Hidden Wing Mountain, Trading Plaza.
In front of the White Ivy Trade Caravanâs stall, the area was packed tight with hordes of low, mid, and high-level Stone Pattern Mantis Warriors.
These little guys didnât have much buying power.
They pooled their Source Stones together, three or five at a time, till they scraped up 1000 or 2000 Source Stones to buy a jar or two of Origin Force Ant Honey and made do with that.
The business wasnât big, but it was bustling.
The White Ivy group realized that in this kind of great and prosperous tribe with a huge insect population, even selling by the scoop could move quite a lot of goods. Plus, since there was a surplus of Bee King Jelly this year, they shipped 50 jars each of Origin Force Honey in the 1000 and 2000 Source Stone sizes over.
The profits werenât large, but after a few years, theyâd built up a bit of a name for themselves here at Hidden Wing Mountain.
Every year, lots of Little Warriors would wait at the trading plaza for the White Ivy Trade Caravan to arrive...
...
Noisy and busy for half a day,
"Weâre all out!"
"This yearâs Origin Force Honey is completely sold out!"
"Everyone come earlier next year."
White Ivy projected with spiritual power, announcing that the goods were sold out.
"Mountain Lord White Ivy."
The Cloud Wing Lord, who had been waiting at the side for a long time, stepped forward, raised a claw, and handed the Spider Silk Bag it was carrying to Lupine.
Red Peach immediately reported, "Lord Cloud Wing, ordering 10 jars of Origin Force Honey, 5000 Source Stones per jar. Of these, 9 jars are Comprehensive Earth Element Ability Enhancement, 1 jar is Comprehensive Physique Enhancement, all Mixed Mellow Fragrance."
"Cloud Wing Lord!"
"One moment, please."
White Ivy manipulated the Spider Silk Rope, took a pre-packed large Spider Silk Bag directly off its carapace, and handed it forward.
Another Stone Pattern Mantis Warrior named Mountain Lord Tenghuang came up...
Lupine collected payment.
Red Peach reported the order.
White Ivy handed over the goods.
Grass Dragon, who was originally in charge of buying Hidden Wing Seeds, had finished up and was now standing to the side, chatting with several high-level Stone Pattern Mantis Warriors.
By twilight, Lord Heartwing arrived at a leisurely pace.
Only the last two big bags of goods remained on White Ivyâs carapaceâthey were for Lord Heartwing, so White Ivy just handed them over directly.
White Ivy said boisterously, "Lord Heartwing, got any food in your territory? Iâm starvingâhow about some hospitality?"
Lord Heartwing, catching the cue, replied cheerily, "Of course!"
Lord Heartwing: "Youâve journeyed all the way here and been busy trading; these little ones are probably hungry too. Come on, letâs go to my place."
"Great! Thanks in advance!"
White Ivy waved its front feet in a gesture.
Grass Dragon and Lupine started to pack up their gear.
...
Lord Heartwing owned a Heartleaf Grass Divine-Given Seed, which gave him a bit of standing in the tribe, plus his own exclusive mountain residence called Heartwing Peak.
On the mountain path leading to Heartwing Peak,
Lord Heartwing looked around, made sure there were no insects nearby, and asked, "Mountain Lord White Ivy, has the transaction for the Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruit been locked in?"
White Ivy: "Good news. Iâve secured a stable trading quota for the Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruitâtwo fruits each time thereâs a harvest. The next-next harvest Iâll get them, so in about thirty years, I can deliver."
Lord Heartwing: "Oh!!!"
Lord Heartwing stopped walking, turned around, and said, "Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!"
White Ivy scoring a steady supply of Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruit meant, in the future, Lord Heartwing might actually get a shot at buying oneâor twoâwith Source Stones...
Lord Heartwing was overjoyed.
White Ivy: "And, thereâs more good news. Iâve got the full trading rights for a second type of Divine God-Given Seed."
Lord Heartwing: "???"
Lord Heartwing paused, glanced around, turned and faced White Ivy, "A second Divine God-Given Seed? The full quota? No way, right?"
White Ivy quickly said, "Lord Heartwing, please donât get too excited. This oneâs pretty underwhelming, hardly useful at allâotherwise, how would it have come my way?"
Divine Grade? Underwhelming?
Lord Heartwingâs mind was full of puzzled Mental Power.
White Ivy: "A mutated tree from the Night Fragrance Tree line, a Divine God-Given Seed called the Night Fragrance God-Given Seed. It also produces fruit called Night Fragrance Fruit, which gives an ability called âNight Fragranceâ. This ability just makes an insect hallucinate the scent of tree blossoms on a spiritual level."
Lord Heartwing still looked utterly perplexed, the whole insect even more confused, staring blankly, thinking it over for a while before it dawned.
It really is underwhelming!
Whoâd have guessed a Divine-Grade Fruit could be this...
Lord Heartwing: "Any other effects?"
White Ivy: "None discovered so far."
Lord Heartwing: "..."
This Night Fragrance God-Given Seed isnât just underwhelmingâitâs basically useless.
Howâd you land this?
Lord Heartwing was speechless for a while, then cocked his head and gave White Ivy a sideways glance, "Mountain Lord White Ivy, how do you plan to sell this thing? Who would even buy it?"
White Ivy: "In four years, Iâll get my first Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Fruit. Already pre-sold at a super low priceâ500,000 Source Stones..."
Lord Heartwing responded with a sigh, "Thatâs not exactly cheap, either."
Lord Heartwing still didnât get it and pressed on, "So whoâs buying it?"
White Ivy: "Purple Back Mountain, Banded Assassin Bug Warrior, Ten Thousand Years Lord."
Lord Heartwing didnât know this young northern Insect Clan member, and couldnât understand it either.
White Ivy: "After evolving to Evolution Mountain Lord Level, the Banded Assassin Bug Warrior will awaken a Dual Waterwood Hallucination Ability..."
Lord Heartwing began to get it, politely echoing, "So, the Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Fruit isnât completely useless after all."
But mostly, he was just curious about the story behind this thing.
Lord Heartwing turned, led the way slowly, and asked, "Mountain Lord White Ivy, where is this Night Fragrance God-Given Seed rooted? Still on the Ten Thousand Nations Continent? Iâve never even heard of such a unique Divine-Grade before."
White Ivy: "Ten Thousand Nations Continent. A newly discovered wild God-Given Seed."
White Ivy proactively suggested, "Lord Heartwing, if youâre curious, when the Night Fragrance Fruit ripens in four years and I get the first fruit, I can bring it to Hidden Wing Mountain for you to have a look."
Lord Heartwing was tempted, "Isnât it supposed to go to Purple Back Mountain? Wouldnât that cause you trouble?"
White Ivy: "Not at all! I can adjust the order. Iâll trade at Hidden Wing Mountain first, then head to Purple Back Mountain."
"Oh!"
"Thatâs great!"
"I bet Spiky Wing Mantis King would be interested too."
Lord Heartwing was genuinely curiousâand more importantly, it was a good excuse to visit Lightwing Peak and pay his respects to Spiky Wing Mantis King, raising his own profile.
The resources yielded from a single Heartleaf Grass Divine-Given Seed were nowhere near enough to support evolution to Lord-Level.
Lord Heartwing really needed tribal backing.
Hidden Wing Mountain actually had quite a few Mountain Lords and Lords with God-Given Seeds like him, but tribal resources were limited, so they could only raise the worthiest.
Who to nurture? The Mantis Kings had the biggest say.
"Mountain Lord White Ivy, excuse my lapseâletâs keep moving."
Lord Heartwing turned, leading the way towards Heartwing Peak, "Mountain Lord White Ivy, if I remember right, you said that the Ant King who owns the Azure God-Given Seed evolved to Evolution Mountain Lord Level in the past two years..."
White Ivy: "Yes. Advanced smoothly."
Lord Heartwing: "So, howâs the quota divided..."
White Ivy: "All set. I get seventy percent, Grass Dragon gets ten percent."
White Ivy: "The Azure God-Given Seed bloomed for the first time this year, with a four-year blossom-fruit cycle. Lord Heartwing, once I get Azure Bee King Honey in three years, Iâll sell you ten percent on a stable basis."
That was a benefit he could count on in the near future.
Lord Heartwing was once again delighted, "Deal! Thank you so much!"
White Ivy said, "I also got trading rights for a few other new God-Given Seeds this year, some big, some small. If youâre interested, you could buy one to try."
Lord Heartwing: "Oh? Which ones, exactly?"
White Ivy, unable to hide his pride, said, "Letâs start with the most interesting: a male God-Given Seed called âGreen-Red Kiwifruitâ..."