CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 075 RIPENING OF THE AZURE FRUIT

Xianglan Mountain, South.

From a distance, Dragon Cypress saw Spiked Cypress; it led over a hundred Specialized Soldier Ants to surround the pond at the foot of the mountain.

Underneath the Deep Blue God-Given Seed, ten Specialized Blue Soldiers also stood on the water’s surface, heads held high, mandibles wide open, ready for battle.

Ink Orchid flew out first, circling the Deep Blue God-Given Seed once before racing back to the Throne.

"Dragon Cypress! The Azure Fruit turned blue! It looks like it’s about to ripen!"

So soon!

Dragon Cypress said, "Let’s take a look!"

The Dominating Throne approached the Deep Blue God-Given Seed, halted abruptly, then began to descend slowly, hovering over the water.

"Azure!"

Dragon Cypress called out, sweeping his spiritual power around in a scan, then looking up.

Underneath the broad leaves, the round fruits growing on the veins had all reached the size of apricots, their color transitioning from the initial green to blue-green.

"Dragon Cypress..." Azure spoke with a touch of grievance, "Spiked Cypress drove all the frogs away."

"Uhm—"

Dragon Cypress said, "I’ll teach it a lesson for you!"

Dragon Cypress inquired, "Azure, it seems like your fruits are about to ripen, aren’t they?"

Azure conveyed a sense of confusion and uncertainty through telekinesis.

Well then, Dragon Cypress thought for a moment, then asked, "Azure, do you have enough Origin Force?"

Azure responded, "Enough."

Azure reminded, "Dragon Cypress, the rice is about to be ready for harvest. Don’t forget to collect it."

Dragon Cypress replied, "I’ve already informed Round Cypress—when the time comes, it will lead the Worker Ants to harvest."

Azure said, "Dragon Cypress, there’s a bit too much duckweed in the pond."

Dragon Cypress replied, "It’s too much trouble to scoop up. When I have time, I’ll go to the riverside and see if I can catch a few fish that eat duckweed to bring back."

Azure tattled, "Spiked Cypress picked a lotus flower!"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Azure was completely different from the plants in the Natural God System. The Divine-Given Seeds of the Natural God System, regardless of their inherent nature and temper, would never allow other animals or plants to exist within their territory. They particularly opposed plants competing with them for sunlight and nutrients, and even more so, any Origin Force Life competing for Origin Force.

But Azure was the total opposite; it seemed to want more animals and plants within its territory.

Was this a tree from another planet that enjoyed farming?

Dragon Cypress replied, "Alright. I’ll give Spiked Cypress a stern lesson."

Dragon Cypress attempted to communicate with the Dominating Throne, trying to transfer Origin Force to Azure.

No response.

It seemed that the fruits still required the expenditure of Source Stones to ripen after all. Slightly disappointed.

The Dominating Throne gently floated away, landing ashore.

"Great King!"

Spiked Cypress hurriedly approached.

At some point, Spiked Cypress and Round Cypress had begun calling Dragon Cypress ’Great King’ in a rather sycophantic tone.

"Spiked Cypress, you did a very good job this time!"

Dragon Cypress did not skimp on the praise. Spiked Cypress’s performance this time greatly satisfied Dragon Cypress.

Spiked Cypress stood its tentacles straight and declared with a metallic tone, "The task assigned by the Great King—Spiked Cypress does not dare to slack off!"

Spiked Cypress explained further, "Five days ago, Round Cypress noticed a change in the color of the Azure Fruits in the pond and informed me. I immediately led the Soldier Ants to surround this area."

Dragon Cypress looked around and asked, "Did we also have torrential rains here, causing floods?"

Spiked Cypress confirmed, "Yes. A very heavy downpour. There were fierce winds and lightning too. Flash floods nearly reached the first leaf of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed. It scared Round Cypress and me terribly."

With a shudder in its tentacles, Spiked Cypress continued with lingering fear, "Two downpours. Luckily, Round Cypress was quick-witted. Right after the first downpour, it immediately led the Worker Ants to clear the silt and branches at the valley mouth. Just after they finished clearing, the second downpour hit."

Xianglan Mountain almost suffered a flood as well? Dragon Cypress was also frightened by the thought, asking, "What about the mountaintop? No accidents, right?"

Spiked Cypress assured, "Great King, rest assured. With Round Cypress and me here, no problems will arise!"

Dragon Cypress inquired, "Where’s Round Cypress?"

Spiked Cypress pointed towards North Mountain, saying, "The weather is cool and overcast; it’s taking the Worker Ants to clear land on North Mountain."

"Good. Continue to stand guard."

"And don’t pick the lotus flowers in the pond; Azure is unhappy about it."

Dragon Cypress warned and then turned to Ink Orchid, "There are no major problems. Let’s return to the mountain for now."

Midsummer had just begun.

Cloudy days and thunderstorms ensued.

The adaptability of cypress trees was still very strong, as the Silver Cypress saplings planted in the nurseries both south and north of the mountain all survived and were thriving.

The land planned for transplanting the saplings in South Mountain had been fully cultivated.

North Mountain was still being cultivated; after Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid returned, they too joined in the labor.

At the same time, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid began to consume large amounts of Origin Force Food, mainly White Rice Fruit and Ghost Fan, with a moderate intake of Southern Sour Jujube Seed.

The color of the fruit of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed changed, and its size became fixed. Dragon Cypress watched over it for several days, but there was no further action.

Spiked Cypress was left to lead the Soldier Ants in guarding it.

Once the land in the north was cultivated, Dragon Cypress and Round Cypress led the ant colony in digging the Marsh Gas Pool, constructing water storage ponds, and digging canals.

Time flew by, and a month passed in a flash.

In the midst of busyness and anticipation, there was still no sign of the fruit of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed ripening.

A cold wind swept through the area overnight.

After a heavy rain, the temperature dropped sharply.

Spiked Cypress, who had gone down the mountain for an early morning patrol, ran back to the cave.

"Great King!"

"Great King!"

"The Azure Fruit seems to be maturing! It’s speeding up its absorption of Origin Force!"

It had finally entered the maturation phase!

"Let’s go! Down the mountain!"

"Spiked Cypress, go inform Round Cypress."

Dragon Cypress, with 100 Source Stones already prepared, took five Specialized Worker Ants with him, controlling the Dominating Throne and heading straight for the foot of the mountain.

After a summer of growth, Azure had reached a height of seven to eight meters. Its 14th broadleaf had fully unfurled, and the diameter of its lowest, first broadleaf exceeded 1.5 meters.

It was now accelerating the absorption of the free Origin Force from nature.

There was no doubt that the fruit was maturing.

"Azure?" Dragon Cypress called out inquiringly.

Azure was somewhat frantic, saying, "Dragon Cypress, the fruits seem to be ripe... They are extracting my Origin Force."

The Dominating Throne slowly approached, stopping beside the first broadleaf, as a Specialized Worker Ant, carefully carrying a Source Stone, climbed up.

The Dominating Throne rose, and another Specialized Worker Ant carrying a Source Stone climbed onto another leaf.

On the third, fourth, and fifth broadleaves, a Specialized Worker Ant was positioned on each.

With forelimbs holding the Source Stones, their mandible teeth scraped rapidly, causing Source Stone powder to fall and release Origin Force.

"Azure, how is it?" Dragon Cypress inquired.

"A little better," replied Azure.

Now, its tree body was large enough, and its rate of Origin Force absorption was fast. However, the surrounding Natural Primordial Force was insufficient, so a slight supplement was enough to relieve the pressure.

Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress arrived with a large number of Worker Ants and Soldier Ants, surrounding the small pond completely.

The Soldier Ants all held their heads high, mandibles agape and sharpened, ready for battle.

The Worker Ants were a bit confused, scurrying around until they found there was no danger, then settled down to watch the excitement.

Around noon, Ink Orchid flew over with a big bag of wild fruits and, upon seeing the situation, understood what was happening.

"Wow!"

"The Azure Fruit has matured!"

Ink Orchid exclaimed, then complained discontentedly, "Dragon Cypress, what’s going on? Why didn’t you inform me?"

"I was careless. It might have suddenly reached maturity last night without any warning. Spiked Cypress only discovered it when it went down the mountain this morning. It was an emergency, so I had to stay here and couldn’t leave, which is why I couldn’t inform you."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid asked, "Are there enough Source Stones?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "It should be enough... There’s nothing to be done if it’s not."

These were still the 800 Source Stones they had gotten from White Ivy two years ago: 600 from Ghost Fan, with 200 left at Xianglan Mountain.

Last year, Fruit-Scented Orchid used 50, and this year another 50 were anticipated.

There were only 62 fruits on the Deep Blue God-Given Seed, so only 100 were prepared.

As the Source Stones were about to run out, there was no sign of the process stopping.

Dragon Cypress had a thought and communicated with the Dominating Throne, attempting once more to transfer the reserved Origin Force to the Deep Blue God-Given Seed.

Unexpectedly, there was a response this time.

At the top of the Dominating Throne’s backrest, Origin Force converged, highly condensed, forming a hazy white Origin Force Line connecting to the trunk of the Deep Blue God-Given Seed.

A vast amount of Origin Force continued to be infused.

Why did it suddenly work again?

Dragon Cypress agonized and felt like spitting blood.