Deep within the Ant Nest, in the Royal Chamber.

Dragon Cypress placed the metal canister containing the sealed One-Glimpse Fruit onto the throne's cushion, unscrewed the lid, held the canister gently with both claws, and slowly extended two tentacles inside, retrieving the fruit.

The wooden shell of the fruit was very hard.

It was covered in lots of Bee King Jelly—a shame to waste it.

A dozen or so Blue Ants came forward, licking it off to swallow, then regurgitated it back into the canister.

—The most extraordinary Divine-Grade Fruit known to date!

Dragon Cypress turned the One-Glimpse Fruit over in his claws, mental power straining to probe its interior, but he could only sense a highly condensed mass of surging primordial energy, unable to discern the true nature of the kernel.

After pondering for a while,

Dragon Cypress, careful as ever, activated the Rend ability, primordial energy gathering at his claw tips, and gently sliced around the middle of the fruit.

The original energy patterns on the fruit's shell were ruptured, and the surging Origin Force Energy exploded, instantly filling the entire cavern, then rapidly shot through the stone walls and dispersed.

Crystal clear, golden-red flesh…

Not a dried fruit—no wonder it couldn't be stored long-term…

Dragon Cypress took a hurried glance, swept over it with mental power, then opened his mouth and, with a gulp, swallowed the entire thing.

Scorching primordial energy erupted in his abdomen, rushing rapidly through his six limbs and every bone, like torrential rivers surging into his brain.

It had no effect on flesh or muscles, as if all rivers returned to the sea; all the energy converged at the carapace on his forehead.

The current came swiftly and faded just as fast.

Just as Dragon Cypress felt shock and awe, all the power of the Divine-Grade Fruit had already condensed into one point and peace returned.

He swept his forehead with mental power.

The complex, beautiful golden-red primordial energy patterns from the fruit were now transferred onto his forehead carapace.

They clung to the carapace.

Dragon Cypress communicated with them through his mind and understood clearly:

[You only need to lock onto a target, move your mind, and channel a bit of primordial energy to activate and unleash the 'Heaven Returning Glimpse' ability, reverting a plant to its initial seed form.]

...

Areca sprawled at the Royal Chamber's entrance, all eight eyes wide and shining.

"All done!"

"Nice and simple."

Dragon Cypress leapt lightly to the ground.

The Dominating Throne shrank abruptly, becoming a ball just over ten centimeters in diameter, floating above his head.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, ready to set off?" Areca inquired.

"Ready!" Dragon Cypress straightened his middle leg.

Areca deftly climbed up along his leg carapace, standing steady atop Dragon Cypress's back.

With Areca riding him, Dragon Cypress trotted over to the South Mountain Restaurant.

Fragrant Cypress had already sorted all varieties of Origin Force Ant Honey from this spring's Roving Merchant trade.

After a short wait, Ink Orchid also handed over the Glinting Gold to the Cuihua Hanlan Divine-Given Seed and came to join them.

They checked the goods, packed their bags, and set out.

...

In fact, Azure wasn't wrong—after evolving to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, Dragon Cypress had indeed grown much bigger, his body length now just over three meters, and his weight must have tripled compared to when he was a nine-age-period High-Level Ant King.

Ink Orchid was also quite sizable.

The Stump Ant Nest could no longer be used; after years of wind and sun, its wood had decayed and couldn't support the heavy weight of Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid.

The Stump Ant Nest that had accompanied them for years had to be reluctantly discarded.

There was, for now, no good replacement.

These days, the Ant Kingdom's size and strength were not inferior, so raising new ants could wait for now.

They traveled light and swift.

Heading north,

In just a day and a half, they arrived at White Lotus Lake.

They shared the good news of Dragon Cypress's successful evolution to Evolution Mountain Lord Level with the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed and checked the growth status of the Night Fragrance Fruit.

Fragrant Cypress stayed behind, leading the ant colony to weed, fertilize, and hunt pests in the orchard.

Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, and Areca continued their journey east.

Dragon Cypress's mental power could now extend over 130 meters, and the Dominating Throne's flight speed had nearly doubled.

After just a day, they arrived at Red Cypress Mountain.

The Red Cypress God-Given Seed was still alive but on its last breath; upon sensing Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid approaching, it released a gentle and friendly mental thought.

The Dominating Throne spiraled down from the treetop and landed on the ground.

"Ink Orchid, Areca, I'm not sure what will happen when I activate this ability. You two back away."

"Okay—"

"Alright—"

Ink Orchid carried Areca on her back carapace, leapt lightly to the ground, trotted a few steps away, but then turned back, worried, and asked, "Dragon Cypress, nothing unexpected will happen, right?"

Dragon Cypress: "If nothing unexpected happens, then nothing unexpected will happen."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid: "If the Red Cypress God-Given Seed is turned into a seed form, will its soul consciousness and memory remain?"

That was a difficult question…

Dragon Cypress: "I forgot to ask Grass Dragon, so I have no idea."

Dragon Cypress: "We'll know once we try."

"Oh—"

Ink Orchid sighed in melancholy.

The usually quiet Areca murmured, "If its soul consciousness and memory are lost, then that's still…the same as death."

"Exactly—" Ink Orchid agreed.

Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles vigorously, signaling them to retreat further, then went alone to the base of the Red Cypress God-Given Seed.

The Red Cypress God-Given Seed sent a greeting—close and puzzled—via mental thought.

Dragon Cypress ignored it, calmed his mind, locked the tree trunk with his mental power, and communicated with the primordial energy patterns on his forehead, channeling strands of origin force to activate them.

From the forehead carapace, golden-red primordial energy light blazed forth, generating thousands of orange primordial energy filaments that twined around the Red Cypress God-Given Seed's trunk.

In a flash, the surging primordial energy transferred from his carapace to the trunk.

Orange primordial threads spread up and down the Red Cypress God-Given Seed's trunk, enveloping the branches above and penetrating the roots below.

With a whoosh,

As if burning, the Red Cypress God-Given Seed burst into brilliance like golden-red flames, flickering in the windless air.

But there was no true heat from the flames.

The terrifying primordial energy pressure forced Dragon Cypress to step back repeatedly, until he retreated beside the Dominating Throne.

"Dragon Cypress, look!"

From afar, Ink Orchid lifted a claw, pointing at the top of the tree.

At the tree's peak, a pure white flower bud formed, slowly blooming…

Withering,

Fruit appearing,

The cone fruit growing…

The entire process unfolded rapidly, lasting barely a minute or two, as the violent primordial energy fluctuations subsided and the golden-red flames faded.

The wind blew by,

Ash-white powder diffused, turning into drifting clouds of dust.

When the dust settled,

All that remained was a bare trunk and the fruit at the treetop.

Dragon Cypress leapt atop the Dominating Throne, rose vertically, approached, and lifted a claw to harvest it.

He peeled open the fruit shell; inside was an oversized, near one-centimeter-wide flat-round seed—much larger than an ordinary cypress seed.

The Heaven Returning Glimpse had reverted the plant to its initial seed form, though it was not quite the original state of the seed.

Dragon Cypress swept the seed with mental power; its life breath and primordial energy breath were ample, but there was no soul or mental power fluctuation.

As expected all along,

The Red Cypress God-Given Seed that had struggled so bitterly, its soul consciousness was ultimately gone.

The Heaven Returning Glimpse was akin to the 'Zero Rebirth' the Dominating Throne once used on the Deep Blue God-Given Seed; in the end their effects were nearly identical.

"Dragon Cypress—"

Ink Orchid ran quickly to the foot of the trunk, looking up.

Dragon Cypress opened his mouth, put the seed into his Life Pouch, and gently lowered the Dominating Throne.

Ink Orchid: "How is it?"

Dragon Cypress: "Very good! Now Xianglan Mountain has another top-tier Strength System Divine-Given Seed."

Ink Orchid was slightly irritated, her spirits dampened.

Areca: "That's not what Ink Orchid was asking…"

Dragon Cypress: "The Red Cypress God-Given Seed has been reborn."

—Answer the question directly!

Ink Orchid fumed.

Dragon Cypress sighed softly and said, "The sun rises and falls; day and night form nature's cycle. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter—the seasons' cycle. Dormancy and revival of origin force, the rise and fall of species. Natural life flourishes amid cycles of life and death. Ink Orchid, Areca, try to take it lightly."

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