Lightwing Peak, on the mountainside.

In front of the Spiky Wing Mantis King's dwelling cave, there was a patch of land hardened by Earth System abilities, surrounded by many Sun Peach Trees.

The Spiky Wing Mantis King was already standing at the cave entrance, tilting his head to inspect the two Spider Silk Bags Lord Heartwing held.

"Heartwing, what brings you here?"

"Life-Extending Divine Good!"

Lord Heartwing got straight to the point.

"???"

The Spiky Wing Mantis King emitted a long series of questioning Mental Power, waiting for further explanation.

Lord Heartwing opened the Spider Silk Bags, took out a Metal Can of Origin Force Honey, handed it to the Spiky Wing Mantis King, and explained rapidly, "Three years ago, when I visited Lord Waterbanyan at Vinegrowth Mountain, I tasted this delicious honey brewed from Origin Force Fruits. After inquiring, I learned it was sold by a Dulai Flame Spider Tribe merchant named White Ivy, so I made a note of her."

"Last year, I happened to meet White Ivy Mountain Lord in our Tribe's trading square and placed an order with her. This year, while collecting the goods and chatting, she suddenly revealed something. On the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, the Yellow Poplar Bee King of the Youlian Kingdom, with whom she has a good relationship, had recently acquired a Divine-Given Seed named 'White Poplar'."

"It's a variant of a Poppet tree and a Life-Extending Divine Good. It has a Blossom-Fruit Cycle of 16 years and an extremely low yield. At the Mountain Lord Level, it produces only 6 fruits. Three fruits make one share. The first fruit extends life by 50 years, the second by 30 years, and the third by 10 years. In total, they can extend life by up to 90 years."

"What a treasure!"

The Spiky Wing Mantis King exclaimed, holding the Metal Can. He twisted it open to examine, dipped the tip of one of his forelegs into the honey, brought it to his mouth, tasted it, and commented, "This is a novel and clever design. The Bee King Jelly seal on top can extend the shelf life of the otherwise perishable Origin Force Honey to more than 5 years."

Lord Heartwing said, "Indeed. This Origin Force Honey has become popular in the countries north of the Flame Spider Kingdom. Many insects keep a can or two in their caves specifically to entertain distinguished guests. Moreover, White Ivy Mountain Lord's caravan currently monopolizes this trade; other Flame Spider Roving Merchants cannot replicate it."

The Spiky Wing Mantis King asked, "White Ivy Mountain Lord? A Mountain Lord Level Dulai Flame Spider Roving Merchant? Is that just a little spider?"

Lord Heartwing replied, "She's not exactly small... Her evolutionary level is slightly low... but her financial power is absolutely substantial. White Ivy Mountain Lord operates across both the Ten Thousand Clan lands and the Ten Thousand Nations Continent. She has wide connections, deals only in large transactions, and interacts exclusively with Great Tribes."

Lord Heartwing continued, "When I was at Lord Waterbanyan's place on Vinegrowth Mountain, I also heard that White Ivy Mountain Lord possesses a Superior Grade Divine-Given Seed called 'Azure.' It's unrecorded in Inherited Memory and enhances comprehensive Water Element Abilities. Apparently, she also monopolizes its trade rights. That's why I proactively purchased Origin Force Honey from White Ivy Mountain Lord. I was hoping to build a closer relationship and acquire some Bee King Honey brewed from Divine-Given Azure Fruits."

Lord Heartwing pointed to the Metal Can, adding an explanation: "Refined ordinary Origin Force Food is called 'Origin Force Honey.' Honey made from Divine-Given Origin Force Food is called 'Bee King Honey.' They are packaged by value—1,000, 2,000, or 5,000 Source Stones—and sorted into various flavor types for custom orders based on preference."

"Oh—" the Spiky Wing Mantis King mused. "Sounds excellent— Save me two cans; I'll taste it too—"

The Spiky Wing Mantis King lightly tapped his tentacle and said, "So, this White Ivy Mountain Lord has a somewhat low evolutionary level but possesses strong financial power. She might indeed have access to Divine Grade Divine-Given Seeds."

Normally, it would be impossible for a Mountain Lord Level Flame Spider Roving Merchant to access Divine Grade Divine-Given Seeds or monopolize their trade rights, especially for widely sought-after Life-Extending Divine Goods.

Lord Heartwing added, "A newly born Divine Grade Divine-Given Seed."

The Spiky Wing Mantis King tapped his tentacle lightly and asked, "So what did White Ivy Mountain Lord say?"

Lord Heartwing replied, "She means to seek an exchange of Divine-Grade Fruits. If you agree, Spiky Wing Mantis King, she will go and communicate with the Yellow Poplar Bee King from the Youlian Kingdom."

The Spiky Wing Mantis King noted, "So we need the consent of that Bee King from the Youlian Kingdom to proceed with the transaction?"

Lord Heartwing explained, "The Ten Thousand Nations Continent is chaotic and plagued by constant war. 'Lightwing Seeds' would be more impactful there. This is a mutually beneficial exchange where each party gets what they need."

Lord Heartwing suggested a strategy, "Mantis King, if you're wary of White Ivy Mountain Lord, we can conduct the trade like this: First, request that she send over one Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruit, which we'll purchase with Source Stones. Then, we sell one 'Lightwing Seed' to her at a profitable price. After that, she needs to send another Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruit. This would complete one round of the Divine-Grade exchange."

Lord Heartwing said, "This way, both sides receive the actual items, can verify their quality, and establish trust. Subsequent exchanges would then be much simpler. A Bee King commands Assistant Kings; the richer and more powerful the Bee King, the more Assistant Kings they have. I believe such exchanges could be conducted many times."

Lord Heartwing proposed, "One Lightwing Seed for two White Poplar Fruits. Three Lightwing Seeds for two shares of White Poplar Fruits. I think the Yellow Poplar Bee King won't refuse."

The Spiky Wing Mantis King concluded, "This kind of exchange won't leave us at a loss… Wait a moment…"

The Spiky Wing Mantis King turned and walked back into the cave, quickly returning with a flat, circular porcelain bottle beautifully wrapped in deep green Spider Silk.

Upon lifting the bottle cap, inside was a snow-white creamy substance, emitting a light and familiar honey scent.

Bee King Jelly!

Lord Heartwing immediately understood with a sweep of his Mental Power; encapsulated within the Bee King Jelly was a ready-made Lightwing Seed.

The Spiky Wing Mantis King declared, "The price we sell these to the Flame Spider Caravan for is 1,200,000 Source Stones each. Go and discuss this with White Ivy Mountain Lord. A Mountain Lord Level Flame Spider Roving Merchant couldn't possibly control stable trade rights for Life-Extending Divine Goods. She's likely just brokering the deal and earning a margin. However, we should let her earn her commission on the Source Stones; we can be flexible on the price to some extent."

Lord Heartwing received the item and declared firmly, "Understood!"

「Trading Square.」

White Ivy, Red Peach, Lupine, Grass Dragon, and the others were not at all anxious after learning about 'Lightwing Seeds' and the abilities they granted.

Many Insect Clan members possessed similar innate healing talents.

In terms of rarity, value, and demand, Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruits ranked higher than Divine-Grade Lightwing Seeds.

Hidden Wing Mountain would not refuse the exchange.

Dragon Cypress would have no objection either.

The deal was essentially settled; only a few details remained to be finalized.

「Twilight.」

Lord Heartwing, empty-clawed, walked over.

"White Ivy Mountain Lord, you must be hungry after the long journey. If you don't mind, you could have some food at my Heartwing Peak."

"Oh—"

"Sure!"

"Lupine, you stay here with Red Peach and Grass Dragon. Keep an eye on them; no wandering off," White Ivy instructed them. Then, with a mere thought, her Life Seed Plant rapidly blossomed and bore fruit. It visibly grew into a White Ivy Grass Seed, and at the same time, the plant itself withered just as quickly.

She retrieved the Life Seed and followed Lord Heartwing away.

「Midnight.」

Outside Hidden Wing Mountain, on the Roving Merchant mountain trail.

White Ivy ran ahead with steady steps.

Red Peach, Lupine, and Grass Dragon desperately tried to keep up.

After crossing 8 mountain peaks, White Ivy finally stopped and turned back to look.

"We haven't been followed, have we?"

"…No."

"…Who would follow us anyway?"

"…Unlikely."

Red Peach, Lupine, and Grass Dragon—the three insects—collapsed in exhaustion.

"One must never let one's guard down against other insects. As Roving Merchants, we must always remain vigilant."

White Ivy delivered her routine lecture, then led the way up a nearby peak. From this high vantage point, her eight eyes, glowing with red Primordial Energy, twinkled as she scanned the area. After confirming their surroundings were secure, she withdrew her gaze, raised her forelimbs, and announced excitedly, "With Hidden Wing Mountain, everything has been successfully negotiated!"

Red Peach asked, "The specifics?"

Lupine chimed in, "And the price?"

Grass Dragon added, "How much will we earn?"

White Ivy said, "Quiet! Don't rush! Listen to me."

White Ivy continued, "I've seen the Divine-Grade Lightwing Seed with my own eyes. It's a dried fruit sealed with Bee King Jelly, so it won't spoil for 10 years, and Hidden Wing Mountain can provide them on demand. So, right now, we just need to send a sample of the Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruit to Hidden Wing Mountain."

Grass Dragon asked, "That's not a problem… What about the pricing?"

White Ivy explained, "Divine-Grade Lightwing Seeds are 1,000,000 Source Stones each from them. We can sell them to Dragon Cypress for 1,200,000 Source Stones each."

White Ivy elaborated, "According to the standard prices across the continent, 15,000 Source Stones can buy one year of life span. We can buy Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruits from Dragon Cypress for 750,000 Source Stones each. Hidden Wing Mountain is willing to purchase them for 900,000 Source Stones each."

White Ivy concluded, "One Divine-Grade Lightwing Seed exchanges for two Divine-Grade White Poplar Fruits. That's one round of exchange. We'll make a profit of 500,000 Source Stones from this! Hidden Wing Mountain will exchange as many as Dragon Cypress needs."

"Oh!"

"Wow!"

"Mountain Lord White Ivy is mighty!"

Red Peach, Lupine, and Grass Dragon celebrated wildly.

After the cheering subsided, Lupine asked softly, "Mountain Lord White Ivy, how much Origin Force Honey did Lord Heartwing purchase from you then?"

White Ivy replied, "Not much—"

White Ivy added, "Don't pry into your elders' dealings. Let's get going."

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