The Grass Dragon and Natsumi walked at a light jog.

Red Peach pulled the stone slab wheelcart, rumbling along behind them.

"Dragon Cypress!"

The Grass Dragon called out, spreading its eight legs wide and lowering its body, peering into the cave through the Starship Rift. Its gaze wandered over the worker ants and soldier ants, finally fixing on the shrunken Dominating Throne.

Dragon Cypress's mind stirred, and the Dominating Throne leapt up, hovered, spun, and changed size—a simple demonstration.

"Where'd you find that?" The Grass Dragon was green with envy. "Pick one up for me too, will you?"

"Sure! I'll keep an eye out. If I find another, I'll give you one."

Dragon Cypress agreed without hesitation.

"...Alright."

The Grass Dragon was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King."

Natsumi and Red Peach greeted him.

Areca hopped gently off Natsumi's carapace, landed on the ground, and ran back. "Dragon Cypress Ant King, everything's been explained clearly, and the arrangements are made."

Red Peach rushed forward, and through the rift, handed over three stone slabs.

Two stone slabs listed the types and quantities of Origin Force Honey to be produced this year.

The pattern and symbols on the third slab were instantly clear to Dragon Cypress: after deliberation among Seven-Leaf, Melde, and White Ivy, this was the finalized distribution of ordinary Divine-Given Seed shares.

Dragon Cypress reviewed it carefully. It was exactly the set he'd outlined earlier—no changes.

At the very bottom of the slab was a Night Fragrance Tree icon. For White Ivy Grass, there were three grain marks; Seven-Leaf and Melde had none.

Dragon Cypress felt it odd, but set the matter aside, turning around to pass the items to a worker ant, instructing it to deliver them back to Rednan Mountain Ant Nest.

"Natsumi, about the trade for the Divine-Grade Soul-Stabilizing Fruit... is it settled?"

Dragon Cypress inquired.

"Settled."

Natsumi replied, "The next batch of Soul-Setting Fruit matures in 15 years, correct?"

Dragon Cypress: "That's right."

Natsumi: "We can't go with your proposal. Aconite Spider King's stance is: one One-Glimpse Fruit traded for one Soul-Setting Fruit."

Dragon Cypress: "Wouldn't that make me lose out badly?"

Natsumi: "First, the next One-Glimpse Fruit that matures will definitely be delivered to you. Second, a Divine-Grade Fruit worth three to four million Source Stones is being delivered to you a decade early—interest alone would be over a million."

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles vigorously.

Natsumi: "Aconite Spider King also said you can use Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit to trade for the other two Soul-Setting Fruits in the next batch."

Dragon Cypress perked up, asking, "How so?"

Natsumi: "Ordinary Six Paths Wood comes in male and female plants, but the Divine-Grade Six Paths Wood is hermaphroditic. The blossom-fruit cycle is 36 years, producing eighteen Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruits."

Dragon Cypress: "So the yield is actually pretty high!"

Natsumi: "Not high at all. Each time the Divine-Grade Six Paths Wood flowers, it grows nine fruiting branches; every branch has two flowers and bears two fruits, one male—white background, black pattern—and one female—black background, white pattern. One male and one female, both eaten together, count as a share. Only when you eat both together do you get the full effect; consuming one alone gives just one-tenth the result."

Natsumi: "The blossom-fruit cycle is thirty-six years, so in practice, it produces nine shares of Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit."

Natsumi: "The enhancement is very straightforward—it strengthens the soul, ensuring your soul always surpasses your Evolution Rank by a major tier."

Natsumi: "Specifically, if you use it at Mountain Lord Level, your soul reaches Lord-Level. When you evolve to Lord-Level, your soul rises to King Level. When you evolve to King Level..."

Natsumi: "Under Natural Star Realm Laws, it can only reach King-Level Peak. But that's already extremely powerful. The primary value of the Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit lies in the Insect King stage. Beyond King Level, further evolution requires comprehension of abilities and condensing the Divine Mark—if your soul is strong, the results come much easier."

Dragon Cypress: "!!!"

The Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit was even more amazing than expected!

It was almost heaven-defying!

The Grass Dragon, Red Peach, and Areca were also hearing this for the first time; inwardly astonished, they held their breath, waiting for the next part.

Dragon Cypress: "What about the price?"

Natsumi: "Six million Source Stones per fruit. One Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit for one Divine-Grade Soul-Stabilizing Fruit, and Dragon Cypress Ant King, you'll need to make up a hundred thousand Source Stones for the difference. As for what price you sell it for to Huagi Mountain, Aconite Spider King won't interfere."

Dragon Cypress: "One fruit?"

Natsumi: "Yes, one. One male and one female together is a share—twelve million Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress: "...Understood."

Something this pricey, knowing Yellow Stem's penny-pinching ways, I bet he couldn't bear to eat it…

Dragon Cypress sank into thought, speaking slowly, "If I use the Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit at Mountain Lord Level and my soul reaches Lord-Level, does that mean my spiritual power upper limit..."

Natsumi: "Mountain Lord Level spiritual power saturation caps at a detection radius of 100 to 200 meters—the limit is 200 meters. If your soul reaches Lord-Level, that max jumps to 200 to 500 meters—lower bound 200, upper bound 500."

Natsumi: "A powerful soul needs a robust physique to support it. Dragon Cypress Ant King, you've always valued comprehensive physique enhancement, so that won't be a problem. You can use it at Mountain Lord Level, but..."

Natsumi: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, didn't you say that the Quandong Divine-Given Seed is Huagi Mountain's clan-protecting Divine Tree?"

Dragon Cypress: "...Of course."

Dragon Cypress: "I can buy a share for myself to eat. With the Divine-Given Seeds I control, I can afford it."

Natsumi fell silent, tacitly acknowledging this.

Dragon Cypress inquired, "The ordinary Six Paths Fruit is a nut, so the Divine-Grade Six Paths Fruit should be, too?"

Natsumi: "Yes, it's a very hard and thick nut. Sealed in Bee King Jelly, it stays fresh for decades. In fifteen years, when the Soul-Setting Fruit matures, we'll trade, spot for spot."

Dragon Cypress: "Got it."

Dragon Cypress: "Then what about later Soul-Setting Fruit trades? And the matter of Source Stones..."

Natsumi: "In the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, shipments of Source Stones on the scale of tens of millions can't be managed by just Aconite and Spurge—the two Spider Kings must unite with at least one more Spider King; it'll take at least three working together. The specific arrangements still aren't settled, but as soon as they are, I'll let you know immediately."

Dragon Cypress: "Alright. Understood."

Natsumi: "There's one more thing I feel is necessary to let you know, Dragon Cypress Ant King."

Dragon Cypress: "What is it?"

Natsumi: "Aconite Spider King just arranged for Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord to attempt to advance to Lord soon after returning to Flame Spider Kingdom from this fall's roving merchant journey."

Dragon Cypress: "Oh!!!"

Dragon Cypress: "Natsumi, convey my advance congratulations to Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord! May he take a big step closer to King Level!"

Natsumi: "I'll pass that on. Thank you, Dragon Cypress Mountain Lord."

Natsumi took a few steps back, "That concludes my business."

The Grass Dragon moved forward, "Spider King Spurge sent me to collect the debt; the agreed interest is due."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

The Grass Dragon: "If you don't pay, that's fine. Treat it as an investment risk by Spider King Spurge—if you successfully take the Termite Kingdom and seize the White Poplar Divine Seed, then for the first six Divine-Grade Baihe Fruits produced, Spurge won't pay Source Stones—sixty thousand per fruit."

Dragon Cypress thought it over, did the math, and didn't hesitate for long. "Deal!"

The Grass Dragon: "But if you don't win and fail to seize the White Poplar Divine Seed, then you'll have to pay both principal and interest, in full."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course. Don't worry, I won't default."

The Grass Dragon: "Then it's settled."

The Grass Dragon: "I have nothing else, but, about White Ivy…"

"Sigh—"

The Grass Dragon let out a long sigh, exasperated, "Did you look carefully at that stone slab just now? For years, I mistakenly thought my most respected White Ivy Mountain Lord had finally gotten some sense—turned clever..."

The Grass Dragon: "When it comes to the Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Fruit, all smart spiders are cautious—except for White Ivy... I have no idea what he's thinking, or maybe he just doesn't use his brain at all; the minute he hears 'Divine-Grade' his head overheats."

The Grass Dragon: "Dragon Cypress, we all know each other well—be careful with White Ivy, don't rip him off."

Dragon Cypress: "...Rip him off?"

Dragon Cypress: "All I said was, you could try a few Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Fruits."

Dragon Cypress: "Let's just see how things go. White Ivy Mountain Lord is my most important trading partner. Why would I rip him off?"

The Grass Dragon: "Fair enough. Right, we'll see how things go."

The Grass Dragon finished his piece and turned to Red Peach.

Red Peach: "I have nothing to say."

Red Peach: "There's a lot of cargo this year, so I'll start moving it over on this side..."

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.