Astral Cockroach

A dense bamboo forest, filled with giant dragon bamboo ranging from 30 to 50 centimeters in diameter and over 60 meters tall, had only a narrow path running through it.

Following the winding path through the deep bamboo forest, a wide lake suddenly opened up before them.

The lake, three kilometers in diameter, was covered with lush green leaves.

The lotus leaf stems were about five centimeters thick, rising one to two meters above the water, each topped with a large lotus leaf exceeding 1.5 meters in diameter.

The leaves were distributed in a staggered pattern, swaying gently in the evening breeze.

One glance was enough to tell that these were no ordinary lotus flowers; they were definitely a divinely bestowed species!

The faint fluctuations of primordial force indicated that they were not ordinary divinely bestowed species, but of extraordinary quality!

"Banbu, this is a wild divinely bestowed species!"

"Just one?"

"Top quality! Has it completed three metamorphoses and grown? It doesn't look normal…"

"How long has it been? Grown to this size, it should have started selling long ago…"

"Flame element enhancement, did you Lizhu Peak eat it all yourselves?"

"Such a large scale, you couldn't have finished it, right?"

"You're planning to sell it! That's great, don't split the sales share, Yuzhu and I will take it all, just to make up for our caravan's losses from changing trade routes."

…

Before Banbu could introduce it, Yuzhu and Chonglou were already chattering away, saying almost everything.

However, they were all wrong.

"Chonglou, Yuzhu, don't be hasty, calm down first." Banbu flapped his wing membranes to signal, paused deliberately for two seconds, and then said straightforwardly, "This is a 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species. It has indeed completed three metamorphoses and grown, which is why it has such a vast scale before us."

More than three times; this Nine-Leaf Red Lotus had reached a scale only found in cosmic-level lifeforms.

Some things were difficult to explain, and it was not appropriate for the caravan to know too much.

"Divine-grade?"

"Divine-grade!"

Chonglou and Yuzhu were stunned, their mouths half-open, waiting for Banbu to explain: When? Where did it come from? How could Lizhu Peak suddenly have a 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species? Wasn't Lizhu Peak always growing bamboo? Bamboo would be acceptable, but lotus flowers? Unbelievable!

Banbu organized his thoughts and said briefly, "It's been here for decades, always hidden. Don't ask where it came from, just sell it."

"Sell…" Chonglou said seriously, "Banbu, this is a 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species that enhances the flame element, perfectly suited to your Red Ant Tribe, why sell it? Even if you're short of primordial stones, can't you borrow them?"

Banbu said, "Lizhu Peak isn't short of primordial stones for the time being. On the contrary, I plan to start stockpiling primordial stones for the insects and descendants of hundreds or thousands of years from now."

"You still shouldn't sell it!" Yuzhu said, "I heard that in terms of yield, 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species are not as good as ordinary divinely bestowed species; supposedly, the yield is particularly low. Now is a prosperous era, the best time for your Red Ant Tribe to develop. You should cultivate more county lord-level warriors."

Chonglou said, "Now the number of warriors in Jinping Mountain Range is improving, and it will only increase slowly. Leave it for yourselves to cultivate outstanding descendants. If you can't finish it, other places in your Red Ant Tribe, such as Hanging Banyan County and Longevity County, can use it to improve the overall strength of the tribe."

To verify a friend's character, look to times of crisis and times of profit. These two guys were alright, speaking righteously, not blinded by profit.

"That…" Banbu said, "My 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species is a little different. As you can see, it's vast in scale, dominating an entire lake. Its yield isn't low; on the contrary, it's very high."

"Very high yield?" Chonglou asked laboriously, "How high?"

Banbu said, "It blooms and bears fruit every year, 729 lotus pods, each pod bearing 11 seeds, 729 lotus seeds per share, a whole 11 shares…"

"That's so much… Wait!" Yuzhu said, "As far as I know, the flowering and fruiting cycle of 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species is usually several years to several decades. The most recent example is the Longevity Peach divinely bestowed species in Longevity County, which has a flowering and fruiting cycle of nine years, so the Longevity Peach Banquet is held every nine years."

Chonglou was a little embarrassed instead and asked, "County Lord Banbu, are you mistaken about something?"

Banbu said, "I, Lizhu Peak, have been managing so many divinely bestowed species; how could I be mistaken? There's no mistake; it's 'divine-grade', having completed three evolutions and metamorphoses. The tree spirit told me so itself."

"It seems 'divine-grade' is not false, but this yield… The tree spirit told you itself…" Yuzhu stammered, "I heard that the tree spirits of 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species are particularly intelligent, even more intelligent than ordinary warriors. It wouldn't be lying to you, would it?"

Chonglou was puzzled and asked, "But what benefit would it have to deceive Banbu?"

Yuzhu analyzed earnestly, "The growth of 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species must require many, many primordial stones… It probably wants to trick Banbu for primordial stones?!"

How did it turn into you two not believing me? It's getting more and more off track.

Banbu had a headache and said, "No, it's just a bit special. It'll bloom and bear fruit the year after next, and then it'll be clear."

Banbu continued, "It blooms and bears fruit once a year, with an annual yield of 11 shares. The tree spirit said so; there's no mistake."

Yuzhu and Chonglou exchanged glances, not responding, not quite believing him: We're still county lord-level caravans, even if we haven't seen a 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species, we've heard of them. There's no one like you.

Seeing this, Banbu had no choice but to say, "Let's not ask about the truth of the tree spirit's yield for now; it's certainly right to prepare in advance. Chonglou, Yuzhu, in your travels and trades in the next two years, pay more attention… Pay attention to those tribes that have awakened flame abilities, which ones are particularly wealthy, which ones seem to also possess 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species, and try to communicate and exchange information."

"If the lotus seed yield is high and needs to be sold, we'll sell it at a high price in wealthy places. If they have 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species, find a way to exchange them. For the good things we exchange, our Lizhu Peak will choose first, and if we can use them, I'll buy them at a high price."

Suddenly, there was silence.

After a while.

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Yuzhu agreed, "We can try it."

Chonglou asked, "As far as I know, dried lotus seeds can be stored for a long time, right?"

Banbu said, "Yes, for more than 10 years."

Chonglou said, "The things we exchange back may not be easy to store. If this 'divine-grade' lotus flower divinely bestowed species really has such a high yield, Yuzhu and I might as well give up trading in the Northern Wilderness, completely abandoning the trade in ordinary primordial force food."

Yuzhu agreed, "11 shares of 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species every year, if we earn 100,000 primordial stones per share, that income…"

Chonglou said, "Too good things are not so easy to sell. This matter needs to be carefully considered and planned. We must be cautious and not repeat the mistake of selling 'Red Pine Remains' last time, which backfired in the end. We don't even dare to set foot in the territory of the Wolf Scorpion Kingdom now."

The difference between 'divine-grade' divinely bestowed species and ordinary divinely bestowed species is like the difference between ordinary life species plants and ordinary divinely bestowed species.

Ordinary life species, ordinary divinely bestowed species, and divine-grade divinely bestowed species are the three distinct levels of primordial force plants on this planet.

Divine-grade is too rare, too precious. Everyone wants it, but 99% of warriors simply can't afford it, or like the Wolf Scorpion Tribe, even if they have money and want to buy it, they are still reluctant to spend primordial stones and want to force a purchase.

Then, all kinds of conflicts arise.

"County Lord Chonglou is right." Banbu said solemnly, "Selling lotus seeds is different from the Red Pine Remains last time. Lotus seeds are a long-term business, so we must be more cautious. I suggest not going to the Northern Kingdoms anymore. It is said that those border tribes are mostly fierce and warlike, unreasonable and barbaric."

"The inland tribes are slightly better, but we can't be careless either. First, examine the tribe's wealth and reputation. First, they must be wealthy, and second, they must have no stains in their interactions with the caravan."

"Examine and confirm the trading partner, establish a familiar relationship, and confirm that the quality of the insect is no problem before promoting the lotus seeds to them. Be conservative during the exchange and only tell them that the caravan has a way to get 2 to 3 shares of lotus seeds. First, propose to exchange them for things of the same level, and if they don't have them, then consider selling them."

Yuzhu agreed, "That's pretty safe."

Chonglou pondered and said, "Is Duzhu about to be promoted to county lord? Banbu, give us two more shares of Sacred Bamboo fruit, one is to enter more large tribal transactions, and the other is to use the Sacred Bamboo fruit as a cover."

Banbu said, "That's no problem. Duzhu plans to be promoted to county lord in three years. The next time, the yield of Sacred Bamboo fruit will be 18 shares."

Chonglou said, "Banbu, we don't know the name of this lotus flower divinely bestowed species yet."

Banbu said, "Nine-Leaf Red Lotus."

Chonglou asked, "If the Nine-Leaf Red Lotus can really bloom and bear fruit every year, and the yield is as high as 11 shares each time, how many shares do you Lizhu Peak plan to sell?"

Banbu said, "For the first few batches of production, we need to use them ourselves. The quantity is not large, but after meeting the needs of the Red Ant Tribe, we should sell at least 10 shares to the outside world every year, right?"

Banbu gently shook his antennae and said, "The number of Red Ant warriors in Jinping Mountain Range will indeed increase, but not every warrior is qualified to use them."

"Selling one share of lotus seeds to exchange for primordial stones and then buying primordial force food condensed from ordinary divinely bestowed species is almost enough to fund a senior warrior to be promoted to mountain lord. It's clear that this is more cost-effective."

PS: Thanks to Boss Bodhi for the alliance leader reward.