Astral Sand Locust

Long!

Long!

……

Midnight,

The locust tree was awakened by two thunderclaps that resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

"Sand locust! Sand locust!"

Mudou jumped up, raising its antennae and waving as it shouted, "The rainy season is here! The rainy season is here! The first rain of the year!"

Mu Dou shouted and rushed out of the cave.

The sand locust tree followed closely behind.

The fierce winds blowing from the south howled and wailed.

The hot air became cool and humid, carrying a fragrant aroma.

Thick black clouds obscured the moonlight, plunging the entire world into darkness.

The distant sky,

Crimson lightning flashed across the sky and earth.

Boom—Rumble—Rumble—

Thunder rumbled in, and the cave trembled slightly.

Shahuai and Mudou straightened their front legs, squatted at the entrance of the cave, and looked at the sky. They had only been looking for a short while when cold raindrops began to fall.

The next moment, a torrential downpour began.

Shahuai and Mudou stood in the rain, enjoying the downpour.

The parched earth, scorched by the blazing sun for ten months, greedily swallowed the refreshing rainwater.

"Sand locust tree!"

"Um?"

It's raining!

It's raining.

"Sand locust, do you think the seed from the golden beetle tree, bestowed by the gods, might be... better?"

"...I don't know."

"Shahuai, why don't you go down the mountain and take a look?"

"……oh."

The Golden Tortoise Tree, a divinely bestowed seed, is on the verge of death due to the death of the insectoid warrior bound by a fateful pact.

This is not a problem of drought or rain at all.

Mu Dou couldn't shake off that sliver of hope in her heart.

Sha Huai had no choice but to agree.

The rain is too heavy, making it difficult to fly.

The sand locust tree could only hop and skip down the mountain, symbolically arriving at the tree bestowed by the Golden Tortoise God. It climbed the trunk, scanned and inspected it with its spiritual power, and focused its mind to sense it.

As always, his primal force and life force are continuously draining away, but he has lost the ability to actively recover and replenish them. He is nearing the end of his life and urgently needs divine power to prolong his life.

With a thought, Sha Huai saw a blue screen appear before her eyes.

[Divine Power: 0/10]

Divine power is still less than 1 point.

It seems that it cannot be mobilized or used if there is less than 1 point.

Sha Huai's gaze moved upwards, his mental consciousness locking onto the "[Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust]" section.

The screen flickers, switching to an overhead map, locking onto the White Thorn Lifeform next door, zooming in and out to observe and sense it carefully.

As the fruit of the white thorn tree approaches maturity and harvest season, coupled with prolonged high temperatures and drought, the tree's vitality and life force are rapidly declining.

Through the screen map, Sha Huai keenly observed that the condition of the white thorn seedlings had improved somewhat after being nourished by the rain.

"It seems that the White Thorn Life Seed is not in any immediate danger."

"Right now, the most important thing is to preserve the seed bestowed by the gods upon the Golden Tortoise Tree. In the future, when we have more divine power, perhaps we can make it sprout new branches, blossom, and bear fruit again..."

Sha Huai pondered for a moment, then leaped up and landed lightly on the trunk, hopping and skipping back to the cave entrance.

"How's Shahuai?" Mudou asked.

"No change..."

The sand locust tree swayed its antennae.

The answer is not surprising.

The two insects fell silent simultaneously.

After a long while, Mu Dou waved its antennae again and called out, "Sand Locust, let's go and see how the White Thorn Tree is doing."

"it is good."

Sha Huai followed suit.

...

The situation of the white thorn seedlings is exactly the same as that of the sand locust, which appears on a blue screen overlooking the map.

Seeing that the white thorn seed's condition had improved, Mu Dou became cheerful and climbed around the tree with the sand locust, carefully checking the condition of every fruit-bearing branch.

...

The dark clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and the sky brightened.

At the suggestion of the sand acacia, the two insects began to search for suitable plots of land with few gravel and plenty of mud and sand on the large plain south of the seed of the golden beetle tree. They dug deep pits and took cuttings from nearby sand willow trees for propagation.

The sun was especially intense after the rain.

A day under the scorching sun.

Late at night, a strong wind suddenly arose, followed by thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, which continued until late into the night.

The wind blew steadily.

In the morning, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky, and a light rain began to fall. After only a short while, a strong wind swept by, and a sudden downpour of rain poured down. The dark clouds dissipated, and the sky turned sunny again in the blink of an eye.

Shahuai quickly figured out the pattern: the rainy season in the wasteland was characterized by heavy rain at night, which would last for a long time; the days were mostly sunny, with occasional sudden showers that came and went in an instant.

On the fourth day of the rainy season,

As usual, Shahuai and Mudou got up early and walked out of the cave one after the other. Just as they were about to descend the mountain, Mudou, with sharp eyes, raised its paw and pointed, calling out joyfully:

"Sand locust, look!"

"oh--"

Looking out, not far down the mountain, neat, sparse green dots appeared in the open space between the two life-giving plants, the White Thorn Tree and the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

Those were the first bean seeds that had been collected and sown to take root, sprout, and break through the soil.

Shahuai followed Mudou, spreading its wings and gliding down the mountain to observe and check closely, confirming that there were no problems.

Next, examine the intercropped ironwood and sand locust seeds. Stimulated by soaking in water, they all awakened from dormancy and showed signs of life.

"Sand locust, shouldn't our sand willow cuttings have taken root by now?"

"Is it that fast?"

"I have no idea."

"I don't know either."

"You'll see!"

"Walk!"

Led by Mudou, the two insects, one large and one small, headed south to continue checking on the sand willow cuttings that had been propagated in the past few days.

The pit was dug very deep, about one meter underground, with only a small bud about four or five centimeters above ground.

Sha Huai's spiritual power couldn't reach even a meter deep underground; it stared longingly at Mu Dou.

Mu Dou carefully examined each tree one by one, moving quickly. She checked 20 trees in one go, then stopped and vigorously tapped her antennae at the sand locust tree.

"Has it taken root?"

"Roots will grow at the break point and will soon develop into a root system."

"So the cuttings have taken root?"

"That's a valid judgment."

"Then let's..."

"We have enough sand locust and sand willow. Let's switch to another plant. I suggest we propagate some drought-tolerant succulents by cuttings."

"Sure! Over there?"

The sand locust tree swayed its antennae and pointed to the distant hills.

A hexagonal celestial column that can grow to a height of over 10 meters grows on the hill.

Sha Huai turned around again and pointed to the mountains behind him.

A tall, succulent plant called horned columnar ...

"OK!"

Mu Dou nodded its antennae in agreement.

The two insects immediately took action, first selecting a hexagonal celestial pillar.

The large bean plant is responsible for cutting the stem segments and digging the holes for planting.

The sand locust tree is too small, so it is responsible for processing the nodes, removing the fleshy parts to expose the inner woody layer, and finely trimming the cuts.

Mudou dug a hole and placed the prepared cuttings inside.

Locust trees were used to backfill the soil, and then crushed stones were moved and used to cover it. The crushed stones can stabilize the soil and sand, and at the same time prevent the groundwater from being lost too quickly due to sun exposure.

The two insects cooperated tacitly.

One by one, the hexagonal cereus trees were planted.

First, insert a long row of hexagonal prism cuttings, then insert another long row of horned prism cuttings.

The wasteland is home to a large number of succulents of all shapes and sizes, among which cacti are the easiest to grow.

Besides the most eye-catching tall columnar cacti such as the Giant Golden Barrel Cactus and the Columnar Columnar Cactus, there are also spherical cacti such as the Giant Golden Barrel Cactus and the Rock Barrel Cactus, which can have a maximum diameter of over 1 meter and a height of over 1.5 meters.

This is the simplest method: just cut off the "small balls" derived from the "large ball," dig a shallow hole, and plant them directly.

In addition, various agave, yucca, aloe vera, and other plants are also good choices. Simply dig up the young plants that have sprouted from them and transplant them.

The two insects, the sand locust and the bean cricket, worked from sunrise to sunset, and time flew by in their joyful busyness.

Three days later,

The seeds of ironwood and sand locust have germinated.

The cuttings of sand willow have taken root.

Similarly, a large number of naturally dispersed seeds also take root and sprout under the stimulation of rainwater.

Nourished by the rain, the plants throughout the wasteland radiated a strong and vigorous vitality.

Numerous plants sprout new leaves, flower, and bear fruit during the rainy season to reproduce.

The white thorn species is no exception; last year's fruits are ripening rapidly, and new year's flower buds are forming.

Every evening, Sha Huai would set aside some time to observe the changes in the divine kingdom through an overhead map on a blue screen.

It can be clearly felt that the rate at which divine power is generated is constantly and significantly increasing.

……

Name: Sha Huai

Race: Desert Locust (Nature God)

Title: None

Rank: Junior Warrior (3 years old)

Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust

Divine power: 1/10

Fate Seed: None

Abilities: None

……

It's the 29th day of the rainy season.

Another rainy night,

Eat your fill,

Resting in the cave

Sha Huai checked the blue screen as usual and found that her divine power data had changed from 0 to 1.

Finally, I've gathered 1 point of divine power!

During the previous dry season, it took 48 days to gather 1 point of divine power.

With the arrival of the rainy season, it only took 30 days to gather 1 point of divine power.

"According to Mu Dou, the rainy season lasts between 30 and 60 days?"

"After the rainy season ends, the sandy soil soaked by the rain can last for a while, and plants that have absorbed enough water can continue to grow vigorously for a long time. This period is at least 30 days."

"All things considered, the rainy season offers a vigorous growth period of 60 to 90 days, which can quickly produce 2 or 3 points of divine power..."

Sha Huai pondered for a moment, then opened the overview map, his gaze and mental energy switching back and forth between the White Thorn Life Seed and the Golden Tortoise Tree Divine Gift Seed.

Who should I allocate the 1 point of divine power that I've painstakingly accumulated?

It's a difficult decision.

The flowers of the white thorn are in full bloom, and a new batch of fruits is about to form. At the same time, last year's fruits have already changed color and will soon be ripe for harvest.

The white thorn seedlings have lost a large amount of their original energy and vitality, and the condition of the entire tree is very poor. Without remedial measures, it is difficult to guarantee that the newly opened flowers will set fruit successfully.

The Golden Tortoise Tree, blessed by the gods, was even more difficult to cultivate. It remained a bare tree, its primal force and vitality continuously draining away, clinging to life but not quite dying.

The golden tortoise tree, blessed by the gods, will likely not last a month; it will perish before it receives even a fraction of divine power.

"Sand locust?"

Mu Dou suppressed her mental energy and called out softly.

Mudou couldn't see the blue screen, but it could tell from its vertical antennae that the sand acacia wasn't asleep. Not only was it awake, it was also full of energy.

"Um--"

Sha Huai agreed casually.

Mu Dou asked, "Sha Huai, are you also worried about the White Thorn Life Seed and the Golden Tortoise Tree Divine Gift Seed?"

Sha Huai said, "I'm very worried. If this batch of flowers from the White Thorn Life Seed doesn't bear fruit, our growth resources will be cut off next year, and we won't have any primal energy food to eat."

"Mu Dou, after you break through and advance to the intermediate warrior level, without Force food, your evolution and growth will be very slow."

"Yes~"

Mu Dou's antennae drooped, her heart heavy, and she sighed, "I'm more worried about the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed. Its condition is worsening day by day; it's about to die. Last time, the True God of Nature sent a miracle to save its life. I wonder if it will be able to save it this time..."

Sha Huai choked with emotion for a long time before comforting her, "Mu Dou, don't worry, it will definitely happen. The true god of nature will never give up a precious divinely bestowed seed."

"Let's hope so~"

Mu Dou wasn't stupid; she understood the situation perfectly well. She said those things, but deep down she didn't really believe it.

The last time the Golden Tortoise Tree's divinely bestowed seed suddenly gained strength and vitality, it was probably a final burst of energy before death.

The overall trend of withering and dying has not changed.

This is a law of nature, and it cannot be changed.

However, Sha Huai's words of comfort greatly improved Mu Dou's mood, and her tone relaxed as she discussed the matter:

"Sand locust, starting tomorrow, we can no longer plant trees. Let's stay together on the white thorn tree and wait for the fruit to ripen. We'll pick each ripe one as it comes."

"good!"

Sha Huai agreed, no longer dwelling on it. He focused his gaze and mental energy on the Golden Tortoise Tree Divine Seed on the screen map, while simultaneously communicating with the divine power permeating the world, converging and pouring it into the Golden Tortoise Tree Divine Seed.

It was completed in an instant.

Concentrating on sensing, just like last time, the Golden Tortoise Tree's divinely bestowed seed instantly improved, receiving a large amount of primal force and life force replenishment.

"Mudou, I have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"I suggest thinning the flowers of the white thorn plant, pruning some of them to reduce the burden. This will ensure that a batch of fruits can be successfully set, and there will be a harvest next year."

"I'm observing..."

"Mudou, don't hesitate! If we don't deal with it in time, not a single new fruit may survive."

"That makes sense... Sha Huai, shall we listen to you?"

"Listen to me, you won't go wrong."

Mu Dou is not stupid, but he is not smart either.

He was a year older than the sand locust and learned some knowledge from the white thorn that was not passed down in the traditional memory.

But after spending so much time together, during their conversations, Mu Dou shared all the knowledge she had learned from Bai Ci with Sha Huai.

Locust trees have a better solution than soybeans.

The two insects chatted back and forth, discussing and planning their next steps.

……

A clear morning after the rain.

The sand locust and the bean sprouted early from the cave and glided down to the base of the white thorn tree.

Mudou climbed up the tree, running and patrolling along the branches to check on the fruit that was about to ripen.

The sand locust tree flutters up and down, examining and carefully selecting its flowers before using its mandibles to cut off a portion of them.

Mu Dou surveyed the tree, then stood on a side branch at the top, watching as the sand locust tree cut off and ate its large, blooming flowers, and felt a pang of heartache.

After watching for a while,

Mu Dou's gaze fell on the Golden Tortoise Tree's Divine Seed not far away. After staring at it for a while, he spread his elytra and membranous wings, glided, and landed on a side branch of the Golden Tortoise Tree's Divine Seed. He habitually used his spiritual power to scan the main trunk and was immediately stunned.

Scan again,

Concentrate and sense.

Mudou flapped its wings and glided to the ground, then ran wildly back to the white thorn tree, waving its antennae and shouting with ecstatic joy:

"Sand locust! Sand locust!"

"You were absolutely right! The true God of Nature has indeed descended with divine power again, saving the golden tortoise's divinely bestowed seed!"

"Really...really?"

Sha Huai feigned surprise, appearing overjoyed.

"really!"

Mudou nimbly climbed to the top of the tree along the main trunk of the White Thorn Life Seed, vigorously shook its antennae, waved its claws to signal, opened its elytra and membranous wings, and glided towards the Golden Tortoise Tree God-given Seed.

"Shahuai, come here! Come and take a look!"

"Here you are!"

The sand locust tree flapped its wings and followed.

[PS: This is my first time writing a book, and I'm begging for your favorites, monthly votes, recommendations, and donations!]