Astral Cockroach

Located at the equator, the wasteland had transformed into a semi-desert. The existing plants were all drought-resistant, currently in a state of semi-dormant hibernation.

Banbu guessed that this area likely experienced distinct dry and rainy seasons. It was currently the dry season, and these plants should revive during the rainy season.

The animals were in a similar situation, mostly struggling on the brink of survival, clustered around a small mud puddle and a dried-up river that contained only a bit of muddy water. Once the mud puddle or riverbed dried up, they would have to migrate to find new water sources. It was safe to assume that most of the weaker individuals would die during the migration.

It was a harsh living environment.

… …

As Banbu approached the Illusionary Colorful Maze, he suddenly hesitated: Should he risk trying it?

What if he was unlucky and entered at a point corresponding to Magnetic Mountain, where he would likely get lost?

However, he had spent more than a month traveling this far.

He had only made it this far by relying on the Origin Power produced by his second heart.

The Crimson Crow Mountain was over 20,000 kilometers away in a straight line. If other warriors wanted to come…

Banbu's mind raced, quickly formulating a plan: If other warriors wanted to come, they would have to set up a supply station every 500 kilometers along the way, transporting Origin Power food station by station.

Calculating the consumption, he quickly arrived at a result: To send two warriors here alive, at least 5,000 warriors would have to participate, requiring an investment of at least 30 million Origin Stones to spread out along the route. Every day a warrior stayed here would consume a fixed 1 million Origin Stones.

Crimson Crow Mountain had already invested 100 million Origin Stones in searching for Dragon Bamboo. Banbu estimated that they wouldn't make such a big deal just to get the answer to "What's on the other side?" and continue investing over 50 million Origin Stones.

He had also gone through a lot to get here!

Go back and come again?

Coming again would still mean coming alone, without being able to make any useful preparations.

Holding the compass, he lay prone in front of the Illusionary Colorful Maze, thinking for a long time. In the end, he decided to slowly enter.

He slowly walked across 500 meters of flat ground, and ahead was a rolling hill.

Beyond the hill was flat ground.

Being more cautious, every step was taken carefully, stopping every 10 meters to observe the changes in the compass needle and record the data.

After walking about 10 kilometers, he calculated the needle deflection, turned around, and returned the way he came.

He shifted laterally by 500 meters, re-entered, and continued testing.

After repeating this dozens of times, he finally determined the approximate location of Magnetic Mountain.

He chose a location far from Magnetic Mountain, entered the Illusionary Colorful Maze, and tentatively ventured deeper.

After more than ten days of busy work, he finally determined a safe path and confidently crossed through.

… …

The scene before him was completely opposite of the arid and barren wasteland behind him.

Tall and dense jungle vegetation, moist and fertile soil, and hot and humid climate made the air feel like it could be wrung out.

This was a continent thriving with life!

What was the same was that this continent still lacked any natural Origin Power.

The jungle was too dense, making it difficult to walk on the ground, so he had to take to the air and fly low.

Banbu quickly discovered with disappointment that the plant species on this continent were similar to those in the coastal jungle of the Southwest Region of the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, but they grew particularly lush due to the temperature, rainfall, and fertile soil.

He flew slowly for most of the day, rested for half a day, stopping and going, heading south all the time.

Four days later, after flying about 800 kilometers, he arrived at the southern coast.

Following the coastline, he flew and surveyed, spending half a month slowly figuring out the outline of this continent: the western region of the Dragon Bamboo Continent, with a U-shaped piece of land jutting out from the southernmost end.

Almost the entire continent was located in the tropical region, surrounded by the sea on three sides, resulting in high temperatures and humidity, making it a paradise for tropical plants.

Banbu thought of two more questions: Had any insect or beast races lived on this small continent before?

If so, it would mean that this continent was once a rich and fertile land with abundant Origin Power.

If not, it would mean that this continent had always been a wasteland without Origin Power.

No matter the answer, it wouldn't produce any practical benefits.

Banbu still decided to look around, wandering around the various peaks, searching for traces of survival, simply wanting to know the answer and satisfy his curiosity.

Anyway, it had been more than three months since he left, and the Crimson Crow Mountain must have been anxious long ago. Now, they were probably past the point of anxiety and had calmed down. The Crimson Crow Ghost King wasn't stupid and would definitely send the Begonia Butterfly King to the Li Bamboo Peak to check the state of the Life Seed plant. If the Life Seed was alive, it would mean that the corresponding warrior was still alive.

Banbu wasn't in a hurry. The speed at which his second heart produced Origin Power was slow, so he searched slowly.

… …

“Eh, bamboo forest!”

Ahead was a large mountain, and Banbu was just about to ascend to check it out, searching for the remains of intelligent life, when he unexpectedly discovered a small bamboo forest submerged in the sea of trees.

Professional habits compelled him to descend into the bamboo forest to identify the bamboo species.

“Dragon Bamboo?!”

Banbu suddenly realized that this bamboo forest was growing exceptionally tall.

The surrounding area was full of tall trees, and ancient trees that had lived for who knows how many years were everywhere. Compared to them, he subconsciously underestimated this bamboo forest.

He carefully identified it.

The bamboo poles were over 30 centimeters in diameter, with an average height of over 50 meters. The dark cyan bamboo poles and leaves, the sheath nodes were slightly dark red, and the underground stems were light golden. The bamboo clumps had fish scale-like patterns, with a dark, dark golden color.

That's right, it was Dragon Bamboo!

After searching and searching, he finally found it in this remote location.

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Banbu thought for a moment, flapped his wings, ascended, landed on the mountain, and began to search. Sure enough, he soon discovered several traces of collapsed mountain caves. Most insect warriors liked to choose high mountains to live in, digging caves to reside in, which were dry, moisture-proof, windproof, and rainproof.

Over the long years, geological changes had occurred, and the mountain caves had collapsed, burying everything.

Banbu stood on the top of the mountain and looked down, confirming that this mountain was once the gathering place of a certain insect tribe. They had also reclaimed the sea of trees, prospering for a time, but in the end, they couldn't escape the fate of withering and decline.

As for the Dragon Bamboo forest growing at the foot of the mountain, it was probably simply because the "Dragon Bamboo" plant species was excellent, so they separately managed a piece of it. They probably hadn't mastered the technology of hybridization and breeding, otherwise, there wouldn't be just a small bamboo forest here, but a vast sea of bamboo.

“Should I get some to take back?”

“Dragon Bamboo sprouts in the spring, and the timing is just right?”

Banbu went down the mountain to check. Fortunately, some of the bamboo clumps had just sprouted underground stems, and it was still early before they grew into new bamboo clumps and produced bamboo shoots, making it the best time to transplant them.

However, after thinking carefully, something wasn't quite right.

It would take about two and a half months to return to Crimson Crow Mountain from here.

The journey was too far!

Carrying things, detouring from Crimson Crow Mountain back to Li Bamboo Peak would take at least another month and a half.

Even if he dug up the bamboo clumps with soil, it wouldn't be possible for them to survive. In fact, it wouldn't even be possible to transport the bamboo clumps back to Crimson Crow Mountain alive.

Banbu's mind turned, and he immediately thought of a solution.

He painstakingly dug up the bamboo clumps with soil, hunted giant pythons in the jungle, used python skin to wrap them, and also brought a section of bamboo pole about 5 meters long.

He specially cleared a takeoff area, and using his two front legs and two middle legs, he worked together to carry them while flying.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't far. He flew slowly, returned to the location of the Illusionary Colorful Maze, and then used metal chains to lock them securely on his back, carrying them through the Illusionary Colorful Maze.

The other side of the Illusionary Colorful Maze was the wasteland, which was still in the dry season.

Banbu chose a location and planted the bamboo clumps.

He traveled to the other side of the Illusionary Colorful Maze, used his metal ability to make a metal bucket, fetched water with the metal bucket, and carried it over to irrigate.

After irrigating for two days and confirming that they had survived, he repeated the process and continued to dig up and transplant bamboo clumps.

Bamboo would continuously spread and generate underground stems, developing bamboo clumps and bamboo poles. Each bamboo plant was a small bamboo forest. Banbu was familiar with this characteristic of bamboo, and the digging of bamboo clumps was very particular. He only dug up and collected one bamboo clump for each bamboo plant, so as to ensure the diversity of genes.

After more than twenty days of continuous work, he successfully transplanted 10 bamboo clumps.

He fetched water to irrigate and collected animal manure to fertilize. The underground stem of the first one that was transplanted had grown well, and because the bamboo pole had been cut off, a bulge on the bamboo clump began to develop towards a bamboo shoot.

He took care of them carefully, and after another half month, the first bamboo shoot broke ground, followed by the second… The 10 bamboo clumps sprouted shoots one after another, and then, the underground stems also completed their growth and produced bamboo shoots…

Banbu continued to take care of them until one day, a drizzle suddenly fell on the wasteland, and the semi-dormant plants seemed to wake up overnight, sprouting green shoots. In just a few days, the wasteland was covered in patches of vibrant green.

Banbu knew that this should be the arrival of the rainy season. He went to check the wasteland river, and the river was just a small stream of water trickling by.

He continued to wait, and one late night, a strong wind suddenly rose, dark clouds covered the sky, thunder rumbled, followed by a downpour.

The bamboo shoots had long since grown into bamboo poles. Banbu estimated that the dry season wouldn't arrive in a short time, so he confidently set off, heading north all the way.