Astral Sand Locust

The white thorn seed is developed from the seed of the large white thorn.

Ordinary seeds undergo a leap in life level, evolving into Force Plants. The main changes are a tenfold increase in tree height and size, thicker branches and trunks, proportionally larger leaves, and Force Fruits that are several times larger than ordinary fruits.

The fruit of the common white thorn species is a bright and beautiful purplish-red when fully ripe.

When the fruit of the White Thorn species is fully ripe, it is a deep black color and emits a special, insect-attracting, primal fragrance.

The primal energy of the Force Fruit is mainly concentrated in the seed.

The life energy contained in the fruit produced by the White Thorn Life Seed is mainly concentrated in the seed, also known as the 'White Thorn Seed'.

The outer layer of flesh also contains vital energy, but it is relatively thin, accounting for only about 5% of the whole fruit. Moreover, it dissipates quickly with its aroma and cannot be stored, so it must be eaten as soon as it is ripe and harvested.

The energy effects of white thorn pulp are quite different from those of white thorn seeds.

White thorn fruit comprehensively enhances and strengthens vitality.

The flesh of the white thorn fruit leans more towards the healing abilities of the life system.

The evolution of life forms and the growth of Zerg warriors require various primal energy effects to strengthen and perfect themselves.

Undoubtedly, for the locust and bean trees trapped in the wilderness, relying on each other for survival, the pulp of the white thorn fruit is a crucial resource for their growth.

The two insects have a clear division of labor:

The sand locusts are good at flying and are responsible for picking the fruit. They stand under the white thorn trees, looking up and watching. They pick each ripe fruit, eat the pulp, and send the white thorn seeds up the mountain to be laid flat on the ground at the cave entrance to dry.

Mudou stood guard in front of the cave, keeping a close eye on the changing weather. As soon as it detected any signs of rain, it would immediately spread its membranous wings and sweep the white thorns into the cave.

After the rain stops and the ground dries, sweep out all the white thorns, spread them out, and continue to dry them.

That evening, Sha Huai and Mu Dou counted the white thorns together, picked out the dry ones, and sealed them in earthenware jars.

...

The work is not complicated.

Sha Huai didn't feel busy or tired.

But not with beans, because they can't accurately predict the weather.

Sometimes, a gust of wind might signal impending rain, so we'd quickly sweep the white thorns into the cave. But after waiting and waiting, it wouldn't rain; the wind would just blow them away.

Sometimes, even when the sun is shining brightly, a sudden downpour will come without warning, leaving no time to react before the dried white thorns are soaked through.

Mu Dou was always in a very sorry state.

...

The harvest lasted for 11 days, yielding three large jars full of white thorn seeds.

A night of wind and rain,

With the white thorn flowers withered and the new batch of fruit set, the number of fruits is reduced by half, which means income is halved.

Fortunately.

Better than a complete crop failure.

During the harvest season, the sand locust tree eats the pulp of the white thorn fruit every day, and the energy enhancement it gains is almost enough for one evolutionary stage.

Calculating the time, nearly 90 days have passed since the advancement to the 3rd age, and now the conditions for the evolution to the 4th age have been met.

After consuming some of the divinely bestowed golden beetles, Sha Huai, at dusk, hid in a pottery jar in the mountain's storage warehouse and fell into a deep sleep.

……

Waking up from a deep sleep.

The sand locust tree skillfully shed its old shell.

Its body size expands rapidly, and the newly formed carapace hardens upon contact with air.

At the same time, a large amount of inherited memories flooded into the sea of ​​consciousness, lasting for a while before ending.

The body shape is set; evolution is complete.

4th instar primary desert locust warrior!

The evolution of each major stage of the Zerg warrior is further divided into 1st to 9th instars, totaling 9 minor instars.

The evolution from 3-year-old to 4-year-old is considered a minor breakthrough, and one can clearly feel the tremendous changes that have occurred within oneself.

Sha Huai exerted all his mental strength to control the straight line extending forward.

The detection range of mental power suddenly increased from 4 meters in the 3rd year to 10 meters.

With a thought, he redirected his mental energy to scan himself.

Its body length suddenly increased to nearly 10 centimeters.

It is likely due to the influence of the natural environment that the carapace has turned into three colors: yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, and orange-red, while the membranous wings are interspersed with a large number of green and black spots.

Intricate camouflage patterns, an innate racial talent, and natural disguise.

Standing still in the wilderness, one instantly blends into the surrounding environment.

Sha Huai focused intently on sensing the extraordinary enhancement effect bestowed upon the golden beetle by the gods, resulting in a significant increase in the strength of its shell.

With the added reinforcement of white thorn pulp and seeds, and feeling the surging life force within his body, he inexplicably felt an invincible, hardened illusion that he was unbreakable and indestructible.

"The common predators found in the wasteland should be no match for me."

Sha Huai silently assessed the situation, his thoughts shifting, and a blue screen appeared.

……

Name: Sha Huai

Race: Desert Locust (Nature God)

Title: None

Rank: Junior Warrior (4 years old)

Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust

Divine power: 1/10

Fate Seed: None

Abilities: None

……

"Huh—"

Sha Huai immediately spotted the [Divine Power: 1/10]

Finally, I've accumulated another point of divine power!

With eyes and mind focused on the [Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust] section, the screen flickered, the view switched to an overhead map, and a quick scan was performed.

As expected, the 3-year-old evolved into the 4-year-old, and the scope of the divine kingdom remained unchanged.

Without much hesitation, the sand locust tree directly locked onto the white thorn seed and the golden tortoise tree's divinely bestowed seed, closing the distance and scanning them back and forth to sense them.

The white thorn seedlings are in stable condition, and they should be able to successfully produce the fruits on the tree.

The primal force and life force of the Golden Tortoise Tree's divinely bestowed seed continued to drain away, but the 1 point of divine power replenished last time still remained, enough to sustain it for about another month.

Considering the dry season that will come later, and the rate at which the divine power is produced by the divine plantation will decrease, it would be best to use this divine power on the Golden Tortoise Tree's divinely bestowed seed to ensure that it does not die.

Without much hesitation, Sha Huai fixed his gaze on the tree trunk, activated his divine sense, and mobilized the divine power within his divine kingdom to converge on the trunk.

It was over in an instant.

Upon closer inspection, it was confirmed to be correct.

Turn off the screen.

The sand locust tree buried its head and spat out the 'sand locust seed' that was growing in its life sac for examination.

Having undergone a period of evolution, the primal force becomes more concentrated, vitality is vigorous, and there is no problem with the destiny seed.

Retrieve the life pouch.

With a leap, the sand locust tree easily jumped out of the pottery jar, flapped its wings, and flew out of the cave.

……

On a moonlit night,

"Shahuai...you're awake..."

The Bean, which was guarding the entrance of the cave, was startled awake from its slumber. Still a little dazed, it waved its antennae to greet the creature.

A habitual sweep of mental energy caused his two antennae to twitch, banishing all sleepiness. He exclaimed in delight, "Wow! Sand Acacia! You've grown so much all of a sudden!"

"It's thanks to the pulp of the white thorn fruit."

"Much stronger! With this size, I'll never have to worry about you being attacked by other creatures again."

"Yes. But it's always better to be careful."

Sha Huai followed up with, "Mu Dou, how many days have I slept?"

"3 days."

Mu Dou said, "You evolved from a 3-year-old to a 4-year-old, so it took a little longer. Being able to complete the evolution in three days means that your physical condition is still very good, and you can continue to evolve steadily at the pace of 90 days per age stage."

"I understand~"

Sha Huai took off, hovering low and surveying the area below, asking, "Mu Dou, has it still not rained during the three days I've been dormant and evolving?"

"no."

Mu Dou shook its antennae and said, "It hasn't rained for seven days straight. Based on past experience, the rainy season is over."

Mu Dou volunteered, "Sand locust trees won't survive after the rainy season. Shall we wander around and search for divinely bestowed seeds?"

"good!"

The sand locust tree nodded its antennae in response.

Mu Dou added, "We can start tomorrow!"

Sha Huai agreed, "Then let's start tomorrow!"

Agreement reached.

Mu Dou went back to the cave to sleep and rest.

After descending the mountain and eating something, Sha Huai went to the tree planted by the Golden Tortoise God to check its condition up close. Then, he wandered south and entered the nursery.

Over a period of fifty days, the seeds sown grew into ironwood, locust, and bean saplings that all exceeded one meter in height.

The cuttings of plants such as sand willow and six-sided crape myrtle are doing even better. Their underground root systems are growing rapidly, exceeding the depth that the sand locust's spiritual power can explore underground. The above-ground parts are growing wildly, sprouting branches and leaves, and beginning to take shape as trees, forming clusters of lush greenery in the red wasteland.

It's hard to say whether seedlings propagated from seeds can survive the long dry season ahead, but cuttings and transplanted succulents will most likely be able to.

However, the number of plant species suitable for cuttings is limited. If a large area is planted to cultivate forests, monoculture can easily lead to an outbreak of pests and diseases that get out of control.

Moreover, cuttings require digging deep holes, cutting and transporting branches, and backfilling with soil, which is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and far less efficient than sowing seeds.

Moreover, the sand locust and the herb bean are too low in evolutionary level, small in size, weak in strength, and their work speed is really not good.

The sacred land of the sand locust is a circle with a radius of about 3 kilometers and an area of ​​about 28 square kilometers. However, during this year's rainy season, the sand locust and the mulberry were busy for nearly two months, but the final area covered by the planted greenery was less than 2 square kilometers.

The green seedlings of this area have a negligible impact on the divine power output of the divine kingdom.

The sand locust flew slowly around the nursery to inspect it, landing occasionally to scan the ground with its spiritual power and check the soil moisture.

After wandering around for a while, he finally returned to the tree at the foot of the mountain, which was planted by the Golden Turtle God. He lay on the tree trunk, scanned it with his spiritual power, focused his mind on sensing it carefully, and silently assessed and calculated in his mind.

"The earth stores up enough water during the rainy season, and the vigorous growth and prosperity of the wasteland plants will continue. In the next 30 days or so, the divine kingdom can produce 1 point of divine power."

"But afterwards, the growth of most plants will slow down, and if the drought reaches a certain level, some plants will even enter a dormant state."

"Correspondingly, during the long dry season that followed, which lasted for 10 months, the rate of divine power production continued to decrease and decline."

"One point of divine power can forcibly extend the life of the Golden Tortoise Tree seed by about 40 days. Roughly estimated, the divine power produced by the Divine Kingdom is barely enough to extend its life..."

"Actually, the best way to increase divine power income is to expand the area of ​​the divine kingdom, rather than planting trees. If the area doubles, the divine power will definitely double as well, and the current predicament will be solved immediately."

"Hopefully, after breaking through to the intermediate warrior level, the area of ​​the divine kingdom will expand accordingly..."

The sand locust pondered for a moment, then shook its antennae and slowly climbed up the trunk until it reached the top of the tree.

Quietly perched atop a tree, enjoying the cool breeze for a while, then pushed off with its hind legs, spread its wings, and glided back to its cave to rest.

...

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Shahuai and Mudou then packed up and set off, beginning their journey through the wilderness as planned, searching for the divinely bestowed seeds.

Pay attention to the method:

The locust tree flew low in the sky, while the bean crawled on the ground. The two insects were 30 meters apart and walked side by side, scanning each other with their spiritual power and focusing their attention on sensing each other.

The divinely bestowed seed, in its gestation stage, exhibited faint fluctuations of primal force.

Once a mental scan detects unusual fluctuations in primal force, it will approach to investigate and identify them.

...

Heading south,

The sand locust flying at low altitude accelerated and rushed to the sinkhole where it had picked up the 'seed of the divine kingdom'.

After Mudou evolved into a level 9 beginner warrior, Sha Huai brought it here once, intending to move the black lotus container at the bottom of the pit back to its living cave.

As a result, it was made of some kind of metal and was unusually heavy; even the 9-year-old Mudou couldn't move it.

During the recent rainy season, the sinkhole was filled with water.

"Mudou, the water has dried up."

The sand locust turned around and shook its antennae in greeting.

"Oh—oh—"

For some inexplicable reason, Mu Dou was in an exceptionally good mood. Its antennae fluttered, and it charged forward with a whooshing sound.

Unstoppable, it plunged headfirst into the pit.

Mudou raised its paws and pushed the black lotus at the bottom of the pit to roll.

It rolled a short distance before giving up, retracting its claws, and quickly dodging away.

The black lotus rolled back to the bottom of the pit silently, without making a sound.

"..."

The locust tree remained silent.

"So heavy!"

Mu Dou muttered in a low voice, then continued, "This pit must be five or six meters deep, right? The rainy season only lasted a few days, and the water has already dried up."

"With such a large opening, the water will evaporate as soon as the sun shines on it."

As Sha Huai spoke, it hovered and landed next to the black lotus, its two tentacles touching it. It inputted its primal force, locked onto the lotus with its mental energy, and controlled it with its mind. The petals unfolded layer by layer, revealing the lotus seedpod.

Mu Dou followed closely, extending its antennae. With a thought, the thin, dark petals closed layer by layer.

"Mu Dou, now that you've broken through to the intermediate warrior level, you should be able to move it, right?"

"That's for sure!"

"So when will you break through?"

"A month later? We can't rush this. By the way, are you really sure this stuff is for storing seeds?"

"I can vouch for it with the honor of the true God of Nature!"

"Oh……"

"Mudou, what should we choose for our second life seed? Do you have any ideas?"

"no."

"A divinely ordained seed?"

"Yes! What if we're lucky enough to find a divinely bestowed seed?"

"So you're not in a hurry?"

"So I'm not in a hurry."

"After advancing to intermediate warrior, you can take a few years to search for more divine seeds and then consider continuing to evolve depending on the situation."

"We can't delay too long. Intermediate warriors only have a lifespan of 30 years; their physical functions begin to decline after the age of 20."

"You're only 2 years old? You're still a long way from 20."

"That's why I'm not in a hurry..."

The black lotus petals slowly open, then close layer by layer.

Layer upon layer of closure, then slowly unfolding.

It's a pretty interesting and impressive thing.

The two insects played at the bottom of the pit for a while before stopping, discussing their options. They then left the pit, turned east, then north, to continue searching for the divinely bestowed seed.

It took three days.

Going back and forth, first we checked the area within three kilometers due south of the Green Trees Mountains.

It will take another three days.

Then conduct another search of the area within three kilometers due north of the Green Trees Mountains.

Next, the east and west sides.

Turning back, we headed south again, exploring a distant and unfamiliar territory three kilometers away.

After running around for a month, I found nothing.

The divine power produced by the Gods was added to the Golden Tortoise God-given Seed.

Mudou accelerated the use of White Thorn Seed, and after some preparation, it went into a dormant evolutionary state in the storage warehouse deep inside the mountain.

The sand locust tree guards the entrance to the cave.

This time, Mu Dou broke through from a 9-year-old beginner warrior to an intermediate warrior, a breakthrough of a major realm.

A total of 1000 raw gems were prepared.

Starting late at night,

A strong surge of primal force erupted from inside the cave, and the surrounding natural primal force flowed rapidly, converging towards the mountainside.

Using the old method, Sha Huai lifted the raw stone high into the air and slammed it to the ground. The raw stone shattered into crystalline particles, rapidly releasing primal force, which was then drawn into the cave.

Every now and then, drop one.

It didn't end until the early hours of the next day.

Then came four long days of silence.

early morning,

Mu Dou, full of vigor, strode out of the cave.