Chapter 62: You Don't Want It, I'll Take It All

Mo Lie turned his head to look at Lin Manzhi, his gaze landing on her solemn, speckled little face.

In an instant, he squinted slightly, realizing that the growth site of Concentrated Spirit Dew was nearby, and it seemed someone might have beaten him to it.

Mo Lie: "She didn't go far; shall we chase?"

Lin Manzhi furrowed her brows then relaxed, her expression no longer worried, "Alright, let's follow the footprints."

Mo Lie nodded, lowering his head to scan the ground.

He took a step forward, then stopped, turned sideways, lifted his hand to pull Lin Manzhi's hand toward himself, and said, "Follow me."

Lin Manzhi jogged two steps, staying by his side.

The most chaotic footprints were near the fountain, as if someone had circled the fountain a few times, after which the footprints spreading behind the fountain grew increasingly faint.

She tried hard to think.

In the city ruins overrun with white lantern mushrooms, behind the fountain at the temple, on the white jade altar, a palm-sized, almost transparent plant appeared, its five leaves spreading; unless the leaf veins resembled white lines like flowing water, it would have been hard for Fang Yue Dan to notice.

Lin Manzhi recalled the original book's description of discovering Concentrated Spirit Dew, her eyes brightening, and with a thump thump thump she pulled Mo Lie toward the half‑collapsed temple not far behind the fountain.

She fixed her gaze on the one‑meter‑tall altar ahead; under the soft white glow of the mushrooms, she only saw yellow sand spread on the platform.

Sure enough, Lin Ling had gotten there first!

Mo Lie suddenly scooped up Lin Manzhi, leapt forward a few times, and gently landed on the altar.

Lin Manzhi crouched, lowering her head to look at the sand.

Seeing a large pit dug into the white‑jade sand, the thousand‑year‑old Concentrated Spirit Dew plant described in the original book was gone, leaving only a few pale‑green, tadpole‑sized Concentrated Spirit Dew sprouts.

Lin Manzhi gasped softly, "Ah, the big one was dug up; only a few small seedlings remain…"

Mo Lie swept the messy altar, his expression solemn, "Ancient texts claim that Concentrated Spirit Dew, the dragon god's favorite plant, is planted on either side of the statue; after a thousand years it becomes almost transparent."

He lifted his eyes toward the empty space behind the ten‑meter‑long altar; the collapsed Cangqiong's height was indeterminate, yet the void where the statue once stood still hinted at its grandeur.

He silently curled the corner of his mouth, a fierce glint surfacing in his ice‑blue, sea‑like eyes.

Concentrated Spirit Dew.

A medicinal plant that exists only in legendary ancient texts.

Since the Great Witch died a thousand years ago, no medicinal plants for treating the Spirit Core have been found on the continent.

Mo Lie remembered his own crippled Spirit Core, his inability to use abilities, and being discarded by his clan, which sparked a feverish urge to seize.

He bent down, reaching to pull the crouching Lin Manzhi, "It's fine; we know who dug up the Concentrated Spirit Dew, so we just need to find her."

Lin Manzhi blinked, staying crouched in place; although Lin Ling had taken the two‑thousand‑year‑old Concentrated Spirit Dew plant, she had no interest in the eight seedlings on the ground.

Concentrated Spirit Dew sprouts after a hundred years, breaks ground after a hundred, and grows its first leaf after another hundred… this one‑leaf plant must be at least three hundred years old!

Another seven hundred years and it will be mature enough to harvest!!

Seven hundred years, to her, is just cheating with spatial land.

"Wait, let me pull up these seedlings first; you look for any other small Concentrated Spirit Dew nearby," Lin Manzhi burst into a delighted smile, withdrawing the hand Mo Lie had been holding.

I found a big treasure; these she doesn't want, I'll take them all.

Lin Manzhi's eyes shone, her heart burning with excitement at having found Concentrated Spirit Dew that can heal the Spirit Core.

Mo Lie saw Lin Manzhi crouched, head lowered, carefully and cautiously digging at the sand with her fingers, a helpless expression on her face, then she turned to search the altar.

Lin Manzhi faced away from Mo Lie.

Her consciousness was already in the space, looking at the three plots there: two just planted with Lettuce, one with Agave grown for a few days, and compared with the precious Concentrated Spirit Dew plant, of course they were unremarkable.

She simply cleared one of the Lettuce plots, freed the one‑day‑to‑hundred‑days Agave plot, and carefully planted the eight uprooted Concentrated Spirit Dew seedlings there.

The transplanted seedlings, upon touching the spiritual soil of the space, instantly perked up; the leaves that had been wilted from the uprooted mother plant became vibrant, their light‑green blades looking full of vigor.

Lin Manzhi was pleased; once she upgraded the land quickly, the Concentrated Spirit Dew would grow even faster.

At this moment, a line of yellow text popped up from the plot where the Concentrated Spirit Dew was planted: "【Detected host planting unregistered plant, Concentrated Spirit Dew, Beastfolk world medicinal plant, growth period one thousand years, effect: heal Spirit Core fissure pain, prevent Spirit Core energy leakage.】"

Seeing this, Lin Manzhi withdrew her consciousness, turned toward the nearby Mo Lie, and cheerfully said without hesitation, "Mo Lie, I can soon grow mature Concentrated Spirit Dew; when it's ready, you can eat as many as you like, and it will definitely fully cure the fissure pain of your Spirit Core!"

Mo Lie paused, looked meaningfully at the now empty plot before her, and said, "Hmm, I'll wait for Zhi Zhi to bring out the Concentrated Spirit Dew and feed me."

"It will be soon," Lin Manzhi said confidently, calculating that even without upgrading, at the current rate of one day equaling a hundred days, seven hundred years would only take seven years for her.

The refined elixir can maximize the use of medicinal plants; ingesting the herbs also works, but it's just overly wasteful.

For example, one Concentrated Spirit Dew plant combined with other herbs can let a Shamaness produce several elixirs, and a male Beastfolk only needs one dose to fully heal the Spirit Core.

But taking it alone requires one Concentrated Spirit Dew plant to achieve the elixir's effect, and it still doesn't fully cure; additional medicinal plants are needed.

Of course, Lin Manzhi, though not a Shamaness, knows how to brew medicine, and like Mo Lie, she intends to eat the medicinal plants as soon as she finds them.

Mo Lie searched the surroundings but found no other Concentrated Spirit Dew; Lin Manzhi then returned with him, hoping to block Lin Ling who was holding mature Concentrated Spirit Dew.

While being carried by Mo Lie back, her consciousness sank again into her own space.

After planting those eight Concentrated Spirit Dew seedlings, more than half the plot remained empty; Lin Manzhi glanced at the vacant spots, which indicated twelve more slots for planting Concentrated Spirit Dew.

What a waste of land.

Why not try planting some other vegetables?

Attempting this, Lin Manzhi bought another packet of Lettuce seeds, scattered half a packet onto the empty plot, and three land warnings popped up in succession:

"【Already fully planted; further planting will affect crop growth.】"

"【When two different crops are planted on the same land, harvesting mature crops changes from one‑click to manual single clicks to prevent mis‑harvest and waste.】"