Gardener of Eden

Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Expanding the Store’s Catalog

After a hearty, laughter-filled dinner, the exhaustion of back-to-back floor purges finally caught up with the team. One by one, Barney, Seraphina, Mirei, and Caelen bade Martha and Arthur goodnight, stepping out onto the porch before taking their leave to get some well-deserved rest.

With the house settling into a tranquil evening quiet, Rowan retrieved the Hoe of the World-Tiller from its rack by the door and stepped back out into the cool, star-lit air of Sunny Vale.

The farm at night was serene, illuminated by the soft, bioluminescent glow of blooming crops and the gentle, rhythmic hum of the Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse. Rowan walked barefoot between the raised soil beds, stopping at the edge of the central plot. Taking a deep breath of the crisp night air, he lifted his tool and tapped its forged tip lightly against the earth.

[Breath of Eden - Lv. 5]

A soothing, liquid-gold light rippled outward across the fields in a soft wave. Unlike the sharp, purifying surges used to cleanse the necrotic sludge of Floor 12, this pulse was warm, nurturing, and gentle.

The golden domain mana soaked deep into the root systems of the Sun-Dappled Tomatoes, Primordial Dew Lettuce, and Sun-Gilded Jade Avocados, invigorating the soil, accelerating nutrient absorption, and wiping away any lingering environmental fatigue from the day. Leaves rustled happily under the nocturnal dew, fanning out as the crops absorbed the rich vitality of Eden.

Once the entire perimeter of the farmland was thoroughly bathed in golden light, Rowan wiped the tool clean, returned it to the house, and headed upstairs to his room.

After a hot shower, Rowan sat down at his wooden desk and booted up his custom PC setup. The dual monitors flared to life, illuminating the room in a cool blue glow as he opened the high-tier Global Agricultural & Arcane Cultivation Exchange—the private trading network reserved for master farmers, top-tier alchemists, and imperial botanists.

With twenty million Gold heading toward the guild account, Rowan had plenty of capital to expand Sunny Vale’s luxury crop lineup.

Scrolling past standard high-grade fruit seeds and spirit herbs, Rowan navigated directly into the rare subterranean fungi section. He typed his primary targets into the search bar: Black Truffles and White Truffles.

Royal Imperial Black Truffle Spores (Grade S-Inoculant): Harvested from ancient subterranean oak roots. Known for its intense, earthy umami notes and rich, density-enhancing mana profile.

Celestial Diamond White Truffle Mycelium (Grade S-Inoculant): An exceptionally rare, delicate fungal strain that thrives only in high-purity ley-line soil. Highly sought after by gourmet cultivators for its core-soothing aroma and meridian-purifying properties.

A confident smirk touched Rowan’s lips as he looked at the steep prices—amounts that would make average guild quartermasters sweat. Without hesitation, he added several prime jars of both black and white truffle spore inoculants to his digital cart, specifying express spatial delivery directly to Sunny Vale Manor by tomorrow morning.

Cultivating these legendary fungi in ordinary soil was notoriously difficult, requiring years of delicate oak-root symbiotic growth. But with the hyper-fertile soil of Sunny Vale and the time-dilated, mana-dense environment inside his [Eden Domain], Rowan knew he could force the truffles to bloom into world-class gourmet delicacies within a fraction of the usual time.

Clicking [Confirm Order], Rowan leaned back in his chair, watching the order confirmation flash green on his screen. With the Order of Humanity eliminated, the lower floors purified, and new luxury crops on the way, the future of Sunny Vale had never looked brighter.

Before checking out, Rowan’s eyes caught a highlighted listing under the marketplace’s featured botanical roots section. He clicked on the item banner, reviewing the glowing specifications for a batch of Dragon-Vein Emerald Wasabi (Grade S-Root) rhizomes.

The requirements were notoriously strict: Thrives exclusively in fast-flowing, crystal-clear spring water enriched directly by the Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse.

A slow, satisfied smirk spread across Rowan’s face as he read the description. Most high-ranking guild botanists spent millions trying to simulate the gentle, rhythmic hum of an Origin Pulse using unstable, localized runic arrays—often resulting in stunted roots with muted potency.

Sunny Vale, however, didn’t need simulation. The Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse was buried directly beneath the manor’s bedrock, constantly pulsing pure, primordial earth mana up through the soil and subterranean aquifers.

Rowan leaned back in his chair, already visualizing the setup. He could use the Hoe of the World-Tiller to carve out a series of tiered, cold-granite stream beds along the farm’s western slope, diverting the crystal-clear underground spring water directly over the rhizomes. With a light touch of [Breath of Eden - Lv. 5] to stabilize the water’s temperature and flow rate, the wasabi would flourish in an ideal environment.

And the rewards were undeniable. Freshly grated on a cold-iron plate, the vaporous heat of the Emerald Wasabi would pair flawlessly with rare aquatic monster meats from the upper floor lakes. More importantly, its ability to clear blocked meridians and grant temporary immunity to sensory-dampening debuffs would give Squad 07 an invaluable tactical edge in future floor ascents.

Without hesitation, Rowan selected a prime starter batch of twelve Grade S-Root rhizomes and added them to his cart alongside the black and white truffle inoculants.

He clicked [Proceed to Checkout], watching the digital transaction process smoothly as twenty million Gold’s worth of bounty credit covered the hefty price tag without breaking a sweat.

TRANSACTION SUCCESSFUL

Items Purchased:

Royal Imperial Black Truffle Spores (Grade S) x2

Celestial Diamond White Truffle Mycelium (Grade S) x2

Dragon-Vein Emerald Wasabi Rhizomes (Grade S) x12

Delivery Method: Spatial Express Courier (Target Arrival: Tomorrow, 08:00 AM)

Satisfied with a productive night’s work, Rowan closed the marketplace browser and shut down his PC. The dual monitors went dark, leaving his room bathed only in the quiet moonlight streaming through the window.

He walked over to the glass, looking out over the tranquil, glowing fields of Sunny Vale. The crops rustled softly under the cool night breeze, the soil rich, fertile, and ready for its newest high-tier additions. Tomorrow morning, the granite channels would be carved, the truffle beds inoculated, and the farm raised to a whole new level.

Rowan smiled, pulled back the sheets, and turned in for a quiet, deeply earned night’s rest.