Astral Sand Locust

……

A ten-colored mist that reaches the heavens and the earth.

A strong wind blew by, but the colorful mist remained completely unaffected and motionless.

It also faintly exuded a kind of oppressive aura that made insects tremble and gave a warning.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou stood atop an unnamed, desolate mountain, gazing into the distance, hesitant to approach.

"This is probably what the Dragonfly Warriors were trying to depict in the mural."

"That's right! It was blocked by the colorful mist ahead."

"Is this the divine power of the true God of Nature?"

"Of course! Who else but the true God of Nature has this ability?"

"Are we not allowed to continue north?"

"Yes... but why?"

"don't know."

"..."

As Sha Huai and Mu Dou spoke, they fell silent, their antennae drooping as they pondered deeply.

Regarding the planet beneath their feet, Sha Huai has always had two guesses:

First, a biological experimental base of a certain human organization;

Secondly, in a remote star system, on an abandoned planet once developed and managed by humans, insects left behind awakened into Force-based life forms under the influence of the Force. They then received a great opportunity, evolving to an extremely high level, proclaiming themselves "True Gods of Nature," and ruling the planet.

The ecosystem on this planet is almost identical to the ecosystem of human civilization; except for the absence of humans, it contains all kinds of other creatures.

The ten-colored barrier before him was clearly not a technological creation, but some kind of supernatural power that transcended the heavens and earth, corresponding to a powerful being whose evolutionary level was far beyond his comprehension.

This couldn't have been done by a human. Since there are technological means to do it, people wouldn't waste their energy for no reason.

Moreover, the Force concentration on this planet is very low, not even reaching the habitable level of 1.0, and may only be 0.5.

If this were a secret biological experiment base built by a human organization, and if humans had mastered the ability to cultivate ordinary plant seeds into plants with primal force, they wouldn't choose such a poor and desolate planet to conduct experiments.

What's most outrageous is that the memories of the awakened Shahuai directly copied a lot of knowledge from human civilization without any changes, and then claimed it to be the wisdom of the true god of nature...

This is not something a human would do; humans don't do things this crudely.

In conclusion, the first possibility can be largely ruled out.

That is, this planet was abandoned by humans, and a Zerg warrior with an extremely high level of evolution and unfathomable strength calls himself the "True God of Nature" and manipulates everything behind the scenes.

What is the purpose?

To cultivate more outstanding peers and conquer the stars?

Sha Huai gazed ahead, pondered for a long time, and spoke first:

"Since it's said that the ten-colored mist barrier ahead was laid down by the True God of Nature with supreme divine power, then it should only be a deterrent and warning to the Zerg warriors, right?"

Mu Dou cautiously twitched her antennae in agreement, "There shouldn't be any danger, right?"

Sha Huai tentatively asked, "Shall we go take a look?"

"..."

After considering for two seconds, Mu Dou waved its paw in signal.

Mu Dou walked ahead.

The locust tree hangs in the back.

The two insects, one in front and one behind, took three steps and looked back every five, sneaking and dawdling as they made their way toward the ten-colored mist barrier.

As the distance closed, the extraordinary pressure and awe-inspiring power emanating from the colorful mist became clearer.

But there was no danger; it was more of a warning to drive them away.

Having clearly grasped this point, Sha Huai immediately became bolder, leaped into the air, flew low to catch up with Mu Dou, and followed Mu Dou side by side.

Together they arrived beneath the ten-colored fog, unleashing their spiritual power to scan it up close.

The next moment, Sha Huai and Mu Dou stepped back simultaneously and looked at each other.

When mental energy swept across the colorful mist, it vanished as if a stone had sunk into the sea.

The strangest thing is that when the instinct of fear made the subconscious thought of withdrawing spiritual power arise, the spiritual power that had disappeared in the colorful mist reappeared out of thin air and returned to the soul.

—What kind of supernatural ability is this?

Is this the power of the true God?

Sha Huai and Mu Dou saw shock in each other's eyes.

"Sand locust tree!"

Mu Dou suddenly flicked its antennae, stretched out its left hind leg, and shook it, indicating, "Pull me. I want to go in and experience it."

"..."

Sha Huai's mind raced. Hesitantly, he stepped forward and hooked the tips of Mu Dou's hind legs with the tips of his front paws.

Mudou crawled slowly forward, its two antennae extending outward, and it was the first to probe into the colorful mist.

"fine!"

Mu Dou mustered her courage and continued to move forward, tentatively venturing into the mist. The next moment, her six legs began to kick wildly.

"Mudou!"

Sha Huai hurriedly tucked his toes in and pulled backward with all his might.

Despite being in a daze, Mu Dou was clearly aware of what was happening. He cooperated by kicking his six legs wildly, his body falling backward, and his head emerging from the colorful mist.

"Whoosh—hiss—whoosh—hiss—"

Mu Dou was breathing heavily with all her pores open, looking like she had almost been scared to death and was still in shock.

Sha Huai stared intently at Mu Dou, patiently waiting until its condition improved somewhat, and then asked:

"Mudou, what's inside the mist? What did you see?"

"no……"

Mu Dou shook his antennae vigorously and said in horror, "On the contrary, the moment your head enters the mist, there is only a sea of ​​colorful mist. You can't see anything, hear anything, or smell anything. Your mental energy disappears, you lose your sense of direction, lose your perception of gravity, and even lose your sense of the sky and the ground."

"oh--"

This?

Sha Huai could understand a little, but didn't quite understand what there was to be afraid of.

"You give it a try!"

Seeing this, Mu Dou moved to stand behind Sha Huai and flapped its antennae in a gesture of acknowledgment.

Sha Huai hesitated, then stretched out his hind legs.

The forepaw hooks the tips of the forepaws onto the tips of the hind legs of the sand locust tree.

The sand locust tree moved forward cautiously, little by little, first probing its tentacles into the mist.

The senses of smell, hearing, and mental perception of the antennae vanished instantly.

I continued moving forward, my head darting into the mist.

Before my eyes was a world of vibrant colors, a world of colors that remained still.

The insect completely lost all sensation for a moment, but its consciousness remained clear.

An unprecedented level of consciousness, with the ability to perceive and manipulate one's own body, but unable to feel or connect with the outside world.

An indescribable feeling of suffocation and discomfort.

"..."

The sand locust tree was much calmer. Following the dragging force of its hind legs, it moved backward unhurriedly and withdrew from the colorful mist.

The moment I stepped out of the mist, all my sensory functions were restored.

"What level of power is this?"

"Mudou, hold onto me."

Sha Huai stepped forward again and poked his head into the mist once more.

Move your leg back again, then back out...

After repeated testing, I became familiar with the feeling of all sensations completely disappearing.

Sha Huai remained in place, pondering for a long time, but still dared not enter the fog.

This ten-colored mist barrier was laid down by the true god of nature, preventing the Zerg warriors from continuing their exploration northward.

They don't understand why the true God of nature does this.

However, it is clear that since the true god of nature forbids further exploration to the north, then it is impossible to get through.

A mere intermediate-level warrior is utterly powerless to fight against him.

"Mudou, is that all? Shall we leave?"

"Withdraw? They packed up and went back?"

"We're going back. But these plains are much more fertile than our wastelands."

"Then let's wander around and take a look. Maybe we can find the God-given Seed, or maybe we can find other Zerg warriors."

"That's right! The environment here makes it much more likely for Zerg warriors to spawn than it is back home."

"Let's go! Search everywhere!"

"Westward!"

The sand locust tree waved its antennae and pointed.

"Let's go!"

Mu Dou was the first to run off.

...

Heading west, after only half a day and a hundred kilometers or so, ahead lay beaches, shallow waters, and the azure ocean.

Continuing north, the land extends into the ten-colored mist barrier.

After a brief rest and some observation, the sand locust and the mu dou turned around and headed south.

The sand locust tree flies high in the sky and observes the coastline stretching southward.

This means that the width of this semi-arid plain is about 100 kilometers.

The semi-arid plain is probably less than two hundred kilometers long.

A short "tail" extending northward from the main continent.

After clarifying the situation,

Sha Huai and Mu Dou were disappointed.

A brief discussion,

They searched and investigated back and forth, from west to east and then from east to west, in a thorough, plough-like manner.

The sand locust tree was responsible for finding the divinely bestowed seeds.

Mu Dou then surveyed and recorded the prominent peaks, valleys, and other landmark landforms along the way, estimated the distances, memorized them, and drew up a complete map after returning.

If you find black starstone with the texture of Black Mountain, dig and explore to see if there are any raw stones.

The two insects worked together, advancing at a steady pace from north to south.

The plan is to complete it in 6 days.

By the second day,

The locust tree flying through the air suddenly slowed down, turned around, and accelerated, returning to the mountain peak that Mudou was exploring.

"?"

"Mudou, Zerg warrior!"

"Zerg warriors?!"

Mu Dou, who was struggling to drill the hole, stopped for a moment, then quickly retreated and came out of the tunnel he had dug.

"Are you sure? There are Zerg warriors?"

"100% certain!"

Sha Huai pointed with its claw and said, "Over there! An ordinary life seed, and a mid-level Zerg warrior who has awakened water-type talent!"

"There is also a divinely bestowed seed with unfathomable primal energy and extraordinary primal energy temperament. Its evolutionary level is so high that I cannot determine its specific level."

Locust Tree: "It's 100% a wild, divinely bestowed species!"

Sha Huai then analyzed, "The high-quality system of divinely bestowed food produced by the wild divinely bestowed seed nourished a Zerg warrior born here, helping it evolve to the intermediate level."

"oh!"

Mu Dou's eyes gleamed.

High-quality, divinely bestowed food is also what the sand acacia and the herb bean need for their growth and evolution.

Especially the awakened talent of the Shepherd Bean, which is particularly important to it.

Each additional type of divinely bestowed food consumed will increase the chances of breaking through to a higher level and becoming a mountain lord by 10% to 20%.

"Sand locust! Let's go! Let's go take a look!"

Unable to contain its excitement, Mu Dou waved its antennae and galloped off in the direction the sand acacia had pointed.

Sha Huai kicked off, took flight, and glided to catch up with Mu Dou, reminding him, "Mu Dou, be polite. Don't get into a conflict with that Zerg warrior. It's incredibly rare for a Zerg warrior to emerge in this desolate land. You can befriend him; with him, we'll have three Zergs developing together."

"I understand!"

After running for a while, Mu Dou's excitement subsided. He slowed down and, while continuing his journey, pondered the issues he needed to be aware of after encountering the unfamiliar warrior.

"Shahuai, is that a water-type insectoid warrior?"

"yes."

"Then it's really lucky. Our Rain Tree Crown Pillar God-given Seed's divine food has a place to go."

"Yes. We can use the God-given Rain Tree Seeds to trade for Force food."

"Exchange? We have plenty of territory we can exchange with them!"

"Yes. We can share what we have with each other."

The two insects discussed it and unconsciously quickened their pace.

Under the scorching sun,

On the flat, withered, semi-arid plain, a towering tree, as majestic as a mountain, can be seen from afar.

500 meters away, there is a relatively short but still several times taller than ordinary trees.

Kauri trees, which are quite common on the nearby coast, are very easy to spot.

Without a doubt, this one is definitely the destiny seed of the Strange Warrior, the Kauri destiny seed.

Following the conventions of nature, the name of the unfamiliar warrior is Shell? Kauri?

"Mudou, look at that wild, divinely bestowed seed. What exactly is it?"

"Difficult to identify. Is it some kind of eucalyptus? The variation is too great; you can't identify the specific species just by looking at the branches, leaves, and tree shape."

"Eucalyptus? Doesn't seem like it?"

"I don't recognize what kind of tree it is."

"..."

Entering the territory of an unfamiliar insect.

While Sha Huai and Mu Dou were exchanging ideas, they slowed down their pace, exerted their mental energy to scan back and forth, and looked around for something.

They moved one after the other towards the direction of the wild, divinely bestowed seed.

Upon approaching from a certain distance, I saw green fruit nestled among the branches and leaves of the large tree.

Crescent-shaped capsule.

Both Sha Huai and Mu Dou silently and tacitly put their minds to work, searching through inherited knowledge, and quickly found the answer: Desert Bloodwood Tree!

A wild desert bloodwood tree, a divine gift!

The tree is approximately 150 to 180 meters tall.

It is a short and sturdy tree with a crown diameter of at least 60 to 80 meters.

There are eight buttress roots under the tree, each more than ten meters high and one meter thick.

The trunk diameter exceeds 30 meters, and the diameter of the lower lateral branches exceeds 10 meters.

Proximity sensing,

The power of the primordial energy is as vast as the sea and as profound as an abyss.

Its evolution level is definitely above the Mountain Lord level.

The sand locust and the pea are too low and too weak in evolution to determine the specific evolutionary level of this desert bloodwood tree, a divinely bestowed seed.

"Mudou..."

The sand locust tree gently raised its claw and pointed towards the canopy.

Inside the dark canopy, on a branch more than two meters in diameter, two emerald green compound eyes stared intently at this side.

Above the two compound eyes, there was a single eye emitting a hazy blue-purple halo, continuously scanning and sensing the sand acacia and the pea.

Zerg Warriors!

Hello~

Mudou stepped forward, getting closer, raised its head, and waved its antennae toward the tree, conveying a friendly greeting.

"Hello--"

The other party had been observing the locust and bean trees for a while. Realizing that the two insects meant no harm, its wariness was immediately replaced by curiosity, and it crawled out from behind the tree trunk.

It has a short, stout, oval body, is entirely brownish-black, and has numerous round tubercles distributed on its elytra.

Mist-proof armor is quite common in the nearby plains!

Mist Warrior!

With a body length of fifty to sixty centimeters, it should be a mid-level warrior in the 4th or 5th year of life.

Upon seeing that the other person was a close relative of his, a member of the Foot Armor Clan, Mu Dou instantly became friendly and warmly inquired:

"Are you a Fog Armor Warrior?"

"Yes……"

The Mist Warrior gave a hesitant reply.

It has never communicated with other Zerg warriors and is not very good at using mental energy to transmit telepathic messages.

"Are you the only Zerg warrior?"

"One."

"Is this tree a divine gift from the Desert Bloodwood tree?"

"Yes."

"What evolutionary level is it?"

"...I don't know."

"And you? What age are you, intermediate warrior?"

"5-year-old stage".

"You must be quite old. How old are you?"

"Ten years old? I can't remember."

Mu Dou's question missed the point...

Shahuai leaped onto Mudou's carapace, waving its forelegs and banging them to signal it to be quiet, while simultaneously shaking its antennae to signal the Mist-Armored Warrior in the tree.

"Hello, my name is Sand Locust. My first life seed is a Sand Locust tree, a 1-year-old intermediate desert locust warrior."

"The big guy's name is Mudou, his first life seed is a Mudou tree, and he is a 2-year-old intermediate giant flat armored warrior."

That concludes my self-introduction.

Sha Huai asked, "And you? Was your first plant a kauri tree?"

"Yes……"

The Mist Armor Warrior raised its claws, lowered its head, and fiddled with its tentacles, pretending to groom them while secretly thinking. Then it looked up and said:

My name is Shell.

Sand locust: "Hello, seashell, it's nice to meet you."

Shell: "I'm happy too, Locust Tree, Bean Herdsman."