Duan Xianxing had no intention of experiencing that scene of being chased by mycelia again. Last time he had companions; this time he was alone. If he died here, it would be a true injustice!
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. He unsheathed Wait a Moment and channeled his full spiritual energy. Fine sparks of lightning erupted from the sword's tip, slashing toward the mushrooms in an instant.
Crackling thunder spiritual energy immediately covered the mushroom cluster. The multicolored mushrooms froze on the spot, wisps of blue smoke rising from their caps. Soon, they were completely motionless.
"Is that... it?"
Duan Xianxing looked at his hands in disbelief, then at the unmoving mushrooms. Fearing they might be playing a trick, he poked them gently with his sword's tip. Only after confirming there was no more movement did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Whew—" He wiped the rainbow-colored sweat from his forehead. "I didn't expect to be so powerful, finishing them off in one blow!"
Just as he was happily praising himself, he suddenly thought of something and frowned. "It seems the area behind the light gate... isn't simple at all. I wonder how the others are doing... Regardless, I need to get out of this hellhole first!"
Duan Xianxing's gaze turned firm. He stood up to look for an exit, but the moment he took a step, he heard a splat—a small mushroom fell from his sleeve.
"No way..." With a miserable expression, Duan Xianxing quickly checked his body.
He discovered that small mushrooms were starting to sprout not just on his arms, but on his back and thighs as well!
"Forget it, find the exit first..." He endured the bizarre sensation of mushrooms growing on him and stumbled out of the forest. As he ran, he couldn't help but start plucking them off.
"I'm not going to be like this for the rest of my life, am I?" Duan Xianxing was despondent. Getting angrier as the mushrooms multiplied, he viciously plucked one from his shoulder. Just as he was about to stuff it into his mouth to vent his frustration, he froze the moment his teeth touched the cap—the mushroom transformed into a surge of spiritual energy, flowing down his throat and straight into his dantian.
Moreover, the mushroom tasted exceptionally fresh, even more delicious than any spiritual food he had ever eaten. He immediately plucked a few more, eating while looking for the way out.
"Left... no, right..." He wandered around the forest, only to find himself back at the starting point—the paralyzed mushrooms were still there!
"Damn it!" Duan Xianxing stomped his feet in anger, causing a few more mushrooms to fall. He caught them and stuffed them into his mouth, then suddenly realized something was off.
"Wait..."
Staring at the paralyzed mushrooms, he felt something wasn't right. He rubbed his eyes—did the mushrooms' colors seem to have faded? Their arrangement was also different from what he remembered.
"Strange..." he muttered, leaning down to observe closely.
The mushrooms seemed disorganized, yet they appeared to follow a hidden pattern. He couldn't see much else at the moment, and just as he was about to give up, a crisp crack came from beneath his feet.
"You again!" Glaring at the purple mushroom he had stepped on for the fifth time, a flash of inspiration hit him.
He quickly walked in a circle and returned. Sure enough, the mushrooms' positions had changed again—they were slowly rearranging themselves at a speed barely perceptible to the naked eye.
It was only then that Duan Xianxing finally noticed the mushrooms seemed to be arranged by height. The tallest were three inches, while the shortest weren't even an inch tall.
Staring at the undulating mushrooms, his brow furrowed into a knot.
He cautiously extended his arm, which was still covered in mushrooms, and tentatively touched one of the tall ones.
"Hiss!"
A faint electric shock traveled through his fingertip. He jerked his hand back, completely puzzled. He tried touching the tallest one again, and once more, his finger recoiled from the shock.
"That's odd..." He rubbed his tingling fingertip. "They weren't electric when they attacked me just now?"
Outside the water mirror, Xiao Yan was enthusiastically explaining to Li Nanzhu, "These are the ever-changing mushrooms bred by your master. They were originally attribute-less, but once they come into contact with spiritual energy of a certain attribute..."
Looking at her confused Seventh Senior Brother in the water mirror, Li Nanzhu suddenly understood. "So these mushrooms are electric now because Seventh Senior Brother used thunder spiritual energy?"
"Exactly!" Xiao Yan swayed his fan proudly. "They rapidly transmit the attributes of the spiritual energy they touch to the entire colony. Right now, this mushroom forest..."
Duan Xianxing, of course, couldn't hear their conversation.
He was currently squatting on the ground, carefully poking the mushrooms with Wait a Moment.
"What do these mushrooms even mean?" Duan Xianxing scratched his head in frustration, only to pull off another handful of mushrooms.
He stuffed them into his mouth, missing the others for the first time.
'If Little Junior Sister or Second Senior Brother were here, they would definitely know why.'
After circling the mushrooms several more times, Duan Xianxing forced himself to think.
"If the others were here, how would they find a solution..." he murmured, plucking another mushroom from his body and stuffing it into his mouth.
"Master, how can my Seventh Senior Brother get out?"
"Simple," Xiao Yan tapped the water mirror with his fan. "He can leave once he eats all these mushrooms."
Li Nanzhu looked at the dense mushroom forest in the water mirror, her lip twitching. "Master, are you sure my Seventh Senior Brother won't stuff himself to death?"
"Oh, I'm just joking~" Xiao Yan chuckled and folded his fan. "These mushrooms were originally opportunities I prepared for those destined to find them. Although the words I wrote on the light gate outside were written randomly, didn't I write them to correspond with the things inside?"
Li Nanzhu: "..."
Xiao Yan chose to ignore Li Nanzhu's speechless reaction and pointed at the mushroom forest where Duan Xianxing was. "'Orderly Rising and Falling'—look at the arrangement of those mushrooms. The tall ones carry strong electricity, while the short ones are weak. Isn't this the best demonstration?"
Li Nanzhu looked closely and indeed found that the arrangement matched the rhythm of spiritual energy circulation. The high mushrooms represented rising spiritual energy, while the low ones represented descending spiritual energy, forming a perfect cycle.
"Now it depends on this boy's comprehension." Xiao Yan produced some pastries again. "If he comprehends quickly, the spiritual energy from these mushrooms will be available for his use faster. If he's slow..." He pointed at Duan Xianxing, who was frantically devouring mushrooms. "Then he can only stuff himself with mushrooms like that."
In the water mirror, Duan Xianxing was so bored he was already hiccuping from eating.
Rubbing his bulging belly, he suddenly noticed something strange—whenever he circulated his thunder spiritual energy, the mushrooms he had eaten would transform into pure spiritual energy within his body. However, some provided more energy while others provided less... and these changes seemed to be related to the heights of the mushrooms on his body!
"Burp... wait!" Duan Xianxing suddenly sat up straight and muttered, "Tall ones have more energy... short ones have less..."
He tried to make his spiritual energy rise within his body, and sure enough, the brightness of the mushrooms growing on his upper body increased. When the energy descended, the lower mushrooms trembled slightly. Most miraculously, whenever he found the perfect rhythm, a few mushrooms would automatically fall off his body.
"I understand!" Duan Xianxing jumped up in excitement and quickly ran into the mushroom forest to release his spiritual energy. Just as he thought, the changing mushrooms in the forest behaved the same way!
He could completely practice his spiritual energy control here! This was the true opportunity!
The image suddenly vanished as Xiao Yan put away the water mirror. "Let's stop here. That boy has good luck; he even discovered this by eating. My mistake, my mistake!"
Seeming to think of something, he shook his head helplessly. "How is it that the people of the Five Elements Dao Sect are still like this after all these years? They never take the conventional path. All my painstaking efforts wasted."
Li Nanzhu couldn't help but laugh. Then she suddenly remembered her previous question and asked seriously.
"Master, I have a question. These moving mushroom mycelia... did you breed them?"
Seeing Li Nanzhu's expression, Xiao Yan also stopped smiling and said deeply.
"I did. Why?"
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