CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 387: THE EFFICIENCY OF THE HUAGI DIVINE TREE

The Glinting Gold, a divine object fused by the Huagi Divine Tree, possesses the ability to store both Origin Force and energy matter.

Once sown, in just half an afternoon and one night, the tree’s trunk exceeded thirty meters in height, the energy was exhausted, and it entered a steady growth phase.

The intense Origin Force fluctuations alarmed the Barley Bug Warriors as well.

At dawn, fifteen Mountain Lords led by Mountain Thorn, Magnolia Bark, and Fuzzy Flower formed a group to pay a visit.

Led by Cypress, they arrived beneath the Purple Tung Divine-Given Seed tree at the center of the Land of Origin Force.

Magnolia Bark raised a claw, gently pointed in the direction where the Huagi Divine Tree had taken root, and asked cautiously yet curiously:

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, I heard from Cypress that a Divine Tree from Huagi Mountain has migrated over?"

Dragon Cypress: "Indeed. The Huagi Divine Tree. Though not of Divine Grade, it is even mightier than those of Divine Grade. Once, it was the leader of Huagi Mountain, guiding the Shield Grasshopper Tribe from a small mountain tribe to become the largest tribe of Cloud Trace in the last Origin Force Era."

All the Barley Bug Warriors’ tentacles stood up at these words, filled with solemn reverence.

During their usual idle conversations, they had all heard that Huagi Mountain was once a superpower with insect populations exceeding fifty thousand.

Dragon Cypress continued, "The Huagi Divine Tree was first to awaken and be reborn. Subsequently, three more Divine God-Given Seeds gradually came to take root in Purple Tung Insect Nation."

Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord asked worriedly, "There won’t be any conflict with the Purple Tung Divine-Given Seed, will there? And as for Five Leaf’s Harewood Divine-Given Seed, we plan to sow it by the riverbank..."

Dragon Cypress: "It won’t! The Huagi Divine Tree is an existence surpassing King-Level. Reborn in tree heart form, it rapidly restored its growth upon landing, hence the terrifying consumption of Origin Force—but this is only temporary. After some days, as the trunk recovers, its daily Origin Force consumption for breathing will be very limited."

—That’s good, then.

—Now we can rest assured.

—An existence beyond King-Level!

—What a terrifying Primordial Energy pressure.

The Barley Bug Warriors marveled, one after another.

Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord inquired, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, should we go pay our respects to the Huagi Divine Tree?"

Dragon Cypress: "Of course! However, now is not quite the time. Let’s wait until it has recovered to its peak state before we go."

Dragon Cypress paused, then said gravely, "The Natural True God has established a law: within the Natural Star Realm, existences surpassing King-Level are not permitted. The reason the Divine Tree of Huagi Mountain managed to break this law is by fusing with a divine object from the Outworld. Such divine objects also grant them mighty combat power. You must not approach of your own accord."

A Divine Tree with combat power?

Difficult to believe, but they dared not doubt.

The insects were all in awe, nodding their tentacles in agreement.

Dragon Cypress continued, "Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord, Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord, Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord, I remember that your territories produce the most Life System Origin Force Food. I am in urgent need here and wish to purchase a batch from your territory. For now, I’ll use the Ant King Trust Card for payment. In some time, when the Purple Tung Flower begins trading, if you require anything, you may also use the Ant King Trust Card to purchase."

Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord: "Very well!"

Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord: "Agreed!"

Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord: "No problem!"

The three Mountain Lords agreed readily.

Having cleared up the matter, the Barley Bug Warriors took their leave.

Dragon Cypress rode the Dominating Throne to the territories of the three Mountain Lords to purchase Origin Force Food, handing it to the Blue Ants for refinement and blending, repacking it into jars of three thousand Source Stones each.

He handed it to Cypress, instructing it to water and sprinkle the leaves of the White Poplar Divine Seed with one jar every three days.

Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Snakebark Maple stood watch over the White Poplar Divine Seed.

Black Leaf and Spruce guarded the Huagi Divine Tree.

With all arrangements complete, Dragon Cypress rode the Dominating Throne, carrying Yellow Stem, and set forth.

...

The Dominating Throne traveled back and forth between Huagi Mountain and Purple Tung Insect Nation, completing six or seven trips a day.

Each trip could transport fifty or sixty bags of Huagi Divine Tree’s Divine-Given Exuviae.

Loading and transport were no easy tasks either.

Dragon Cypress headed south first, bringing Ghost Fan, White Rice, and White Willow to the Purple Tung Insect Nation.

Spruce was sent back to Huagi Mountain.

Then, Black Birch was dispatched, leading ten Specialized Worker Ants to assist.

Yellow Stem and Spruce packed the remains into bags on the lower levels, moving them to the treasury on the middle level where Origin Force Food was stored.

Black Birch commanded the Worker Ants to carry them out of the cave.

Each time Dragon Cypress arrived, he directly loaded bag after bag onto the Dominating Throne, transporting them to Purple Tung Insect Nation.

On the Purple Tung Insect Nation side, White Rice used Earth System abilities, coordinating with the ant colony to dig a trench around the Huagi Divine Tree.

The remains were carried over and dumped bag by bag downward, with layers of soil spread and filled in.

...

The Huagi Divine Tree steadily grew at a rate of two to three meters per day.

After ten days of diligent effort, when Dragon Cypress had transported all of the Huagi Divine Tree’s exuviae and buried them, its trunk height also surpassed fifty meters.

The underground roots spread out, beginning to absorb nutrients from the exuviae, and the tree entered another phase of rapid growth.

In one day, it rose by over ten meters. Its Origin Force absorption and exhalation ability was truly terrifying. In an ultra-concentrated Origin Force environment, 2.3 times the norm, it created an Origin Force Vacuum Land with a kilometer radius.

The Origin Force fluctuations affected the entire Land of Origin Force.

In just over ten days, the trunk’s height broke through one hundred meters.

The grand commotion attracted many Barley Bug Warriors, who clustered by the border-defining river canal to observe, all convinced by Dragon Cypress’s words: truly a world-piercing Divine Tree!

...

...

The warm wind was mild, the ice and snow melted.

All things in Purple Tung Insect Nation revived, and the springtime growth began.

The White Poplar Divine Seed sprouted branches and bloomed; after the petals fell, six pale green fruits hung from the branches.

Having used the Huagi Divine Tree’s remains, it suddenly shot up another two or three meters, its overall aura and qualities subtly changed as well.

Ink Orchid and Snakebark Maple stood nearby on guard.

Dragon Cypress parked the Dominating Throne beneath the tree and dozed off for a midday nap.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

White Willow flew over.

Dragon Cypress raised his head and waved his tentacle in response.

White Willow: "The Huagi Divine Tree requests your presence."

Dragon Cypress: "What is the matter?"

White Willow: "I don’t know; I dare not ask—"

Having heard that the three Divine Trees from Huagi Mountain all possessed offensive powers, and that the Huagi Divine Tree’s temperament was far from gentle, its words always carried an oppressive force that brooked no dissent. Everyone was honestly a bit afraid.

Ghost Fan, White Rice, White Willow, and the Soldier Ants under Black Leaf, who guarded the Huagi Divine Tree, all stayed five hundred meters away from the trunk, not daring to draw closer.

Ink Orchid, unafraid, leapt onto the Throne and squeezed in next to Dragon Cypress, saying, "Let’s go find out together!"

"Let’s go ask~"

"Snakebark Maple, don’t wander off. Watch over the White Poplar Divine Seed."

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne skyward.

Only about three thousand meters separated them; in a moment, they arrived.

"Huagi Divine Tree!"

Ink Orchid greeted it warmly, asking, "Are you settling in well here?"

Huagi Divine Tree: "...Getting used to it."

Dragon Cypress raised a leg and nudged Ink Orchid, signaling it not to waste words and to get to the point, then asked, "Huagi Divine Tree, is there something you need of me?"

Huagi Divine Tree: "I have basically recovered. You can remove the ant army and little warriors stationed around me."

Dragon Cypress hesitated slightly, then replied, "As you command."

Huagi Divine Tree: "You may begin preparations for the revival of the Linnan Divine Tree."

Dragon Cypress: "...So soon?"

Huagi Divine Tree: "I do not like to procrastinate in my dealings."

Dragon Cypress: "I have always handled matters crisply and efficiently."

Huagi Divine Tree: "I can see that."

Huagi Divine Tree: "At the eastern side, at a spot that maintains a distance of fifteen hundred meters from both me and the Purple Tung Divine Tree, dig a pit sixty meters in diameter and eight meters deep. Transport Linnan Divine Tree’s exuviae there for burial and restoration. Once that is done, you may bring it here to be revived."

Dragon Cypress: "Alright! I’ll organize the excavation now."

Originally, Dragon Cypress thought he’d wait until the Huagi Divine Tree reached two hundred meters in height before broaching the subject of awakening the Linnan Divine Tree. Unexpectedly, the Huagi Divine Tree was even more eager than himself.

It couldn’t be called impatience; rather, such was the Huagi Divine Tree’s nature—swift and decisive.

However...

Dragon Cypress considered and cautiously inquired, "Huagi Divine Tree, what about the Jinhe Divine-Given Seed..."

Huagi Divine Tree: "Jinhe is different from Linnan and me. We keep to the agreement."

The agreement was to send Ink Orchid’s Red Phellodendron Divine-Given Seed to Huagi Mountain to take root, and only then could the Jinhe Divine-Given Seed be awakened and brought to take root in Purple Tung Insect Nation.

In the future, after Ink Orchid evolved to King-Level, both Jinhe Divine-Given Seed’s tree heart and remains would need to be returned to Huagi Mountain, before the Red Phellodendron Divine-Given Seed’s tree heart could be reclaimed.

Dragon Cypress: "Understood!"

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll get right on it."