Chapter 363: 39 Drops of Liquid Magic Power

"Good," Su Su Su Nai Fa agreed, not even caring what Gao De wanted the high-rank earth-vein creature flesh and blood for.

This thing is indeed not so rare and valuable in the Northern Realm.

After all, before the appearance of Northwest Barley No. 1, the Zhenbing tribe was a non-typical nomadic tribe, and hunting has always been one of the important ways of food sources.

"My King, my 'Qingmu Changsheng Jing' has been promoted to a second-circle magic user," Su Su Su Nai Fa thought for a moment and took the initiative to reveal a piece of news to Gao De.

Although he knew that Su Su Su Nai Fa practiced the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing" in reverse with the fourth-rank magic user level, and the holy object was the Ice Jade Wutong, which was as high as the sixth rank, the cultivation speed would inevitably far exceed common sense, but hearing this news, Gao De was still slightly surprised.

"After being promoted to the second circle, 'Qingmu Changsheng Jing' gave me a new ability."

"What is it?" After all

"Language of Nature; after possessing this ability, one can conduct simple communication and exchange with plants."

Su Nai replied: "I tried it, but because the intelligence of plants themselves is not high, this communication is mostly limited to the most basic questions and answers."

It sounds less impressive than the Art of Nature, but it seems to be an ability with a lot of room for development, Gao De pondered inwardly.

To most people, plants are naturally seen as inanimate objects, and they basically have no guard against them.

In Gao De's view, this is the greatest point that can be exploited.

"I understand," Gao De nodded in thanks, then thought for a moment and added: "There is one more thing. I didn't bring it up at the meeting just now, but thinking about it now, it should be done as soon as possible."

"Please speak," Su Nai said, assuming a posture of listening intently.

It was not just out of respect for Gao De, but also out of genuine curiosity.

Having spent this time together, the novel ideas Gao De proposed each time had been verified several times over, and they often played an extremely important role in the development of Phoenix.

"Since we have already begun to enter the stage of annexing other small and medium-sized tribes and integrating resources, it is actually necessary to conduct a census before expanding the city."

"Census?" A trace of confusion appeared in Su Nai's eyes; another Gao De-style term.

"It means sending people to conduct a comprehensive survey and registration of the current population of the Enduring Zhenbing tribe, household by household and person by person, including how many households there are in total, how many people in each household, their gender, specific age, etc.," Gao De explained.

"This is a major project. It is now the middle of the Ice-Sealed Month—this calendar is a bit of a mouthful, in the future in the northern realm, these months can just be simplified to January through December. It is now mid-November; just strive to complete this work before the end of this year."

Gao De thought for a moment, considered the difficulty and time schedule of this project, and made the final decision.

He did not act mysterious, nor did he keep Su Nai in suspense, but directly explained the significance of this move:

"Experience proves that before carrying out large-scale economic construction and expansion, detailed population data is necessary."

"Only by fully grasping the basic situation of the tribe's population can we facilitate the layout and investment of public resources in all aspects when we expand the city later. And if nothing goes wrong, there will be some extra gains during the census process; you will know when the time comes," Gao De revealed a mysterious smile.

"Good, I will organize manpower to start working on the census as soon as possible." Although there were still many things she could not understand, Su Nai unconditionally followed Gao De's orders.

Leaving the treasure vault, Gao De unconsciously touched the six ice crystal jade boxes he had tucked into his bosom, feeling a sense of peace for no reason.

The main purpose of this trip back had been achieved, and there was even an extra gain: Wolf Blood Ginseng.

He was now in urgent need of establishing his name as a genius, so as to obtain a higher status and identity within the Sentinel, which would make it easier for him to do more things and exchange for more of the resources he needed.

The Wolf Blood Ginseng was a great help.

Although the matter in Lagos City was more urgent and Gao De could not stay too long this time—it was a bit of a rush—there was one thing that had to be done no matter how rushed he was.

"Mage, you have no conscience." The little person turned her head away, refusing to look Gao De in the eye.

Pouting.

Just like a little pufferfish that had puffed up after being provoked; it wouldn't make people afraid, it would only make people want to poke it a couple of times.

Fu Luo La's words were very brief.

But as a five-star "Fu Luo La keeper," Gao De knew that the lack of conscience the little person referred to was that he had handed Fu Luo La a pile of tasks, while he himself had acted like a hands-off manager, going off to be carefree through "Astral Teleportation."

"You have worked hard during this time, Master Fu Luo La," Gao De cupped his hands to the little person and thanked her earnestly.

"Hmph!" Fu Luo La did not speak, only remaining dissatisfied.

"Therefore, I specially brought a gift back from the outside for Master Fu Luo La."

"A gift?" Fu Luo La finally turned her head, her lively big eyes instantly lighting up; only then did she notice that Gao De was still carrying a large parcel.

"That's right, a gift." Gao De took off the parcel and untied it in front of Fu Luo La; inside were one small cloth bag after another.

The little person stared at those cloth bags without speaking.

"This is Jin Quehua beech tree seed, this is Dorn fir tree seed..." Gao De smiled slightly, untying the small cloth bags one by one to show Fu Luo La what was inside.

These were all tree seeds of large trees of different species that Gao De had specially collected, totaling nearly seventy kinds.

Subsequently, Gao De took out several more special and heavier small cloth bags.

Inside these few cloth bags, besides the tree seeds, there was also a small pinch of soil.

"Black Iron Elm seed; an adult Black Iron Elm is a second-rank magic tree, so this is a second-rank magic tree seed," Gao De held up the black, mulberry-like tree seed in his hand for Fu Luo La to see.

This was the most precious one among the many tree seeds he had brought back this time.

The wood of an adult Black Iron Elm is as hard as iron, and the trunk is deep black, often used to make defensive gear or treasure chests.

Because of its powerful functionality and applicability, the Black Iron Elm has always been a magic tree of great value that is in short supply.

However, the growth conditions for the Black Iron Elm are extremely harsh; it can only sprout and grow in a type of deep gray soil called Dark Iron Soil.

And even in the Black Iron Elm's place of origin, Wilando County, there is only a very small patch of Dark Iron land.

It is said that Dark Iron Soil is formed by the corruption of knight armor and weapons that fell in ancient wars, existing only in certain ancient battlefield ruins, hence it is extremely rare and cannot be artificially created.

These harsh growth conditions result in the extremely limited production of Black Iron Elm.

However, the Black Iron Elm seed itself is not very valuable; after all, if there is no suitable land for planting, having the seed is empty.

This Black Iron Elm seed was discovered by Gao De in a magic plant shop in the northern district of Dorn City.

The reason that finally made him decide to take it was that there was a small pinch of native Dark Iron Soil on the seed.

It really was a small pinch; put together, it wasn't even the size of a fingernail, looking just like a layer of dust attached to the surface of the seed.

But this was enough; relying on Fu Luo La's Ten Thousand Earth Qi ability, it was sufficient to give birth to all things and create a large patch of Dark Iron land.

"Song Fir seed, Golden Chestnut seed, Fluorescent Poplar seed, Ghost Vine seed, Water Moss seed." Gao De opened the remaining five small cloth bags and introduced them one by one.

Compared to ordinary tree seeds, the magic tree seeds Gao De brought back were relatively limited, totaling only six kinds, and except for the Black Iron Elm, they were all first-rank magic tree seeds.

"Does Master Fu Luo La like these gifts?" After showing the gifts he brought back, Gao De looked at Fu Luo La.

"You have a little conscience."

But not enough.

"Next time I do an Astral Teleportation, when I'm about to come back, shall I take Master Fu Luo La to play first?" Gao De glanced at Fu Luo La's wings, which had already slightly opened again, thought for a moment, and offered a new condition.

"What's fun?"

"There are many fun things."

"For example?"

"It wouldn't be interesting if I told you; I have to save it for Master Fu Luo La to play herself."

"The Mage makes sense."

"Then should Master Fu Luo La forgive me?"

"Can four horses catch up?" Having been with Gao De for a long time, under his influence, Fu Luo La had also mastered many "Gao De-style terms."

However, because these Gao De-style terms were mostly too complex and she didn't understand them, Fu Luo La would often adapt them into "Fu Luo La-style terms" based on her own understanding.

"They can't catch up." Gao De was already a level-ten expert in Fu Luo La-speak, communicating completely without barriers.

"Good, Master Fu Luo La forgives you, Mage."

"Master Fu Luo La is truly magnanimous, able to hold a boat in her belly."

"Ah?!" Fu Luo La was startled, looked at Gao De vigilantly, and said earnestly: "I can't hold it."

"It's not that I really want to put a boat in Master Fu Luo La's belly; it's just a figure of speech used to praise Master Fu Luo La for being very generous."

Fu Luo La tilted her head and pondered for a moment, seemingly absorbing knowledge, and then stared at Gao De and said: "I can hold the City Hall."

"That is very generous."

"Of course."

For a moment there was no talk; the little person stared at Gao De for a long time, then suddenly flapped her little wings and flew in front of Gao De.

"Mage."

"What is it?"

"Reach out your hand."

Gao De bent down and spread his palm, facing upward.

And so Fu Luo La placed a blue little flower that looked like an ice sculpture into the palm of Gao De's hand, then raised her head, looking at him with wide eyes.

"A gift."

"Is this a gift from Master Fu Luo La to me?"

"That's right," the little person stared at him and said: "Two flowers, one for the Mage, one for Master Fu Luo La."

A child's affection is just like this, pure and simple.

If she likes you, she is willing to share everything she likes with you.

Half and half~

Gao De looked earnestly at the little flower in his palm.

This was just a very ordinary little flower.

It was ordinary in that it was not a magic plant and did not possess any special effects.

But it also didn't seem ordinary.

After all, it grew on the extremely cold snowfield and had astonishing vitality.

More importantly, it was a gift from Fu Luo La to him.

Also, this was truly an extremely beautiful little flower.

Therefore.

"I like it very much, thank you Master Fu Luo La," Gao De said earnestly.

"Hmph hmph~"

Master Fu Luo La made a humming sound with her nose and flew away in high spirits.

All the way to the field, she was still very happy.

After sending Fu Luo La off, Gao De came to his cultivation room, sat cross-legged, and took out the Wolf Blood Ginseng he had just obtained.

His room was located in the core spiritual land of Phoenix, and the magic power was incomparably abundant.

Even in Dorn City, the number of mages who could enjoy such a cultivation environment was absolutely countable on one's fingers.

Although the magic power contained in the Wolf Blood Ginseng was pure and easy to absorb, so theoretically it made no difference where one swallowed and refined it.

But for the sake of safety and to maximize the medicinal power of the Wolf Blood Ginseng, Gao De still decided to swallow it in Phoenix, where the cultivation environment was the most superior.

The Wolf Blood Ginseng was at most the size of a human finger bone, so although one only needed to take its juice, to avoid waste, Gao De still chose to stuff the whole Wolf Blood Ginseng into his mouth, swallowing it down, juice and flesh together.

After all, as a type of ginseng, it itself also had the effects of producing saliva and quenching thirst, calming the mind and improving intelligence, and greatly nourishing vital energy.

A faint sweetness instantly permeated his mouth; this sweetness was relatively fresh, not the intense sweetness of cane sugar, but a natural, slightly fresh sweetness.

And perhaps because it was rich in juice, the texture was unusually crisp and tender; during the entire chewing process, there was not even a hint of fibrous texture.

Swallowed in two bites.

A powerful and dense surge of magic power, like a pot of boiling water, instantly erupted within Gao De's body.

Gao De only felt his whole body heating up, and even air currents were surging out of his mouth and nose.

There was also an indescribable hot current lingering in his lower abdomen.

He dared not hesitate and hurriedly operated the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing," guiding the pure magic power that was filling every part of his body at this moment to his lower abdomen to be absorbed by himself.

These magic powers gathered at a point in his lower abdomen, forming a vortex, turning toward liquid mana.

Drip!

The whole process was natural and smooth, incomparably fluid; in an instant, a drop of new liquid mana had already condensed within Gao De's body.

But the magic power filling his body did not seem to have diminished in the slightest because of this.

The strength of the Wolf Blood Ginseng's medicinal power made Gao De overjoyed.

He calmed his mind and focused on refining this pure magic power.

That mana vortex never stopped spinning for a moment, and a crystalline clear light gradually appeared on Gao De's face.

The dense magic power contained in the Wolf Blood Ginseng continuously poured into the mana vortex, beginning to help him condense a second drop of liquid mana, a third drop, a fourth drop...

He did not know how much time had passed.

The dense magic power contained in the Wolf Blood Ginseng had been mostly absorbed by Gao De, with a small portion dissipating on its own, and finally, it was all completely consumed.

Gao De did not open his eyes immediately, but instead calmed his mind to feel his current state.

Before swallowing the Wolf Blood Ginseng, he had a total of 26 drops of liquid mana.

And after swallowing the Wolf Blood Ginseng, he ascended in one step, soaring to 39 drops of liquid mana, only one step away from the 40 drops of liquid mana required for the mid-first circle.

Gao De felt the abundant amount of mana in his body, and after calming his excited mood slightly, he slowly opened his eyes.

Refreshing!

This is the feeling of "paying to win."

A year of bitter cultivation is no match for a single Wolf Blood Ginseng entering the belly.

The northern realm is vast, much larger than the territory of the Jin Quehua Dynasty, and it is sparsely populated, with resources undeveloped.

One can imagine that there must still be many magic plants similar to "Wolf Blood Ginseng" or even more precious things on the snowfield.

As long as the Enduring Zhenbing tribe develops and grows, these will all be things within his reach.

"Development, development is the hard truth!" Gao De said to himself inwardly.

(End of chapter)