CHAPTER 396: CHAPTER 381: THE EXORBITANT PERSIMMON FRUIT

Round Cypress awakened from its slumber, successfully evolved to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, rested for two days, and was led by Fragrant Cypress to get familiar with the Purple Tung Insect Nation’s environment and work.

The temperature in the north got colder with each passing day.

Dragon Cypress personally commanded the ant colony to gather wild grass, sun-dry them, bind them into bundles with spider silk, and then lay the huge bundles under the White Poplar Divine Seed tree, making preparations for winter warmth in advance, to prevent the cold from seeping underground and freezing the roots.

Ink Orchid and Spruce guarded under the White Poplar Divine Seed tree all day long.

Dragon Cypress made a rushed trip to send Ghost Fan, White Rice, Snakebark Maple, and Areca back to their respective territories.

After returning to the Purple Tung Insect Nation,

Black Birch, using the Dominating Throne, completed a molting evolution during its sleep; its body length shrank from a robust 2.2 meters to about 2 meters.

Dragon Cypress calculated roughly: if it was like Black Cory and Black Leaf, after six class ascensions and finally evolving into an Assistant King, then its body length would shrink to about one meter.

It could be inferred that Black Birch had fallen from Mountain Lord Level down to High-Level. It would begin to evolve again as a 1st Age High-Level Assistant King.

The specifics remain to be verified.

...

End of autumn, early winter.

Dragon Cypress, counting the days, set out alone and was first to arrive at Black Fruit Mountain.

Red Moonseed was guarding the Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry alone.

The fruits were about to ripen.

The fruit fragrance, extremely alluring to all living beings, drifted through the forest, attracting all sorts of birds and beasts, who rushed recklessly to snatch the food.

Red Moonseed’s method was simply brutal and violent; unlike other Insect Clan Warriors who used the Origin Force Life’s aura to intimidate and drive off intruders, Red Moonseed concealed its presence, waited for these beasts to get close, then struck them down with lightning speed.

Black Fruit Mountain was still nearly an untouched primordial forest, rich in animal resources.

Under the Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry tree, corpses had piled up into a small hill.

"Red Moonseed, what are you doing?"

Dragon Cypress called out from afar, slowing down the Dominating Throne, descending and docking near the tree, and looked up to observe.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King—"

Red Moonseed pointed at the corpses on the ground, fuming as it said, "Some brainless birds and beasts sneaked in while I was asleep and stole 39 of the fruits! Damn it! They all deserve to die!"

"Err—"

Dragon Cypress was speechless for a couple of seconds, then comforted, "It’s okay, this loss isn’t unacceptable..."

After years of flower and fruit pruning, the trunk of the Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry tree had grown to over forty meters. Only after Red Moonseed evolved to High-Level Warrior did it begin to retain fruit, keeping exactly 1000 pieces.

Three years of toil had only yielded this much.

Losing 39 was indeed enough to make any insect ache with pain.

Dragon Cypress set down a wooden plank, directed the accompanying worker ants to the ground, first digging a few shallow pits under the tree, then burying the corpses for compost.

Red Moonseed’s anger faded, then it said expectantly, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, can I pick one to taste now?"

"Of course!"

Dragon Cypress looked up, directed a little worker ant to climb to the top of the tree, pick a Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry that was about to ripen, and bring it over.

At the High-Level tier, the fruit was roughly grape-sized.

Blue-black in color.

Cutting it open carefully for a look, the fruit pulp was crystal-clear white, and the fresh, delicate scent lasted long.

The seed inside was very small, a little bigger than a sesame seed.

"Not bad! Quite sweet!"

"The flavor is great, perfect for making Ant King Honey."

"The quality is excellent too."

Dragon Cypress commented while stuffing the fruit into its mouth, tasting and considering, then quoted directly: "Red Moonseed, just talking about enhancement effects alone, the life force boost of the Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry is among the most valuable category. For a single fruit, I can offer 18 Source Stones—that’s roughly the price offered to the Flame Spider Caravan."

Dragon Cypress: "I’m just earning a bit for the trouble of making Ant King Honey."

Really?

Red Moonseed was skeptical.

After so many years of roving merchant transactions with Dragon Cypress, even if it didn’t fully understand everything else, when it came to merchant lingo, it was very familiar.

But after thinking about it, Red Moonseed figured there wasn’t a problem. It was helping Dragon Cypress Ant King with the transaction: how much the items sold for, how many were sold, how much was earned, could all be worked out later—no way to get scammed.

Red Moonseed said happily, "Thank you, Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

"Don’t mention it!"

Dragon Cypress did the math: "There are 960 fruits left, 18 Source Stones each, for a total of 17,280 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress: "Deducting the 14,000 Source Stones you owe me, that leaves 3,280 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress: "Red Moonseed, I brought you 20 Divine-Given Purple Tung Fruit Seeds, offered at a special low price of 280 Source Stones. What do you think?"

Red Moonseed: "Sounds good!"

Dragon Cypress: "Alright, that settles your entire debt, with exactly 3,000 Source Stones left over. But don’t rush to purchase anything just yet. Once we’re done here, I will head straight to Silver Cypress Mountain, since Silver Cypress’s Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Fruit is also ready to harvest this year."

Red Moonseed: "That’s great!"

Red Moonseed: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, winter is almost here, there’s nothing urgent in my territory—how about I come with you to Silver Cypress Mountain?"

Dragon Cypress hesitated, then said, "Alright! Red Moonseed, keep an eye on the fruits up in the tree. I’ll go check the growth of your common Life Seed plant, and if everything looks good, I’ll take you with me for the journey."

...

After waiting two days,

The Divine-Given Black Fruit Lingonberry fully ripened and was harvested, refined into ant honey.

The Dominating Throne loaded Red Moonseed, and through the night they set out westward.

...

In the early morning, cold mist wound around Silver Cypress Mountain’s slopes, drifting through the forests with the gentle breeze.

Even from far away, one could feel the Mountain Lord Level Primordial Energy pressure radiating from Silver Cypress’s direction.

Guided by golden morning light, the Dominating Throne descended straight toward the Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon tree.

"Silver Cypress!"

Red Moonseed waved its tentacles in greeting, moving agilely, its orange-red hue flashing as it stopped in front of Silver Cypress.

"Red Moonseed! You’re here too."

"Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

Silver Cypress responded, greeted them, and pointed to the crimson persimmons on the tree, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, the fruits were fully ripe as of yesterday..."

"Good! Then we’re not late."

Dragon Cypress quickly set down the wooden plank, commanded the ant colony to land and climb the tree for harvest.

This was also the first harvest from the Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon after Silver Cypress evolved to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, so the matter of new pricing arose.

The pricing of the top-tier Divine Seed of the Mountain Lord level was quite a significant affair.

Soon, a clever worker ant rushed over, bringing a persimmon to Dragon Cypress.

The fruit had a diameter of seven or eight centimeters—a huge specimen.

Dragon Cypress gathered primordial energy at the tip of its claw, slicing the fruit open. Rich persimmon fragrance rapidly filled the air, overwhelming the senses, provoking a strong urge to devour it in one bite.

"Wow!"

"Oh!"

Red Moonseed marveled repeatedly, leaning in close to inspect.

"Great stuff!"

"The persimmons you grow, Silver Cypress, are truly top-notch!"

Dragon Cypress couldn’t help but exclaim, lavishly praising.

The Red Margined Wood Tenebrionid Beetle Warrior’s talent ability was carapace hardness.

The Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon’s enhancement, however, was carapace toughness.

Just like Dragon Cypress and Red Cypress, Silver Cypress and Sky-Blue Persimmon were a highly compatible pair.

The quality of Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Fruit approached that of the Superior Grade—top of the top.

"Try it!"

Dragon Cypress handed half a persimmon to Red Moonseed and swallowed down the other half, focusing to sense its effects.

Silver Cypress kept a close watch on the hesitating Red Moonseed, simultaneously observing Dragon Cypress’s reaction, and then asked at an opportune moment, "Dragon Cypress, so? How much can you sell these for?"

Dragon Cypress thought for a moment, then solemnly, gravely, officially quoted: "Silver Cypress, for Mountain Lord Level Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Fruit, I can offer a purchasing price of 600 Source Stones each."

Six hundred Source Stones per fruit, three hundred for a half?

Already hesitant, Red Moonseed now dared not eat at all upon hearing this price.

Dragon Cypress further analyzed, "The fruit pulp is sweet and the primordial energy abundant—pulp valued at 180 Source Stones, and there are seven persimmon seeds, each at 60 Source Stones per seed."

Dragon Cypress pointed a claw at the persimmon tree, "Five hundred fruits?"

Silver Cypress: "Yes."

Dragon Cypress asked, "Silver Cypress, how many do you want to keep for yourself?"

Silver Cypress did some mental math, weighed it carefully, and said, "I think I’ll keep six for myself."

"Alright!"

"These are so valuable, I’ll cover the tasting fruit out of my own share."

Dragon Cypress began the calculations, "494 Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Fruits, 600 per piece, totaling 296,400 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress: "Silver Cypress, you owe me a sum of 186,000 Source Stones, correct?"

Silver Cypress: "Right."

Dragon Cypress: "So, the balance is 110,400 Source Stones."

Silver Cypress: "That’s correct!"

The accounts were settled.

Dragon Cypress gently swung its tentacles and knocked on Red Moonseed’s head, "Go ahead and eat, Great King’s treat."

Silver Cypress added, "Of the six fruits I kept, I’ll give one to Red Moonseed. Five is enough for me..."

Red Moonseed: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Actually, Silver Cypress could be quite shrewd sometimes; it kept track of every single persimmon to the last one.