[Tree] Chapter 667: Floral Tea (Patreon)

Ashlock finally found Douglas at his home in Darklight City's noble district.

The master builder of the Ashfallen Empire had his head in his hands, staring blankly at a dozen documents on the table before him as Elaine enthusiastically explained their wedding plans.

"We have to invite the Redclaws, dear. The question is how many."

"Well, how many do you want to invite?" Douglas asked without looking at the parchment Elaine pushed before him.

"I was hoping you would decide, as you are closer to Magnus than I am," Elaine said, glancing to the side. "Hazel! Get that out of your mouth!"

Douglas leaned back in his chair with a sigh as Elaine strode off to grab Hazel and pick her up.

"I'm indeed good friends with Magnus, but I don't know the other Redclaw Elders that well. But not inviting them would feel rude."

"Right?" Elaine balanced Hazel on her hip while Talon sat quietly in the corner. "So what should we do? Invite them all? Oh, I want some of my students to be invited too. Those little rascals have been pestering me about getting invites." Elaine playfully gripped Hazel's nose, making her daughter reel back and push her hand away. "Are you coming too, my little baby girl—yes you are!"

As exhausted as Douglas looked, he still managed a smile at Elaine's antics. He looked like he needed a break, and Ashlock had just the place.

"Sorry to intrude," Ashlock said, settling his gaze on the house.

Douglas straightened like an arrow in his seat, and Elaine glanced up at the ceiling while bouncing Hazel on her hip to keep her calm.

"Boss?" Douglas asked, hope in his eyes. "Do you have a task for me?"

"Less of a task, and more of a reward," Ashlock said. "Elaine, could I borrow your husband for a moment?"

Elaine pursed her lips but eventually agreed with a small nod. "Fine, but not for too long. I need his help here at home."

"Certainly, it shouldn't take too long." Ashlock tore open a desolation rift in their living room.

Douglas rose excitedly from his seat, gave Elaine and Hazel a peck on the forehead, then dipped into the portal.

"You've saved me," Douglas said as he stepped out into Ashlock's Inner World before the Celestial Realm's fog.

"Not a fan of wedding planning?" Ashlock asked.

Douglas shook his head with another sigh. "I know it's self-inflicted; I mean, I did put the ring on her finger, but the wedding has ballooned into more than I expected. Not her fault, mind you. She's doing a great job organizing everything. I just... wanted it to be a small ceremony. Nothing fancy. But she envisioned a big wedding with all our friends."

"Sounds tough," Ashlock said.

"Yeah, it's a headache, but a short break from it all will be a big help." He glanced up at the entrance to the Celestial Realm. "You want me to enter the Eternal Realm?"

"It's called the Celestial Realm now," Ashlock corrected him.

"Oh?"

"You'll see once you go inside. I want you to try choosing one of my moons."

"Moons?" Douglas seemed confused but did as instructed. He walked into the cavern, the celestial fog swallowing him.

[Douglas Terraforge has entered the Celestial Realm]

Ashlock had waited only a few minutes outside the cavern when another notification appeared.

[Douglas Terraforge has claimed one of your moons. Attuning to occupant…]

Ashlock glanced up and saw the pale surface of his third moon darken into an earthen amber shade. Cracks turned into fissures, and mountains rose. Within what felt like moments, his third moon, which had remained empty until now, resembled another world.

[Attunement complete. The moon has attuned to Earth Law]

[Douglas Terraforge's cultivation speed and comprehension of Earth Dao have increased 36.24x. This increase is limited by the depth of your own comprehension of Earth Law]

"So my moons get the 30x time dilation like the other pocket realms, but there's a bonus depending on my Law comprehension." Ashlock rose into the sky of his Inner World and found that the moons remained in the distance, never getting closer. It was like racing across the desert, following the north star, only for it to remain forever overhead. "I guess I'll pull him down in a while to ask him his thoughts."

Ashlock turned his attention back to his status screen. He still had a little over 3000 credits after upgrading the Eternal Realm to the SSS-grade Celestial Realm.

"I need around 5000 credits to upgrade an S-grade skill, so if I want to upgrade something, it will have to be one of my few weaker skills." Ashlock glanced down the list to the bottom, where a handful of neglected skills called out to him.

{Abyssal Whispers [A]}

{Language of the Eldertree [A]}

{Fire Qi Barrier [A]}

{Blooming Root Flower Production [B]}

{Superior Poison Resistance [C]}

"Abyssal Whispers and Language of the Eldertree serve their purpose just fine at A-grade, and I don't see much use in upgrading Fire Qi Barrier, as I have my far superior {Voidstorm Aegis [S]} skill. Similarly, with my Superior Poison Resistance, my body effectively covers an entire continent, and all my roots are infused with Desolation. I doubt any poison will trouble me, which leaves a skill I'm surprised I haven't considered before."

{Blooming Root Flower Production [B]} was one of his oldest and simplest skills. It let him grow flowers he had seen before on his roots, and without it, the Qi-attuned groves that let the Redclaws cultivate on White Stone Peak would have been impossible.

"It shouldn't cost much to upgrade and will hopefully help improve the groves. System, go ahead and upgrade it for me."

[Sign-in successful, 952 credits consumed…]

[Upgraded {Blooming Root Flower Production [B]} → {Garden of Eternal Spring [A]}]

[{Garden of Eternal Spring [A]} Any flower, herb, or spirit grass you've analyzed may now grow wherever your roots or your offspring’s roots reach. You can accelerate growth to full maturity, so long as you can pay the Qi for the years skipped. Planted together, your flowers will saturate the surrounding land with the Qi of their affinity, forming fields of dense Qi perfect for cultivation. If grown near your own roots, the flowers, herbs, and spirit grass can be infused with your Dao knowledge]

Ashlock's first thought upon reading the skill description was tea. People across worlds and cultures enjoy tea, but what if the Ashfallen Trading Company could start selling floral teas that carried the dao knowledge of the All-Seeing Eye?

"Not everyone wants to buy pills, and they are labor-intensive to make. Harvesting flowers from a garden and packaging them into tea bags should be a simpler process." Ashlock paused, wondering where the best place to conduct such a wide-scale operation would be. The safest option was his own Inner World, but it wasn't that big. The Sanctuary also had large stretches of grasslands between the cities that he could use, but they were currently farmland for food.

"What about Floridawn?" Ashlock mused. "After the war, I've neglected Floridawn quite a lot. Maybe introducing this new industry for them, and flooding the land with more Qi, will improve their terrible perception of me."

Ashlock left his Inner World and took a moment to peer out over the World Tree's sparkling golden leaves before descending through Sylva's canopy. Below lay the Sanctuary, a large floating landmass split into two tiers: the higher one supported Ashfallen City, and the other held Darklight City and the surrounding farmland.

Heading down to the surface far below, he passed Empyrea and its many floating islands before finally reaching Floridawn. It was hard to call Floridawn a single city, as after the war and the following famine, it had fractured into many hubs spread out among the fields. As the breadbasket region of the Ashfallen Empire, Floridawn produced 60% of all food, and without it, the Ashfallen Empire couldn't support its massive population.

It was also clearly neglected. The Midas bank hadn't been implemented here yet. Branches of the bank existed in the Sanctuary cities, and the first rollout was underway in Empyrea for the old Celestial Empire nobles. Thankfully, due to Elysia's efforts, many places of worship dedicated to the All-Seeing Eye dotted Floridawn, and they doubled as places for the Ashfallen Trading Company to sell pills, which were necessary as the Qi was thinner down here.

Homing in on a random cluster of houses, he saw a trail of fire as a cultivator from Team Phoenix patrolled overhead. Massive riots had broken out in Floridawn, so maintaining order was important.

"I know Diana is the general overseer of the Ashfallen Empire, but who is specifically in charge of Floridawn?" Ashlock wondered and drew a blank. "I really should get more involved and keep track of these things."

Zooming out, he found the old noble district where Faelorian had been killed rebuilt. Ashlock focused on a large manor and found a familiar face inside, cultivating.

"Cyphion," Ashlock said, and the man opened his eyes.

"All-Seeing Eye," he said, smiling as he rose from his lotus position. "To what do I owe a personal visit from our overlord?"

Cyphion had been one of the first Celestial Empire Monarchs to defect to his side; after witnessing Ashlock's mastery over Desolation, he had practically become a fan.

"Did Diana put you in charge of Floridawn?" Ashlock asked.

Cyphion nodded. "She entrusted this vast and plentiful land to me."

It made sense. He had inherited Floridawn after Faelorian was killed and knew the land and people better than anyone else in the Empire.

"Is there something I can help with, my Lord?" Cyphion asked. He hid it well, but he was clearly on edge about getting a surprise visit from Ashlock. Which was totally fair—this was something he should have put in as a request through Diana, but he had a spare moment, and she was already swamped with work.

"Relax, Cyphion, I've come today with a possible new industry for Floridawn." His ethereal roots had spread beneath Floridawn during the war, so it was the perfect place to set up a Garden of Eternal Spring. "Is there a large stretch of farmland that could be repurposed to grow flowers for tea?"

Cyphion raised a brow. "Flowers for tea?"

"Yes, if you show me a spot, you will see what I mean."

"Very well, color me intrigued. I'm sure the people of Floridawn will smile upon you fondly, knowing you are thinking of them."

"I somehow doubt they will change their minds so quickly despite Elysia's best efforts. But I have a feeling this might just do it."

"Then let us not waste any time." Cyphion teleported out of his home and broadcast his soul pressure, letting Ashlock find him easily. "What do you think of this plot? The land's soil is too poor for growing typical crops, so it has been left alone until now."

The offered field lay in a valley, nestled between two of the World Tree's titanic roots that rose from the ground like mountain ranges. Small villages dotted the sides, and Ashlock could detect people living in the houses.

"They must not have much work to do with the field abandoned like this," Ashlock mused as he selected the entire valley and activated {Garden of Eternal Spring [A]}. Like watching a nature documentary time-lapse, all manner of flowers and herbs bloomed from the barren ground, with spirit grass covering the rest. The Qi cost was quite high to accelerate the growth to this degree, but he had plenty to spare.

The doors to the village houses swung open, and sparkling-eyed youth and confused adults stepped out to witness the miracle.

"Capable of drowning an Empire in Desolation, and blessing it with life," Cyphion sighed in admiration. "You really are a god."

"See to it that the flowers in this valley are harvested and packaged to be sold as tea," Ashlock instructed. "Talk to Diana about distribution through the Ashfallen Trading Company and discuss their compensation."

"Understood, my Lord," Cyphion bowed. "Do you want to be shown some more plots for these flowers? I only ask, as I can already feel the Qi coming off of them from here and can tell they will be popular."

"You think so?"

Cyphion nodded. "Absolutely, and I will be sure to spread the word that blessing us with these flowers and herbs was your doing."

Ashlock could already feel a slight uptick in his divine stock market as the villagers witnessed his miracle.

"Very well then," Ashlock said. "Lead the way."

[Author Note]

Sorry chapter is a little short, I got food poisoning and spent most of today in bed. I planned to skip today's chapter, but managed to lock in and get something written.