Astral Cockroach

It wasn't until evening that Hei Sang returned first, followed closely by Li Zhu.

Before even entering the cave, Li Zhu called out, "Ban Bu, have you found the Red Bamboo yet?"

"No," Ban Bu said, not wanting Li Zhu to be disappointed, and continued, "But I found Rainbow Red Bamboo, another kind of precious bamboo with slightly less value."

"Rainbow Red Bamboo!" Li Zhu said in surprise, "Rainbow Red Bamboo is more elegant and beautiful than Red Bamboo!"

Elegant and beautiful? Ban Bu was unwilling to dwell on such meaningless aesthetic issues and asked Hei Sang, "Did you find Mandarin Duck Bamboo?"

"Uh…" Hei Sang had been playing all day and was still not satisfied. He was wondering where to go to play at night when he heard the question and was stunned for a moment. He said, "I didn't find it. I'll continue searching late at night."

Search your sister!

Ban Bu cursed inwardly and said, "That group of bamboo rats clearly trusts Hei Sang more. In the future, Hei Sang can simply communicate with them. Late at night, I'll go with you again for a detailed exchange. I'll use Origin Power food as a reward to ask them to help search in Bi Shi Ridge, mainly for Red Bamboo. It would be nice to find Mandarin Duck Bamboo too."

"No problem! If we can find Rainbow Red Bamboo and Red Bamboo, two precious bamboo species, on this trip, that would be simply… wonderful!" Li Zhu nodded his antennae vigorously and said excitedly, "Ban Bu, take me to see the Rainbow Red Bamboo first."

Li Zhu had a stubborn love for bamboo. Upon hearing that Rainbow Red Bamboo had been discovered, he immediately urged Ban Bu to lead the way to check it out.

"Li Zhu, don't rush. I have more important things to discuss."

Li Zhu asked, "Is there anything more important than Rainbow Red Bamboo?"

"Of course, Hei Sang, you have to participate too." Ban Bu waved his antennae, signaling Hei Sang to come closer, and said, "Hei Sang, the Origin Power food you tricked from Li Zhu should be used sparingly."

Hei Sang said, "There's still a lot left."

Ban Bu said, "Hei Sang, you must be careful. That group of bamboo rats is not as cute as they seem on the surface. On the contrary, they are very shrewd and cunning. Without Origin Power food, they probably won't be willing to work for us. You can't give it away so easily anymore. From now on, give them a fixed reward of one mountain walnut or three cypress seeds every day, understand?"

Hei Sang nodded his antennae and said, "I understand."

Ban Bu said, "You should first teach them to recognize various bamboo species. Don't just focus on playing."

Hei Sang said, "I taught them."

Ban Bu ignored whether he had taught them or not and continued, "My Origin Power food will be kept for now. It will be distributed as a reward when they help find Red Bamboo."

Li Zhu asked, "What then?"

Ban Bu said, "The bamboo sea is vast, and who knows how many precious bamboo species exist. I will promise them more and greater benefits to let them continue to help find them."

"We'll come again during the leisure time of late autumn next year. I believe that with nearly a year of continuous searching, they will definitely have gains and can find more precious bamboo species for us."

Li Zhu's compound eyes gleamed as he listened, and he agreed, "Good idea!"

Ban Bu said, "The key is that they can't be lazy during this period, so we must communicate more and promise various benefits. Hei Sang, when you are playing with them, you can explain more about the knowledge of Life Seeds, so that they can understand the strength and wealth of our Red Ant Tribe. Especially the God-given Seeds, subtly tell them that I have three God-given Seeds."

"Ban Bu, you're bad!" Hei Sang was smart and understood Ban Bu's meaning. He first complained, then reluctantly nodded his antennae and said, "I understand what to do."

The bamboo rat warriors are greedy. Let them taste the sweetness, see greater benefits, and have hope, and they won't be lazy in the coming year.

Li Zhu asked, "Ban Bu, are you really planning to pay them a large amount of Origin Power food as a reward next year?"

Ban Bu said, "The bamboo sea is so big that it may take ten years to find all the precious bamboo species. My Fragrant Grass God-given Seed will have a considerable income next year, so there's no need to break my promise."

Li Zhu nodded his antennae and smiled, "Give them a little benefit appropriately and let them desperately find bamboo species for us."

"Bad!" Hei Sang scolded.

Ban Bu and Li Zhu didn't care and continued to discuss how to further exploit the labor of the bamboo rat warriors.

After the agreement, Ban Bu asked Hei Sang, "Hei Sang, where are your Primal Stones?"

Hei Sang walked into the depths of the mine, dug out the snakeskin bag containing the Primal Stone ore, took them out one by one, and placed them on the ground, looking at them back and forth with some fascination.

Ban Bu and Li Zhu were both fascinated and envious.

Ban Bu asked, "Hei Sang, what are you planning to do with these Primal Stones?"

Hei Sang said, "Trade them. I can exchange them for a lot of Origin Power food."

Ban Bu asked, "Who are you going to trade with?"

Hei Sang said, "The Seven-Colored Flame Spider Tribe's caravan! Ban Bu, Iron Saber Mountain Master said that news of your territory having God-given Seeds has already spread. Next spring, there will definitely be more than one caravan coming."

Ban Bu said, "The characteristics of Bi Cui Primal Stone are too obvious. If you take them out to trade, once they are discovered by Iron Saber Mountain Master or Cliff Cypress, you will be immediately exposed."

After Ban Bu finished speaking, he added, "Indirectly, Bi Shi Ridge and the bamboo rat warriors will be exposed."

"That's right!" Hei Sang panicked when he heard this.

Li Zhu said gloatingly, "Hei Sang, if you don't want the elders of the Red Ant Tribe to discover the bamboo rat warriors of Bi Shi Ridge, you'd better secretly use up the Primal Stones at night. Bamboo rats are beast warriors. Once they are discovered…"

"It's none of your business." Hei Sang said dejectedly, put away the Primal Stones, and buried them again.

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…

Ban Bu took Li Zhu to the waterfall to check the Rainbow Red Bamboo.

After looking at it, they hunted a few bamboo rats for food, rested for a while, and Li Zhu continued to look for Red Bamboo.

Ban Bu returned to the mine, reunited with Hei Sang, and once again approached Ma Zhu and the other six bamboo rat warriors.

First, he rewarded them with Origin Power food, then gave them some instructions. Hei Sang led the bamboo rat warriors to search the outer side of the current mountain range.

Ban Bu then went to another mountain range, and he and Li Zhu searched separately.

This time, it took another two days. A cold wave from the north passed through, and the drizzle also stopped.

Ban Bu and Li Zhu met, but neither of them had any gains. They returned to the mine together, waited for Hei Sang to return in the evening, and after some questioning, they learned that he had taken the six bamboo rat warriors to search the mountain range again these two days. Fortunately, they found Mandarin Duck Bamboo.

At this point, seven days had passed. Both the inside and outside of Bi Shi Ridge had been searched, but they had not found the Red Bamboo they wanted most.

"Li Zhu, do you think it's possible that the warrior from Yangti Mountain Range made a mistake? Mistaking Rainbow Red Bamboo for Red Bamboo?"

Li Zhu said, "It wasn't one, but two warriors. Two warriors traveled together and discovered it together. There is absolutely no possibility of error, so I am sure that Red Bamboo exists in Bi Shi Ridge. The problem is that too much time has passed. One of the warriors died of old age as early as two years ago, and the other can't remember the location."

"Too much time has passed…" Ban Bu hesitated and said, "Could it be that it encountered some kind of natural disaster and became extinct?"

Li Zhu stroked his antennae vigorously with his forelimbs and said with a headache, "Very likely! I have experienced about three such droughts since I was born, and I have also seen many more serious natural disasters. That is the punishment of the True God of Nature."

Hei Sang asked, "Li Zhu, should we go back?"

Li Zhu said, "We have been out for 14 days. Counting the time, we can still search for three days."

We can still play for three days! Hei Sang nodded his antennae obediently, said nothing, and rejoiced secretly.

Ban Bu asked, "Are we still continuing to look for Red Bamboo?"

Li Zhu shook his antennae and said, "Ban Bu, let's go to the next mountain range and try our luck, and continue to look for Purple Bamboo. From the current point of view, those bamboo rat warriors have no malice. Hei Sang can stay and lead them to expand the search range and continue to look for Red Bamboo."

"Yay!" Hei Sang cheered.