Still No Sprouts

It was only when Wu Yao saw the system warning that she realized the Territory System was actually of some use—at least it could serve as an alarm.

“Y-Your Ladyship, what is this...?” Tiechui took half a step back in terror, staring at the barrier that had briefly shimmered into view from the impact. Complex runes flowed across its surface, sending out ripples of fine, dense waves from the point of impact. “A barrier array?”

“Such strong magic fluctuations...” Tongque completely forgot about her pain. She scrambled up from the ground and pressed her face against the light barrier, flattening her nose and squishing the flesh on her cheeks into a crumpled ball.

Wu Yao didn't answer. She was currently browsing through her system panel. Finding the visitor permission settings in the territory management interface, she granted the two goblins entry access, setting the expiration time to twenty-four hours.

【Temporary visitor permissions granted to Tiechui and Tongque.】

【Permission Validity: 24 hours】

【Visitors within the territory cannot attack, destroy, or pick up items. Permissions will automatically expire upon leaving the territory.】

“Alright, come on in.”

Tiechui carefully reached out to touch it. A warm pulse of magic rippled across her fingertips without any hint of rejection. Taking a deep breath, she dragged her sister along and squeezed inside.

“This is...” The moment Tongque stepped inside, she was stunned by the incredibly rich magical environment.

Although the territory wasn't very large and was surrounded by bare, ugly earth walls, the concentration of free-floating magic in the air was at least twice as high as outside.

Beside the cabin, the ten neat squares of Farmland had deep black soil, clearly fertile land that had not been eroded by corruption.

Wu Yao ignored their awe, eager to see if her crops had sprouted.

The surface of the soil was as flat as before. Forget green sprouts—there wasn't even a single bump.

“Did you plant some crops, Your Ladyship?” Tiechui poked her head over curiously. She couldn't see a single weed on the black soil's surface, nor could she detect the slightest breath of life.

“Yes.” Wu Yao thought for a moment, then came to a sudden realization. “Is it because the soil is too hard? I forgot to loosen the soil!”

She reached out, her Mental Strength probing into the ground beneath her feet like tentacles. The earth elements lazily responded to her.

“Let's draft a soil-loosening spell...” she muttered to herself, beginning to conceptualize the spell structure.

Under her command, the earth elements began to squirm. Wu Yao controlled them to vibrate gently underground, attempting to make the soil soft and loose.

However, she had severely overestimated her control over precise manipulations. The moment the earth elements received the command, they suddenly surged upward from below!

A chunk of earth was violently scooped upward as if by an invisible giant hand. The soil, along with the potato and sweet potato chunks buried inside, was flung into midair before raining down with a series of splats.

Wu Yao: ...

Tiechui and Tongque: ...

She looked at the potato chunk that had rolled to her feet. The cut marks she had made yesterday were still visible, now covered in dirt and faintly turning black.

Feeling guilty, she glanced left and right before quickly burying the potato and sweet potato chunks back into the ground.

Patting the soil down firmly, she put on a bright smile. “Hahaha! I just dug them up to see how they were growing!”

“I see!” Tiechui came to a sudden realization and nodded vigorously. The Great Witch was indeed unfathomable; even her farming methods were so unique.

Tongque tugged at her sister's robe and whispered, “Why do I feel like those potatoes are rotten?”

Tiechui lowered her voice, her face dead serious. “What the Great Witch does can never be wrong! It must be due to our own shallow understanding!”

Tongque wore an expression of “I stand corrected” and kept her mouth shut.

Wu Yao didn't pay attention to what the two NPCs were whispering behind her. She condensed a few waterballs and splashed them onto the Farmland, counting it as watering.

After making her wish, Wu Yao turned around and led the two toward the cabin. “Let's head inside to discuss business.”

Although the furnishings inside the wooden cabin were simple, unfamiliar and dense magic fluctuations emanated from every corner. The two goblins marveled inwardly once again, becoming even more convinced that the witch before them was a reclusive Great Witch.

“Sit.” Wu Yao pointed to the Moon-Silver Wood Table and Chairs next to the Workbench, while she returned the Moon-Silver Wood Bed to its original place.

“I'm going to start listing things now.” Wu Yao opened the Workbench and cleared her throat.

Tiechui and Tongque quickly pulled out paper and pens from their bags and sat up straight. To Wu Yao, they looked like students waiting for her to assign homework.

“Please go ahead, Your Ladyship! We will make sure to write down every detail!” Tiechui's ears stood completely upright, her pen hovering over the paper, ready to write.

“Fifty Mana Crystals...” Wu Yao started listing the materials for upgrading her territory first.

“F-Fifty?!” Tongque's hand shook, her pen leaving a black streak on the paper.

“What is it?” Wu Yao glanced at her.

“N-Nothing.” Tiechui also swallowed hard in secret. Mana Crystals only grew in places with an extreme abundance of elements; they were solid energy bodies formed naturally over a long time from free-floating magic under specific geological conditions.

Even in famous magic ore veins, such as the Raging Flame Vein within the Dwarf Kingdom, at most seven Mana Crystals were discovered in a single year. Legend had it that during the Golden Moon era, Mana Crystals could be found everywhere. But now, with corruption running rampant across the continent of Elderan, forget Mana Crystals—even the magic ore veins suffered from declining yields year after year due to the erosion of corruption.

Fifty Mana Crystals... a quantity like that was almost an entire year's transaction volume for their Goblin Chamber of Commerce. As expected of a Great Witch, the items she required were truly extraordinary.

“Then, two thousand common ores, one thousand iron ingots, refined wood... actually, scratch that, I have enough wood. Oh, and another Elemental Core.” Wu Yao spoke more and more smoothly. Upgrading her territory obviously didn't require that many materials, but she just liked hoarding. The more materials she had, the happier she was. After all, no player would ever complain about having too many materials.

“An Elemental Core?” The two goblins exchanged solemn looks. Tiechui said hesitantly, “An Elemental Core hasn't appeared in nearly thirty years...”

Wu Yao frowned. Reaching Level 2 for her territory required one Elemental Core. Surely the system wouldn't intentionally set an impossible requirement?

Fearing the Great Witch before them would think they were useless, Tongque quickly added, “But our trading company does have some information regarding Elemental Cores. It's just that our authority isn't high enough to access the details.”

“Alright, just give me the info and I'll find it myself.” Wu Yao skipped over the topic and continued listing items, her speed picking up as she added whatever came to mind.

“I want all kinds of plant seeds, including magical plants. Even if they aren't seeds, they're fine. I also want fruit trees and saplings, all kinds of livestock, and a small collection of various ores—let's say ten pieces of each type. Oh, and I also want all kinds of magic-related books...”

Sweat beaded on the two goblins' foreheads. Their pens danced rapidly across the paper as the list grew longer and longer. At first, they could still think about how to gather these items, but by the end, they just wanted to pack up their entire trading company's inventory and sell it all to her.