Natsumi's carapace was loaded with three large pouches of goods, carrying Areca, as she ran down the Starship Passage.

"Areca, we're far enough now. The Spider King's spiritual power can't possibly reach here, so can you talk now?"

"Talk about what?"

"The Divine God-Given Seed!"

"It's too complicated. Better let the Dragon Cypress Ant King tell you himself."

"What divine grade?"

"When you meet the Dragon Cypress Ant King, she'll explain everything in detail."

"...Alright."

Natsumi sped up, racing forward.

...

"Dragon Cypress Ant King—"

Natsumi came to a halt, crouched down, her eight eyes flashing red as she stared intensely through the Starship Rift at the figure opposite her.

Behind Dragon Cypress, what had been a cramped earthen passage had been excavated into a cavern two or three meters in radius.

Inside the cavern, countless Worker Ants about a meter long were crawling everywhere.

On both sides of Dragon Cypress stood two Specialized Soldier Ants, each more than two meters long, baring fierce mandible teeth.

—Are these Specialized Soldier Ants of the Giant-Headed Ant Tribe?

—Weren't we talking about a Male Ant King?

—Can a Male Ant King produce eggs and grow an Ant Kingdom?

Natsumi's mind was hitting its limits.

All the way here, her head had been filled with thoughts of the Divine-Given Seed, the Divine God-Given Seed—yet now she was presented with such a mind-shattering sight...

"Natsumi, don't be surprised."

"It's true Male Ants can't lay eggs, but Outworld Civilization Artifacts can make it possible."

As Dragon Cypress spoke, a blue metal orb, four to five centimeters in diameter, lifted off the ground at her side, hovered in front of her, and swelled up until it was half a meter across.

It spun midair for a round, then rapidly shrunk and settled slowly to the ground.

Dragon Cypress explained, "This thing is called the 'Dominating Throne.' It has two main functions. First, it can collect my bloodline information and absorb my Primordial Energy and physical strength, then replicate and manufacture Ant Eggs. There's no difference from the eggs laid by ordinary female Ant Kings—they can be split as usual into Worker Ants and Soldier Ants of all kinds."

"The second function is that it can store massive amounts of Primordial Energy and feed it back to me. It can change size, levitate and fly, carrying me through the Origin Force Vacuum Lands of Cloud Trace Continent freely for exploration."

Natsumi: "Oh!!!"

Natsumi: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, then you..."

Dragon Cypress: "Actually, back at the High-Level Ant King stage, I developed a powerful Ant Kingdom. But, considering certain Insect Kings next door could still threaten my safety, well... Of course I trust you and the Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord, but word would definitely leak from White Ivy Mountain Lord and Grass Dragon, so I kept things hidden for now."

Dragon Cypress raised a claw, Primordial Energy gathering at her tip, and drew it across the Primordial Energy Metal at the Starship Rift, saying, "Now, I've comprehended Strength System abilities and bred Mountain Lord Level Soldier Ants. My Ant Kingdom's combat strength has leapt forward. I fear nothing, so there's no need to keep it secret anymore."

Natsumi: "…I understand."

Natsumi thought hard, locking onto the key point, and asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, can the Dominating Throne carry you deep into Cloud Trace Continent?"

Dragon Cypress corrected her, "It can take me anywhere on Cloud Trace Continent."

Natsumi: "Even Ink Orchid?"

Dragon Cypress: "It can also carry other Insect Clan Warriors with me."

Natsumi: "So, did you dig up some ruin from a Great Tribe of the last Origin Force Era?"

Dragon Cypress: "We've excavated a lot of ruins. It was time-consuming and exhausting, and the rewards didn't always match my expectations, so we haven't dug in recent years."

Dragon Cypress: "Natsumi, let me give you a quick overview of the basics of Cloud Trace Continent on this side. First, the continent overall is still in the Origin Force Silent Period, and it won't recover any time soon. However, there are still a few places, or rather small areas, where Origin Force remains. We call those places Lands of Origin Force."

Dragon Cypress: "The Land of Origin Force where Ink Orchid and I live is called 'Xianglan Mountain,' and our Ant Kingdom is the 'Xianglan Mountain Kingdom'. Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple live in a Land of Origin Force deep in the continent, called 'Kiwifruit Mountain'."

Areca picked up the conversation, "The Land of Origin Force where I live is called Scarletlight Mountain, in the southwestern tropics of Cloud Trace Continent. I live there with the Nine-Star Li Warrior Mulberry. There's a wild Divine-Given Scarletlight Seed there, which just broke through to Evolution Lord Level last year. I was born in the southeast of Cloud Trace Continent, in the Areca Rainforest."

Dragon Cypress: "There are many similar Lands of Origin Force. Some are inhabited by Insect Clan Warriors, but most are empty. There are also some Origin Force Points that are just barren deserts."

Natsumi: "!!!"

Natsumi couldn't speak for a long time.

After a pause, Dragon Cypress continued, "Here are two key places: first, Purple Tung Insect Nation—so far, it's the only Land of Origin Force we've found with a huge area and super-high Origin Force Concentration. There's a wild Purple Tung Divine Seed there, which was originally co-owned by many Insect Clan Warriors…"

...

Dragon Cypress went on to describe Purple Tung Insect Nation and the White Poplar Divine Seed, as well as her own preparations to attack the Termite Kingdom.

She also explained Huagi Mountain and the Quandong Divine Tree in detail.

—Two Divine Grades?

—One is a Life-Extending Divine Grade!

—The other grants soul abilities!

Natsumi's brain went numb, blanking out; it took her quite a while to come back to her senses, now unprecedently calm.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, the last One-Glimpse Fruit, you really gave it to the Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed?"

"Yes. It wasn't wild. When we found it, the Insect Clan Warrior nurturing it had died of old age. It was nearing death too. Ink Orchid and I estimated that investing three or four million Source Stones to get a top-level Strength System Divine-Given Seed was worthwhile, so we used it. It's now successfully become a seed, stored in my Life Pouch and incubating."

"Oh—"

But what Natsumi cared about wasn't that, "Then attacking the Termite Kingdom, to snatch the White Poplar Divine Seed…"

"It's not snatching."

Dragon Cypress emphasized, "We're attacking the Termite Kingdom to rescue the enslaved Barley Bug Warriors; if possible, we'll also bring back the White Poplar Divine Seed."

Natsumi: "That's right."

Natsumi: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, you still need a One-Glimpse Fruit!"

Dragon Cypress: "If you can help me get one, then of course I'd take it."

Natsumi's mind whirred back into action, and she joked lightly, "The One-Glimpse Fruit is produced by our Flame Spider Kingdom. With the Aconite Spider King's wealth and influence, getting one would be a piece of cake. However, I heard you already owe Spider King Spurge 3.6 million Source Stones…"

Dragon Cypress: "What I owe Spider King Spurge doesn't need to be repaid."

Dragon Cypress, knowing where Natsumi's thoughts were going, added bluntly, "The Soul-Setting Fruit takes ten years per Blossom-Fruit Cycle, and three fruits are harvested each batch. We're keeping this batch's three fruits for ourselves. The next batch will ripen in fifteen years. Of those three Soul-Setting Fruits, I can give the Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord first dibs."

Dragon Cypress continued, "The price is five million Source Stones, with a one-million Source Stone deposit for preorder. We don't accept Spider King Silk Scrolls, only spot Source Stones, or Divine-Grade Fruits—for example, a One-Glimpse Fruit."

Natsumi: "..."

Natsumi: "Deal!"

Dragon Cypress: "It's not up to you—Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord and Aconite Spider King need to agree too."

Natsumi: "I can't imagine them refusing."

Natsumi: "And the White Poplar Divine Seed? If we succeed in—if we manage to take down the Termite Kingdom and secure the White Poplar Divine Seed, what are your plans for allocating it, Dragon Cypress Ant King?"

Dragon Cypress: "That will have to wait until I reach Evolution Lord Level and have a surplus. At Mountain Lord Level, the Blossom-Fruit Cycle is sixteen years, and each batch only produces six fruits—I have to keep them for myself."

Dragon Cypress: "At Lord-Level, each batch produces nine fruits. Three fruits make a share; Spider King Spurge must get a share; Melde and White Ivy share one; I still need to keep one for myself, but after I'm done, I could consider a stable trade with the Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord."

Natsumi: "Got it."

Natsumi: "Still only accepting spot Source Stones, or Divine-Grade Fruits?"

Dragon Cypress: "The Soul-Setting Fruit I buy from Huagi Mountain, I'm only a middleman making a small margin. Huagi Mountain only takes Source Stones—they need to hoard huge amounts of Source Stones to survive the long Origin Force Silent Period."

Dragon Cypress: "My own White Poplar Fruits can be bought with Source Stones or priced by top-quality Origin Force Food—of course, I'll also accept a small amount of Spider King Silk Scrolls."

Natsumi: "Understood!"

Natsumi: "Are there any other Divine God-Given Seeds?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes. There's also a purely wild Night Fragrance God-Given Seed…"

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