CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 076: THE TRADE ROUTE

The Dominating Throne infused the Deep Blue God-Given Seed with Origin Force for a mere ten seconds before the process ended. The Deep Blue God-Given Seed also stopped absorbing Origin Force. Under the astonished gaze of Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid, the fruit, originally blue-green, rapidly turned blue, then deep blue, and finally a dark, blackish-azure.

At twilight, a rich, Ling Chong-intoxicating fruity fragrance burst forth, quickly spreading.

Ink Orchid asked, "Is it ripe?"

"Not sure..." Dragon Cypress murmured.

He then asked Azure, "Azure, is the fruit ripe?"

??? Azure sent back a thought filled with confusion.

Dragon Cypress rephrased, "Azure, is the fruit still absorbing your Origin Force and nutrients?"

Azure replied, "It doesn’t seem to be..."

That meant it was ripe. It’s ready! Pick! Dragon Cypress decided. He shrank the Dominating Throne, stood on it alone, floated beneath the leaves, and quickly picked all 62 fruits one by one.

Ink Orchid was the first to try a fruit, exclaiming, "So sweet!"

"So fragrant!" Dragon Cypress agreed, taking a bite himself.

"The taste is different from any fruit of our Natural God System!"

There were only 62 fruits in total.

Ink Orchid was the first to try a fruit, praising it nonstop. Dragon Cypress also picked one up and took a bite. It was indeed very fragrant and sweet. The texture was a bit odd; the Fruit Pulp was somewhat chewy, with a glutinous feel. The fruit was round, apricot-sized, with a heart-shaped, pale blue Fruit Core also the size of an apricot pit.

"Dragon Cypress, the enhancement effect is the Water Element Ability, right?" Ink Orchid asked.

"Correct," Dragon Cypress confirmed.

"Dragon Cypress, we’ll eat the Fruit Pulp ourselves and sell the Fruit Cores to the Caravan?"

"Of course."

"What’s the quality like? How many Source Stones can a single Fruit Core sell for?"

Dragon Cypress quickly finished the Fruit Pulp, twirled the Fruit Core with his toe, and repeatedly scanned it with his spiritual power. He was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Superior Grade quality! Equivalent to a Divine-Given Seed from a High-Level Warrior."

A Common Life Seed usually produces Origin Force Food whose quality is linked to the evolutionary stage of an Insect Clan Warrior. Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were both Mid-Level, so their Life Seeds’ resulting Origin Force Food quality varied with the tree type—some high, some low—but all within the Mid-Level range. Only a very small number of plants with strong Life Force, once turned into Life Seeds, might exhibit the Superior Grade phenomenon. Both Common Life Seeds and Divine-Given Seeds can show this rarity, which is an exceptional case detailed in the Inherited Memory. The benefits are easy to understand. Dragon Cypress is Mid-Level now, and the Origin Force Fruit produced by Azure are of High-Level quality. In the future, when he’s promoted to a High-Level Ant King, the Origin Force Fruits produced by Azure might reach Mountain Lord Level quality. And later on, after advancing to a King-Level Ant King, the Origin Force Fruits produced by the Deep Blue God-Given Seed might surpass King-Level quality... What lies beyond King-Level?

Dragon Cypress paused, then said, "The Fruit Cores are pretty big. If sold to the Caravan, they should fetch between 10 and 12 Source Stones each."

Ink Orchid was silent. That price doesn’t seem high at all...

"The Fruit Pulp is delicious! Dragon Cypress, you should eat more," Ink Orchid urged. After finishing one, she picked up another, eating 3 in succession before stopping. The Orchid Mantis has a mixed Talent of Water, Wood, Earth, and Wind Elements; Azure Fruit can be consumed, but not too much.

Ink Orchid asked, "Dragon Cypress, the fruit already tastes great. Do we still need to refine it into Ant King Honey?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "Perhaps refining it into Ant King Honey and then mixing it with other Ant Honeys might improve the flavor."

Ink Orchid nodded in strong agreement. "Right! Let’s try it!"

The Fruit Pulp from the Azure Fruit also contained a good amount of Origin Force Material. Dragon Cypress felt his limit after eating 3 and stopped.

"Azure, you’ve worked hard. Rest for now," Dragon Cypress called out. He recalled 5 Specialized Worker Ants, and the Dominating Throne slowly floated down to the shore. The 10 Specialized Blue Ants that had been waiting stepped forward to nibble on the fruits and begin Refinement. A taste of the result confirmed its outstanding flavor, and all of it was refined.

「 」

Having finished the White Rice Ant King Honey and the Azure Ant King Honey, Dragon Cypress was the first to fall into a deep sleep.

He made it through easily.

He checked his spiritual power immediately upon waking; it was just over 20 meters, almost as predicted.

During my 4th Age Period, I consumed a lot of Southern Sour Jujube Ant King Honey. After Molting and Evolution, my newly formed wings were further optimized, becoming more compact, fitting like armor against my abdomen and back when folded. My Mental Power Sensing of the blue ring pattern on my abdomen has increased significantly, showing the initial effects of the Azure Fruit’s enhancement to my Water Element Ability.

Dragon Cypress turned and targeted a Bamboo Tube filled with water inside the Ant Nest. With a thought, a Water Sphere, 5 centimeters in diameter, floated up, hovering and constantly changing shape.

WHOOSH—CRACK!

The Water Sphere shot out and exploded against the stone wall of the nest chamber. A layer of dim blue light rose from Dragon Cypress’s body. With another thought, it transformed into a hemispherical, light-blue, transparent Origin Force Shield.

A nice improvement! This ability could be named ’Hydrology Shield’...

Dragon Cypress spat out the nurtured Black Emperor Peach Life Seed, signaling the Worker Ants to move it away and store it properly. He then took out a Spotted Star Pear Seed and placed it into his Life Pouch to nurture as the Life Seed for a Mid-Level Ant King during his 5th Age Period.

I unfurled my wings, flapped gently, landed, and ran quickly to the restaurant at the entrance of the Ant Nest.

Ink Orchid was dining alone. She looked up and greeted him, "Dragon Cypress, you’re awake."

"Mhm."

Dragon Cypress asked, "How many days did it take this time?"

"Two days," Ink Orchid replied.

Waking up after two days following high-frequency Evolution every six months was quite impressive. It indicated that the various Origin Force Foods meant to strengthen Comprehensive Physique were effective.

"After eating the White Rice Seeds and the White Rice Ant King Honey, the next Evolution will be even easier," Dragon Cypress said confidently. He then recorded the time on the restaurant wall and took down a gourd from a stone shelf. Turning it upside down, he bit the neck with his mandibles, held it with both claws, shook it vigorously, and poured out a dish full of Ant Honey. He licked it clean, poured another dish, twitched his Tentacles, and directed the Worker Ants to cut up food to dip into the Ant Honey before eating.

"Dragon Cypress, it’s autumn. Most fruits are ripe. Shouldn’t we set off to make some money?" Ink Orchid asked.

"It’s about time," Dragon Cypress agreed, "but..." He paused, then continued, "Ink Orchid, we have now identified 8 Lands of Origin Force. Including the White Willow at Black Lotus Lake, we have four trading points and have established stable trading relationships with 5 Insect Clan Warriors. The quantity isn’t large, but the distances are vast. We need to plan the timing and route for our Roving Merchant journey."

Dragon Cypress chewed faster, wiped his mouth with his paw, stood up, and went to the stone wall of the restaurant. He started by drawing a small circle with the tip of his toe.

"This is Xianglan Mountain, where we are settled."

He drew another circle beside it. "Molan Mountain."

Then another circle below that. "Black Lotus Lake."

And two more connected circles further down.

"Southern Sour Jujube Mountain."

"Ghost Fan Mountain."

Changing direction, he drew two more distant circles to the left. "Jianlan Plain, White Rice Mountain."

Dragon Cypress encircled all the small circles with a larger one. "This is the southern trade circle. My plan is to identify all Origin Force Points within this large region and then establish a fixed Roving Merchant route."

Dragon Cypress further explained, "After all, we are not Flame Spiders, professional Roving Merchants. We have our own Territory to manage and shouldn’t waste too much time traveling."

"I understand..." Ink Orchid said, then asked, "What about the north? Silver Cypress Mountain? The Mountain Persimmon Territory?"

Dragon Cypress replied, "We will visit Silver Cypress Mountain, but the north is too cold. We should make a quick trip, just looking around on our way, without devoting special time to search."

"Oh!" Ink Orchid nodded in agreement.

Dragon Cypress continued, "We’ll make two trips each year. Set off in autumn, searching for Divine-Given Seeds along the way. We’ll also enter their Territories to purchase fresh berries, brew Origin Force Ant Honey, and complete the trade of autumn-ripe Origin Force Food."

He added, "In late spring and early summer, we’ll make another trip, primarily to purchase late autumn and winter-ripe Origin Force Foods, complete a round of trading, and return quickly."

Twice a year, to maximize profits.

Dragon Cypress drew lines on the stone wall, connecting each Origin Force Point, with arrows indicating the path.

"For this autumn trip, we’ll head to Molan Mountain, White Rice Mountain, Jianlan Plain, Ghost Fan Mountain, Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, and Black Lotus Lake, in that order, then return to Xianglan Mountain."

"Finally, we’ll head north to catch the persimmons when they’re in season. Most of the Origin Force Foods in the Mountain Persimmon Territory should be ripe by then."

Ink Orchid nodded her Tentacles in agreement.

Dragon Cypress said, "For the trip in late spring and early summer, we’ll follow the order of White Rice Mountain, Ghost Fan Mountain, Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, and Black Lotus Lake."

He finally added, "If we’re not too busy with our Territory in the summer, we can also visit the Mountain Persimmon Territory in the north, say hello to Mountain Persimmon, and have a chat."

Ink Orchid agreed, "That’s right. Mountain Persimmon lives alone in the north."