Relying on the Little King's Zen Tree to lure and the scarecrow providing entangling control from the side, Li Pu fought bravely as the main force with one person, one plant, and one tree for nearly three hours.
To be precise, it should be said that Li Pu himself fought for nearly three hours.
After all, the Little King's Zen Tree and the scarecrow only intermittently used their skills, so their energy expenditure wasn't much.
During this period, Li Pu rested several times. Even with the fatigue-reducing Xiangxiang Gold Dust from the Little King's Zen Tree, he was almost at his limit; he wasn't made of iron, after all.
But no matter how the process went, the goal of collecting had finally been achieved at this point.
"Whew... let me take a look."
As the red-headed mushroom in front of him fell and shattered, Li Pu let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, the ground outside this valley entrance was littered with mushroom fragments of various sizes. Those that met the specifications were all piled together by him, resembling a small hill.
Before dealing with this red-headed mushroom, he had already collected effective fragments up to 99/100.
So Li Pu knew that this particular one would surely be enough to make up the numbers.
"Though they're a bit stingy, they are just right."
After picking through them, he carried the only effective large mushroom fragment toward the fragment pile.
"Come, over here."
Simultaneously, he waved to signal the scarecrow to come closer.
His summoner talent required a certain distance to be used, and if too far away, it wouldn't affect the scarecrow.
[Caocao!]
With experience from learning [Entanglement], the scarecrow knew that the Summoner might use that mysterious method again.
This time, what kind of strange skill would it gain?
With curiosity and a bit of excitement, it trotted over.
Li Pu then pressed one hand on the pile of mushroom-related items and pulled out a Crystal Coin with the other.
After a flash of light, both vanished completely.
At the same time, the scarecrow suddenly felt a mysterious power appear out of thin air within its body.
In an instant, it enveloped its entire body, making every inch feel warmly hot and extremely comfortable.
Apart from the comfort, it also brought it a surge of power.
[Ohhh, ohhh, Caocao!]
The scarecrow's two hollow black eyes exploded with light.
This feeling was different from before!
[Susususu!]
The Little King's Zen Tree also got excited seeing the scarecrow in this state.
Though it called the scarecrow "big brother," in reality, its level was much higher than the scarecrow's.
So based on its past experiences, this seemed to be a precursor to leveling up.
Having completed his actions, Li Pu quickly opened the scarecrow's panel.
Scarecrow: LV1→4, Listen to the Wind
Strength: 12→22, F
Attribute: 10 Wood
Ability: [Gratitude]
Skill: [LV1 Snail Grass] [LV1 Entangle]
Inscribed Tool: [Wisdom Root]
"As expected, the sacrifice doesn't require digestion!"
Seeing the scarecrow's immediate increase in combat power and level-style upgrade, Li Pu was delighted.
The current state indicated that in the future, the scarecrow could completely skip the process of consumption→digestion→growth with him.
By simply using the skill sacrifice, it could be elevated directly in one step!
If this was the case, the speed of training his summoned beasts could be countless times faster than others!
"This is really satisfying."
Moreover, due to the increase in the scarecrow's combat power, he felt that his physical fitness had also improved somewhat.
If he'd had this strength earlier, perhaps he could have shattered a red-headed mushroom in just a few punches.
[Caocao! Caocao, Caocao!]
Scarecrow: Summoner, Ben Cao urgently needs rest!
However, lack of digestion was still lack of digestion, but this instant development method also brought a small side effect.
Namely, after a sudden increase in combat power, the scarecrow was clearly a little unaccustomed, and its whole body suddenly felt soft.
Similar to the Little King's Zen Tree after leveling up yesterday, it also needed a method to resist this sense of disparity.
So, dragging its tired body, the scarecrow quickly dug a hole in the dirt.
Then it lay down in the pit, letting Li Pu and the Little King's Zen Tree cover it up, leaving only its head exposed outside.
"Are you okay?"
Li Pu couldn't understand this method of resting; maybe it had to do with the nature of grass.
All he could do was take out a cola, unscrew it, and place it by the scarecrow's mouth.
[Gurgling Caocao! Burp!]
Scarecrow: Please don't worry, Ben Cao is very well.
It took a few gulps and let out a belch, seeming to enjoy the experience.
"How long do you have to lie there?"
Looking at the scarecrow, Li Pu reached into his pocket.
He wanted to pull out his phone to check the time, then remembered he didn't have one.
Estimating roughly, it was at least past nine in the evening by now.
"I can only wait."
There wasn't much he could do about it, so he walked over to a large tree nearby and leaned against it.
Anyway, he was still very tired, so a rest would be good.
Seeing him in this state, the Little King's Zen Tree scattered some more fatigue-reducing gold dust, then stood guard between Li Pu and the scarecrow.
The fatigue-reducing gold dust could only restore the body but couldn't fill the mental exhaustion.
After dealing with red-headed mushrooms for so long, Li Pu felt drowsy as soon as he sat down.
With the scarecrow and Little King's Zen Tree nearby, he peacefully closed his eyes, planning to take a nap.
However, thanks to his past wilderness survival experience, he retained a minimum level of alertness.
Even with his eyes closed, he didn't fall into a deep sleep.
As soon as there was the slightest disturbance around, he would wake up immediately.
He had no idea how long he had slept when a faint strange call suddenly reached Li Pu's ears.
[Hiss... hiss...]
[Caocao!]
[Susususu!]
[Beedo Beedo Caocao!]
Following it was the urgent calls from the scarecrow and the little tree man.
The scarecrow even mimicked an alarm sound; who knew where it learned that from.
"!"
In an instant, Li Pu was startled awake.
"What the hell is that!"
Opening his eyes, he nearly broke into a cold sweat.
Thanks to the glowing silver powder scattered by the Little King's Zen Tree nearby, he could clearly see the surroundings.
Just 20 meters away from him was a massive lizard with a body size comparable to a rhinoceros, staring intensely at him while flicking its tongue.
The enormous size made Li Pu realize immediately.
A magical beast, and not an ordinary one.
Apart from the size differences, the biggest difference between this magical beast and regular lizards.
Was that it had eight legs and its back was covered with hard little mushrooms.
If someone with trypophobia saw this thing, they'd definitely be unable to handle it.
[Susususu! Susususususu!]
The Little King's Zen Tree called out urgently, trying to convey something.
[Caocao!]
And the scarecrow buried underground quickly translated its meaning for Li Pu.
This large lizard was the king at the top of the food chain in the valley, preying on all the mushroom magical beasts in the valley.
It usually hunted in the valley and rarely left.
"Does this mean it's targeted me now?"
He looked at the Eating Mushroom Lizard's stance, clearly indicating it was coming for him.
Could it be that, because he was covered in too much red-headed mushroom scent, it mistook him for a mushroom?
This speculation made Li Pu's expression become serious.
Evidently, this magical beast wasn't on the same level as the red-headed mushrooms he'd dealt with earlier.
...
...