The demon crystal above Inanna's head lit up, and she hastily cast the Mud Swamp Technique.
The solid ground beneath the Earth Worm immediately turned into a swamp, and the scattered rocks turned into muddy water.
However, the thickness of the muddy ground was limited, and deeper underground, at the end of the giant worm's body, the soil remained solid.
Using that short stretch beneath the earth, the Earth Worm continued to slowly retreat underground.
Lin Jun certainly wouldn't just watch it escape like that.
"Inanna, keep casting the Mud Swamp Technique, don't stop!"
"Alright."
Meanwhile, the Pukis, who had been constantly taking damage, finally began to counterattack. The "pop" sounds of mushroom cannon fire could be heard incessantly.
Lin Jun directed the firepower to focus on the part where the Earth Worm's rock armor was shattered.
The Earth Worm's blood volume on the panel kept decreasing; at its current burrowing speed, it wouldn't be able to escape!
It's going to work!
My hope of escaping the Underground City!
Afterward, just temporarily taking care of the Earth Worm to gain skills, then I can dig my way up and see the sun again!
It's really been a long time since I basked in the sunlight.
But... why is the ground shaking again?
The direction from which the vibrations are coming is...
...
"Inanna, run back!"
"Huh?"
Still concentrating on casting the Mud Swamp Technique, Inanna didn't react immediately, instinctively taking two steps back.
In the next second, another giant worm burst through the rock in front of her!
The protruding rock armor brushed past, and Inanna was knocked into the passageway as if hit by an uppercut.
"Inanna? Inanna!"
No response. Lin Jun hurriedly opened the panel - 400 blood dropped.
Luckily, she had over three thousand blood volume, still far from death, but she was clearly already unconscious.
The nearby four Pukis each carried the unconscious Inanna and the A Level Demon Crystal that had fallen to the ground, retreating deeper into the tunnel.
Inanna was temporarily safe, but the situation on the battlefield was not optimistic.
The suddenly intruding second Earth Worm was wreaking havoc around the cave, crushing numerous Pukis.
The swamp trapping the injured Earth Worm, without Inanna's maintenance, was also gradually hardening, and the Earth Worm's burrowing speed was noticeably increasing.
Why was there a second Earth Worm?
Was my Demon Crystal too attractive?
Or do these worms have a sense of camaraderie and help each other?
No time to think deeply, the second Earth Worm can't be dealt with, Lin Jun could only focus her firepower on continuing to attack the injured one.
Not caring about the continually dying Pukis, Lin Jun poured out her firepower with all her might.
As long as I can push its blood volume to 0 before it escapes...
————
"What? You're saying I was knocked out by another Earth Worm?"
23 Pukis, 1 already awake but still bewildered and even a little excited Inanna.
This was the entire force that retreated back to the Mushroom Garden.
The severely injured Earth Worm ultimately escaped with the last trace of its blood. The remaining Pukis suffered heavy losses under the harassment of the other Earth Worm.
Even worse, many places collapsed, and many Pukis could not return through the original tunnels, ultimately having to be reluctantly abandoned.
The only fortunate thing was that the magical fluctuations of the battle frightened away all the small demons around.
On the way back, there were no further attacks encountered.
Otherwise, not one might have returned.
Lin Jun now felt like an investor who went all in on the stock market only to emerge ruined.
All the savings were gone.
Luckily, there were no collateral loans in the Underground City; he still had a Mushroom Garden...
The sorrows and joys of mushrooms are not connected.
While Lin Jun was silently lamenting his losses, Inanna was in a rather good mood.
She didn't know that Lin Jun hunted the Earth Worm to escape the Underground City, nor how much had been wagered on this hunt.
In her view, they could always organize another hunt later; there couldn't always be two Earth Worms, right?
All she knew was that Lin Jun kept his promise, and the A Level Demon Crystal tied back on the mushroom cap was finally officially hers!
Inanna decided she would start calling Lin Jun "Boss" from now on!
As for nearly being bitten by an Earth Worm?
She didn't feel it at all.
She suddenly fainted, and relying on her Level 4 Life Recovery, she woke up with her blood volume full.
No impression of being injured, feeling like she earned the Demon Crystal just by lying down...
She even thought that perhaps the next hunt could yield a new A Level Demon Crystal?
In a corner of the Mushroom Garden, beneath a Big Mushroom, at the end of a 10-meter-long mycelium channel, there was a 3x3 underground space.
Lin Jun's real body, an ordinary-looking Green Mushroom, was right there.
In the same room was a special Puki emanating a strong presence.
Unlike those other cannon fodder Pukis, this one had been nurtured since the establishment of the Mushroom Garden, with skills and levels upgraded to Lin Jun's maximum limit. It was the strongest Puki.
It was the exclusive vehicle Lin Jun had prepared for himself.
The question Lin Jun faced now was:
Should he honestly spend a long time gathering power again, and hunt the Earth Worm anew?
Or return to the original plan, waiting for the next outing of the Flame Demon, and take a risky adventure using the super Puki to smuggle Lin Jun's real body up?
————
At the same time, at the passageway between the Deep Area and the 10th layer, at the Flame Demon's lair.
"It's so hot! Is this really the Deep Area of the Purple Crystal Dungeon? Is it all lava here? Are you sure the Duchess will be in a place like this?"
Night Owl uncomfortably tugged at the collar of her tight-fitting clothes.
She had no high-temperature resistance, and had to drink a potion of fire-resistance just to barely stand here.
Even so, it was unbearable, and she just wanted to leave quickly.
A Chill spell landed on everyone, and Night Owl's expression finally relaxed.
"You really saved my life."
The glow on the magic staff faded, and Ivan nodded with a smile.
When he wasn't in a magic craze, the Half-Elf Great Mage was quite reliable.
Captain Nova held the positioning crystal in his hand and sensed.
"Indeed, the guiding direction is almost horizontal; she should be in the upper part of the Deep Area."
"But this is the Deep Area! I might not even last a month here."
Unlike the clearly defined first ten layers.
Each previous layer had its own characteristics, demon power levels, and exploitable rules, etc.
Night Owl thought that as long as there was a strategy, she could easily survive alone.
But the Deep Area was different; it was characterized by chaos, with demons of all levels present.
More crucially, the demons inside would migrate, and each time adventurers descended, they might encounter completely different situations.
Like the information they had from three years ago which stated that a Level 59 Flame Demon would appear at this passageway.
Now, aside from a field of lava, there were no demons at all.
Of course, this was a good thing.
But it also meant that the Deep Area had gone through changes, and that information was outdated and no longer of reference value.
"Alright, once we find her, we'll know how she managed to survive."
Dragon Man Gall's tone no longer had the previous despondency he had before setting off.
The two worst scenarios – the Parasitic Tree and the Tentacle Nest – had already been ruled out.
In his view, the Duchess's chance of surviving with a healthy mind seemed much higher than he initially thought.
Hmm, perhaps from 2% to 20%.