Chapter 343: Conflict of Wheatworms

"Soul Storage Tank? It sounds like a very mysterious item, a tank that stores souls, like something concocted by an evil magician."

Liszt mused.

When it comes to souls, nothing is ever not evil.

During the previous ghost ship battle, the soul-wood obtained from Curtis Truth was stained with countless people's grievances—after all, it required the sacrifice of an entire ship's crew to create the soul-wood; the Soul Disruption Potion obtained from Millery Truth was also extracted from the blood of the dead.

The magicians' theory of the triad—magic power, matter, and spirit—naturally drives them to explore the spiritual realm, including the soul.

Liszt also wanted to know the meaning of the soul, but he preferred to live comfortably.

At this moment, he wondered how this soul storage tank would come into his possession: "Currently, there are two magicians in town, Elkson is making potions, and Glanny, whom I've invited, is redesigning the new Deep Sea Pearl to equip the Thorn Ship set to be equipped."

So he guessed.

The soul storage tank would either come from Elkson or Glanny.

As for how to obtain it, that was still unclear. But if neither of them offered it up voluntarily, he would inquire thoroughly, not allowing his reward to fall into someone else's hands.

As he thought,

The serpentine smoke had already transformed.

"Task: The wheat leaves in Wheat Village have turned yellow, near the fungus of the wheat spirit bug. The farmers have been desperately fertilizing but to no avail, and they even burned a batch of wheat seedlings. As the Lord, you should resolve this issue. Reward: one spirit bug."

After reading the task, Liszt understood that a new wheat bug was about to be born in Wheat Village.

Indeed, with the arrival of spring, everything was sprouting, and the spirit bugs in Flower Town were continuously breeding. The yellowing of the wheat leaves must be due to the spirit bugs requiring a large amount of nutrition during their gestation, yet the farmers' efforts were in vain.

"What's going on here?"

A spark of inspiration flashed in his mind, leading to a new guess. He quickly headed to the insect room on the second floor.

In the large box where the spirits resided, Jie La monopolized the central position, with a dozen spirit bugs crawling around her aimlessly.

Occasionally, they would lick some jade powder.

They were living the high life.

However, there was one discordant spirit bug—the wheat bug.

At this moment, it appeared quite anxious. Through the heart-linked contract, Liszt could sense its inner world, which, although not entirely clear, was sufficiently expressive. It was affected by something, becoming restless and even harboring a faint hostility.

"Little one, come here." He extended his hand and let the wheat bug crawl up.

At that moment, Jie La, who had been sleeping, suddenly woke up and snatched the wheat bug from Liszt's hand, placing it back in the box: "Waa!"

It was just a prank, with no special meaning.

Immediately, it received a fierce flick from Liszt. It covered its head, shrinking into a corner, looking wronged: "Waa, waa…"

"You better watch yourself," Liszt picked up the wheat bug again and left behind a stern warning.

"Waa!" Jie La protested, not believing it was being naughty.

Liszt pointed at it: "Watch your back!"

"Waa."

"Wuwah!"

"Wuwah!"

Amidst Jie La's protests, Liszt left the insect room and headed towards Wheat Village. As he arrived, he saw Isaiah in the fields, discussing something with the serfs.

After exchanging pleasantries.

Liszt already knew they were dealing with the yellowing wheat issue, but he still couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"

Isaiah quickly replied, "Lord, there's a problem with the wheat seedlings in Wheat Village. The leaves are turning yellow, especially near the wheat bug's nest. Initially, I thought the issue was with the nest, but it's still healthy. I also asked Mr. Carter, and he told me the wheat bug is healthy."

He considered whether it might be a lack of nutrition or even the possibility of a new bug being born.

But fertilizing didn't help, which left him very puzzled. "If we can't solve it, I was going to seek your guidance, Lord. I'm really at a loss."

Abnormal situations in Flower Town's agriculture were originally reported directly to the castle.

Because each abnormality could be related to the hatching of spirit bugs, but after many false alarms, Liszt canceled this procedure—crop abnormalities were too common, and almost all were unrelated to spirit bugs, except for those indicated by smoke missions.

"I understand now." Liszt didn't blame Isaiah. Without the help of a smoke mission, managing the town wouldn't have been much better for him than for Isaiah and the others.

Especially in this special case, "I believe a new wheat bug has been born here, but its birth location is somewhat conflicting, near the wheat bug's nest... So, two wheat bugs are competing, causing the yellowing of the wheat."

While spirit beings rarely clash, it doesn't mean they are all friendly to each other.

Jie La's slap to Nami was proof of that.

The existing wheat bug clearly didn't have friendly intentions toward the incoming wheat bug, thus causing the current abnormality.

The solution Liszt took was simple: "Little one, retract your nest."

The anxious wheat bug couldn't resist Liszt's thoughts.

It quickly spat out a burst of magic power onto its insect nest, which visibly reversed its growth, rapidly turning into a wheat seed and being swallowed by the wheat bug.

"I will move the wheat bug's nest. You all take good care of this field. If the soil is over-fertilized, cut back on the fertilizer; if it’s undernourished, add more. Make sure to water and weed carefully. Don't let my second wheat bug die prematurely."

"Lord, please rest assured, I will personally supervise the serfs in tending this field."

The wheat bug's nest could affect an area of about 100 acres, so Liszt chose a good spot in another field to have the wheat bug spit out its nest again.

The seed landed.

And rapidly grew visibly, soon turning lush green and sprouting wheat ears. The wheat ears were green and would remain in a state of being nearly ripe but not quite.

The insect nest wasn’t a normal plant. It was more like an embodiment of magic power.

After moving its nest, the wheat bug felt waves of exhaustion. Moving nests wasn't suitable to do frequently, as each time a spirit bug cast a spell, it greatly depleted its energy.

Fortunately, refined jade powder could make up for this damage.

After some time, it would regain its energy.

"If it weren't for the new wheat bug, I would never move the nest. While refined jade powder can restore its energy, there’s no guarantee that moving the nest won’t impact its chances of evolving." Liszt stroked the golden wheat bug's body with a hint of apology. "Little one, I hope this doesn’t hinder your evolution."