The Cornflower Witch Chapter 211

The small outpost at the foot of the Dark Mist Mountains now had its own name. To emphasize the style of “Lantern Town,” the students specially crafted two beautifully shaped flower lanterns and placed them on the stone pillars on either side of the town’s main gate.

Under the dim sky, the warm yellow glow gave people a long-lost sense of familiarity and closeness.

Inside the bedroom, Hylial carefully planted cornflower seeds, watered them with a small amount of Emerald Dew Water, then clasped her hands together, silently meditating and praying.

Soon, the seed sprouted from the soil, growing into a tender seedling, then gradually developing its stems and leaves, budding, and finally, several scattered blue cornflowers bloomed, dotting the space. 

The process was unbelievably smooth. Hylial didn’t put much effort into it; it was as natural as breathing. Guided by feeling, the cornflowers before her bloomed.

The light blue petals appeared like five-pointed, trumpet-shaped flowers, but their tubes were slender and radiated from the center. Under the dappled sunlight, they looked somewhat translucent, emitting a faint fragrance.

In the maiden’s eyes appeared a light emerald hue, and in her misty vision, the spectrum of the cornflowers was reflected, like thousands of layers of blue with varying depths, vibrant and gorgeous.

If observing the growth of other plants was like watching a 2K resolution image, observing the cornflowers was like perceiving them in 8K resolution, with a clearer and more lucid view. Because of this incredibly subtle perception, she could control and guide them to a deeper level.

She could now easily make the cornflowers condense the ‘Emerald Honey’ Aspect. These blooming cornflowers could be used to dye blue and for making special eye medicines.

‘Blue Pupil,’ one of the basic eye medicines, can enhance observation skills, perceive more subtle details, and facilitate the analysis of the essence of things. It is often used by apothecaries and alchemists to enhance their observation and control over experiments.

‘Eye of Breaking Barriers,’ one of the intermediate eye medicines, can be used to see through illusions and enhance resistance to illusion and charm abilities.

‘Eye of Clarity,’ one of the high-level eye medicines, can be used to see through the fate plate of living beings, perceiving their destiny and abilities. It is often used in extremely difficult expeditions and dangerous decisive battles.

After reviewing the descriptions of these eye medicines in the book, Hylial suddenly understood how her special ‘Identification Eye’ ability came about. It likely solidified the effects of these eye techniques and further enhanced them, becoming as intuitive as instinct.

Then there was the dyeing. After being steeped in the blue of cornflowers, the quality of the fabric would improve, and it would gain a ‘vivid’ visual effect. Simply put, the fabric would become more high-end and beautiful. If used for painting, this pigment would also enhance the quality of the finished painting, adding a touch more artistic appeal.

This was just the effect of the flowers. The fruits of the cornflower could also be pressed for oil. Although the yield was not high due to the small seeds, well-cultivated cornflowers could produce the rare ‘Sky’ Aspect seed oil.

Beyond its practical uses, the cornflower also offered excellent aesthetic value. The light blue cornflowers, wherever placed, had a pleasing effect.

After clarifying the benefits of cornflowers, Hylial began to consider how to leverage her advantages in this area.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the Surface world, and the land available for cultivation was limited. Currently, the greenhouse in the outpost was needed to produce food.

But since she found cornflowers, she could now begin constructing her Third-Tier core Mystic Art.

If she chose the ‘Autumn Garden’ ability from the ‘Four Seasons Alliance,’ she would need to prepare three resources: ‘Cornerstone,’ ‘Living Soil,’ and ‘Clear Spring.’ She would also need to include 12 different types of plants, comprising four categories: ‘mushrooms,’ ‘flowers and plants,’ ‘bushes,’ and ‘big trees.’ These would need to be planted according to specific patterns, ensuring that the cultivated plants coexist harmoniously, achieve rhythmic coordination, and collectively create the wondrous spectacle of an ‘Autumnal Clear Sky.’

The scene would require autumn-growing grasses, autumn-flowering plants, autumn-flourishing trees, and autumn-bearing fruits – all four categories of autumn scenery must be present.

Now that she had found the blue cornflowers, which prefer cool climates and germinate and grow in spring and autumn, she met two of the requirements: ‘flowers and plants’ and ‘autumn growth.’

Finding 12 plants wasn’t difficult; the main challenge was choosing and combining them to her liking. The most crucial elements were the three resources: ‘Cornerstone,’ ‘Living Soil,’ and ‘Clear Spring.’

If she joined the ‘Four Seasons Alliance’, the organization would provide her with ‘Dome Feather Soil’ when she met the advancement conditions. It was said that this special soil resource, used for cultivating high-grade plants, was made by collecting floating dust particles with the ‘Sky’ Aspect from the firmament during the clearest season of the Storm Season.

This fulfilled the ‘Living Soil’ requirement. As for the ‘Cornerstone,’ she could choose a Third-Tier gem representing ‘harvest’ and ‘fruit,’ such as ‘Reflection Stone,’ ‘Gold Pillar Stone,’ or ‘Orange Moon Diamond.’

As for ‘Clear Spring,’ it required high-grade clear spring water. Hylial wasn’t worried about this, as the former ‘Silverlight Church’ was proficient in making various holy waters. She could try to prepare it herself later, though it would take more effort and time.

Considering this, the most crucial part was to acquire enough high-grade gems to complete the construction of the ‘Cornerstone,’ Hylial concluded.

High-grade gems could be used in many places, whether for advanced secret arts, extraordinary creations, or special rituals. They had always been a critical resource fiercely contested by various organizations, and also a resource difficult to regenerate.

Most existing gems are mined from veins, and the formation of these veins originated from the body of ancient True Fish, with their flesh becoming soil and their bones forming the veins.

The Woodland Association’s current exploration of the Dark Mist Mountains also aimed to uncover hidden mineral veins. The Flint Fortress, where she previously visited, produced flint and ‘Black Crystal.’

If a large number of high-grade gems could be mined, many Third-Tier or higher class professionals could be cultivated, significantly strengthening the Association’s power.

Going in circles, it still came back to the development of the Dark Mist Mountains. Hylial felt a subtle sense of destiny.

Temporarily setting aside her expectations for advancement, Hylial began to review what changes had occurred at the outpost during her absence.

Oh yes, they mentioned before that other outposts in the Dark Mist Mountains had sent people to communicate and inquire, and had left some lists.

Hylial rummaged through the papers under the table and found those lists to examine.

These lists itemized the supplies needed by each outpost, the resources they could exchange, and the association points rewards they could earn for helping to resupply them.

[Rhino Horn Mountain City: Needs food. 1000 Jin (unit of weight) of high-quality grain can be exchanged for two rhino horns (Third-Tier) and 500 points.]

[Poison Thorn Fortress: Needs timber with a toughness level of 5 or higher. Ten pieces can be exchanged for one venomous scorpion sting (Third-Tier) and 100 points.]

[Iron Helmet Valley: Needs ‘Sleepy Winter’ Aspect fruits for cooling and heat relief. 100 fruits can be exchanged for 10 pieces of graystone steel and 100 points.]

[Dark Sand River Valley: Needs holy water for purification. 10 bottles can be exchanged for 1 bottle of dark river magnetic sand and 200 points.]

[Thunder Flash Tower: Needs high-purity iron ore. 10 cubic meters can be exchanged for one lightning fire seed and 300 points.]

[Falling Dream Mist River: Needs aromatic essential oil for purifying miasma, quality requirement is Second-Tier or above. 100 portions can be exchanged for one healthy ‘Dream-Eating Beast’ (Third-Tier) and 500 points.]

…

The demands on these lists weren’t high, but they weren’t easy to fulfill either. She kept flipping through them, looking for tasks that could be completed by the outpost or with their assistance.

Of these, the ‘Dark Sand River Valley’ needed purified holy water, which she could help produce. Then she could get a few bottles of dark river magnetic sand. With this magnetic sand, she could find an organization within the association specializing in alchemy. They would greatly need this type of resource, and alchemy was the only other way, besides mining, to produce high-grade gems.

“This one it is,” Hylial decided.