We still need to leave the wasteland, contact other Zerg warriors, and exchange information.

But the prerequisite for exchanging them is that you have an equivalent amount of Force food.

"Shahuai, would you like to rest?"

Back in the dragonfly warriors' cave, Mu Dou raised her paw and pointed to the rainforest below.

The sun was setting in the west.

It was afternoon, and there was still a long time before sunset.

"Isn't that enough?"

Sha Huai suggested, "Mu Dou, let's go look for it today and see if the remains of that Guaiac Tree, the divinely bestowed seed, are still there."

Sha Huai added, "We also searched for divinely inspired seeds along the way."

"Great idea!"

Mudou readily agreed, waved its antennae to signal, opened its elytra, unfolded its membranous wings, flapped its wings and glided down into the dense forest below.

The sand locust tree kicked off and took off, following closely behind.

They flew one after the other into the depths of the forest.

The murals show that the Guaiac tree, a divine gift, takes root on the shore of a lake in the center of the basin.

But when the sand locust and the pea bean struggled through the dense forest and approached the lake, they tried to scan the ground with their mental power. After searching for a while, the two insects immediately gave up.

The damp and tangled soil severely hindered the detection of spiritual power.

The maximum detection range of Sha Huai's mental power is 12 meters, but when it goes underground to explore, it is difficult to even break through 1 meter depth.

Mu Dou is only a mid-level warrior at age 1, so his situation isn't much better.

Time passed, whether it was thousands or tens of thousands of years, and the remains of the seed bestowed by the God of Creation collapsed and sank, sinking to an unknown depth underground.

"Mu Dou?"

"It's hard to find!"

"Then how about..."

"Let's just forget about it?"

"Forget it."

With a few words, the two insects reached an agreement, stopped what they were doing, and stared blankly at the azure lake in front of them.

The legacy of memory includes detailed descriptions of rivers, lakes, and oceans.

But that's just a description.

In reality, seeing it with your own eyes and experiencing it up close is a completely different feeling.

Both the sand locust and the wild bean unconsciously swayed their antennae, subconsciously trying to capture the unique scents carried by the breeze—a mixture of algae, trees, soil, and moisture.

This seems to be an innate instinct of Zerg warriors, able to sense the life force of all things growing, multiplying, and flourishing.

The sand locust and the bean were born and raised in the arid wasteland, so they were particularly sensitive to this, and it took them a long time to realize what was happening.

A wonderful taste that intoxicates even insects.

The two insects remained silent.

He was stunned for a long time.

Mu Dou snapped out of her daze, shook her antennae, and led the way.

The sand locust flew low, maintaining a certain distance, and scanned its surroundings with its mental energy, trying to detect any unusual fluctuations in its primal force.

Circling the lake, searching around it.

The main purpose is to find a seed from God.

No findings were found.

Then, the search proceeded in concentric circles around the lake, expanding outwards.

I was busy until late at night.

The sand locust and the bean returned to the lakeside and ate under a purple trumpet tree.

These are large trees found only in tropical rainforests.

This tree has stood for hundreds or thousands of years. It is exceptionally tall, over forty meters high, with a trunk diameter of three or four meters. It has grown a large number of buttress roots that keep the tree from falling, and these buttress roots are all two or three meters high.

The flowers were in full bloom, and the trees were covered with blue and purple blossoms, creating a spectacular sight.

The locust and the bean were both amazed by the beauty and spent the night under the tree.

the next morning,

Shahuai and Mudou woke up early again and, continuing from yesterday's location, searched in circles around the lake, moving outwards from the center.

In the evening, we returned to the lakeside and rested under the purple trumpet trees.

The sand locust and the bean did not only search for the divinely bestowed seeds they longed for, but also conducted a natural science practice, identifying the various plants and animals they saw along the way and comparing them with the memories passed down in the natural pantheon.

The plants in the basin jungle can be divided into two main categories: arid wasteland plants and tropical rainforest plants.

There were many insects, not just the Dragonfly Warrior, who ventured out of the wasteland. Before it, many insects had explored southwards, found the rainforest, and made contact with other insect races.

They not only exchanged food using the Force, but also brought back various plant and animal samples from those places, which took root and survived in the basin.

Rainforest plants are concentrated in the inner lake area.

Wilderness plants are located on the relatively arid periphery.

The same applies to all kinds of animals.

Over the long course of time, organisms that originally belonged to two different ecological regions miraculously gathered on the earth and evolved into the relatively stable and unique ecology we see today.

Many animals found only in tropical rainforests have a unique flavor when eaten.

The locust and the bean feasted.

……

Sha Huai checks on the situation in the divine kingdom every night.

The main focus is on the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed and the Bean-Shepherd Life Seed.

Day after day,

Twenty-eight days have passed in the blink of an eye.

[Divine Power: 1/10]

Once you've accumulated 1 point of divine power again,

Without a doubt, it can only be allocated to the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

Day after day,

Another half month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The sand locust and the mulberry tree conducted a thorough search of the entire basin rainforest.

Got nothing.

"Shahuai, have you gone back yet?"

"go back."

"and then?"

"have no idea."

"Should we change direction and continue searching for the divinely given seed?"

"Can……"

Mudou drooped its antennae and sighed, "But it seems I'm not an insect favored by the true god of nature."

According to inherited memories, the probability of divinely bestowed seeds being born in nature is extremely low; only a very few lucky insects favored by the true god of nature can find them.

Mu Dou was having second thoughts.

Sha Huai: "But we can't just give up like this."

Mu Dou: "I didn't say I was giving up..."

Sha Huai had received a divine kingdom that descended from heaven and was very certain that he was favored by the true god of nature.

The sand locust was initially full of confidence and determined to obtain the divinely bestowed seed.

However, after a long period of fruitless work, Sha Huai couldn't help but doubt himself and lack confidence.

pondering,

Sha Huai waved its paw and said, "Let's rest first. We'll set off back to our territory early tomorrow morning."

...

Rest for the night.

We set off early the next morning and returned to the Green Trees Mountains.

...

"Oh—oh—oh—"

Mu Dou vibrated its spiritual energy, howled, flapped its wings and glided towards its own life seed, hovering and landing on the tree trunk, scanning and inspecting it with its spiritual energy.

The sand locust tree, adept at flying, followed closely behind and gracefully landed atop the seedling.

This long journey lasted 55 days.

After 55 days of growth, the Mudou seedling has grown 1.5 meters tall, and is currently about 8 meters tall. At this growth rate, it can easily reach 10 meters before the next rainy season.

Stay in the territory and rest for a while.

Mudou draws water from a deep well underground to irrigate and replenish the water for the seedlings.

The sand locust uses raw stones to replenish its primal energy.

At the same time, the sand locust also began to prepare for the next stage of evolution.

Consume white thorn seeds every morning and divinely bestowed golden beetles every evening for gradual strengthening and steady improvement.

Five days later,

Repairs completed.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou packed their things quickly and set off to explore northwest of the Green Tree Mountains. After four and a half days, they arrived in the mountainous region. Further ahead lay the Hengduan Mountains, and north of the mountains was the desert.

The two insects turned around and returned to their territory to rest.

They carefully tended to the seedlings of the bean plant.

Meanwhile, the sand acacia precisely calculates and uses the appropriate amount of Force Food to continue preparing for its age-related evolution.

Five days later,

After resting and recuperating, we set off to explore in the southeast.

After walking for four days, the arid wasteland before us still seemed to stretch on endlessly.

The two insects turned around and headed back.

After making some preparations, Sha Huai entered the mountain's storage warehouse and began its slumber to evolve to the 6th age.

Early evolution is easy to complete.

Eat your fill and recover a bit.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou set off that very day to explore southwest of the Green Tree Mountains.

It also takes four days to travel.

Both are endless wastelands

Again, there was no gain.

So far, the area centered on the Green Tree Mountains has been explored in all eight directions: east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. The only valuable discovery was the basin forest.

There's also the information left behind in the cave paintings by the unknown dragonfly warriors...

"Mudou, can we imitate the Dragonfly Warriors and draw a map?"

"Maps? What's the point of making maps?"

"The search for the divinely bestowed seed will inevitably involve exploring unfamiliar environments. Let's draw maps and record them."

"Okay! But what good will it do?"

"First, the search for the divinely bestowed seed is not a matter of a day or two, or a year or two, but a lifelong endeavor; second, the world is too big and too vast. We cannot wander blindly. Having a map can help us to search systematically and systematically."

"That's right...that works too..."

After some discussion, a decision was made, and they immediately began to take action.

Mudou polished the stone walls of the hall and drew a map.

The sand locusts searched for plant and mineral materials near their territory to make pigments.

It took five days to create a rough map.

Centered on the Green Tree Mountain Range, the map is meticulously drawn with fine lines and colored with pigments, recording the distinctive and easily identifiable important geographical landmarks encountered during the eight explorations, such as high mountains, mountain ranges, canyons, exceptionally tall trees, or forests.

The basin oasis is undoubtedly the most important discovery and the most distinctive landmark. The sand locust and the bean tree officially named it the "Tabebuia Basin" and used the flower of the purple Tabebuia as a symbol to highlight it.

Since the sand locust and the pea bean are explored in eight directions, going back and forth in straight lines, there are only eight exploration lines on the huge map, almost all of which are blank.

The direction for searching for the divinely bestowed seed became clear: head towards the blank areas of the map, explore and record the findings, then return to complete the map.

After some gesturing and discussion, Sha Huai and Mu Dou rested for a night and set off the next morning, heading slightly north of due east.

Four days later,

Turn around and go back.

Draw and record distinctive and easily identifiable geographical landmarks along the way on a map.

We adjusted our direction slightly and set off again...

Time flies by in endless cycles.

A detailed map is being completed little by little.

Since each trip takes 4 days, with a daily journey of about 100 kilometers, the map is circular with a radius of about 400 kilometers.

As for the situation beyond 400 kilometers, we will gradually fill in the gaps when we reach a higher level of evolution and greater strength.

……

The Green Trees Mountains are located to the north and east.

After four days of arduous travel, Sha Huai and Mu Dou were not far from the mountain range that separated the wasteland from the desert.

The terrain has also changed to undulating hills, with mountains and peaks densely distributed.

The two insects walked side by side along the ridge of a mountain range.

Clear division of labor

Mudou focuses on the right side.

The sand locust tree focuses on the left side.

He used both hands, unleashing his mental energy to scan the plants on both sides.

To the left is a hillside, and below are mountain hollows and valleys.

The right-hand slope is quite steep, below which lies a winding river valley that dries up during the dry season and drains during the rainy season, taking tens of thousands, millions, or even longer to form.

The slopes on both sides of the valley are covered with dense vegetation, mostly succulents and small shrubs, with almost no trees.

"Huh—"

The sand locust suddenly stopped, straightened its antennae, instantly retracted its unfolded spiritual power, focused its attention on sensing, and its eyes gleamed slightly.

"Sand locust tree? What's wrong?"

Mu Dou asked casually, then straightened its antennae, slowly turned its body left and right, and stretched out its front legs to look around.

"It's nothing, is it dangerous?"

"Not danger... but an unusual fluctuation of Force?"

"Force fluctuations? Where?"

"Over there! It's very faint, very unusual."

The sand locust tree raised its claw and pointed.

—Is it special?

Mu Dou became serious, restrained his spiritual power, and calmed his mind to sense the unusual primal force fluctuations that Sha Huai had mentioned.

"No, there isn't any."

"It's very far!"

"Very far? How far?"

"It's very, very far; it's hard to say exactly."

"..."

"Mu Dou, didn't you feel it?"

"Absolutely not."

"Are the Desert Locust Warriors more sensitive to Force fluctuations?"

"Perhaps your Force talent is better than mine? Or maybe your spiritual perception is more acute?"

"That's not important! Let's go take a look first!"

A deep intuition told Sha Huai that the sensation here was extraordinary.

Suddenly, the sand locust became anxious and impatient. It kicked off, took off, crossed the valley, and landed on the opposite mountain.

Mu Dou took off, flapped its wings vigorously, and landed on the hilltop right behind it.

The sand locust tree once again pushed off and soared into the air, gliding down the hillside, circling before landing at the foot of the mountain.

Mu Dou followed closely behind, his mental energy sweeping over the area, his eyes blazing as he locked onto the stone in front of Sha Huai.

The sand locust tree raised its front paws, carefully exerted its strength, pushed aside the stones, and revealed an oval-shaped seed mixed among the rocks.

The seed coat is smooth, glossy, and red, with numerous fine, curled, milky-white veins distributed on its surface.

These patterns autonomously absorb natural primal forces while simultaneously emitting extremely faint and gentle primal energy.

It should be the original energy of the water system.

A seed given by God?