Chapter 013: Cultivation

“How long does it take for such fireflowers to grow into mature plants in a natural environment?” Du Fan asked promptly upon hearing Ringtone’s words.
“Based on my estimates, it would take about twenty-five years for these fireflowers to grow into mature plants in a natural setting,” Ringtone explained. “To ensure they reach maturity, another condition is that the fireflowers must have a lifespan of at least twenty-five years. According to records, fireflowers are annual herbaceous plants that can usually survive for just over a year.”
Hearing this, Du Fan became worried again.
Twenty-five years of growth period was already beyond what Du Fan could accept. Now, hearing that it was uncertain whether these fireflowers could even survive twenty-five years, he was almost desperate. If extending the lifespan of fireflowers to three years was possible through several methods, and extending it to five years was feasible under very strict conditions, making the lifespan of an annual herbaceous plant reach twenty-five years was practically impossible.
“Du Fan, since it’s a matter of plant growth rate, I think it shouldn’t be too difficult for us elves. Do you still have some water from the Spring of Life?” Naixiu asked.
“I still have plenty,” Du Fan replied immediately.
“Good. The water from our elves’ Spring of Life isn’t only effective for humans—it also has miraculous effects on animals and even plants! How about this, Du Fan? Try dropping a drop of the Spring of Life water on the fireflower,” Naixiu said with a smile.
Hearing this, Du Fan rushed over to the sample of the mutated fireflower. In front of him was a seedling of fireflower brought back from the Magic Guild. Given that it took eight months for fireflowers to grow, this seedling was equivalent to two months old. Lacking the mature deep red leaves, its leaves were still green, with only a faint red hue visible if looked at closely.
Du Fan quickly fetched a small cup of water from the Spring of Life and, as Naixiu suggested, dropped a drop on the fireflower’s leaf.
A miraculous scene unfolded soon after. To the astonishment of the three of them, the fireflower began growing at a visible speed!

In less than three minutes, the fire lily not only grew into a fully formed plant but also became twice as large as those Du Fan had seen in the Magic Guild! Moreover, the fire attribute within it had also increased significantly! Seeing this, Du Fan marveled at the power of the Water of Life and the wonders of life itself. Initially, he thought that a large amount of fire elements were necessary for the growth of fire lilies, but now it seemed that their powerful ability allowed them to convert absorbed energy directly into fire elements! Such an ability to transform absorbed energy into fire elements was difficult even for human magic masters; even gods like Robb needed divine forbidden techniques like the Eye of Truth to break down other elements and recombine them—showing just how challenging it was to change element types! Soon, large seeds appeared on the fire lily. Du Fan reached out, picked one seed, and crushed it in his hand. Inside were countless tiny red seeds—these small red seeds were the real seeds of the fire lily! Looking at the hundreds of seeds in his hand, Du Fan said, “Let’s go outside and give it a try.” Although the laboratory here could also cultivate plants, it was still limited in space. Hearing Du Fan’s words, Ringtone and Naixiu quickly followed him outside. In the courtyard where Du Fan lived, they found a corner and scattered the fire lily seeds there. Holding the cup of Water of Life in his hand, Du Fan prepared to sprinkle it. “Du Fan, wait!” Naixiu called out quickly upon seeing his action. “Using the Water of Life like this is a bit wasteful! In fact, it can be diluted before being used to water plants,” Naixiu said. Hearing this, Du Fan called for someone, and soon a guard rushed over. “Young master, what can I do for you?” the guard asked respectfully. “Go get me a bucket of water quickly,” Du Fan ordered. “Yes, young master!” The guard immediately ran off to fetch water. In Duke Green’s mansion, the guards and servants still preferred to call Du Fan “young master.” In less than two minutes, the guard returned with a bucket of water.

Du Fan took the water, first splashing some on the ground, then scattering all the fireweed seeds from his hand over an area of about five or six square meters, spreading them evenly across the surface.
“Du Fan, it’s time to dilute the Water of Life and give it a try,” Nayi Xiu called out promptly after seeing him scatter the seeds.
“How much dilution is appropriate?” Du Fan asked, looking at Nayi Xiu.
“I think there are around three hundred seeds. Just one drop of the Water of Life was enough to have a great effect earlier. This time, use less—half a drop per seed,” Lingsound said after thinking for a moment.
One cup of the Water of Life contained roughly three hundred drops. Hearing this, Du Fan poured half a cup into the bucket.
Soon, the water in the bucket also emitted a strong life energy!
Without any visible action from Du Fan, his lips moved slightly, and the water in the bucket immediately floated upward. Under his precise magical control, it turned into a mist that covered the area where the fireweed seeds had been scattered.
As soon as the mist covered that land, it became evident that the fireweed seeds were beginning to burst open, sprout, and grow!
Within just three minutes of the mist covering the area, the fireweed had grown to the size it would reach in over a month!
Du Fan had used only one-tenth of the diluted Water of Life from the bucket!
After using the Water of Life five more times over fifteen minutes, the fireweed finally matured. Seeing the vibrant patch of fireweed before him, Du Fan was filled with joy.
These densely packed fireweed plants were two-thirds larger than those in the Magic Guild, and they contained much more fire element energy.
Looking at the fireweed, Du Fan quickly harvested them all. After weighing them, he found they weighed eight jin! When dried to the standard used by the Magic Guild, they should weigh about three jin.
Half a cup of the Water of Life yielded such an abundance of fireweed—Du Fan wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or worried.
He was happy because he had finally found a suitable solution to the problem of fireweed growth and quantity. He was worried because to produce large quantities of such fireweed, an unimaginable amount would be needed!

In a war, using thousands of kilograms of explosives is quite normal. By such standards, to produce enough Fireweed for Du Fan to use without restraint, even giving him all the life springs of the entire elf race might not be enough!
“Du Fan, I think if possible, we could transfer the Fireweed to our elf territory to cultivate it. Near the ancient elf trees, I believe it could grow into usable plants within a year. If I have the elf natural mages use natural magic to accelerate its growth, I think it won’t take long before it’s ready,” said Nai Xiu with a smile.
“That’s right! How did I not think of that? It seems there’s a great possibility for mass production of this Fireweed!” Du Fan nodded upon hearing Nai Xiu’s words.
“Ringtone, take these Fireweeds to the laboratory and see if you can create something explosive from them,” Du Fan said to Ringtone.
Hearing this, Ringtone quickly picked up the bundles of Fireweed and headed toward the laboratory. Seeing how hard it was for her to carry such a heavy load, Du Fan took out the storage ring he had obtained from the flame demon in the abyss.
The items in this ring had already been transferred to his own ring. Although its grade was lower than Du Fan’s, it still had a capacity of nearly a hundred cubic feet. Such a ring would be considered top-tier in the market.
“Ringtone, this is a storage ring I obtained by chance. You’ve never had one before. I’ll give it to you,” Du Fan said as he approached her.
“That’s too kind of you,” Ringtone said, her face turning slightly red as she saw him offering her something.
Ringtone already understood very well the relationship between Du Fan and Nai Xiu. Seeing him give her something in front of Nai Xiu made her feel dizzy!
Could it be that he really intends to accept me too? Her heart pounded wildly.
With a gentle smile, Du Fan put the ring on Ringtone’s finger. “Do your best! I won’t treat you poorly.” After putting the ring on her, he patted her shoulder and left with Nai Xiu.
The moment Du Fan left, large, glistening tears streamed down Ringtone’s eyes. Holding the bundles of Fireweed, she finally realized that there was still happiness in life for her.

Logically, it should be she who was fierce with that kid! If not for him using force, how could she have lost her virginity?
But suddenly, Ringo felt she wasn’t fierce at all toward Du Fan. If she hadn’t held Du Fan back among the barbarians, he wouldn’t have encountered all those dangers! Taking her by force in such anger might indeed have been an expression of his anger toward her.
Besides, didn’t Du Fan save her life later on?
Moreover, she stayed by this guy’s side, watching him grow step by step—his pace of rise was truly like a comet!
Perhaps only by relying on Du Fan could she kill that cunning Ganon and save her tribe and all the barbarians from his grasp!
Following that kid wasn’t so bad after all! Ringo suddenly thought, remembering the madness of last night. Her face turned even redder as she quickly put the Fireweed into her storage ring and vanished.