Mushroom Man

"You may leave now. I still need to refine a few more suitable mushrooms."

Wu Liang nodded slightly and glanced at Bone Master.

Upon hearing this, Master Gu snapped out of his reverie.

He showed no sign of abnormality, still referring to Wu Liang as "Special Envoy" with a respectful tone.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Master Gu bowed respectfully and then withdrew, appearing completely obedient.

Wu Liang watched him leave with a deep, unfathomable gaze, lost in thought...

Compared to Master Bone, that successor of the Formless lineage is still rather inexperienced.

'Master Bone is at least a master of feigning ignorance, while that kid's acting is terrible; his ulterior motives are obvious. The difference in skill between them is stark.'

'That kid is not easy to control; it's best to get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid adding unnecessary complications...'

Wu Liang withdrew his gaze, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Getting rid of Xiao Chusheng wouldn't actually be difficult for him.

However, the question he needed to consider was how to eliminate Xiao Chusheng while allowing him to continue contributing and maximizing his benefits.

At this very moment, Xiao Chusheng, who was barely clinging to life, would never have imagined...

The Holy See envoy, whom he saw as his lifeline, had already begun to consider how to reap his legacy after his death.

Clearly, in Wu Liang's eyes, Xiao Chusheng was already a man destined to die.

The only difference between them and the dead is whether they die sooner or later.

"Um……"

"If I want to kill Xiao Chusheng, I definitely can't do it myself. I have to use someone else to do the killing."

"However, if we are using someone else to do the dirty work, the question becomes how to recover the fungi and inheritance from them."

"In other words, I need to figure out a way to refine a few mushrooms that can be used for remote recovery of souls and even bodies."

Upon recalling this, Wu Liang began to search his memory for information about this type of mushroom.

Before long, he had a goal.

Now, the Demon Suppression Tower is rich in mushroom materials, and there is no shortage of any odds and ends. It is more than enough to refine a few mushrooms.

Currently, his most abundant resources are undoubtedly those from the Blood Path, Soul Path, and Slave Path schools.

Needless to say, the dragon people captured this time are enough to provide him with a batch of high-quality blood-eating mushroom materials.

As for the Soul Path and the Slave Path, they were obtained by lining their own pockets while refining mushrooms for the Dragon Palace.

The quantity of Soul Path mushrooms was slightly higher than that of Nu Path mushrooms, both in quality and quantity, because some were also plundered from the Tomb Village.

In particular, these dragon people also contributed a batch of living souls to him for refining mushrooms.

If used properly, refining one or two decent Soul Path Mushrooms should not be a problem.

After much deliberation, Wu Liang quickly finalized the next plan for mushroom cultivation.

He first began experimenting with refining Soul Path Mushrooms.

This time, he did not seek Yan Zhaodi's help.

If Wu Liang wants to make a breakthrough in the Dao Refining Realm, he must accumulate a lot of practical experience.

This was clearly a perfect opportunity to practice, and he naturally seized it without hesitation.

And at the same time that Wu Liang began to work on refining mushrooms...

the other side.

After the Golden Dragon King activated the mirage, the entire Dragon Palace was enveloped in an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Perhaps because the mirage isolated the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, all the dragon people were forced to stop what they were doing.

Whether it's refining mushrooms or cultivating, both require consuming a large amount of true energy.

The dragon people, backed by the Dragon Palace, are certainly wealthy and powerful, but not all of them are as extravagant as Wu Liang, who dares to use silver water to replace consumption and refine mushrooms.

This can no longer be described as extravagant; calling it a spendthrift wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.

In this situation, most dragon people, unable to cultivate or refine mushrooms, naturally harbored deep resentment due to their idleness.

Naturally, they wouldn't blame the Golden Dragon King for this.

In their eyes, the culprits behind all this were undoubtedly the human mushroom masters who came to cause trouble.

If it weren't for those human mushroom masters, the Dragon Palace wouldn't have suffered this calamity, thus delaying their cultivation.

Furthermore, those human mushroom masters caused the Dragon Palace to lose many brothers and sisters, and many dragon people were captured and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Such deep-seated hatred fueled the dragon people's growing resentment towards humans.

At this moment, the Dragon Palace was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

More and more dragon people, with nothing to do, disregarded the danger and left their dwellings to search for traces of human mushroom masters.

Xiao Chusheng, who was hiding in the cracks of the blue bricks and barely surviving, was almost discovered by the dragon people in a thorough search several times.

Fortunately, the filthy mushroom was powerful enough; otherwise, he would have been found and killed by the enraged dragonmen in less than three days.

Meanwhile, Wu Liang's Peach Blossom Residence was also being targeted by many furious dragon people.

As a human mushroom master, Wu Liang inevitably incurred the wrath of the dragon people who hated humans.

Unable to find anything, the dragon people vented their anger on Wu Liang.

Fortunately, Ao Miaoyin had foresight and sensed that Wu Liang might be targeted when the villains caused havoc in the Dragon Palace.

Therefore, she had instructed the dragon maid to guard Peach Blossom Residence well in advance, so as not to let the dragon people disturb Young Master Wu and cause any more trouble.

That's why Peach Blossom Residence has remained peaceful and quiet.

Otherwise, those dragon people, blinded by rage, would have already trampled down the threshold of Peach Blossom Residence.

In contrast to the tranquility of Peach Blossom Residence... Princess's bedroom, where Ao Miaoyin was located, was in a complete mess.

The dragon maids were so busy they were running around like headless chickens.

All of this is because the skeleton had taken Huang'er away in public, leaving her fate and whereabouts unknown.

Upon learning of this, Ao Miaoyin's chronic illness was aggravated, and she fell seriously ill.

"Princess, it's time for your medicine..."

Ah Hong and Ah Lan stood guard by the princess's bedside, carrying medicinal meals, their faces filled with worry.

Ao Miaoyin was lying on the bed, her face pale and bloodless, her forehead covered in cold sweat. It was clear that she was terminally ill.

"Um...you can put the medicine down now, I'll drink it in a bit."

"Remember, do not let this matter be known to Father."

“My father has just relieved my chronic illness, and I have promised him that I will not act rashly again.”

"But not long after, I fell ill again and became like this."

"If my father finds out, he will definitely worry..."

Ao Miaoyin frowned, suppressing her discomfort, and spoke softly.

Unlike Huang'er, Ah Hong and Ah Lan, although worried about the princess and thought it best to inform the Silver Dragon King about such matters, would not go against the princess's decision.

"Yes, princess."

"We will absolutely keep this a secret and not let Lord Silver Dragon King know about it."

"We'll go and warn the other maids later to keep their mouths shut."

Ah Hong and Ah Lan put down the medicinal food, their voices tinged with worry, and agreed.

"Ahem, well, thank you for your hard work."

Ao Miaoyin breathed a sigh of relief and then sent them away.

After Ah Hong and Ah Lan left, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Ugh……"

What exactly did Miaoyin do wrong?

Why must God punish Miaoyin like this, making her suffer from such a tragic and incurable disease?

"You can't die, but you can't live an easy life either."

"Rather than living a sickly life and only causing Father King worry, it would be better to let Miaoyin... cough cough."

Ao Miaoyin murmured to herself, and as she spoke, her emotions became turbulent, and she coughed up blood that was tinged with a deep purple.

She clutched her chest, took a few breaths to catch her breath, and then stopped thinking about these random things.

However, when she calmed down, she couldn't help but think of Huang'er.

"To be honest, how can I possibly have the face to wallow in self-pity and say such discouraging things?"

"If we're talking about having a miserable life, Huang'er's life is much more miserable than mine."

"Although she is not suffering from any illness, her current state is entirely my fault."

“If I hadn’t spoiled Huang’er, she wouldn’t have been severely punished by the Golden Dragon King.”

"If I hadn't driven Huang'er away in a fit of anger, she wouldn't have gone to the sanatorium to recuperate, and thus been captured by that skeleton."

"Now we don't know if she's dead or alive, or where she is."

"I imagine Huang'er must hate me now. If she were to lose her life because of this, I'm sure I would hate myself too..."

The guilt in Ao Miaoyin's heart was beyond words.

She blamed herself for all the mistakes.

It was this guilt that caused her to have a severe emotional upheaval after learning that Huang'er had been captured, leading to a relapse of her chronic illness.

At the same time, Ao Miaoyin also felt guilty for betraying her father's trust.

Her father had just relieved her ailment, but she unfortunately suffered a relapse.

In the end, all of this undoubtedly made the little dragon blood mushrooms that the father had left go to waste.

Ao Miaoyin is an extremely sensitive person who is easily affected by emotions.

The guilt she felt towards Huang'er and her father tormented her greatly.

Now that Ao Miaoyin has recalled these things again, her emotions have become uncontrollably volatile.

Her breathing became rapid, and every part of her body ached.

This kind of pain is enough to drive a person crazy; if it were in the blessed land of the tomb, it might ripen a bitter fruit immediately.

Ao Miaoyin has been enduring this kind of pain since she was a child.

If it weren't for the Silver Dragon King's tireless love and care, Ao Miaoyin would probably have died long ago.

"Huang'er, I'm sorry, I can't die yet."

"If I die, my father will surely be heartbroken."

"And my ambition to eliminate prejudice and resolve hatred has not yet been fulfilled..."

Ao Miaoyin looked ashamed and murmured softly.

She endured the pain, struggled to pick up the medicinal meal, and then drank it all in one gulp.

This medicinal diet is a recipe she devised herself over the years, after becoming an expert through long-term illness.

Its function is to relieve pain, forcibly stimulate one's own vitality, and achieve the effect of temporarily suppressing stubborn diseases.

Indeed, the medicinal cuisine that Ao Miaoyin devised herself had some of the wonderful uses of dragon blood mushrooms.

This clearly goes beyond the scope of medicinal cuisine; it's practically half an esophageal mushroom! (End of Chapter)