Transplant Flowers and Graft Trees

Cloud Joy City.

The campfire in the camp was reduced to embers. A sentry stood on the watchtower, who had been somewhat drowsy, but suddenly opened his eyes wide.

In the darkness of the distance, a large group of figures were approaching, their footsteps carried by the night wind, muffled and dense.

The sentry immediately sounded the alarm, the piercing siren cutting through the night.

He wasn't the only one who spotted the enemy; at the same time, alarms sounded at two other outposts in the camp.

The sleeping soldiers were startled awake, hurriedly donned their armor, grabbed their weapons, and rushed out of their tents.

The officers looked grim; they were in the Sea Clearing Kingdom territory, yet they had been subjected to a near-encirclement attack.

The corps commander strode up to the lookout tower, picked up the monocular binoculars, and activated night vision. His heart sank.

Judging from their attire and banners, the attackers were actually the royal army of the Sea Clearing Kingdom.

"Is this the start of a civil war?!" The army commander was shocked.

Fortunately, if it really comes to a fight, Prince Leimeng Keli Clay's side isn't weak either, the commander pondered.

Contrary to the commander's thoughts, the ordinary soldiers in the camp all turned pale. Those in power were plotting the power structure and who would inherit the throne.

Ordinary people only want to survive.

The army commander felt that he had contacted the Cloud Joy City defense forces and the city lord's mansion, but received no response.

His heart sank, and his face turned as pale as the soldiers'.

The silence in communications is actually more terrifying than the approaching enemy forces.

A gasp of surprise suddenly rang out.

The corps commander looked back and saw a large number of dark figures swooping down in the moonlight above Cloud Joy City behind the camp.

That's a massive griffin legion!

A large flock of griffins quickly climbed the walls of Cloud Joy City, and sporadic battle sparks rose in several places. The shouts of battle were quickly suppressed as soon as they spread.

Absolutely no doubt about it!

A rough count suggests that this force numbers over a thousand.

A griffon force of this size—only the Star Empire could field one on the entire continent. The commander's heart sank to the bottom; he finally understood the current situation:

The Star Empire and the King's faction launched a joint operation to eliminate Prince Leimeng Keli!

****

At the same time, inside Prince Leimeng Keli's residence.

The battle here actually started the earliest, but it has now ended.

The Empire Heavenly Pivot Battle Group's surprise attack was swift and decisive, accurately penetrating the Prince's mansion and wiping out the guards in the first instant.

Prince Leimeng Keli does indeed have a Saint Rank under his command. Although he was recently promoted, he is the only one in the Sea Clearing Kingdom.

This was also a key reason why Leimeng Keli dared to seize power.

The problem is, two people from the Star Empire have arrived.

Besides the Executioner Zhapulai, another Rock-Eroding Demon Blade also joined the battle.

The two Saint Rank experts joined forces, leaving the newly promoted Saint Rank expert no room to struggle, and the latter quickly met his end.

Bloodstains spread along the cracks in the floor inside the room. Prince Leimeng Keli Cly was pinned to the ground by Xialike's guards, two long swords held to his neck on either side.

"Why!"

Leimeng Keli Clay gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment and confusion.

Xialike looked down at him and smiled.

"You want to know why your defenses were so easily breached?"

As he spoke, he showed off his tablet, which displayed an aerial view of the area surrounding Cloud Joy City.

Troop distribution, city defense layout, troop concentration areas, and weak points in patrols were all identified and clearly marked by the system.

Xialike shook the tablet.

"A shady businessman rented me satellite footage for 10,000 gold coins per hour."

Leimeng Keli Clay gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm asking, why did you choose that child?" His voice was hoarse.

"How could they, mother and son, possibly be willing to give up two-sevenths of their territory to you!" To avoid the struggle for foreign aid turning into a bidding war between him and the king, Leimeng Keli chose to cede territory directly.

He was absolutely confident that this price would be the final word.

"How could they possibly have the kind of ambition I have—the kind of person who doesn't concern themselves with trifles when it comes to achieving great things!" Leimeng Keli's voice was filled with resentment.

Xialike put away the tablet.

"It's quite simple."

He didn't mind answering the question last.

"If our battle against Eden doesn't go well, someone tells you that if you pledge allegiance to Eden and become its master, you can continue to enjoy wealth and luxury."

Xialike looked at him. "Will you say yes?"

Leimeng Keli paused, "Just for this?"

"Just for that." Xialike said calmly.

What we need are allies with the belief and determination to fight for every inch of land.

"Instead of a loser who has both ends and is ready to stab you in the back at any time!"

As the guard's blade flashed, Prince Leimeng Keli Clyne's body twitched, and he collapsed to the ground.

The smile on Xialike's face also faded.

"Kill everyone in the Prince's mansion who needs to be silenced." He turned and gave the order.

"Then they set fire to the place, disguising it as an orc attack."

"Then, under the pretext of investigating the assassination attempt, they cooperated with the King's Guard of the Sea Clearing Kingdom to take over Cloud Joy City and forcibly control all the orcs!"

"Yes!" the members of the Heavenly Pivot Battle Group responded in unison.

Xialike let out a soft breath.

Framing, destroying evidence, and turning the tables – even a politician as accustomed to bloodshed couldn't help but sigh.

No wonder Su Ming was reluctant to participate.

A messenger rushed in to report:

Su Ming led the Star Sand Guard and took over the biggest money pit in Cloud Joy City — the Sea-Hued Grand Feast. Xialike Ke was slightly taken aback; he had just said that the other party would not participate, but this was unexpected.

He took out his communicator and connected to Su Ming's call.

It's just five gold coins a minute, he can afford it.

The call was answered quickly, Xialike asked directly:

Why did you still make a move?

Don't tell me it's insomnia.

Su Ming's voice came from the other end of the communication.

"The Sea-Hued Grand Feast is the stronghold of the Plundering Clock."

Xialike's expression changed. "How did you find out?"

Su Ming looked up and saw Qiluo looking around the ruins with great interest in the completely destroyed room, just like an innocent pet that had just wrecked the house.

A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

"It was just good luck," Su Ming replied. "It was a purely accidental discovery." Xialike didn't press for details.

Meanwhile, another messenger arrived with the report, "Leimeng Keli's army has surrendered to their young king by raising a white flag."

Su Ming heard it too.

"Good, progress is going well."

"Since you've made your move, the area around the Sea-Hued Grand Feast is yours to investigate," Xialike said.

"Alright," Su Ming agreed. "You and the King should also quickly seal off the entire city of Cloud Joy."

"No problem!"

****

After bringing the situation under control, the Star Sand Guard quickly made a new discovery in the basement of the Sea-Hued Grand Feast.

As Su Ming rushed there, he made a video call to Zijin.

The scene unfolds, showing Su Ming walking through a corridor covered with a dark red carpet.

The walls on both sides were covered with boldly styled oil paintings, some partially obscuring the view, others with alluring gazes. Pink gauze curtains hung along the corridor, and the wall lamps were deliberately dimmed to an ambiguous dark red. Zijin's annoyed voice drifted over:

"Hey, Su Ming!"

"It's one thing for you to sneak around on HaiSe, but are you going to livestream this to me?"

Su Ming glanced down at the surrounding decorations.

"... Are you suggesting a new way to play?"

Zijin paused for a moment, then said, "It seems pretty good!"

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing at the same time.

After laughing, Su Ming briefly explained what had just happened.

After hearing this, Zijin couldn't help but sigh.

"This Princess Qiluo is really lucky."

Su Ming sighed softly, "The Painter of Fate."

Through the interrogation of those arrested by the Plundering Clock, and the restoration and deciphering of seized documents, information about the Children of Calamity has been gradually obtained by Su Ming's side. He enjoys drawing and always manages to trigger "accidental" events in various ways.

Qiluo's situation goes beyond what can be explained by the word "suspicious".

"How should we handle this?" Zijin frowned.

"Fate is a tricky thing to say," Su Ming said hesitantly.

If it's truly a coincidence, then there's nothing to worry about. But if it's indeed some kind of force at play, then we shouldn't act rashly.

Su Ming's space and Zijin's life are so difficult to control, it's completely unimaginable what kind of backlash and taboos a power of the level of fate might have.

Zijin's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Why don't we go and ask Queen Ghostly Flower?"

Su Ming agreed, "That's not bad!"

****

Let's return to the present.

"What should we do with Qiluo?" Su Ming, somewhat troubled. "We can't just openly point it out to the enemy and say there's a key target here." Zijin sighed helplessly, "The current situation doesn't seem too far off."

"Then we can only try our best to prevent Qiluo from being alone." Su Ming sighed.

He explained the situation today.

"I had Younier put a tracking device around her neck."

"The Star Sand Guard were actually following Qiluo the whole time; she wasn't really in any danger from beginning to end."

As they spoke, Su Ming descended the stairs.

The scene follows his footsteps into the basement of the Sea-Hued Grand Feast.

The cold stone walls are covered with isolation runes, and the center of the ground is covered with intricate patterns.

"Wow!" Zijin exclaimed in surprise, "That's the third one!"

Su Ming approached the magic array. The outer layer was a buffer ring, the middle layer was a stable structure, and the innermost layer looked like a snake-shaped gap had been hollowed out.

Various materials were precisely embedded into the rune nodes, including even Rock Core.

This space-related material, which they initially mistook for ordinary ore but was later confirmed to be extremely precious, appeared here. "Including the one on Earth, this should be the fourth dimensional access array we've discovered," Su Ming corrected.

There were some documents scattered nearby. Su Ming picked them up; they were written in Eden script.

Fortunately, the Electricity-Swallowing Beast already had a relevant training set. The AI did a rough translation, and Zijin did the fine-tuning, so the content was quickly identified.

"A small spatial rift will appear in twenty days," Zijin told Su Ming. "It won't be large enough for the people of Eden to pass through, but it can be used for supply delivery."

"Interdimensional airdropped supplies, these guys are really extravagant," Su Ming said.

"If only we could find a way to retrieve it," Zijin dreamed. "Let us also enjoy Eden's supplies."

The magic array on the ground was well preserved.

"I'll arrange for an alchemist to come immediately and bring it back intact," Su Ming said.

Zijin nodded, but there was little joy on her face.

"It's better than nothing, I suppose."

She sighed softly.

"The main function of this magic circle is to 'buffer' the 'falling' force of Eden's descent." "We have thoroughly studied it at the Stone Pattern Altar in the desert and the descent point of the Miasma Throat in Northern Ice Island."

"This feature is meaningless for the portal between us and Earth."

Zijin's gaze fell on the center of the magic circle, where there was a clear serpentine gap. The runes around the edge of the gap were extremely dense, and hundreds of fine lines spread outwards from it.

"What we're really interested in is the core of this magic circle, which is responsible for 'guiding' spatial rifts."

"The magic array of the Stone Pattern Altar did not contain this module."

"They didn't seize anything from Yinfei's group either."

"The one on Earth was also destroyed by Xiyu."

"This area is also empty."

Her disappointment was palpable.

Look here.

Su Ming laughed and reached into his pocket to pull out the snake-shaped crystal he had captured.

Zijin's eyes immediately lit up. "Hmph!" The corners of her mouth gradually turned up, and her beautiful eyes narrowed.

"I knew it! The things that would make Qiluo's 'good luck' worthwhile wouldn't be limited to just a Plundering Clock!"

"So this time, we can really dig up the enemy's supplies!" Su Ming said happily.

"Leave it to me and Chloe!"