lde’s head was about to explode: There are so many insects and eyes on this big plaza, what are you trying to show off for?
The Revolve Spider King was stunned for a mont, then waved its front legs to shoo them away, saying, "Aren’t you all headed to Yuezuo Mountain for trade? Jerusalem Cross, take lde and the others over there and talk to the Crimson Moss Beetle King."
Jerusalem Cross: "Okay!"
Jerusalem Cross led the way and set off.
They crossed the trade plaza, then passed through a grove of peach trees, ahead of them stretched out towering mountains.
A deep canyon provided passage.
At the canyon entrance, eight Sun Burying Bettle Warriors stood guard.
One Sun Burying Bettle Warrior ca forward and asked, "Lord Jerusalem Cross, what brings you here...?"
"Lord Dense Plum!"
Lord Jerusalem Cross kept their ntal power low and said, "These are so of my kin who’ve brought good stuff over. Please help report to the Crimson Moss Beetle King."
"This... Didn’t this spider co by once last year?"
Lord Dense Plum recognized lde, feeling a bit vexed, then asked, "Life-Extending Divine Good? Is it for real? The Crimson Moss Beetle King is extrely busy. If I bother him recklessly... What if he gets mad... I’ll get scolded for sure."
Life-Extending Divine Good? Lord Jerusalem Cross’s deanor sharpened, and she said proudly, "Revolve Spider King vouches for it! If you get scolded, go find the Revolve Spider King for compensation."
Lord Dense Plum hesitated again and again, then said, "Alright! Follow !"
He turned to lead the way, trotting through the canyon and entering Yuezuo Mountain’s territory.
Ahead, there were undulating ridges and complex mountain paths.
Neatly cultivated terraced orchards, Sun Burying Bettle Warriors shuttling back and forth.
An old, profound top-level great clan.
We made it in? lde struggled to hide his excitent, taking a good while to recover, secretly shocked: White Ivy really got a lot better at this!
Lord Jerusalem Cross pondered for a long while, then tentatively asked, "lde, I heard you’ve mostly been with Spider King Spurge these years, running over to the Ten Thousand Nations Continent?"
lde: "Yes."
Jerusalem Cross: "I hear over there, the Ant Kings and Bee Kings are all rolling in wealth."
lde: "There are also poor ones who survive by clinging to the big kingdoms."
Jerusalem Cross: "Spider King Spurge must have raked in a lot, huh."
lde: "Of course."
Jerusalem Cross: "Spider King Spurge is starting to trickle resources down now?"
lde: "That’s about right."
—You two, is all this beating around the bush really necessary~
—Just say what you want to say.
White Ivy chid in bluntly: "Our caravan secured stable trading rights for a Divine-Grade Fruit called ’White Poplar.’ A single fruit extends life by 50 years, and you can eat a second one, though its effect is reduced to 30 years."
Jerusalem Cross: "White Ivy Mountain Lord, you’re as bold as ever!"
Only now did Lord Jerusalem Cross rember—this White Ivy was a bit simple, whatever ca to mind, she just said it.
Just ask her directly!
Jerusalem Cross asked:
"White Ivy Mountain Lord, it’s been over twenty years since we t on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, hasn’t it?"
"Didn’t we et just last year?"
"That’s different... Well, yeah! But before that, for more than twenty years, I only ever heard about how big your Origin Force Honey trade got. You’d been focusing on Wan Country trades."
"Small business, really. I haul Origin Force Food over to Wan Country, brew Origin Force Honey, then bring it back to the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent to sell locally, just earning a bit of a moving-and-shaking fee."
"That’s hardly a small business. On the whole Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, there may be lots of Insect Clan Warriors who haven’t tasted Origin Force Honey, but eight or nine out of ten have at least heard of the treat."
"Ha. Ha. That’s not exaggerating. Mainly it’s because everyone treats Origin Force Honey as a gift, for giving away, or for entertaining important guests. Word spreads quickly that way."
"White Ivy Mountain Lord, is there any way to expand production, or cooperate with other caravans?"
"There’s really no way at the mont. Firstly, the production of Bee King Jelly used for sealing is extrely limited—that’s the bottleneck."
"That really is a sha... No wonder lde is still doing regular Origin Force Food deals."
"Yeah. I’d like to bring him along, but really, he can’t make it work."
All the flattery made White Ivy almost float off the ground.
Jerusalem Cross seized the chance to ask, "White Ivy Mountain Lord, do both you and lde have quotas for the White Poplar Divine Seed?"
White Ivy: "Of course. Our trading partners on the Wan Country side are run by both and lde together."
Jerusalem Cross: "How many?"
White Ivy: "Two."
Only two?
That’s not a lot.
Jerusalem Cross was a little disappointed inside, but remained enthusiastic on the surface: "You’ve co to Yuezuo Mountain to exchange, not for a flat sale, right?"
White Ivy: "Exchange! We need to deliver a batch of equally life-extending Divine Good to the Ant King who sells us the White Poplar Fruit."
Jerusalem Cross: "Oh—"
Jerusalem Cross: "So that’s two White Poplar Fruits for one Moon Peach Fruit. You’ll need to compensate so Source Stones to make up the difference."
White Ivy: "Yep~"
Jerusalem Cross: "Yuezuo Mountain probably won’t refuse."
As Jerusalem Cross was speaking, she started to feel more puzzled.
"Wait, sothing doesn’t add up, White Ivy Mountain Lord."
"What doesn’t add up?"
"Then how did you get into... how did you get into Cloud Crown Mountain? You can’t promise the sa Divine-Grade Fruit to two different places, can you?"
"Of course not."
"So it’s..."
"Lord Jerusalem Cross, you’ll understand in a bit!"
White Ivy offered, "Lord Jerusalem Cross, unless anything unexpected happens, going forward our caravan— and lde—will likely co to Yuezuo Mountain for trade around this ti each autumn, then go do business at Cloud Crown Mountain, and afterwards head south from Purple Back Mountain, passing through Shuiqu Mountain, Blood Paulownia Mountain, Vinegrowth Mountain, and so on, until we finally return to the Fla Spider Kingdom."
White Ivy: "Lord Jerusalem Cross, I rember the Revolve Spider King also heads to Shuiqu Mountain, right? We could et up at Yuezuo Mountain and travel together, look after each other along the way."
Jerusalem Cross: "Uh..."
This...
She’s clearly hoping to travel together with the Revolve Spider King, wanting a safer route...
But, the caravan already has one Lord-Level lde, White Ivy is just a step away from Lord-Level herself, their strength isn’t bad at all.
So what are they worried about?
If it were regular rchandise, nobody would worry at all...
Jerusalem Cross readily agreed: "Sure! We’ll travel together, and our goods can complent each other, that’s great. I’ll talk to the Revolve Spider King, I’m sure there’s no reason she would object."
...
...
...
After crossing countless ridges, they finally arrived at the foot of a towering mountain.
Lord Dense Plum stopped, turned and said, "Lord Jerusalem Cross, Lord lde, White Ivy Mountain Lord, please wait here. The Crimson Moss Beetle King doesn’t like disturbances. I’ll go up and report first."
White Ivy: "Okay!"
lde: "Thanks for the trouble!"
Lord Dense Plum ran up the mountain, only using his spiritual power to call out when he neared the Crimson Moss Beetle King’s cave residence: "Crimson Moss Beetle King..."
Instantly a voice echoed from the mountaintop, "Dense Plum?"
Lord Dense Plum blurted out, "Revolve Spider King’s personal guarantee—a caravan led by a Mountain Lord Level Fla Spider seeks audience, claiming to possess a Divine-Grade Fruit called ’White Poplar’: one fruit for 50 years of life, a second for an extra 30 years. They’d like to exchange it for Moon Peach Fruit."
Crimson Moss Beetle King: "A guarantee? Vouching? Life-Extending Divine Good? Did they bring the goods? Just those few little Fla Spiders at the foot of the mountain?"
Lord Dense Plum: "Yes... I don’t think they brought the Divine-Grade Fruit... But... even though their caravan of Fla Spiders is small, they seem really well connected. Their main business is on the Wan Country side, and I’ve heard they’re the ones selling that famous Origin Force Honey."
"Oh?!"
The Crimson Moss Beetle King was intrigued.
After a slight pause, Lord Dense Plum added, "This caravan was able to get into Cloud Crown Mountain, so their strength is definitely beyond doubt. I overheard them chatting on the way, apparently one of them is chosen to inherit the mantle of a Spider King nad ’Spurge.’ They also have so other Divine-Grade Fruits."
"Spider King Spurge?"
The Crimson Moss Beetle King mulled it over, thinking hard.
Never heard of them.
The Crimson Moss Beetle King said, "Invite their leader up the mountain for a detailed talk. The one from the Revovle Trade Caravan, Jerusalem Cross, should co too."
"Alright—"
Lord Dense Plum dashed down the mountain.
It wasn’t until reaching the foot of the mountain that he suddenly realized his dilemma.
"Lord lde, White Ivy Mountain Lord, which of you is the caravan leader?"
White Ivy answered without hesitation, puffing up: "!"
lde: "When trading with Yuezuo Mountain, I’m in charge!"
White Ivy: "When it’s about caravan business, I’m the boss!"
lde: "Don’t ss around."
White Ivy: "I don’t trust you to handle things properly."
Listening to their bickering, Lord Dense Plum got the feeling this White Ivy spider might not be so reliable...
But, at the sa ti, he felt White Ivy was anything but simple—so full of swagger, brimming with confidence...
Lord Dense Plum was torn for a couple of seconds, then said, "Lord Jerusalem Cross, Lord lde, White Ivy Mountain Lord, all of you, please co up the mountain with ."
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