Through observing with the [Inspiration] skill, Lin Jun finally figured out what this bizarre space was all about.
The [Falling Curse] that had latched onto the Puffshroom upon first arrival essentially applied "weight" to the soul!
When this invisible burden accumulated to a certain critical point, it would be enough to drag an adventurer's soul to deeper layers of space.
The soul's position determined where the physical body was located in reality.
Although Lin Jun still didn't understand how this was accomplished, he finally figured out why he couldn't descend.
Damn it, too fat to squeeze through!
What kind of bullshit is this!
To describe it, adventurers entering the dungeon were like marbles dropped onto a large elastic net. As the soul's "weight" increased, the marble became heavier and heavier, stretching the mesh below larger and larger until it could no longer support the weight and fell to the lower layer.
However, the marble that Lin Jun controlled... was oversized! Trying to get such a massive existence through this net was asking too much of the net...
Even with double the "weight" that would make an ordinary adventurer fall, Lin Jun could only barely feel an extremely weak tugging sensation. To actually fall through, God knows how long the scout Puffshroom would have to waste in this godforsaken place!
Moreover, logically speaking, this stacking effect usually had a limit...
This meant he had no ability to move between different layers of the Scarecrow Abyss?!
The compatibility seemed really bad.
Lin Jun began to regret closing that rift on the sixth layer.
The other side was obviously a deeper area of the Scarecrow Abyss, while what he had left were shallow areas with weaker curses.
He never expected to find himself unable to descend!
But if that rift on the sixth layer wasn't sealed, most of the sixth layer would become scorched earth, and it was still slowly spreading. He couldn't abandon the sixth layer or the tree demon, could he?
Besides, there was no way to anticipate such bizarre rules here.
In comparison, the Amethyst side was really simple and straightforward - just walk down the stairs layer by layer!
Really... he had just benefited from having a massive soul in the Amethyst Dungeon, only to immediately suffer for it here in the abyss. Truly fortune and misfortune were interdependent.
If going down didn't work, what about going up?
Lin Jun found some crow nests and searched through them one by one.
After searching through more than ten nests, he finally found a somewhat dim yellow gemstone.
Flying to another area, Lin Jun tried to "bribe" a crow that didn't have the [Puppet] mark in its status bar.
The crow was wary of the suddenly appearing Puffshroom, circling around it repeatedly to examine it.
But after taking the gemstone in its beak, it still flew off in a certain direction with considerable professional integrity.
Under its guidance, Lin Jun did indeed see the "edge" zones in the distance.
However, whenever the scout Puffshroom tried to fly toward that area, the scenery ahead would begin to distort and blur. In the end, where it actually arrived was still that familiar, endless wheat field!
Even the crow, holding the gemstone and tilting its head, looked at the Puffshroom in confusion.
After thinking for a while, it decided it had completed its job. The Puffshroom's inability to get out wasn't its problem, so it flew away decisively with the gemstone.
Lin Jun even tried having the Puffshroom leap directly into the deep trenches, letting it free-fall.
But no matter how long it descended, as long as the Puffshroom flapped its wings, a few beats would bring it back to the edge of the trench.
Clearly, in the Scarecrow Abyss, the position of the physical body was meaningless. If the soul couldn't cross between layers, one simply couldn't leave.
Fortunately, Lin Jun still had the rift.
After nearly three days of exploration, the scout Puffshroom returned safely to the fifth layer.
The "Wheat Field Maze," whether its monsters or mechanisms, posed no threat to the scout Puffshroom.
The [Falling Curse] that was most troublesome for adventurers was like an exploration time limit - completely meaningless to Lin Jun.
Lin Jun even wished it had some meaning, but unfortunately, it was impossible.
The final assessment was that this rift had little value and could be sealed without concern.
[Seven Sins - Greed Triggered]
[Plundered Skill: Corrosion Curse LV1]
[Plundered Skill: Sensory Enhancement LV1]
But it wasn't completely without value. Before sealing it, one last harvest was appropriate.
...
Continuous fluttering sounds echoed through the mushroom garden, making such a racket that even a certain large goblin came to see what was happening. This time he was cautious enough to disguise himself in advance.
One Puffshroom after another flew through the rift, landing at the edge of the deep trench. Eventually, nearly five hundred stood there, all carrying [Corrosion Resistance] as targeted Puffshrooms.
The circling crow flocks became restless, their cries merging into an ominous wave of sound.
Wheat waves surged as nearby scarecrows that received the signal gathered, parting the wheat field and charging toward the Puffshrooms - less than fifty meters away but outnumbering them...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dense explosion sounds rang out as grass clippings and torn cloth scattered everywhere!
Lin Jun could have attacked much earlier, but he let them get this close simply to avoid damaging his own wheat - or rather, the Evil Grass.
After patiently waiting a bit longer, the crow alarm indeed attracted over ten more isolated Grass-men.
After cleaning them up, the grand "autumn harvest" finally began!
The Puffshrooms had a clear division of labor.
Scout Puffshrooms stood on wooden poles, sensing back and forth to guard against sneak attacks.
Melee Puffshrooms wielded their tentacle blades, diligently harvesting wheat.
Behind them followed Moo-Ma Puffshrooms, collecting piles of Evil Grass into their bodies. When full, they would transport it back to the fifth layer, going back and forth tirelessly.
It was just that the remaining rift was too small for the fat house Puffshrooms to pass through, or else the Moo-Ma Puffshrooms wouldn't have to work so hard.
But if it wasn't hard work, what kind of pack animals would they be...
As for the mushroom cannon Puffshrooms, aside from annihilating that initial wave of scarecrows, they had little use afterward.
The occasional Grass-men that rushed over were all handled by the melee Puffshrooms. After all, one mushroom cannon shot would kill the enemy but also destroy a section of the wheat field - not cost-effective.
Occasionally when noisy crows flew too low, they'd be casually shot down by mushroom cannon Puffshrooms - better than nothing.
Lin Jun didn't plan to extensively spread the mycelial network here since this rift would be abandoned. He only extended it slightly.
The harvesting also only covered the relatively nearby portions. There was more than one rift leading to the Scarecrow Abyss, so there was no rush to drain all resources at once.
During the harvest, Lin Jun also had the fortune to "observe" a team of adventurers' layer-changing process.
Several blurry souls first descended, followed immediately by the figures of several adventurers emerging from thick fog, suddenly appearing within the scout Puffshroom's perception.
It was a group of dwarves. They clearly noticed the commotion on the Puffshroom side from afar, were obviously stunned for a moment, then turned around without hesitation and fled in the opposite direction.
Lin Jun didn't bother with them. At that distance, without the mycelial network extending there, Lin Jun couldn't do anything about them.
Soon, the originally dense wheat field was shaved bald, leaving only a few lonely wooden frames standing in place.
A "Farmer" scarecrow, holding its pitchfork, watched from afar as the Puffshrooms departed fully loaded, perhaps wondering about something.
Meanwhile, on the mushroom garden side, the Evil Grass diligently transported back by the Moo-Ma Puffshrooms had already formed a small mountain radiating cursed energy!
Dylan, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly felt stinging pain on his skin. When he jumped up howling "Ahhh!", Lin Jun remembered that he had no resistance.
He had the Puffshrooms carry Dylan, who was starting to shed skin and fungal threads, away from the area.
[Seven Sins - Greed Triggered]
[Plundered Skill: Corrosion Curse LV1→LV5]
[Plundered Skill: Sensory Enhancement LV1→LV2]
[Plundered Skill: Toughness LV6→LV7]
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