My Apocalypse Territory-Chapter 370 - 360: Source Plants

Chapter 370 -360: Source Plants

After delegating his work, Tang Yu’s daily tasks consisted of cultivating, researching, and eating.

With the acquisition of a Fire Attribute Source Crystal, his cultivation progress soared. Just one day before, he broke through to the eleventh layer of Awakening.

“What a pity…”

Tang Yu shook his head.

He couldn’t slow down the improvement of his own strength, but before entering the Transcendent Tier, these advancements had little impact on the overall strength of his territory.

Currently, the territory boasted two Transcendents. Yan Dingtian was unreliable, and although Nancy was strong, she could hardly hold her own.

There were also two Floating Airships—one was led by Mali Country; it could unleash eighty percent of the Sail’s power, rivaling a Transcendent. The other was still in its integration stage and wasn’t very effective, while the last airship was still under assembly.

Barely considered as three Transcendent Combat Powers, however, information about other potential Transcendent existences was becoming more frequent outside, and with just these forces, plus the large spells protecting the territory, Tang Yu still couldn’t be at ease.

“The urgent matter at hand is to have Eileen break through to become a Transcendent as soon as possible.”

Eileen estimated that she would need three to five months to break through to Transcendent.

After high-purity Fire Series Source Crystals were mined, Tang Yu sent a batch to Eileen immediately. But Eileen, whose talent and profession were invested in the Ice series, could not utilize the Fire Attribute Source Power as efficiently as he did.

Compared to the Cultivation Room 2 as a benchmark, Eileen could reach a cultivation speed of 1.3 times faster.

The boost was not insignificant; however, the consumption of high-purity Source Crystals was greater, and if he hadn’t insisted, Eileen would probably be reluctant to use high-purity Source Crystals for cultivation, the young girl being accustomed to thriftiness.

The next day.

Tang Yu emerged from the Cultivation Room.

Breakfast consisted of several pounds of Advanced Mutant Beast meat and milk tea brewed with milk from Mutated Cows, both delicious in taste.

Ordinary food, he now rarely consumed; not that it wasn’t tasty, ordinary ingredients could also make delicious food, it’s just that as his strength increased, so did his appetite. Just cultivating daily required the intake of a large amount of energy… the nutrition and energy contained in ordinary food was far less than that of Mutated Beast meat.

Unless he spent a lot of time gorging, which Tang Yu naturally disliked.

Grains and cereals rarely appeared on the dining table, only occasionally prepared as lavish dishes for the sake of taste.

“Thankfully, fighting in the Spirit Space doesn’t consume the body’s energy, otherwise…”

The thought of wolfing down food for an hour or two after intense battles chilled him.

The consumption of ingredients was also not to be underestimated.

It was nothing for him, but it might not be affordable for other Awakeners.

“As one ascends through the layers of the Awakening Tier, life level climbs upward, and resource consumption increases with each layer—especially after the sixth layer of Awakening. As the physical body’s strength increases, so does the appetite. Perhaps in the future, without Source Crystals, food consumption cannot be supported, and some Awakeners might even be delayed in their cultivation?”

This possibility was not small.

He made several classifications of consumption.

Normal Consumption

Even eating only ordinary ingredients, the amount for dozens of people, wasn’t necessarily cheap… He also speculated that ordinary food might fill the stomach, but the intake of nutrition and energy might not be enough.

Intake of just ordinary food might affect the cultivation speed of Awakeners.

“This is a topic worth noting down. We can find someone to perform multiple experiments in the future to reach a conclusion… Maybe even write a book on ‘Nutrition Cultivation Science’?”

After breakfast.

Tang Yu planned to start with the quantity of Mutant Beast meat he consumed daily, to precisely gauge each day’s consumption and then compare it with Eileen’s and Luo Zhe’s.

At this moment, Chen Haiping rushed to the castle and brought some surprising news.

“The rice has mutated?”

“Yes, it was discovered only this morning. Since the planting of rice doesn’t require manual care, it’s unclear how long the mutation has been going on.

Upon discovery, several experts from the Agriculture Department inspected the Mutated Rice immediately. They couldn’t come to any specific conclusions in a short time, but it appears to be a benign mutation, and the Mutated Rice has an extraordinary appearance, likely to hold high value.”

Without further delay.

Tang Yu left the castle and headed to the foot of the mountain where crops were planted.

The Sanctuary currently had three planting areas.

One was located in the Back Mountain Valley, about thirty acres, where various medicinal herbs were planted, the earliest and most important planting area in the territory.

The second area was at the foot of the mountain, mainly planting ordinary crops such as rice, wheat, and maize.

Latterly, Tang Yu, not satisfied with the Sanctuary’s grain production—which needed to meet the needs of an increasing number of survivors as well as sales to earn Source Crystals—reclaimed hundreds of acres of land outside the city walls on flat grounds for planting food. With the system’s farmland bringing a multiplier to growth speeds and under the protection from Demonized Beasts, every harvest brought a bountiful yield. Selling to the several large Sanctuaries around brought considerable income to the territory.

“How often does this kind of plant mutation occur?”

Tang Yu asked, turning to the side.

All of a sudden, he thought of the medicinal herbs grown in the valley behind the mountain. Many were species not seen before the apocalypse, strictly speaking, also the result of mutations.

Like the main ingredient for the Body Refining Liquid, “Fleshy Fragrant Grass,” although it was not clear which plant it mutated from.

It also wasn’t ruled out that they were new types of plants that appeared along with the emergence of Source Qi.

“Recorded cases should’ve happened five times, but those mutations were not significant nor valuable. Speaking of which, plant mutations are quite frequent now, and animals are mutating too. It seems like we humans are the only ones not mutating… that’s not right, maybe our Awakening and Cultivation are mutations in themselves.”

Chen Haiping exclaimed.

While talking, the two had already reached the foot of the mountain.

Quite a few officials from the Agriculture Department were eagerly awaiting.

Tang Yu expressed his condolences as usual and then followed the agricultural department officials towards the rice planting area.

A golden expanse of rice fields met his eyes. The wind brushed through them, creating waves of golden ripples.

Plant mutations didn’t necessarily mean drastic changes in appearance. Chen Haiping had stated that there had been significant alterations in the rice’s appearance, yet Tang Yu scanned the area and didn’t spot any trace of the mutated rice.

Having held the position of Lord for quite some time, he was patient and didn’t ask any questions in haste.

The agricultural department official didn’t dare dawdle and crossed the small path through the rice fields, going a good distance further.

Then he stopped and pointed to a particular spot in the rice field.

“The mutated rice was discovered by Xiao Zhang this morning during his routine inspection of the fields. This area was also inspected three days ago, but he cannot guarantee whether the mutation happened within these last three days, or if it was simply overlooked during the last inspection.”

The official’s voice gradually trailed off as he spoke.

Tang Yu glanced over.

He remained silent.

The agricultural department’s job, aside from sowing seeds and harvesting crops when ripe, merely required regular inspections.

It was an easy job with high benefits, mainly offered to early survivors who joined the Sanctuary, but it seemed some may have forgotten their duties.

Determined to reorganize the agricultural department, he temporarily set this issue aside.

Approaching closer, he started to observe.

There weren’t many mutated rice plants, just a few.

It was the time for rice to mature, and these few mutant rice plants were ripe too. Compared to the surrounding golden fields, they were strikingly different. The stalks were a bit longer, and the grains they bore were no longer golden but pearly white.

The grains were large and round, about the size of a bottle cap.

Tang Yu picked a few grains to examine more closely in his hand, squeezing them gently, when suddenly he paused.

“This is…”

He expanded his perception, concentrating intently on the large grains in his hand, and felt a fluctuation of Source Power!

Looking at the few stalks of mutant ‘pearly white rice,’ he discerned the same faint Source Power waves emitting from them.

These were crops that contained Source Power!

Tang Yu was astonished.

He had collected numerous herbs, and many inherently possessed special effects… such as the Fleshy Fragrant Grass; even without processing into Body Tempering Liquid, grinding it and soaking it in water would have a Body Refining effect.

The main ingredient for the Tranquility Potion, the Calming Flower, when held in the mouth, could clear one’s senses.

They were extraordinary.

He had named these kinds of medicinal materials Transcendent. They could be used as main ingredients to craft high-quality potions, but in actuality, these herbs didn’t contain Source Power!

They were merely nourished by Source Qi, possessing some special effects to varying degrees.

With increased knowledge, Tang Yu gradually categorized plants into three types: ordinary plants, high-level plants (representing Fleshy Fragrant Grass, Calming Flower), and Source Plants.

Since these rice plants contained Source Power, they were undoubtedly Source Plants.

Their preciousness was unquestionable.

Source Plants were extremely rare in the wild, virtually non-existent, and Tang Yu hadn’t discovered any.

Only within the Mirage Mountain Range were there definitive Source Plants, like the fruits rumored in Jing City to awaken Special Abilities, which were a type of Source Plant.

Awakening Fruits were extremely rare. Once plucked, the Source Power within would start to deplete, and after five or six days, they would devolve into ordinary high-level plants.

He had obtained several Awakening Fruits through various channels and attempted to transplant them into the Back Mountain Valley Medicine Garden, hoping their cultivation fields would encourage the plants to bear new fruits.

Yet, he had failed.

The efficient fields only ensured that transplanted plants kept their existing Source Power from waning, but they couldn’t make Awakening Fruit trees grow anew.

“But the mutated rice is different. Since it mutated during growth, it implies that the nutrients of the fields are suitable for the pearly white rice to thrive.”

“The amount of Source Power contained in these rice grains, although not comparable to that of the Awakening Fruits, is more abundant. If it can be cultivated on a large scale, its value would surpass that of Awakening Fruits.”

In an instant, his thoughts raced.

“Rice is not a medicinal herb, so it might not be used in potions, but since it mutated from rice, perhaps it can be directly consumed as food?”

The likelihood was high. Holding several translucent, round, and full grains, he felt the urge to taste them right there.

“We must protect these few rice plants well and find a way to expand the scale!”

After some thought, Tang Yu gave Chen Haiping, who was standing by, further instructions, “Tomorrow, no, have someone come to supervise immediately. We can’t afford any mistakes with any of these plants!”

Chen Haiping acknowledged.

The agricultural department official wiped the sweat from his brow and repeatedly assured that there would be no problems.

…

Castle.

Tang Yu brought back a small portion of the pearly white grains.

After tests confirmed they had no toxic side effects,

he peeled off the husks, and the grains appeared even more crystal clear. A faint fragrance wafted to his nose, tempting him to take a bite.

“Although they’re a bit larger, since they come from rice, they should be considered a form of rice grain. How about we call it… Crystal Jade Rice.”

A handful of Crystal Jade Rice, after simple preparation, was steamed in a pot. Soon, a rich aroma of rice spread from the kitchen to the dining room.

Nancy, who was cultivating inside the castle and was just two rooms away from the dining area, followed the scent and wandered in drowsily.