[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re":3,"chapter-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-138":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Vegetable-Growing Skeleton's Foreign Land Reclamation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2351619,4600,"Chapter 138","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-138",138,"\u003Cp>\"Oh oh oh, so that's how it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eh eh eh, so that's how it was.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wow wow wow, so much happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis and Anthony exchanged information on the highest mobilization order, the Lands of Descent, and the origin of the Golden Tooth undead squad; when they turned around, they nearly spat blood—Ang had once again reached into the Palace of Rest to plant vegetables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I say, Ang, we're discussing planar strategy—can't you at least listen?\" Nagelis grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang tilted his head and asked: \"Can I plant vegetables?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep sense of helplessness surged in Nagelis: \"No...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh.\" Ang replied, then returned to Zhuanxin  planting vegetables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis and Anthony exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anthony said: \"I was worried before—worried that if you knew about this, you'd get dragged in. Now it seems I was worrying for nothing, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis nodded, weary yet somewhat relieved: \"Yes. Our lord is only interested in growing things. From now on, we don't need to tell you anything unrelated to cultivation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, speaking of that, I actually have a piece of news related to growing things: humanity is facing a great famine. Do you have surplus grain? Sell it all to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humanity was not facing famine for the first time; since Anthony was still a 'human,' famine had struck repeatedly. After he became Anthony, famine became an annual constant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though frustrating, during his climb upward, famine was often the easiest way to boost his political achievements—and he was happy to do so, because it saved many lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most famines resulted from unequal distribution: large landowners and merchant guilds monopolized grain trade, shipping grain from low-price regions to high-price ones. But transport takes time and effort; when disasters or war cut the routes, chain reactions followed—not to mention hoarding and speculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A smaller portion stemmed from reduced harvests, population explosions, or war. The \"great famine\" Anthony referred to was this type.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Material Plane has been relatively peaceful for the past decade—no major wars, minor conflicts don't affect the Daju —so the population has exploded. For years, grain supply has been strained. This year, drought in the south has reduced harvests; without sufficient grain, who knows how many will die next year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anthony said anxiously: \"Our Eastern Diocese is fine—I've built many granaries over the years. But the Western Diocese is a mess. Now that Nicolas is dead, I must compete for the papacy and win the Western Diocese's hearts. What better way to win hearts than famine relief?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, are you trying to relieve famine—or win hearts?\" Nagelis was speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's the difference? Does saving famine victims count less because I want to win hearts?\" Anthony said matter-of-factly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"True, but you're overestimating. Even if Ang is powerful, he's still one person. No matter how much grain he grows, it won't fill humanity's famine—and you can't pay the price.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What price?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Soul flame. Faith.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anthony severed the connection and stopped mentioning grain—he simply couldn't provide what Ang required.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he claimed loyalty to the undead, his livelihood still rested on the Church of Light. He couldn't send believers to Ang—the Church would tear him apart first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang's cultivation was pure obsession; exchange was also pure obsession. Gems, coins, wealth—none meant anything to him. Only soul flame was useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruins of the Dragon Temple, shattered by sand bandits, had been cleared away, leaving only flat ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brucek painfully pulled materials from his extradimensional space—each item was carefully collected, many rare and precious, for only the finest could catch a Dragon Clan Chief's eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were like a middle-aged dragon's private collection, his savings, forced out—how painful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With materials this good, the resulting teleportation array will be top-tier. Even my Dragon Island's arrays don't use this quality.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All materials arranged, Brucek stood in the center, magic surging; magical rune circles spread from his body, layered and overlapping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if drawn by the circles—or guided by invisible hands—the materials on the ground slowly rose, drifting to their corresponding rune positions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once all materials settled, Brucek slammed both hands downward; runes and materials plunged together—thud, thud, thud—a series of muffled impacts—and the teleportation array was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saphia stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded: \"This... this is done? The last array took our boss years gathering materials, and thousands of us months to build. Holy hell—he just waved his hand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nai Ai Li smiled, soothing her: \"Don't be surprised. If you knew his identity, you'd know this is only natural.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Truth-attainer—a being more terrifying than a Mage-Lord. Had he not taken human form and restrained part of his power, his dragon aura alone would have knocked down ninety percent here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, pity—he's constantly humiliated by Ang and Nagelis, so he dares not speak loudly, giving the impression he's weak and easy to bully. Hey—that's not his true self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the array built, everyone eagerly communicated with the Palace of Rest. The first things to teleport over were several tons of grain and a sapling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You green jujubes are fine for one meal, but eating them daily makes me nauseous. Keep this up, we'll all die of gastric perforation here—the first Titans killed by green jujubes!\" Purple Bone complained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes yes yes—and the first unicorn killed by green jujube acid!\" Lightning, rarely aligned with anyone, now echoed Purple Bone's outrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Embarrassed, Saphia said: \"But we have little lambs too. And we eat green jujubes daily—haven't died yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lisa scoffed: \"Don't pretend you haven't. Me and Lan have treated mostly gastrointestinal cases here. The older the patient, the worse the condition. Your diet is too monotonous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saphia sighed: \"No choice. Only green jujubes grow in the oasis. I want to eat sugar beets and corn—but they won't grow. Wait—save me some!\" She rushed over to grab grain herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang planted the World Tree sapling on the dune, then began planting vast grids of grass, Geshu, and green jujube trees, stepping on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With repetition, Ang grew increasingly skilled with the Death Aura—he now understood its nuances. For example, with grass mats, he didn't need the grass to mature and be harvested—only to root.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he selected grasses with vast, deep, stable root systems, then briefly accelerated growth—creating vast grass mats with minimal soul flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grass mats were divided by desert folk and laid across dunes at intervals; between them, Geshu and green jujube trees were planted, then the aura activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In mere moments, grass grids, Geshu, and green jujube trees all rooted deeply, surviving their most critical establishment phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, soul flame sufficient to ripen one crop could root ten times more grass grids, Geshu, and green jujube trees, covering vastly larger areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the flaw was obvious: these crops required a full growth cycle—over half a year—before harvest. Green jujube trees were grafted, yet still needed one to two years to bear abundant fruit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, they endured the desert's harsh climate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But grass mats and green jujubes were native desert plants; Geshu also thrived in desert-like conditions—just not in the soil. Desert sand was too barren; fertilizer would need to be added later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nai Ai Li, hearing Ang needed fertilizer, shuffled over hesitantly, shooing Nagelis aside: \"Ang... uh... I heard you're looking for fertilizer?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... you know... our dragons'... well... it's very potent. And I've lived here a long time...\" Nai Ai Li fumbled for words. Ang tilted his head, utterly confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis leaned over: \"I get it. You've dwelled here so long, your lair holds over a thousand years of dragon shit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he finished, Nai Ai Li swatted him with her tiny claws: \"Dragon your head, shit your head—we female dragons don't shit! If we do, it's fragrant!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis fled, head in hands, bewildered: What logic is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the new teleportation array, the group arrived at Nai Ai Li's former cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nai Ai Li pointed to a tunnel: \"That leads to my toilet. Besides me, many birds defecate there—layers of white bird droppings, no smell, long dried out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bird droppings? Oh! Why didn't you say so sooner? That's real fertilizer!\" Nagelis exclaimed—then immediately felt ill. Why was he excited over bird droppings?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, why was he excited over bird droppings? He didn't eat them. Just because they made fertilizer? Damn it, had he been infected by that vegetable-growing skeleton?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deeply shaken, Nagelis followed the group into the cave, heading for the dragon toilet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The farther they went, the stronger the wind, the brighter ahead—then suddenly, the space opened wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh... this is your 'pit'?\" Nagelis said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before them stretched a massive canyon—as if the earth had been cleaved in two, a deep gash extending to the horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stood on the upper rim; below lay a sheer drop of hundreds of meters. Nai Ai Li could simply lift her rear and drop her waste straight down—convenient and clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The canyon's wind was fierce. Directly below was a black, volcanic-ash-like substance—unrecognizable as excrement, long weathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond this \"volcanic ash,\" the canyon floor was covered in a vast, white, salt-like substance. Birds flew overhead, occasionally dropping droppings that fell freely to the bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The canyon's entire floor, stretching beyond sight, was blanketed in this white material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So much? We're rich!\" Nagelis, still reeling, couldn't help but exclaim at the phosphate-rich bird droppings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very valuable?\" Brucek asked, surprised. She recognized the white substance—on Dragon Island and nearby isles, vast bird-dung islands existed, some piled so high they raised the island's elevation by meters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not especially valuable—but even at one gem per ton, how many gems could this yield? At least several million tons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brucek calculated, then sneered: \"Only a few million gems? Pathetic.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis laughed bitterly: \"Precisely because it's cheap, it's valuable. It's strategic material. Understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone shook their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others nodding was fine—but Ang nodded too? Nagelis had to explain, to uphold his status as the God of Common Sense. He sighed, reluctantly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unfertilized fields yield 150–200 jin per mu. Intensively farmed fields reach 300 jin. But even a little fertilizer boosts yields to 500–600 jin. With better seeds, even higher. Anthony told me a Druid won the Spring Wind Cup with a new grain variety yielding over 1,000 jin per mu—fertilizer must've played a role.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I sell you fertilizer, your yield doubles. I don't sell you fertilizer, your yield stays flat. Isn't that strategic material?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brucek nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My yield is double yours. I sell grain cheap—you can't sell yours. Your farmers go bankrupt, stop planting next year. Then you must buy from me. One day I say: 'No grain unless you trade me a city.' Will you trade? Won't trade? Your farmers stop planting, starve unless they buy from me. Isn't that strategic material?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brucek gasped: \"So cruel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh. If you don't control your own food security, others have cruel ways to crush you. Cost, yield—they can all become weapons. These bird droppings? A superweapon for increasing yield. Anthony will love this—I'll sell it to him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nai Ai Li was angry: \"You talked all this time about bird droppings—what about dragon shit? Why not mention it? Is dragon shit useless?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?!\" Nagelis froze. Didn't you just swat me for mentioning dragon shit? Now you're mad I didn't? Female dragons' minds are strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dragon shit's magical potency is too strong. Normal crops can't handle it. Look—plants grow on bird droppings, but not on dragon shit. Only magical plants survive—like elf beans, soul moss, fire dragon fruit. Hey, with so much dragon shit, can we grow elf beans now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis suddenly remembered the elf bean seeds he'd stolen from the elves—never dared to plant them, because ordinary soil lacked the fertility to sustain them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang noticed another term: \"Soul moss? What's that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A moss that calms the mind, awakens the spirit, soothes the soul, enhances memory, and accelerates mana recovery. Main ingredient in mana-restoring potions. Imagine a mage drinking one before battle—mmhmm.\" Nagelis said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this one?\" Ang flew out of the cave, pointing to a vast black moss patch on the cliff face below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No way.\" Nagelis fluttered out of the cave, turned back—and saw indeed a vast black moss patch, and a human child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The child, perhaps seven or eight, wielded a wooden spade, digging furiously at the cliffside moss. His basket already held several large pieces of soul moss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nagelis winced: \"Hey! Kid, leave those mosses alone! Soul moss can't be harvested like that!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Legend says everyone has a monthly vote bag. Each month-end, it grows monthly votes—gone if unused. Check now—did yours grow? Don't vote, it vanishes.\u003C\u002Fp>",2075,"2026-06-21T03:18:43.177Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cc3c742ddd682e457c9451fae12518d9d565dc075e6ea4b2a8742f283a65fe8b","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-139","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-137",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-cover.jpg"]