A straight passage about 1.5 meters high and 2 meters wide ends in a square cave with sides of about 10 meters.

The pitch-black, smooth stone walls, and the matte, hard floor, when swept with spiritual power, are clearly made of metal—moreover, it's Primordial Energy Metal reinforced and solidified by an Insect King Level Warrior using Metal System Ability.

In front, and on the left and right walls, a gray-black metal standing cabinet is embedded in each.

At a glance, it could be determined that these are large artifacts from an Outworld Civilization.

The cabinets are about 8 meters wide and just over 2 meters high, with four hinged doors, each with a handle, but no secure locking mechanism like the main doors of a Starship Treasury.

"During the heyday of Huagi Mountain, this was the treasury where the Shield Grasshopper Tribe stored Divine-Given Origin Force Food. The defense was quite solid—behind the metal walls, there were even thicker layers of stone."

Yellow Stem gave an introduction, leading the way into the treasury, turning left to the cabinet embedded in the left wall, pawing at and pulling the handle, channeling in Origin Force, a hissing inhalation sounded, then with a heavy click, the thick door slowly opened.

A burst of cold air came rushing out.

Inside, the cabinet was neatly divided into layers and compartments, and within were numerous "drawers" crafted by Insect Clan Warriors using Earth System Abilities.

Yellow Stem pulled one open; inside, it was filled with a mixed variety of Origin Force Food.

Dragon Cypress took one look and understood—this was equipment from an Outworld Civilization for storing ordinary Origin Force Food.

Ordinary Origin Force Food wasn't valuable, so no defensive measures were set up.

Yellow Stem pinched a Dense Plum and asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, take a look—how long do you think this piece of Origin Force Food has been stored?"

Ink Orchid took it to examine and tentatively answered, "About two years."

Yellow Stem, feeling smug, gently shook his antennae.

Ink Orchid: "Could it have been stored for many years?"

Yellow Stem: "This is from eight years ago—yield from my own territory."

"Take a closer look." Yellow Stem closed the cabinet door and, gripping the handle, continuously channeled Origin Force.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid expanded their spiritual power, focusing intently. Soon, they detected a steady outflow of air around the cabinet door's frame.

There was no air inside the cabinet!

This was also why there was a 'hissing' sound of inhalation when the door was opened.

This type of cabinet has both freezing and vacuum functions.

The low temperature and vacuum greatly extend the preservation time of food.

Yellow Stem: "Origin Force Food with hard and thick shells, stored in the treasury, can be kept for over a hundred years without spoiling. When I grew older and knew I could not continue evolving upward, I began storing the Origin Force Food produced in my territory here."

Spruce said, "Before you arrived, I also gave up on further evolution and started storing Origin Force Food in the treasury."

Yellow Stem: "One day, if the territory produces a new Little Warrior, they can immediately use the reserve Origin Force Food to rapidly grow and evolve. This is one of the ways our Shield Grasshopper Tribe has managed to endure through the long Origin Force Silent Period."

Yellow Stem: "Now it's different—you've come and there's trade, so at least Spruce can continue to progress."

Dragon Cypress immediately grasped his meaning, glanced around, and asked, "How much have you stockpiled?"

Yellow Stem: "Based on your pricing, the total value is around 150,000 to 200,000 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress asked, "Are you planning to sell it all?"

Yellow Stem: "That is the idea…"

Yellow Stem opened the cabinet again, took a Spider Silk Bag from Spruce's claw, and took out a can of Ant Honey, placing it on the cabinet shelf.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, if Origin Force Food is refined, sealed with Ant King Jelly, and then stored in the cabinet, will its preservation time be even further extended?"

Dragon Cypress: "Thinking about it, it seems feasible. Still, it's something that needs to be tested to be sure."

Yellow Stem: "Then let's give it a try!"

Dragon Cypress raised his front leg and pointed, saying, "This can here is sealed with Ant King Jelly—let's put it in for a test now."

Yellow Stem: "One can alone isn't enough—ideally there would be dozens to try at the same time."

"I can help you…"

Dragon Cypress gently tapped his antennae.

He somewhat understood Yellow Stem's intentions.

He likely intended, after evolving to Evolution Mountain Lord Level or higher, to stop evolving, convert all his territory's output into a rich variety of refined Ant Honey for stockpiling, and store Origin Force Food for the next and even subsequent generations.

In this way, the younger Insects would have abundant resources to evolve to Mountain Lord Level or even Lord-Level.

These three cabinets had considerable capacity; if filled, the tribe's inheritance could be secure for a very long time.

However, Dragon Cypress faintly sensed that Yellow Stem's plan wasn't that simple.

Dragon Cypress watched as Spruce placed four metal cans on the cabinet shelf, closed the door, and thought about it, but didn't ask further.

With Origin Force no longer reviving on Cloud Trace Continent, the Shield Grasshopper Tribe always faced the risk of a terminated inheritance. Huagi Mountain's area was small; whatever Yellow Stem tried were only desperate measures to prolong their end for a while longer.

In the future, when Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid reach the end of their lives or leave the Origin Force Star Realm, and with no more roving merchant trade at Huagi Mountain, it would soon revert to its former state.

If Origin Force revived on Cloud Trace Continent…

Yellow Stem was very confident that Huagi Mountain could swiftly recover the glory of the previous Origin Force Era.

But on what basis?

Judging from some unintentional comments and emotional fluctuations from Yellow Stem, Huagi Mountain still harbored other secrets.

...

Leaving the treasury, Yellow Stem led the way back.

Dragon Cypress, keeping calm, gently flicked his wings and brushed against Ink Orchid beside him.

Ink Orchid immediately understood and asked, "Yellow Stem, Spruce, we haven't reached the end of the passage yet. Aren't we going to see what's below?"

Yellow Stem: "Below is also a treasury for storing Source Stones. It's long since empty, nothing worth seeing."

Ink Orchid said with emotion, "How many Source Stones did the Shield Grasshopper Tribe's ancestors hoard?"

Yellow Regulus: "No idea."

Ink Orchid: "How did they use it up?"

Yellow Regulus: "I have even less idea. My guess is that at the start of the Origin Force Silent Period, our elders failed to realize the crisis and squandered it wantonly."

Yellow Stem's words were clearly perfunctory and couldn't stand up to scrutiny at all.

Dragon Cypress changed the subject and asked, "How many years has Cloud Trace Continent been in the Silent Period? I've seen the chronology kept by the Dulai Flame Spider Tribe—they record about 4,500 years. But that's not from the very beginning; there's an unknown blank period, too."

Yellow Stem: "Our Shield Grasshopper Tribe kept records as well. At first, we carved the image of a Shield Grasshopper Warrior; each year, a leg was drawn. Each Shield Grasshopper Warrior has six legs, representing six years. Some lazy ancestors later simplified it into a vertical line flanked by three horizontal lines on each side—one horizontal line for one year, one symbol for six years. Later, even lazier ancestors changed it to five horizontal lines on each side—so one diagram meant ten years. And then, laziest of all, some just stopped keeping any chronologies at all."

Yellow Stem: "When it came down to me, the record only covered 4,822 years, scattered and incomplete, with unknown missing gaps."

Yellow Stem sighed: "It's already a mess. I stopped keeping track. I can't even remember how old I am now—about fifty, more or less. Just muddling through."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "Is this the first Silent Period for your Huagi Mountain Shield Grasshopper Tribe? Or does your inheritance go back to an even earlier Origin Force Era? Do you know how long a Silent Period lasts?"

Yellow Stem: "I don't know…"

Yellow Stem: "Everything I know is recorded in the Knowledge Hall. Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, if you're not in a hurry, you can stay and take a look. If you have questions, Spruce and I will answer anytime."

"Thank you!" Ink Orchid asked, "Do you have any knowledge on techniques for cultivating Orchid Grass?"

"That…" Yellow Stem faltered, silent for a while, then said, "Unless I'm mistaken, I think there isn't any."

Yellow Stem asked, "Ink Orchid, do you really have a Divine-Given Orchid Grass Seed?"

Ink Orchid: "Why would I lie to you? I have two Divine-Given Orchid Grass Seeds, and one Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed."

Yellow Stem: "..."

Yellow Stem: "Only an Insect especially favored by Natural God could possess three Divine-Given Seeds."

Yellow Stem: "Does Dragon Cypress Ant King have a Divine-Given Seed too?"

As Yellow Stem spoke, he suddenly snapped to attention. "When you explored the Land of Origin Force, did you also find a Wild God-Given Seed? Do you actually have seven Divine-Given Seeds?"

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