Insect Clan warriors have short lifespans, but the lives of the Divine-Given Seeds are nearly infinite.

Dragon Cypress had long suspected that Huagi Mountain had wild Divine-Given Seeds preserved in other forms.

After Grass Dragon's explanations, everything became clear.

Deep within the Huagi Mountain passage, at least one King-Level wild Divine-Given Seed is hidden, surviving to this day in either Tree Heart or seed form.

One thing that's hard to understand is, isn't there Origin Force at Huagi Mountain?

Why choose to continue life in the form of Tree Heart or seed?

Could it be that King-Level wild Divine-Given Seeds consume too much Origin Force, so the Origin Force Points at Huagi Mountain are too small to sustain them?

If that's the case, then all other doubts are easily resolved.

The Shield Grasshopper Tribe's warriors did not fail to continue their line; rather, when they were about to, they would take out the King-Level wild Divine-Given Seed and sow it anew.

Then, the King-Level wild Divine-Given Seed would wait for new Shield Grasshopper Warriors to be born and teach the tribe's knowledge to them.

This is the "second plan" to ensure uninterrupted tribal inheritance that Yellow Stem hesitated to mention.

However, the second plan consumes a vast amount of Source Stones.

That's why Yellow Stem couldn't hold back and repeatedly asked Dragon Cypress if they could get Source Stones, and even directed Dragon Cypress to excavate the ruins of other tribes in search of Source Stones.

This also shows that Huagi Mountain doesn't have enough Source Stones to maintain its inheritance—perhaps they've even run out and are at risk of population collapse.

Dragon Cypress could also guess what Yellow Stem and Spruce were thinking.

With trading via Roving Merchants, they were certainly thinking about evolving to a higher level, planning to cultivate wild Divine-Given Seeds for the resources.

—How many King-Level wild Divine-Given Seeds have survived at Huagi Mountain?

—Are there any Divine Grade ones?

—How many Source Stones do they need?

"And there's still a small question. Why does the Divine-Given Seed give Ink Orchid such a strong, terrifying, soul-shaking sense of dread? Do plants that can't move at all actually have fighting power?"

Dragon Cypress thought that next time, they could try bringing some Source Stones to Huagi Mountain for the Roving Merchant trade.

Since everyone is stuck on Cloud Trace Continent, endless guessing gets old—being honest and cooperating closely is the smarter approach.

...

This spring's trade with the Flame Spider Roving Merchant went smoothly.

The army set off, returning to Xianglan Mountain.

The Dominating Throne departed immediately, carrying Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, and hurried back to Kiwifruit Mountain overnight.

During this time, Round Cypress wasn't idle—commanding the Worker Ants to help dig a marsh gas pool over a meter wide and about two meters deep.

The Divine-Given Seed of Green-Red Kiwifruit and the Life Seed of Six Paths Wood were sown into the soil.

Dragon Cypress didn't hurry to leave; he scattered some powdered leaves and twigs from the Divine-Given Seed of Fruitful Dragon Cypress, staying behind to observe.

In just one night, the very next day, the Divine-Given Seed of Green-Red Kiwifruit sprouted.

Within a day, it took root and sprouted, with the emerging bud tip breaking through the soil.

Another day passed, the cotyledons opened, true leaf buds emerged, absorbing sunlight and growing rapidly.

The first true leaf spread open, then the second, the third quickly followed.

In just three days, the new seedlings had already grown to a height of 10 centimeters.

A plant species with exceptionally vigorous life force.

In contrast, the Six Paths Wood seeds sown at the same time had just broken shell and barely poked their buds out of the earth.

Dragon Cypress cut down four cypresses from the forest, taking three-meter-long logs, dug holes and buried them as stakes, then stretched spider silk rope to guide vine growth.

Subsequent management was simply using stakes to guide the main vine up along the ridge, and to guide secondary vines to both sides of the ridge.

Very simple work, not prone to big problems. After briefly giving instructions to Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, Dragon Cypress took Round Cypress and Silver Cypress back to Xianglan Mountain.

Deep in the Ant Nest—the Kingdom Treasury.

Time to inventory and tally up.

Fifty Spider King Silk Scrolls, each with a face value of 1,000 Source Stones, totaling 50,000 Source Stones in value.

The expanded treasury now had four vaults, holding a total of 29,000 Source Stones in stock.

Compared to last year, the stockpile of Origin Force Food had dropped considerably, with a total value of only 113,000 Source Stones.

"This year, the total Kingdom Treasury is worth 192,000 Source Stones."

"However, we still owe Huagi Mountain 20,000 Source Stones, with a Metal Case being held as collateral. We have to redeem it later using Source Stones."

"All in all, our total assets this year are 172,000 Source Stones. That's a slight increase from last year's 155,000."

"Let's keep up the good work! Next year, we can break the 200,000 mark."

Dragon Cypress gave an annual summary and waved his tentacles to rally everyone.

We have to wait till next year—

Spiked Cypress raised a claw, asked carefully, "Great King, can we just not repay Huagi Mountain those 20,000 Source Stones?"

"No way!"

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles and smacked directly.

—It's always you every year.

—You're the one with all the questions.

—Keep stirring things up, see if I don't beat you to death.

After thoroughly schooling Spiked Cypress, Dragon Cypress looked up and sure enough, everyone else seemed a lot happier.

Before Dragon Cypress could speak, Fragrant Cypress had already carved a record into the stone wall. According to the rules, this year's bonus remained at 1,000 Source Stones each, with a single rice grain mark.

Currently, Round Cypress, Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress are all High-Level at Age Period 1. Each gets a quarterly salary of 1,000 Source Stones—4,000 a year, plus a 1,000 Source Stones bonus, totaling 5,000 Source Stones income per year.

The Origin Force Food needed for Command Ant evolution is only about half of the Ant King's amount. For a High-Level at Age Period 1 to advance to Age Period 2, the needed Origin Force Food is about 10,000 Source Stones.

Dragon Cypress calculated for them that the current allocation mechanism strikes a good balance. The basic evolution rate is one Age Period every two years, which is very safe. Along with celebration banquets, extra bonuses, Divine-Given Seed dividend sharing, and similar extra income, their evolution might be a little faster than every two years, but never less than one year—always securely above the safety line.

Safety first.

Dragon Cypress noticed everyone's happiness seemed a little forced, so he added, "The amount of Origin Force Food required for advancing at the High-Level Stage increases greatly with Age Period, so I'll further refine our Xianglan Mountain Kingdom's base salary rules."

"For High-Level Command Ants at Age Periods 1 to 3, the quarterly salary remains 1,000 Source Stones."

"For Age Periods 4 to 6 High-Level Command Ants, the quarterly salary is 1,500 Source Stones."

"For Age Periods 7 to 9 High-Level Command Ants, the quarterly salary is 2,000 Source Stones."

"I agree!"

"Awesome!"

"Long live the Great King!"

Spiked Cypress, just beaten, had a new level of ideological understanding and led the cheer.

Dragon Cypress added, "For Mountain Lord Level Command Ants, the base salary is 1,000 Source Stones per month—fixed. After reaching Mountain Lord Level, if you want to keep evolving, you'll mainly have to rely on Divine-Given Seed dividend sharing. If you fail to cultivate a new Divine-Given Seed... just wait to die of old age!"

Er—

Mm—

Got it—

Okay—

Understood—

The six guys drooped their tentacles.

The one most depressed was Silver Cypress. Born a few months too late, he missed the birth of the Cuihua Hanlan Divine-Given Seed.

Round Cypress, Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, Fragrant Cypress, Cypress—these five already had dividend shares from one Divine-Given Seed. As soon as the Second King went to sleep and evolved once, seeds could be sown and harvested, and they'd get some dividend income…

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles to give orders, "Fragrant Cypress, Spiked Cypress, go get ready for the banquets and celebration."

Dragon Cypress picked up the Spider Silk Bag containing the Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Seeds, turned, and said to Ink Orchid:

"This is the biggest gain from this year's Roving Merchant trade: a total of 100 seeds, with 97 left. Next, Ghost Fan will be advancing to Mountain Lord Level, arrange 50 for it."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid: "Okay!"

Dragon Cypress: "I'll eat the remaining 47."

Ink Orchid: "???"

No fair split?

Dragon Cypress explained, "According to Grass Dragon, the One-Glimpse Fruit ripened and was harvested last autumn, with a single auction. By that calculation, the next fruiting and harvest should be in six years. Only one fruit every six years—every chance counts. I plan to ask Melde next year to commission Spider King Spurge to bid for us."

"I'm going to eat this batch of Divine-Given Sky-Blue Persimmon Seeds, then another 100 Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds, steadily advancing at one Age Period per year. In six years, I should be able to reach Mountain Lord Level."

"If Spider King Spurge wins the auction, and the One-Glimpse Fruit is delivered, I can eat it right on time. If not, I'll wait for the next auction, and the next. My idea is, I'll speed up my evolution and grab as many chances to bid as possible."

Ink Orchid: "I get what you're thinking..."

Ink Orchid, worried, said: "Dragon Cypress, isn't that a bit too rushed, too risky? I'm one Age Period higher than you—let me do it instead."

Dragon Cypress: "I'll be careful. The Ant Clan's Strength System talent and comprehensive physique enhancement make me more suitable."

Dragon Cypress: "I'm speeding up evolution also with an eye on strengthening the Ant Kingdom, opening up wasteland, and exploring Lands of Origin Force and Insect Clan ruins."

Ink Orchid thought for a moment, then hesitated and agreed: "Alright..."

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