The Dominating Throne, overloaded in flight, wobbled as it descended to the entrance of the North Mountain Ant Nest.

"Busy now!" Ink Orchid opened a Spider Silk Bag, took out a deadwood fragment, and cheered as she ran toward the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed.

Dragon Cypress put down the wooden board, its tentacles shaking as it relayed information within the Ant Nest. Numerous Worker Ants hurried over, climbing onto the Throne and into the Stump Ant Nest, transporting the Larvae of the Soldier Ants cultivated during this trip.

Dragon Cypress also unloaded the bags himself, one by one.

"Great King—"

Hearing the commotion, Fragrant Cypress hurried over.

"Eh? Great King, why is there so much stuff?"

Fragrant Cypress, puzzled, opened a Spider Silk Bag to check.

"A tree trunk?"

"This is..."

"Ink Orchid and I dug out the exuviae of a Divine-Given Seed from the Insect Clan remains of the last Origin Force Era. It's the best fertilizer for the Life Seed Plant."

Divine-Given Seed?! Exuviae?

"Oh!"

Fragrant Cypress knew he had work to do. Before Dragon Cypress could give orders, he asked, "Great King, shall we hold a banquet to celebrate tonight?"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course! Go and inform Spiked Cypress..."

Dragon Cypress said irritably, "When you have time, direct the Worker Ants to shave these decayed branches into sawdust and bury it in pits dug under the Life Seed Plant."

"Okay!" Fragrant Cypress left happily.

Dragon Cypress commanded the Specialized Worker Ants. Together, they unloaded the Stump Ant Nest. The Dominating Throne shrank to a little over a meter in diameter, picked up two deadwood fragments, ascended into the sky, crossed the mountains, and headed directly for the Azure Blue Reservoir.

"Azure!"

"Dragon Cypress."

Azure's spiritual power was much stronger than Dragon Cypress's. It asked first, "What are you carrying?"

"Ink Orchid and I found the exuviae of a Cypress Divine-Given Seed in the Origin Force Vacuum Land. Azure, you try it first and see if it benefits your growth."

"It does!" Azure replied affirmatively and asked, "Is this small piece all you have?"

"Plenty! As much as you need." Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to approach slowly, floating just above the first of Azure's leaves. He scraped his toes, sprinkling sawdust onto it.

The trumpet-shaped broadleaves held rainwater from the autumn and winter precipitation.

The trunk of a Divine-Given Seed, even after drying, is as heavy as stone. Its powder sinks straight to the bottom.

Dragon Cypress patiently spent the afternoon sprinkling some on each broadleaf.

"Azure, how is it?"

"Tasty!"

"Then eat more."

"...This one piece isn't enough."

"I'll arrange more for you tomorrow!"

If even Azure, the Deep Blue God-Given Seed from the Outworld Creator Civilization, found it useful, then certainly all other Origin Force Plants of the Natural God System would too.

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to drift toward the western shore of the reservoir.

The five Azure Trees planted in the spring had grown to about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall after a year. It was now the depths of winter; the plants had stopped growing and entered a dormant state, seemingly ready to withstand the winter successfully.

Therefore, the remaining 90 seeds could be planted early next spring.

Dragon Cypress glanced at the Silver Cypress Trees on the hillside and circled the reservoir, reviewing the various fruit trees transplanted over the past two years. Then, the Dominating Throne flew towards the Southern Gorgon Reservoir.

"Southern Gorgon!"

"Mmm—"

"Look what this is."

"Wood—"

"Eh?"

Realizing something was amiss, Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to drift slowly. Hovering over the Southern Gorgon Mother Plant, he held a deadwood fragment close for a better look.

"Southern Gorgon, take a closer look."

"Dragon Cypress! Don't make a mess over my head."

Southern Gorgon grew angry.

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress scraped off a bit of sawdust, letting it sprinkle into the lake.

The powder fell into the water, sinking slowly.

"Dragon Cypress, are you okay? Do you think that's a Source Stone?"

Southern Gorgon was shocked and somewhat worried. My ant isn't going crazy, is he?

Dragon Cypress was also speechless.

This stuff is useless for Southern Gorgon? Impossible!

After the Fruitful Dragon Cypress Divine-Given Seed had died, its branches remained in the Origin Force vacuum for too long, losing all their Origin Force. Once cut, it looked just like an ordinary piece of rotten wood.

Southern Gorgon simply couldn't directly sense whether the material was useful for its growth.

But Azure could!

Azure was different. Plus, there were many strange things about it, so this wasn't surprising.

Dragon Cypress explained, "This is the exuviae of a wild, King-Level Cypress Divine-Given Seed, the ultimate nutrient for Origin Force Plants. Southern Gorgon, feel it carefully."

"A Wild Divine-Given Seed?"

"Yes. Feel it carefully."

"King-Level?"

"Correct!"

"Dead?"

"Yes."

"Who killed it?"

"Ink Orchid and I, together."

"Oh!"

Southern Gorgon suddenly became docile. "Dragon Cypress, I sensed it carefully. The stuff is useless. Let's not kill things randomly anymore."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress insisted, "I said it's useful, so it's useful. I'll get more for you. We'll see in a couple of days."

Dragon Cypress, allowing no objections, scraped off more wood chips, letting them fall.

"Dragon Cypress, didn't you and Ink Orchid go to see the Roving Merchants?" Southern Gorgon was more interested in Source Stones.

"Mhm."

"How much did you earn?"

"Not much."

"How much is 'not much'?"

"Several thousand, I suppose."

"Then can you get some for me?"

"Southern Gorgon, do you know how many Source Stones a small fragment of Divine-Given Seed exuviae like this is worth?"

"How much?"

Dragon Cypress tried to scare it, "A thousand."

"What?!" Southern Gorgon was shocked and hastily said, "Stop your claws right now! Get me a thousand Source Stones instead!"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Has this fellow suddenly become clever?

No, it's become even stupider.

「Back at the mountain」

Dragon Cypress discussed it with Ink Orchid. As it turned out, neither the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed nor the Northern Gorgon Divine-Given Seed could directly determine if the exuviae of the Fruitful Dragon Cypress Divine-Given Seed were beneficial to their growth.

Azure was an exception.

「The next day, in the morning.」

Dragon Cypress returned to the Azure Blue Reservoir.

"Azure, have you confirmed that these Divine-Given Seed exuviae are beneficial for your growth?"

"I have confirmed it!"

"Then I'll get more for you."

Dragon Cypress held up a Metal Can filled with wood shavings and poured them onto Azure's broadleaves, ensuring some landed on every leaf.

Then he grabbed another Metal Can and poured its entire contents into the reservoir, continuing until he had emptied three cans.

「Then, to the Southern Gorgon Reservoir.」

"Dragon Cypress, where are my thousand Source Stones?"

"..."

"If there are no Source Stones, those Divine-Given Seed wood shavings from yesterday will do."

"..."

Dragon Cypress directly grabbed a Metal Can and poured its contents into the water. "Do you feel the benefits of this stuff now?"

Southern Gorgon: "It's not worth a thousand Source Stones!"

Southern Gorgon asked, "Yesterday, you said you and Ink Orchid killed a King-Level Wild Divine-Given Seed?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes."

Southern Gorgon: "You were just trying to scare me."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress said frankly, "If we found a living Wild Divine-Given Seed, Ink Orchid and I would be overjoyed. Why would we kill it? This stuff... we dug it out from some ruins."

Southern Gorgon: "Dug out? How much did you dig up? Is there any left?"

Dragon Cypress: "There is. But not much."

"Ohh—"

Southern Gorgon said, disappointed, "Dragon Cypress, when you have time, go dig! Dig up more!"

It had a strong obsession with evolution and growth.

For herbaceous Divine-Given Seeds, the core of their life lies in their lignified underground rhizomes. The thicker the rhizomes, the greater their chance of successfully following Dragon Cypress through the Evolution Mountain Lord Level, Lord-Level, and King-Level.

The King-Level, especially, is a life-or-death barrier for all Divine-Given Seeds.

Herbaceous plants are naturally weaker than arbors. Generally, herbaceous Divine-Given Seeds are more likely to fail at this stage.

The solution is simple: invest more Source Stones in daily management and ensure enough Source Stones are available for breakthroughs during evolution.

If the Divine-Given Seed exuviae could, to some extent, substitute for Source Stones, that would mean huge savings!

Dragon Cypress poured three more Metal Cans of the shavings into the water one after another.

There was a lot of this material. The Xinghu Lake Ruins had twenty caves full of it. This time, they had brought back eight large bags, which were from just a small corner of one cave.

But the demand was also great.

Dozens of Common Life Seed Plants required it. There were also five God-Given Life Seeds, and the Southern Sour Jujube and Scarletlight—two Wild Divine-Given Seeds—that could also use some.

The map of Huagi Mountain records more than thirty Great Tribe settlements. I should look for them when I have time.

Dragon Cypress pondered this as he returned to the mountain and consulted with Ink Orchid. Similarly, both the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed and the Northern Gorgon Divine-Given Seed provided feedback that "the material was beneficial for growth."

Dragon Cypress stayed at Xianglan Mountain for a few days. Since it was now the dead of winter, it was hard to see clear results. When the time was right, he set out with Cypress and a large group of Blue Soldiers and Blue Ants, heading to Black Lotus Lake.

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