Chapter 642: Withered Tree Bears Fruit

Liszt was not a man with long-term plans, always acting on impulse. But it's undeniable that he was obsessed with dragon riding. He kept detailed records of any information related to dragons and compiled them into his unpublished *Liszt's Dragon Taming Manual*.

Moreover, when giving magic books to Cris and Acheronides to read, he had them jot down any dragon-related content and hand it over for him to organize into the manual.

He often gathered literate servants to comb through chivalric romances, searching for details about dragons, cultivation, geography, magical beasts, spirit bugs, and other related information, then meticulously recording them.

The books filled with these records alone filled a whole shelf—though, since they were written on thick paper, they didn't contain much actual content.

The white paper workshop had been researching paper production, with some prototypes completed. However, the quality was even worse than the rough grave offerings paper, much less good enough for smooth writing. There was still a long way to go in refining and improving white paper, so they stuck with thick paper for now.

Based on his efforts to go through every available chivalric romance and magic book, the recorded information about dragons never mentioned anything like the Milon Mind Fruit.

In other words,

this fruit was either kept secret by dragon-breeding clans or simply so rare that no one knew of it.

"Then, where should I look for these three Milon Mind Fruits? Aside from organizing a land survey across the territory, there don’t seem to be many ways to search… Or perhaps I don’t need to do anything—maybe the three Milon Mind Fruits will come to me on their own?"

Either way,

he was now extremely excited.

The bold idea that had sprung to mind upon hearing about the Milon Mind Fruit thrilled him, washing away all tiredness and fatigue, leaving only a surge of exhilaration.

"Indeed, as long as my mental interference is strong enough, I can guide the smoke task—or rather, tug at fate's strings! By constantly thinking about how to ride a dragon, the smoke task automatically alters my destiny, leading me to the Milon Mind Fruit, a magical fruit that could potentially tame a dragon!"

After a moment of excitement, he forcibly suppressed his thoughts—he had to consider the possibility that the Milon Mind Fruit might not work as imagined. So, it was better to wait until he actually obtained the fruit before getting ahead of himself.

At this moment,

he called up the smoke task again.

"Mission: The hand-drawn ruins map is not precise. You must carefully search to find the lost civilization of an unknown race, perhaps hidden in some corner of this sea. The singing that echoes will guide your path—seek the song upon the waves. Reward: An elderly siren."

"Hmm?"

"An elderly siren?"

Another welcome surprise. Given how infatuated Liszt was with Acheronides, it showed just how marvelous sirens were.

Though it was a bit of a pity—this one was elderly.

The word "elderly" often conjured images of white hair, wrinkled faces, and hunched backs, which clashed with the pure, beautiful, and innocent impression Acheronides had given Liszt of sirens. Still, aging was a natural part of life, and he wasn't about to get hung up on it.

"Finding a siren while searching for an unknown race suggests that this civilization might truly have been left behind by sirens?" Suppressing his earlier excitement, he began seriously considering the new task. "An elderly siren must be over four hundred years old—four hundred years would've packed in experiences and wisdom."

At this thought, his eyes lit up.

"This elderly siren is basically a walking ocean encyclopedia gifted by the smoke task!"

As the saying goes, "An old head is worth its weight in gold." Wisdom is often the accumulation of experience. In her four hundred years, how many places had this elderly siren visited, how many ships she'd crossed paths with, how many stories she'd witnessed? It was easy to imagine that she herself was a walking library.

The next day, after bidding farewell to Penelope and the others,

he began planning the search for the civilization’s ruins.

This would require Acheronides’ help.

"Acheronides, you can sense the presence of a siren from a certain distance, right?"

"Yes, big brother. Although Acheronides has never met another sea siren, she's sensed their presence several times and knows they're nearby."

"How far is the sensing range?"

"Not entirely sure, but it should be around ten kilometers."

"Hmm, Acheronides, get yourself ready. I plan to explore the ruins on the map. We might encounter other sea sirens, and it will be up to you to confirm their presence and establish contact."

At Liszt's insistence, Acheronides quickly gathered her personal belongings, instructing Nami to take good care of the little ducks on Mangrove Island.

Liszt also took the time to write a letter, entrusting it to the steward Carter. If he hadn't returned by the time the Count and others came back, the letter was to be handed to the Count.

The letter contained just a few points, mainly entrusting the Count to use the resources obtained from the iron ore trade to purchase serfs and grain. If the Grand Duke sent someone to inquire whether he was willing to swear direct fealty, the Count was to firmly decline—for now, Liszt wasn't ready to directly serve the Grand Duke.

At the same time, Liszt instructed the officials in his territory to carry out an agricultural census. If any new varieties of fruit were discovered, they must be preserved and strictly prohibited from being destroyed.

Everything would be arranged upon his return.

Thus, in the morning, after restocking the supplies in the gemstone space, Liszt and Acheronides ventured out to sea, riding the Rainbow Whale Rosi.

Acheronides was skilled at navigation, allowing them to sail freely across the ocean.

From Coral Island to the waters of the Roaring Estuary, a ship would take about ten days, but riding the Rainbow Whale at a speed of eighty kilometers per hour—including rest time—it would only take two and a half days. They traveled during the day and, at night, deployed a sampan, using the Water-Calming, Wind-Settling, and Thermostatic Pearls to rest peacefully.

Before they knew it, they were deep into the vast ocean.

Occasionally, while Rosi rested, Liszt would stand on her back, leap into the air, and scan the horizon with a telescope.

When they were about nine hundred kilometers from the shores of the Roaring Estuary, he spotted a small island and immediately guided Acheronides and Rosi toward it. Staying in the sea for too long was uncomfortable, and he craved solid ground again.

The island was tiny—smaller than Mangrove Island, Boulder Island, Sandy Island, and Seagull Island, which were subsidiary islands of Black Horse Island. It was barely a hundred acres across.

A lone rocky outcrop, surrounded by cliffs with only a small grove of trees at the top.

As they approached, Liszt leaped into the air and landed on the small grove atop the island.

All around were the same type of trees—short, with leaves resembling ferns, like the towering plants from the dinosaur era. Most ferns on Earth had shrunk into small plants, with only a few, like tree ferns, remaining as trees.

"I wonder if any spirit bugs are here?" Whenever he encountered a green environment, he habitually cast Magic Eye to search for them.

It was meant to be a routine scan.

But suddenly, three dazzling points of magic power appeared in his vision.

His pulse quickened, and he rushed toward the three feedback points. In less than a minute, he reached them—a clearing in the fern grove, where a small, withered shrub stood in the center. The shrub had no leaves left, but on its remaining branches hung three iridescent fruits.

"Milon Mind Fruit!" he exclaimed.

Liszt instantly realized—this was the Milon Mind Fruit, the reward promised in the smoke vision!