CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 390 HUAGI DIVINE TREE’S DEMAND (PART ONE)

After Dragon Cypress left, during his brief communication with the Barley Bug Warriors and Huagi Divine Tree, the Linnan Divine Tree suddenly shot up another one or two meters.

Its dense capillary roots pierced through the remains, beginning to reclaim nutrients, and the piled-up tubao started to sink downward.

"Ink Orchid! Don’t get so close."

"Ghost Fan, White Rice, Snakebark Maple, White Willow, keep your distance, stay even further back."

"Black Leaf, Round Cypress, stop staring, move away, and drive those crowding ant swarms away too."

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne, skimming low to the ground and leading the insects to retreat.

Yellow Stem also felt uneasy regarding the Linnan Divine Tree and followed along.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles to block him.

"Yellow Stem, don’t panic, you’re a Shield Grasshopper Warrior, you’ll be fine."

"Yellow Stem, you stay and communicate with the Linnan Divine Tree. If there are any instructions or requests, come tell us."

Yellow Stem: "I..."

The reasoning sounds valid...

But...

Yellow Stem: "It’s fine, I’ll also stand back a bit, just in case I disturb the Linnan Divine Tree’s rebirth. If I piss it off and get beaten up, that’s not worth it."

"Alright then..."

Dragon Cypress: "Don’t worry. Just stand a little further away, you’ll be okay."

The insects watched and retreated at the same time.

They kept retreating until they were four or five hundred meters away.

Dragon Cypress swayed his tentacles and said, "White Rice, I’ll have to trouble you again. Work with the ant swarms and urgently dig a one-meter wide, one-meter deep water diversion canal, outside the 500-meter radius from the Linnan Divine Tree, connecting to the ring-shaped river canal."

"This canal is first for draining and supplementing water for the Linnan Divine Tree; and secondly, it marks the boundary of the territory. No insects, including the ant swarm, may easily cross it and approach the Linnan Divine Tree."

White Rice: "Understood!"

Dragon Cypress: "Round Cypress, Black Leaf, you two take command of the ant swarm for the work."

"Yes, Great King!"

Round Cypress and Black Leaf responded and got to work.

...

The Divine Tree was reborn, sprouting branches and growing at a speed visible to the eye.

This kind of spectacle couldn’t be seen even a few times in a lifetime.

All the insects gathered to watch.

...

Under the warm spring sunlight,

in just one day, the Linnan Divine Tree rapidly matured into a massive tree over 50 meters tall.

The energy stored within the Divine Object level Glinting Gold was depleted, and its growth slowed.

Each day it still rose five or six meters, towering steadily taller.

Soon it reached sixty meters, then seventy...

Dragon Cypress made a trip to Black Fruit Mountain, and also brought Red Moonseed over for the experience.

After arranging all sorts of matters,

he checked the time and set out, returning to Xianglan Mountain to organize the spring trade.

...

...

...

At the Starship Passage, Natsumi, Silvergrass, and Red Peach were already waiting.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

"Red Moonseed! Areca!"

Red Peach greeted them exuberantly.

All eyes immediately focused on the Spider Silk Bag carried by Red Moonseed.

"Three Night Fragrance Fruits, 1.5 million."

Red Moonseed opened the Spider Silk Bag, and stuffed three metal cans over one by one.

Silvergrass helped to open the cans and inspect the contents.

Red Peach swiveled back to the stone slab wheelcart, took down a Spider Silk Bag, opened it to pull out a metal tube, then opened that and pulled out a thick stack of Spider King Silk Scrolls.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, you owe the White Ivy Mountain Lord one million Source Stones..."

"Settled."

Dragon Cypress was crisp and direct.

"That means you still need to pay 500,000 Source Stones."

Red Peach unfurled the Spider King Silk Scrolls and passed them through the rift.

Areca stepped forward to take them, flipping through the scrolls one by one, using his spiritual power to check and count them. "No problem!"

At the same time, Silvergrass finished inspecting the Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Fruits and said, "Everything’s fine."

The transaction for the Divine-Grade fruits was completed quickly.

Red Peach tidied up, and at the same time removed the stone slab recording the Origin Force Honey order from her carapace, handing it over.

Dragon Cypress took a quick look and handed it to Areca, asking, "Red Peach, Silvergrass, you arrived three days earlier this year. I doubt the Spider King Spurge would adjust the roving merchant schedule just for three Night Fragrance Fruits, right?"

Red Peach replied, "The Spider King Spurge considered Cloud Trace Continent’s trade potential and altered the merchant itinerary. From now on, we’ll come together with Natsumi every year."

Natsumi then said, "Spider King Spurge is also very interested in the status of the White Poplar Divine Seed. Normally, composting it with Lord-Level termite corpses would rapidly speed up the White Poplar Divine Seed’s growth..."

Dragon Cypress nodded his tentacles and replied concisely: "That’s right! The White Poplar Divine Seed bloomed this spring, and it’s already fruiting. The number of fruits matches what we learned before. The first batch produced six fruits. Huagi Mountain needs three; the other three go first to Melde and the White Ivy Trade Caravan. From now on, further yield first goes to Spider King Spurge, White Ivy, and Melde."

In the short term, the Evolution Lord of Seven-Leaf will not get a share of the Divine-Grade Baihe Fruit yield.

Dragon Cypress has to evolve to Evolution Lord Level first, increase production, and after the internal demands of Cloud Trace Continent have been met, only then will it be Seven-Leaf Caravan’s turn.

Natsumi followed up, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, the matter of Linnan Divine Tree’s revival, have you discussed it with Huagi Mountain?"

Dragon Cypress: "That’s exactly what I was going to say. There are a lot of matters this time, and they’re extremely important. I’ll give you a brief summary first. Then Red Moonseed will go over with you and explain everything to the three Spider Kings in person."

Dragon Cypress: "The Huagi Divine Tree and Linnan Divine Tree have both been reborn in the Purple Tung Insect Nation. Also, Huagi Mountain is hiding a third Divine-Grade God-Given Seed named ’Jinhe’. Once I acquire a One-Glimpse Fruit, the Jinhe Divine-Given Seed will immediately go to Purple Tung Insect Nation to take root."

—There’s another Divine-Grade?

—Jinhe?

—Linnan Divine Tree has already revived?

Natsumi, Silvergrass, and Red Peach were all stunned.

Suddenly, Silvergrass and Red Peach both sensed trouble, exchanging glances: Crap! Are they dividing up the Divine-Given Kunlun Seed quota this year?

Dragon Cypress ignored their reactions, and continued, "Currently, Cloud Trace Continent has five Divine-Grades: White Poplar, Night Fragrance, Quandong, Linnan, and Jinhe. We need to bring in two more caravans led by Insect Kings. This is non-negotiable, but Spider King Aconite and Spider King Spurge can decide which two trade caravans come in."

Red Moonseed walked through the Starship Rift.

Dragon Cypress: "You guys go. Red Moonseed will explain the full details and arrangements."

"Okay—"

Natsumi hesitated, feeling scattered in thought.

Silvergrass took down the stone slab recording the Origin Force Honey order from his carapace and handed it over, saying:

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, my and Grass Dragon’s Origin Force Honey trade is also at its limit; the volume is quite high, could you take a look?"

Red Peach immediately added, "This year’s Origin Force Honey trade total has exceeded 6 million. It might take some time to process everything. Natsumi, Silvergrass, Red Moonseed, you go on first, I’ll finish the trade here with Dragon Cypress Ant King and catch up."

Dragon Cypress was just about to examine the stone slab when he overheard the exchange between Red Peach and Silvergrass. Keenly sensing something off, he waved his tentacles and said:

"Red Moonseed, you go ahead."

"Areca, bring over the Bee King Honey we’re delivering to the White Ivy Mountain Lord this year, so Red Peach can inspect it."

"Okay."

"Alright—"

Red Moonseed and Areca responded.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Silvergrass urged.

Areca turned to fetch the goods.

Natsumi noticed something odd, thought about it but decided not to dwell on it, and took the lead to leave.

...

After the party had gone far, Red Peach took the initiative and said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, as for Purple Back Mountain and the Banded Assassin Bug Tribe, there’s another version. They originated from Cloud Crown Mountain, where ordinary Beautiful Ji Bugs mutated and differentiated under the influence of an energy field from a Divine-Grade God-Given Seed named ’Spotted Thicket’. The Banded Assassin Bug Tribe’s Waterwood System hallucination ability is also inherited from the Spotted Thicket Divine-Given Seed..."