Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest - Chapter 1787: The Unique Plants

Chapter 1787: The Unique Plants

—–

“Sailor!” Elayne snapped, slapping his face as hard as she dared without causing real harm. His pale cheek flushed red instantly. “Stop speaking so disrespectfully to the Lord! He’s been nothing but kind to us! I understand you have your opinions, but if you came along just to insult him, then please go back!”

“Haha, okay, I’m sorry,” Sailor replied lightly, unfazed by the slap. “You’re the kind one here, Elayne… maybe too kind.” He gently caught her hands for a moment. “I’m sorry if I upset you, but I have to speak my mind sometimes. That’s just who I am.”

“Haah! You’re hopeless!” Elayne sighed, pulling her hands free and walking away with Mark and Blank. “I’m so sorry, Lord Blank…!”

“It’s fine,” Blank said calmly. “I don’t let the words of an ignorant Undead bother me. Well, you’re different, of course, Elayne.”

“Am I?” Elayne asked curiously. “We’re both Undead… I saved Sailor back then. He had completely given up on living…”

“Is that so? I wouldn’t mind hearing that story,” Blank replied.

“Hah, she reminds me of her…” Sailor sighed, shaking his head. “She was just as blindly kind… but maybe I’m the fool for always letting my emotions take over. If I hadn’t been such an idiot… maybe I could have saved her. No, maybe I could have saved us from what happened.”

Sailor followed close behind, gazing around with a bored expression as Elayne, Blank, and Mark chatted. They walked through the pristine white streets of White Tooth Village, where Elayne learned more about its history and founding on their way to the monastery.

“This village is relatively new, founded only ten thousand years ago,” Blank explained. “As you can see, it was built upon the tooth of the Ancient Nether Titan—the former King of the Netherworld who fell during the Ancient Epoch, also known as the Era of the Ancient Gods.”

“T-Ten thousand years is still a long time…” Elayne murmured.

“I agree. It feels ancient,” Mark added thoughtfully.

“It is long for most races, but not so much for us,” Blank said.

“How old are you, Lord Blank?” Elayne asked.

“Ah, I’d rather keep my age private,” Blank replied politely. “My apologies, but age is a sensitive matter for White Ghosts.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Elayne said with a shrug. “So, what’s the path to the monastery?”

“It’s ahead. We follow the White Snake Path through a park of White Salt Trees,” Blank explained.

The group continued onward, climbing a hill of white tooth stone that led straight to the monastery near White Tooth Mountain itself.

The tooth stone was covered in countless gray and blue “plants” unique to this place, unlike anything Elayne had seen before.

After asking Blank if it was all right to gather some that caught her eye—and receiving his permission—she began collecting them with Mark’s help.

“You really love plants, Elayne,” Blank observed, kneeling beside her. “How about this one?” He showed her a white flower with a dark blue stem. “This is the White Corpse Lily. It grows only on corpses—or this white tooth stone.”

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Elayne said softly.

“Yes, it is,” Blank agreed. “It reminded me of you. Take it. Perhaps you can grow a lovely garden in your domain.”

“T-Thank you…” Elayne murmured, carefully pocketing the flower. “Hmm, oh, those are large white mushrooms. What are these? Woah?!”

“They have skull-shaped caps…” Mark noted, rubbing his bony chin as he lifted a chunk of white stone covered in mushrooms. “Is it okay if we take them like this?”

“I permit it,” Blank nodded.

“Thank you,” Elayne said happily, storing them away.

“You can detoxify plants and even breed them to be edible, correct?” Blank asked. “There are a few more plant-like organisms unique to this world you might like. I’ll try to give you some when we return home.”

“That would be wonderful. I’m so grateful,” Elayne sighed. “Ah, I wish I could start a big farm here, but… it’s better if I don’t.”

“Hm…” Blank studied her curiously. “And why is that?”

“That’s because… Ah, well… um, nothing,” she giggled awkwardly. “Please don’t worry about it.”

“I suppose it’s for the money,” he said thoughtfully. “You can’t just give everything away. From a merchant’s view, it would be disastrous.”

“Yes,” Elayne nodded. “Anyway, how much are we earning from this deal? I didn’t look closely…”

“Ah, how much?” Blank considered. “The first sale brought roughly a hundred thousand Nether Coins. Yearly sales will vary by crop, but there’s a minimum of another hundred thousand.”

“T-That much?!” Elayne gasped. “We went from nothing to wealthy so quickly…”

“I wouldn’t call it wealthy yet…” Blank laughed softly. “But it’s solid income. If you increase production and sell to other villages or cities, you could earn even more.”

“Hmm…” Elayne nodded. “Nether Coins are made from crystallized Nether, which is essential for Cultivation in the Netherworld, right?”

“Yes. Nether serves many purposes. We can absorb it to nourish ourselves,” Blank explained, picking up a stone and drawing its energy in. “With enough, you can advance rapidly in Cultivation once you’ve progressed far enough.”

“Huh!” Elayne nodded eagerly. “That’s fascinating. The more I learn about Cultivation, the more amazing it seems, Lord Blank.”

“I was wondering—without Nether Cores, what do you cultivate?” Blank asked.

“Oh, me? I cultivate my Spiritual Heart and my Soul, which is also a Nature Soul,” Elayne explained. “I’m helping everyone else do the same. Mark has regained his Spiritual Heart, right?”

“Yes,” Mark confirmed firmly. “What about you, Blank? What do White Ghosts cultivate?”

“Every Noble Race cultivates their Unique Core, Body, and Soul,” Blank said, his Aura flaring briefly. “Our Soul is the White Ghostly Soul. It requires Void, Ash, Snow, Ice Bone, Ghost, Nether, and Pale Blight Elemental Materials to grow stronger.”

His aura surged, pure white and ethereal—a unique hue among ghosts, whose energies were usually black, deep blue, purple, or dark red.

“Our Core is the White Ghost Heart,” he continued. “It’s a crystallization of part of our soul within the physical body. It anchors our souls, strengthens our forms, and lets us shift between planar states.”

“Planar states?” Elayne asked.

“In this Reality, there are many Planes—the Physical Plane, the Mana Mist Plane, the Dead Plane, and others. We White Ghosts are born with the innate ability to shift between them,” he explained. “We can become physical or ethereal at will. It offers many advantages.”

“I see…!” Elayne nodded, eyes wide with wonder. “I was wondering if I could take on a ghostly form myself…”

—–