The Dominating Throne hovered above the Azure Blue Reservoir.

Dragon Cypress carefully recounted the process of excavating the treasury, the harvest, as well as the upcoming plans.

Ink Orchid listened, feeling both disappointed and happy.

The treasury gate was gone, and the vast majority of metal cases inside the treasury were scattered during the fall, flung out from tens of thousands of meters high in the outworld sky, impossible to retrieve now.

However, it was precisely because the treasury gate was gone that Dragon Cypress could easily retrieve all 10 of the large metal cases. On the other hand, if the gate had still been there, these good things could never have been taken out.

There are gains and losses.

"Dragon Cypress, are we moving back to Xianglan Mountain?" Ink Orchid picked up a small metal case, infusing origin force into it over and over, opening and closing it, playing to her heart's content.

"Of course! I'll head over after a couple days' rest." Dragon Cypress injected origin force into a large metal case, closed it, then guided the Dominating Throne down, hovering over the water, checking on the Azure Fruits beneath the trumpet-shaped broad leaves.

Ink Orchid suddenly tilted her head and asked, "Dragon Cypress, 143 of these metal cases?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes. 141 left now."

"Then aren't we able to sell off a batch?"

"I've weighed it carefully. The large metal cases are true treasures, absolutely not for sale, keep them all for ourselves. Of the small metal cases, keep a few for our own use and sell the rest."

"How many Source Stones could that sell for?"

"Hard to say. About ten to twenty thousand Source Stones, I think."

"Oh!"

Ink Orchid exclaimed, cheering, "We're rich!"

Dragon Cypress calmly said, "Before Mountain Lord Level, don't consider selling them. In the future, once we evolve to Mountain Lord Level, we could try to exchange with Spider King Spurge, trade for a 'Youlian Seed.'"

When bored, Dragon Cypress would chat with Ink Orchid, and had already bragged a hundred times about the 'Divine God-Given Seed' that he knew of.

Ink Orchid first rejoiced, then doubted, and asked: "Dragon Cypress, could we get 2 Youlian Seeds?"

"No." Dragon Cypress said, "We can trade for one for you to use. I'll consider more in the future."

"No way! That doesn't work! If we trade, then let's trade for two Youlian Seeds—one for you, one for me!"

Ink Orchid kept shooting it down, saying: "Maybe there are still great things in the treasury. I could personally go look when I have time!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Dragon Cypress tapped his tentacle, inquiring: "How's the Emerald Flower Cold Orchid Divine-Given Seed doing?"

Ink Orchid: "Passed its vigorous growth stage, doing well, developing steadily."

Dragon Cypress: "Let's go have a look!"

"Azure, I'm heading back to the mountain first. Get a night's rest. I'll come by tomorrow to give you a foliar fertilizer boost."

Leaving that behind, Dragon Cypress guided the Dominating Throne to float over to the northwestern corner of the reservoir, glancing at Ink Orchid's Black Lotus Life Seed.

After a whole summer of growth, it had become a lush, thick clump. The lotus root stem in the underwater mud had reached two to three meters, beginning to turn woody. On the water's surface, three lotus pods had each grown to a diameter of more than ten centimeters, with every pod containing fourteen seeds, dark green in color and brimming with vitality.

The Lotus Life Seed doesn't differentiate individual plants, but it can expand continuously through the underground stem—the lotus root.

Black Lotus counts as a top-level choice among Life Seeds, but it takes up a lot of space; once it thrives, it'll monopolize a huge portion of water area.

One in the northwest corner, one in the northeast—at most, only two Black Lotus Life Seeds can be planted in the Azure Blue Reservoir.

All of Xianglan Mountain can only support two such plants.

After thoroughly inspecting it, Dragon Cypress guided the Dominating Throne toward the mountains.

He first took a look at the Emerald Flower Cold Orchid Divine-Given Seed, then circled the mountain inspecting Life Seed plants.

The long-yearned-for Green Torreya Life Seed, after three years of development, would yield its first harvest this autumn.

The Green Torreya Tree is a high-yielding great tall tree, but its growth is painfully slow; it has only reached a height of seven or eight meters so far, and as soon as it hits that point, the growth rate slows further—rising by only about 30 centimeters per year, taking twenty or thirty years to reach a substantial yield.

Green Torreya Seeds fortify muscle strength and are a perfect match for the Ant Clan's strength-system talent.

Of all the common Life Seeds at present, aside from the slow-growing Green Torreya, the others are all right.

The Sky-Blue Persimmon Life Seed was sown late but grows fast—by next year it'll bear fruit, and its yield will increase dramatically, year after year.

Six Paths Wood is a shrub, but its growth is exceptionally quick; right now it's a thicket more than five meters tall. But its output is pitifully low—this year it only produced eighty-four Six Paths Seeds, and you can't even spot the fruit if you're not looking carefully.

...

Dragon Cypress guided the Dominating Throne to hover beneath a slope twined with Purple Kiwifruit, observed for a while, then moved on to check the nursery and orchard of common plants.

During his absence, Xianglan Mountain was developing in an orderly fashion.

He called upon Spiked Cypress to lead Soldier Ants into the forest to hunt.

A grand celebratory banquet was held that night.

Dragon Cypress laid out in detail to Round Cypress and Spiked Cypress the gains from the excavation and the plans going forward.

After two days' rest, the Dominating Throne set out empty, heading for Cold Orchid Mountain to transport all the large and small metal cases back to Xianglan Mountain in one trip first.

Large metal cases were stored in the treasury.

Small metal cases were spread flat across the flooring of the South Mountain Restaurant, joined with clay, forming an ultra-luxurious floor, complete with exquisite patterns, worth a million or two Source Stones per tile.

He then made two more trips, bringing back the Soldier Ants, Worker Ants, Blue Soldiers, and Blue Ants that had been left at Cold Orchid Mountain back to Xianglan Mountain.

After two days' rest, time was about right, and he packed up. Ink Orchid set out with him as well.

...

Kiwifruit Mountain.

Just entering the domain of origin force, Ink Orchid separated from the Dominating Throne and hurried ahead.

Up on the slope, Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple were mowing grass, stuffing it into spider silk bags, hauling it back to the territory to throw into the marsh gas pool for fermentation as fertilizer.

"Blue Catalpa! Snakebark Maple!"

Ink Orchid called out.

"Ink Orchid."

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple responded.

Having survived on their own for half a year, weathering the scorching drought and sudden gales and downpours, busy every day tending their territory, the two little ones were no longer as lively as before.

Blue Catalpa gripped a full spider silk bag of green grass between his jaws.

Snakebark Maple straightened up the bag opening and sealed it up skillfully.

"Where's Dragon Cypress Ant King?" Blue Catalpa asked.

"He's coming behind, he'll be here soon." Ink Orchid answered.

"Ink Orchid, did you excavate the treasury at Cold Orchid Mountain?" Snakebark Maple asked.

"We did. It was all those metal cases we found before, the ones for preserving seeds, more than a hundred." Ink Orchid replied.

"That many!"

"Awesome!"

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple looked at each other enviously, starting to scheme: how could they get another one?

"Ink Orchid, early this summer when Dragon Cypress Ant King came to see us, he said you were busy with something."

"Ink Orchid, you didn't go with Dragon Cypress Ant King to excavate the ruins?"

"No..." Ink Orchid hesitated, then said:

"Another Orchid Grass Divine-Given Seed sprouted at Xianglan Mountain. I discovered it in time when it flowered and have been guarding it since, protecting the developing Divine-Given Seed."

Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple just wanted a suitable opening to praise Ink Orchid, but hearing that, they exchanged glances again, dumbfounded.

—Wow!

—Oh my!

—A Divine-Given Seed?

—Doesn't that mean Xianglan Mountain will soon have five Divine-Given Seeds?

—Could it be that Natural God really favors Ink Orchid?

—How could that be fake?

—Actually, I didn't quite believe it before.

—Now I believe!

—Kind and generous Ink Orchid, blessed by the Natural God.

—Beautiful and wise Ink Orchid, beloved of the Natural God!

...

The Dominating Throne came steadily closer.

Even from far off, Dragon Cypress could sense wave after wave, like surf crashing upon the shore, of cheap, sycophantish mental power fluctuations.

Dragon Cypress scolded, not amused: "The two of you, save your energy."

Ink Orchid leapt onto the Throne, took out a metal case, leaped down, and handed it to Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, saying:

"Here. Dragon Cypress Ant King is giving you each another one. Blue Catalpa, one for you; Snakebark Maple, one for you. Stop fighting and arguing over metal cases from now on."

Blue Catalpa: "We didn't argue."

Snakebark Maple: "We don't fight."

"All right!" Dragon Cypress spoke at the right time, solemnly: "They're not for free. Next year, when you both evolve to intermediate warrior, there'll be a little job I'll need you two to help with."

Blue Catalpa: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, just tell us what to do."

Snakebark Maple: "We're still little, so anything you assign us must not be dangerous."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course there's no danger. I've told you before, past the Divine Force Barrier on the west side is the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, connected by Starship Wreckage. Every spring, I trade with the Flame Spider Caravan…"

Dragon Cypress's transactions with the Flame Spider Roving Merchant are fairly stable—Seven-Leaf and Melde will send Little Flame Spider to handle cargo and messages.

Still, Dragon Cypress doesn't fully trust the caravan. Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple are quick-witted, so he intends to have them act as his side's link—in charge of passing messages and communicating.

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