Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1505 - 1066: How About We Treat It Together?

Chapter 1505: Chapter 1066: How About We Treat It Together?

Everyone has seen boundaries before, even Durken can create one himself. The Farm Barrier is just a small-scale boundary, but encountering one as vast as an entire plane was a first for everyone, leaving them dumbstruck.

Elarafate introduced, "Welcome to the Crystal Dragon Sanctuary. This is where our Crystal Dragon Clan resides. We raise many Flying Dragons, fat sheep, cattle, horses, and the like here. In a while, we’ll treat you to some roasted whole lamb."

Ange muttered, "Not growing crops, what a pity."

Negris shot him a sideways glance. It was rare to hear Ange speak in such a regretful tone. But it was true; such fertile land being used only to grow grass for livestock seemed like a waste. If they planted grain, used grain feed, supplemented it with some silage, just tens of thousands of acres would sustain all the cattle and sheep grazing here.

Add some salt licks too, for... Wait, what am I thinking? Negris slapped himself across the cheek. Bada, I don’t even like farming, so why am I planning this out?

The commotion of Elarafate’s return had alerted the other Giant Dragons within the boundary. Five Crystal Dragons—three large and two small—approached. Seeing the group atop Elarafate’s back, they stopped in surprise.

One of the larger dragons shouted from afar, "Elarafate, why are you letting someone ride you?"

Ange’s gaze swept over the five Crystal Dragons, recognizing that two of the larger ones had helped drag the serpent’s corpse earlier. The remaining one large and two small dragons were unfamiliar.

Among these newcomers, the large one who had spoken out appeared to be a female dragon. Her body carried traces of Elarafate’s scent, likely his mate.

"Lilianna, these guests possess the ability to solve the egg-jamming problem. Our child can be saved..." Elarafate hadn’t even finished speaking when Lilianna’s body suddenly went limp, and she plummeted from the sky.

She quickly regained her composure, flapping her wings desperately as she flew over, staring excitedly at Ange and his group. "Really? Really?! Hurry, hurry!"

As she spoke, Lilianna’s expression became increasingly complex as she got a clear look at the group atop Elarafate: shifting from excitement, to doubt, to apprehension, then disappointment and hesitance.

She hadn’t witnessed Ange smashing the Apocalypse Attack, so naturally, she doubted that this group could resolve a problem that had plagued the Dragon Clan for hundreds of thousands of years. Even so, since they were here, it wouldn’t hurt to try—though she dared not harbor high hopes.

Word that someone could solve the egg-jamming issue quickly caused a stir throughout the Crystal Dragon Sanctuary. A total of forty Crystal Dragons came rushing over from all directions, forming a strong crowd of spectators.

As they observed Ange and his companions, Ange and his group were also observing them.

"They truly are Crystal Dragons. Their scales are crystalline structures, not keratin layers—how fascinating," Negris murmured softly.

"Why would this happen? Can Giant Dragons grow crystals?" Anthony asked quietly.

Negris replied, "How would I know? This is my first time seeing such a dragon species. But as for creatures that can grow crystals... they are indeed unusual. I’ve seen plenty that grow chunks of iron, though—like Iron Scale Cleaners."

"Under what conditions can living beings grow crystals?" Anthony asked.

"High temperature, high pressure, and pure elemental environments—places like the harsh Abyss Dimension. In such conditions, some elemental creatures grow Crystal Stones on their surfaces. But those are nothing like these flawless crystalline scales. These almost look fake, as if they were artificially made," Negris mused aloud.

Anthony whispered, "Right, doesn’t it seem like they’ve been coated?"

Negris was startled, glancing at Anthony, then instinctively at Ange. "Crystal coating? That would require examining a scale. Impossible, right? That technique is unique to Ange. How could they possibly know it?"

Anthony shrugged. "I’m just speculating. Once the Dragon Egg hatches, we’ll know. Even if they are coated, it’s not like they can coat an egg. When the Juvenile Dragon hatches, if its scales are normal at first, then they were probably coated later."

Negris nodded, then lowered his head to closely inspect Elarafate’s scales. He even lifted a small piece as if to examine the scale’s base, but there was too much Dragon Scum underneath to see anything clearly.

As they exchanged thoughts, a group of Crystal Dragons surrounded Elarafate and flew into a cluster of caves.

These caves were at the same level as the fertile grasslands outside. At first glance, it seemed like random piles of stones, but rain had washed away the dirt, exposing this network of caves.

Each cave was colossal—large enough for dozens of dragons to enter simultaneously without feeling crowded. The deepest areas were cool and moderately humid, making them ideal for hatching Juvenile Dragons.

At the lowest depths, five or six eggs were placed in the coolest corners, tended by two Sub-dragons. Seeing a swarm of Giant Dragons pouring in, the Sub-dragons looked bewildered.

When they heard someone could resolve the egg-jamming issue, both Sub-dragons instinctively turned to the innermost egg, which appeared slightly grayish-white.

In truth, from the moment they saw these eggs, Ange and the others had already focused their attention on this particular egg.

"It’s already starting to rot. No wonder they’re so anxious. Can this still be saved?" Negris muttered quietly.

The egg-jamming issue in Giant Dragons stems mainly from their nervous system. During their egg phase, the nerves fuse with the egg membrane’s inner layer. Many oviparous animals develop this way. For example, chicken embryos first develop nerves and a heart, followed by flesh and feathers, before pulling the nerves into their bodies to hatch.

But Giant Dragon eggs take an exceptionally long time to mature—up to five hundred years. By the time a dragon embryo is two hundred years old, it already develops intelligence. During the remaining three hundred years, it can even chat with you from inside the egg.

Such a lengthy incubation period leaves little room for error. If the nerves fail to detach from the inner membrane and retract into the body, the dragon cannot break out from the shell.

If unable to hatch, the egg’s nutrients are eventually depleted, and the Juvenile Dragon perishes. In some cases, the embryo begins to rot even before death. By then, egg-jamming becomes an unsolvable issue.

Ange’s solution to egg-jamming is relatively straightforward: purify the eggshell, make a small hole, inject nutrient solution, purify further, and seal the hole—allowing the Juvenile Dragon to continue growing within the shell until it’s ready to hatch.

However, on Dragon Island within the Master Plane, contaminated Dragon Eggs at the rotting stage had never been encountered before. If the egg has already begun decaying, injecting nutrients won’t help. Could Ange handle this?

Ange nodded.

Seeing Ange nod, everyone felt reassured. Silver Coin motioned Elarafate and Lilianna aside and said with some difficulty, "Ai, why did you wait until now to find me? It’s too late, too late—the egg’s already rotting inside. Ai..."

Silver Coin’s exaggerated sighs made Elarafate’s heart leap into his throat. Lilianna even rolled her eyes and fainted, her massive dragon head plummeting toward Silver Coin.

Silver Coin leaped to the side, avoiding the incoming dragon head, then awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Might’ve overdone it there."

After Elarafate shook his wife awake, Silver Coin continued, "Now, this will take more materials—so, it’ll cost extra."

First despair, then joy—Lilianna rolled her eyes again and fainted. This time, however, Elarafate caught her, preventing her from collapsing entirely.

Silver Coin chuckled helplessly, "Fainting over bad news and fainting over good news. Does she have low blood sugar? Want me to treat her while I’m at it?"

PS: Preparing for Qingming Festival in the south can be quite tedious. First, we have to locate the graves, then clear weeds and chop down saplings. Over a year, Little Trees can grow as thick as a wrist. Starting with our family’s ancestral graves, paying respects all day leaves us utterly exhausted.