Chapter 543: Shock and Shock Again

"I just saw Marcus from Black Horse Island leaving the castle. What brought him here?" Mary walked into the earl's study, bringing a cup of green tea, and inquired.

She had recently been learning the art of tea brewing, and Liszt had sent quite a lot of tea from Flower Town, along with instructions on how to brew it.

The earl greatly appreciated the taste of green tea and had already included it in his daily beverage routine. Mary had taken the initiative to master the technique of brewing tea.

The earl held the teacup calmly and said, "Liszt has found some spirit bugs in the sea and is planning to hold a celebration, inviting us to attend on April 14th."

Mary was startled, "There are spirit bugs in the sea too?"

"Why not? I once saw a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite from the Sapphire Family on Blue Dragon Island, living among the water chestnuts in the tranquil lake, with large patches of water chestnuts floating on the surface. If spirit bugs can live in lakes, it's not surprising that they can also live in the sea."

"But the sea is so deep, how did he find them?"

"I'm not sure either. I plan to visit Black Horse Island the day after tomorrow. Since Liszt was granted the title of Black Horse Island, I haven't been there yet. This is a good opportunity to take a closer look," the earl said, then remembered something, "You should prepare a generous gift. The main character of this spirit bug celebration is a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite."

Mary was shocked, "Ah, a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite?"

The earl put down the teacup, seemingly understanding his wife's thoughts, and placed his hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it, "It's called Pyke, and there are also three Giant Kelp Sprites and five Giant Kelp Worms, a whole family of spirit bugs. I was just as surprised as you when I heard about it, but considering Liszt's luck, like a child of glory, it's not hard to understand."

"Darling, that's a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite!"

"So I'm proud of him."

Mary touched her chest, calming her emotions, with a complex look in her eyes, "I still can't believe it, a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite... The Tulip family has worked for generations to possess Xiang Xiang, yet it can't compare to such elusive luck... Maybe we should also search the waters around Coral Island."

"Of course, I will do so, but the sea is different from the land. There are too many unknown dangers in the sea, and it's difficult to develop. We can't just throw civilians into the sea to farm."

"Then how does Liszt develop those... Giant Kelps?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll find out when I get there. Don't overthink it, just prepare the gift. If you're willing, come with me."

"Me?" Mary thought for a few seconds, then shook her head, "No, I'll wait until April 14th to go. You two should have a good chat, after all, you're family. He must have a special method to obtain spirit bugs from the sea, and the Tulip family will prosper even more with such technology."

...

Southeast waters of Black Horse Island.

On the offshore waters, sampans were shuttling back and forth, harvesting large amounts of Giant Kelp. These Giant Kelps had been tested and were found to be non-toxic and edible, although the taste wasn't particularly good. Livestock and poultry could eat Giant Kelp, but only occasionally, as it couldn't be used as a staple food.

Moreover, Giant Kelp was eighty percent water, and its seemingly large volume shrunk significantly when dried.

Even so, it was still a very important aquatic product, effectively alleviating the demand for feed in the territory's animal husbandry.

The fishermen were harvesting Giant Kelp on such a large scale to open up new areas for planting Magic Giant Kelp. There was no magic in the area affected by Pyke's worms, so Liszt had used jade powder as a lure, along with emotional communication, to persuade Pyke to move his worms to the offshore area.

His worms could cover more than 6,000 acres, almost instantly covering all the offshore areas suitable for Giant Kelp growth.

In addition, the worms of Fizz, Tahm, and Eddie, along with the original five Giant Kelp Worms, could basically influence ten thousand acres of sea area.

The entire offshore area would be planted with Magic Giant Kelp, while other areas would be left to grow ordinary Giant Kelp, whether they thrived or not didn't matter, as long as the magic was ensured.

A few kilometers away from the area where the fishermen were harvesting Giant Kelp, the sea surface was slightly rippling.

Suddenly.

A splash of water erupted as a colorful large fish leaped out of the water, with a person riding on its back. It was none other than Liszt, who was searching for the Giant Kelp Forest, and his newly tamed mount, the Rainbow Whale Rosi.

"Whew!"

Liszt let out a long breath of relief on Rose's back, his tone relaxed: "After a week, we finally finished clearing the Giant Kelp forest. Unfortunately, there weren't many discoveries in the deep water area; only three Giant Kelp Worms were found... bringing the total to eight Giant Kelp Worms."

In the last two days of searching, he only found three Giant Kelp Worms.

The Giant Kelp forest, covering an area of 36,000 acres, has nurtured one Grand Sprite, three spirit bugs, and eight Giant Kelp Worms, making it an enormous treasure trove in the sea.

Acheronides also surfaced, looking at Liszt with some distress: "Brother, my shell is in such disarray. Fizz, Tahm, and Eddie are not behaving at all, and the eight Giant Kelp Worms often bully the seaweed bugs, laver bugs, red stone flower bugs, horsetail bugs, and ink horn bugs."

Her shell is indeed large, but the spirit bugs have bad tempers. Not only is the Grand Sprite fierce and the spirit bugs aggressive, but even the Giant Kelp Worms are domineering.

Whenever Acheronides isn't paying attention, they always bully other spirit bugs or get into fights with each other.

"I’ll have the seaside villa in Flower Town expanded into a small castle by the sea, specifically for these spirit bugs to live in, with one room per spirit, so no one intrudes on another... We’ll soon start building a new castle in Port Town, and then, Acheronides, you’ll also have your own room."

"Will Acheronides have one too?"

"Of course, you are my sister. Although we can't reveal your identity for now, you will also be the owner of the castle," Liszt said with a smile.

Acheronides showed a happy smile and asked, "Can Acheronides have a larger magic laboratory?"

"Yes."

"Mm, thank you, brother."

"If it weren't so difficult to build structures in the sea, I would even be willing to build an underwater magic tower for you," Liszt boasted, knowing he didn’t have to follow through.

"Hehe, Acheronides is more than happy with a larger magic laboratory."

Such a considerate and money-saving little mermaid, how could Liszt not cherish her? He signaled Acheronides to lean her head over and gently ruffled her azure hair. At this moment, Acheronides was like a little kitten, squinting her big eyes and enjoying Liszt's caress.

The sea was so serene and tranquil that even Rose only made soft sounds, unwilling to disturb.

Liszt focused intently, his mind sharp and clear.

He summoned the task display, which remained unchanged, indicating it was not yet completed.

The task required him to place all the insect grass and plan the Giant Kelp forest. He hadn't had the chance to position the insect grass of a Giant Kelp Worm he discovered today in the nearshore waters.

So, after a moment of warm interaction, they set off.

With Acheronides, he rode Rose and swam towards the nearshore waters. He had a complete plan and knew exactly where to place the insect grass.

Meanwhile.

Back at Tulip Castle, Levis, fresh from his mana cultivation session, was stunned: "What, Marcus, what did you say? Liszt has contracted with a Grand Sprite!"