Red Moonseed continued, "White Ivy Mountain Lord, the Divine-Given Seed of Southern Sour Jujube is also about to evolve to Lord-level. Production needs to be halted for a few years."
"Yay!"
White Ivy cheered.
Lupine, Silvergrass, and even Red Peach had no particular reaction.
Having seen so many Divine-Grade Fruits, everyone was numb to these ordinary Divine-Given Seeds that were nothing special.
All the insects had their thoughts set on the single remaining Jinhe Fruit yet to be allocated.
Red Moonseed: "Thatâs all I have to say. Thereâve been no other incidents on Cloud Trace Continent. All other trades proceed as usual, and unless something unexpected happens, there shouldnât be any major changes in the short term."
Aconite Spider King asked, "Does Dragon Cypress Ant King have no plans to persuade Huagi Mountain to sow the Jinhe Divine-Given Seed two years early?"
Red Moonseed: "It seems not. Dragon Cypress Ant King isnât in any rush."
Aconite Spider King was anxious, and pressed on, "Then how about the allocation of the last Jinhe Fruit? Whatâs Dragon Cypress Ant Kingâs plan?"
Red Moonseed shook her tentacles and said, "No idea."
Aconite Spider King noticed that all the other spiders were staring at him, paused, then righteously said, "Iâm getting old, so I wonât compete for this. Let us Spider Kings hold back and give the little ones a chance to develop."
Aconite Spider King: "Seven-Leaf, Melde, youâre on your own to compete for it."
Seven-Leaf: "Yes!"
Melde: "...Oh."
Aconite Spider King: "Red Moonseed, pass a message to Dragon Cypress Ant King for me: Seven-Leaf has been trading with him for a long time and has given quite a bit of help. Now that Seven-Leaf is evolving into a Lord, starting to break away from my protection and operate independently, I hope Dragon Cypress Ant King can offer some support as well. Of course, as the direct elder, Iâll fully back Seven-Leafâs development."
Red Moonseed: "...Okay."
"..."
All the spiders were speechless.
Aconite Spider King ignored the crowdâs skeptical and disdainful looks, and continued to ask, "Red Moonseed, this spring, both the Huagi Divine Tree and Linnan Divine Tree blossomed and bore fruit smoothly, right?"
Red Moonseed: "Yes."
Aconite Spider King: "Then letâs have everyone discuss and confirm the logistics of transporting the Source Stones..."
...
...
...
Starship Rift, inside the cave.
Dragon Cypress led White Rice, Areca, Fragrant Cypress, and Black Cory to count the Divine-Given Origin Force Food gifted by the two Spider Kings, Purple Jade and Tiankui.
The assortment was vast, with a hundred-plus varieties split into small and medium Spider Silk Bags.
Theyâre mainly Wind and Water System types, but also include Strength System, Life System, Comprehensive Physique, Perception, Carapace, and some obscure enhancement effects.
The Divine-Given Origin Force Food sent by Aconite, Spurge, and Wormwood Spider Kings was almost completely different.
Many things, Dragon Cypress couldnât name at all, couldnât even recognize which Divine-Given Plant produced them, so he had to judge quality and effect by Primordial Energy Fluctuation.
It was a gift, but also the two Spider Kings showing off their caravansâ strength, subtly telling Dragon Cypress that theyâre capable of taking a share of the Divine-Grade Jinhe Fruits and handling even more trades.
"Theyâre coming."
Dragon Cypress suddenly twitched his tentacles and urged, "Fragrant Cypress, Black Cory, move these to the Ant Nest and instruct the Blue Ants to refine them. Sort them by category and seal up each class into jars of 10,000 Source Stones per jar. Everybody gets a shareâWhite Rice, Areca, and Red Moonseed, give each one jar."
Fragrant Cypress: "Yes!"
Black Cory: "Okay, Great King."
White Rice: "Dragon Cypress, this is too much, I canât accept this."
Areca: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, isnât this a bit too much?"
White Rice and Areca were delighted, but made a show of modest politeness.
Dragon Cypress continued, "Every Assistant King in Xianglan Mountain Ant Kingdom gets one jar, as an extra reward."
"Thank you, Great King!"
"Great King is so generous!"
Fragrant Cypress and Black Cory cheered, commanding the ant swarm to quickly move everything away.
Red Moonseed, Natsumi, Silvergrass, and Red Peachâs group came running back.
After a quick exchange of greetings,
Red Moonseed: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, Aconite Spider King asked me to pass on a message for you. He said Seven-Leaf had been trading with you for a long time and helped a lot..."
Red Moonseed relayed Aconite Spider Kingâs words to Dragon Cypress, word for word.
Natsumi added, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, Seven-Leaf Lord wants to compete for the last Jinhe Fruit allocation, and Aconite Spider King will fully support it. Dragon Cypress Ant King, do you and Mountain Lord Ink Orchid require any particular type of Divine-Grade Fruit? Aconite Spider King can help swap them."
"Ohâ"
Dragon Cypress: "Wouldnât that trouble Aconite Spider King too much?"
Dragon Cypress was quite sure that Aconite Spider King held other Divine-Grade Fruits and could decide whom to sell to at will.
By deliberately holding back the last Jinhe Fruit and not allocating it, the message was clear. He shifted the topic, saying, "Thereâs no rush for that. Weâll think about it once the Kunlun Seed is harvested. Ink Orchid and I are in need of Divine-Grade Fruits that grant Wood Element Abilities..."
Natsumi: "What kind of Wood Element Ability?"
Dragon Cypress: "Any type works, best if it improves combat power, but supporting territory management is fine too. At least two, one each for me and Ink Orchid. For now, Iâm not sure if Huagi Mountain needs any. No hurry on this, just trouble Aconite Spider King to keep an ear out. Ideally, two kinds of Divine-Grade Fruits, with different abilities."
Natsumi readily agreed, "Alright!"
Natsumi: "Aconite Spider King just happens to have a Divine-Grade Fruit that grants Wood Element Ability, Dragon Cypress Ant King, youâll definitely be interested."
Dragon Cypress: "Letâs hear it!"
Natsumi: "The tree is called âJade Thousand Layersâ, and the fruit it produces is also called âThousand-Layer Fruitâ. The ability it grants is called âForest Symbiontâ. Specifically, after use, you gain the ability to absorb light energy like a plant. However, you need to eat plant leavesâif you eat ordinary plant leaves, you only get the ordinary light-absorbing ability, and you must replenish from time to time. But if you eat Divine-Given Seed leaves, youâll gain powerful light-absorbing ability, and the effect lasts much longer."