Astral Sand Locust

The basin, which is more than ten kilometers in diameter, is like a sinkhole formed by the collapse of the earth, and is more than two hundred meters lower than the surrounding wasteland.

The bottom of the pit is not flat; it is slightly concave towards the central lake.

When it comes to each specific area, the terrain is undulating and uneven.

During the rainy season, heavy rains and downpours cause streams to converge from all around, filling the basin with water, creating countless puddles of all sizes.

The central area is a tropical rainforest landscape, and it is currently the peak growing season. From the ground to the sky, all kinds of plants almost fill the entire rainforest space.

The sand locust tree dodged left and right, leaped up and down, nimbly flying through the dense forest, circling, and lightly landing on a side branch of a yellow sandalwood tree.

The bean fell with a clattering sound, stumbling and falling, finally coming to a stop by crashing into the trunk of a sappan tree.

Mudou climbed up the main trunk of the sappan tree to a high place, where it looked around and observed the surroundings.

quickly,

Both the sand locust and the mu bean turned their gazes toward a large clump of vines.

On the wall covered in lush green vines, hung an exaggeratedly giant flower, measuring seventy or eighty centimeters in length and fifty or sixty centimeters in width.

The flowers are dark reddish-brown with deep purple reticulated veins and densely distributed deep purple spots.

The deep purple network of veins and spots draws in free-floating energy from the air.

This is a divinely bestowed seed that is in the process of flowering and developing!

—Under normal circumstances, the probability of a plant giving birth to a Force Seed is definitely not that high, a hundred million times lower!

—Because the natural celestial realm is protected by the divine power of the true God of Nature?

—The true God of Nature is simply divine!

—The ability to increase the probability of the birth of divinely bestowed seeds alone is unparalleled in the universe!

The sand locust and the bean stood up, their antennae pointing upwards in shock and awe. At the same time, their minds raced, searching for relevant knowledge about inherited memories.

"Giant Aristolochia!"

"That's right! That's right! Giant Aristolochia!"

"What a huge flower!"

"Only one flower?"

"Such a big vine, and it only produced one flower?"

"Is it because God gave us the seed?"

"That should be true."

"..."

The two insects chattered as they climbed down the tree and crawled closer to examine each other closely.

This is a gigantic vine that has climbed and covered four large trees. The main vine is more than 20 meters long, with dozens of thick branches and countless offshoots, forming a dense and impenetrable planting wall.

Because of the flower that gave birth to the seed bestowed by God, all the other blooming flowers on the plant withered, and all the unopened buds died.

All the nutrients of the plant are concentrated on this one divinely bestowed flower to nurture the divinely bestowed seed.

After observing for a long time,

Sha Huai said, "The divinely bestowed seed is still in the process of gestation and birth, and the flower needs to absorb a sufficient amount of primal force during this process..."

Mu Dou immediately said, "Replenish with Primal Stones! I'll go back to Green Tree Mountains and get some!"

The sand locust tree swayed its antennae, denying it: "By the time you run back, grab the raw stone, and run back again, the flowers will have withered."

Sha Huai pondered for a moment and said, "I can fly fast. I'll go back and bring back a few raw stones for emergency use."

"Mudou, you stay here and guard the seed given by God. Protect it and don't let it be harmed by small animals or insects."

Mu Dou hesitated slightly, then agreed, "Okay!"

Mu Dou then said, "You must be tired after a day's travel. Let's rest first. We'll set off again tomorrow."

...

At a normal travel speed—that is, the Beans running slowly on the ground and the Locusts flying slowly at low altitudes, or the Beans carrying the Locusts running slowly—searching for divinely bestowed seeds along the way, it would take three days to travel from the Green Tree Mountains to the Windbell Basin.

If it were the sand locust traveling alone, flying swiftly through the sky, it would set off in the morning and return to the Green Tree Mountains by evening.

The sand locust tree wove a simple net using the natural fibers from yucca leaves.

Take a night's rest.

The next morning, carrying 10 raw gems, I set off by plane.

...

Ten rough stones are incredibly heavy.

The locust trees were transported with frequent stops and starts, taking three days to reach the Tabebuia Basin.

The two insects guarded each other together.

Give one raw stone each morning and evening to replenish the flower's energy.

The growth rate of the divinely given seeds has significantly accelerated.

Three days later,

The flowers withered, dried up, and fell, while the unripe fruits began to swell.

Only then can the divinely bestowed seed be considered to have been officially born.

The growth of God-given seeds is much slower than that of ordinary seeds. The process of growth and development takes several months until the fruit matures and the God-given seed is fully grown.

"Mudou, the Giant Flower Aristolochic ...

"I...have no objection...but what about you?"

"I'll keep searching! I'm definitely looking for the Earth-type God-given Seed!"

"oh--"

"Mu Dou, you stay here and guard this divinely bestowed seed. When it matures, harvest it and directly incorporate it into your life sac to nurture it into a life seed. Return to your territory and use the Force food to quickly evolve it into a 2-year-old intermediate warrior."

"Alright! I understand! Shahuai, are you going to the northern mountains to continue searching for the divinely bestowed seeds?"

"certainly!"

"You're a bug. Be careful."

"Know!"

There are no security issues.

Sha Huai waved his antennae dismissively and said, "Every 30 days, I'll return to my territory and come back here to see you, let you know I'm safe, and bring 10 raw stones along the way."

Mu Dou nodded its antennae and said, "Okay."

Mu Dou suddenly thought of a problem, waved its paw vigorously, and asked, "Sha Huai, what will happen when you evolve to the 9th instar? You can't be careless with dormant evolution, it's best to have a warrior help guard you."

Sha Huai said, "Keep track of the time, get ready, and I'll come find you. I'll evolve here."

"Alright!"

Mu Dou nodded, indicating her approval of Sha Huai's plan.

We discussed the details.

the next morning,

Sha Huai set off alone.

Flying alone, I roamed the mountainous and hilly areas south of the Supergiant Mountains, searching and investigating, progressing slowly from east to west.

Sha Huai also closely monitored the situation in the divine kingdom through the blue screen.

The most important one, of course, is the seed bestowed by the Golden Tortoise God.

There are currently no problems; the original force and vitality stored in the branches and trunks are quite abundant, and the fruit is growing and developing normally.

The growth and development of the divinely bestowed golden tortoise fruit is extremely demanding.

After observing for a long time, Sha Huai had a rough idea of ​​the amount of divine power he possessed. His current 1 point of divine power was probably only enough to sustain the Golden Tortoise Tree's divinely bestowed seed for 20 days.

Moreover, the sand locust tree had a vague feeling that once the primal force and vitality stored in its branches fell below a certain threshold, the fruit on the tree would immediately stop growing and wither and fall off after a certain period of time.

Fortunately, although the rainy season has ended, the stored underground water still supports the vigorous growth of plants, and the divine kingdom still maintains the fastest rate of divine power production.

After only 16 days, I have accumulated 1 point of divine power again.

Without a second thought, Sha Huai directly assigned the seed to the Golden Tortoise God.

Thirteen days later,

The divine kingdom produces 1 more point of divine power.

Without a doubt, it will still be assigned to the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

As agreed, Sha Huai returned to its territory, rested for five days, and began consuming white thorn seeds to strengthen and enhance itself, preparing for its next evolution.

After the rest period,

As agreed, Sha Huai carried 10 raw stones to Mu Dou in a simple net woven from yucca leaf fibers.

...

More than a month after the end of the rainy season,

The continuous scorching sun caused water to evaporate from the shallow soil, significantly slowing the growth of plants. Many shallow-rooted plants, such as various succulents, gradually entered a semi-dormant state.

The rate at which the divine power is produced in the divine realm has decreased accordingly, with 1 point of divine power produced every 20 days.

During the dry season in the wasteland, the production cycle of 1 point of divine power should be stable at 20 days, no more and no less, which is exactly equal to the consumption of the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

...

The white thorn seed, having ceased flowering and fruiting, can sustain itself for a long time despite the slow loss of its primal force and life force; it doesn't need any intervention.

The mulberry tree is growing exceptionally well; its fruit is developing normally while the tree itself is growing rapidly, reaching a height of over 12 meters.

The Rain Tree, a divinely bestowed species, grows to over 3 meters tall, but its growth rate slows significantly, becoming very slow.

It is a wild, divinely bestowed seed. Without divine acceleration, its growth rate would be much slower than that of the Mudou seed, and its growth and evolution speed would be on a completely different level.

However, the sand acacia doesn't need to grow very fast, nor does it need to produce divinely bestowed fruit.

As long as it takes root in the divine kingdom and greatly increases the rate of divine power production, it will play an important role!

...

In addition,

This year, we have also been paying close attention to common plants such as the sand locust tree, which was propagated by cuttings.

Only a small portion of the white thorn cuttings survived.

During the dry season, white thorn seedlings with poor root growth or poorly positioned cuttings quickly die off.

As of now, only 20% of the white thorn seedlings painstakingly propagated by sand locust and yam have survived, and they continue to die as the drought intensifies.

I'm afraid that in the end, it would be good if even 10% of them survived.

In stark contrast, the earliest cuttings of seedlings such as sea buckthorn, false crape myrtle, acacia, oilwood, and honey bean have a survival rate of over 80% due to their long growth period, deep root systems, strong vitality, and extreme drought resistance.

Based on the cuttings of plants such as sand willow and six-angled crape myrtle last year, it is not difficult to predict that about half of the cuttings will survive the long dry season and live to the next rainy season.

These plants are very difficult to kill, provided they can survive a dry season in the wasteland and then experience a full rainy season of rapid growth.

The idea behind the sand locust tree is simple: its current evolutionary level is low, and its work speed is slow. It can only grow a few hundred trees each year, and these few hundred trees can become mother plants for future cuttings.

As the evolutionary level improves and strength increases, it will be possible to cultivate a thousand, several thousand, or even tens of thousands of trees each year.

If we persevere, we will eventually transform the divine kingdom into a green oasis in the wilderness.

Ordinary plants are the main driving force behind the divine power produced by the divine land.

Of course, it would be even better if we had a divinely bestowed seed.

The seed given by God is the most important.

The sand locust will definitely devote most of its time and energy to searching for divinely bestowed seeds.

...

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

As agreed, after preparing for evolution, Sha Huai went to the Wind Chime Tree Mountains to meet Mu Dou. In the mural cave opened by the Dragonfly Warriors, he slept and evolved to the 9th age.

...

Two more months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The sand locust followed the massive mountain range that stretched across the northern part of the continent from east to west, eventually reaching the western end of the mountain range.

The sand locust tree hangs in the air, gazing at the undulating sea of ​​sand ahead, its eyes gradually becoming vacant.

To the north of the Supergiant Mountains lies a desert.

To the west of the Supergiant Mountains lies desert.

"It's all desert~"

"Is there no sea?"

Is there an ocean?

The sand locust tree was speechless and choked with emotion. After pondering for a long time, it flapped its wings and flew away swiftly.

The deserts to the west are different from those to the north.

The northern desert is generally flat, with only small, smooth undulations of sand dunes.

The western desert rises and falls dramatically, with many places featuring exposed black or brown rocky mountains.

After flying for a short while and going a little deeper, you can no longer see a single living plant; all you can see is reddish-yellow.

The wind blew, and sandstorms raged across the sky.

"well--"

"No wonder, White Thorn only told Mu Dou that going east leads to the ocean, but didn't say what going west or north leads to..."

"It used to be a desert, a forbidden land for life."

"Then, what about the sea?"

What do the oceans of the natural celestial realm look like?

"Will there be any unexpected problems?"

Sha Huai muttered to himself, suddenly wanting to go see the sea.

Once this thought arises, it grows wildly, filling and occupying all of one's thoughts.

My mind was completely occupied with only one thought: to see the sea!

The sand locust decisively turned around, aligned itself with the sun in the sky, and sped straight eastward.

Passing through the Tabebuia Basin, we stopped by to check out Mudou.

"???"

"Mudou!"

"Sand locust?"

"Has the seed given by God not yet matured?"

"No... why did you come early? Six days earlier than agreed? Did you find another divine seed?"

"No. I'm not that lucky."

"and you……"

"Mudou, I've been searching westward along this colossal mountain range, and I've reached its end."

"The end of the mountains? What's at the end? The sea?"

"No. It's a desert. A wasteland. The wasteland to the west is a wasteland."

"desert?"

"desert."

"Where's the sea?"

"Didn't you say that White Thorn said the sea is to the east?"

"Nothing to the west?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it."

"..."

Mu Dou remained silent, head down, antennae drooping, lost in deep thought.

The northern and western sides of the wasteland are desert, ruling out the possibility of other Zerg warriors existing there.

To the south lies a tropical rainforest and an insectoid tribe, but their path is blocked by fierce and deadly rock beasts.

Is the eastern ocean the only way out?

Desert locusts are good fliers, and once the sand locusts have gained sufficient strength, they can try to detour south by sea.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou had planned from the beginning to go south to find the coastal rainforest that Bai Ci had mentioned, to communicate with the insectoid warriors there, and to exchange Force food.

Is there a desert to the west of the wasteland?

At first glance, it is indeed somewhat disheartening for insects.

But that's in the west, so it shouldn't affect everyone's development plans, right?

"It's alright... let's just leave the desert..."

Mu Dou quickly composed himself, pondered for a moment, and then solemnly said:

"Shahuai, I think if we have time, we should first confirm whether there really is the sea to the east?"

Mu Dou and Sha Huai shared the same idea.

"Yes. That's what I think too."

The sand acacia tree tapped its antennae, then flicked them, both pointing eastward, and said:

"Mudou, I just came to tell you that I'm planning to go to the east to see the sea. I'm not sure how far it is or when I'll be back, so I came to let you know."

"Okay. I understand. Be careful on your journey. Also, you're still a junior soldier, so it's best if you don't fly over the sea."

"No, don't worry."

Sha Huai casually agreed, his gaze fixed on the fruit that bore the divinely bestowed seed of the giant Aristolochia, scanning it with his spiritual power and focusing his attention on sensing it.

Beneath the thick capsule shell, a seed carrying a faint primal energy is slowly and steadily absorbing the primal force of nature.

A divinely bestowed seed, growing vigorously.

It is still in a state of vigorous growth, and it is unknown when it will mature.

"..."

It was nighttime.

The sand locust and the wild bean rested together for a night under the vines of the giant aristolochic herb.

We set off early the next morning.

Heading straight east, speeding along at breakneck speed.