Chapter 374: Forming an Alliance

This enormous corpse mushroom differed considerably from the others.

The tubular hyphal layer below was quite slender, estimated at only about one meter in diameter, and the cap above was not umbrella-shaped but bowl-shaped.

Black on top, gray underneath, emitting an invisible misty vapor, with faint glimmers of light flashing through.

The hyphae were covered in transparent yellow "bubbles," giving a nauseating feeling that would make a trypophobe's scalp tingle — actually, even a normal person's scalp would tingle looking at it.

Above the corpse mushroom was a small black cavity, also about one meter in diameter, which should connect to the ground cavity Tang Luo had seen.

Of course, that cavity certainly wasn't directly above here.

It could be understood as a crooked funnel.

Continuously supplying nutrients to this large corpse mushroom.

One could see the bowl-shaped cap slightly contracting and expanding, the amplitude not large, but the scene in the upper layer of the underground space was distorting, obviously continuously releasing invisible poisonous mist.

"Sir, you have trespassed into my Feng clan—" a black-robed elder stared at this sudden powerful enemy, speaking slowly.

Tang Luo's intrusion had been detected not long after he entered the passage.

He thought to catch them all in one net, but had the Feng clan not also thought to gather and kill this dangerous intruder?

Of course, the polite opening remarks still had to be said first, otherwise it always felt like something was missing.

Hearing these words, Feng Zhu instantly felt his spine turn cold again, instinctively lunging to the side.

He had heard his Seventh Uncle say these exact words not long ago, and then—

"Whoosh!"

A sharp, piercing whistle rang out inside the underground space.

The surrounding planted corpse mushrooms instantly released a large amount of white mist.

The next breath, this white mist completely turned into chunks of ice that fell to the ground, emitting a "sizzling" sound upon landing; one could see the ground being corroded by the ice blocks condensed from the poisonous mist.

Feng Zhu had no leisure to look at those ice blocks; half his body was already completely numb, and he lay on the ground unable to stand.

He could only barely turn his head to look behind him.

On the longevity mushroom there, that Demonic-Dispelling Ice Spear was nailed, terrifying cold qi emanating from it, an ice shell slowly spreading.

At the same time, that black-robed elder who had been speaking was still hanging on the long spear.

Already completely frozen into a block of ice.

And around Feng Zhu lay scattered many hard, solid fragments.

The matter was actually very simple: the Feng clan black-robed elder hadn't even finished his polite remarks when Tang Luo threw the Demonic-Dispelling Ice Spear in his hand, even using its innate skill — Demonic-Dispelling Strike.

That old man instantly died deader than dead, and the surrounding Feng clan members were also caught in the aftermath.

Not only torn apart by tremendous force, but also frozen.

Feng Zhu hadn't escaped unscathed either; half his body had already vanished, the wound covered in white frost.

The reason he hadn't died was of course because a corpse mushroom parasitized his body, granting him powerful vitality.

Speaking of it, this kind of injury could even count as a minor wound.

But this minor wound was inflicted casually by someone else, spillover damage, and that person was still standing right in front of him.

Feng Zhu felt his life had turned completely bleak.

A bleakness shared by the similarly fortunate Feng clan survivors around him — clearly just a few more days and the Longevity King would emerge, clearly their Feng clan was about to rule the world.

Just where did this white-haired man come from?

On the large corpse mushroom nailed by a spear, the yellow pustules on top burst, and a large amount of dense white mist released from within the cap.

This dense mist did not disperse outward, but instead gradually formed a faintly visible face.

"It's you!"

That face's mouth opened and closed, letting out an angry roar.

"Hm?" Tang Luo was a bit puzzled, but his reaching-out-to-grab motion did not stop.

Glazed Nirvana Great Hand Seal.

His palm closed, crushing this corpse mushroom into a ball, incidentally retrieving the Demonic-Dispelling Ice Spear — or rather, flipping it back; the difference wasn't great.

The mist-formed face instantly dissipated.

The surrounding corpse mushrooms let out a strange "sizzling" sound, beginning to wither.

Before long they all turned into shriveled little black lumps, falling from the walls one after another.

Not only that, the surrounding Feng clan members also let out miserable screams, their bodies withering continuously like the corpse mushrooms; before long they turned into clusters of desiccated corpses curled together.

Feng Zhu naturally did not escape this fate either.

"An unexpected delight."

Tang Luo hadn't expected that this enormous corpse mushroom actually had a function similar to a "main brain" or "insect queen."

Once it died, the rest of the corpse mushrooms all died too.

It saved Tang Luo the time-consuming "cleanup" work that would have followed.

As for that face, Tang Luo recalled it should be a Feng clan member encountered during the second mission, though at that time his corpse mushrooms had all been eaten by Tang Luo.

The corpse turned into a pile of fragments; unknown how he survived, and even turned into a giant corpse mushroom.

To be more precise, it wasn't that that Feng clan member turned into a corpse mushroom, but that this corpse mushroom, which was originally an extremely important "main mushroom," absorbed that person's residual corpse fragments.

Resentment not dispersing, by a coincidence of circumstances, formed the so-called "Longevity King."

And this matter was actually already fifty years in the past from now.

The Feng clan's subsequent actions were all from forty years ago, after that large corpse mushroom gradually gave birth to a thread of sentience.

Of course, these dust-sealed past events had little to do with Tang Luo; he had just acted directly, not bothering to listen to these people recount that past story.

As a listener-type, whether to listen or not depends on mood anyway; it's not like he has to listen every time.

The one who listens every time — that's Conan.

As this Immortal Mushroom was crushed to death by Tang Luo, all the Feng family members, along with the Corpse Mushrooms, died completely.

The thick fog shrouding the outside gradually dissipated.

The Merit Jade Lotus absorbed a large amount of merit power; in addition, the mission information that had changed surfaced in his mind.

True · One Point Change — the original "0" turned into "1".

He reached out and tapped the Merit Jade Lotus, and a ripple spread outward.

In the Feng family's underground labyrinth, the survivors still imprisoned had the residual poison on their bodies completely resolved; they would wake up before long.

Tang Luo had no intention of showing off before these people; obtaining the merit power was enough.

He raised his hand, a fist blasted out a passage leading to the surface, and Tang Luo leaped up, jumping outside.

The thick fog in the outside world had thinned considerably; it would likely dissipate completely within a day.

"Let's go." Tang Luo mounted Ao Yulie, and Ao Yulie directly transformed into a dragon, soaring into the clouds.

————

"He has already completed a mission!"

"What fast speed!"

Wen Hanfei and the others had complex expressions, and the emotions in their hearts were also somewhat complex.

How long has it been? Strictly speaking, not even a full day has passed; they entered this mission world at night.

The current time is only noon.

Unexpectedly, that Tang Xuanzang actually resolved one of the strange incidents silently and unnoticed.

As for them, let alone resolving one, they hadn't even discovered and confirmed a strange incident.

If such a person were not their enemy, how good that would be; everyone cooperating, this mission should be relatively stable.

But he just happens to be an enemy.

Therefore, this Tang Xuanzang deserves to die even more!

"Did you do anything on him to confirm his location?" Wen Hanfei looked at the Li Jue couple and asked.

Li Jue and Wei Xin both shook their heads simultaneously.

They did not have the relevant skills or abilities.

"Within a certain range, I can sniff it out." The young man beside Wen Hanfei, Mao Jinghui, said.

Li Jue and Wei Xin looked at Wen Hanfei speechlessly — you have someone beside you who can do it, yet you ask them what for.

"But I can only confirm the approximate location." Mao Jinghui continued, "Cannot pinpoint accurately."

The several people were still planning to say something when Wen Hanfei suddenly roused: "They contacted me!"

Li Jue and Wei Xin's bodies also straightened simultaneously.

After Wen Hanfei left that tiny glass bead for Thor last night, he had been waiting for Thor's side to contact them; now it had arrived.

"I'll first see their attitude." Wen Hanfei's eyes began to turn vacant, then gray mist permeated his eyes, making his whole person look incomparably eerie.

A space shrouded and enveloped by gray mist.

Up, down, left, right, including beneath the feet — all were surging gray mist; within the gray mist, there was only a long table and chairs.

On the host's chair, Wen Hanfei's figure appeared, his face blurred and indistinct, his true appearance unable to be seen.

He waved his hand, and a passage appeared in the gray mist in his hand.

Someone was slowly walking over from there.

Between the gray mist was the special equipment Wen Hanfei obtained; it had no concrete form, merely a mass of gray mist.

In essence it was a special mental space that could establish a spiritual connection between people across thousands of miles.

The "Us" that Wen Hanfei established also relied on this equipment.

Yes, Wen Hanfei had another hidden identity — the leader of "Us".

"An interesting mental space..." the comer said as he walked.

"Not Thor." Wen Hanfei's brows furrowed slightly; looking at the comer, this person was not the Thor to whom he had given the "contact method", but a completely unfamiliar person.

But without a doubt, also a powerhouse.

Because when he saw him, Wen Hanfei felt his "skin" had a slight stinging sensation.

In this special mental space, his perception became extremely sharp.

"Can you represent the camp you belong to?" Wen Hanfei asked directly.

It wasn't that the Thunder God was unimportant; what mattered was these people's attitude.

"I can." Demos said.

"Then is it cooperation, or..." Wen Hanfei was concise; Tang Luo completing the mission so quickly brought them heavier pressure than before.

"Heh, if I remember correctly." Demos did not answer, but said, "The other man, like Tang Xuanzang, is also a member of the Martial World Myth, right?"

He was referring to Li Jue.

"How much do you understand about Tang Xuanzang? If deeply enough, you would know they have a grudge." Wen Hanfei said, "How about this, we can be more frank."

Speaking, Wen Hanfei waved his hand again.

A few wisps of gray mist separated from the surroundings and coiled around Demos's wrist.

"All of us, together, meet and talk."

"Good." Demos smiled, "It seems that Tang Xuanzang really is a powerhouse. If one could on such a powerhouse..."

As he spoke, his figure gradually faded.

Wen Hanfei's eyes narrowed; this person was indeed not a good sort.

To actually leave so easily — generally, people entering the Gray Mist Between for the first time, without him as the master sending them off, couldn't even find the "exit".

"It seems... an alliance can be formed..."

Wen Hanfei's gaze was obscure as he mused inwardly.