Chapter 455: 39 Drops of Liquid Mana

"Good." Su Nai agreed immediately, not even caring what Gao De intended to use the high-grade terrain creature flesh for.

This stuff isn't particularly rare or valuable in the Northern Reaches.

After all, before the appearance of Northwest Wheat No. 1, the Zhenbing Tribe was a non-typical nomadic group, and hunting had long been one of their key food sources.

"My King, I've advanced to Second-Ring Mage with the Greenwood Longevity Scripture." Su Nai thought for a moment, then voluntarily revealed this news to Gao De.

Though Gao De knew Su Nai, despite being a Fourth-Ring Mage, was reverse-cultivating the Greenwood Longevity Scripture, and with the sacred artifact—a sixth-rank Ice Jade Wutong—his cultivation speed must far exceed normal limits, hearing this news still startled him slightly.

"Since advancing to Second Ring, the Greenwood Longevity Scripture has granted me a new ability."

"What is it?" Since Gao De himself cultivated this same scripture, he was intensely curious.

"Nature's Speech. With this ability, I can communicate simply with plants."

Su Nai replied: "I tested it. Since plants have low intelligence, the communication is mostly limited to basic questions and answers."

It sounded less impressive than Nature's Art, but Gao De secretly mused that it seemed highly developable.

To most people, plants are essentially inanimate objects, and they rarely guard against them.

In Gao De's view, that was its greatest exploitable advantage.

"I understand," Gao De nodded in thanks, then added: "There's another matter I didn't raise during the meeting, but now I think it should be addressed as soon as possible."

"Speak," Su Nai said, assuming an attentive posture.

It wasn't just out of respect for Gao De—he was genuinely curious.

Over this period of time, Gao De's every novel idea had repeatedly proven crucial to Phoenix's development.

"Since we've begun absorbing other medium and small tribes and integrating resources, before expanding the city, we need to conduct a population census."

"Population census?" Su Nai's eyes flickered with confusion—another Gao De term.

"It means sending people to conduct a comprehensive, household-by-household, person-by-person survey and registration of the Zhenbing Tribe's current population: how many households, how many people per household, their genders, exact ages, and so on," Gao De explained.

"It's a massive undertaking. It's currently mid-ice-seal month—awkward phrasing, but from now on in the Northern Reaches, we'll simplify these months to one through twelve. It's currently mid-eleventh month; we should aim to complete this before year's end."

Gao De weighed the difficulty and scheduling of this project, then made his final decision.

He didn't play coy or tease Su Nai—he directly explained the purpose:

"Experience proves that detailed population data is essential before large-scale economic construction and expansion."

"Fully understanding the tribe's basic population situation will help us plan and allocate public resources efficiently during city expansion. And, barring unforeseen circumstances, the census itself will yield additional gains—you'll see when the time comes." Gao De smiled faintly, mysterious.

"Alright, I'll organize personnel to begin the population census immediately." Though many aspects remained unclear, Su Nai obeyed Gao De without question.

Leaving the treasure vault, Gao De unconsciously touched the six ice-crystal boxes he'd stored in his robe, feeling an inexplicable sense of calm.

His main purpose for returning had been achieved—even with extra gains: Wolf's Blood Ginseng.

He urgently needed to establish his reputation as a genius to gain higher status and standing among the Sea Sentinels, enabling him to do more and acquire more needed resources.

Wolf's Blood Ginseng was a major asset.

Though matters in Lages City were urgent and Gao De couldn't stay long—he was pressed for time—there was still one thing he absolutely had to do before leaving.

"You're heartless," the little figure turned away, refusing to look at Gao De.

Puffed up with anger.

Like a pufferfish inflated after being provoked—no one feared it; everyone wanted to poke it once or twice.

Flora's words were brief.

But as a five-star "Flora caretaker," Gao De knew she meant he'd dumped a mountain of tasks on her while he himself, like a lazy boss, had vanished via "Astral Transit" to enjoy himself.

"Flora, you've worked hard these past days," Gao De bowed to the little figure, sincerely thanking her.

"Hmph!" Flora said nothing, only remained sulky.

"So I've brought you a gift back from outside."

"Gift?" Flora finally turned her head, her bright eyes instantly lighting up—only now noticing the large bundle on Gao De's back.

"Yes, a gift." Gao De removed the bundle and unwrapped it before Flora's eyes, revealing one small cloth packet after another.

The little figure stared at the packets without speaking.

"These are Jin Quehua beech seeds. These are Dorn fir seeds." Gao De smiled faintly, unwrapping each small cloth packet one by one to show Flora their contents.

These were all large-tree seeds Gao De had specifically collected—nearly seventy different species.

Then Gao De pulled out several other, heavier, special cloth packets.

Inside these packets, besides seeds, were small pinches of soil.

"Black Iron Elm seeds. Mature Black Iron Elms are second-rank demonic trees, so this is a second-rank demonic tree seed." Gao De held up the seed—black as a mulberry—toward Flora.

It was the most precious of all the seeds he'd brought back.

Mature Black Iron Elm wood was as hard as iron, its trunk deep black, often used to craft armor or treasure chests.

Due to its strong functionality and versatility, Black Iron Elm was always valuable and in high demand.

But its growth conditions were extremely strict—it could only sprout and grow on a deep gray soil called Dark Iron Soil.

Even in its native land, Weilan County, only a tiny patch of Dark Iron Soil existed.

Legend said Dark Iron Soil formed from the decay of ancient knight armor and weapons buried underground, existing only in certain ancient battlefield ruins—hence extremely rare and impossible to artificially create.

These harsh growth conditions meant Black Iron Elm yields were extremely limited.

But the seeds themselves weren't valuable—without suitable soil, seeds were useless.

Gao De had found this Black Iron Elm seed in a demonic plant shop in the northern district of Dorn City.

What finally convinced him to buy it was that the seed still carried a small pinch of native Dark Iron Soil.

Truly just a pinch—less than a fingernail's worth, appearing as a gray film clinging to the seed's surface.

But that was enough. With Flora's Ten Thousand Soils Qi, she could generate countless things, even create a vast expanse of Dark Iron Soil.

"Geshan seeds, Jinli seeds, Glowpoplar seeds, Ghostvine seeds, Watermoss seeds." Gao De opened the remaining five small cloth packets, introducing each in turn.

Compared to ordinary seeds, the demonic tree seeds he brought back were limited—only six types total, and all except Black Iron Elm were first-rank demonic tree seeds.

"Flora, do you like these gifts?" After displaying all the gifts, Gao De looked at Flora.

"You have some conscience."

But not enough.

"Next time I use Astral Transit, before returning, shall I take you out for a little adventure?" Gao De glanced at Flora's wings, slightly unfurled again, then offered a new condition.

"What's fun?"

"Lots of fun."

"For example?"

"It won't be fun if I tell you—you have to experience it yourself."

"The mage speaks sense."

"So should Flora forgive me now?"

"Can four horses catch up?" Having spent so much time with Gao De, Flora had absorbed many "Gao De terms."

But since most Gao De terms were too complex to understand, Flora often reinterpreted them into "Flora terms."

"No," Gao De, now a fluent Flora-speaker, replied without hesitation.

"Fine, Flora forgives you, Mage."

"Flora is truly magnanimous—her belly can hold a ship."

"Huh?!" Flora startled, watching Gao De warily. "Can't hold it."

"I don't mean to literally put a ship in your belly—it's just a metaphor to praise how generous you are."

Flora tilted her head, thinking, absorbing the knowledge, then stared at Gao De: "Can hold the town hall."

"That's very generous indeed."

"Of course."

Silence fell. The little figure stared at Gao De for a long time, then suddenly flapped her tiny wings, flying up to him.

"Mage."

"What?"

"Extend your hand."

Gao De bent down, palm open, facing upward.

Flora placed a tiny blue flower—like an ice sculpture—into his palm, then looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Gift."

"This is Flora's gift to me?"

"Yes," the little figure stared at him. "Two flowers. One for the mage, one for Flora."

Children's affection is pure and simple.

If they like you, they'll share everything they love.

Half and half~

Gao De studied the tiny flower in his palm.

It was just an ordinary flower.

Ordinary because it wasn't a demonic plant and had no special effects.

But it also wasn't ordinary.

After all, it grew on the frigid snow plains, possessing astonishing vitality.

More importantly, it was Flora's gift to him.

And truly—it was an exceptionally beautiful little flower.

So.

"I really like it, thank you, Lady Flora," Gao De said seriously.

"Hmph~"

Lady Flora let out a happy snort with her nose and flew off in high spirits.

Even as she flew all the way to Tian Zhong, she remained delighted.

After seeing off Lady Flora, Gao De went to his cultivation chamber, sat cross-legged, and pulled out the Wolf Blood Ginseng he had just obtained.

His room lay at the heart of Phoenix's core spiritual ground, saturated with immense magical energy.

Even in Decheng, few mages could enjoy such a cultivation environment.

Though the Wolf Blood Ginseng's magical energy was pure and easy to absorb, so theoretically, consuming it anywhere would make no difference.

But for safety and to maximize its medicinal potency, Gao De decided to consume it within Phoenix, where the cultivation environment was superior.

The Wolf Blood Ginseng was no larger than a human finger bone, so though only its juice was needed, to avoid waste, Gao De chose to swallow the entire root whole—juice, flesh, and all.

After all, as a type of ginseng, it naturally possessed effects such as generating saliva, quenching thirst, calming the spirit, enhancing intellect, and greatly replenishing primordial qi.

A faint sweetness instantly spread through his mouth—clean and fresh, not the heavy sweetness of cane sugar, but a natural, slightly crisp sweetness.

And perhaps due to its rich juice, the texture was unusually crisp and tender, with not a trace of fibrous resistance during chewing.

Two bites down.

A powerful, dense surge of magical energy erupted within Gao De like boiling water.

He felt his entire body heat up, with air rushing from his nose and mouth.

A strange, intense warmth swirled around his dantian.

He did not hesitate, immediately activating the Green Wood Eternal Life Scripture, guiding the pure magical energy flooding his body toward his dantian for absorption.

The energy converged into a single point in his dantian, forming a vortex, transforming into liquid mana.

Drip!

The process flowed effortlessly, perfectly smooth—in an instant, a new drop of liquid mana condensed within Gao De.

Yet the magical energy filling his body showed no sign of diminishing.

The potency of the Wolf Blood Ginseng filled Gao De with overwhelming joy.

He calmed his mind and focused entirely on refining the pure magical energy.

The mana vortex never ceased spinning; a clear, crystalline glow gradually appeared on Gao De's face.

The dense magical energy from the Wolf Blood Ginseng continuously flowed into the vortex, helping him condense a second drop of liquid mana, then a third, then a fourth.

He did not know how much time passed.

Gao De absorbed most of the dense magical energy within the Wolf Blood Ginseng; a small portion dispersed naturally, until all was finally consumed.

Gao De did not open his eyes immediately, but quietly sensed his current state.

Before consuming the Wolf Blood Ginseng, he had possessed 26 drops of liquid mana.

After consuming it, he leapt directly to 39 drops—just one drop away from the 40 required for Foundation Establishment mid-stage.

Feeling the abundant mana within him, Gao De calmed his excitement before slowly opening his eyes.

Awesome!

This was what "pay-to-win" felt like.

A year of hard cultivation could not match one Wolf Blood Ginseng swallowed.

The Northern Lands stretched vast, far larger than the territory of the Jin Quehua Dynasty, sparsely populated and resources untouched.

One could imagine that across the snowfields lay many more magical plants like the Wolf Blood Ginseng—and even rarer treasures.

Once the Ice Crystal Tribe grew strong, all of them would be within his reach.

"Grow, growth is the only truth!" Gao De thought to himself.

(End of Chapter)