Chapter 45: Potato Mine

Chapter 45: Potato Mine

There were two surprises in the Black Mist Space. The first was the most straightforward—the vending machine window now displayed a new plant.

Name: Potato Mine.

Grade: Tier 1, Lower Grade.

Effect: Delivers a powerful explosive attack to the trigger.

Planting Requirements: Tier 1 Spirit Field.

Spending 25 portions of Sun Essence, Gu Mo purchased a single Potato Mine. That's right—this plant cost only 25 portions of Sun Essence, making it the cheapest plant available so far.

However, considering the Potato Mine is a one-time-use consumable, the price of 25 portions of Sun Essence didn't seem so cheap after all.

"I wonder just how powerful this 'powerful explosive attack' actually is." Gu Mo studied the fist-sized potato in his hand. This was merely the Potato Mine's seed; it had to be planted before revealing its true form.

Unlike the Peashooter, which could actively attack, the Potato Mine was clearly a passive defense plant. It seemed like a great choice for planting around the spirit field as a protective measure.

With this in mind, Gu Mo spent another 75 portions of Sun Essence to buy three more Potato Mines, intending to plant them shortly.

Next, Gu Mo shifted his attention to another area of the Black Mist Space. As the mist gradually receded, a new object emerged—a door.

Beyond the door, the inside was still shrouded in thick mist, making it impossible to see what lay beyond. Gu Mo attempted to disperse the mist using Sun Essence, and it worked—the mist inside the door could be cleared. However, the mist outside in the Black Mist Space remained untouched.

This confirmed that the inside and outside were two separate spaces—an independent realm. Gu Mo couldn't help but wonder what lay beyond the door.

Unfortunately, he was running low on Sun Essence and had to postpone his exploration.

Planting the Potato Mines

Leaving the Black Mist Space, Gu Mo carried his four Potato Mines in search of a suitable planting location. Since these were defensive plants, the most important things to protect were the Sunflowers and his small hut. Luckily, the two were close together, so he buried all four Potato Mines around the Sunflowers.

"This takes a while..."

After planting them, Gu Mo waited for about an hour before the first Potato Mine revealed itself. A tiny, round-headed stick poked out from the soil—this was the trigger mechanism.

At first glance, the small stick was easy to overlook. Moreover, once buried, the Potato Mine emitted no spiritual energy fluctuations at all. For cultivators who relied on detecting spiritual energy to sense danger, this trap was nearly undetectable.

However, Gu Mo was still unsure of the Potato Mine's actual power.

"Should I test it?" he pondered.

Since it was a one-time-use plant, testing one would cost him 25 portions of Sun Essence. But understanding its power would allow him to use it more effectively in the future.

"Alright, let's do it!"

After making up his mind, Gu Mo backed away, picked up a rock, and tossed it at the round-headed trigger.

Nothing happened.

He had clearly seen the trigger move, yet the Potato Mine did not explode.

"Does it have an anti-misfire function?" Gu Mo speculated.

Checking its status screen, he quickly found his answer—it did. The Potato Mine had a built-in anti-misfire feature. When enabled, non-living objects wouldn't trigger the explosion.

Additionally, it had a whitelist function—people added to the whitelist could step on the mine without setting it off.

"That's incredibly thoughtful!" Gu Mo was impressed. This meant he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally stepping on his own mines.

But since he still needed to test its power, he disabled the anti-misfire feature. Stepping back again, he picked up another rock and threw it.

BOOM!

A deep explosion roared as the Potato Mine detonated. In an instant, a three-meter-wide crater appeared where the mine had been buried.

Though the blast radius wasn't large, the soil and rocks within the explosion zone had been completely disintegrated.

Gu Mo imagined what would happen if he were caught in the blast—he'd be dead without question.

This meant the Potato Mine could instantly kill an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator, regardless of whether they were at the first, second, or third level.

It would severely injure a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

As for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, Gu Mo wasn't sure. Since the explosion radius was small, they might have a chance to escape before detonation.

Still, the power was just as the description claimed—immensely strong. In comparison, the Peashooter's attack power was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer level. Of course, the Peashooter had continuous firepower, while the Potato Mine was a one-time burst attack. Each had its own advantages.

"Powerful but small range—perfect for the spirit field!"

Gu Mo was extremely satisfied with the results. The blast was potent enough to eliminate threats while ensuring it wouldn't damage his crops—the Sunflowers and Water Spirit Rice.

After filling in the crater, he purchased and planted another Potato Mine, then returned to his hut feeling much safer.

A Timely Visitor

"Wait a second!"

Gu Mo stopped Yuan Niya, who had just arrived. Another month had passed, and as always, she was right on time.

But this time, Gu Mo didn't immediately let her in—he first needed to add her to the Potato Mine whitelist to prevent her from accidentally stepping on one.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Niya looked at him in confusion. She glanced around, but Gu Mo had fully activated the illusion array, obscuring the spirit field from view.

However, Yuan Niya already knew that Gu Mo was trying to grow Tier 1, High-Grade Water Spirit Rice.

With her status as an Inner Sect Disciple, it was easy for her to investigate everything Gu Mo was doing in the Spirit Plant Hall. Seeing him activate the illusion array, she naturally assumed he was hiding his planting techniques.

After all, a mere outer sect disciple attempting to grow such high-grade spiritual plants? He either had exceptional methods or was out of his mind.

And it was completely reasonable for him to keep those methods secret.

"It's nothing."

After adding her to the whitelist, Gu Mo finally let her enter the hut.

As soon as she stepped inside, Yuan Niya immediately asked, "Junior Brother Gu, can you increase the strength of your Cleaning Technique?"