CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 062 MINOR TRICKS

"Dragon Cypress, I’m heading home first!"

As Xianglan Mountain appeared on the horizon, Ink Orchid left these words behind, sprang up with its legs, and darted away.

Ink Orchid had been away from its territory for over three months.

This time, Dragon Cypress had also been gone for 68 days; by now, it was the end of autumn.

The Dominating Throne headed straight to the pond at the foot of the mountain.

The eleventh broad leaf of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed was fully unfurled, with the plant standing over six meters tall.

The weather had cooled, growth had slowed down, and it was about to enter dormancy.

"Azure!"

Dragon Cypress called out.

The Dominating Throne slowly descended, coming close to the water’s surface.

In all this time, the fruits beneath the leaves had only grown a little, greenish grains about the size of peas.

But the rice sown in late spring had long since ripened, forming a long golden stretch along the pond’s edge.

The lotus leaves had begun to wither.

The frogs, once especially active in summer, were nowhere to be seen.

"Dragon Cypress."

Azure’s mental power carried a strong current of joy as it greeted Dragon Cypress again and again:

"Dragon Cypress, it’s been so long."

"Dragon Cypress, where’s Ink Orchid? Did you two travel far this time?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "Ink Orchid went back to check on its Fruit-Scented Orchid. We traveled very, very far this time. First, we went to Southern Sour Jujube Mountain..."

As Dragon Cypress recounted the journey, it suddenly paused, simplified its words, and went straight to the point, saying:

"We found two more Lands of Origin Force. One was empty, I named it ’Jianlan Plain’; the other was home to a Red Fox Warrior, one large and one small Sphere Insect Warrior, and there was a wild Divine-Given White Rice Tree, so I named it ’White Rice Mountain.’"

"Oh——"

"That’s amazing."

Azure praised.

Dragon Cypress knew Azure wasn’t particularly interested in such things, so it asked directly, "Azure, is there enough nutrients at the bottom of the pond? Winter is coming soon. Do you want me to get some swamp water and pour it into your leaves, give you one last fertilization before winter?"

"I need that..."

Azure was still a bit shy, asking a little bashfully, "Dragon Cypress, could you harvest the rice around the pond? We can sow it again next spring."

Dragon Cypress agreed, "Of course! I’ll go back up the mountain and arrange it! Next year, we’ll plant a whole ring of rice around the pond!"

Azure said, "And the lotuses—frogs like to squat on the lotus leaves..."

Dragon Cypress replied, "Don’t worry about that. When spring comes, they’ll sprout and grow on their own, lots of lotus leaves, lots of flowers."

"Wonderful!" Azure was delighted.

"Alright, Azure, I’m heading back up the mountain to check on things. I’ll come find you in a bit."

Dragon Cypress gave instructions, then the Dominating Throne slowly ascended and floated toward the ant nest on the mountain.

...

Round Cypress ran out of the nest to greet him, surrounded by five Specialized Worker Ants.

Dragon Cypress swiped its claw and untied the hemp rope binding the bamboo tubes.

Three large bamboo tubes, each filled with medium, small, and micro Worker Ants cultivated along the journey, as well as some Ant Eggs and larvae.

First, unload from the Dominating Throne, letting the Worker Ants relocate and return home.

"Round Cypress, how has everything been in the territory since I left?"

Dragon Cypress inquired, at the same time tossing down a spider silk bag filled with Origin Force Food, ordering the Specialized Worker Ants to carry it to storage.

The Dominating Throne began to shrink, drifting over to a rock.

Dragon Cypress shook its tentacles.

Ten Specialized Blue Ants, along with five large Blue Ants raised during the trip, lined up, walked onto the rock, then down to the ground, heading into the ant nest.

Round Cypress: "All is well."

Round Cypress reported, "Twelve days ago, the fruits of the Cypress Life Seed in South Mountain Territory ripened. Per your instructions, we harvested and dried them, and stored them in a spider silk bag."

"The day before yesterday, the Mountain North Molan Life Seed fruited, I helped with the picking, and they’re currently drying."

"Good! Let me see..." Dragon Cypress asked, "Where’s Spiked Cypress? Guarding the Mountain North Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed?"

Round Cypress waved its tentacles, directing two Specialized Worker Ants to return to the nest and collect Cypress Seeds, then said to Dragon Cypress,

"Spiked Cypress went hunting in the woods."

Dragon Cypress asked, "Is there not enough food in the nest?"

Round Cypress: "Autumn food is plentiful, the ant nest is always fully stocked."

Round Cypress sensed the displeasure in Dragon Cypress’s mood and hurriedly explained, "Spiked Cypress and I think spring is the season when all things reproduce, so it’s best not to overhunt. In autumn and winter, we can hunt more and store enough food, then prohibit hunting in spring. This way, there will always be endless prey in our territory, and the ant nest will always have ample food."

"Hmm——" Dragon Cypress was taken aback, then said, "Makes sense!"

Dragon Cypress changed the topic and asked, "What’s the situation with soldier ant casualties?"

Round Cypress: "While you were away, six Primary-level Specialized Soldier Ants died, and four were maimed. Two Mid-Level Specialized Soldier Ants died, two were maimed. Among large, medium, small, and micro Soldier Ants, a total of fourteen lost or dead, five maimed."

Such heavy losses!

Dragon Cypress jumped in shock.

"How was Spiked Cypress commanding them? Before, without its command, the Soldier Ants went out to hunt on their own and there wasn’t this much loss, was there?"

Round Cypress: "Before, Ink Orchid used to help hunt and often brought back large animals. A single wild boar would feed us for a month."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress fell silent.

Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress both had thoughts and ideas of their own now.

Was this also because they originated from the Dominating Throne?

Before leaving, Dragon Cypress had made it very clear: guard the territory well! Take care of the Life Seed Plants!

Proper Intelligent Worker Ants and Gigantification Soldier Ants would absolutely obey the Ant King’s orders.

But Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress clearly weren’t like that.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

If they are starting to think and act independently, should I teach them from a young age, like raising little warriors? Pass on more knowledge, teach them how to be insects and how to do things.

Dragon Cypress stayed silent for a long time, then threw down the five empty gourds from the Dominating Throne, saying, "Round Cypress, these are gourds. Instruct the Worker Ants to dig two platforms in the dining hall and place two on top. Store the other three in the warehouse."

"I’m off to patrol the territory..."

Just then, four Specialized Worker Ants came out of the nest holding four petite spider silk bags.

Inside were the newly harvested Cypress Seeds.

Their grains were tiny, smaller than mung beans.

This was the first harvest. In spring, the flower buds were thinned to control the yield—Dragon Cypress, Round Cypress, Spiked Cypress, and Giant Cypress each had only 200 to 300 Cypress Seeds.

The yield was very small.

For a Mid-Level Ant King, the quality was still passable.

Dragon Cypress told the Worker Ants to deliver them to the Blue Ants for refinement. Later, when Ink Orchid came over, they could all taste the fresh seeds together.

...

After a year’s growth,

Both Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress Life Seed plants had reached over three meters tall.

The Dragon Cypress Life Seed’s branches spread out to the sides, the trunk massive, height just over three meters, but larger in scale than both Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress.

Giant Cypress was similar to Dragon Cypress, its Life Seed a size smaller than Dragon Cypress’s.

Cypress had grown over two meters and could bloom and fruit next year.

Dried Fragrant Cypress Life Seed would not be productive until the year after next.

"Round Cypress!"

Dragon Cypress waved its tentacles and called out.

Round Cypress received the message and, surrounded by Specialized Worker Ants, ran over.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, is there any problem?"

"Just a small thing..." Dragon Cypress pointed with its tentacles at the Giant Cypress Life Seed in front of them, saying:

"Round Cypress, I’ll teach you a little trick about managing Arbor Life Seeds that not many insects know."

"The branches that bloom and bear fruit are called ’fruiting branches.’ After the fruit is harvested, they serve no further purpose. Leaving them on the tree only wastes nutrients and affects ventilation. Fruiting branches can hinder the plant’s growth and affect next year’s yield."

"Round Cypress, remember this: after every harvest, make sure to cut off the fruiting branches as soon as possible."

"Got it..." Round Cypress was smart enough to understand what Dragon Cypress meant, but...

Round Cypress said worriedly, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, won’t this hurt your Life Seed?"

Dragon Cypress: "Only cutting the fruiting branches is perfectly fine."

"Alright... I’ll send some Little Worker Ants up to clean it right away."

Round Cypress had developed an independent personality—clever and smooth, but timid, lacking decisiveness. Only after receiving a clear and definite answer from the Ant King would it dare to call the Worker Ants to action.

Dragon Cypress continued patrolling other Life Seed Plants in the territory.

The three top-tier Life Seed Plants—Large Fruit Hemlock, Green Torreya, and Golden Pine Nut—were all growing slowly. Dragon Cypress reckoned that only after it reached High-Level Ant King would they gradually start to produce crops.

When Dragon Cypress climbed up the ridge to check on the Green Torreya Life Seed, Ink Orchid finished patrolling the territory and flew up.

"Dragon Cypress! Did all the Cypress Life Seeds ripen?"

"Of course. Round Cypress had the Worker Ants harvest them. Your Molan Life Seed was harvested by Round Cypress too, and it’s drying now."

"Oh! I was just about to ask, what about my Orchid Seeds~"

Ink Orchid glanced at its Green Torreya Tree Life Seed in the distance and urged, "Dragon Cypress, come on, let’s go taste your Cypress Seeds."

Dragon Cypress waved its tentacles and said, "No rush. Ink Orchid, help me with a little favor first—since it’s not too cold yet, let’s fertilize Azure one more time down at the base of the mountain."

"Alright..." Ink Orchid asked, "How big are Azure’s fruits now? When will they ripen?"

"Probably next summer, maybe autumn, or even winter... I can’t be sure myself."

Which was as good as saying nothing~

Ink Orchid: "..."

Dragon Cypress took the lead, and together they arrived at the mid-mountain marsh gas pool. They filled the bamboo tubes with water, carried them down the mountain, and poured one tube into each of the trumpet-shaped broad leaves of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed.