As a lord, I was forced to farm

Chapter 817 Harvesting Holy Cotton

However, according to records, the Saint Vincent tree can grow very tall, with century-old trees reaching a height of 100 meters.

Without the assistance of demon spirits, it would take about ten years for the Sacred Pattern Cotton to bear fruit each time. But once it bears fruit, the tree is covered with clusters of cotton, which can make a city rich for three years.

The Saint-Patterned Cotton Spirit Insect's aptitude is too extraordinary. In less than five years, it has allowed the Saint-Patterned Cotton Tree to grow from a seed into a large tree. Moreover, the two tallest Saint-Patterned Cotton Trees finally produced their first cotton this year!

Although the amount of saffron cotton on the two trees was not large due to it being the first time the trees had produced cotton.

The Sacred Cotton Spirit Insect originally possessed eight kinds of spiritual elements, so the spirit cotton that grows on the Sacred Cotton Tree also exudes different colors and auras.

“It’s quite stunning.” Jiang Ran tilted her head back, her eyebrows relaxed, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes. “If it were nighttime, the scenery would definitely be even more dreamlike.”

The cotton itself was shimmering white, and above the cotton ball were iridescent rainbows, sometimes a deep blue like night, sometimes a fiery red, sometimes as cold as blue frost...

"It is said that clothing woven from sacred cotton can ward off the cold of the netherworld, preventing one from being chilled, and also possesses various magical powers!"

Jiang Nancheng felt that his sister's ability to find the Sacred Pattern Cotton Spirit Insect was an incredible stroke of luck. "Looking across the entire Cloudfall Land, most robes are made of materials like Radiant Cotton and Flame Brocade Cotton. Radiant Cotton is already an extremely rare spirit cotton, but it still can't compare to the epic-level Sacred Pattern Cotton..."

As for the robes woven from sacred cotton, they are all high-quality items treasured by aristocratic families.

In particular, Jiang Nancheng heard that his sister had bought a Sacred Pattern Cotton Spirit Insect for only tens of thousands of spirit crystals, and the seller had even come to him on her own!

If it weren't for his own sister, Jiang Nancheng would definitely be jealous!

Jiang Ran narrowed her eyes slightly, "The sacred patterned cotton needs to be harvested in time when it blooms. I'll trouble Nan Cheng and Master Huang to teach them how to harvest it."

The sacred cotton is precious, and its harvesting and processing are quite particular. It cannot be pulled directly by hand, otherwise the cotton fibers will become messy and the spiritual energy will dissipate. Smooth silk gloves must be worn, and it must be cut cleanly and crisply with sharp silver and jade scissors.

The storage is also very particular; it is sealed in a jade box engraved with spirit-gathering array patterns to prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating.

Da Su had been preparing for this harvest for a long time and had purchased a lot of equipment.

Huang Yi, a weapon refiner specializing in clothing, had long awaited the blossoming and fruition of the Sacred Pattern Cotton. Now that the Sacred Pattern Cotton had finally matured, she was extremely excited.

Currently, the people assigned to harvest the sacred cotton are all quick-witted and nimble-fingered monks.

Each person carried a jade box on their back and carefully picked the sacred cotton.

It feels incredibly soft to the touch, with the fluffy fibers seemingly possessing a natural warmth that makes it feel cozy and warm to the touch.

Huang Yi stared intently at everyone's movements, afraid that someone might be foolish enough to accidentally damage this sacred cotton.

"Hold the cotton bud gently with your left hand, but be quick, accurate and ruthless when you cut it!"

"The spiritual essence of the sacred patterned cotton is different. Only one type of sacred patterned cotton with the same spiritual essence can be placed in a jade box. You must not mix them up!"

This ball of sacred cotton spirit is also ever-changing; the easier ones to identify may contain only one kind of spiritual power.

To make it even more complex, a ball of sacred cotton may contain multiple spiritual elements such as metal, wood, and water!
"Hold on tight, don't let your hand shake!"

No one dared to be negligent, for fear of mixing up the sacred pattern cotton. Fortunately, they had practiced beforehand, so although they were a little nervous, they were not completely flustered.

Because of the high standards, the harvesting process was very slow, taking a full five days to pick all the sacred cotton from the trees.

Everyone carried the jade box containing the sacred cotton to the Jiang residence. Huang Yi frowned and said to Jiang Ran with guilt, "I am guilty. I failed to supervise the harvesting workers and ruined a lot of the sacred cotton."

Because it was the first cotton crop, there weren't many 'Saint-Vine' cotton flowers on the trees; the two trees together had only about 121 flowers.

A single strand of Sacred Pattern Cotton is about the size of a football. A single strand of Sacred Pattern Cotton can be stretched to a thousand feet. It requires spiritual power to guide it during weaving. The finished product is as thin as a cicada's wing, yet it can withstand extreme cold and is impervious to swords and spears. It is imbued with spiritual essence, which can greatly enhance the wearer's mystical attacks. It can even help the wearer to draw spiritual essence from the air and accelerate the wearer's cultivation speed!

The book records that a single strand of Sacred Cotton can be made into a garment, and five strands can create a complete set of robes. This roughly means that a single strand of Sacred Cotton can barely be woven into a simple garment, while five strands can create a perfect robe.

Jiang Ran was not surprised when Huang Yi said that the sacred cotton had been ruined. Sacred cotton is too fragile. Even a slight twist could make the spiritual cotton less than perfect. However, the tree stems that connect the sacred cotton are very strong and very difficult to cut!

Since this was the first time anyone had picked this sacred cotton, some damage was understandable.

Jiang Ran's expression remained as indifferent as ever, and Huang Yi couldn't tell whether His Highness the Prince was angry or resentful.

Jiang Ran tapped the table, lazily raised her eyelids, and said, "Tell me the details."

Speaking of the losses, Huang Yi was naturally very embarrassed and apprehensive. "Twenty-three flowers were damaged, five of which were severely damaged and completely unusable, and could only be used as ordinary cotton. The other eighteen flowers were damaged to varying degrees, but could still be used to make magic robes."

If the Sacred Rune Cotton is damaged, and you then try to refine a robe, either the quality of the finished product will be lower, or something that could have been woven from a single cotton ball will require more Sacred Rune Cotton to fill it out due to the damage.

Jiang Ran tapped the table; the damage rate was indeed higher than she had imagined.

“As regulators, you and Jiang Nancheng did make mistakes, so we will fine you three months’ salary.”

Huang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. It was only a three-month salary penalty. She was just worried that His Highness the Prince would not be willing to entrust her with the matter of the Sacred Cotton.

Moreover, since the prince's younger brother was also punished, she naturally had no objections. "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness."

Jiang Ran stood up, opened the jade box, and found the sacred patterned cotton radiating a dazzling spiritual energy, a feast for the eyes.

Of the remaining ninety-eight flawless holy pattern cotton flowers, 47 were single-elemental spiritual cotton flowers.

Five gold-type flowers, eight wood-type flowers, six water-type flowers, nine fire-type flowers, five earth-type flowers, two wind-type flowers, seven ice-type flowers, and five lightning-type flowers.

Of the fifty-one flowers, which are a mixture of various spiritual elements, most are dual-elemental combinations. Those with elements that are mutually destructive (like water and fire) are relatively rare, while those with elements that are mutually reinforcing or beneficial (like water and wood, water and ice, wind and fire, wind and thunder) are more common.

There are also sacred patterned cottons that are a mixture of three or more spiritual elements.

Jiang Ran found three types of holy patterned cotton that she needed, which combined water, ice, and fire.

Huang Yi said to Jiang Ran, "Although there are only three flowers, it is enough to make a decent robe. As for shoes and boots, we can wait until the Sacred Pattern Cotton Tree bears fruit again in the future before we can make them."

In fact, it is also possible to weave robes by mixing five different single-elemental spiritual cottons to create robes for cultivators who possess multiple spiritual elements.