owlsbooks Chapter 48: The Wandering Spider Silk Bag!
Chapter 48: The Wandering Spider Silk Bag!
Taking flight once more, Ye Zhi circled the "Chimera" plant, a surge of joy welling up within her.
Yesterday, half a divinely bestowed citron fruit with the seed removed was placed into each of the ten enormous insect traps. Now, four to five primal force nutrient bodies have grown under the vines of each trap, totaling more than forty.
This time, the Force nutrient body was smaller than the one that was directly injected into the flesh and blood of the giant toothed ant last time. At this time, there were also faint Force patterns on the surface that shimmered like breathing, and were faintly connected to the blood-red patterns on the insect trap.
On the pale golden, rice-grain-shaped nutrient body, the Force patterns are a metallic blackish-gray, similar to the luster of the divinely bestowed seed of the Black-veined Cypress, also representing the Force power enhanced by the comprehensive metal system.
When a divinely bestowed fruit ripens, the primal force patterns gradually cease to emit light, leaving only faint traces. The same applies to the nutrient body. Ye Zhi knew this was a sign that the nutrient body was not yet fully mature.
It flaps its wings and takes flight, searching for small invertebrates active in the early morning. Skillfully swooping down, it unleashes its lasso-like ant-silk blades, severing the head, grabbing the still-twisting body under the control of its remaining nerve reflexes, and throwing it into the "Chimera's" insect trap.
A dozen or so were given to the "Chimera" as a small appetizer within their capabilities. Then came the time to wait for the tree ant kingdom's "breakfast" when King Qingyuan returned with his troops after hunting large vertebrates.
The Chimera was not idle either. Its insect cage emitted a faint aura similar to that of a ripe Force Fruit, attracting nearby, clueless flying insects and luring them into the cage.
Before long, Qingyuan arrived with a squad of worker ants. Its antennae swayed, directing the worker ants behind it to put down the food it had brought—the hind leg of an ungulate.
"Qingyuan Zuo Wang!" Ye Zhi flapped its wings and stepped forward, sending out a joyful mental signal. It waved its antennae at the hind leg that had been lowered, then raised its abdomen, preparing to draw out an extremely fine ant silk flying blade and begin cutting.
Three extremely fine ant-like threads were drawn from the end of the abdomen, infused with primal force, and transformed into sharp flying blades. They tumbled up and down on the torn, bloody surface, slicing off pieces of flesh and stacking them aside.
Under the mental fluctuations of the "Chimera" tree spirit, Ye Zhi grabbed several pieces of flesh and threw them into the nearest insect trap. She then returned to the corpse and cut off pieces of flesh.
Suddenly, two slender worker ants waved their antennae and ran towards the citron, emitting special pheromone signals. The citron also waved its antennae, seemingly responding in the same way as it directed the worker ants.
The pheromones of the slender ants were not compatible, but soon, Qingyuan transmitted a mental fluctuation universal to all races: "Little guy, the traveling merchants from the Flame Spider tribe have arrived. Would you like to come along and take a look?"
Ye Zhi quickly twitched his antennae. He was very curious about this race, which was the only one that did not belong to the insect class but was protected by the "True God of Nature," a being whose power was beyond comprehension, especially their ability to manipulate spider silk with exquisite precision.
The azure cypress waved its antennae, signaling to the top of its head. Ye Zhi flapped its wings and took flight, landing steadily on the azure cypress's head. Its claws clung to the carapace, securing its body.
The giant, slender ant remained agile as it walked towards its main nest inside the cliff. It stopped outside the nest of the Black Citron Ant King, waving its antennae and transmitting a message through its mental power: "King, the worker ants have sent word that the Flame Spider Merchant has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan slowly walked out of the nest, its compound eyes examining the leaf weave on Qing Yuan's head: "Qing Yuan, the little guy is here too. Go get yesterday's citron seeds, and also bring some raw stones to buy some primal force food for the little guy's growth and evolution."
Then, he said to Ye Zhi, "Little guy, aren't you practicing controlling ant silk to fight? It just so happens that the Flame Spider Merchant is also good at controlling spider silk to fight. Come with me first."
Ye Zhi tapped its antennae, then flapped its wings and took flight, landing on the broad foreleg of the Black Cypress Ant King. Seeing this, the Azure Cypress Ant King also waved its antennae, summoning several worker ants, and together they headed to the warehouse where the Force food was stored.
The massive three-meter-long citron also moved swiftly, passing through the nest chamber passages and along the earthen paths carved out by worker ants in the orchard, with the neatly planted citrus trees on both sides rapidly receding from view.
From afar, a powerful spiritual force transmitted through the air: "Wu Yuan, I heard you've struck it rich?"
Its mental strength was comparable to that of the Black Ant King, undoubtedly at the Lord level. Following the direction from which the mental power came, it was a huge spider with eight segments that were four or five meters long when spread out.
The giant spider resembles a bird-catching spider, with a metallic blue base and fine bristles that shimmer with iridescent colors in the sunlight, making it exceptionally eye-catching. According to its inherited memories, it belongs to the Iridescent Flame Spider tribe among the Flame Spider Merchants.
The broad carapace of the tarantula was now piled high with bags of various sizes woven from shimmering white spider silk, almost all of them bulging. Inside were the Flame Spider Merchant's means of transportation across the continent: Force food and Primal Stones.
With a leg span approaching five meters, this tarantula would be far more formidable than any "spider demon the size of a millstone" in the supernatural tales of her past life, Ye Zhi silently commented.
"Hey, Wuyuan, is that a low-level Ant King on your back?" The giant spider seemed to have noticed Ye Zhi's presence, its eight dark eyes, almost the size of a basketball from his previous life, scrutinizing Ye Zhi.
"The little ant king of the Leafweaver Ant tribe, named Leafweaver, possesses a two-toothed pitcher plant seed bestowed by the gods," Wu Yuan introduced to the large spider opposite, then waved its antennae. "Little guy, this is the Crimson Wheat Lord of the Rainbow Flame Spider tribe."
"Greetings, Lord Red Wheat!"
Ye Zhi flicked her antennae, her gaze sweeping across the area, and noticed that behind the Lord-level Flame Spider named Chi Mai, there seemed to be a smaller Flame Spider tribe member, still with a four-meter leg span. She instinctively replied, "I've seen it before..."
As soon as she spoke, Ye Zhi suddenly remembered that the Black Ant King seemed to have forgotten about her. She looked at the Black Ant's huge compound eyes with some embarrassment, only to see that the Black Ant was equally bewildered, as if it did not recognize the spider.
"I am Chui Xu, and I was just promoted to the Mountain Lord level this year. I followed Lord Chi Mai into the Dragon Bamboo Continent," the four-meter-long spider explained. "I am a little guy who possesses a divinely bestowed seed and is favored by the true god of nature."
"Greetings, Lord of Chuixu Mountain!" Ye Zhi tapped her antennae, while still curiously examining the two large spiders in front of her, one four meters long and the other five meters long, seemingly trying to uncover the secret of the other being the only non-insect species with a life sac.
"Ant King, Lord Red Wheat." Another telepathic message came through. Ye Zhi turned around and saw that it was Zuo Wang Qingyuan, who was leading a team of large worker ants, carrying large and small spider silk bags filled with various kinds of food that produced Force!