Astral Sand Locust

[Divine Power: 1/10]

The divine power value changed from 0 to 1

When Sha Huai's gaze and mental energy focused on it simultaneously, some indescribable insights suddenly welled up in his heart.

It was as if I understood what "divine power" was.

It was as if they had mastered the power of "divine forces".

A vague, faint perception.

At that moment, Sha Huai suddenly sensed that within the realm of the divine kingdom, there was a very faint but special energy that was under his control.

However, because it was too weak and the energy was too thin, when it tried to capture and control the energy, it lost its perception.

Only when you clear your mind and don't try to, can you subtly sense this "divine power".

Once they concentrate their mental energy, they vanish instantly, as if they have disappeared from the world, leaving no trace.

"..."

Sha Huai stared at the blue screen, going back and forth, trying and testing repeatedly, only to find it didn't work.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He moved his gaze and mental energy upwards, and a blue light flashed. The screen switched to an overview map of the divine kingdom.

"!!!"

Sha Huai was surprised to find that when his mental energy covered and his consciousness locked onto the map of the divine kingdom, he could also sense the existence of "divine power," and it was even clearer than in the real world.

The perception of this "divine power" became clearer, and the understanding deepened accordingly.

The sand locust tree seemed lost in thought, its mind wandering, its gaze fixed on the bare, lifeless, and dying golden tortoise-given seed.

The visual distance closed rapidly; a single thought...

The scattered and sparse "divine power" within the divine realm instantly converged and merged into the golden tortoise divine seed.

The whole process was too fast; it was over in the blink of an eye.

Sha Huai clearly felt that the "divine power" that had been floating between heaven and earth was gone, and had been consumed by the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

The screen flickered, and the image switched from an overhead map to a panel of character data.

[Divine Power: 0/10]

Divine power value reset to zero.

With a thought, the blue screen disappeared. Sha Huai kicked, flapped its wings, took off, glided, and landed directly on a thick side branch of the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed, which was more than half a meter in diameter.

Approaching the main trunk, he scanned it closely with his mental energy, focusing his attention on sensing it.

Something has changed!

The original Golden Tortoise God-given Seed had almost completely exhausted its primal force, its life force was nearly extinguished, and its branches had begun to wither...

Sha Huai was quite certain that it was the miraculous effect of "divine power" that caused the scattered primal force of the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed to re-condense and radiate a very strong life force.

—Does "divine power" have the miraculous effect of reversing life and death?

The sand locust keenly sensed that the situation was not optimistic, so it lay on the tree trunk and patiently continued to observe.

As expected, the Force was slowly being consumed, and life force was continuously declining.

Bring in a raw gemstone and unleash its power.

The Golden Tortoise's Divine Seed cannot absorb the Force.

When the Zerg warrior who made a pact with it dies, the life-seed's soul dissipates.

Without a soul, life activities cease, and the ability to absorb primal force is lost.

The divine power merely restored the original strength and vitality of the golden tortoise seed, delaying its decline, but it could not fundamentally change its nature.

—What if there were even more divine power?

—Can he be saved?

—The key question is, where does this divine power come from?

The sand locust has a vague and general understanding: this "divine power" is a power of rules that only a "god" can master, originating from some kind of world-running rule; it is a power of life, originating from all life within the realm of the god.

It's impossible to be certain without more specific details.

"We can observe the generation of 'divine power' first..."

Sha Huai pondered for a moment, then returned to the mountainside and continued to guard the cave entrance.

At noon,

Turn on the blue screen, switch to the overhead map, keep your eyes and mind focused, and carefully perceive the changes within the map.

No new divine power was sensed.

It is speculated that divine power should have been generated, but the amount was too small and too thin to be perceived.

Check again at dusk.

I still can't sense anything.

I woke up at midnight to check on the situation.

Or not.

One night passed.

A day has passed,

A day and a night passed.

Finally, by looking down at the map through the screen, Sha Huai sensed that ethereal, mysterious power.

The speculation was correct; "divine power" is continuously produced, and it has just reached a perceptible concentration.

It was barely there, almost imperceptible, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

With a thought, Sha Huai switched the blue screen to a character data panel.

[Divine Power: 0/10]

"Divine power" is produced slowly and continuously within the realm of the divine kingdom.

It can be confirmed that "divine power" exists within the current divine realm, but the total amount is less than 1 point, so it is not reflected in the data panel.

How long does it take to generate 1 point of divine power?

Sha Huai remembered clearly that from obtaining the blue screen and the divine kingdom until reaching 1 point of divine power the day before yesterday, a total of 48 days had passed.

In other words, it takes 48 days for a divine kingdom to produce 1 point of divine power.

—Is it possible to accelerate the production of divine power? How?

The sand locust tree considered two possibilities:

First, with its own evolution and growth, and the synchronous expansion of its divine kingdom, the speed at which it produces divine power will definitely increase.

Secondly, the abundance of life within the divine realm might accelerate the production of divine power.

If the Sand Acacia evolves from its 2nd to 3rd stage without changing its divine kingdom's range, then its evolution from 3rd to 4th stage will most likely also remain unchanged. In most cases, there will be no improvement in any stage of evolution; a novice warrior will need to break through and advance to an intermediate warrior level to achieve this.

Each evolutionary stage requires at least 3 months between stages. The Sand Locust is currently only at the initial stage of stage 3. To break through to the intermediate warrior level, it will need to undergo 7 more evolutions, which will take nearly two years.

Far from it, very early.

Therefore, the only way to obtain more divine power is to find a way to increase the number of lives within the realm of the gods.

Planting trees?

With more plants, providing food and shade, all sorts of animals will naturally gather there, drawn by the scent, to live and reproduce.

"Collecting various plant seeds, finding suitable locations, digging holes and burying them... will that work?"

Sha Huai thought that planting trees didn't seem too difficult, so he immediately decided to give it a try.

...

...

The morning sun rises slowly.

The golden morning light gradually turned scorching in the early morning.

Mu Dou awoke from her slumber, skillfully shedding her old shell. While waiting for the new carapace to harden, she quickly reviewed and mastered the newly awakened knowledge of the natural pantheon.

The crust has hardened.

A 9-year-old junior warrior.

He unleashed his mental energy, scanned and checked himself, and once he was sure everything was alright, he climbed out of the pottery jar and ran out of the cave.

Cave entrance,

The sand locust was idly bouncing around, leaping forward, flipping backward, and jumping left and right to exercise its body's flexibility. It keenly caught the sound of running footsteps, stopped its movements, and looked towards the cave passage.

"Mu Dou, you're awake?"

"woke up!"

"That's fast. You must be in good shape."

"It's quite good. Shahuai, how many days have I been asleep?"

"Two and a half days. It lasted three nights and two days."

"That's pretty fast! You used Primogems, right? How many?"

"A total of 37 raw stones were consumed."

"oh--"

Raw stones can significantly shorten the dormant period of evolution.

Mudou tilted its head slightly, its antennae swaying gently, silently calculating and evaluating.

Sha Huai raised his paw and pointed down the mountain, proactively reporting, "Mu Dou, I have made a major discovery. For unknown reasons, the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed has suddenly regained a very strong primal energy and life force."

"So, I also used a Primal Stone on the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed. But unfortunately, it couldn't absorb the Primal Force released by the Primal Stone."

A divinely bestowed seed from the Golden Tortoise?

Force energy?

Life force!

Have a turnaround?

Mu Dou was so excited that its two antennae stood straight up. After a moment of stunned silence, it spread its elytra and membranous wings, and with a buzzing sound, it glided down the mountain towards the golden tortoise seed bestowed by the gods.

The sand locust tree took off with a kick, and then landed right after.

The bean's spiritual energy swept across the tree trunk, its antennae waving, and it jumped for joy.

"real!"

"real!"

"Your condition is improving!"

"White thorns!"

"What about white thorns?"

"White thorn! White thorn..."

Mu Dou vibrated his spiritual power, exclaimed repeatedly, turned around abruptly, shouted, flapped his wings, roared, and flew straight up the mountainside, rushing into the cave.

Soon, Mu Dou rushed out again, gliding down to the base of the golden beetle tree.

His eyes were full of doubt, and he repeatedly scanned the area with his mental energy.

He turned around and rushed toward the white thorn seed next to him, repeatedly scanning and sensing the tree trunk.

The white thorn tree seedlings are still thriving, but upon closer inspection, one can sense that their vitality is gradually and slowly fading away.

Mu Dou ran wildly up the mountain and back to the cave to check.

It flapped its wings frantically, swooped down the mountain, and landed under the tree planted by the golden tortoise. It scanned and examined the tree repeatedly with its spiritual power, muttering to itself:

Why is this happening?

"Why is the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed like this? There must be a reason..."

"What about the white thorn? Why isn't it showing any signs of reviving?"

"Where is White Thorn? Oh, True God of Nature, can White Thorn awaken?"

"..."

—The white thorn is dead.

—White Thorn can't possibly wake up.

Sha Huai knew what was going on, sighed inwardly, and didn't know how to comfort him, so he stood aside in silence.

"Sand locust! Sand locust!"

Suddenly, the grief-stricken, dejected Mu Dou raised its antennae, its spirits lifted, and it cried out:

"Shahuai, do you think it's because the True God of Nature discovered that the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed was in poor condition, so he descended with divine power to save it?"

"oh--"

That's an absolutely brilliant idea!

Sha Huai's eyes lit up, and he vigorously tapped his antennae, calling out in response, "Mu Dou! It's possible!"

Mu Dou was overjoyed and asked, "Does that mean White Thorn will return?"

The sand locust tree twitched its antennae and said, "Yes, yes. The white thorn will return."

"Yes."

"I will come back."

"But it might take some time..."

Actually, Mu Dou herself was somewhat skeptical, but after hearing this, her grief and dejection vanished. She folded her somewhat disheveled membranous wings, closed her elytra, wiped her compound eyes, cleaned her antennae, and, with renewed spirit, said:

"Perfect timing. Sha Huai, let's go, let's set off immediately."

After saying that, it raised its paw and pointed northeast, its meaning clear: search for and excavate raw stones!

"Okay..."

Sha Huai hesitated before agreeing, then asked, "Mu Dou, you've just completed a molt and evolution, don't you need to eat and rest?"

"Need not!"

Mudou retracted its paws and led the way, saying, "Just eat something to replenish your energy. Let's keep going, and eat whatever we hunt along the way."

"Oh……"

Shahuai kicked off, flapped its wings, and took off, slowly following behind Mudou, asking:

"Mudou, I remember you said that the wasteland has a rainy season?"

"yes."

"What are the specifics? Do plants flower and bear fruit during the rainy season? And do most plant seeds germinate and sprout during the rainy season?"

"That's right! Based on decades of observation, the rainy season in White Thorn usually lasts between 30 and 60 days."

Mu Dou explained in detail: "If the rainy season only lasts for about 30 days, there won't be enough time or enough rainfall. In the long dry season that follows, many plants in the wasteland will die from drought."

"Conversely, if the rainy season lasts for 50 to 60 days and there is enough rainfall, then all plants can grow fully, store up enough nutrients, and survive until the next rainy season."

"Understood!"

Sha Huai asked, "Mu Dou, when does the rainy season start?"

Mu Dou said, "Judging by the time, we'll be there soon."

After Mu Dou finished speaking, he stopped, waved his antennae, and added very seriously:

"The rainy season doesn't last all the time. Usually, there's thunder and lightning at night, with strong winds and rain. During the day, it's still sunny. But then suddenly a gust of wind blows, dark clouds gather, and it starts to rain. Then suddenly a strong wind blows, scattering the clouds, and the rain stops and the sky clears."

"The weather during the day is unpredictable, sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy."

"White thorn seeds mature and are harvested during the rainy season. You need to watch over them around the clock. As soon as the sky clears, you quickly move the seeds outside to dry. If it rains, you have to quickly gather them up. After the rain stops, you have to move them outside to dry again. It's quite a hassle."

Sha Huai: "..."

Sha Huai: "That sounds like a lot of trouble."

The sand acacia tree drooped its antennae and pondered for a moment, then asked, "Mudou, would you like a divinely bestowed seed?"

"Yes, I want to!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Dou became very excited, raised its antennae, and said, "Bai Ci promised me that when it sees the True God of Nature, it will ask the True God of Nature to grant me a divine seed."

Sha Huai: "..."

Are you daydreaming?

The sand locust tree landed in a spiral and said solemnly, "The inherited memories show that the divinely bestowed seed is not given by the true god of nature, but rather, under the protection of the true god of nature, there is an extremely low probability that the divinely bestowed seed will be born in our natural star realm."

Before anyone could object, Sha Huai suggested, "Mu Dou, why don't we take advantage of the rainy season to plant more plants in the Green Tree Mountains? The more plants there are in our territory, the greater the chance of divinely bestowed seeds being born, right?"

"Uh... no, that's not right!"

Mu Dou shook its antennae and said, "Sand locust, no, it won't grow, it will die of drought."

"Dry to death..."

The sand locust tree can probably understand the meaning of "grass bean".

Mu Dou said, "Sand locust, if you want the divinely bestowed seed, you can go to the wild to look for it after the rainy season ends and all the plants have flowered and fruited. Once you find it, wait under the tree until the divinely bestowed seed matures and then harvest it. That's how the white thorn obtained the divinely bestowed seed from the golden beetle tree."

"Although the wasteland is desolate and sparsely vegetated, its greatest advantage is its vastness. On this boundless wasteland, there are only two insects, you and me, so we can search freely!"

Sha Huai: "..."

Sha Huai nodded its antennae in agreement, "Mu Dou, you're right. The entire wasteland is ours. We can just search around."

"but……"

Sha Huai suggested, "Mu Dou, the inherited memories show that desert ironwood, sand acacia, sand willow, and all sorts of succulents are very drought-resistant. Could we try planting some? If it works, we can turn our territory into a lush oasis!"

"An oasis? But..."

Mu Dou suddenly realized that Sha Huai might be enthusiastic about afforestation, so he stopped refuting her and pondered for a moment before saying:

"In that case, Sha Huai, let's not collect the raw stones for now. Let's go gather seeds and find suitable land to sow them. In a few days, when the rainy season comes, the seeds will sprout after it rains."