Chapter 433

"This shouldn't stump Lady Fuluola, right?" Gao De wore a gentle smile on his face as he looked at the little person.

Fuluola immediately felt the challenge, her competitive spirit was ignited, and she immediately flew forward to touch one of the blood crystal wheat grains.

"Dormancy awakening, rusted ironware, barren growth and fertile cessation." The next moment, Fuluola let go and spat out three terms from her mouth.

This was the secret of blood crystal wheat cultivation that had troubled the world for a long time and was tightly held in the hands of the Holy Empire.

After detailed questioning, Gao De finally learned all the details.

To be honest, whether it was the name blood crystal wheat, or its appearance and effect, it was very misleading, making people think of blood at the first instance, such as watering with blood, etc.

Even Gao De had thought so.

On the side of the Holy Empire, there had also been some rumors, more or less, saying that blood crystal wheat needed to be planted in crimson soil flowing with blood.

This made countless people who wanted to steal the seeds frantically try to water the blood crystal wheat with all kinds of blood.

Or they searched for all kinds of red land similar to volcanic rock to plant the blood crystal wheat.

The ending was naturally that they all failed.

But the fact was that the cultivation method of blood crystal wheat had nothing to do with blood, and it didn't even touch upon the so-called crimson soil.

The reason it was blood-red all over was that after it matured, it could synthesize a substance similar to "hemoglobin," which caused its own color to change.

And what its planting and growth really needed was actually a high concentration of "iron" elements.

Blood crystal wheat needs to be in soil rich in iron elements to grow and mature normally.

Achieving soil rich in iron elements is not difficult either.

One only needs to bury rusted ironware, iron filings, or even iron ore into the soil.

The iron elements released during the corrosion of the ironware would naturally be absorbed by the blood crystal wheat seeds.

The cultivation cost of blood crystal wheat is far lower than imagined.

Gao De hadn't thought in this direction before Fuluola said it, but after Fuluola finished speaking, Gao De couldn't help but slap his forehead.

Nourishing blood, nourishing blood—in many cases, isn't it just iron supplementation!

It was too reasonable.

Gao De even suspected that whether it was the name blood crystal wheat or the secret of blood crystal wheat cultivation spread within the Holy Empire, it was highly likely that the Holy Empire deliberately released smoke bombs just to confuse those seed thieves.

As for dormancy awakening, it refers to the fact that blood crystal wheat itself has the characteristic of dormancy.

This characteristic allows it to be preserved for a longer time.

But it also leads to the fact that before planting, blood crystal wheat must be soaked in acidic liquid for at least three hours or more to lift this dormant state.

If there is no such step, directly sowing blood crystal wheat seeds would make it impossible for the seeds to sprout at all.

The final "barren growth and fertile cessation" was even more "abstract."

Roughly summarized, it means that blood crystal wheat can only grow on barren land; fertile land cannot grow blood crystal wheat.

Of course, this is just the appearance; the fundamental reason is that fertile land has grown various plants.

During their growth process, they leave corresponding traces in the land, and even if you clear all these plants, these traces need a long time to disappear completely.

Blood crystal wheat is like a picky young master; it simply won't accept these lands that have left traces of other plants.

And on barren land, often not a blade of grass grows; on the contrary, there are no traces of other plants having grown there. As long as the condition of iron elements can be met, plus some basic nutrients, it can grow vigorously.

Such a personality led to the appearance of this peculiar phenomenon of barren growth and fertile cessation.

If it weren't for Fuluola's extremely domineering talent, who would have thought that blood crystal wheat actually had to be planted on wasteland?

Those seed thieves must have all been eager to provide the best conditions for the blood crystal wheat, and such actions were exactly the opposite of the correct method for planting blood crystal wheat.

Under such triple protection and triple unexpectedness, it is no wonder that the Holy Empire did not prohibit the trade and circulation of blood crystal wheat, yet so many years have passed, and there has never been a second power that successfully grew blood crystal wheat.

"None of it is hard to achieve." After hearing what Fuluola said, Gao De's eyes gradually brightened.

"Dormancy awakening only needs acidic liquid; this is too simple. Whether it is animal gastric juice or whey separated from fermented dairy products, they are all acidic liquids with strong and fast effects."

The people of the northern realm are nomadic peoples by nature, with a very strong hunting culture and pastoral culture.

"And Phoenix is adjacent to a volcano; if it really doesn't work, there is sulfide acidic water underground in the volcanic activity area."

The first point is not difficult to solve.

The second point is the same.

There are iron mines around Phoenix, and in a relatively primitive state of life, there is even more rusted ironware within each tribe.

The third point...

The tundra permafrost of the northern realm is known for being barren; except for a small amount of moss and lichen, there is basically no green to be seen.

Finding barren land in the northern realm is equivalent to finding water in the ocean.

"Immediately start the crossbreeding and cultivation of blood crystal wheat and cold-resistant wheat, striving to cultivate the Northwest Barley No. 2 variety as soon as possible," Gao De confirmed in his heart that there were no problems, and immediately cupped his hands solemnly to Fuluola: "It will all depend on Lady Fuluola."

"Lady Fuluola has worked hard. If the Northwest Barley No. 2 variety is cultivated, I think the entire population of Phoenix will respect Lady Fuluola even more." Su Su Su Nai Fa, who had been "aloof" throughout, suddenly interjected at this moment.

With the same solemn face, and the same cupped hands.

"!" Fuluola, who had been somewhat indifferent, had her expression turn serious.

This feeling of everyone looking forward to every word she said, carrying a heavy burden...

"It will all depend on Lady Fuluola!" Her tone was raised by a notch involuntarily, and the joy within it could not be hidden at all.

Gao De was also extremely confident in her ability.

Don't look at her as clear and ignorant; in the fields she excels in, her reliability is unmatched.

"Lady Fuluola is responsible for cultivating the Northwest Barley No. 2 variety; you, on the other hand, need to start preparing to build a new farm specifically for planting the Northwest Barley No. 2 variety." Gao De turned his head and said to Su Su Su Nai Fa again.

In highly developed agriculture, zoning is a very basic but necessary thing.

Not to mention that blood crystal wheat also has the "barren growth and fertile cessation" buff.

"Let's call the new farm the Fuluola Abundance Farm," Gao De looked at the little person with a face full of excitement and said with a smile.

"Fuluola Abundance Farm?" Hearing her own name, Fuluola immediately pricked up her long, pointed ears alertly.

"It is to show Lady Fuluola's major contribution to the agriculture of the northern realm."

"Major contribution~~"

Aisha, who had been silent beside them, also spoke up: "The contribution Lady Fuluola has made to the northern realm is unmatched; it truly makes me admire her."

This was half sincere, half "for fun."

"Unmatched~~" Fuluola caught the key point again.

The Jin Hui Farm used for planting Northwest Barley No. 1 had already reached a land area of 600,000 mu when it was reclaimed a month and a half ago.

During the time Gao De left the northern realm, Su Su Su Nai Fa stopped the expansion of the Jin Hui Farm and instead devoted herself to planting all the reclaimed land with Northwest Barley No. 1.

Northwest Barley No. 1 was originally harvested once every four months, and under Fuluola's efforts, the yield per mu had stabilized at 180 kilograms and was striving toward 200 kilograms per mu.

As long as all 600,000 mu of land were planted with Northwest Barley No. 1, the daily average yield could reach 900,000 kilograms.

This output was already enough to supply 1.5 million people.

And for the Fuluola Abundance Farm, the first-stage goal Gao De set was temporarily only 100,000 mu.

For Phoenix, which already had the construction experience of the Jin Hui Farm, this was not a difficult task, so after it was determined, they quickly skipped this topic.

"My King, I have followed what you said at the beginning and sold Northwest Barley No. 1 in large quantities to the Frost Wolf Clan." Su Su Su Nai Fa reported another situation.

"Did they notice anything wrong?" Gao De asked.

Although the northern realm is backward, it doesn't mean the people of the northern realm have low intelligence; he wouldn't dare to underestimate these people.

"No, their only reaction was that they felt the price was too expensive, and they kept negotiating with us, asking to lower the price in the case of their large-scale procurement." Su Su Su Nai Fa pursed her lips slightly.

Although their idea was to restrain the Frost Wolf Clan through Northwest Barley No. 1, hoping that the value of Northwest Barley No. 1 in the Frost Wolf Clan's food ratio would be as high as possible.

But in order not to arouse the suspicion and vigilance of the Frost Wolf Clan, Su Su Su Nai Fa set the sales conditions for Northwest Barley No. 1 extremely high.

First, the quantity was limited; it was impossible to sell as much as the other party wanted. Another point was that the price was not low, and they only accepted "ice marrow" for procurement.

This was naturally very uncomfortable for the Frost Wolf Clan, but it also made them never suspect the true purpose of Phoenix's grain sales, putting all their attention on bargaining.

People are just like that; things that are too cost-effective will make them suspicious, while for expensive things, they only care about the price.

Gao De couldn't help but smile upon hearing this, "Keep haggling with them for a while longer, and then appropriately lower the price for them."

According to the current situation, it wouldn't take many years before they could take down the Frost Wolf Clan without a fight through the control of food.

"It's just that although the Winter Hammer is also buying Northwest Barley No. 1 from us, their dependence on Northwest Barley No. 1 will certainly not be as high as that of the Frost Wolf Clan. It is unlikely to take down the Winter Hammer just by relying on this."

"There's no rush for that. Let's take down the Frost Wolf Clan first and break the current three-legged standoff," Gao De waved his hand and said casually.

In fact, with Phoenix's current development speed, in just another ten years, the three-legged standoff would naturally collapse and turn into one superpower and several strong ones.

Of course, if they could subdue the Frost Wolf Clan and the Winter Hammer before that, it would certainly allow Phoenix's development speed to reach a higher level, but if there was really no way, there was no need to force it.

Still the same saying:

Development is the absolute truth.

Having only left for a month and a half, for the ever-changing Phoenix, there were already many problems and directions that needed Gao De's advice and decision.

Especially in the three areas of administrative system, education, and Phoenix's construction.

Because they were all new things introduced by Gao De based on his experience and knowledge from his past life, let alone for Su Su Su Nai Fa, even Aisha, who had a certain amount of "governing" experience, was confused in many links and needed Gao De to clear up her doubts.

Therefore, the meeting of the three lasted from dusk until the moonlight soaked through the window lattices.

Walking out of the City Hall, Gao De turned his steps and headed to the place where the tribe's hunters raised telluric creatures.

The last time he left the northern realm, he ordered the restart of the mission to capture telluric creatures.

Now that a month and a half had passed, it was time for the harvest.

Of course, it was still that same problem: the first-rank telluric creatures commonly found around Phoenix had already been harvested once, and there weren't many fish that slipped through the net.

Added to that, Gao De needed a full seven creatures of the same species to obtain a complete source point.

So, after a round of "blood-handed beast slaughter," Gao De's first-circle source points only rose from 3 to 6.

This time he didn't save them anymore.

With rank advancement imminent and the awakening of a specialty at hand, why keep the source points?

Although it was uncertain whether the spells after adding points would affect the strength of the awakened specialty.

But it is better to kill by mistake than to miss out; before advancing in rank, one must do one's best to achieve the best results.

6 points of first-circle source, three newly mastered rare spells—they were definitely the highest priority; let's add points to all of them first.

【Long-Range Shot (Rare)+】 (Transmutation, First Circle):

This spell allows you to increase the range of your ranged attacks by 20 feet.

Extra: Your ranged attacks can ignore energy loss caused within 20 feet.

【Know Yourself and Know Your Enemy (Rare)+】 (Divination, First Circle):

You recall a creature you encountered within a day... you will be able to obtain some knowledge about that creature.

Extra: You will obtain more knowledge related to that creature, even including information about the creature's tribe.

【Panacea (Rare)+】 (Transmutation, First Circle):

You can choose an interesting effect related to health, happiness, and joy for a bottle of water, creating it into a secret medicine, and the secret medicine has no side effects.

Extra: The interesting effects you can choose for the Panacea you create will have two additional options:

【Hyper-memory】: Within one hour, you gain the ability of hyper-memory, your memory is greatly increased, and you can instantly remember the text, maps, or biological characteristics you see.

But note that the hyper-memory state consumes a great deal of physical strength; after taking the hyper-memory secret medicine, you will fall into a state of mental exhaustion, and taking hyper-memory secret medicine continuously may even cause harm to the body.

【Sensory Tuning】: Within half an hour after drinking, you can actively allocate and adjust the sharpness of your five senses, such as improving your vision, but as a price, other senses such as hearing and smell will be dulled; you can also actively dull your sensory sharpness without paying a price.

In addition, when you create a Panacea, you can additionally choose the "Multi-effect Harmony" and "Lingering Aftertaste" characteristics.

Multi-effect Harmony: Consumes multiple times the mana to make the secret medicine possess multiple effects.

Lingering Aftertaste: Consumes extra mana to allow the main effects of the secret medicine to have an extended duration.

(End of chapter)