At Level 8 as a junior warrior, with a body length exceeding 40, Bambu chose Hemp Bamboo seeds as the Life Seed for cultivation.

Awakening from slumber, amidst the thick of spring, Bambu noticed the Iron Knife Tree Life Seed, nurtured at Level 7, favored light and warmth. The young sapling should withstand the summer heat, prompting Bambu to consider planting it.

Emerging from the nest, Bambu was greeted by Pumao stationed outside the cave. "Bambu, you're awake! Did it only take 5 days for this molt?"

"Five days?" Bambu paused, then replied, "Seems so!"

The consistent physical training during the molting process greatly aided the evolution, resulting in Bambu feeling only slightly weak upon awakening.

Concerned for Bambu's safety during his slumbering period, besides the four senior warriors of Iron Knife Peak who patrolled the territory daily, both Flame Cluster Bambo and Pumao also took turns guarding outside the cave.

Primarily, they visited during the night, helping to guard the vulnerable Life Seed saplings.

Pumao asked, "Bambu, are you hungry? I'll fetch you some food."

Knowing that post-evolution nourishment was essential, Bambu replied, "Thank you, Pumao."

Pumao extended his front paw, pointing towards the Divine Seeds at the cave entrance and then towards the four Life Seeds planted at the edge of the cave's flat ground. "The growth of the Divine Seeds is different from the others, Bambu. I suggest you relocate the ordinary Life Seeds elsewhere to provide ample space for the Divine Seeds' development."

Bambu nodded, "That might indeed be necessary. Thank you and Flame Cluster Bambo for your help."

With a flap of his wings, Pumao took off, saying, "No trouble at all. It's a simple matter. You think about where to relocate them. I'll return soon with some food for you."

"Thank you," Bambu replied, watching Pumao disappear into the mountain stream before turning his attention to the Divine Seeds at the cave entrance.

As he approached, he immediately sensed the "contempt" emanating from the Divine Seeds.

Plants lacked brains; their weak souls couldn't engage in logical thinking and had limited memory capacity. The Divine Seeds only remembered Bambu and held a grudge. Not only did they remember, but their retaliatory instincts were particularly strong.

Every time they conveyed "anger" towards Bambu, threatening to kill them, they somehow learned a new emotion - disdain.

Bambu found it both frustrating and futile to engage with such a primitive soul.

Regarding the growth of the Divine Seeds, Bambu was now both pleased and concerned.

Initially, within a span of about ten days, the tender shoots grew rapidly, sprouting six leaves. However, once the grass reached a height of about 30, growth abruptly halted. Underground rhizomes extended laterally, then sprouted new shoots, which rapidly grew into new six-leaved grass plants. After reaching a height of about 30, growth stopped once again.

Now, the Divine Seeds' grass plants lagged far behind the Xun Grass Life Seed in height, even inferior to ordinary Xun Grass. Bambu doubted if they could even bear fruit.

Bambu named the grass plant where the tree spirit resided as the mother plant and the second grass plant sprouted from it as the first clone.

Before molting, Bambu had inspected and discovered that the Divine Seeds' mother plant had produced two additional rhizomes, growing laterally.

Now, upon awakening, those two rhizomes had sprouted two tender shoots, which, barring any surprises, would develop into two more grass plants. Bambu named them as the second and third clones.

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The first, second, and third clones formed an equilateral triangle around the mother plant.

Currently, the first clone was also sprouting rhizomes laterally, indicating that it would soon give rise to new clones.

It was easy to predict that the growth pattern of the Divine Seeds would involve the mother plant producing three clones, each clone further producing three more, and so on.

One begets three, three beget nine, nine beget twenty-seven, and so forth.

Roughly every 20 days constituted a cloning cycle.

With the number of grass plants increasing exponentially, if this trend continued, the entire flat ground in front of the cave would soon be covered in grass, forming a lawn.

The limit to which the Divine Seeds could expand was unpredictable.

Pumao had understood the development pattern of the Divine Seeds and thus advised Bambu to relocate the Xun Grass, Daystar Fruit, White Jade Mulberry, Cedar, and Li Bamboo - four ordinary Life Seeds.

Bambu's concern was that the grass plants of the Divine Seeds were slender and short, and when they eventually flowered, the frequency would be low, resulting in few fruits. Overall, the yield would be low.

Without yield, everything would be in vain.

...

Pumao soon returned carrying a small wild boar.

"How is it, Bambu? Have you decided? Where are you planning to establish the new cave?"

During the meal, Pumao inquired again.

Bambu asked, "What do you think about the southern side of the mountain range? I remember there's a suitable spot there. It has steep cliffs, a large flat area below, and good soil. We just need to clear the naturally growing cedars and oaks, then do some cleaning."

"That location?" Pumao pondered, then nodded. "It's indeed excellent."

"Then it's settled," Bambu confirmed.

"I'll return to the Iron Knife Mountain Range and inform Flame Cluster Bambo to come and help. Bambu, this might be the last time we assist you. Understand? You're about to become an intermediate warrior, and you need to start trying to survive independently."

"I understand. Thank you, Pumao," Bambu replied.

...

Upon hearing about Bambu's molt once again, the Iron Knife Mountain Lord continued to fulfill his promise, sending 50 Mountain Walnut fruits to aid Bambu's growth.

This batch of Force fruits, if distributed reasonably, could barely support Bambu's rate of molting once a month, enabling him to quickly advance to a Level 9 junior warrior.

Above Level 9 was another level - intermediate warrior.

This would likely be the last time Bambu would ask for help from Pumao and Flame Cluster Bambo.

Operating independently, hunting alone, and surviving alone were traditions of the Red Cockroach tribe. Excessive protection from elders would hinder the growth of the younger generation.

...

The southern side of the mountain was selected, and a suitable location was chosen.

With the help of Pumao and Flame Cluster Bambo, they cleared the land, felled trees, removed weeds, relocated the Life Seeds, and planted the Iron Knife Tree Life Seed. A series of tedious tasks took the entire day.

Digging into the mountain and creating a cave was something Bambu felt embarrassed to ask Pumao and Flame Cluster Bambo to assist with.

It wasn't overly difficult, considering Bambu's current size. He planned to dig a small cave himself, making the entrance

tunnel deeper. As he grew, he could gradually expand it.

...

When they first moved to Lichong Peak, Flame Cluster Bambo would visit every few days, concerned about Bambu's well-being, whether he had eaten enough, encountered any dangers, or if there were any issues with the Life Seeds' growth. As Bambu grew and gained some self-sufficiency, and the Life Seeds grew smoothly, the frequency of visits gradually decreased.

Bambu also enjoyed the peace and quiet, still residing in the cave opened by Mountain Lord Jinchu, focusing on cultivating techniques. He only went out twice a day to check on the Life Seeds' status, occasionally fetching water from the mountain reservoir with a bamboo tube during dry spells to water them.

The Xun Grass Life Seed had already grown to a height of 100, leading among all Life Seeds.

The Li Bamboo sapling followed closely, reaching a height of about 40.

The Daystar Fruit, White Jade Mulberry, and Cedar trees were hardwoods, so their growth was much slower. In over a month, they had only grown to about 30 in height, and the growth was decelerating. These trees would require approximately 3 to 5 years to mature and bear fruit.

The Iron Knife Tree Life Seed had just sprouted, and its growth would be even slower, taking nearly 10 years to mature.

The Mountain Lord had promised to deliver Red Stalwart Tree seeds in the autumn. The development of the Red Stalwart Tree would be even slower, taking over 20 years to flower and bear fruit.

The speed of plant growth was closely related to external factors such as climate, soil, and light, besides the inherent differences in plant varieties.

In this world, insects still practiced farming in the most primitive way, realizing that plants needed loosened soil and fertilization. However, their fertilization scheme was extremely rudimentary, simply burying rotten leaves and branches under the plants. In truth, everyone knew that animal dung was better fertilizer, but few insect warriors were willing to do so.

Bambu, through human memories, knew of a method to obtain natural fertilizer: using a biogas digester to accelerate the decomposition of plant branches and leaves, obtaining a large amount of humus fertilizer.

Bambu decided to take the time to build a biogas digester and give it a try.