owlsbooks Chapter 28: Life Sac Mutation?
Chapter 28: Life Sac Mutation?
PS: To clarify at the beginning, the main theme will not be changed. It's just temporarily done to advance the plot. It will be restored as the story progresses. Any missing plants will be made up to reach the original 54. The farming aspect that everyone loves will remain the same, so don't worry. It might just be a little later.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the Tree Ant Kingdom's territory.
"Little one, these are blood orange seeds, these are grapefruits, and these are all high-quality seeds cultivated by the ancestors of the tree ant kingdom. Choose one as your second-instar seed."
The Black Ant King had not yet received any news about the battle situation at the front. He simply laid out bags of seeds and pushed them in front of Ye Zhi, asking him to choose second-instar seeds.
Each insect warrior, in each stage of its growth and evolution, can nurture a life-planting organism, providing more primal energy food resources for its growth and evolution.
During its first instar, Ye Zhi nurtured a divinely bestowed seed of the pitcher plant, which is now known as "Chimera". Since divinely bestowed seeds are rare in the wild, he naturally did not have the same luck to find another one during its second instar, and could only choose an ordinary seed.
However, even within the transmission of memories, there are distinctions in the quality of the chosen destiny.
Similar to the Force "talent" of the insect warriors, each plant, after being nurtured into a life seed, has different enhancement effects, perhaps determined by a latent gene that only appears after a certain Force awakens.
For example, the two-toothed pitcher plant produces Force food with the effect of "Comprehensive Water Enhancement" after nurturing its life seed - although the chimera pitcher plant seems to have also undergone some mutation, and the Force pattern presents a slightly different effect.
Aside from the type and intensity of the enhancement effect, fruit yield is also an important factor in determining the quality of the chosen plant.
Among these, tall trees often have a natural advantage in the latter two aspects. Based on this, and through selective breeding by "kingdom" or "tribal" insects, it is possible to cultivate "triple-superior" plants.
The tree ant kingdom where he was currently located mainly cultivated various citrus plants. The seeds that Wu Yuan had taken out were tree seeds that the tree ant kingdom had cultivated before, which could be called "three-excellent".
The life seed nurtured by the blood orange seed is a precious blood-enhanced evolutionary life level. The hemolymph tissue fluid, which originally carried out the transportation of nutrients, will also become the key to the conduction of the Force. After enhancement, the storage of nutrients and the use of the Force can be improved to a higher level, killing two birds with one stone.
Grapefruit, a citrus plant that seems similar to the pomelo often seen in supermarkets in my previous life, becomes a special organ on insects after being nurtured into a life seed. It is somewhat similar to the liver and can enhance the body's ability to digest and absorb primal energy food, making it quite precious.
After some thought, he selected a grapefruit seed, swallowed it with some difficulty, and put it into his life pouch, just like before. He then injected a trace of the original power stored in his life pouch and prepared to begin the transformation.
"Um?"
Ye Zhi panicked. The seeds in his life sac seemed to remain unmoved and unresponsive. He spit out the seeds in a fluster and then swallowed a blood orange seed that looked a little smaller.
It still didn't work! Ye Zhi grew increasingly panicked, and Wu Yuan noticed something was wrong, asking, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the seed?"
"It seems...it's not a problem with the seed..." After trying another seed, Ye Zhi's panic had turned into a hint of fear, and she stammered, "It seems...there's something wrong with the life sac..."
"What?" Wu Yuan was also startled, immediately straightening his six limbs and standing up, waving his tentacles, his mental energy repeatedly scanning Ye Zhi: "Could it be because of the chimeric species? But even if it's conceived, there shouldn't be a problem after just one seed?"
Ye Zhi was equally panicked. Thinking of the golden egg, could it be that the golden egg was too powerful and drained her life sac dry? The life sac is the lifeblood of insect warriors in this world. If it is damaged, how will she survive in the future?
"Little guy, don't panic. It might be a mutation, similar to the Flame Spider Merchant's Destiny Seed." Wu Yuan didn't seem very calm either, but was just trying to comfort him. "Come on, come up here, let's go see your Nepenthes's Divine Seed."
The cypress rushed out of its nest at almost full speed and ran wildly toward the hillside where Ye Zhi had sown the life seed. It was clear that it was just as anxious as Ye Zhi about the matter of the life sac.
"Ye Zhi, what's wrong? Who is it?"
After being fed for several days, the tree spirit of "Chimera" was able to communicate quite fluently. Seeing the Black Ant King arriving in a hurry with Leaf Orchid, it asked a question out of curiosity.
"The Black Cypress Ant King, those long, thin ants nearby are its offspring," Ye Zhi replied listlessly, though she was also extremely worried.
"Your Majesty, little fellow, what happened?" Qingyuan happened to be nearby directing worker ants to take care of the "Chimera" divinely bestowed seed. Seeing this situation, it asked out of curiosity, not knowing what had happened.
"It's nothing, Qingyuan. Go and get some game to feed the little guy's seed later."
Wu Yuan made an excuse to send Qing Yuan away temporarily, and after watching her figure disappear into the distance, he said to Ye Zhi, "Little guy, ask the tree spirit if it can transform back into its seed form?"
Ye Zhi weakly twitched her antennae, slowly transmitting her mental energy, and first asked, "'Chimera,' do you feel you can flower and bear fruit?"
"Flowers? Fruits? What are those? Can you eat them?" The tree spirit of the Chimera, unaware of the seriousness of the matter, still asked the soul-searching question with some curiosity.
"It's a structure that can't photosynthesize like a leaf, nor absorb nutrients like your insect trap, but you still find it very important." Ye Zhi didn't have time to care about whether it could be eaten or not, and said anxiously.
"It seems possible, Ye Zhi. Do you need it now? I'll try my best." The tree spirit pondered for a moment and gave an affirmative answer.
"No, no, do you have this feeling that you can store all the energy in your body and then transform it back into a seed-like form?"
"That seems like a good idea, I'll try it..."
Before the mental fluctuations subsided, a solitary flower bud quickly appeared at the top of the "Chimera" stem, which had grown to over two meters tall. It swelled up and then bloomed into four pale gold, luxurious petals with primal force patterns, just like when Ye Zhi first encountered it on the mother plant.
In stark contrast to the gradually blooming petals, the broad leaves instantly began to wither.
The insect traps at the ends were the first to dry up and die, with digestive fluids leaking out onto the ground. Then came the hollow, cage-like tendrils that had sheltered the mother plant with its leaves, followed by the leaves, petioles, and finally the main vine.
Immediately, the main vine and even the underground root system dried up, and all the primal energy and nutrients converged on the "flower" above. Finally, the flower also slowly withered and grew into a capsule shape that Ye Zhi was familiar with, composed of four bracts!
"Holy crap..."
Seeing this utterly illogical scene unfold before him, Ye Zhi once again couldn't help but let out a sigh from the depths of her soul...