Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Huagi Mountain.

The golden warm sun, beneath an immaculate blue sky.

The tranquil lake reflected the somewhat desolate mountain scenery.

Yellow Stem lay sprawled across a rock, leisurely basking in the sunlight. Sensing something, he slowly turned his body to face the direction from which the Dominating Throne was flying in.

At the foot of the mountain, Spruce—who was turning the earth by the lakeside woodland—looked up, gave a flap of his wings, and soared up to meet them.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King! Ink Orchid! Is this the winter trade?" Spruce greeted them enthusiastically.

"Yes."

"That's right."

"There aren't many lands of Origin Force discovered in the north so far, and few Insect Clan warriors as well. We trade once a year."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid both stilled themselves to sense the surroundings.

No abnormal Origin Force fluctuations.

So Yellow Stem hasn't planted the Divine Tree?

Ink Orchid: "Spruce, last time Dragon Cypress and I left, we suddenly sensed intense Origin Force fluctuations coming from Huagi Mountain on the way... did something happen?"

"...Yes." Spruce was not a Shield Grasshopper Warrior, so he didn't say much. His figure rapidly descended, landing beside Yellow Stem.

"Yellow Stem!"

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to land and docked.

After greetings, Ink Orchid asked again, "Yellow Stem, last time Dragon Cypress and I left, we suddenly sensed an intense Origin Force fluctuation from Huagi Mountain on our way out... did something happen?"

Yellow Stem: "Nothing much. I went to the underground treasury and consulted the Huagi Divine Tree on a few questions. The Huagi Divine Tree requested that I take it out... it wants to see whether there are signs of Origin Force resurgence on Cloud Trace Continent."

Hearing this, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid grew tense, straightening their tentacles, waiting for more.

Yellow Stem gave a long sigh: "It's nowhere in sight~"

At this, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid visibly relaxed.

The Dominating Throne went freely to and from through the Origin Force Vacuum Land; with Cloud Trace Continent in its Origin Force Silent Period, it did not affect growth, evolution, or flourishing at all.

But once Origin Force resurges, there will inevitably be a massive influx of Ant Clan from the neighboring side. Xianglan Mountain, closest to the Starship gateway, will be the first under threat—now, that would be real trouble.

Dragon Cypress: "The Huagi Divine Tree is awake? It doesn't need to be planted?"

Yellow Stem: "No need. The Huagi Divine Tree is at the highest stage of evolution. It can enter slumber again, at the expense of a small price."

As for the exact cost? Yellow Stem didn't volunteer the answer, and Dragon Cypress was too lazy to ask further. He grabbed the spider silk bag, leapt down to land, and said:

"Let's do the trade first. This time, Ink Orchid and I brought Origin Force Ant Honey worth thirty thousand Source Stones."

"Spruce, give me back the metal cans after you've finished them."

"Oh—" Spruce stepped forward, took the bag, and opened it for inspection.

Ink Orchid said, "Dragon Cypress and I followed the mountains south, excavating the relics at Night Fragrance Mountain, Xiaoyang Mountain, and Chuisi Lake, but found no Source Stone."

Yellow Stem: "...That's not surprising."

Yellow Stem: "I awakened the Huagi Divine Tree mainly to ask about Source Stone deposits, but got a less-than-ideal answer."

Ink Orchid: "What answer?"

Yellow Stem: "The southeastern coast. Further south, where the environment is most harsh, life is extinct, and food and fresh water are hard to come by. Few insects are willing to venture there."

The two ancient beings—the Huagi Divine Tree and the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed—both survivors from Cloud Trace Continent's Origin Force Era, agreed that the southeastern coast may still have extant Source Stone deposits!

Ink Orchid tilted her head and looked at Dragon Cypress.

"Yellow Stem, thanks for the information!" Dragon Cypress gave a formal nod of his tentacles.

Ink Orchid: "If we have the time, Dragon Cypress and I will definitely head over and take a look!"

"Mm—"

Yellow Stem, too, nodded his tentacles, slowed his speech, and said, "This time, upon awakening, the Huagi Divine Tree gave another instruction. Suppose, in the future, when conditions permit, we awaken and plant the Quandong Divine Tree or the Linnan Divine Tree—the pricing of their Divine-Grade Fruits."

Yellow Stem paused here, watching Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid's reactions.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid tacitly remained motionless, quietly awaiting the rest.

Yellow Stem: "Previously, the price we gave the Flame Spider Caravan for Huagi Mountain was 4.5 million per fruit. The Huagi Divine Tree means to keep that same price. Take them for your own use or to sell as you wish. If you sell, whatever sale price and profit you make is your business—Huagi Mountain won't interfere."

Looking again, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid remained unreactive.

Yellow Stem sighed, "All right. The specifics can be discussed further when conditions are right. I'm just letting you know, nothing more. You have no objections to the price, yes? Then it's settled."

Dragon Cypress: "...All right."

Ink Orchid: "...Fine."

Yellow Stem asked: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, have there been any new Origin Force lands discovered lately?"

Dragon Cypress: "No."

Ink Orchid: "Been busy excavating relics."

Yellow Stem: "Who among the Insect Clan warriors have agreed to join in the assault on the Termite Kingdom? Is our strength sufficient?"

Dragon Cypress: "Just barely. Of course, for war, the more Insect Clan warriors the better. Ink Orchid and I will keep recruiting."

"That's good!" Yellow Stem paused, then asked again:

"Have you been to Purple Tung Insect Nation lately to scout for intel? Can you estimate when the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen will evolve? The interval between Lord-Level evolutions can be as much as several decades. If we miss a chance..."

If he missed one, Yellow Stem, already fifty years old, might not make it in time.

Yellow Stem was even more eager than Dragon Cypress about attacking the Termite Kingdom.

Dragon Cypress: "Don't worry. I'm well aware."

Seeing Yellow Stem still not reassured, Dragon Cypress pondered for two seconds and said:

"How about this—next winter, Ink Orchid and I will go over and ask that Barley Bug Warrior who contacted us, see how much intel he's gathered, and try to figure out approximately how many years until the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen enter their next slumber and evolution."

Dragon Cypress: "War is an extremely complex matter. One must factor in every angle. I'll first get the lay of the land—make an overall plan, draft a strategy."

That sounded reliable~ Yellow Stem was pleased: "Good! Let's trade first! Let's talk in the treasury."

Dragon Cypress: "All right—"

They set out up the mountain together, entering the Knowledge Hall. Dragon Cypress paused before a map, looked up, and said, "Yellow Stem, I also have some news I think you'll be very interested in."

Yellow Stem: "What news?"

Dragon Cypress: "When Ink Orchid and I excavated the Night Fragrance Mountain relic, we found the tree heart of the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed..."

Dragon Cypress relayed all the details about the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed.

Together they came before the murals in the Knowledge Hall describing and recording Night Fragrance Mountain, letting out a shared sigh: A God-Given Seed, once famous throughout the continent in the Origin Force Era, had actually been abandoned by those foolish Zhidun Guoluo Tribe.

Dragon Cypress: "At present, the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed is in terrible condition, and Ink Orchid and I can't provide Source Stone to help it. Yellow Stem, how about we make another trade? You give me two bags of Quandong Divine Tree exuviae, and I'll give you twenty bags of matured Dragon Cypress God-Given Seed exuviae. You can use them for managing Pine and Cypress Life Seeds with Spruce."

Yellow Stem hesitated a moment and agreed: "All right—"

…

…

…

The Dominating Throne glided slowly away from Huagi Mountain, following the mountain range south, headed straight for Night Fragrance Mountain.

"Dragon Cypress, at 4.5 million per Divine-Grade Fruit, will we still make a profit?"

"Of course... Selling to the caravan at five million apiece won't be a problem."

"Just earning our labor, I suppose~"

"A single Divine Tree's harvest is more than just one fruit per cycle, and we have a monopoly on them. If you add it all up, the profit is substantial."

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles, "There's no point worrying about that right now. Overthinking just adds pointless stress. Let's focus on the task at hand."

Ink Orchid flipped onto her back with a long sigh: "Too much to do right now. Find Origin Force points; hunt for Source Stones; excavate relics; and help Night Fragrance God-Given Seed move exuviae—it's way too much for us~"

Dragon Cypress: "It's not that we're too busy; it's just that the Dominating Throne flies too slowly—all our time is wasted traveling. I'm going to eat more of these Divine-Given Ghost Fans from this batch and really push to strengthen my spiritual power."

Ink Orchid said casually, "You've already eaten the Six Paths Fruit from Six Paths Wood. Next spring trade, you can buy more from the Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord."

Dragon Cypress: "I rather reluctantly agreed to your demand..."

...

On the way, they loaded 6 bags of Night Fragrance God-Given Seed exuviae at Night Fragrance Mountain and took them to White Lotus Lake.

They unloaded a Stump Ant Nest, directing worker ants to dig a deep, insulated cave beneath a distant mountain as a temporary branch nest; worker ants, Blue Ants, ant eggs, and larvae were all relocated there.

Ink Orchid stayed behind to dig and bury Divine-Given Remains.

Dragon Cypress traveled back and forth between White Lotus Lake and Night Fragrance Mountain, making a round trip every four days, for a total of eight trips, until the deep winter snow set in.

The Night Fragrance God-Given Seed's tree reached 25 meters tall, its Origin Force vacuum range extending to a radius of 500 meters, with its Origin Force fluctuations blanketing the whole of White Lotus Lake.

The Origin Force richness of White Lotus Lake fell by nearly half.

Night Fragrance continued to absorb madly; a small part went to growing the tree itself, the majority being stored as 'Glinting Gold' reserves.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid moved on to other affairs for now, planning to return next spring.