Chapter 438 - 418: Witnessed: The Grace of the Natural True God

A hundred flowers bloom—it’s the start of another year’s Trading Season for the roving merchants.

Fragrant Cypress and the Giant Cypress Organization set out, heading for Rednan Mountain.

Dragon Cypress, seated atop the Dominating Throne, arrived at Southern Sour Jujube Mountain.

After a year’s growth and thirty thousand Source Stones invested in nurturing, the Little Wild Chestnut Divine-Given Seed tree had grown to four or five meters tall, finally showing some arbor-like form.

Five Specialized Blue Soldiers guarded the area; spotting the Ant King’s arrival, they came over with enthusiastic greetings.

"Little Wild!" called Dragon Cypress.

"Mmm—" The Little Wild Chestnut Divine-Given Seed replied lazily.

"Nice sunshine today."

"Yup—"

"Still using the Source Stones?"

"Yes—"

"Did you bloom this year?"

"No—"

The Little Wild Chestnut Divine-Given Seed wore an apathetic look, clearly not eager to engage with ants.

Ever since gaining soul consciousness, Black Cory had taken care of it; it felt much closer to Black Cory.

"Where’s Black Cory? Isn’t it keeping you company?"

"A few days ago, Black Cory said a Divine-Given Seed was about to be born, and then I never saw it again."

"Oh!!!"

Dragon Cypress trembled his antennae, activating Soul-Setting Ability to sense around.

He instantly locked onto Black Cory’s location: under the Round Leaf Keg Vine Tree!

The Dominating Throne took off vertically, speeding over.

Black Cory hurried closer.

"Great King!"

"A Divine-Given Seed really did appear?"

"Yes, Great King!"

Dragon Cypress didn’t press further, shifting his gaze to the slopes ahead.

After three years of attentive care, the main vine of the Round Leaf Keg Vine had grown over twenty meters long and five or six centimeters thick.

Black Cory pruned as needed, trimming and thinning branches to keep light and air flowing beneath the leaves.

The sub-vines and secondary vines thrived, orderly and lush.

"Great King, there!"

Black Cory pointed with a claw.

High up on the hillside, upon a fruiting branch sprouted from a sub-vine, a lone, half-bloomed tiny white flower hung delicately.

A faint yet familiar Origin Force fluctuation pulsed from it.

No mistake!

A Divine-Given Keg Vine Seed was about to be born.

The flower’s shape and color matched ordinary Keg Vines—no obvious difference at all.

After all, flowers are the chief distinguishing organ of plant varieties.

Even within the same type, different varieties often show subtle disparities in the blossoms.

This suggested the Round Leaf Keg Vine hadn’t mutated drastically; with the birth of the Divine-Given Seed, its enhancement likely remained a vision-type ability.

"Great King..."

Black Cory gently interrupted Dragon Cypress’s inspection, raising his claw to signal he had something to say.

"What is it?"

Dragon Cypress: "Just spit it out."

"Great King..."

One of Black Cory’s antennae drooped, the other sticking upright. He pointed to the sky, lowered his telekinetic voice, and whispered, "I saw... the Natural True God—a Law Divine-Given!"

Dragon Cypress: "???"

Dragon Cypress stood his antennae bolt upright, more serious than ever. "You saw the Natural True God?"

Black Cory: "...No."

Black Cory: "I saw the Law Divine-Given."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Say it clearly, will you.

You scared the hell out of your Great King here!

Dragon Cypress breathed out, then asked, "A Law Divine-Given? Saw it with your own eyes?"

Black Cory: "Saw it with my own eyes!"

Black Cory: "Great King, I figured this year the Round Leaf Keg Vine would bloom, so I kept watching here daily, watching it bud and then the flower bud appear..."

Black Cory: "Until the evening four days ago, at dusk, my Heavenly Eye caught a sudden glimmer appear in the night sky—just one, very brief, then gone. The next moment, I clearly felt a surge of Divine Power descend from the heavens, landing..."

Black Cory pointed to the half-bloomed white flower, saying, "Right on the flower spike! I was so startled I just bolted on instinct... Once I’d run a ways, I calmed down, turned back, and returned to check the Round Leaf Keg Vine Tree—only to find one flower brimmed with Origin Force and a Divine-Given Seed had started forming."

Dragon Cypress: "!!!"

Previously, everyone still sort of doubted what the Night Fragrance Divine-Given Seed had said about ’Law Divine-Given’ events.

After all, nobody had seen it firsthand.

Now...

And at the crucial moment, you ran away?

Dragon Cypress snapped, "Spineless! Why did you run? You missed the most critical detail!"

Black Cory: "I didn’t..."

Dragon Cypress thought, then asked, "Was it a normal flower bud at first?"

Black Cory said confidently, "Yes. I was stationed right under the Round Leaf Keg Vine Tree, inspecting each and every bud three times a day. No way I could have missed it."

Dragon Cypress dropped his head in thought a moment, then looked up, asking, "Divine Power? What sort of power was that?"

Black Cory: "A thread, tiny but incredibly terrifying. The pressure was indescribably oppressive—we almost couldn’t stand up under it..."

Black Cory turned to gesture at the five Blue Soldiers nearby. "These guys all ran first, and I just followed on instinct."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "Anything else?"

Black Cory hesitated. "Great King, I feel that ’Divine Power’ was essentially Primordial Energy too, just orders of magnitude higher—an unimaginable degree."

Primordial Energy?

Primordial Energy!

This was the answer Dragon Cypress wanted!

"Understood!"

"Excellent!"

Dragon Cypress approvingly tapped his antennae. Then said:

"Since a Divine-Given Seed is forming, keep standing guard."

"Understood, Great King! I’ll stay right here under the Round Leaf Keg Vine Tree, not moving an inch."

"Good. I’ll bring White Rice over later and have her use Earth System Abilities to build a surface ant nest for you all. I’ll pick twelve clever Soldier Ants to help stand guard, too."

"Thank you, Great King."

...

Keg Vine Seeds take up to three years to fully form—it’ll be tough work.

But three years from now, when the Divine-Given Seed is born, Dragon Cypress can add it into his Life Pouch, nurture it as a Life Seed, and evolve to Life Stage Six.

He’d always planned, in his Mountain Lord Level phase, to pick a Divine-Given Seed for each life stage—progressing only once every ten or twenty years, at best.

Yet, in practice, evolution didn’t seem delayed at all. Three or four years is enough for one life stage.

Dragon Cypress was in mighty good spirits.

Sitting on the Dominating Throne, he inspected Southern Sour Jujube Mountain, checked on the Chestnut Beans, Sea Blue, and Southern Sour Jujube Divine-Given Seeds, and even spent some time chatting idly with the Red Cypress Divine-Given Seed before leaving.

Rednan Mountain, secondary nest.

Spiked Cypress and Fragrant Cypress led their trading teams, just arriving, busy with prep-work.

Red Moonseed, Areca, Natsumi, Silvergrass, and Red Peach chatted on the far side of the Starship Rift.

Seeing Dragon Cypress arrive, they all called out in greeting.

Red Peach: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, good news: last winter, ’White Ivy Mountain Lord’ successfully broke through to Evolution Lord level, and is now officially Lord White Ivy."

Dragon Cypress paused, then sincerely replied, "Give Lord White Ivy my congratulations! And best wishes for an early ascension to Spider King."

Red Peach: "Thanks, Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

Natsumi, a bit glum, said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, per Aconite Spider King’s request, I plan to evolve to Level 8 High-Level Flame Spider Warrior the year after next. After that, I won’t be able to make it here anymore."

Dragon Cypress blinked. "Then for Seven-Leaf Lord’s trading... won’t a Little Flame Spider be sent over?"

Natsumi: "No such luck for Seven-Leaf Lord. That line hasn’t had a new Little Flame Spider Warrior born in nearly twenty years. Nowhere else has yielded any either."

Silvergrass spoke softly, "I’ll manage the trades between Seven-Leaf Lord and Aconite Spider King for the time being, then..."

Natsumi: "I heard from Red Moonseed—she’s also about to evolve to Stage 5 in two years, so she won’t be able to get here anymore either."

"Yeah~"

Dragon Cypress sighed, "Time really flies. Somehow, we’ve all grown up."

Dragon Cypress: "Next year I’ll bring Ink Orchid, Blue Catalpa, and Snakebark Maple here too. Guess after this, it may be farewell for good."

Natsumi: "Alright—"

A small silence.

Silvergrass quietly undid the spider silk bag from the carapace on her back, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, to business, here’s the One-Glimpse Fruit. The Wormwood Spider King spent four million Source Stones on it at auction."

Dragon Cypress was just about to ask—why so expensive?

Natsumi interrupted gravely, "Our actions have aroused suspicions from the Ancestral Land’s Steward Spider King. Dragon Cypress Ant King, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get any more One-Glimpse Fruit for you from now on."

Silvergrass added, equally grim, "We suspect a spider has betrayed us. The Steward Spider King in Ancestral Land found out the past few batches of One-Glimpse Fruit were orchestrated by Aconite Spider King and sent to the Ten Thousand Nations Continent. They suspect it’s been used for warfare and pillaging and are investigating. For a long time ahead, no Spider King from the Dulai Flame Spider Tribe will be allowed to participate in such auctions on this continent."

Dragon Cypress: "Uh..."

Dragon Cypress: "Heh..."

Dragon Cypress: "It’s fine! Won’t need the One-Glimpse Fruit for quite a while myself."