Astral Cockroach

Banbu understood the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'.

Banbu had to fully support Chijian County Princess's promotion to Roach Queen.

Due to financial constraints, he was very frugal, providing only 100 Origin Stones daily to the Yuzhu Divine Seed.

Insufficient Origin Energy would slow down development.

Currently, Yuzhu's 64 bamboo culms had just grown, and were still struggling to accumulate power. The 512 underground stems of the third batch were still in the growth stage.

At first glance, Yuzhu felt that the scale of the Yuzhu Divine Seed was too small. After scanning with mental power and discovering the underground stems, upon closer observation, she realized that Yuzhu's bamboo culms were taller and more luxuriant than Cuizhu, making it a superior bamboo species.

Merchant group rules dictated 'first come, first served'.

Since the Chonglou Merchant Group arrived first, they would definitely have priority in acquiring the purchase rights for the bamboo fruit produced by the Yuzhu Divine Seed.

"Natural True God! I could have traveled faster than the Chonglou Merchant Group! I missed a big deal!" Yuzhu's wails became even more miserable.

Banbu shook his antennae and asked, "Yuzhu, aren't you going to ask how Yuzhu was cultivated?"

A strange question.

Yuzhu was stunned for two seconds before reacting and asking, "Could it be Xiangzhu?"

Banbu said simply, "That's right, the Xiangzhu you gifted played a major role. As promised, I've reserved the purchase rights for Yuzhu for your merchant group."

"Mountain Lord Banbu, you…" Happiness came too suddenly. Yuzhu was so excited that she became incoherent. After a while, she solemnly said, "I've remembered it. We will become the best partners!"

"We were already the best partners." Banbu said playfully, "Yuzhu, remember to pay more attention in the future and collect rare bamboo species. This will also benefit you."

"Understood!" Yuzhu exclaimed, "Banbu, cultivating a brand new bamboo species and harvesting a Divine Seed in the first year of planting Xiangzhu… It's simply unbelievable!"

Fuling, Yuzhu's little follower, couldn't help but interject, exclaiming, "Those powerful tribes occupying territories rich in Origin Energy don't obtain Divine Seeds as frequently as this!"

Banbu laughed heartily, "The Natural True God is benevolent!"

Yuzhu said, "But then again, the Origin Energy abundance of Lizhu Peak… can be considered a top-tier treasure land!"

"That's right, uniquely blessed." Banbu waved his antennae and beckoned, "Yuzhu, let's go up the mountain first, complete the transaction, and then chat leisurely."

"Okay!" Yuzhu readily agreed.

Yuzhu had inquired clearly in Hoof County, knowing in advance the yield of the Blood Thorn Divine Seed last year, and had prepared the Origin Stones in advance.

The transaction was simple.

Datou commanded the ant colony to carry 4,000 Blood Thorn Seeds out of the cave. Yuzhu scanned with her mental power, checking the quantity and quality.

Last year, the Blood Thorn Divine Seed improved mainly in the quality of the flesh and the overall yield. The Blood Thorn Seeds themselves improved very little, not enough to justify a price increase. The unit price remained at 6 Origin Stones.

Fuling and Qingxiang carried down two silk pouches, counted out 240 Origin Stones, and handed them to Banbu to check the weight.

A transaction was completed.

Datou then commanded the worker ants to carry out a bag of Cuizhu bamboo seeds.

The unit price of bamboo seeds was low, so Yuzhu no longer bothered to count them and said directly, "Banbu, for last year's bamboo seeds, I have to pay you 1,000 Origin Stones."

Fuling acted swiftly, immediately taking out 10 Origin Stones from the silk pouch and handing them over.

Banbu waved his antennae, pointed at Fengling, and said, "Half of the income from the bamboo seeds belongs to Fengling. Give the Origin Stones to it."

Banbu then asked, "Fengling, what kind of Origin Energy food do you need for your growth? You can buy it from Yuzhu."

"Ah~!" Fengling shook its antennae and said, "Banbu, you're in charge of cultivating the bamboo seeds. I haven't done anything. I can't take this income!"

"I can earn 1,000 Origin Stones a year from that Nan She Jin Teng Divine Seed. It's enough, completely enough…"

It had been following him for three or four years, and it was still so unambitious. It felt that 1,000 Origin Stones was enough, and any more would be too much to spend.

Banbu sighed helplessly in his heart and said, "Fengling, the Jinxian Bamboo was first discovered in your territory, and you have always been responsible for managing and taking care of it. According to the agreement, you must receive half. This is a matter of principle."

Banbu added, "You should set your sights further. You must advance to Mountain Lord, and you must also plan to advance to County Princess."

A high-level warrior can earn 1,000 Origin Stones a year. With reasonable allocation, advancing to Mountain Lord is a sure thing.

A warrior at the Mountain Lord level can have a stable additional income of 2,000 Origin Stones a year. It's not impossible to look forward to advancing to County Princess. With reasonable spending, slowly enduring, maybe they can become a County Princess.

"Okay, then okay!" Fengling replied with some lack of confidence, feeling ashamed in its heart.

Banbu shook his antennae and said, "Fuling, Fengling has 2,000 Origin Stones. Currently, it's a six-year-old high-level warrior. Introduce it to suitable goods."

"Okay." Fuling neatly placed the Origin Stones on the ground and quickly climbed onto Yuzhu's back, picking and choosing, and selecting Origin Energy food.

Banbu and Yuzhu continued to discuss.

Yuzhu asked, "Banbu, the Yuzhu Divine Seed should have some kind of effect that strengthens the physique, right? The yield is difficult to determine, but the quality is mostly upper-middle."

Banbu said, "That's likely the case."

The latest and most complete novel can be found at 69shu.

Yuzhu asked, "How much of a deposit do I need to pay?"

Banbu said, "This is a brand new bamboo species. Whether it will flower and bear fruit this year, and how many fruits there will be, I can't determine. But I urgently need Origin Stones this year, so I must collect a deposit."

Banbu looked at Yuzhu's back and asked, "Yuzhu, how many Origin Stones can you pay as a deposit?"

Yuzhu tentatively asked, "10,000 Origin Stones?"

Given the unclear information about the Yuzhu Divine Seed, paying 10,000 Origin Stones as a deposit was actually quite a lot.

Banbu tentatively asked, "Can it be more? I'm short on Origin Stones."

Yuzhu said, "I only have 13,000 Origin Stones left for my own free use. I also have another 10,000 Origin Stones in reserve, which County Princess Huangjing lent me for emergency use… The journey of a traveling merchant is still very long. I have to keep enough in reserve."

"Then let's make it 20,000." Banbu said, "Things are tight this year, but next year will be better. Yuzhu, when you come, remember to get some good things from County Princess Huangjing."

"Then… Banbu, consider this me helping you once." Yuzhu was actually quite embarrassed, but she still agreed, and then said, "County Princess Huangjing has been a traveling merchant for a long time and has wide connections. What she doesn't lack most is high-quality goods."

Banbu said, "Continue to help me inquire about and collect rare bamboo species. Same old rules, you provide the bamboo species, and I cultivate new high-quality bamboo species, giving your merchant group priority."

"No need to remind me, I will do everything possible to help you collect bamboo species." After Yuzhu finished speaking, she exclaimed, "I didn't expect the cultivation potential of bamboo to be so great!"

…

Chatting until dawn, the Yuzhu Merchant Group rested on Lizhu Peak for another day before bidding farewell and heading straight for Chijian County.

Half a month later, County Princess Daye arrived at Lizhu Peak with more than thirty high-level warriors from Chijian County.

These warriors were all here to transport Origin Stones.

Banbu, as agreed, took out 30,000 Origin Stones, briefly inquired about the recent situation of County Princess Chijian, and expressed his concern for the matter of her promotion to Roach Queen.

After a brief chat, County Princess Daye informed Banbu that County Princess Chijian would fall into a deep sleep within half a month. If all went well, she would wake up within 3 months, and they would notify him at that time. They were in a hurry, and then bid farewell and left.

…

After trading with two merchant groups one after another, Banbu earned more than 55,000 Origin Stones. After taking out 30,000 Origin Stones, he had 25,000 Origin Stones left. It seemed like a lot, but in reality, it was only barely enough.

Deriving 512 bamboo culms from the Yuzhu Divine Seed, even if he squeezed every last drop, he would have to invest at least 5,000 Origin Stones.

During the bamboo fruit ripening season, the Cuizhu Divine Seed must be invested with 7,000 Origin Stones to ensure the quality of the fruit.

The Yuzhu Divine Seed, preliminarily judged to be of upper-middle quality, with the number of bamboo fruits and the size of each fruit still uncertain, reserving 13,000 Origin Stones was not too much. If things didn't go well, there might even be a shortage.