Ah, this...
Suddenly becoming invincible and all that—I'm not even mentally prepared for this... It feels so good!
Of course, saying "invincible" is a bit of an exaggeration. More accurately, my long-standing fatal weakness has finally been patched up.
If I had to describe it... it's like my Golden Bell Shield technique has finally reached the level of "retracting yang into the abdomen!"
Looking at it this way, Qis running away isn't entirely unacceptable—after all, such an incredible skill...
Too bad it still has [Division LV3]. If only I could capture it and split it up.
Speaking of which, this skill can't be trained—the more you use it, the less you have. Yet Qis still has LV3. Could it have started at LV10?
How did it acquire this ability in the first place?
A talent from leveling up, perhaps?
Though I can't find an answer, encountering this kind of reverse-degrading skill for the first time, Lin Jun's thoughts couldn't help but drift.
Setting aside the skill harvest for now, Lin Jun's gaze returned to the post-battle middle layer area.
Little Pig ran away—all because I was too soft-hearted, naive and ignorant, too trusting of others. It won't happen again!
She may have run, but there's still hope for the Sun Stone fragment. I must search with everything I have!
After Qis's heart shamefully fled, taking over the remaining Qis territory proved utterly effortless.
The scattered Qis occasionally encountered had deteriorated to the state of the most ordinary monsters—even worse.
That silly goose appearance of getting hit and then stupidly looking around in place, not knowing to dodge—they were even inferior to common monsters!
In about three days after the battle, Lin Jun had gained control over most of the middle layer's territory. The time was mainly consumed in laying down the fungal carpet.
But... there was no trace of the fragment whatsoever.
Though he continued searching, Lin Jun had already mentally prepared for the worst outcome.
On the fourth day, he still hadn't found the fragment, but unexpectedly discovered a tunnel entrance leading to an unknown lower level.
He wasn't sure if this was the only passage, but on the stone brick surface beside the tunnel entrance, Lin Jun discovered some purple bloodstains.
Could it be that six-clawed creature that took the fragment?
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Lin Jun controlled a puffshroom to head down the passage.
The tunnel was somewhat damp. Lin Jun had thought he'd reach some watery place, and indeed that proved true—but it was a tiny bit different from what Lin Jun had imagined.
The tunnel ended abruptly, with a cliff face ahead.
And across from the cliff was a massive waterfall.
However... this waterfall was flowing upward!
The water curtain defied gravity, rushing and roaring from bottom to top, ultimately disappearing into the unfathomably deep darkness overhead.
Everything upside down?
The puffshroom spread its wings, preparing to fly toward the waterfall to take a look. However, the moment the puffshroom left the cliff, its figure suddenly appeared not far away, standing steadily on what appeared to be a side wall!
No, calling it a wall wasn't accurate—this seemed to be a section of road embedded in the wall.
From the puffshroom's perspective, there were bottomless abysses to both its left and right, yet the puffshroom didn't fall in either direction. Instead, it stood steadily on the wall, as if gravity didn't point downward.
Recalling the knowledge about dungeons from Pink Puffshroom's little notebook—the dungeon's structure was most likely related to space itself.
So this wasn't upside down, but rather space divided into many visually disconnected and misaligned small regional blocks?
No, did it have to be this advanced?
This terrain's difficulty level seemed a bit excessive compared to the upper and middle layers, didn't it?
*Woom—*
Suddenly, a tremor came—not a physical one.
Space rippled with waves. Just as Lin Jun was still puzzling over what had happened, he saw that beside the inverted waterfall across from him, an inverted, sloped rocky mass with stair-like architectural features suddenly separated from the surrounding blocks without any warning.
It silently retreated backward and disappeared.
And its former position was filled by a clump of earth that appeared from who knows where!
Looking around, there were quite a few similar earthen clumps!?
Damn!
Could this lower level be collapsing?
In a way different from the purple crystal?
Though it didn't seem to affect the middle layer yet—the middle layer's spatial structure remained quite stable. Apart from the fissures opened by the purple crystal, everywhere else was fine.
Anyway, puffshrooms weren't afraid of sacrifice, and such spectacular scenery probably wouldn't be available after missing this chance.
Lin Jun simply let go of his inhibitions and controlled the puffshroom to leap and traverse between these seemingly quite insane spatial fragments.
After continuously crossing over ten blocks, all he could see were a few tenacious plants stubbornly taking root and several small insects fleeing in panic—no other living creatures in sight.
Come to think of it, that made sense. Walking along and possibly stepping into the location of some already-collapsed block, you'd instantly die. Being able to survive in such a hellish place would be the real miracle.
"Boss!"
Just as the puffshroom reached another new block, a familiar voice suddenly rang out through the fungal network, clearly excited and panicked!
"Little Pig!"
Looking in the direction sensed through the fungal network... a clump of earth?
No, space was chaotic here.
Lin Jun simply shut off other detection methods and used only [Light Perception] to scan around, finally discovering Little Pig's figure diagonally below.
She was standing on a platform below, looking up at the puffshroom, her crimson eyes gleaming brightly.
If he wasn't mistaken, there seemed to be some tears in them too?
Lin Jun took a good look at Little Pig. Her current appearance was rather pitiful—she looked like a vagrant.
Grimy and disheveled, clothes in tatters, purple blood at the corner of her mouth, holding half an insect leg in one hand, the other hand clenched in a fist with light seeping through her fingers...
Hmm?!
"Little Pig, what you have in your hand... could it be?"
"Yes! Boss!" Upon hearing this, Little Pig, like offering a treasure, carefully opened her tightly clenched fist.
[Divine Artifact: Sun Stone (Fragment)]
It really was!
The fragment in Little Pig's palm was emitting wisps of white smoke.
Opening the status panel, Little Pig's status bar clearly showed two negative conditions: [Sunlight Weakness] and [Malnutrition].
She actually didn't defect, but completed the mission and then got trapped here!?
"Little Pig! I knew I could trust you—you're the most reliable!" Lin Jun's voice was both moved and heartbroken. "Stay right there, I'm coming to get you!"
The puffshroom leaped toward that platform.
*Whoosh—!*
The moment the puffshroom left the edge of its current area, the surrounding light was devoured as if by a giant beast, suddenly plunging into an environment of absolute, deathly darkness.
This familiar feeling of weightlessness...
The puffshroom's connection was severed...
Damn it, I knew it!
I absolutely must rescue her!
The Sun Stone fragment!
...And Little Pig too.
Throughout the entire middle layer castle, all the busy puffshrooms—whether laying fungal carpet, excavating tunnels, or on guard patrol—over a thousand puffshrooms in unison dropped their current work, changed direction, and surged toward the lower level entrance!
"Ah? What's happening?" The suddenly mobilizing puffshroom army left Norris somewhat confused about the situation. "What's going on? Enemy attack?"
Little Black had half his body stuck outside the doorframe, his two front paws desperately holding onto two burrowing puffshrooms that were struggling and trying to join the main force, letting out low "wuu wuu" growls from his mouth.
Hold on, Little Pig—the puffshroom rescue team is coming!
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