Chapter 35: Stage 2

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Stage 2

Chen Shang felt the frantic power on the tentacles and secretly clicked his tongue in awe. As expected of a Tier Two creature, its stats completely crushed Ben Bo’Erba.

Although Senior Leia had easily subdued a Tier Three creature back then, it was because she had set up backup plans and used Wizard System equipment to specifically target the opponent’s weaknesses. Now that Chen Shang was facing the attack of a Tier Two creature head-on, he naturally experienced its formidable strength firsthand.

Slime splattered across the canyon, tearing through the mist. From the outside, it looked as if countless giant pythons were frantically thrashing within, biting and strangling the few humans.

Luna Xiya’s mycelium tentacles were completely suppressing them!

The crux of the matter, however, was that it struggled to completely eliminate any single apprentice. These apprentices were like unkillable cockroaches; though they seemed on the verge of collapsing under the frenzied assault, they always managed to dodge the fatal blows.

Even though Luna Xiya held absolute dominance in power, and even though this was its territory where it could guarantee absolute endurance, it wasn’t prepared to drag this out any longer. Obviously, it also thoroughly understood the saying: "Never fight a prepared Wizard!"

God knew what other tricks these Wizard Apprentices might pull out if it delayed any further.

Thus, its body began to rapidly expand in an explosive burst of growth, multiplying frantically like cancer cells! Countless mycelium threads burst apart and scattered everywhere, seeking new attachment points. Rocks, dirt, and dead trees all became their targets.

The rift valley seemed to echo its actions!

Moss on the rock walls sprouted like crazy, while underground root systems squeezed through stone crevices. Spores drifted down from the air like snowflakes; wherever they landed, new mycelium began to grow.

The entire rift valley came alive, transforming into a colossal stomach intent on digesting everything!

In the vision of the apprentices, mycelium surged from all directions like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea or thousands of birds returning to the forest. The threads piled up and intertwined, rising into a disgusting monster in the center of the rift valley.

The entity had no fixed shape. Sometimes it resembled a twisted human, sometimes a tree brandishing its claws, and other times a mountain of flesh covered in eyes and mouths. The monster was entirely a moldy white. Its surface was riddled with countless holes that constantly spewed a fine mist of spores.

Its eyes dotted its entire body... if those things could even be called eyes. Every single one was blinking, and every single one was weeping. Viscous liquid dripped down its body, instantly sprouting new mushrooms the moment it touched the ground.

The Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s voice emanated from every hole and every eye, overlapping like tens of thousands of people speaking simultaneously.

"You apprentices... all of you, stay here!"

Its body suddenly shot upward, its top pushing against the roof of the rift valley. Rubble and dirt rained down with a CRASH as massive tentacles frantically swatted at the crowd.

The dark-circled girl nimbly dove into the giant bear. The bear then expanded once more, its button eyes transforming into two clusters of burning black flames. The giant bear roared at the sky, its body engulfed in the black flames. The moment the mycelium touched the black flames, it withered. What emanated from it was not mere pressure, but a strange power.

Chen Shang let out a soft exclamation of surprise. He had felt this sensation in the Mermaid Holy Land before; it was the same emotional power left behind by the Mermaid Ancestor’s will in the white sand at the bottom of the lake.

The flame currently burning on the giant bear used emotion as fuel—specifically, the power of fear. This was clearly the trump card of this Nightmare Laboratory apprentice.

Red Robe looked at the overwhelming swarm of mycelium and spread his arms, his robes fluttering wildly in the wind. That octopus suddenly split apart, then tangled together like a mass of writhing organs, completely enveloping Red Robe. In the end, he transformed into a half-meter-wide black sphere with countless tentacles swaying on its surface.

The next moment, the sphere exploded, and Red Robe vanished. However, no Protective Talisman was triggered; it was as if he had simply disappeared into thin air.

The brother and sister duo of ice and fire exchanged a glance and reached out to hold hands simultaneously. The two elements converged in their palms. The white-blue cold and the orange-red heat twisted into a single strand, spiraling into the sky faster and faster before finally exploding in midair.

A giant two-headed bird materialized. The two heads shared a single body, and its wingspan covered half the rift valley, looking extraordinarily imposing.

However, utilizing this move left the siblings deathly pale, their lips purple, and their hands trembling. The amount of Spiritual Power drained from them earlier on the Round Disc had simply been too much!

The ice bird spewed a beam of white-blue light that swept across the mycelium behemoth’s body, freezing the struck mycelium until it became brittle. The fire bird immediately followed by blasting a pillar of orange-red flame at the exact same spot, reducing the brittle mycelium to ashes.

A massive shriek rang out as countless mouths ripped open on the mycelium behemoth’s body. The soundwaves bounced back and forth within the rift valley, causing a splitting headache.

It suddenly raised a giant hand twisted from countless mycelium threads and swatted at the two-headed bird. The two-headed bird’s wing was grazed; a corner of the icy half shattered, sending ice crystals drifting down in a sparkling shower.

The siblings swayed, veins bulging on their foreheads. The two-headed bird stabilized in midair. Ice and fire spewed simultaneously—this time as a concentrated bombardment!

The two energy pillars merged into a single beam of intertwined blue and crimson, slamming viciously into the mycelium behemoth’s chest.

BOOM!

A hole was blasted straight through the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s body. The mycelium curled up around the edges of the wound, losing its vitality.

But it was simply too huge!

A bucket-sized hole was nothing more than a scratch to it. It glanced down at the hole in its chest, which was rapidly being filled and repaired by mycelium, then raised its head, countless eyes simultaneously locking onto the two-headed bird.

The siblings’ complexions grew increasingly dire. Their Spiritual Power was bottoming out, and the two-headed bird’s body flickered like a dying lamp.

The brother let out a helpless chuckle. "What a pity. If we’re eliminated, we’re eliminated. Let’s deal it a heavy blow!"

The sister didn’t speak, only nodding silently.

Hearing this, the Hallucinogenic Mushroom didn’t dare to be careless. It mobilized all its tentacles, launching them straight at the siblings!

The white light of the Protective Talisman flared, and the siblings were swept away. But it was already too late. The two-headed bird had folded its wings and crashed into the Hallucinogenic Mushroom like a meteor.

The moment it slammed into the creature’s body, it detonated. The blue and crimson light bloomed like a two-toned flower, and the shockwave shredded a massive swath of the surrounding mycelium. An intertwined blue and crimson halo continuously spun, deeply embedded within the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s body. With every rotation, a layer of surrounding mycelium was incinerated.

The Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s shrieks turned into wails as its body twisted and spasmed. This time, its core had clearly been damaged.

All the mycelium in the rift valley went berserk at the same time, wildly thrashing and twisting like millions of snakes that had their tails stepped on. The rock walls were whipped until they were riddled with cracks, layers of earth and stone were overturned, and the spore mist in the air grew so thick that it was almost impossible to see.