Chapter 2194: Farewell

He couldn't help but praise, "Crispy yet moist, rich yet not oily, warm yet not parching—the cooking is truly spot-on. No wonder their establishment has such long queues."

Xin Yi took a gulp of wine. "This was cooked with a fat duck from Taogan Lake," he said. "Ducks from Taogan Lake cost twice as much as those from other regions."

He Lingchuan, who had just returned from patrolling the border and was unfamiliar with market prices, casually asked, "Why?"

Taogan Lake, a large lake on the Chipa Plateau, boasts excellent water quality. It was once occupied by a water monster named "Taogan," which frequently ambushed travelers drawing water from the shore. Draconic City dispatched envoys to negotiate with it multiple times without success, eventually resorting to setting a trap to kill it.

After the monster's death, Taogan Lake gradually became a significant source for fishing and husbandry. The lake fish, water ducks, and snails it produced became common fare on the dining tables of Draconic City residents.

"With the resurgence of spiritual energy, people believe that free-range ducks, which feed on water plants, fish, shrimp, snails, and locusts from the plains and lakes, absorb spiritual energy. In contrast, ducks cooped up in city pens don't get to eat these spirit-infused foods, so free-range ones sell for a very high price."

He Lingchuan found it amusing.

Life for the people of Draconic City had clearly improved, giving them the luxury to be picky. Yet, this marketing trick for expensive ducks sounded remarkably familiar.

"Whether free-range ducks have more spiritual energy, I can't tell, but this certainly does," He Lingchuan said. He lifted the lid of an earthenware pot, and a warm, substantial fragrance diffused into the air.

Inside the pot was rice, but not the common brown or polished varieties. Each grain was plump, fiery red, and translucent, like countless rubies closely packed together, offering a delightful aesthetic even before it was eaten.

As soon as Xin Yi smelled the fragrance, he knew without needing to lean in and look. "Ah, so the Danruo rice trial cultivation was successful?"

He had personally delivered these seeds to Draconic City and hadn't expected them to be successfully cultivated so quickly.

"Danruo" is another name for pomegranate, and the rice was named so because, when cooked, its grains resemble the beautiful, lustrous seeds of a pomegranate.

He Lingchuan was also trying it for the first time. He scooped a spoonful of rice and found his mouth filled with a refreshing aroma, a sweet and soft texture, and a rich, oily essence.

After half a bowl of rice, his mouth watered, and the vital energy within his abdomen began to stir.

Xin Yi also tasted it and nodded, saying, "It's close."

Danruo rice is one of the legendary "spirit grains," rich in spiritual energy. Long-term consumption is extremely beneficial to the human body, subtly improving a cultivator's practice and granting even ordinary people good health and a longer life.

As the saying goes, 'food therapy is better than medicine,' and the importance of spirit grains and spirit foods is self-evident.

Spirit grains offer numerous benefits, with only one drawback:

They are difficult to cultivate.

They require an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy; even a slight deficiency prevents successful growth. To cultivate Danruo rice, the spiritual environment must at least recover to the mid-ancient period.

Above it, there are even more precious spirit grains, with cultivation requirements that rise sharply. Draconic City currently does not dare to attempt their cultivation.

"Draconic City established its first trial spirit field on the Chipa Plateau, where spiritual energy is most abundant. The yield was thirty thousand catties, even more than expected," He Lingchuan said, looking at the rice in his bowl, filled with emotion. "Ten years ago, the people of Draconic City lived hand-to-mouth, tightening their belts. Who would have thought that one day, we would be on the verge of eating spirit grains?"

Even Zhong Shengguang couldn't have predicted that Draconic City, once struggling and strapped for resources, would undergo such immense changes within a decade.

"This is what you deserve," Xin Yi said, taking a sip of wine. "From the external intelligence I've received, the spiritual energy concentration in Draconic City's territory is extraordinary. Even in the wilderness, the spiritual energy is at least four or five times stronger than in Xiluo Kingdom, and almost comparable to Spirit Void City. Looking across the human realm, only grotto-heavens and blessed lands possess such spiritual energy; other places are far from this good."

The frequent eruptions of Imperial Nectar had indeed led to a widespread resurgence of spiritual energy in the world.

However, the resurgence varied in speed and intensity, with different paces in different regions. The spiritual energy growth in Draconic City, in particular, was unusually fast and exceptionally abundant.

He Lingchuan nodded, naturally understanding the reason.

Draconic City had refused Spirit Mountain's request to install spirit-gathering formations within its territory. Additionally, it possessed the Black Flood Dragon Totem, which prevented both spiritual and fiendish energy from being drawn away by external forces. Furthermore, it inherently benefited from favorable weather…

These various factors combined made the spiritual energy within Draconic City's territory increasingly abundant.

As for Spirit Void City, it possessed a large spirit-gathering formation that absorbed external spiritual energy into itself.

However, the beings in the human realm were subjected to the dual exploitation of immortals and demons, meaning the spiritual energy they received was significantly diminished.

Thus, Draconic City's recovery and development was several steps ahead of the outside world.

The appearance of the Zhimar on the Chipa Plateau and Shuming Academy's successful trial cultivation of spirit grains were landmark events, signifying that Draconic Territory's spiritual energy concentration had reached a new stage and was rapidly progressing towards the mid-ancient period.

If the area of spirit fields could be expanded and spirit herbs could be cultivated at lower altitudes in the next step, then the good days of Draconic City residents strengthening their physiques and improving their constitutions wouldn't be far off.

The overall combat capability of Draconic City would also see a rapid, significant improvement.

This was also the direction in which Zhong Shengguang and others were striving desperately.

There was no time to lose.

"While this is certainly great news, with great fortune comes hidden danger, so you must still be careful," Xin Yi warned He Lingchuan. "Draconic Territory, being uniquely prosperous and not allowing immortals or demons to interfere, will become quite an eyesore to them."

Another Draconic City general would likely have declared boldly, "Then let them try their hand!"

But He Lingchuan humbly asked, "Mr. Xin, please elaborate."

Xin Yi, however, did not respond. Instead, he silently gulped down two more cups of wine.

"I'm leaving in three days; I've already bid farewell to Commander Zhong," he said softly. "My hometown, the Shaha River basin, is being attacked by the Sura Demon Kingdom, and I must rush back to help. Here in Draconic City, Spirit Mountain will soon send a new envoy."

The Sura Kingdom was one of Bega's vassal demon nations and remained very powerful at this time.

He Lingchuan was slightly moved. "I've heard that Bega has repeatedly invaded countries and sects under Spirit Mountain's jurisdiction in recent years?"

Bega had been quiet for a while after the Abyss of Destruction, but in the past two years, with the frequent Imperial Nectar eruptions, it had once again begun stirring up trouble externally—either inciting internal conflicts among various nations or directly intervening to discipline smaller local nations and factions.

Those under Spirit Mountain's jurisdiction were particularly frequent targets.

"Indeed, with every resurgence of spiritual energy, the expansion of war becomes inevitable," Xin Yi sighed. "Under Spirit Mountain, no force has ever been able to directly contend with Bega, always suffering significant losses."

Behind this statement lay a long history of struggle.

Had Spirit Mountain supported local forces? Yes, continuously, but all had ultimately failed without exception.

It simply could not foster a force that could prosper and develop independently and directly confront Bega.

He Lingchuan deliberately said, "In a few more years, Draconic City might just be able to contend with Bega."

Draconic City was inherently thorny, and Bega had tried several times but gained nothing. If it continued to develop at its current pace, within ten—no, five—years, it might just possess enough power to protect itself.