Astral Sand Locust

The wasteland is generally a plain, but it is not an absolute plain that stretches as far as the eye can see.

Every so often there are hills, hilly areas, mountains, mountain ranges, and ravines and canyons.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou headed due west, searching all the way.

A day passed, and nothing was gained.

night,

The two insects found a natural cave to rest in the unfamiliar, desolate mountains.

Mudou is oblivious to everything. In unfamiliar places, she just lay down on the ground, her antennae drooping, and fell asleep instantly, just like always.

Unlike Sha Huai, he habitually turns on the blue screen to check before going to bed.

The panel data remained unchanged.

My gaze and awareness locked onto [Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust], the light screen flickered, and I switched to the overhead map.

With eyes fixed on the golden tortoise divine seed, they zoomed in for a closer look.

In just one day, the leaf buds developed into branches ranging from 10 to 20 centimeters in length.

New leaves have grown, and the once bare tree has become lush and green in just one day.

It looks vibrant and in great condition.

Focus your mental energy to scan and sense...

"Whoosh—hiss—"

Sha Huai breathed a long sigh of relief.

The seed bestowed by the Golden Tortoise God sprouted branches and leaves, and there was no sign of the accelerated loss of primal force and vitality that had been previously feared.

There was no sign that the loss of Force and life force was slowing down.

Branches and leaves have grown, but this has no significant impact on the overall health of the tree.

The difference between having branches and leaves and not having branches and leaves before is that branches and leaves can absorb sunlight, draw on groundwater and nutrients, synthesize bioenergy and nutrients, and carry out basic life metabolism.

Overall, the situation regarding the Golden Tortoise Divine Seed has improved.

The sand locust tree estimates that the abundant primordial energy and vitality stored within its branches and trunk are enough to prolong its life for another 3 months.

"During the dry season, does the rate at which God's power is produced stabilize at one drop every 36 days?"

Sha Huai muttered to himself, his attention shifting to Mu Dou's life seed.

It's still just over three meters tall, and in just one day, the tree's growth is not obvious.

The sand locust tree quickly glanced at the common cycad, sand locust, and bean seedlings planted nearby. Dozens of them had died from drought today, and they were almost all gone.

Further inspection revealed that many of the cuttings of sand willow and six-angled cycads had also died due to the recent high temperatures and drought.

Faced with this situation, Sha Huai was also helpless and powerless to solve it.

Drilling wells, drawing water, and irrigating can solve the drought problem. It's not a problem to irrigate 10 trees, but it's a bit difficult to irrigate 100 trees. However, if you need to draw water to irrigate thousands of trees, the sand locust and the bean will not be able to keep up.

Moreover, ordinary plants, even if there are thousands of them, will only have a very small effect on increasing the rate at which the divine power is produced in the divine realm.

There are more important things to do right now, and it's not worth wasting time on ordinary plants.

Sha Huai took one last look at the white thorn seed, then packed up and went to sleep.

……

We set off early the next morning.

The locust tree flew low in the sky, while the bean scurried on the ground; the two insects walked side by side, continuing their search westward.

A day passed quickly.

day after day.

Sha Huai and Mu Dou guessed that if they continued westward, they should be able to see the ocean that Bai Ci had mentioned.

But after traveling west for four days, they still hadn't seen it.

Mudou was timid and dared not stray too far from the territory, urging the two insects to return.

Back in the territory, they rested for half the night.

I got up at midnight to work, drawing water from a deep well to irrigate the bean seedlings, watering them thoroughly.

The two insects set off again.

This time, the direction was changed to east.

Four days' journey eastward still leads to an endless wasteland.

The round trip took eight days, but they still couldn't find the divinely bestowed seed.

The tree of the Mudou species has grown to a height of over 4 meters.

After a long period of continuous observation, the sand locust tree was certain that the increase in the height and size of the tree would not increase the speed of divine power production in the divine kingdom.

The Life Seed is a plant of primal force, and also a life form of primal force. It also has evolutionary levels, and is divided into ranks such as primary, intermediate, advanced, mountain lord, and lord.

Force plants do not have the 1st to 9th instar growth stages of Zerg warriors.

The Primal Force Plant is a plant that grows continuously, with its trunk and branches accumulating primal energy substances and primal energy power. When it reaches the appropriate level, it can directly break through and advance to the next level.

Mudou is a mid-level warrior, but its Mudou seed was only recently planted and needs a considerable period of growth and development.

The current level of the Bean Seedling is the initial stage.

Sha Huai speculated that once it grows and evolves to the intermediate level, perhaps the rate at which it produces divine power will increase.

It is worth looking forward to.

Upon returning to their territory in the Green Tree Mountains, the two insects settled down in the cave.

Mu Dou guards her life seed, drawing water from a deep well at night to irrigate it, and using Primal Stones to replenish its primal energy during the day, protecting the life seed's growth.

The sand locust began to consume large quantities of white thorn and divinely bestowed golden beetle in rotation, accelerating its growth and evolution.

Ninety days have passed since the last evolutionary 4-year stage. The sand locust tree completed its preparations on time, entered the mountain warehouse, and began its dormant evolution.

……

Waking up from a deep sleep

It shed its old shell swiftly, its body rapidly expanded, and at the same time, a large amount of inherited knowledge flooded into its soul consciousness.

Sha Huai calmed himself and quickly browsed through the information, which consisted almost entirely of knowledge about plants and animals in the natural mythology system, with only a small amount of knowledge related to geography, climate, and environment.

The new carapace has hardened.

A 5-year-old junior warrior.

Sha Huai unleashed his spiritual power to scan and inspect.

Its body length increased from 10 centimeters to 12 centimeters.

The detection range of mental power has been increased from 10 meters to 12 meters.

The primal force aura of the sand locust seed nurtured in the life sac increased by two points.

This molting and evolution is merely a typical early-stage growth process with minimal improvement.

With a single thought, Sha Huai appeared on the blue screen.

……

Name: Sha Huai

Race: Desert Locust (Nature God)

Title: None

Rank: Junior Warrior (5 years old)

Divine Kingdom: Sand Locust

Divine power: 0/10

Fate Seed: None

Abilities: None

……

Only the "Rank: Junior Warrior" column has been updated to "Age 5".

Switching to the top-down map, everything within the divine kingdom remained the same, with no significant changes.

The sand locust tree kicks its legs to take off, flaps its wings, and flies out of the nest.

Mu Dou, who was guarding the cave entrance, got up when he heard the noise.

"Sand locust, are you done?"

"Alright. Mu Dou, how many days should I use this time?"

"Two and a half days. It's early morning now. Eat something first."

Mudou raised its paw and presented the half-eaten carcass, which it was eating, to Shahuai.

"……good."

Sha Huai made no attempt to hide his disgust as he picked and chose the food, ate a few bites, then pushed the corpse back and asked:

"Mudou, the dry season is still a long way off~ What should we do next? Continue searching for the divinely given seeds?"

"Can!"

Since Mu Dou broke through to the intermediate warrior level, his life sac has remained empty, and he longs for a divinely bestowed seed as his life seed.

Without hesitation, I agreed immediately.

The sand locust tree jumped onto a clump of ryegrass on the hillside, nibbled on the grass leaves, and regained its strength.

After eating, we went down the mountain to take a look around.

The sand locust and the wild bean set off together.

This time, we chose due north.

Four days north, the wasteland gradually turns into hills and mountains, and as you continue, it slowly transitions into a continuous, majestic mountain range with layers upon layers of steep peaks.

After traversing mountain peaks and crossing mountain ranges, what comes into view is an endless expanse of orange-yellow desert.

North of the wasteland lies a desert!

Then there's no need to go any further.

The sand locust and the mumu bean found a sheltered cliff, and the two insects spent the night on the stone steps of the cliff.

We've agreed to return early tomorrow morning.

As always, Mu Dou fell asleep as soon as her antennae drooped.

Sha Huai habitually turned on the blue screen to check.

[Divine Power: 1/10]

After 36 days, I have once again accumulated 1 point of divine power.

Another 36 days.

At this time of year, the temperature and environment in the wilderness are generally stable, characterized by a consistently dry and hot climate.

The rate at which the divine power was produced by the divine nation stabilized at 1 point every 36 days.

"Due to the status issue of the Golden Tortoise Divine Seed, we can temporarily refrain from using divine power."

"So, who should receive this 1 point?"

As Sha Huai pondered, the screen flickered, switching to an overhead map. He glanced at the White Thorn Life Seed and the Golden Tortoise Divine Gift Seed, then turned his gaze to lock onto the Bean Life Seed.

When planted at a height of 2 meters, the growth rate of the bean plant is extremely fast.

After reaching 2 meters, the growth rate slows down significantly.

After 3 meters, the speed slowed down again.

After reaching 4 meters, Mu Dou irrigated the plant with water and replenished its energy with raw stones. After more than 20 days, it only grew less than half a meter taller.

According to historical records, species of trees like the mulberry tree can only flower and bear fruit when their trunks exceed 10 meters in height.

The Meadowtree is a Constitution-type tree, and its Primal Energy Enhancement effect is a comprehensive strength enhancement.

The awakening system of the Bean Herder grants the ability to comprehend power-type abilities, which greatly requires the primal force food produced by the Bean Herder's Destiny Seed.

You can also eat some locust trees; they're beneficial.

However, the growth of the Bean Tree slows down after it reaches 4 meters, and it will inevitably slow down even more after it reaches 5 meters. At this rate, it will probably only reach a height of seven or eight meters before the next rainy season.

This means that the bean seedlings will have to wait until the next rainy season before they can flower and bear fruit, and then they will have to wait another year for the fruit to ripen and be harvested before they can eat it.

"This is going to be so long!"

"Divine power is the ultimate power for any life type. If we use it on the Bean Seed, could it accelerate its growth?"

Once the idea popped into Sha Huai's mind, he couldn't suppress it. He pondered it over and over, struggling with the decision. He secretly glanced at Mu Dou, who was fast asleep, then looked at the map above him again, locked onto Mu Dou's destiny seed, gathered the divine power that filled his divine kingdom with his spiritual sense, manipulated it with his mind, and completed the gathering instantly.

Concentrating on sensing, the primal force and vitality contained within the branches of the Bean Seed instantly surged.

Continuing to sense, the sudden surge of primal force and vitality within the branches of the Bean Life Seed will not be lost.

After continuous observation, changes became apparent.

The growth rate of the branches and leaves of the seedlings of the bean tree has increased significantly, even faster than when the seeds were first sown.

At midnight, with the silver moon hanging in the sky,

The tree of the Bean Seedling suddenly grew to a height of over 5 meters, and its rapid growth showed no signs of slowing down. By focusing their senses, they found that less than one-tenth of the original force and life force that had increased within the branches had been consumed.

"It really works!"

"But the rapid growth of Force plants requires not only Force and life force, but also regular energy, nutrients, and fresh water."

"Life forms have the ability to regulate themselves, so there shouldn't be any problems..."

Sha Huai felt slightly uneasy and drifted off to sleep.

The fate of a person cannot be neglected.

I woke up early, before dawn.

Turn on the blue screen, switch to the overhead map, and check the situation.

With focused gaze, mental scan, and precise measurement, the height of the Mudou Life-Growing Tree reached approximately 5.3 meters.

Continue to observe,

As expected, it seems that the plant's growth has slowed down due to excessive consumption of its stored energy and nutrients.

...

Dawn breaks.

Mu Dou woke up,

The two insects set off on their return journey, searching for the divinely bestowed seed along the way.

Along the way, Sha Huai would occasionally open the map of the divine kingdom to check on the status of the Mu Dou seed.

The situation is excellent.

Under the blazing sun, the photosynthetic efficiency of the tree's branches and leaves is maximized, while the underground roots rapidly extract water and nutrients to synthesize the bioenergy and nutrients needed for growth.

Driven by super-strong primal force and vitality, the branches and leaves of the life seed grew rapidly.

In just one day, the tree's height exceeded 6 meters.

The overall condition is not bad, and no risks have been found.

...

At night, the Bean Seeds stopped growing and began to absorb the Force more rapidly.

This is not hard to understand. The growth of a Force life form involves not only an increase in size, but more importantly, the accumulation of primal energy matter and the continuous strengthening of primal energy characteristics, until it breaks through a certain limit, the primal energy is sublimated, and life advances.

The sand locust continued to observe until midnight.

...

The journey continued the following morning.

Along the way, I would occasionally open the overhead map to take a look.

Under daylight, the bean seedlings enter a rapid growth mode.

But in the late afternoon, when the tree was just over 7 meters tall, the primal force and vitality contained in the branches reached a certain balance with the size of the tree, and the rapid growth came to an abrupt halt.

The branches and leaves still strive to absorb sunlight, and the roots still work hard to absorb water and nutrients, efficiently synthesizing conventional biological energy and nutrients.

The absorption of the Force accelerates at night.

...

Only 1 point of divine power,

In just two days, the Bean Seedlings completed the equivalent of a six-month growth period.

...

Return to territory,

Standing on the mountain ridge, the Bean Seedling could be seen in the distance.

In just 8 days, it grew from a small tree of more than 4 meters to a large tree of more than 7 meters.

Mu Dou was completely stunned, standing motionless for a long time, unable to understand what was going on.

"Mudou!"

"Mu Dou?"

"My God, nature! What has happened in our territory?"

Sha Huai exaggeratedly vibrated his mental energy, shouting in shock and disbelief, and questioned in return, "Mu Dou, what's going on with your Mu Dou Life Seed? How did it suddenly turn into a big tree?"

"I don't know..."

Mudou was completely bewildered and innocently shook her antennae vigorously. Then, filled with doubt, she cried out, "Is there something wrong with my destiny seed?"

"Go take a look!"

The sand locust tree kicked off, leaped into the air, flapped its wings and flew swiftly, taking the lead towards the seedlings of the bean plant.

The ground was swept by a whirlwind.

Two insects, one large and one small, quickly arrived at the foot of the tree, climbed up the trunk, and examined it closely.

"fine."

"It's nothing serious."

"It looks like rapid growth in a short period of time. Most of the leaves are still relatively thin, the new branches are somewhat slender, and the energy aura is somewhat weak and deficient..."

"Mudou, hurry up and fetch some water! I'm going to get the raw stones!"

The sand locust interrupted Mu Dou's analysis.

"good!"

Mu Dou set off carrying a pottery jar to draw water from a deep well for irrigation.

Sha Huai flew back to its cave, picked up two raw stones, and lay down under the tree planted by Mu Douming. Holding one stone, it slowly scraped it with the tip of its forefoot, scraping off layers of white crystalline powder. The Force was released slowly and evenly, rising and being absorbed by the branches and leaves above.

Mu Dou was much busier, carrying the pottery jar and constantly running back and forth.

The two insects, one large and one small, were busy from dusk until they rested late at night.

The next day at dawn

They did nothing else but squatted under the bean tree, straightened their front legs, and looked up to observe the situation.

……

In the past few days, Sha Huai has also discovered a problem.

Viewing all life within the divine realm through an overhead map on a blue screen is more of an ability than a function.

The function remains fixed.

Abilities can be enhanced through training or Force food.

Sha Huai discovered that frequently using an overhead map to view the flora and fauna of the divine realm could train and enhance the sensitivity and intensity of one's perception of the flora and fauna within the divine realm's boundaries.

By frequently using an overhead map to observe the plants, one's perception gradually becomes clearer and deeper.

During his continued observation, Sha Huai even discovered that he could vaguely sense the conversion and consumption of water, nutrients, energy, and other nutrients within the plant.

The conventional energy and nutrients synthesized by photosynthesis in the old leaves of the Ficus microcarpa tree are partly sent to the lignified branches and partly sent to the underground root system, where they are stored as reserve resources.

The newly grown leaves have had their conventional energy and nutrients synthesized through photosynthesis largely converted into further growth for the leaves and branches.

The newly grown leaves gradually become thicker and darker in color, eventually turning dark green and becoming tough and leathery.

The slightly thin new shoots grew thicker day by day, and slowly, slowly, they became woody.

At night, the absorption of primal force accelerates, and primal energy substances are converted and accumulated.

Looking back on the whole process,

The seed of the Bean Tree consumes 1 point of divine power and takes two days to complete the rapid growth of the tree trunk.

It took ten days for the new branches and leaves to fully grow.

During rapid growth, a large amount of energy and nutrients stored in the branches and roots are consumed.

Within ten days, the tree had been largely replenished, and it returned to its normal growth state.

……

Mu Dou didn't understand why its destiny would suddenly undergo such a drastic change. Being oblivious, it calmly accepted it after confirming that everything was alright, and was quite happy.

Seeing that the seed had returned to normal, Mu Dou went to Sha Huai to discuss the matter, and the two insects set off again on a long journey to find the divinely bestowed seed.