Chapter 995: Chapter 686: Waterfire System Narrow Beast
Silver Cypress Year 278.
Expedition Year.
This time, with two ultra‑powerful Insect Kings who had comprehended "Ripple"—Spider King Blood Root and Ant King Mountain Pepper—leading the team, plus the Flame Spider Tribe’s Snow Velvet Tycoon, Spider King Carpetgrass, and a whole host of other powerful Spider Kings departing, the escort lineup was overflowing with a sense of security.
Zhibai and more than two hundred Ant Kings, Bee Kings, Insect Kings, and Assistant Kings from Bayonet Continent gathered at Dragon Stride Mountain.
Dawn.
The red sun poked its head out from the eastern skyline.
Law Divine Power moved with the rising sun, sweeping across the earth, pausing over the plaza where the many Insect Kings had assembled.
Beams of Spatial System strength descended, bursting into dense, blinding white light.
When the white light dispersed,
the earthen‑stone plaza that had seemed a bit crowded a moment ago was now empty.
"Sigh—"
High above in the morning clouds, Ink Orchid, who was watching them off, let out a soft sigh, mood low and melancholy, murmuring to herself:
"That Spider Snow Velvet’s not bad at all; I hope there’s a day we meet again."
Beside her,
Melde, who had come along to broaden his horizons, said, "We’ll definitely meet again. With the skills of the Snow Velvet Spider King, no matter where he goes he’ll be blazing famous; he won’t be hard to find."
Blue Catalpa also said, "With the strength, wealth, and wits of the Dragon Cypress Ant King and Mantis King Ink Orchid, wherever they go they’ll carve out a mighty name. The Snow Velvet Spider King will follow that reputation and come looking."
Ink Orchid earnestly twitched his tentacles in approval; seeing Dragon Cypress remain silent, he spread his wings and beat them, asking, "Great Leader Dragon Cypress, what do you think?"
"...Probably, yes."
Dragon Cypress said slowly, "Snow Velvet Spider King once told me that, according to the Shanglu Divine Tree, the Outworld is peaceful and stable, flourishing and rich, teeming with countless rare treasures... I hope that’s true. If it is, then in the future, many old friends will have a chance to meet again."
"Spider King Spurge? Old Spider Aconite?"
Ink Orchid happily fanned his wings, beating hard, cheering, "White Ivy? Melde? Seven‑Leaf, Natsumi, Lupine, Grass Dragon, Silvergrass, all of them?"
"More or less..."
"Aren’t Melde and the others doing just fine?"
Dragon Cypress tilted his head, gazing off.
Purple, Green Heart, Color Steel, and a large group of flight‑skilled Insect Clan Warriors flew this way.
"Great Leader Dragon Cypress, Mantis King Ink Orchid. These two are...?"
"Warriors from Rainbow Island, Insect King Blue Catalpa and Insect King Snakebark Maple."
"Oh!"
"We’re planning to head to the Antarctic Icefield to practice Water System Frost abilities, Mantis King Ink Orchid, want to come?"
"Let’s go!"
"Great Leader Dragon Cypress..."
"He’s got too much on his plate. Ignore him."
"Insect Kings Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple..."
"They’re not good at Water System Abilities, and they’re bad at flying too; ignore them, let’s go~"
Ink Orchid disappeared into the inter‑realm passage along with the large group of insects.
"..."
"Let’s go."
Speechless for a long while, Dragon Cypress manipulated the rosy clouds, carrying Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple as he slowly drifted back.
...
Dragon Cypress devoted himself all day to practicing Earth System Abilities and had no mind to bother with Ink Orchid anymore.
He had already successfully condensed four Divine Marks: Crystal Python, Earth Thorn, Sinking Swamp, and Heavy Earth Armor.
Certain abilities truly depended on the natural environment,
such as Sandstorm and Sand Leech. Dragon Cypress planned to find a desert region rich in Primordial Energy to practice them.
The Desolation Plains beside the Purple Tung Insect Nation were a good choice.
The Dragon Cypress Mountain Lord and the ant colony that had stayed there at the Lord‑Level Stage had long since died of old age; after more than a hundred years without insects tending it, the place had, under drought and wind‑sand erosion, once more degenerated into a semi‑desert region.
It was close to the Purple Tung Insect Nation,
and Dragon Cypress could also conveniently fulfill his promise to the Linnan Divine Tree and the others, cultivating a batch of Specialized Green Ants for them.
However, the current Specialized Green Ants still weren’t strong enough...
After careful deliberation, Dragon Cypress decided to tweak things a bit and first evolve into a 6‑Age‑Period Insect King.
He used a large quantity of Wood Element Divine-Given Origin Force Food to strengthen the last of the Elemental Seven Systems, the Wood Element.
He capped himself at the five‑million limit, staying stuck at the 6‑Age‑Period.
Drawing on Black Peach’s "Mark of Flourish," he tried to combine Flourish, the Red Crow Pattern, and the Wood Element Ability "Forest Sea Ripple," which he had obtained via Divine-Grade Fruit and which assisted plant growth, merging these three abilities to construct an almost all‑purpose Wood Element Ability for assisting plant growth: [Mark of Flourish].
Dragon Cypress prioritized condensing the "Mark of Flourish" Divine Mark.
The Specialized Green Ants could then gain a qualitative leap.
He could also cultivate a batch specifically to assist the many Divine-Given Seeds on Rainbow Island in their growth.
And most importantly, it was time to seriously look after the Divine-Given Seed White Rice, where the Red Fox’s soul resided, as well as the four Wild God-Given Seeds at Lord-Level—the Scarletlight Tree, the Southern Sour Jujube Tree, and the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree—so as to prepare for breaking through to the King Level.
As Dragon Cypress practiced the Mark of Flourish ability, the many Divine-Given Seeds at King Level on Rainbow Island, with its abundant trees, once again became the best targets.
They possessed wisdom and could communicate.
When he cast the ability over, they could help with perception and analysis, and provide feedback, telling him whether it was good or not, clearly pointing out what was good and what was not.
Dragon Cypress used their feedback and his Super Brain Ability to analyze, optimize, and improve.
Unprecedentedly, he succeeded in condensing the "Mark of Flourish" Divine Mark in a mere two years.
This speed was scarcely inferior even to Ink Orchid’s.
Dragon Cypress also had a "Tranquility" ability of the Wood, Water, and Life triple systems, likewise used to assist plant growth, and he used it often.
He also had a Water System "Water of Life" ability that he had comprehended himself.
The two abilities could be combined.
Dragon Cypress’s heart burned hot; riding that momentum, he attempted to condense the Tranquility Divine Mark.
Dragon Cypress also began to suspect that perhaps his Wood Element Talent was especially high?
At the same time, he tried to combine four Biomimicry Abilities—Hydra, Carnivorous Flower, Moss Tendril, and Leaf Bettle—directly fusing them into the Zhen Beast Divine Pattern...
...
Silver Cypress Year 290.
At Azure Lake, the Azure Divine Seed Tree’s trunk height recovered once more to 300 meters, but stopped there; any further growth became very slow.
Within the Water System Origin Force Field, plant growth was even more luxuriant, animals even stronger and healthier.
Dragon Cypress brought all kinds of animals from the coastal tropical rainforests of Bayonet Continent to Rainbow Island, establishing a relatively complete rainforest ecosystem dedicated to letting Azure test its own Divine Mark Energy Field and to practice his comprehension of water’s Life Force.
