Chapter 93: Chapter 093: Stubborn Mountain Persimmon (Nine Updates)
After Dragon Cypress was promoted to a Mid-Level Ant King in the 7th Age Period, the maximum output of Ant Eggs from the Dominating Throne increased to six. This still followed a four-day cycle, averaging 1.5 eggs per day.
Within the Ant Nest, larvae hatched continuously, pupated, and Worker Ants emerged from their cocoons.
The number of large and mid-sized Worker Ants reached the planned approximate 600.
Dragon Cypress began to cultivate a large number of Soldier Ants.
Practice revealed that Soldier Ants were not suitable for transporting soil, as their mandibles tended to crush the soil blocks. However, they could carry stones and were well-suited for sweeping across the land to hunt and collect scattered stones, proving more efficient than Worker Ants.
Soldier Ants could perform both hunting and stone-collecting duties.
Dragon Cypress planned to increase the number of Specialized Soldier Ants to 300, and the number of large and mid-sized Soldier Ants also to 300.
「...」
Before winter arrived, a 13-meter-long pond was dug on the south side of the mountain.
Half a meter of soft humus was backfilled, topped with some marsh slag. After an autumn rain, it filled up with about half a pond’s worth of water.
Preparations were complete.
All that remained was to wait for the warmth of next spring to immediately sow the Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed.
After a cold wind passed, the temperature dropped sharply. The Worker Ants, lacking vitality, returned to the warm Ant Nest for a break.
The agreed-upon time for the Roving Merchant had also arrived, and missing the appointment was not an option.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid spent three days personally hunting a batch of large animals to stock sufficient food for the Ant Nest. Then, they packed their bags and set out.
Taking advantage of the weather not being particularly cold, they headed north first.
Along the way, they took a slight detour, delaying their journey by a day, to search for other Lands of Origin Force, but they found none.
「...」
「Silver Cypress Mountain.」
The sky was high and the clouds were scattered; everything was bleak.
The cold breeze pierced straight through their carapaces.
It hadn’t snowed yet, but it was still uncomfortably cold.
However, the Longhorn Beetle appeared to be very cold-resistant; Golden Red Persimmon Fruits hung all over the branches, and Mountain Persimmon was bustling about, his feet never touching the ground.
Mountain Persimmon was on a tree, busy harvesting. As the Dominating Throne approached, he merely twitched his long Tentacles, offering a brief greeting, "Dragon Cypress Ant King. Ink Orchid. You’ve arrived."
"Mountain Persimmon," Dragon Cypress greeted in response.
Ink Orchid turned around, picked up a gourd, and shook it vigorously, making it CLATTER.
"Mountain Persimmon, the Persimmon Tree Seeds I’ve collected for you are all cold-resistant varieties that can survive in the north. They’re mixed together; just sow them in the Nursery and sort the seedlings after they grow."
Persimmon Tree Seeds have arrived?!
Excited, Mountain Persimmon fell directly from the tree to the ground.
The Dominating Throne slowly descended, landing beside him.
"Mountain Persimmon, don’t get too excited. These are just ordinary Persimmon Tree Seeds, nothing special," Ink Orchid said as she flapped her wings forward, handing the gourd to Mountain Persimmon.
Dragon Cypress picked up a petite Spider Silk Bag and asked, "Mountain Persimmon, do you remember when I mentioned the Sky Blue Persimmon to you?"
"Of course!"
Mountain Persimmon, cradling the gourd, skillfully used his flexible Tentacles to pull out the wooden cork. He gazed at the contents obsessively, then slowly looked up, his emotions suddenly erupting in ecstasy.
"Dragon Cypress Ant King, you found Sky-Blue Persimmon Seeds?"
"Yes..." Dragon Cypress said. "However, there were only ten seeds in total. Ink Orchid and I each took one as a Life Seed. Now only eight are left. You can take one as your Life Seed, and use the remaining seven for propagation... There are only seven, so try not to make any mistakes."
"Okay!"
Mountain Persimmon hesitantly asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, how many Source Stones will you sell these seeds for? They must be very expensive, right?"
Dragon Cypress replied, "Ordinary Persimmon Tree Seeds aren’t valuable; I won’t take any Source Stones from you for those."
Dragon Cypress then said gravely, "The Sky-Blue Persimmon Seeds were obtained at great cost. They can no longer be priced in Source Stones... I can give them to you for free, but I have two conditions that aren’t too harsh."
Mountain Persimmon asked, "What conditions?"
Dragon Cypress continued, "The first condition: during your High-Level Warrior phase, all your Life Seeds must be Sky-Blue Persimmon. Of course, I will purchase the resulting Persimmon Fruit at a high price."
"The second condition: in the future, I might need some regular Sky-Blue Persimmon Seeds, and you must provide them free of charge."
Mountain Persimmon was slightly stunned, then exclaimed joyfully, "No problem! Thank you, Dragon Cypress Ant King! Thank you, Ink Orchid!"
"You’re welcome," Ink Orchid said, grandly waving her Tentacles.
Dragon Cypress said, "Mountain Persimmon, I have one more piece of advice for you. Do you want to hear it?"
Mountain Persimmon exclaimed, "Let me hear it!"
Dragon Cypress explained, "After all, you are just a single insect with limited time and energy. I suggest that in your subsequent management, you uproot some of the persimmon trees you’ve already planted and gradually replace them with Sky-Blue Persimmon. In the future, you should mainly focus on cultivating and breeding this one variety. Other types of persimmon trees can be planted in moderation."
Uproot?
Mountain Persimmon hesitated, conflicted. He slowly swayed his Tentacles, then asserted firmly, "I have the time and energy to take care of more persimmon trees!"
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Ink Orchid: "..."
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid had long recognized Mountain Persimmon’s stubbornness, so they didn’t try to persuade him further.
Dragon Cypress switched topics and asked, "Mountain Persimmon, are this year’s Silver Cypress Seeds and Persimmon Fruit still around?"
Mountain Persimmon replied, "They are! All here. The Persimmon Fruit was just harvested two days ago; it’s still very fresh."
When the conversation turned to trade, Mountain Persimmon took the initiative to ask, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, do you still have any Divine-Given Southern Sour Jujubes?"
"Certainly!" Dragon Cypress, secretly delighted, asked, "Mountain Persimmon, do you also find them effective?"
"I think they’re very good! Affordable and useful."
Mountain Persimmon put away the Persimmon Tree Seeds, took a few steps back, unfolded his elytra, and stretched out the brownish membranous wings hidden underneath.
BUZZ... BUZZ... BUZZ...
Mountain Persimmon flapped his wings vigorously, slowly ascending.
A cold wind swept through, sending leaves fluttering everywhere.
Mountain Persimmon declared excitedly, "I can barely fly now! With two or three more enhancements like this, I’m sure I’ll regain my ability to fly. Then I can fly up to pick persimmons. My efficiency will be much higher, and I’ll be able to plant even more persimmon trees!"
Ink Orchid said with some regret, "But, this time we came, we only brought 200 Southern Sour Jujube Seeds."
Dragon Cypress kindly advised, "Mountain Persimmon, it’s best for High-Level Warriors to focus mainly on comprehensive physique enhancement, with their talent system as a supplement. Southern Sour Jujube Seeds can be consumed, but in moderation. For you, 100 seeds per year is quite suitable."
Dragon Cypress continued, "This is well-meaning advice. Ink Orchid and I have more Southern Sour Jujube Seeds than we can eat or sell. We want to make money, but we can’t just focus on making money; we must also consider our trading partners. Mountain Persimmon, think about your deceased elder, Silver Cypress..."
"Oh—" Mountain Persimmon said dejectedly, "I understand..."
Mountain Persimmon was silent for a moment, then stubbornly asked, "Did you only bring 200 seeds? Then I’ll buy all 200. I’ll eat 100 this year and the other 100 next year."
Dragon Cypress was speechless for two seconds, then finally agreed, "Fine!"
「...」
This year, the output of the Mountain Persimmon Territory had slightly improved compared to last year.
All in all, his sales totaled 7,200 Source Stones.
The 200 Southern Sour Jujube Seeds went for 2,000 Source Stones.
He also took the last 60 Ghost Fans for 1,500 Source Stones.
A jar of Ant Honey, a refined mixture of dozens of Origin Force Foods for physique enhancement, cost 2,000 Source Stones.
Finally, Dragon Cypress helped him select a mixed package of Origin Force Food worth 1,700 Source Stones.
With the transaction complete, they headed southeast, directly to their next stop: White Rice Mountain.
This stop primarily involved the output of the Life Seed Plant belonging to the High-Level Sphere Insect Warrior, White Rice. In just one year, the output hadn’t increased much, the quality remained the same, and the previously set unit price was unchanged.
This year, White Rice and Black Rice had consumed the Fruit Pulp of the White Rice Tree and Black Rice Tree themselves.
The final trade value there was 7,000 Source Stones.
They completed this transaction promptly and did not linger, heading straight for Jianlan Plain to search for Divine-Given Seeds.
Finding none, they continued to their next stop: Ghost Fan Mountain.