Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Chapter 132: Chapter 32 Mushroom Land

Mushroom Land occupied an important position in the culture of the Black Crystal Worm Clan. Legend has it that before the Mother Worm God descended upon this world, the entire world was occupied by mushrooms.

After the Mother Worm God descended upon the world and fed on the mushrooms, her descendants, the Mother Worm and the Black Crystal Worm Clan, also fed on the mushrooms. Such behavior angered the mother of all mushrooms—the Primordial Mushroom, who waged a great battle with the Mother Worm God and ultimately ended in defeat.

Fragments of the Primordial Mushroom fell to the ground and transformed into patches of Mushroom Land.

These Mushroom Lands, carrying the resentment of the Primordial Mushroom, required any flesh-and-blood creature that wished to pass to appease the Spirit of Nature of the Mushroom Land with flesh and blood.

After the Warrior Worm finished recounting the Black Crystal Worm Clan’s mythology, Richard stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Myths hold significant meaning to a race’s culture; they are a form of historical record.

From the Warrior Worm’s account, it seemed that in ancient times, the Mother Worm God of the Black Crystal Worm Clan was not yet the World Master. It became the World Master only after battling a massive fungal life form.

For a miniature world, that was a momentous significance.

Wizards classify planes into four types, the largest being worlds like the Wizard World, which wizards have not yet explored. But according to Ulysses, such worlds are the seeds of civilization, and as soon as a Level 7 Creature leaps into the Star Realm, another civilization will appear within it.

Then there are medium-sized worlds, which often have multiple World Masters and house a Level 6 Creature.

Such worlds are beyond the scope of conquest for a single Wizard Academy; hence once discovered, an operation led by a Tower of Truth and involving several Wizard Academies is launched to conquer it. These plane expeditions are usually very brutal, but the rewards are also very rich. Many Great Wizards rise to prominence after surviving such wars.

Then there are small worlds, which may have multiple World Masters, with the power of the World Masters potentially reaching Level 5 Creatures.

For safety reasons, such worlds are often conquered jointly by two Wizard Academies.

Finally, there are miniature worlds like the Insect Nest World, where there will only be one World Master, and the strength of the World Master is at Level 4.

Such worlds are most common in the Star Realm, and a single Wizard Academy can conquer them.

But if we go by the Black Crystal Worm Clan’s legend, the moniker of the Insect Nest World being a miniature world might need some revising.

Worlds can grow, too. A world can devour drifting world fragments, Secret Realm Fragments, creatures of the Star Realm, or some Star Realm dust to grow.

However, Richard quickly put this speculation aside.

The Plane War has dedicated Wizards studying the history of aliens, and these Wizards would have certainly found this issue before him.

Since the Black Tower Great Wizard had not ordered a retreat, it meant there was no problem.

Moreover, a world on the brink of becoming a miniature world would produce plenty of treasures. If he could acquire one or two of them, this war would be a lucrative venture for Richard.

After tucking the Warrior Worm into his Slave Pocket, the duo, Richard and Ali, promptly set out.

Following the trail left by the Black Crystal Worm Clan, Richard and Ali advanced toward Mushroom Land.

On the journey, Richard could distinctly perceive changes occurring around him in the fungi, and the concentration of spores in the air was increasing rapidly to an alarming level, with a considerable portion of the spores being toxic.

If it weren’t for Richard’s sufficiently strong Physique, the spores in the air would have been enough to poison him.

The benefits of bloodline fusion were particularly evident in such moments.

Ali had fused with the bloodline of an Elemental creature, and the source of that bloodline was not of low Level, ensuring her body’s Elementalization process was quite impressive. The toxic spores would incinerate into ash upon encountering the scorching Fire Element in Ali’s body, not having a chance to poison her.

Following the trail, Richard and Ali quickly arrived at the edge of Mushroom Land.

Mushroom Land was just as the name suggested, filled with mushrooms everywhere. A vast area was covered with huge glowing fungi and mushrooms of various colors. Compared to the mushrooms in the caves, the mushrooms within Mushroom Land gave Richard an uncomfortable feeling.

These mushrooms emanated a strong sense of aggression, like some sort of Predator.

Mushroom Land was different from the caves Richard had seen before; it was more akin to a huge underground forest—profound, yet brimming with life.

“Ga, it seems that the insect wasn’t lying,” Ulysses suddenly communicated with Richard using spiritual power from his shoulder.

Richard’s expression remained unchanged, “What do you mean? What have you noticed?”

“Ga, haven’t you noticed the space anomalies in this place?” Ulysses explained, “How could such a vast space exist so deep underground? Even if the Insect Nest excavated more soil, the remaining weight should be enough to collapse this place.

The reason it still exists is because of a Divine corpse causing a space anomaly. Entering here is akin to stepping into another space.”

With this explanation from Ulysses, Richard also had an epiphany—it indeed made sense.

The various wondrous sights of the Otherworld had somewhat desensitized Richard, leading him to attribute any strange and unusual scene to the special rules of the Otherworld.

“By that logic, isn’t it very dangerous to enter here?”

“Ga, dangerous? What danger?” asked Ulysses, puzzled.

“Isn’t that an alien space? And it was caused by the corpse of a deceased Divine, so wouldn’t the rules of the world inside also change?”

“Ga, what nonsense. This thing is not another world; it’s just like a different page in the same book, and once you go in, you’re still in this book—in this world. This space might have some incomplete rules, but those incomplete rules are not harmful. At most, we’ll encounter some creatures containing the rules of dead Divines, and I can deal with that… Of course, for that, you’ll have to pay extra.”

The corners of Richard’s mouth twitched at Ulysses’ words, sensing they were overly optimistic.

“`

“According to the rules, we need to offer flesh as a toll to the Spirit of Nature of Mushroom Land.”

Richard pulled out a Spider Knight from his Slave Pocket and then tossed it into Mushroom Land.

In an instant, Richard felt as if he were being watched by a predator, as though a powerful Predator was observing him.

But the feeling dispersed quickly.

The Spider Knight that was thrown into Mushroom Land was terrified; as a creature living in the Underground Insect Nest, it knew too well the rules of Mushroom Land and the methods it employed.

It struggled desperately, but soon it discovered that white fungal mycelium was beginning to grow on its body.

The mycelium emerged from the ground and started to drill into its flesh through the cracks in its shell.

Richard couldn’t see exactly what the mycelium was doing, but judging by the Spider Knight’s sharp cries, it must have been causing immense pain.

Before long, the Spider Knight fell silent.

The white mycelium grew and spread inside its body, swiftly replacing its flesh and nerves.

Then, a new Spider Knight was born.

This Spider Knight glanced at Richard before silently walking deeper into Mushroom Land. Richard couldn’t feel anything unusual about it; it seemed as though it had become one with Mushroom Land.

“What a strange transformation,” Ali said with a frown. “The fungus has eaten it hollow and turned it into a puppet.”

“It might not be a puppet,” Richard shook his head. “This might be a new creature.”

Having offered the flesh sacrifice, Richard and Ali had essentially obtained a ticket to enter Mushroom Land. According to the Warrior Worm, as long as they didn’t wreak havoc in Mushroom Land, they would be safe there.

But as they were about to enter, both of them simultaneously turned around and began gathering Elements in their Magic Wands.

“Don’t be nervous, we’re friends.”

From behind Richard, two Earth-colored figures emerged from the tunnel walls, resembling some kind of Element creatures.

The two figures emerged from the tunnel walls, transforming into human statues similar to terracotta warriors, one of which flexed its body and performed a Wizard’s Salute to Richard and Ali.

“Don’t be alarmed, we are also Wizards. Combat is forbidden among our own kind.”

Although the Wizard said this, Richard’s grip on his Magic Wand didn’t relax in the slightest.

As a Black Wizard, not immediately using the Heart of Annihilation on two Wizards that appeared behind him was already quite restrained.

“Did you two come here to hunt insects?” Richard asked coldly.

The terracotta Warrior Wizard’s face changed subtly and he said smoothly:

“Of course, we’re here to hunt insects. Isn’t that why we came down here?”

Richard sneered inwardly. The Warrior Worm had told him that two groups of monsters were pursuing them. At first, he thought it was he and Ali, but now it seemed the other group was these two Wizards.

“Is that so, it seems I was mistaken. We were just chasing a group of insects that entered this Mushroom Land, so we won’t keep you any longer.”

Saying this, Richard gave Ali a look and turned to enter Mushroom Land.

But before they could take a step, the terracotta Wizard spoke up.

“Did the two of you see a group of insects enter this Mushroom Land? Among these insects, was there an injured Sacrificial Insect?”

“Sacrificial Insect?” Richard pretended to be uninformed. “We haven’t seen what this group of insects looks like; we only killed a few wounded ones along the way and followed the trail here.”

“Wounded insects…”

The terracotta Wizard thought for a moment, as their markers for pursuit had led them here, and these two were also following a group of insects to this place.

Putting the two events together, it was hard not to assume they were after the same group of insects. Moreover, it seemed that these two Wizards didn’t yet know what the insects were carrying…

The terracotta Wizard quickly formulated a new idea.

“The two of you, it appears we’re after the same group of insects,” the terracotta Wizard started. “Don’t underestimate the strength of these insects. Among them is an injured Second Level insect.”

“Second Level insect!?” both Richard and Ali reacted with feigned surprise in perfect sync.

Their acting was so natural that it didn’t raise any suspicion in the terracotta Wizard.

“Yes, among them is an injured Second Level insect,” the terracotta Wizard continued. “This insect escaped down here after killing a Second Ring Wizard in the upper Insect Nest.

Its strength is not to be underestimated.”

“That’s impressive. Despite that, you dare to pursue it?” Richard asked, feigning confusion.

“The insect is gravely injured, and we are confident enough in our ability to escape; thus, we followed it here,” the terracotta Wizard replied with a smile, then his tone shifted.

“But from what we see now, if the four of us Wizards join forces to hunt these insects, catching them would be as easy as reaching out our hands.”

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