CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 032: AZURE (EXTRA RELEASE, PLEASE FOLLOW)

"Ink Orchid, what are you doing?"

"Oh~ the weather hasn’t been great recently, so I’m airing out the Origin Force Food."

"You should dry them under the sun on a clear day."

"Okay. I got it."

Ink Orchid bent her head to tidy up, asking, "Dragon Cypress, is something up?"

Dragon Cypress, shrinking the Dominating Throne slightly, slowly floated into the cave, cheerfully announcing, "Good news! The Deep Blue God-Given Seed has awakened its consciousness, and it seems quite clever."

"Really?"

Excited by the news, Ink Orchid exclaimed joyfully, "If it has consciousness, it can start to bloom and bear fruit now!"

"Dragon Cypress, when does it bloom?"

Dragon Cypress said, "I don’t know..."

Then he asked, "Did you hear the thunder just now?"

Ink Orchid replied, "Of course."

Dragon Cypress explained, "It seems the thunder shocked it, waking up the Deep Blue God-Given Seed’s consciousness prematurely. During our communication, I felt its spiritual power was very weak."

Dragon Cypress stated his purpose, "Ink Orchid, I came to get some Source Stones for Azure to help it grow quickly and stabilize its consciousness."

Ink Orchid pointed toward the depths of the cave, saying, "The Source Stones are over there in the Spider Silk Bag, you can take them yourself."

Dragon Cypress exclaimed, "Okay!"

There were 90 Source Stones in total. 25 had been used when sowing the Deep Blue God-Given Seed. Dragon Cypress now took another 15, leaving 50. These remaining fifty were for the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed to supplement its Origin Force when it matured.

"Dragon Cypress, I’ll come take a look!"

After finishing up, Ink Orchid hopped onto the Dominating Throne.

"Okay. Together," said Dragon Cypress, controlling the Dominating Throne to float out of the cave and soar straight up.

「...」

"Dragon Cypress."

As the Dominating Throne got closer, Azure greeted him politely and immediately conveyed a questioning emotion: Who is it?

Dragon Cypress was momentarily surprised.

Inherited Memory tells me that Divine-Given Seeds from Natural God System plants usually have strong territorial instincts, especially repelling other members of the Insect Clan.

Azure seemed different; it showed no emotional resistance towards Ink Orchid.

"Her name is Ink Orchid. My friend," Dragon Cypress explained, pulling out a Source Stone. He added, "Azure, this is a Source Stone that can help you evolve and grow. It belongs to Ink Orchid."

"Source Stone."

Azure conveyed a joyful emotion and then sent a friendly emotion towards Ink Orchid.

Ink Orchid immediately sensed the mental fluctuation from Azure, turned her head in astonishment, and looked at Dragon Cypress.

"Dragon Cypress, does it seem to like me?"

"It’s not that it likes you. I told it that these Source Stones are yours."

"Oh—"

That works? Ink Orchid tilted her head, pondering, then suggested, "Dragon Cypress, next time, also take a few Source Stones to the territory of the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed. If I tell Fragant Orchid that the stones are from you, it might stop scolding you."

Dragon Cypress was baffled. ???

The Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed was scolding me?

Dragon Cypress went silent for a few seconds, then analyzed, "I guess the plants from the Creator Civilization are quite different from those of the Natural God System. Azure is inherently more gentle."

He continued, "There’s no hope for Fragant Orchid... What did it scold me for?"

"It didn’t say anything bad," Ink Orchid looked up at the sky, urging, "You should hurry and use the Source Stones for Azure."

Dragon Cypress fell silent.

He scrutinized Azure, carefully controlled the Dominating Throne to descend, moved forward slowly, and approached the first broad leaf.

Standing at the edge of the seat, his jaws holding the Source Stone, his foretoes scraped transversely, letting layers of crystalline powder sprinkle onto the leaf. The Origin Force effused and was immediately absorbed by the foliage.

Dragon Cypress’s Divine-Given Seed unexpectedly didn’t resist him! Ink Orchid, even more delighted than Dragon Cypress, had several questions but seeing him busy, she didn’t want to disturb him and quietly stood by to watch.

「...」

The trumpet-shaped broad leaves were turned outward.

White, crystalline Source Stone powder was scattered on top. The Origin Force drained away, its color fading, washed away by the rain.

Dragon Cypress unhurriedly scraped off one Source Stone.

Seeing this, Ink Orchid hurriedly asked, "Dragon Cypress, does Azure need fertilizing?"

Having said that, she lifted her forelimb and gently pointed at the waterlogged opening.

This is a problem.

Dragon Cypress had thought about the issue of fertilizing before but had hesitated to try, given that plants from the Outworld Civilization might differ from those of the Natural God System.

Dragon Cypress said, "After the rain stops, we can try."

Ink Orchid then asked, "How does Azure bloom and bear fruit? Does it grow Flower Swords from its trunk? What is its Blossom-Fruit Cycle? Is it a year?"

This was also a question that had always intrigued Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress asked, "Azure, do you know how you bloom?"

Azure conveyed its confusion, "???"

It was puzzled, sending a questioning spiritual thought.

"Not sure? Well, that’s alright then. You’re very weak right now. Rest up and try to use less spiritual power."

Dragon Cypress turned to Ink Orchid and replied, "It has no idea at all."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid thought it over and asked, "What does Azure know? Does it know anything at all?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "It thinks the Source Stone is good. Beyond that, it knows nothing. It’s been reset to Zero, Reborn, and its memories are also cleared."

Ink Orchid said, "Well—"

Then she added, "I also think the Source Stone is good."

Feeling helpless, Ink Orchid asked one last question, "Dragon Cypress, when can you evolve into a Mid-Level Ant King?"

Ink Orchid added, "The sooner you reach Mid-Level, the sooner Azure can advance. Its growth rate will be faster, and who knows, maybe it will bloom next spring."

Life Seeds evolve in sync with the Insect Clan Warrior that nurtures them. The higher their level of Evolution, the faster their Growth, and the higher the quality of the Origin Force Fruits they produce.

The Growth pattern of Arbor Divine-Given Seeds slightly differs from that of herbaceous Divine-Given Seeds.

Arbor Life Seeds cannot rapidly develop through division like herbaceous plants. They require Time to grow. Day by day, year by year, their trunks grow thicker, and correspondingly, the yield of Origin Force Fruits increases.

Moreover, a few special categories of Arbor Life Seeds, regardless of how much their trunk expands, produce a fixed number of Origin Force Fruits. Such types generally possess extremely rare and powerful enhancement effects.

"I completed my ninth Age Period just a little over a month ago. I can’t be impatient. I’ll take it slow and advance in the fall."

After finishing, Dragon Cypress asked puzzledly, "Ink Orchid, why are you so eager for Azure to bloom and bear fruit?"

Ink Orchid replied, "I want to know if the Origin Force Food it produces is valuable, if it’s produced in high quantities, and how much profit it can bring us each year..."

Ink Orchid sighed, "I miss my Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot. Think about it, Dragon Cypress, on such a cold and rainy day like today, it would be so nice to have a cup of hot water to drink."

Dragon Cypress felt a pang of guilt and after a long silence, solemnly promised, "Ink Orchid, don’t worry. Starting next year, my Life Seed Plants will begin to produce yields that increase year by year. I believe we will soon save up enough Source Stones to buy a perfectly intact Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot!"

「...」

15 Source Stones—seven in the morning and eight in the afternoon—were all used up in one day.

Refreshed by the Origin Force, Azure’s frail consciousness stabilized.

After the rain had cleared, Dragon Cypress fetched nearly half a Bamboo Tube of fertile water from the mountain’s Marsh Gas Pool. He cautiously approached Azure with the Dominating Throne, pouring a bit into the second broad leaf from the center.

Azure immediately sent back a mix of emotions—joy, liking, questioning, urging—all blended in its spiritual thoughts.

No need to ask further.

Dragon Cypress turned to Ink Orchid and said, "It’s effective! The fertilizing works the same as with our Natural God System plants."

"That’s great!"

Ink Orchid cheered, habitually asking, "Dragon Cypress, Azure’s growth has been slow lately. Could it be due to insufficient nutrients from the pond?"

"Might be partly. We’ll know after observing for a while."

Dragon Cypress wasn’t sure. He controlled the Dominating Throne to rise closer to Azure’s third leaf and poured a bit more fertile water inside.

Immediately, Azure sent back another happy spiritual thought.

Lastly, Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to descend, pouring all the remaining fertile water from the Bamboo Tube into the lowest, first broad leaf.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid rode the Dominating Throne back to the mountain. They used a larger Bamboo Tube to fetch water from the Marsh Gas Pool, delivered it downhill, and poured it into the small pond.

Once the pond’s fertile water was scooped out, the Marsh Slag that had settled at the bottom was the real treasure. They dug it all out for use.