novelden Chapter 65: Continuous Evolution
Chapter 65: Continuous Evolution
Emerging from the narrow crevice, vines already hung down from the earthen and stone "walls" on both sides. Even after simple cleaning, the tangled plant roots still coiled extensively around them, dividing the sunlight into mottled patches.
Two worker ants led the way. When Ye Zhi looked back, a magnificent seven-colored "divine power barrier" soaring into the sky had appeared behind her. Natural primal force continuously seeped out from behind, spread out, and then dissipated into the air.
Ye Zhi flapped its wings and took flight, circling in the air, its compound eyes surveying everything on this new continent.
At first glance, the vegetation is no different from that on the Dragon Bamboo Continent. After all, the divine power barrier only blocks the activities of primal beings and does not strictly restrict ordinary plants and animals, which is normal.
The sealed passage walls acted like a pipe, with natural primal force continuously flowing in and out from the Dragon Bamboo Continent on the other side of the divine power barrier. At the entrance of the passage, the concentration of primal force was not yet so low as to be considered barren.
As they left the exit area of the passage, the concentration of natural primal force suddenly dropped, falling to less than half the concentration of primal force in the territory of the Tree Ant Kingdom on the Dragon Bamboo Continent. As they continued to fly further away, there was a clear trend of further decrease.
......
Ye Zhi also used her knowledge from her previous life and her understanding of this world to speculate on the form of "Force". The most reasonable explanation she could think of was that it should be a special kind of particle with extremely strong penetrability that spreads in the form of radiation.
Initially, he guessed that the source of the natural forces in this world might be the sun, which is the star that the "astrosphere" around his feet surrounds, and that the sun shines down on the earth along with light and heat.
However, the sights and sounds of the New World, and the cycle of the Force's dormancy and activation, have rendered this hypothesis invalid.
Considering that there really are beings in this world who can be called gods, Ye Zhi once again speculated that within the astral plane, the source of the Force might be located underground, originating from the mantle or even the core of a planet.
Furthermore, the force must be generated by a special "device" that can control the opening or closing of parts in some way.
When the Force "devices" of the Dragon Bamboo Continent and the Cloud Continent are activated, it is the active period, while when the Force "devices" of the Strange Continent are deactivated, it enters the dormant period.
Ye Zhi was shocked by the immense power of the "True God of Nature" who could drastically transform a planet. This was truly the height that a Force-based life form could reach.
After circling twice, the silence continued to settle on the back of Zuo Wang Qing Yuan's armor. Ye Zhi seemed to be shocked, her antennae drooping, and she remained silent.
"Shall we go back?" Qingyuan assumed that Ye Zhi was learning about the cycle of natural primal force for the first time and had witnessed the near-depletion of primal force, so he remained silent and sent out his mental energy.
"Hmm." Ye Zhi nodded her antennae.
......
Upon returning to the Dragon Bamboo Continent, it was already late. Ye Zhi bid farewell to Qing Yuan and returned to her tree nest, emptying her mind and passing the night in a state of deep sleep.
This trip to the unfamiliar continent did indeed stimulate him somewhat, but not in the way Qingyuan thought. He was afraid of the silent continent where there was no Force, but rather his desire for rapid growth and evolution was amplified.
When the invading fire ants appeared, even though the northern mountain ant kingdom was there to protect them, the "elder" who was like a second parent to him after he came into this world - the Cinnabar Ant King - also faced considerable pressure.
The saying, "Only when the leaf-weaving ants and the slender ants are together can the tree ant kingdom be complete," strengthened Ye Zhi's resolve. Ye Zhi was determined to grow and evolve with all her might, and to grow to at least the level of a mountain lord as soon as possible, so as to share some of the pressure on the tree ant kingdom for the Black-eared Ant King.
One must take things one step at a time, and one must also eat the Force food one bite at a time. Ye Zhi also understands that the evolution of this world must not be rushed, otherwise it will cost him his life. He can only train step by step and use the Force food to strengthen himself in a targeted way.
The training program remained the same: the same pouncing movements, handstand weightlifting, and practice controlling the ant-web flying blades.
About a month later, Ye Zhi put the "Chimera" back into her life sac and began to intermittently consume Force Food. She combined this with exercises to guide the special primal energy contained in the Force Food to her limbs and jaws.
Another month and a half passed, and Ye Zhi sensed signs of a breakthrough in evolution. She returned to the "Spider Cave," ingested large amounts of ordinary flesh and blood, filled her social stomach and digestive system, then sealed the entrance with ant silk and fell into a deep sleep.
Three days later, Ye Zhi awoke from her slumber, shed her old shell, and emerged from the nest chamber. She was now an eighth-instar ant queen.
Looking around at himself with his mental energy, there were still no major changes, except that his body length had increased to about eighteen centimeters. At the same time, the feeling of abundant energy within his body, as if a major change would occur after further evolution, reappeared.
The closer one gets to the intermediate stage, the stronger this feeling becomes. Another two months have passed, and autumn is approaching, the harvest season for the fruits of the wild black-veined citron, a gift from heaven, is just around the corner.
However, this year's situation is slightly different. The majority of the fruit produced is exchanged with the nearby Ant Kingdom for the God-given Tallow Fruit. Since the distance is close, the fruit peel and pulp are exchanged together. There is no need to eat the fruit pulp, nor is there a need for "Chimera" to convert the fruit peel and pulp into primal energy nutrients.
The pace of evolution did not stop because of the incident. After a two-month rest, Ye Zhi continued to eat Force food and began to evolve towards the nine-year stage.
With the divinely bestowed food, Leafweave's evolution between lower tiers was effortless. After eating food containing the divine power for a month and a half, it once again entered the "Spider Cave" and began its dormant evolution.
Four days passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Zhi swayed her body and emerged from under her old shell with a cracking sound as her exoskeleton broke. She stretched out her body, which belonged to the ninth instar ant queen and was only one step away from the intermediate stage, reaching a length of twenty centimeters.
Feeling the growing energy surging within her body, Ye Zhi was overjoyed. She stretched out her membranous wings, left the nest, and replenished her fluid nutrients at the home of a large worker ant that had stayed in the old nest.
The leap to a higher level carries a higher risk than ordinary evolution. This time, at least two months will be needed to allow the body to recover to its optimal state before it can continue to consume Force food and evolve towards the intermediate stage.
But during this time, something just as important as evolution happened – it was that time of year again when the Flame Spider Merchants would come to trade.
Although the Tree Ant Kingdom has been trading most of its divinely bestowed food with the Mountain Ant Kingdom, this year's trade has determined another matter that Ye Zhi has to pay attention to.
That is, the brown bee mantis warrior Huoyun, who was born last year. Will she stay in the tree ant kingdom, or will she be sent to the Cloud Continent, which is far away from the divine power barrier, to live with her fellow warriors who may exist on the distant continent?