Stone Fortress Underground City
The ancient fortress area had already been almost completely covered by the fungal carpet, with the upper levels also spreading over more than half. As for the lower levels, although that was the area with the most abundant magical power, seeing that time was running short, Lin Jun had only established a few observation points to study the complete process of the dungeon's collapse.
In the middle levels, in a hidden corner, the burrowing puffshrooms had excavated a secret chamber.
This chamber could only be accessed through the fungal network pathways. Unless someone could dig through fifty meters of solid rock, ordinary people would never find their way here.
The chamber was completely covered with fungal carpet, but unlike other fungal carpets, these were all pale green in color.
A slender metal rod was inserted in the center of the chamber—this was a treasure Lin Jun had "scavenged" from the ruins behind the great gate.
This unknown metal material, having endured who knows how many years, showed no damage aside from accumulated dust. Most importantly, it was heat-resistant!
Knight No. 2 took out the [Sun Stone (Incomplete)] and placed it on the rod.
Another puffshroom also brought out the [Sun Stone (Fragment)].
After carefully adjusting the angles, it finally fit perfectly together!
Golden light flowed from the break, and the two fragments instantly fused as if they had never been separated, becoming whole once more!
[Sun Stone (Incomplete)]
The panel name remained unchanged, but the light and heat it emanated suddenly surged dramatically, truly like igniting a small sun within the chamber.
The two puffshrooms hastily retreated. Even with their Level 8 [High Temperature Resistance], getting too close would still burn them.
Fortunately, the metal rod lived up to expectations, steadily supporting the Sun Stone.
Inside the chamber, the pale green fungal carpet greedily absorbed the intense sunlight under the strong illumination, then transmitted a continuous stream of magical power outward through the fungal network!
Although it was only one additional fragment, the amount of magical power produced was more than double what it had been before.
Just this small chamber alone generated magical power equivalent to half of what he had collected from the entire Purple Crystal Underground City's fungal carpet.
Looking at this Sun Stone, he had only gathered nearly half of it so far. How much magical power could a complete Sun Stone produce?
Moreover, using [Photosynthesis] to treat the Sun Stone as an energy core was purely Lin Jun's own improvised method.
Logically speaking, the Sun Stone should have its own original function, but unfortunately Lin Jun hadn't been able to figure out what that might be.
It would be great if he could find something like a "divine artifact instruction manual."
Speaking of uses, Lin Jun couldn't help but think of the earlier scene where the fragment had caused weakness and damage to Little Pig.
A complete Sun Stone... could it be the core gem of some weapon specifically designed to counter vampires?
If that were true, it would be rather awkward... He had no intention of picking a fight with the Empire...
What was transported here this time wasn't just the Sun Stone. A split-body mushroom had also been brought along, tucked under a knight puffshroom's mushroom cap as a backup route, while the main body temporarily remained stationary on the sixth floor of Purple Crystal.
The greatest contributor this time was Little Pig.
Originally, Lin Jun had considered raising some blood bags to improve Little Pig's living conditions, but Little Pig clearly had her own ideas.
"Boss! I want to become stronger!" Looking at Little Pig kneeling on one knee, her crimson eyes burning with fervent desire, Lin Jun hadn't expected her to be so ambitious...
It wasn't impossible, though.
Although Little Pig already had quite a few skills, now that magical power income had increased substantially, setting aside some to give her one or two core skills was well within his means.
After discussing it with Little Pig, they finally decided to give her two skills first: [Magical Power Storage LV7] and [Petrification Ray LV3].
The former was actually something Little Pig already possessed, but only at a mere Level 4.
Little Pig's total magical power really couldn't be considered high. Her previous defeat to the puffshrooms was because she had run out of mana.
As for the petrification ability, although its level was a bit low, it was indeed a good skill similar to a surprise attack.
In unprepared situations, even using this skill to petrify an opponent's joints during battle could pose a tremendous threat.
Moreover, Lin Jun had agreed to help her continue improving this skill level later.
Although self-training through puffshrooms was a bit slow, reaching Level 5 or 6 shouldn't be a problem.
To be honest, Lin Jun had originally wanted to give her [Photosynthesis] to try, but after thinking it over, it would be better to experiment on other vampires first, since these were precious skill slots...
Sending Little Pig into the mushroom house for "upgrade modifications," on the other side, Norris, who had just had his cold resistance enhanced, couldn't wait to emerge from the mushroom house and dive headfirst into his beloved Chida.
Chida executed a [Assault Launch LV6], leaping two meters high.
However, upon landing, he couldn't maintain his balance, and Chida fell solidly on his side.
Fortunately, his Level 9 [Chitin Shell] wouldn't crack from such a minor collision—it only left a few white scratches.
"Not working well?" Lin Jun asked.
"No, no, no! Boss! It's my operational problem!" Norris hastily explained. "It's too... too powerful! Just let me get used to it! It's definitely useful!"
"Alright then, but be careful and don't hurt yourself," Lin Jun said earnestly. "You're now an indispensable core member of the mushroom garden."
"Bo... Boss!" Caught off guard, Norris was so moved that his nose tingled and his eyes grew moist.
Core member!
Although it had never been said explicitly, in his heart, he had always felt he was just a dispensable peripheral character. He never imagined he was so important in the boss's heart!
The feeling of being cared for and valued made his heart burn with warmth. Sniffling, his voice was somewhat choked: "I... I'll be careful!"
On the other side, at the entrance to Little Black's exclusive mushroom house, a plump puffshroom radiating a "Buddhist" aura was helping Little Black move.
Most of Little Black's body was burrowed into its soft mushroom belly, huffing and puffing as it pulled out handful after handful of shiny objects, then happily transported them back to its own mushroom house.
It moved with extreme care. Occasionally, when small pieces of "treasure" fell to the ground, it would immediately stop and carefully pick them up with its claws, repeatedly confirming that nothing was missed before continuing its work.
Among these shiny objects, scales contributed by Norris made up thirty percent, cheap glass beads seventy percent, with a few real gems Lin Jun had given mixed in between.
Now, core members and important items had almost all been transferred to the relatively safe Stone Fortress Underground City. They were just waiting for the deep area to reach the core region—a matter of the next day or two.
Everything was going smoothly, except for one thing—Qisi had escaped!
The two hunting puffshrooms had found no trace of Qisi in the vast snowy plains. After advancing futilely for several days, they eventually ran out of magical power and lost contact.
It was expected, but still disappointing for the mushrooms.
Regarding Qisi's origins, Lin Jun had actually unearthed some related intelligence from the ruins behind the great gate.
Classic mural intelligence.
Clearly, Qisi's appearance here was no accident.
Only two incomplete murals could be deciphered, and even these were the result of Lin Jun's painstaking effort to piece them together.
The first mural: A magnificent fortress towering into the clouds with thick walls was being frantically besieged by a tide-like army of insects. Among these insects were many species Lin Jun recognized. Within the fortress, tiny human figures were fighting desperately for their lives. Upon closer inspection, some of these figures clearly possessed non-human characteristics.
The second mural: More than ten massive wooden ships sailed across the ocean, yet they were trapped in the hunt of sea beast hordes! The scene was filled with sea beasts of all sizes, churning waves, precarious situations, and ship hulls beginning to capsize.
Lin Jun wasn't certain whether this meant Qisi still had many aquatic units.
However, since it had already escaped, there was no point in dwelling on this matter.
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