The Dominating Throne hovered low in the air.
Dragon Cypress lounged atop the throne, its antennae swaying as it directed the worker ants laboring below.
Noon,
"Dragon Cypress!"
Molan came rushing over, carrying its spider silk bag. With a tearing sound, it popped it open and handed a dainty bamboo tube—expertly cut and sealed at the end with dry grass—to Dragon Cypress.
"Dragon Cypress, this is for you!"
"Go on, open it!"
"Oh—"
Dragon Cypress obeyed cheerfully.
Truthfully, there was no need to look. It already knew what it was.
At the end of autumn, in Molan's territory, the fruits of the Molan Life Seed ripened first; counting the days, it should be right about now.
The Molan plant granted enhanced static vision. Never mind yield—just in terms of effect, it was really excellent.
"Wow! The Ink Orchid Seeds have matured?"
Dragon Cypress pulled out the dry grass stopper and put on a look of delighted surprise. A sweep of its spiritual power—41 seeds. Crying out:
"So many! Molan, you gave them all to me? What about yourself?"
Seeing Dragon Cypress so happy, Molan was even more delighted and said, "I have two Molan Life Seeds. This year I produced 82 Ink Orchid Seeds. Dragon Cypress, I'm giving you half! Next year I'll have even more, and I'll give you more then!"
"Is that okay...?"
"Thank you, Molan."
Dragon Cypress offered its thanks, sealed the bamboo tube again with dry grass, tucked it into its spider silk bag, and asked casually:
"Molan, what about the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed? I haven't been to your territory in a while. How's the Fruit-Scented Orchid growing?"
Molan replied, "Seems like it bloomed late this year. Or maybe, ever since I advanced to intermediate warrior, the Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds take longer to mature. Still a while yet—looks like it'll be winter before they're ready."
"Really... That's even better!"
Dragon Cypress said, "The longer the Origin Force Food takes to grow, the better the quality, and the more valuable it is. That's a good thing!"
"Yes, yes."
Molan happily agreed.
Dragon Cypress reminded at the right moment, "Molan, keep a close eye on things. Around the time the Fruit-Scented Orchid matures, use those five Source Stones—replenish origin force, boost the quality."
"Got it."
Molan pulled another bamboo tube from the spider silk bag, unplugged the grassy stopper, poured out three orchid seeds, and licked them up all in one go.
"Dragon Cypress, you have some too."
"Let's eat while we work."
Molan dragged out a string of golden wild fruits from the bag, and said:
"There's a bunch of Golden Fruit Melon Fragrant Wood over there. The first batch just ripened! Super fragrant and sweet—I eat them every year! Dragon Cypress, you have to try some!"
"Alright…"
Dragon Cypress picked one to taste, then ate an Ink Orchid Seed.
The orchid seeds were bitter, but paired with the sweet fruit, it was much more palatable.
This time of year, many wild fruits ripen on the mountain. Molan was obsessed with trying all sorts of delicious fruit and was also perpetually on the hunt for Divine-Given Seeds.
Lying side by side with Dragon Cypress atop the Dominating Throne, chatting, they ate ten Ink Orchid Seeds in one go, finished a string of Golden Fruit Melon Fragrant Wood, rested awhile, then Molan burrowed into the forest and vanished.
Dragon Cypress, moving at a leisurely pace, spent all afternoon downing five Ink Orchid Seeds—about its limit.
Forty-one Ink Orchid Seeds—five a day.
Soon after, the Cold Orchid Life Seed in Molan's territory ripened as well, and another thirty Cold Orchid Seeds were gifted over.
After finishing those, just a few days later, the Stone Orchid Life Seeds started ripening too. These had even higher yields…
…
One afternoon, suddenly, Dragon Cypress grew quite drowsy—a telltale sign of imminent evolution.
"Molan, I think I'm about to enter age period seven."
"Oh? That's wonderful! You can start nurturing the Deep Blue God-Given Seed!"
"Then I'm heading back to the ant nest to rest."
"I'll watch over you!"
"No need. The worker ants have been working nonstop—let them rest for a few days and keep watch outside the nest. Molan, just keep an eye on your own territory."
"Alright then…" Molan said, "With the Dominating Throne's help, your period of deep sleep should be brief."
Indeed, very brief.
After a hearty meal and drink, Dragon Cypress returned to its nest chamber and quietly settled onto the Dominating Throne. It slipped into slumber about midnight, and awakened around midnight the next day—successfully advancing to a primary warrior of age period seven.
Its body length finally surpassed ten centimeters.
Lately, eating a lot of Stone Orchid Seeds, its appetite was enormous. After evolving, what was once a slender build had gotten noticeably plump.
The Dried Fragrant Cypress Life Seed had finished being nurtured.
Given Dragon Cypress's current size, its life pouch still couldn't house the Deep Blue God-Given Seed; the Large Fruit Hemlock seeds would just barely fit, so it chose them without hesitation.
Over on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, Large Fruit Hemlock was a famously superior tree specimen. Its Origin Force Food enhanced 'muscle toughness,' fitting perfectly with the ant clan's strength talent—Dragon Cypress needed it in endless supply.
Molan could use them too. Combined with Origin Force Food that boosted strength, speed, and carapace quality, it would greatly raise their combat abilities and help their evolution as well.
In fact, Molan could have chosen all kinds of excellent body-strengthening arbor plants as Life Seeds—seeds that could be bought through caravans—but just wasn't interested. It was obsessed with orchid grass and that was that.
Completely irrational.
When selecting Life Seeds, you had to prioritize the plant species you personally needed. Strive for self-sufficiency and avoid relying on the caravan as much as possible.
Caravan trades were made for profit, after all.
And where did that profit come from? Wasn't it just the bugs who did the farming?
Choose Life Seeds according to your own needs; pick premium Life Seeds. That's the smart way to maximize your benefit.
Of course, no insect could achieve total self-sufficiency.
You could only nurture one Life Seed per age period, so the number of plant varieties any individual could manage was extremely limited. At most, you'd get fifty-four Life Seed slots, while there were hundreds of thousands of plant species out there, each with different enhancements.
The more advanced your evolution, the more varied your enhancement needs.
In the end, you still had to rely on caravans.
"Next spring, when I meet Melde, I can buy a batch of Green Torreya Tree seeds from it…"
"And maybe find a way to have Molan nurture a Green Torreya Life Seed too..."
Dragon Cypress mused as it hopped off the Dominating Throne, wriggled its antennae, and summoned the worker ants to bring food.
It sorted through its newly awakened inherited memory.
With this molting evolution, it had awakened a brand new pheromone ability: Miniaturization Worker Ants.
These micro-worker ants were even smaller than normal small worker ants—mainly used to care for ant eggs and freshly hatched larvae, clean the nest chambers, and tidy up the bodies of the Ant King or the larger workers and soldier ants.
…
…
…
After eating its fill and resting for a night, it recovered from its evolutionary fatigue.
The next morning, Dragon Cypress activated the Messenger function of the Dominating Throne.
[Please select Messenger type]
[Guardian of Strength]
[Producer: Agriculture]
Continue cultivating specialized worker ants.
Dragon Cypress chose Producer.
[Please select quantity]
[Quantity: 1]
[Quantity: 2]
[Quantity: 3]
"Oh?"
Dragon Cypress's antennae twitched, and it bounced up in excitement.
After evolving to age period seven, the Dominating Throne's functions had greatly expanded. Every batch of ant eggs now offered a '3' option for quantity.
Dragon Cypress had been fretting over how slow the colony's expansion was—this was perfect.
After its initial excitement, it quickly grew cautious.
From age period six to seven, the overall improvements were quite modest. Hatching three eggs at once might just be too taxing.
To be safe, Dragon Cypress obediently chose 'quantity: 2.'
The Dominating Throne pulsed with suction, drawing nutrients and stamina.
At age period seven, two eggs at a time was still quite manageable.
"Winter's here—Molan's Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed should be maturing soon, right?"
"Comprehensive endurance enhancement is exactly what I need most right now."
"I've been so busy managing the ant colony, it's been a while since I visited Molan's territory."
"Alright, time to go see, and take a day off."
Dragon Cypress wiggled its antennae, summoned worker ants forward to feed, took some time to rest and recover, then steered the Dominating Throne out of the ant nest.