[Swish, swish, swish!]
After the introduction was over, the Little Wangchan Tree shook out a cloud of red dust towards Li Pu.
However, it buried its head into the ground.
"..."
Li Pu looked at this scene and found it quite bizarre.
The scarecrow only leaves its head outside, and the tree buries its head in the ground. These two really are a match.
But when the red dust touched Li Pu's body, he suddenly felt a power surging from his abdomen.
"Wha-what is this..."
The strange activation point felt a bit uncomfortable, but that power quickly spread throughout his body.
A new, or rather a stronger, sense of power filled his limbs.
Li Pu understood that this was the Little Wangchan Tree enhancing his combat abilities.
(In this state, can I take it on?)
He looked towards the shroom-eater lizard, feeling a bit uncertain.
Judging by its size and aura, Li Pu had some doubt.
But at least he knew what he needed to do next, which was to lure it away.
Otherwise, a mishap might catch the little tree in the crossfire, and its frail self might perish.
As for the scarecrow, it's easier since it can revive even if it dies.
However, he was currently broke and couldn't afford a resurrection charm, so it's best if the scarecrow stays safe too.
[Mushroom-munch!]
At this moment, the shroom-eater lizard roared at Li Pu.
Whoosh!
With the roar, a mushroom the size of a fist launched from its back, aiming straight at Li Pu's face.
This mushroom was much quicker than the red-capped mushroom's headbutt. If it were before, he wouldn't have been able to react in time.
Thanks to the feedback from the scarecrow's upgrade and the red dust from the little tree.
He slightly lowered his head to dodge it.
The mushroom grazed past the back of his head, sending a chill down his spine.
Crack!
A cracking sound came from behind him, and he turned to look.
A large tree, struck by the mushroom, had its tough bark split open, with the mushroom head deeply embedded.
"That's quite powerful."
Seeing this, Li Pu felt a bit afraid.
If it had hit his forehead, he wasn't sure if his skull would have been tough enough to withstand it.
"You guys stay here and don't move."
Leaving these words, Li Pu ran towards the valley.
Don't underestimate him for his limp, when he runs, it's as if one foot's lighter than the other.
But his left leg was strong, pushing off the ground made him almost seem like he was flying, very fast.
[Damn!]
Scarecrow: Summoner, you must absolutely not die!
The scarecrow's instruction always felt somewhat ominous.
[Muffled hums!]
And the Little Wangchan Tree, with its head buried in the ground, even its calls were indistinct.
[Mushroom-munch!]
As expected, the shroom-eater lizard's target was Li Pu. Upon seeing him flee, it didn't even glance at the scarecrow and tree, directly setting its eight legs to chase into the valley.
The key is, perhaps due to its many legs, its speed wasn't slow either.
Even with the red dust enhancement from the Little Wangchan Tree, Li Pu couldn't outrun it, both sides were at similar speeds, impossible to shake off.
The little tree's introduction was very detailed, and he still remembered it.
The main path of this valley was open at both ends, and none of the mushrooms inside would proactively attack outsiders.
Bringing the shroom-eater lizard inside, perhaps it might get distracted by some delicious mushroom.
At that moment, he could seize the opportunity to act.
[Mushroom run! Mushroom escape!]xN
But even the dumb mushroom beasts in the valley had basic survival instincts.
Seeing their predator appear, they all began to flee.
For a time, the entire valley became chaotic. Wherever Li Pu led the shroom-eater lizard, mushrooms were desperately escaping.
The chase was fast, naturally leaving those without legs, only able to hop and bounce, far behind.
Yet clearly they were already within the mushroom crowd, the shroom-eater lizard seemed to only have eyes for Li Pu, ignoring the mushrooms brushing past.
"Miscalculated."
Realizing this, Li Pu felt a bit helpless.
"Wait."
But just as he was navigating through the mushrooms, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
[Mushroom-munch!]
Whoosh!
Right at this moment, another mushroom shot over from behind.
Alert, he sidestepped to dodge the attack.
[Oh no, mushroom!]
Splatter!
Instead, a red-capped mushroom ahead exploded on the spot from the shot.
"Just thought about it, and it immediately happened."
As he passed by, Li Pu bent down to pick up the mushroom fired by the shroom-eater lizard.
The tangled vines and the red-capped mushroom experiences led him astray for a moment, thinking he needed to kill the beast to gather materials.
The initial Taiji Snail was a proven example.
"There's really something!"
Looking at the mushroom in hand, he smiled.
Because the information feedback already appeared in his mind.
[LV1-Mushroom Poison Antibody (D)]5/100
Passive Effect: Immunity to all mushroom-based toxins.
Attribute Requirement: None
Type Requirement: Gale/Balance
Species Requirement: Mushroom-related species
Firstly, regardless of what kind of skill this is, the D-level rank is delightful.
Moreover, this single mushroom accounted for 5/100.
Meaning he only needed to collect 20 mushrooms to have a complete material.
However, the unexpected happened in the next second.
The little mushroom in Li Pu's hand swiftly withered into a shriveled black mushroom stem.
The previously provided material information also vanished.
"Does it rapidly deplete after leaving the body?"
This left him speechless.
Does he really have to snatch them straight off the shroom-eater lizard's back while it's alive?
Evidently, that's unrealistic.
[Mushroom-munch!]
While pondering, another mushroom shot over.
This time, Li Pu was a bit distracted, so he couldn't dodge in time.
His forearm was unfortunately grazed, swelling immediately.
"Let's figure out how to escape first."
With gritted teeth in pain, he set aside his thoughts and focused entirely on escaping.
"Not good."
However, before long, a troubling situation arose.
The valley's main path might be continuous, but the side paths were not.
When passing a fork, Li Pu wasn't sure which was the main path and which were side paths.
Now it was clear, he had obviously chosen a side path.
Because the mountain wall ahead told him there was no way out.
This dead-end valley was incredibly empty except for some dry grass on the ground, not even a tree.
Originally, this was where the mushroom beasts gathered, but due to the shroom-eater lizard's disturbance, they had all long fled.
[Mushroom-munch hiss... hiss...]
Evidently, the shroom-eater lizard realized Li Pu's predicament.
Slowing its pace, it advanced while flicking its tongue.
"You're forcing my hand."
Facing the aggressive enemy, Li Pu knew there were no alternatives.
He was going to unseal his power.
...
...
[Shroom-Eater Lizard]
Gale, Earth 7, Wood 3, D
[Mushroom Cannon (D)]: Fires hard mushrooms
[Mushroom Poison Antibody (D)]: Immune to all mushroom-based toxins
Description: Feeds on mushrooms and produces mushrooms itself.