Chapter 95: Chapter 095 Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord (Eleven more)
Still winter.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were busy in the mountains.
They selected flat, large stones, loaded them onto the Dominating Throne, and transported them to the North Mountain Reservoir.
The reservoir’s dam needed large stones for its edges, especially on the water-facing side, which was constantly soaked. Clay wouldn’t work. Only hard stones could withstand the water immersion.
Moreover, the stones had to be laid as tightly fitted as possible.
This dam might need to last for ten or even dozens of years. It had to be built strong enough.
Later, Dragon Cypress planned to invite a Mountain Lord-Level Warrior with Earth System Abilities to solidify the dam.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid left early and returned late, the Dominating Throne transporting stones trip after trip.
Day after day.
Time flowed like a mountain stream.
Winter passed and spring arrived, marking the busiest season of the year.
Dragon Cypress sowed the Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed in the South Mountain pond, and Giant Cypress, accompanied by Soldier Ants, guarded it.
Inside the Ant Nest, Worker Ants grew restless. They lined up neatly and emerged from the cave.
The reservoir dam project commenced.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were responsible for moving large stones for the edges.
Round Cypress directed Worker Ants to transport clay.
Spiked Cypress commanded Soldier Ants to move small stones.
They mixed earth and stones for the fill.
Finally, Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to pound and compact the mixture. A 0.5-meter-thick layer was completed. Timbers were laid horizontally, and they continued building the second layer upward.
Over twelve hundred Worker Ants and Soldier Ants labored, and new Soldier Ants continuously joined the workforce. A layer was built every five or six days, ascending layer by layer.
The mountain streams continuously fed into the reservoir.
The water level rose gradually with the construction of the dam.
Dragon Cypress also closely monitored the growth of his Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed. Every morning and noon, he would visit it, and at night, he slept beside the pond.
Due to the cooler nighttime temperatures in early spring, the seed germinated six days after sowing, much slower than Ink Orchid’s.
It took two days to root completely. The cotyledons unfurled, sprouting the first leaf bud.
Seven days later, the first true leaf spread out on the water surface, and the cotyledons withered and fell off.
After a spring rain, consecutive sunny days followed, and the temperature gradually warmed.
Dragon Cypress’s Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed entered a rapid growth phase. Every three to five days, a new broad leaf emerged and unfolded.
Soon, all five leaves of the mother plant had grown, and it entered the energy storage stage.
When the Cypress trees in Dragon Cypress’s territory bloomed, the Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed began its first round of offsetting, producing three offshoots, just like Ink Orchid’s plant.
The rhizomes spread underground, encircling the mother plant, taking root, sprouting, and growing into broad leaves.
Meanwhile, the dam at the North Mountain Reservoir reached a height of 3 meters. After a light rain, the water level rose, slowly submerging the pond that had been created on the hillside the previous year.
The reservoir was taking shape.
Ink Orchid’s Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed was preliminarily incorporated into the reservoir. Dragon Cypress used the Dominating Throne to lift and backfill a suitable amount of loose humus into its original pond.
In batches, they backfilled the originally 1.5-meter-deep pit by about half a meter. Otherwise, as the dam construction continued upward, the reservoir’s water level would also continue to rise.
Water that was too deep might affect the growth of the Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed.
In North Mountain, the Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed sprouted a Flower Sword.
Considering Ink Orchid was about to advance to High-Level Warrior, at which point all her plant’s offshoots would wither, those Flower Swords wouldn’t flourish. Dragon Cypress simply directed Worker Ants to clip them all off, conserving energy to focus on nurturing the seedlings.
Dragon Cypress’s Cypress Life Seed bloomed, and flowers vied for beauty across the mountains.
It was once again the season for the annual trade with roving merchants.
Round Cypress led a group of Worker Ants to South Mountain, to a spot above the pond where Dragon Cypress’s Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed had taken root, to dig a reservoir for use against the midsummer drought.
The other Worker Ants rested, taking turns for a few days of leave.
After briefly packing, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid set off.
This year, as usual, they didn’t have much to sell to the Caravan, only 300 Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds.
Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord had long noticed Mountain Lord Melde’s unusual behavior.
Then he also noticed White Ivy Mountain Lord from the Luoli Caravan heading towards the hill.
Upon inquiry, Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord learned that the impoverished White Ivy Mountain Lord had been promoting his acquisition of a stable trading right for a Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed over the past two years. He reportedly enjoyed as high as half of the trading share.
Further inquiry revealed another unique Divine-Given Seed, suspected to be from the ocean, not recorded in any Inherited Memory, and with no similar plant found within the Natural God System.
Undoubtedly, both Divine-Given Seeds must have come from the Little Ant King and Flower Mantis Warrior from the neighboring Cloud Trace Continent.
He couldn’t understand how they survived on a continent where Origin Force was dormant, but he definitely couldn’t miss out on a major trade involving two Divine-Given Seeds.
The previous year and the year before that, Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord had specifically noted the timing.
He waited at the Starship Passage exit, arriving two days before Spider King Spurge’s Caravan.
But he couldn’t block the exit itself, so Seven-Leaf waited on a hillside to the side of the cave entrance, about ten meters away...
The day before the Zeqi Caravan arrived, in the morning, a fat Ant King, just over 40 centimeters in length, poked its head out. It looked left and right, saw Seven-Leaf not far away, and froze. Without any change in expression, it retreated back into the passage.
"Ink Orchid, run!" Dragon Cypress sent a mental warning.
Inside the passage, Ink Orchid, clutching a Spider Silk Bag, was about to flee when the light at the entrance was blocked by the massive body of a Mountain Lord Level Flame Spider.
"Little one, don’t be afraid..."
Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord’s spiritual power swept over them, and he was secretly ecstatic.
Through the Flame Spider’s unique perception of spider silk, he was certain that the bag contained 300 Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds produced by the Divine-Given Seed.
Seven-Leaf said, "Spider King Spurge recommended me..."
The fleeing Ink Orchid stopped.
Hearing this, Dragon Cypress immediately understood that this individual wasn’t here by chance.
He was at the exit, specifically waiting for him and Ink Orchid.
He had come for the trading rights to the Divine-Given Seed.
Each year when the Zeqi Caravan arrived, Melde and White Ivy would run to the small grove behind the hill. This inevitably attracted the attention of other Flame Spiders.
How could Spider King Spurge recommend a Flame Spider from another caravan to contact me?
Flame Spiders are adept at weaving Spider Silk Bags, and even more adept at weaving lies.
This is troublesome.
The land neighboring Cloud Trace Continent is the Ten Thousand Nations Continent. If discovered by other caravans and the situation wasn’t handled properly, it could lead to a catastrophic disaster.
Dragon Cypress didn’t respond, merely swaying his tentacles, waiting for Seven-Leaf to continue.
Seven-Leaf introduced himself, "I am Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord from the Caowu Caravan, a direct descendant of the Aconite Spider King. The Aconite Spider King and Spider King Spurge have been good friends for hundreds of years."
Seven-Leaf asked, "What are your names?"
Ink Orchid replied, "Fruit-Scented Orchid."
Dragon Cypress said, "Dried Fragrant Cypress."
Seven-Leaf paused for two seconds, then said to Dragon Cypress, "Spider King Spurge told me your name is Dragon Cypress."
Why ask if you already know? Dragon Cypress thought. He actually knows my real name...
Dragon Cypress remained silent.
Seven-Leaf then said to Ink Orchid, "You’re Ink Orchid, right? Don’t worry, I’m here for trade. I mean no harm."
He even knows Ink Orchid’s name.
Only Spider King Spurge, Melde, and White Ivy knew Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid’s real names.
Did that fool White Ivy let it slip? Unlikely.
Then, this fellow might really have some connection with Spider King Spurge.
Dragon Cypress said, "’Dragon Cypress’ is our formal name."
With a naive-sounding mental projection, full of curiosity and confusion, Dragon Cypress asked, "Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord, are you friends with White Ivy Mountain Lord?"
Seven-Leaf instinctively prepared to lie and say ’yes,’ but then a thought struck him, and he suddenly realized: This little creature is testing me!
Seven-Leaf replied, "Sort of. I have some distant kinship with Melde and White Ivy. We know each other, but we’re not close. Spider King Spurge and the Aconite Spider King come from the same lineage; their relationship is very good."
The Flame Spider Tribe places great importance on blood kinship.
Could he really have been introduced by Spider King Spurge?
"Oh—"
Dragon Cypress’s thoughts raced. He suddenly had some insight into Spider King Spurge’s intentions.
Seven-Leaf didn’t beat around the bush any longer. He asked Ink Orchid, "Does your Spider Silk Bag contain the Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds produced by the Divine-Given Seed?"
Ink Orchid said, "No..."
Dragon Cypress interjected, "Yes."
"An honest Ant King."
Seven-Leaf then asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, do you also possess a Divine-Given Seed? A unique one."
Dragon Cypress answered truthfully, "Yes. I’ve named it ’Azure.’"
It’s true! Seven-Leaf was secretly delighted but maintained a calm exterior. Barely able to hide his curiosity, he asked, "It’s said that there are no signs of Origin Force resurgence on the Cloud Trace Continent. The Ten-thousand Tribes Continent and the Ten Thousand Nations Continent also show no signs of Origin Force depletion. How could a Divine-Given Seed come to exist there? And how is it sustained?"
Dragon Cypress replied truthfully, "The place where we live is quite special; the Origin Force is relatively abundant there."
Seven-Leaf queried, "Is it seeping in from the Ten Thousand Nations Continent side?"
Dragon Cypress said, "Probably. It’s likely seeping in from deep underground. The place we live has a canyon that extends from within the Divine Force Barrier."
Hearing this, Ink Orchid emphasized, "A very long canyon."
"A canyon?"
I haven’t heard of any canyons near the Divine Force Barrier. Seven-Leaf asked doubtfully, "Is your home very far from here? Where do you live?"
Ink Orchid said, "Very far. To the east."
Dragon Cypress said, "Not far, to the north."
They stared at each other.
Dragon Cypress lifted a hind leg and kicked Ink Orchid.
Ink Orchid said, "Sorry. I lied. Actually, we live to the north, not far from the Starship Passage exit."
Dragon Cypress said, "I lied too. We live in the south, close to the sea. We often go to the beach to play. The Azure Divine-Given Seed was found near the sea."
Seven-Leaf: "..."