Mount Song was extraordinary.
Both Taoism and Buddhism had left many traces there. Ancient temples and Dao Palaces stood on its slopes, and it was the "Central Peak" of the Five Great Mountains.
After Heaven and Earth changed and Earth began to revive, a famous mountain like this was bound to be wondrous.
Unbeknownst to the general public, the struggle for such mountains had never stopped.
With Heaven and Earth changing, only those who controlled a famous mountain had a true foothold. They could seize the initiative in the coming wave of evolution.
That was because some top-tier famous mountains held Sacred Trees. As Heaven and Earth changed again and again, those trees would gradually revive, bringing enormous benefits to whoever held the mountain.
Even without a Sacred Tree, a famous mountain was still the foundation of a faction.
Where on Earth were Mutant Trees most plentiful?
On the great mountains, of course!
Whoever conquered one and made it their territory would control every Mutant Tree on it.
Then all they had to do was wait for the trees to flower and bear fruit, allowing them to evolve!
Mutant Trees elsewhere withered after blooming once.
A few Mutant Trees on famous mountains flowered and bore fruit every year. That was astonishing: a steady supply of Mutant Fruit that could continually nurture Evolutionaries.
To use an imperfect analogy, Mutant Trees were like oil. Getting oil came at a price.
Owning a famous mountain was like owning an oil field that kept producing.
With a famous mountain, one could effectively cultivate Mutant Trees and enjoy an unending supply of evolutionary energy. Even if they lost a fight elsewhere, they could return and continue evolving.
Without one, they were duckweed without roots, with no foundation. To evolve, they had no choice but to