In his past life, he had seen Cistanche all too often during desert reclamation in the Northwest.
Every year in April and May, those pale purple inflorescences breaking through the soil among the Suosuo forests were called “desert ginseng” by the local villagers. The harvesting season was even more bustling than the holidays, and even the town government would send people to maintain order to prevent folks from coming to blows over a good specimen.
The item before him, although dehydrated and darkened, had its shape remarkably well-preserved. The scales on its cylindrical body were evenly arranged, and the tip was slightly swollen, with faint traces of unopened flower buds still discernible. At a glance, it was of premium quality; even in the eyes of those old hands who specialized in the medicinal herb business back then, no fault could be found.
Elon walked over. Seeing him staring at the mass of tissue for a long time without saying a word, he couldn't help but ask, “Do you recognize this thing?”
Shane looked up at him. Instead of answering directly, he held the Cistanche up between them, first allowing Elon to see it clearly. “I call this thing Cistanche. It usually parasitizes the roots of Suosuo, growing by absorbing nutrients from its host.”
“And you should know its other name: Everlasting Vine.”
“Everlasting Vine!”
Elon showed a look of surprise, staring at the unremarkable object in Shane's hand. He naturally knew of the so-called Everlasting Vine; it was an ancient existence recorded in the ancient texts of the elves.
Its full name was the Moontear Everlasting Vine. It was said that elven potions brewed by merging it with other specific plants had the effects of strengthening the body, increasing basic physical recovery, and improving one's resistance to diseases.
Whether in the Empire or the elven realm, it was a relatively rare existence.
Glancing at Elon's expression, Shane knew he already understood the uniqueness of Cistanche, so he continued to explain, “Look at these scales on its surface; they are actually degenerated leaves. The true stem and flowers only begin to develop after they break through the soil. The part underground is what we see now.”
Having learned the origin of this plant, Elon's interest was naturally piqued. His gaze swept finely over the mass of tissue again, and then his eyes narrowed. “You said just now that it's some kind of parasitic plant?”
“Yes.”
Shane tapped the gaps between the scales with his fingertip, gesturing for Elon to look closely at the extremely fine fibrous connection. “Once the Suosuo's root system is firmly established, it will invade through wounds or natural cracks in the roots, and then grow along the path of the roots.”
“So, usually beneath a vigorously growing Suosuo, if you can find one within a range of a few meters, there is a very high probability of finding a second one.”
Elon listened intently, nodding repeatedly. Finally, he reached out his hand and gestured to Shane, “Can I take a closer look?”
Shane handed the Cistanche over. Elon took it and examined it over and over for a good while, even bringing it to his nose to sniff. When he looked up, a hint of excitement showed in his eyes. “Then if we expand the cultivation area of Suosuo, theoretically, can we also increase the yield of Cistanche?”
“Theoretically, yes, but the cycle for this thing from inoculation to harvest is three to five years. It's not something that happens overnight.”
Shane stroked his chin, pondering the planning. “But once a stable cultivation system is formed, the annual output value of Cistanche per mu of Suosuo forest can reach over fifty gold coins, and during peak harvest periods, it can even exceed a hundred.”
“Hiss!”
Elon's breath hitched noticeably. The output value of his water beans per mu was only a few gold coins even now, and that was only achieved with the enhancement of the magic pool water. Yet this parasitic plant Shane spoke of could sell for this price just as a dried product.
“It's practically the gold of the desert.”
Having said this, Shane added another sentence, though his tone was much calmer than before: “Furthermore, this thing has a symbiotic relationship with Suosuo. You plant Suosuo to fix the sand, and Cistanche brings you revenue. The two things don't conflict at all.”
“In terms of the desert economy, this is one of the few industries that can achieve a positive cycle.”
Elon stared at the Cistanche in his palm, looking at it as if it were undoubtedly a gold brick. Only after a long while did he let out a long breath. “Fifty gold per mu... If we can scale this up, the self-sustainability of the oasis will at least double. Shane, how do you plan to handle this?”
“I'll leave it to you.”
Shane spoke decisively, without the slightest hesitation. “You're a druid. Your understanding of plant growth cycles and environmental requirements is far more professional than mine, plus you have the Living Soil Pouch and cultivation experience.”
“Although we don't know if the seed source of this specimen can still survive, even if this one doesn't work out, as long as we remember its characteristics, we'll know how to handle it when we find more in the Suosuo forest in the future.”
“I'll be responsible for planting Suosuo, and you'll be responsible for researching how to make Cistanche work with it. A clear division of labor, each doing our own part.”
Elon stared at him for two seconds, then curled his lips into a smile. He carefully tucked the mass of tissue into the leather pouch at his waist, patted the opening of the pouch, and said solemnly, “Leave it to me.”
The two smiled at each other. Over the next period of time, he and Ksaz led the men in stripping the sand worm completely from head to toe.
By the time the setting sun dyed the horizon a warm orange, the sand worm's massive body that had once lain across the sand was reduced to nothing but a large heap of mangled, bloody remains and bone marrow.
Grayish-brown carapace fragments mixed with dark red soft tissue were piled there, steaming with a heavy, fishy stench under the sunlight, drawing a few desert winged beasts to circle overhead.
“What should we do with these things?”
Ksaz took two steps back from the pile of remains, his gaze sweeping over the heap of flesh and blood. “Bury them directly? Or burn them?”
Elon wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, thought for a moment, and said, “Let's dry them. There are still some earth elements remaining in the flesh. If we dry them, crush them, and mix them into the sand, they can probably be used as fertilizer. It would be a waste to just throw them away.”
Shane stood aside and nodded. Just as he was about to summon two skeletons to help move them, he suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow rushing quickly toward them from their side out of the corner of his eye.
Sara rushed in front of the two of them at extreme speed, more urgent than ever before. Her giant pincers tapped the ground anxiously in alternation before her, and her tail sting was stretched straight. The entire earth stinger radiated an anxious, restless mood.
She rushed straight to Elon, a series of rapid clacking sounds almost blending into one.
Elon listened intently, but soon a helpless smile appeared on his face. He pointed at the pile of bloody remains and said, “Sara is asking if we can leave these things for her children.”
“She says the sand worm's flesh contains a large amount of earth elements, which is extremely beneficial for her children's growth and development. If they can get a portion, the carapace hardness and tail sting power of the little ones can be significantly improved.”
Shane looked behind Sara and only then noticed that, without him realizing it, the five little earth stingers had already lined up in a neat row, squatting on the sand about ten paces away.
Their tail stings were all slightly tilted up, pointing in Shane's direction in perfect alignment. Though their bodies were tiny, every single one of them was stretched completely straight.
The bodies of a few little ones were even trembling slightly, as if they were both nervous and expectant.
After Sara finished communicating, she took half a step back and waited to the side, staring motionlessly at Shane. She had even lowered her tail sting in restraint, showing a rare, well-behaved posture.
Shane looked at Sara's behavior, then at the little ones lined up in the distance. He fell silent for two seconds, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly, before he turned his gaze back to Elon. “Sure, give it to her.”
“They were troublesome leftovers we couldn't easily dispose of anyway. If they can deal with them, it saves us the trouble of drying and crushing them.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand to summon several skeletons, pointing at the massive pile of bloody remains and then toward Sara's nest. “Help carry them over.”
The skeletons moved in response, each grabbing large chunks of flesh and bone fragments, walking with even steps toward Sara's nest.
Sara froze in place for half a second, then let out a series of rapid, joyful clacking sounds, waving her giant pincers up and down.
The five little earth stingers in the distance shook their bodies almost simultaneously, then lined up, following the skeletons one by one, their steps much lighter than when they had arrived.
Shane stood in place, watching their family walk away, then turned his head to look at Elon. The two made eye contact and smiled in unison.
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