Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 278 - 270: Return to Nature

Midway up the giant tree, on a branch neither too high nor too low, Puki quietly rested.

The intruder who had barged into the little cottage earlier had the same surname as Elarwen, "White Stone," probably siblings or father and daughter.

After all, the panel doesn’t show ages, and from appearances, elves don’t reveal their age either, only guessing from levels that the other might be older than Elarwen.

The way the other acted just now seemed like they wanted to dissect Puki, and inside Puki’s body, there’s a B Level Demon Crystal living in symbiosis!

Although it’s not something too deadly, it’s better to avoid being seen if possible.

Lin Jun wouldn’t want rumors spreading about killing Puki to get a Demon Crystal.

Scout Puki left smoothly, and besides, there’s indeed a proper task at hand.

Blending into the Elf City wasn’t to be a pet and act cute!

The initial goal was Natural Magic, and now there’s an additional goal of Gravity Field.

Of course, there’s no rush yet, the Fungal Mat hasn’t even been laid, the current goal is to first get familiar with this Elf City.

There’s no need to worry about safety. At this time, Scout Puki had a small green cloth wrapped around its right foot, and upon closer look, there was a short text written in Elf Language on the cloth strip.

Such a green cloth is found not only on the parrot bear snake but also on other animals beside the elves, seemingly akin to a collar.

In other words, Scout Puki is already a pet with an identity!

Who knows if this can be used to pass through the outer checkpoints, and if it can...

Puki flitted low through the forest on the bottom floor. As exquisite as the "sky markets" in the trees were, Lin Jun couldn’t understand Elf Language, so going up would be like a deaf person watching an opera; it’s better to start exploring from the ground.

Lin Jun was also thinking about how to learn Elf Language; if breaking down could first reach Level 3 or Level 4, then learning in daily life could steadily progress.

But the problem is, where to find a ready, fresh elf corpse?

Take a chance in the Divine Wood Dungeon?

Lin Jun wasn’t holding much hope in his heart; that place is a world away from the bustling Purple Crystal Dungeon, so primitive as if undeveloped, with elves adventurers quite rare.

This much is evident since Elarwen encountered no other elf adventurers all the way back.

Even if occasionally an elf died inside, it would probably be quickly eaten clean by other demons; encountering another dying elf would probably take some luck.

So... where would there be a recently deceased elf corpse not immediately eaten by demons?

After flying for most of the day, Scout Puki finally landed in front of a special forested area.

Beside every tree in this forested area was a small stone tablet inscribed with Elf characters.

At this moment, a funeral for an elf was underway at the forest’s edge.

Several elves silently gathered around a roughly one-meter-deep pit.

Inside the pit, there was no coffin, only a peacefully lying old elf without a trace of life.

It was the first time Lin Jun had seen such an aged elf, with deep wrinkles like bark, sparse silver hair, entirely devoid of the beauty that the race was proud of.

An elf noticed the incoming Puki, glanced twice at the strangely shaped Puki but didn’t pay much more attention, not sure if it was because of the green band on Puki’s foot.

No lengthy eulogy, no sorrowful weeping, hardly even sadness.

The elves silently covered their companion with soil, and after the burial, they carefully planted a dark brown seed in the center of the new grave.

Subsequently, a vial of potion, gleaming with an emerald luster, was slowly poured onto the seed.

Then, the gentle, life-filled glow of Natural Magic radiated from the elves’ hands, tenderly wrapping the soil.

The seed sprouted, budded, and unfurled its tender leaves at a visibly rapid pace, safely passing its vulnerable nascent stage under the protection of magic and potion, quickly growing into a slender yet vibrant sapling.

Its species was exactly the same as those ancient trees surrounding it.

In Magic Perception’s view, the sapling’s roots entwined with the just-buried elf, presumably becoming excellent nourishment for the tree.

It really was a straightforward funeral style.

Lin Jun strongly supported this return-to-nature approach, just that having the tree absorb it seemed a bit slow, the helpful mushroom was willing to lend a hand to the elves!

Alright, a body has been obtained.

So here comes the question—

How to quietly transport this "premium fertilizer" back to the Fungal Mat?

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At the Divine Wood Dungeon, from the rift where Scout Puki emerged.

Another Scout Puki leapt out.

The first one had been recruited by elves, so the tough job of exploring the dungeon naturally fell to the second one.

However, this time, along with the second came several ordinary Pukis that followed and jumped out afterwards.

Almost all the Seventh Floor water drained away had its advantages; at least it made laying the Fungal Mat downwards much easier for Lin Jun, reaching all the way to this rift’s edge.

As soon as they emerged, the Pukis began shaking their heads and spreading spores.

Since elves don’t frequently visit the Divine Wood Dungeon, the main issue Lin Jun faced when laying the Fungal Mat here was the local demons.

Lin Jun was experienced with this!

Combining the ground Fungal Mat and the Fungal Mycelium Network!

Eliminate the Slimes!

Destroy the Firefly Grass too!

The areas producing Firefly Grass, with some separate plantations maintained by the Demon Race in the Deep Area, were enough!

The dungeon... doesn’t need so many other light sources!

Of course, the location of this rift was still a bit too conspicuous, so Lin Jun decided to slightly disguise it.

After a few hours, once the Fungal Mat had formed an initial scale, several Fat Otaku Pukis were slowly produced.

After emerging, they tightly surrounded the rift, while other Pukis brought over stones from elsewhere for them to absorb.

Under the effects of Rock Eating Level 8 and Resonance Level 2, it gradually became a massive stone.

Subsequently, they disassembled the Fat Otaku Pukis inside and slightly polished the stone’s exterior to complete the rift’s basic disguise.

At a glance, it was merely a large stone pressed on the Fungal Mat.

Even though it was hollow inside, due to being skill-generated, its real hardness was much higher than natural stone, so there’s no need to worry about it breaking at a touch.

Of course, if met with another Migratory Tree, just pretend Lin Jun never mentioned it.

Here, while the Fungal Mat continued to spread slowly, Scout No. 2 flew away alone.

The position of this rift was roughly on the fourth level of the spiral, considered relatively near the upper levels close to the surface.

Lin Jun intended to have Scout Puki first head to the center, then explore downward along the shortest path, to see what kind of demons this dungeon contained.

And as Scout No. 2 embarked on its adventure, the Pink Puki, absent for three days, reappeared within the Fungal Network.

There was no need for a Detection Skill, from her little smug face alone, one could tell she brought something back!