Astral Cockroach

It was the height of summer.

Dusk, a warm breeze gently blowing.

A lake.

Baba comfortably rested on a lotus leaf of a nine-leaf red lotus, swaying in the wind.

"Baba."

"Oh, Banbu, long time no see. I heard you were promoted to Roach King? You look good."

"Hmph! What's the deal with Bloodthorn?"

"Bloodthorn? It's great! It has a unique soul, and now it's considered a 'demi-god grade' God-given species. What? You don't seem happy at all?"

"I am very happy."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh, good that you're happy." Baba said nonchalantly.

The Nine-Leaf Red Lotus asked, "Banbu, have you awakened your ancestral divine power? What does it look like? Can you show me?"

By the lake, Iron Gut Kuili also curiously asked, "Banbu, what does ancestral divine power look like? Is it powerful?"

"It's just starting, continuously growing, requiring too much Origin Power, difficult to achieve significant growth in a short time..." Banbu opened its mouth and spat out a black-brown liquid substance the size of a grain of rice.

Shaped like liquid metal melted by flames, it floated in the air under Banbu's will.

With a thought from Banbu, the black-brown liquid substance solidified, forming a miniature cockroach.

With another thought, it transformed into a pocket-sized battle blade.

With yet another thought, it exploded into a ball of brown flame.

"Uh, this is ancestral divine power... So powerful! Interesting, but it's so small, tiring to look at." Iron Gut Kuili said somewhat reluctantly.

The Nine-Leaf Red Lotus inquired, "Banbu, can it absorb Origin Power to grow?"

Banbu said, "Yes, it needs to absorb a lot of Origin Power and spend a lot of time to grow little by little, look."

After speaking, the brown flame instantly contracted, forming a white bead the size of a grain of rice, slowly absorbing natural Origin Power.

Banbu said, "The Origin Power concentration in the natural environment is insufficient, the rate is too slow. It's best to use life-form plants as an aid to replenish it in large quantities."

After Banbu finished demonstrating, it waved its antennae and said, "Baba, come over, scan and detect, confirm the material composition of this thing."

Baba silently observed for a while, confirming that Banbu was not angry about Bloodthorn and had no intention of retaliating, then boldly flew closer.

Scanning, inspecting.

"Unconventional element structure, not an Origin Power core."

"Unconventional Origin Power material, my database has no similar material information. Can freely transform between metal, flame, and this strange state? Requires Origin Power, right?"

"Accommodates Origin Power, possessing both the properties of conducting and blocking Origin Power, should belong to the category of Origin Power weapons, somewhat like an Origin Power core, with your soul aura, so it should be called... Natal Weapon?"

"A fitting term." With a thought from Banbu, the white bead transformed into a black-brown liquid, saying, "This is its essential form."

After speaking, it opened its mouth and retracted it into its life sac.

Baba immediately scanned and inspected Banbu, then exclaimed in surprise, "Your life sac... an independent space!"

"Yes." Banbu said, "This should be a talent possessed by every insect warrior on this planet. Perhaps it's suppressed by the gene lock, unable to awaken."

"Your Origin Power talent has broken through! Origin Power talent breakthrough, thereby breaking the shackles." Baba carefully analyzed and calculated, gaining some insight, saying, "There's another possibility, that is, this ability requires a cosmic-level life level to awaken... That Ghost King Locust stimulated it, awakening it in advance."

"That makes sense." Banbu nodded its antennae, "So a major breakthrough in realm is necessary to awaken 'Ancestral Divine Power'."

Baba exclaimed, "Essential carbon-based life, the body evolves into an Origin Power weapon, truly miraculous! The most miraculous is the change in the life sac. Humans have been researching dimensional space technology independent of the main universe. They haven't succeeded, believing they can't find materials of sufficient strength to carry an independent space... Your life sac space is a bit strange, seems to have great limitations, can it still nurture life seeds?"

"It can." Banbu carefully chose its words, saying, "The door to the ultimate mysteries of life has been opened for you, the seeds of gods have been planted for you, waiting for fertile soil to take root and sprout."

"The above is my newly awakened inherited memory."

"The life sac has undergone an essential change. Before, nurturing life seeds, turning ordinary plant seeds into Origin Power seeds, required the aid of strange Origin Power from beyond the heavens. Now, the life sac space seems to have given birth to the ability to derive that strange Origin Power, no longer requiring external power, able to nurture life seeds on its own."

"This is the 'seed of a god'?"

"Seed of a god..." Baba pondered the words, surprised again, asking, "Banbu, can you now nurture ordinary life seeds without limit?"

"It's not that simple." Banbu shook its antennae, saying, "It can only nurture one at a time, and it's still only during molting and evolution that the most crucial qualitative change can be completed."

"But you have broken away from the power of the gods and can independently nurture life seeds, this is an essential transformation... Stand still, don't move, let me take a closer look." Baba said, continuing to scan, entering calculation mode.

From the outside, Banbu's life sac shape has slightly changed, oval, ossified, with a long axis of about 12 centimeters and a short axis of about 7 centimeters, covered with special Origin Power patterns inside and out. These Origin Power patterns are extracting natural Origin Power at a slow rate.

The interior contains a space with a long axis of 15 centimeters and a short axis of 9 centimeters, filled with dense Origin Power, the space is growing at an imperceptible rate.

"Banbu, I still can't analyze the material that constitutes the life sac, the database has no similar material information."

"The strength is not even as good as your carapace... The key to the existence and continuous growth of the space should lie in the Origin Power patterns. I need some time to recalculate all of your genetic genes and Origin Power genes."

"Okay." Banbu asked, "How long will it take?"

Baba said, "This time, I need to carefully analyze every gene group, as well as the Origin Power patterns of your life sac, the time is uncertain."

Iron Gut Kuili asked, "Baba, Banbu, why are you so persistent in the essential reasons of things?"

Banbu said, "This is the exploration of knowledge. On a small scale, understanding the essence is beneficial to my growth. On the scale of cosmic civilization, any advanced civilization can only continue to progress based on this spirit."

Iron Gut Kuili said faintly, "But you don't seem to have sufficient analytical capabilities. Baba is just an electronic life, its scanning detection and calculation abilities are very limited."

"Hmph!" Baba was dissatisfied at first, then admitted the fact, saying, "I'll try."

What Iron Gut Kuili said seemed to make sense. Baba was created, defined only as a "life assistant."

Banbu thought for a moment, saying, "Baba, you can calculate slowly later. There's another thing, have you carefully checked Bloodthorn's God-given species?"

Baba said, "I've checked it."

Banbu said, "It's now a 'demi-god grade' God-given species, the most crucial 'soul' has broken through, the condensed Origin Power food, the strengthening effect should also have broken through, right?"

"That's for sure, and it's a qualitative change." Baba said, "The strengthening effects it had before have all been improved. Blood cells have increased ability to store energy and nutrients. Unfortunately, the strengthening effect of improving Origin Power utilization efficiency, which is of the highest value, has not improved much. A special strengthening effect has been added, which should be inherited from the remains of that unidentified variety of God-given species."

Banbu was pleasantly surprised, asking, "What strengthening effect has been added?"

Baba said, "Banbu, before that, you must first know one thing, the Autumn Harvest Celebration banquet you hold every year, I'm afraid it will have to be suspended. The flowering and fruiting cycle of Bloodthorn's God-given species will soon change to a long 18 years. A 3-year rest period for flowers and fruits, a 6-year flowering period, and a 9-year fruiting period."

"I... that's pretty good! Haha..." Banbu asked, "What about the yield?"

Baba said, "The yield is still very high. According to my estimate, each batch of Bloodthorn seeds produced can be divided into 33 portions, as for the quality... the best of the best, far surpassing ordinary God-given species, but not as good as a true 'god grade'."

Banbu silently calculated in its heart, feeling it was okay, and asked further, "What exactly is the added strengthening effect?"

Baba said, "Currently, it can be confirmed that it is still directional strengthening of blood cells, the specifics... the database has no similar data, and I can't calculate it either, you'll have to wait for Bloodthorn to bloom and bear fruit, the fruit to ripen and be harvested, and try it yourself."

"Is it that complicated?" Banbu continued to ask, "Baba, do you think there's any hope for Bloodthorn to completely transform into a 'god grade' God-given species?"

"I don't know." Baba retorted, "Something that has never happened before, how would I know? However, there is definitely a prerequisite, that is, you can still find a 'god grade' God-given species that is highly compatible with it, I estimate one is not enough."