Chapter 115: Cultivating Mulberry Trees
Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Cultivating Mulberry Trees
That night, Zhu Ge got the news from Liu Jianjian.
"One hundred gold coins? The price of ten low-grade Spirit Level items?"
"And a Ba Yuan Fruit? They’re really putting it all on the line. Does that giant mantis hate me that much?"
Zhu Ge was a little surprised, then immediately asked, "By the way, what’s a Ba Yuan Fruit?"
"If you don’t know what a Ba Yuan Fruit is, how can you say they’re putting it all on the line?" Liu Jianjian gave him a slight eye-roll, then explained:
"It’s a Spirit-level top-grade Ba Yuan Fruit, which grows from the Ba Yuan Colorful Lotus in the Extremely Cold Green Pool. The Extremely Cold Green Pool is the territory of the Extraction Realm Water Ghost, the ’Blue Arrow Frog.’"
"They say that old frog didn’t participate in the war this time because it traded a Ba Yuan Fruit for its neutrality."
Liu Jianjian’s eyes were full of envy. "It’s said that if a creature eats a Ba Yuan Fruit raw, it will freeze their liver and kidneys, turning them directly to dust."
"But if you consume it with the Blue Arrow Frog’s venom and the shed shell of a Ba Yuan Snail, it can increase the explosive power of any ’qi’ for those below the Third Realm by about eighty percent."
Eighty percent?!
Zhu Ge’s heart leaped in shock when he heard this.
That was a huge boost!
It was almost equivalent to doubling one’s power.
For Zhu Ge, one normal strike of his Furious-Eyed Vajra Palm could shatter a large bluestone boulder four or five meters in diameter.
With this enhancement, a single palm strike could pulverize it completely!
And this boost wasn’t a one-time effect; it was permanent.
This meant that every move he made would be eighty percent more powerful.
’Good stuff...’ Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes.
Whether it was the one hundred gold coins or the Ba Yuan Fruit, both were treasures!
The Ba Yuan Fruit was good, but the one hundred gold coins weren’t bad either.
After all, one hundred gold coins could be exchanged for ten thousand silver coins, or one million copper coins.
Forget other people; even Zhu Ge, who possessed the Raincoat Fisherman’s treasure, was tempted.
The Raincoat Fisherman wasn’t actually poor, but he had converted his wealth into his fishing hook, Flying Boat, and fish creel, as well as those Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
So, the Raincoat Fisherman didn’t leave much behind.
As for the things the Raincoat Fisherman did leave behind, most of the Spirit Level items were things Zhu Ge didn’t know how to use.
This meant the Raincoat Fisherman’s legacy could only strengthen Zhu Ge in terms of Martial Arts; the Spiritual Objects were unusable for him.
"Are there many Ba Yuan Fruits?"
Zhu Ge was starting to scheme for that Ba Yuan Fruit.
"Not many." Liu Jianjian shook her head. "The Extremely Cold Green Pool isn’t large. There are only a dozen or so Ba Yuan Colorful Lotuses inside, and every year, many Demon Beasts go there to get the fruits."
"This time, if not for the fact that the old frog had devoured many Wandering Ghosts and was on the verge of breaking through to the Third Realm, it probably wouldn’t have been willing to part with a Ba Yuan Fruit just to stay out of the war."
"I see... Where is the Extremely Cold Green Pool?" Zhu Ge asked again.
"It’s in Jianshui City’s... wait, Master, what are you planning to do?!" Liu Jianjian was suddenly alarmed, staring at Zhu Ge in disbelief.
Zhu Ge slowly nodded.
A hint of excitement immediately appeared on Liu Jianjian’s face. "It’s between Jianshui City and our valley, a few dozen miles to the east!"
"Excellent." Zhu Ge nodded. "Get ready. In a few days, we’re going to collect our bounty!"
"Why not tomorrow?" Liu Jianjian asked, a little excited.
After all this time and training, Liu Jianjian was no longer the timid hedgehog she once was, only daring to fire potshots from a distance.
She had grown to love the feeling of going out to hunt, then turning her prey into cured meat to be hung up and saved for later.
A hedgehog’s nature isn’t just to be timid, but also to gather.
Zhu Ge had awakened Liu Jianjian’s second nature.
"No rush. We only just escaped. Let’s wait for the commotion outside to die down first."
Zhu Ge shook his head.
The bounty had just been issued. Many people outside had already seen him and were familiar with his aura.
If he went out now, he could probably escape again if he had to, but it was still too risky.
"Alright." Liu Jianjian understood.
"You be careful when you go out recently, too," Zhu Ge warned. "Plenty of people must have seen you that time as well."
"Mhm!" Liu Jianjian nodded. "I know, Master."
Zhu Ge wasn’t too worried about Liu Jianjian, though.
Even though her second nature had been awakened, that didn’t mean her first one was gone.
Liu Jianjian was still timid and afraid of trouble. She only dared to sneak around and eavesdrop on gossip, or listen to the conversations of ordinary animals.
She wouldn’t put herself in harm’s way.
"By the way, how is Zhu Sisi doing?" Zhu Ge asked.
At the mention of Zhu Sisi, Liu Jianjian looked troubled. "I’ve already brought back a lot of mulberry trees, but she won’t eat them!"
Zhu Sisi was a Spirit Realm Wild Silkworm, so it was normal for her dietary requirements to become increasingly demanding.
However, Zhu Ge had only brought back three mulberry trees before!
These three mulberry trees weren’t exactly Spiritual Objects; you could only say they possessed a tiny bit of Spiritual Qi.
If Zhu Sisi were willing, she could probably finish off these three trees in just a few days.
However, besides Zhu Sisi, there were originally several dozen other wild silkworms on the trees.
Fortunately, wild mulberry trees were not uncommon outside, so all they had to do was transplant some back and move the ordinary wild silkworms over.
The problem was that this only reduced the consumption of the Spiritual Mulberry Leaves; it didn’t increase the supply.
’These three mulberry trees are growing too slowly.’
Zhu Ge stepped out of the house and looked at the three mulberry trees outside.
These three mulberry trees possessed a certain degree of spirituality. They hadn’t been able to stretch out in the underground cave, so they were only a little over 1.6 meters tall.
Now that the three trees had been transplanted outside, fully exposed to the sun and rain, they had begun to grow faster and faster.
Perhaps in just a year, these three mulberry trees could become towering giants.
But while this growth rate was fast for an ordinary mulberry tree, it was far too slow for them to be Zhu Sisi’s main food source.
’Perhaps I should get some Spirit Soil and a Spiritual Spring...’
Zhu Ge frowned in thought.
Plant cultivation was a very important part of the "old man’s" inheritance, which he had received from the original master of the Bone Monster Avatar.
There were countless types of Spiritual Objects in the world, many of which were rare and could not be mass-produced.
But the living environments of many other Spiritual Objects could be perfectly replicated.
Zhu Ge originally didn’t know this, but he had obtained the old man’s inheritance.
In the ancient tribal system, the word "Great Witch" meant "god" or "totem" in the tribal language.
And "old man" meant "father," "primordial," or "source."
Compared to the more combat-oriented inheritance of the Great Witch, the old man’s inheritance focused on cultivation, breeding, and raising Gu Insects.
Raising those Gu Insects required not only the power from special Cultivation Techniques, but also the corresponding materials.
These materials could be flesh and fur, or plants and metals.
Different tribes possessed different inheritances from their old men and Great Witches.
Zhu Ge’s own inheritance from the old man recorded many special plants that could be mass-produced, which could then be used as materials for cultivating certain types of Gu Insects.
At the same time, it also recorded the Spiritual Spring and Spirit Soil needed to cultivate those plants.
That was what could rapidly transform a plant into a Spiritual Object!
"Jianjian, have you ever heard of a Spiritual Spring or Spirit Soil?"