Cornflower Witch

Chapter 222 Exploration and Discovery of 'Mushroom Silk'

A blonde beauty arrived in the town; she was also a genius alchemist.

Dorothy's arrival quickly became a hot topic in Lantern Town. After all, most of the members were still at the second level, and now a third-level professional had arrived, who was said to be a genius among his peers, which naturally aroused the curiosity and attention of many people.

“Ah, you mean the mithril badge with the ‘excellent’ rating? I’ve had one before.” Dorothy sat by the window on the second floor of the restaurant, holding a chilled drink in one hand, and pulling out a silver badge from somewhere with the other, tossing it gently in the air before letting it fall.

Upon seeing the badge, many students nearby expressed envy and admiration. Although there are many members in the Woodland Association, only one in several thousand can receive such a badge. Previously, they only knew that Hilti had been awarded it.

With her beauty, outstanding abilities, daring attire, and languid personality, Dorothy attracted many people to gather around and chat with her when she sat in the restaurant. She didn't care and directly answered everyone's various questions.

In the mansion office not far away, Hilti sat behind a desk, while a student beside her handed her a stack of lists containing various resources and materials.

"These are what Miss Dorothy needs, and she said she hopes Senior Tia can gather them as soon as possible."

"So many?" The girl took the order, her blue eyes darting around as she scanned the list and data.

Most of the materials were common and familiar to her, but there were a few that she had never seen before and didn't know why she needed them.

"The dried carcass of a black ferret bat, the withered leaves of the Radiant Wind White Grass, the shell of the Tide Sound Conch, the Water Ring Blue Pearl..." These things look like they are very hard to find.

"Are there any students who know the origin of these materials?" Hiltiya thought for a moment.

“I asked several students in the academic profession, and they also only had a vague understanding, having only occasionally seen a few of their names in books.”

"In other words, these things do exist, and she didn't just write them down randomly. It's just that very few people use them, and the quantity is quite small, right?" Hiltiya gently curved her fingers and placed them on her chin.

"Take this list and give it to the scholars in town. Let them sort out the origins and acquisition methods of these materials. If there are still any unclear points, then ask Dorothy later." We need to give those guys some practice. Otherwise, if they ask Dorothy about everything, they'll just be useless.

"Ok."

After the trainees left with the list, Hilti continued to recall the resources on the list she had just seen. There were several items that were in high demand, and although she could manufacture them, her current reserves might not be enough.

"The holy water of the third tier and above, which is of rare quality, also requires the 'Radiant Moon' attribute. I am quite good at making that. However, I cannot make the other kind of 'third tier and above' solar essence."

"Wait, is it really impossible for me to make it?" Hilti asked, checking the current construction status of the 'Autumn Garden'.

She has now entered the third stage, constantly adjusting the condition of the 12 plants to ensure they grow perfectly in the courtyard and achieve a natural cycle of matter.

If 'Autumn Garden' is completed, she will be able to enter the third tier, at which point it will become easier to cultivate fruits with the 'Blazing Sun' attribute.

"Is it still because my own strength is not enough?" Hilti sighed softly and looked out the window.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger. According to the students who were skilled in the 'Sky Dome' aspect, a storm was coming in a week, and the transport teams in the Dark Mist Mountains would also have to suspend their operations at that time.

This time, there wasn't enough time to prepare enough glass replacements, so the greenhouse had to be shut down and sealed with sturdy materials when the storm came.

This means the greenhouse cannot receive sunlight and can only cultivate crops that prefer darkness. However, the advantage is that the outer glass of the greenhouse can be protected during storage.

Plants in the darkness... Hilti couldn't help but think of mushrooms.

Let's grow mushrooms this time!
Five days later, the winds in the Dark Mist Mountains grew stronger, forcing the town's gardeners to prematurely ripen a batch of vegetables and fruits, harvest them, and then seal off the large greenhouses, attaching protective layers and securing them with nails. At this point, the greenhouses were pitch black, making it impossible for ordinary plants to grow.

Hiltiya walked into one of the greenhouses, blinking her eyes slightly. Even in the darkness, she could see clearly what was happening there.

Take the cultivated mushrooms out of the glass jar you brought, shake them gently, and the tiny spores will fall into the soil.

Then, Hilti sat in front of the soil and carefully used her 'Emerald Honey' property to guide the growth of the spore mycelium in front of her.

Cultivating mushrooms was a completely new experience for her, a completely new experience for her as well.

Their growth pattern is completely different from that of ordinary plants. The mycelium grows secretly in the soil, and is extremely delicate and fragile. If it finds a nutritious substance, it will gradually absorb it and then transport the nutrients to the mycelial network.

Those mushrooms in the forest that appear to grow in clusters under different trees are likely all connected to the same mycelial network deeper underground.

This is the wonder of 'mushroom silk': the connection between silk and string, the accumulation of countless tiny particles, the mother of life that changes the world.

"what……"

While attempting to cultivate mushrooms, Hiltiya emitted soft, strange sounds.

She suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity; some of the mushroom fibers reminded her of when she was cultivating alfalfa.

“This is…” She stood up, went to where she had taken out the soil, and used a small shovel to dig up the soil, carefully removing a small piece of alfalfa root remnant.

This root system seemed to have been connected to the mushroom's silky network just now. As Hiltiya examined it closely, she pondered, her delicate eyebrows constantly changing before finally relaxing gently.

"It seems I can use the power of 'alfalfa' to enhance the cultivation of mushrooms," she muttered to herself.

Then she took out a large amount of uprooted alfalfa from another small greenhouse that was her own and threw it into the soil.

The underground mycelium comes into contact with these alfalfa plants, connects with them, and then a wonderful transformation occurs between the two.

Hiltiya felt that she could drive the alfalfa to provide nutrients, allowing the mycelium to grow and thrive, and also enabling the alfalfa to absorb more nutrients and moisture from the soil and air through the mycelium.

This feeling of 'connection' is quite wonderful.

"Let's give it a try," Hiltiya said calmly, and began to let the two grow together. First, she used the nutrients from the alfalfa to quickly accelerate the dense growth of the mycelium. Then, she let the mycelium assist the alfalfa in absorbing special nutrients from the air. After that, she repeated the process.

After completing one, two... six cycles, the alfalfa gradually withered and died, but it also cultivated large patches of purple violet mushrooms, which emitted a faint glow in the dark greenhouse.

【Purple Jellyfish Mushroom】(Tier 1 - Fungus Filament): A rare 'Filament' type life form, used in certain ancient rituals and potion-making recipes. (The original 'Filament' has disappeared, making it extremely difficult to cultivate fungus-type life forms.)

Seeing the mushroom that had successfully solidified in her hand, Hilti wiped the sweat from her forehead.

As expected, cultivating 'mushroom filaments' is very difficult. She used so many 'second-tier' alfalfa, but in the end, she only obtained a small amount of 'purple jellyfish mushrooms'. Moreover, she vaguely felt that the upper limit of the 'mushroom filaments' properties had been locked. It was impossible for any mushroom filament products or life forms higher than 'third-tier' to be born in this world.

History cannot be reversed. Although mushroom silk can connect the past and the future, it is no longer their era.

(End of this chapter)