Brain bloom

"Yes, that's right, it's yours."

"Oh? Princess Dandelion, did you make a deal with the devil? The Four Seasons One is truly bold and shrewd, daring to make such a big deal with the devil."

There was still a hint of hostility in her voice; after all, they hadn't had time to correct their earlier, tentative tones. Dandelion was actually the same way.

"Yes, I bought the right to use this mine for a year with alcohol. In fact, it was a bargain I got from the devil."

“Managing mineral veins in the clouds is incredibly troublesome, both in terms of resources and mining. I don’t think this is a good deal. By the way, what kind of mineral is it? Judging from the color of the clouds, it shouldn’t be rain-gathering stone, thunder-gathering stone, or rainbow stone…”

"I do not know either."

"You sold it without knowing? This transaction is so careless, you must have done it yourself." She slapped the table and laughed.

Yuan lowered her head, looking a little aggrieved: "It was my dad who did it..."

Melia hugged her best friend to express her comfort and apology for her joke, before turning to Dandelion with a smile.

"Princess Dandelion, it seems you haven't even started mining yet."

"It hasn't been mined yet, what are you planning to do?"

Dandelion nodded, instinctively becoming wary. Melia was like a predator stalking its prey in the shadows, especially with the banshee horns on her head gleaming in the moonlight, constantly reminding her that the person before her was a terrifying figure.

"How about this, I'll clean up those problems for you for free. But if the minerals inside are what I want, can you sell them to me at a reasonable price?"

"that's it?"

"Okay, that's settled."

"What kind of mineral do you want?"

"The associated minerals of Nayin Cloud..."

Dandelion thought for a moment and then agreed. Since she was just passing by her property, she felt she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she didn't go check on it. Besides, reliable companions like Mori, Melia, and Natsume were there; it would be good to go and see.

Most importantly, without their help, it would be very difficult for her to go up there by herself...

"For Sen Shi's sake, I agreed."

"Yes, for Sen Shi's sake, I'm being sincere."

They nodded and began preparing to land. Melia found someone to report her decision to leave first to Lord Balzac, which then brought Daniel back.

As for Sen Shi, her even but drowsy breathing was soft, and the flesh on her face was flattened by the hand that was using her as a pillow.

Dandelion admired the water for a while before using basic water magic to make a cup of cool water, which she then poured onto her increasingly lush leaves. Cool water droplets flowed down the leaves and branches, and one could hear Sen Shi softly talking in her sleep.

"I didn't cheat on you..."

Dandelion laughed for a while before helping her water more.

The cool sensation woke Mori. She shivered comfortably, feeling a sense of physical and mental relaxation.

"Princess, did you water the plants for me?"

"Hmm, don't move it. Let me wipe off the dust again; it's probably just some blown-away charcoal dust."

The feeling of having his leaves touched and cleaned made Morito unconsciously reveal an expression of enjoyment.

Yuan watched with great curiosity, occasionally touching her head as if imagining what it would feel like. But then she remembered the ancient Demon King's instructions... These seemingly adorable Seasonal Beings were once the rulers of the Demon Realm... She wondered what they had gone through to become so cute.

They tended to each other's plants, and during this time, Mori understood what they were supposed to do. She was very curious about how minerals could grow inside a cloud.

She had read some novels before her death, novels related to clouds drifting in the sky. For example, there were houses on the clouds, inhabited by recorders who were writing the Song of the World. Or there were fish in the clouds that could be caught with pills.

But it's rather unusual to see someone wielding a hoe to mine ore in the clouds.

Filled with curiosity, she followed the three of them, boarded the back of the dragon, and left the Night Market.

Daniel wasn't quite an adult Eros yet, but her back was already quite broad. Mori couldn't help but touch the scales, thinking to herself, "This is what a magic-immune body looks like... I made her eat too much of my underwear back then."

As they flew toward the cloud mine, Melia took out her exquisite monocular telescope to observe, muttering to herself, "The cloud is pure white and delicate; it looks like one of the Nayin Clouds or Angel Bones."

"What are those things?" Mori asked the dandelion quietly. "Are they valuable?"

"Oh, Moritoki doesn't know?"

"Ah."

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you about it. I've heard that the azure sky above the clouds is the world where the gods live."

"...Hmm?"

Mori herself considered herself a true god, so she wasn't surprised that so-called "gods" existed in this world. But, should she also reside in that world? Was that Eden Bank? If so, why were those who called themselves "traveling souls" digging into the ground?

"The sky is the dividing line, but occasionally the sky will fall into disrepair, and things from the divine realm will fall down."

"...That's a mine?"

"Yes, things that fall usually sink into the clouds because the complex power of the gods changes the nature of the clouds. For example, the Nayin cloud refers to a cloud that has absorbed the sounds of the divine realm for too long, and thus changed into a mineral that can absorb sound."

Despite Dandelion's further explanation, Sen Shi still didn't understand.

Melia, however, remarked, "Nayinyun can be used as a disposable recorder."

"Oh."

“The Nayin Cloud is difficult to collect and not very valuable.” Dandelion looked at Melia meaningfully, then said to Sen Shi, “As for the Angel Bones, they refer to the bones of angels that fell from that world.”

"I understand. The explanation is concise and easy to understand."

Mori nodded quickly, trying to comfort his princess.

Melia slowly put away her binoculars: "What I'm looking for isn't an ordinary Nayin cloud, but the primordial cloud that was fortunate enough to record the words of God. I want to see if there's any news about Eden Bank."

Volume 1, Chapter 155: The Thundercloud Insect

The familiar word dispelled the last vestiges of Sen Shi's weariness, and she looked intently at Melia.

"Melia, are you also looking for Eden Bank?"

"It's not that I'm looking for... As everyone knows, the Chaos Land is teeming with evil beings. After these creatures pledged allegiance to me, they contributed many ancient documents and strange records. Among them, the term 'Eden Bank' was mentioned many times."

Along the way, Melia interrupted herself, gently patting the dragon and telling it to slow down. She needed to circle the cloud mine a few times to determine its nature and level of danger.

Only when the dragon slowed down did Melia feel relieved and continue talking to the three curious people:

"I started investigating the so-called Eden Bank, which is said to hold something. Or perhaps it's the abode of the true God or something... but I still know too little. But many clues suggest that it's a wondrous place, holding the answers I'm looking for."

"Speaking of Eden Bank, some people associated with us devils are also looking for it. In the 'Encyclopedia of Devil's Deals,' one of the nineteen absolutely forbidden deals is 'reject all deals related to Eden Bank.'" Yuan also briefly discussed some related content from the devil's perspective.

"Why do you all want to go?" Mori asked murmured.

“I don’t know about others, but I’m here to solve the problem of the Evil Mist.” Melia said with a hint of helplessness, her expression turning relaxed and weary. “The Evil Mist has been troubling my land. In order to find a solution, I found a great astrologer and asked him to find the answer in the stars and in destiny.”

"The answer is Eden Bank?"

"They risked half their lives to finally give me an answer, which was just one phrase—'Eden Bank'." Her tone was full of helplessness.

Now they understood why Melia was so interested in this cloud mine. Since the minerals in the clouds were descended from the divine realm, and the so-called Eden Bank was likely the abode of the true god, there was nothing wrong with coming here to look for clues.

Senshi also has some exclusive information about Eden Bank.

She's someone who's personally explored ancient ruins, so she at least knows about the existence of an underground civilization and its purpose. I just wonder if Melia already knows these things…

While she hesitated for a moment, Dandelion, for some reason, took the initiative to approach Sen Shi.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"A bad feeling." She looked at the cloud and gripped her staff tightly. "This cloud... doesn't look good."

Mori noticed that the other two were on edge, staring intently at the cloud of minerals. Mori also feigned alertness, wondering what he might encounter…

It was only after riding on the back of the dragon and circling around that Mori realized how vast these white clouds were. If you were to share them as an equal amount of cotton candy, they could probably give every child in the world cavities.

“Little Melia, Princess Dandelion, what do you think? I don’t think this is an ordinary cloud, given its size and color…”

"Could our luck really be... terrible? Could it be larvae... or eggs? It's really rare. How could something like this be mineralized by divine power?"

"I feel like I've been tricked by the devil! So much fine wine, and all I got in return was this huge danger? What happened to the promised equal exchange?"

The three of them were talking amongst themselves, leaving Mori completely confused. But from their fragmented conversation, she could sense that things were getting dangerous. Insects? This cloud doesn't seem so innocent.

Just as he was about to ask a question, a long string of text suddenly appeared in Mori's field of vision.

[Level 100 - Millennial Thunderstorm Cloud Insect that Has Devoured the Power of a False God]

Mori felt a chill run down her spine. An instinctive growl echoed deep within her soul, constantly warning her of "Danger!", causing her to tremble slightly. The name tag seemed embedded in this cloud of minerals—no, embedded in this seemingly cloud-like, max-level monster…

There is an ironclad rule for distinguishing the strength of an enemy.

A short name doesn't necessarily mean someone is weak, but a long name definitely means someone is strong.

"A millennium-old thunderstorm cloud adult insect..."

Involuntarily, she uttered the name she had seen. Her words were like a bolt from the blue, silencing all the chatter among the girls on the dragon's back.

"Mori, Mori, Mori... Please tell me this is a joke." Dandelion's face was terrible.

"A thousand-year-old adult insect?"

"And...it's a thunderstorm cloud?"

At this moment, their feet trembled as if an earthquake had struck, startling all four of them. After a few seconds, they realized that it was Erlong who had spoken.

"Four Seasons, are you kidding me? Is this really a thousand-year-old thunderstorm cloud adult insect?"

"I'm sure of it." Sen Shi was full of confidence in his cheat.

“Then let’s go and stop trying to take it.” Erlong’s voice was somewhat dejected. “Unless I go and ask my mother for help, or go back to China and bring back the seven national treasures that Uncle Sen left behind, we can’t win.”

"May the one who sent the coffin have a blessing... The Cloud Worms were already troublesome enough, but the strongest among them, the Thunderstorm Cloud Worm, is an adult! Just that, the four of us could barely handle... But this thing has been mineralized by divine power for a thousand years..." Melia also held her head and complained loudly, her voice somewhat weak.

Dandelion looked coldly at Yuan: "Yuan, I've always thought you were the kindest and most adorable girl among all the devils. But I'm heartbroken that you would exchange something like this for my wine..."

"I...I'm so ashamed. I'll definitely ask my dad what happened..."

"What is a thunderstorm cloud insect?" Suddenly, a natural sound that could be understood rang out; it was Fufu.

"Don't you know? Fu Fu, you're supposed to be a product of nature."

Because of a bad deal, Dandelion was in despair and could only answer Fufu's questions casually to relieve the boredom. Mori listened indifferently, and only then did he understand what kind of species this was.

According to her, clouds in this world are not a simple natural phenomenon, but are constructed by a biological system called "cloud worms".

The cloud worm has the shape of a cloud, is pure white, moves erratically, and is like mist. But in reality, it is an insect.