CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 054: RETURNING TO SOUTHERN SOUR JUJUBE MOUNTAIN

Wild fruits ripened intermittently throughout the mountain ranges. Ink Orchid had always been searching for them, and Dragon Cypress would occasionally join in, bringing back large quantities of fresh berries, which were then refined into Ant Honey.

After searching the mountains up and down twice, they still hadn’t found any Divine-Given Seeds.

Similar to last year, Dragon Cypress first sent Ink Orchid and ten Specialized Blue Ants to the Molan Mountain Range.

Ink Orchid searched for Divine-Given Seeds while also casually picking some wild fruits not found on Xianglan Mountain.

The Specialized Blue Ants refined and brewed Ant Honey.

Dragon Cypress returned to the Xianglan Mountain Range, waiting for Spiked Cypress to emerge.

About half a month later, as predicted, the Giant Ant Cocoon was rent from within.

A Gigantification Soldier Ant!

Its pale yellow, tender Carapace quickly hardened and blackened until it was completely pitch black.

It was about 70 centimeters in length. It had curved-hooked mandibles, a huge head, a slender thorax and abdomen, and long legs. This was a body structure adept at rapid running and biting combat. It had a somewhat blocky, tiger-cub-like head.

"Spiked Cypress?" Dragon Cypress shook its Tentacles, trying to communicate.

"Dragon Cypress," Spiked Cypress directly called out Dragon Cypress’s name.

"Hm?" Dragon Cypress was startled and asked, "Spiked Cypress, do you know your own name?"

Spiked Cypress replied, "Yes. You’ve called me before."

Dragon Cypress asked, "During the larval stage?"

"Yes," Spiked Cypress confirmed.

Dragon Cypress had a sudden realization. Both Intelligent Worker Ants and Gigantification Soldier Ants developed consciousness during their larval stage.

When Round Cypress was in its larval stage, Dragon Cypress had been a bit busy. The Worker Ants had taken care of everything, so he hadn’t noticed.

This summer, Dragon Cypress had some spare time. He frequently brought the larval Spiked Cypress to the Dominating Throne to supplement it with Origin Force, often keeping it by his side.

"Did you learn a lot from me?" Dragon Cypress inquired.

"Not really..." Spiked Cypress shook its Tentacles and said, "You were always sleeping."

Dragon Cypress was speechless.

At that moment, Round Cypress received the message and hurried over.

Spiked Cypress immediately said, "That’s Round Cypress! It commands the Worker Ants."

Spiked Cypress then waved its Tentacles toward Round Cypress, greeting, "Round Cypress, I recognize you!"

Round Cypress, not surprised, responded, "Congratulations, Spiked Cypress, on successfully completing your Feather Transformation. From now on, the safety of Xianglan Mountain’s territory and the Ant Nest’s food supply will be in your care."

Spiked Cypress said, "I know! I’ve heard you and Dragon Cypress discussing this..."

The two of them struck up a conversation immediately.

Alright then. That saves me the trouble of having to introduce them to each other.

"Spiked Cypress, Round Cypress, come on. Let’s go up the mountain and familiarize ourselves with the environment," Dragon Cypress said, shaking its Tentacles and signaling them out of the Ant Nest.

...

"This is my first Life Seed Plant, the Dragon Cypress Tree."

"The second Life Seed, the Round Cypress Tree."

"The third, the Spiked Cypress Tree."

"The fourth, the Cypress Tree."

Dragon Cypress introduced each of the various Life Seed Plants in his territory, as well as the precious seedlings being cultivated in the Nursery.

He then took them to the Molan Territory and introduced everything all over again.

Dragon Cypress was not in a hurry to meet up with Ink Orchid.

Taking Round Cypress along, he leisurely strolled up and down the mountain, introducing the various plants and animals. He also took the opportunity to let Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress get to know each other better so they could work together more effectively in the future.

Spiked Cypress was as intelligent as Round Cypress and could remember almost everything after being taught only once.

"You two take good care of our home, each fulfilling your roles, and don’t quarrel. I’ll be away on a long journey and probably won’t return for about two months."

Five days later, Dragon Cypress left this message. Still using a Bamboo Tube to carry ten small Worker Ants, he descended the mountain, bid farewell to Azure, and controlled the Dominating Throne to fly eastward.

...

...

...

The Refinement Ability of the Blue Ants was such that ten pounds of ripe fruit might not even yield half a pound of Ant Honey.

On Molan Mountain, within a cave, there were ten Specialized Blue Ants, only two of which had full abdomens.

In the corner lay a bag of dried chestnut fruit that had been aired out.

Ink Orchid was not there.

As the season entered autumn, various fruits ripened concurrently; she must have been out searching.

Dragon Cypress glanced out of the cave entrance, controlling the Dominating Throne to rise slowly, hovering two to three hundred meters in the air.

Before long, Ink Orchid returned, flying unsteadily with a heavy Spider Silk Bag in tow.

"Dragon Cypress, you’re finally here!"

"The Oil Persimmons in the forest have all turned yellow, and I picked a bagful."

"I’ve combed through Molan Mountain three times this year, yet I still haven’t found a Divine-Given Seed."

As Ink Orchid spoke, she descended onto the Throne and asked, "Did Spiked Cypress emerge successfully?"

"Of course. I was worried it might fight with Round Cypress, so I delayed for another two days," Dragon Cypress explained. He then opened the Spider Silk Bag to look. The Persimmon Fruits inside were shaped like elongated ovals, three to four centimeters long, and mostly small, likely due to drought.

They were still hard and unripe; they needed to be kept in the bag to soften for a few days.

"Has the ninth leaf of your Deep Blue God-Given Seed grown in yet? How big is its fruit?" Ink Orchid asked.

"Azure grows fastest in the hot summer and is already over five meters tall; its tenth leaf is about to unfurl. But the development of its fruit has always been slow, only..." Dragon Cypress plucked the smallest Oil Persimmon Fruit from the bag and said, "It’s only about one-fifth the size of this one. At best, it won’t be ripe until next year."

"So its Blossom-Fruit Cycle is now two years," Ink Orchid observed.

She then said worriedly, "Melde is so stingy; will it lend us the Source Stones?"

Dragon Cypress said, "If we borrow less, it should be okay..." He wasn’t certain either.

Melde was a qualified, cunning old merchant; it was not as easy to deal with as White Ivy.

Ink Orchid emphasized again, "I’ve checked this area three times and confirmed there’s no Divine-Given Seed. Dragon Cypress, we must hurry and find a Land of Origin Force!"

Dragon Cypress agreed, "Alright. Let’s first check the situation at Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."

...

After resting for a night, they packed up and set off at dawn the next day.

They flew southwest for half a day, then turned due south, searching along the way. Dragon Cypress had an exceptional sense of direction.

Eight days later, veering slightly westward, he arrived at the destination with pinpoint accuracy.

The southern lands were still scorching hot, with the blazing sun hanging high overhead.

Dragon Cypress enlarged the Dominating Throne to its maximum size, placing it under the shade of the Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seed.

Ink Orchid headed south, Dragon Cypress north.

Each carrying a Spider Silk Bag, they took flight to search for Divine-Given Seeds and also to gather fresh wild fruits.

The weather, however, could change swiftly. On what had been a sunny afternoon, a sudden violent wind arose, bending the forest trees until they could hardly stay upright, threatening to topple them.

The sky quickly darkened, and dark clouds gathered like surging black ink.

Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder rolled in.

Worried about being struck by lightning, Dragon Cypress returned early to the shade of the Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seed.

Soon after, the rain poured down like buckets, and Ink Orchid returned, bedraggled and crawling.

The following day, the rain stopped.

The sky was azure, dotted with white clouds.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid stayed atop the Dominating Throne, looking up at the tree.

The rate at which the Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seed absorbed Origin Force had clearly increased—a sign that its Origin Force Fruit was about to ripen!

They waited until twilight. In the late afternoon, the surrounding Origin Force began to accelerate towards the Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seed, then was completely absorbed by its branches and leaves.

After a while, the Origin Force around the tree became scarce.

The Origin Force from nearby areas started to diffuse towards it, but the rate was limited.

"Dragon Cypress, isn’t there a lot of Origin Force stored inside the Dominating Throne? Can we transfer some to it?" Ink Orchid asked, somewhat anxious.

"Let me try..." Dragon Cypress attempted to communicate with the Dominating Throne but received no response. "It seems not," he concluded.

Dragon Cypress comforted her, "It’s okay. Don’t underestimate the Life Force of Wild Divine-Given Seeds. It will definitely survive, though the quality of the Origin Force Fruit might be slightly poorer."

"Oh—" Ink Orchid fell silent. She waited quietly.