Chapter 176 – Mutant Crops

Mo Lan also pulled out a small spoon, dug a hole in the Lantern Tomato, and scooped out the flesh inside to eat.

“Mm! It really does taste exactly like a regular tomato.”

“Can you eat the skin?” Vasida asked.

“I’ve tried it. It’s not poisonous, but the texture isn’t great—it’s a bit dry and tough.”

The moment Sylph finished speaking, Vasida took a big chomp.

After walking such a long way, her stomach had some room to spare again.

“Ugh, this skin really is tough!” Vasida chewed dryly on the bit of skin and flesh she’d bitten off, then tossed the rest of the tomato straight into the Devouring Stomach.

“Lantern Tomatoes are not only edible, they’re practical too! And the yield looks pretty good!” Lilith said, looking at the tomato plants along the roadside, laden with fruit.

“And Lantern Tomatoes aren’t annual plants anymore! They rely entirely on magical cultivation. As long as I nourish them with my Mana every so often, they can keep living and flowering and bearing fruit over and over again,” Sylph said.

“The environment doesn’t matter anymore either?” Mo Lan asked in surprise.

Sylph nodded. “In fact, all of my mutant crops share this trait. The environment has much less impact on them, but correspondingly, they need more care from my Mana—that is, more attention from my Sorceress Magic.

The Mana I normally use probably isn’t just universal Mana anymore—it’s already been transformed by exclusive Mana.

I turned this transformation process into a Sorceress Magic. It’s now called Mutant Crop Magic, specifically targeting all the mutant crops I’ve cultivated. Lantern Tomatoes are one of them.”

“In that case, witches who like living in places with extreme climates are in luck,” Lilith said.

Tending crops with Sorceress Magic was far easier than making plants adapt to their environment.

“How much does plant-type magic affect the cultivation of these mutant crops?” Vasida was more concerned about this.

“Not much. If you’re good at plant-type magic, growing my mutant crops is naturally easier. But even if you’re not, using Mutant Crop Magic alone is enough to successfully cultivate mutant crops. The key to their survival and growth is the nourishment from Mutant Crop Magic,” Sylph said.

Vasida felt a surge of joy. “I remember you said you’ve cultivated several high-yield mutant crops, Sylph? Where are they?”

If she could solve her hunger problem by growing high-yield mutant crops with Mutant Crop Magic, that would be absolutely perfect!

It was so much quicker and more convenient than specializing in plant-type magic just to grow vegetables to feed herself.

“Right along the road!” Sylph said. “The high-yield crops are a bit further in. I’ll introduce them when we get there! Let me start with the ones nearby first—I guarantee they’re all fascinating little specimens.”

She introduced the plants in the roadside fields as if showing off her prized treasures:

“This plot here is Rainbow Peppers. Each pepper plant randomly produces peppers in seven colors matching the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

Red is the least spicy, about the same as a regular red pepper. Purple is the spiciest. I’d advise against casually trying the blue and purple ones.

Mm… I only took one tiny bite, and my throat was burning so badly I ended up in the infirmary.”

“Over here we have Oil Peanuts. Unlike regular peanuts, when you crack open the shell, instead of peanut kernels, you get peanut oil wrapped in a thin membrane.

However, Oil Peanuts don’t yield as much as regular peanuts—each plant only produces ten to fifteen peanut pods.”

“This plot is divided into three ridges. On the left is Moonlight Chives, in the middle is Morning Dew Scallions, and on the right is Rotleaf Garlic!

Among all existing mutant crops, only these three have certain environmental requirements. You need to pay attention to the harvesting times for Moonlight Chives and Morning Dew Scallions.

Moonlight Chives can only be cut on moonlit nights. After cutting, nourish them with Mutant Crop Magic, and when the next moon rises, they’ll grow rapidly and sprout new leaves.

Morning Dew Scallions work the same way—it’s best to pull them in the early morning before the dew has evaporated. Leave a tiny bit of root in the soil, then nourish them with Mutant Crop Magic, and by the next morning, new scallions will have grown back!

As for Rotleaf Garlic, it loves half-decomposed leaves. When cultivating it, you need to cover the surrounding soil with rotting dead leaves—that’s how it grows big and healthy!”

…

“Here we are! These are the high-yield crops I told you about earlier—Giant-Eared Wheat, Tree-Grown Rice, Basin Potatoes, and Highland Corn.”

Along the way, Mo Lan and the others had seen all manner of strange and peculiar crops, but when they laid eyes on these specimens before them, they were still deeply awestruck.

The wheat ears were so large that a young witch couldn’t wrap her arms around one.

The rice grew on trees, each grain distinct and plump—a single grain was more than enough to cook a whole bowl.

Then there were the potatoes, one per plant, each the size of a wash basin, and the corn, so tall you had to crane your neck and still couldn’t see the top, towering like a mountain.

It was as if they had wandered into a giant’s vegetable garden.

“So from now on, harvesting wheat and picking corn will require riding a broomstick? Are these wheat and corn perennials now too? Otherwise, you’d probably need an axe to chop them down. Though the Witch Farming Tool Card does have an axe!” Lilith said.

“No, the wheat and corn are still annuals. But you don’t need to chop down the plant—the fruit is the essence of the plant. Once you snap off the wheat ears or corn, the plant itself will immediately return to the soil and become nutrients.”

As she spoke, Sylph took out the large sickle from the Witch Farming Tool Card and cut down one wheat ear and two ears of corn.

The moment the wheat ear was severed and the corn hit the ground, the wheat stalks and corn stalks withered and crumbled instantly, scattering across the ground.

Mo Lan reached out and touched them, and they crumbled a second time, turning to powder.

Just a minute ago, she had tapped the wheat stalks and corn stalks and they were incredibly sturdy. She never would have imagined that once the ears and corn were removed, they’d become so fragile.

“What if you don’t pick the wheat ears and corn first, but cut the leaves or stalks instead? Can those be preserved?” Mo Lan asked curiously.

“Detached leaves and stalks will wither and crumble the same way,” Sylph said.

“The corn and wheat taste the same as normal ones too. Does anyone want some?”

“Me!” Vasida said immediately. “My stomach wants a taste!”

A few minutes later, Vasida let out a satisfied burp. “I never imagined that one wheat ear and two ears of corn would be enough to fill me up!”

“Sylph, when are you going to start selling your magic and Seed Cards? I want to buy one!”

Vasida decided that Sylph’s mutant crops were much better suited for a big eater like her.

Easy to grow, and the returns were enormous.

“Me too!” Lilith said. “Finally, no more worrying about not having enough farmland! Plant a single Tree-Grown Rice, and you’ll never have to worry about going hungry—it would free up so much space to grow other things!”