Chapter 124: Baa baa! Oysters oysters! Can the plentiful black deer also be eaten?!

Everyone was getting ready to move closer when, suddenly, the flower bud before the root system twitched slightly, and the ground began to shake violently.

"Be careful!" Walter shouted, stopping Xing and March 7 who were moving forward: "That thing is changing!"

A pale yellow powder slowly drifted from the flower bud, gradually blanketing the whole furnace grounds. With the surge of mighty abundance power, the bud burst open, and a wholly azure divine deer walked out slowly.

Flowers bloomed and fruits clustered on the divine deer's four antlers, looking like an auspicious sign of harvest and life.

Wow, this divine deer looks great—its limbs are strong, and its meat should be very firm.

In the Dungeon Meal world, dwarf Senshi wiped his iron pot with one hand while gazing longingly at the light curtain in the sky, his expression full of yearning.

Elf mage Marulilish crossed her arms in front of her chest, making a big X: "Baa baa! Oysters oysters! I say, this thing looks totally inedible! A deer sprouting from flowers—who knows if its meat is poisonous?"

"No problem." Senshi pulled out a piece of drying jerky from his pack: "This is snake-tail chicken jerky; although it has some toxicity, if properly handled it won't poison you, and the meat of that black deer should be similar."

For such a sturdy deer, the hind leg meat is best for grilling, but it's best to simmer it over low heat for half an hour before grilling.

Senshi's gaze flicked to the black deer's antlers, and his eyes lit up: "Oh oh, Marulilish, do you see the fruits hanging on its horns? They look delicious too—we can marinate the meat with their juice before simmering, giving the stewed venison a rich fruit aroma."

The roots of the Fusang tree can also be used as food, and processed rhizomes of ordinary plants are quite tasty. Moreover, these roots keep growing endlessly, making them look perfect for raising in the dungeon as adventurers' staple food.

Uh... these are Fusang fruits! Eating them turns you into a demonic yin body!" Marulilish warned.

No worries—many fruits lose their toxicity when cooked.

Leos stroked his chin, thinking: "I recall there are similar fruits in the dungeon; if eaten raw they cause hallucinations of many wondrous little people, but if cooked or wind-dried and pickled, their toxicity is removed and they become very tasty."

"Too bad the pioneers have no interest in 'cooking' these monsters; otherwise, such deliciousness would be impossible to pass up." Senshi shook his head regretfully: "The black deer's upper leg meat is perfect for pan-seared venison steak, the neck meat great for minced meat patties... it also works well for hot pot, too bad, too bad..."

Dwarf Senshi muttered to himself as he headed toward the dungeon's dark lower levels. Leos and the others, having their appetites stirred by his words, all hoped to find a substitute for black deer meat deeper in the dungeon.

"What on earth... is this monster?" Master Gongyu jumped in fright.

"As expected of a divine trace, effortlessly creating life—this power is truly tremendous..." Stopcloud gazed at the black deer with enamored, longing eyes.

"This thing is guarding the Fusang tree's roots and the furnace..." Walter's eyes narrowed.

In battle, each time the black deer stomped the ground with force, countless vines and branches would surge from below to attack the few of them; clearing them out wasn't hard, but it just kept dragging on.

Although the party's attacks could wound the black deer, under the protection of the abundance power its injured parts would heal at incredible speed, so no matter how hard they struck, it wouldn't fall.

Although the train crew landed more hits, after a prolonged battle it was the besieging group that ended up at a disadvantage.

This regenerative ability... is practically like a reversal technique; no matter how great the injury, it can constantly recover.

No, Itto, a reversal technique can't achieve this effect.

Gojo Satoru had one hand in his pocket, the other pushing up his sunglasses; beneath the lenses, his icy-blue eyes were fixed intently on the black deer's wounded spot.

Never mind that reversal techniques consume two to three times the usual amount of cursed energy; even if the body could heal instantly, a fatal blow to the head would still be pointless.

Gojo Satoru's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he added: "Besides, the core of cursed energy lies in the abdomen; if the abdomen suffers heavy damage—then you're dead for sure!"

So, according to Mr. Gojo's theory, to kill the black deer we'd need a one-shot kill to the head—or aim for another vital spot?

Yui Itto frowned, recalling his teacher's hollow technique; nowadays, only Mr. Walter's Thus: Black Hole among the train crew has that kind of instant-kill power, but doing so would inevitably affect the furnace behind the black deer.

"Oh dear, Itto..." Gojo Satoru lightly tapped his sunglasses with his fingertip: "Observation—we need to keep observing."

Do you see how many roots are connected beneath the black deer's feet? This dopey-looking deer is just a facade; the real enemy is actually those roots rooted in different places.

If we can find the nearby roots, even letting Yuji go up, our chances of defeating the black deer are at least...

He held up two fingers and waved them before his eyes: "Two hundred percent, you know—although Yuji is still twenty Hisshobu distances away from invincible Mr. Gojo, wiping out a black deer without roots is as easy as crushing a ramen noodle wrapper."

Walter also sensed something was off and hurriedly had everyone retreat.

"Good grief, no wonder the Xianzhou fears these abominations of abundance—this regenerative power is utterly unreasonable!" March 7 looked anxiously at Stopcloud: "Miss Stopcloud, don't the Xianzhou's longevous species all work like this?"

Stopcloud burst out laughing: "This black deer is probably a spirit beast born of the Fusang tree to guard it, tightly linked to its roots. Most Xianzhou inhabitants don't have such absurd abilities…"

"Well, it looks like as long as it's around, we few can't make any headway." March 7 slumped, disheartened.

"Not necessarily." Walter had already sensed something off; his gaze fell on the distant giant roots growing and spreading: "The black deer seems able to heal wounds in the blink of an eye, but perhaps it's because it draws supplies from somewhere…"

Upon hearing that, Xing also understood: "Follow the roots, find its supply?"

"Cut the grass, pull the roots—let it suck on loneliness!" March 7 suddenly felt energized, excitement rising.