Huagi Mountain.

Yellow Stem and Spruce were busy planting grass on the slope. Sensing the Origin Force fluctuation of the Dominating Throne, they both took to the air, quickly flying up to the ridge to wait.

"Yellow Stem. Spruce."

The Dominating Throne sped closer, decelerated, hovered, and landed in place.

Dragon Cypress got straight to the point. "Quandong Divine Tree! The One-Glimpse Fruit is secured. How long until the Soul-Setting Fruit matures?"

Quandong: "Early summer."

The Quandong Divine Tree's curiosity was not one bit less than an Insect Clan Warrior's, and it urged, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, did you bring the One-Glimpse Fruit? Let me take a look!"

"I have it here!"

Ink Orchid opened a spider silk bag, took out the metal can, cradled it with both claws, gave it a shake, set it upright on the Throne, and twisted open the lid.

Yellow Stem and Spruce, seeing this, jumped onto the Throne and leaned in for a closer look.

The Huagi Divine Tree and Quandong Divine Tree both found this incredibly unique Divine-Grade Fruit unbelievable.

Silence. Holding their breath.

Ink Orchid glanced at Yellow Stem, then at Spruce, then screwed the lid back on.

They all turned in unison to look at the Quandong Divine Tree.

After a long while,

The Quandong Divine Tree slowly said, "This is a perfectly ordinary Divine-Grade Fruit, belonging to the ability-granting type. The One-Glimpse Fruit is supposed to grant Insect Clan Warriors the ability of 'Heaven Returning Glimpse.'"

"I have two guesses. The first is, perhaps the Natural God does not allow this kind of ability to exist, so it becomes an ability that can only be used once."

"The second guess is, maybe this ability requires compatibility with a specific racial talent. Normal insects are not compatible, so they cannot undergo a Primordial Energy transformation and cannot receive the ability grant."

—Oh!

—It's probably the first one.

—The Natural God does not permit the existence of order-disrupting elements in the Star Realm.

—I think it's the second one.

—Does the One-Glimpse Fruit belong to the Life System? Then Insect Clan Warriors with Life System talents should be compatible, right? The Ten-thousand Tribes Continent isn't short of such insects.

—We can probably rule out the second possibility.

—If anyone possessed the ability to use 'Heaven Returning Glimpse' infinitely, the other Insect Clan Warriors would definitely feel threatened and reject them. If a tribe mastered this ability, their fate would be annihilation.

...

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Spruce all had not just one Divine-Given Seed; in the future, Yellow Stem would also nurture a God-Given Life Seed.

They all felt somewhat wary and resistant toward the ability granted by the One-Glimpse Fruit.

If they possessed this ability themselves, of course they'd be pleased.

But if some other insect nearby had this ability, they'd lose sleep at night.

This made both insects and trees uncomfortable.

Ink Orchid put the metal can away and wrapped it with three spider silk bags.

Dragon Cypress shifted the topic, asking, "Quandong Divine Tree, when the Soul-Setting Fruit matures, how many Source Stones are needed per fruit on average? Do I need to bring the ant colony to help?"

Quandong: "Roughly 2.8 to 3 million Source Stones need to be consumed. You just need to dig a few pits under the tree and bury the Source Stones in them."

So, no help needed?

"Oh——"

Dragon Cypress: "Then I'll stay behind with Ink Orchid to help."

Quandong: "Alright."

Yellow Stem asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, how is construction progressing out on the Desolation Plains? How's the scale of the ant colony?"

Dragon Cypress: "At present, I've stationed enough Blue Ants on all logistical tasks for the orchards established on Fragant Orchid Mountain, Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, White Lotus Lake, and Black Lotus Lake—everything is ready. Since last autumn, I've been cultivating Specialized Blue Soldiers on the Desolation Plains. There are seven or eight years left; considering various delays, we'll have about five thousand Combat Soldier Ants."

Dragon Cypress: "A round trip by Dominating Throne between Huagi Mountain and Desolation Plains takes just under half a day. I can help out on Huagi Mountain during the day and return to manage the Ant Nest on Desolation Plains at night."

Yellow Stem: "...You arrange it as you see fit."

Yellow Stem: "All the Source Stones have been moved to the Knowledge Hall. This season is perfect—I need to sow grass seeds with Spruce and take care of the hatching Little Shield Grasshoppers. We'll dig the pits in half a month."

Dragon Cypress: "Just right. Let Ink Orchid stay here on Huagi Mountain. I'll head to Desolation Plains, organize the Ant Nest, and return in half a month."

...

Dragon Cypress headed alone to the Ant Nest on Desolation Plains.

Counting down the days one by one—once fifteen days had passed, he set off at once for Huagi Mountain.

Under the Quandong Divine Tree,

Yellow Stem, Spruce, and Ink Orchid had already started working. They were digging circular pits with a diameter of ten meters and depth of about two meters, a hundred meters from the main trunk.

Dragon Cypress approached, gave a simple greeting, and manipulated the Dominating Throne to help lift and haul soil.

Just a few shallow pits—dead easy work for Mountain Lord Level warriors.

One pit per day, six days to finish.

Three million Source Stones were brought out, six pits, each filled with half a million Source Stones, then backfilled with soil, forming six round earthen mounds about two meters above ground.

The Quandong Divine Tree would extend its roots and entangle all the Source Stones, using what it needed and leaving the rest. For everyday "breathing," it consumes an average of about four hundred a day.

The three Soul-Setting Fruits under the Quandong Divine Tree had already taken shape.

Elliptical pinecones, very large, about fifteen centimeters long and seven or eight centimeters across at the chest.

With fish-scale-like brown husks, each scale inscribed with a complex white pattern of Original Energy, the shell was ultra-thick, and even with spiritual power it was impossible to detect the inner seed.

At night, these patterns flickered with the rhythm of breathing, absorbing Natural Primordial Force and emitting a hazy Primordial Energy glow.

...

Time: early summer.

The Divine-Grade Fruit was about to mature.

Yellow Stem and Spruce, those two, were very calm, getting up early and returning late every day, staying busy around the mountain as usual.

Dragon Cypress, afraid to miss the moment, stayed on Huagi Mountain with Ink Orchid, keeping watch under the tree and chatting with Quandong Divine Tree.

They waited patiently for several days,

until one day at noon, amid a chorus of insect calls, the drowsy Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid received a message from the Quandong Divine Tree through Mental Power: "The Soul-Setting Fruit is about to ripen."

—Wonderful!

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid jolted awake.

Ink Orchid: "Quandong Divine Tree, is there anything we need to do?"

Quandong: "No need."

Quandong: "Just a reminder—get farther away."

Ink Orchid: "Uh..."

"Alright…"

Dragon Cypress's thoughts spun as he piloted the Dominating Throne, lifting off from the ground, accelerating horizontally to leave the huge shadow of the Quandong Divine Tree's trunk, then rising vertically and landing at the summit of Huagi Mountain.

Yellow Stem and Spruce detected the commotion at the same time.

Yellow Stem ran straight for the mountain peak.

Spruce beat its wings, flying up to the ridge, asked Quandong Divine Tree a couple questions, and then fled up the mountain like escaping for its life.

After a short wait, the Quandong Divine Tree began drawing in Natural Primordial Force at an accelerated rate, forming a vacuum of Origin Force that rapidly expanded within a few breaths to cover the entire Land of Origin Force.

The terrifying pressure made insects shudder.

—But weren't three million Source Stones prepared in advance?

It was the first time Yellow Stem and Spruce had witnessed such a spectacle—they stood dazed for quite a while, then scrambled onto the Throne in a panic.

Thankfully, this process did not last long.

The Quandong Divine Tree deliberately slowed the absorption rate of Origin Force by its branches and leaves, shrinking the vacuum's radius, compressing it at last to a thousand meters and avoiding the Life Seed plants of Yellow Stem and Spruce.

The process continued for another half day, and by twilight, the absorption rate dropped sharply and all returned to calm.

The Dominating Throne took off and landed near the Quandong Divine Tree's trunk.

The Quandong Divine Tree said lazily, "Ink Orchid, Dragon Cypress Ant King, don't be impatient, wait one more day."

"...Alright."

"...We're not in a hurry."

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid replied.

Heads tilted up, they gazed at the fruit on the tree, anxiously waiting.

The luster of the brown shell gradually faded.

The leaves on the fruiting branch withered and fell.

Finally, the fruiting branch dried up.

The Soul-Setting Fruits dropped off on their own, falling to the ground.

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Spruce all took flight at the same time, each grabbing one and circling down to land.

—It's done!

—Thank you, Quandong Divine Tree, for your hard work!

—Many thanks to Quandong Divine Tree!

With the Soul-Setting Fruits in hand, their hearts could finally rest; after happily giving thanks, they looked at each other.

Ink Orchid had only barely reached Mountain Lord Level after its first evolutionary age just two years ago, so it was in no rush to use the fruit. It would preserve its Soul-Setting Fruit with some Ant King Jelly for now.

Spruce wasn't at Mountain Lord Level yet either, so it couldn't use the Soul-Setting Fruit and would also seal it for now with Ant King Jelly.

Spruce: "Ink Orchid, do you want to put your Soul-Setting Fruit in the treasury to keep it refrigerated together?"

Ink Orchid: "No need. Thanks. I'll eat it in the autumn."

Yellow Stem: "Dragon Cypress, will you stay on Huagi Mountain and use yours?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes!"

Yellow Stem: "Up the mountain. To the Knowledge Hall."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.