Astral Cockroach

The mountain range showed traces of insectoid warriors residing there, and the forests below had also been cultivated.

The dominant trees in the forest were oak, elm, and maple, with only a small number of pine, fir, kauri, and birch.

The maple forests were the most eye-catching, their leaves already beginning to turn yellow. As the weather turned colder and temperatures continued to drop, they would likely transform into a vibrant red. The species were mainly red maple, sugar maple, and black maple, the same as those on Dragon Bamboo Continent and Myriad Nations Continent. Environmental differences led to evolutionary variations. The most unique aspect of the maples on this continent was their generally tall stature.

For example, sugar maples could have trunk diameters exceeding 1.5 meters and heights reaching 80 meters.

On Dragon Bamboo Continent, Banbu had seen many, but the largest had trunk diameters of just over 1 meter and heights not exceeding 50 meters.

In a sense, the maples on this continent had naturally evolved into high-quality derivative species.

While certain types of plants evolved into superior species, others experienced degradation or failed to keep pace with evolution. For example, the red pines on this continent were slightly smaller compared to those seen on Myriad Races Continent. In the natural environment, their competitive ability was not high, so their distribution was limited.

… …

Banbu ventured south, entering the Southern Wilderness for investigation.

Youcha followed the mountain range, searching for warrior settlements.

The Southern Wilderness was completely different from the Northern Wilderness, lacking grasslands and forests, and dominated by desert. After about 20 days, the temperature dropped again, and only harsh, dry winds blew, with no snowfall.

Banbu couldn't withstand the cold and retreated to the mountain range. After waiting a few days, Youcha also returned to the stronghold as agreed.

He carried a silk pouch filled with many remains.

"Banbu, I found 31 settlements where warriors once lived, including 2 large-scale ones with remnants of God-given species left behind."

Youcha introduced, opening the silk pouch.

Banbu picked up the remains one by one, carefully examining and identifying them.

Youcha pointed to one of them with his sharp claws and asked, "This has residual Origin Power properties. Could it be a 'Godly Grade' God-given species?"

"It's a 'Godly Grade' remnant!" Banbu recognized it at a glance and said definitively, "And it's oak."

The familiar aura was unmistakable. Previously, on Dragon Bamboo Continent, in the mountains bordering the Northern Wilderness, he had also found a 'Godly Grade' oak God-given species.

Similar locations, finding two 'Godly Grade' remnants of the same tree species. Is it that oak trees are more prone to give birth to 'Godly Grade' species?!

Or is it that oak trunks are more resistant to decay and easier to preserve?

Banbu's mind raced, and he asked, "Youcha, where did you find it?"

Youcha wagged his tail and said, "Keep going that way, cross 46 mountains of various sizes. There's a large mountain there, and there are indeed many oak trees on and around it."

Banbu said, "Rest for two days, pack up, and we'll move our nest."

… …

A massive mountain, no less in scale than Crimson Crow Mountain, could accommodate hundreds of warriors.

The 'Godly Grade' oak God-given species had been planted on the relatively dry southern side of the mountain, in the middle and lower layers. The tree trunk was half-fallen, supported by a boulder, so the entire trunk was exposed on the surface. Countless years of wind, frost, snow, and rain had caused severe decay. The main trunk was only about 300 meters long, and few branches remained. At its thickest point, the main trunk should have originally been about 20 meters in diameter, but now it was only about 16 meters, and the surface Origin Power properties had been completely lost. The core of the trunk, however, was well preserved, with active Origin Power properties. A wild God-given species had condensed a tree heart.

Banbu spent some effort to dig out the tree heart. The tree spirit had long since died. The aura it exuded was initially determined to be a basic physique enhancement.

A highly valuable wild 'Godly Grade' God-given species! Completely dead, what a pity!

The tree heart could be taken back, and the rest could be moved later.

If he found it but couldn't move it, he could simply record the coordinates and not spend too much time and energy searching for it for the time being.

On this continent, oak trees were a dominant species. This mountain, both on and around it, was full of high-quality oak derivative species cultivated by insectoid warriors, itself a gene bank.

The season was also perfect. It was the time when acorns were ripening. He collected two full silk pouches and took them back, which could directly open up a dedicated oak tree sea.

After collecting a sufficient number of seeds, he ran along the mountain range at full speed, heading east until he reached the Iridescent Maze.

Through this oak God-given species remnant, Banbu also came to a relatively accurate conclusion: this continent under his feet should have exhausted its Origin Power around the same time as Dragon Bamboo Continent and Crown Pear Continent.

Which meant that, as he previously guessed, the insectoid "Gods" activated 4 continents each time, which also meant that there were two more continents in the Southern Hemisphere with Origin Power.

The opposite continent corresponded to Myriad Races Continent. Judging from that, there should be insectoid warriors living there!

Banbu began to probe the edges, testing data, and confirming the location of Magnetic Mountain. With his rich experience, he completed it in less than two days and successfully crossed the Iridescent Maze.

… …

The Origin Power food carried on this overseas trip was generously sponsored by Crimson Crow Mountain, all of the highest quality, packed in medium-sized silk pouches, each worth about 150,000 Origin Stones.

Banbu carried two bags of Origin Power food away, intending to mingle around under the guise of traveling the continent and trading, to figure out the distribution of races and strengths on the other side.

Before leaving, he opened a temporary stronghold and explained that it might take 3 to 4 months.

Youcha stayed behind, entered the forest, wandered the mountains, and continued to search for ruins.

… …

"The Origin Power concentration is much higher than on Myriad Races Continent. Is it just that this area has a high Origin Power concentration?"

"Perhaps this continent was activated a few thousand or tens of thousands of years later, and the consumption of Origin Power is still shallow, so the overall Origin Power concentration is higher."

On the other side of the Iridescent Maze, Banbu was extremely vigilant, walking close to the ground, his mind full of doubts.

After walking forward for a while, he cautiously turned back and instead walked along the Iridescent Maze, all the way north.

The current location was close to the Southern Wilderness. As a rule, the border tribes were very fierce and unreasonable. Insectoid tribes living in the comfortable and fertile subtropical and tropical forests were relatively friendly to outsiders.

Running along the Iridescent Maze for two days and two nights, the natural Origin Power was still abundant, with a concentration of about 1.5, even near the Iridescent Maze.

The average Origin Power concentration was much higher than on Myriad Races Continent!

Speeding up, continuing north, and running for another three days and three nights, Banbu couldn't help but turn east and sneak towards the distant mountains.

This was still a temperate plain area, and it was early spring. In the southern temperate zone, the ice and snow had not yet melted.

The forest in the plain below the mountain was a sea of elm trees, with traces of planting and logging, indicating that there were insectoid tribes operating nearby.

Carefully crossing the mountains, the plain forest was still below. Looking into the distance, Banbu was stunned. For a moment, the human memories in his soul awakened, and he vaguely saw tall buildings and steel forests like those found in human cities.

In the sunlight, the "window glass" even reflected dazzling light.

After a moment of daze, he suddenly realized.

The shape of the "buildings" was wrong. Human societies rarely built buildings in the shape of spires.

What stood in the plains were not buildings!

Anthills!

Dense and endless, all of them were anthills!

This continent was ruled by termites!

Ahead was a termite kingdom… no, the term "empire" was more appropriate. Ahead was the termite empire!

Inherited memories showed that among all insectoid tribes, ants were the most warlike, bees were the most irritable, and termites were the most unapproachable. A mature termite colony contained worker termites and soldier termites of various duties, ranging from 2 centimeters to 2 meters in length, and could easily number over a billion. Most crawled on the ground, and a few soldier termites responsible for combat had membranous wings and the ability to fly and engage in aerial combat.

Termites possessed the most unique and powerful innate ability among insectoid tribes. A single termite king and a single termite queen could establish a super-large termite empire, and within the entire empire, only the termite king and the termite queen were higher intelligent beings. The rest were "produced" by them, merely labor tools and war puppets with low or no intelligence.

Banbu searched his inherited memories, thinking and discerning slightly, confirming that he had no ability to leave alive under the siege of tens of thousands of soldier termites.

Insect life was important, so it was better not to visit such a fierce tribe rashly.

He quietly retreated, crawling south along the Iridescent Maze, returning to the opposite continent.

Banbu had told Youcha before leaving that it would take a long time, but the situation was unexpected, and he returned early. The plan to explore the Southern Hemisphere was changed accordingly. There was no need to explore the continent ruled by termites, and the original 1 year was somewhat unnecessary.

Youcha was not at the base. He must have been wandering around, looking for ruins. With his character, he would not return to the base without any gains or until the time was up.

Banbu thought about it and had nothing else to do, so after packing up, he simply flew towards the southern subtropical forest in the central region of the continent.