This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 205, Section 204: The Unclaimed Demon Descendant

What is this?
A mangled skeleton and a hammerhead slid out from the ruptured abdomen of the clumsy beast.

The body had been severely dissolved by digestive fluids, and Lin Jun could only make a rough judgment based on the exposed skeletal framework.

It's humanoid, with horns on its head, and the crystal on its chest is... inlaid?

Puji took the crystal out of the corpse on the ground.

Unlike the crystal-clear magic crystal, this crystal has intricate internal patterns, layer upon layer, but unfortunately it is broken and its internal structure is no longer discernible.

“This… is probably a demonic core. It’s very important to demons, but for others… find a skilled craftsman, and with a bit of luck, they might be able to craft a skill accessory.” Louisa, who had been summoned, glanced at it and made her assessment.

What is a demonic descendant?

“A race that etches power into their flesh and blood,” Louisa explained. “They hunt down the strong, extract their power, and etch it onto the flesh of newborns in the form of ‘magic runes’ to seize that power. Their own talent is also quite strong; one of the twelve pillars of the empire is of demonic lineage.”

She paused, her gaze returning to the horrific wreckage, a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips: "However... since we encountered them in this far north, they're most likely those losers."

"loser?"

Louisa scoffed: "They have neither the absolute power to command obedience nor the willingness to bow to the powerful before them. In the end, they only managed to survive by relying on His Majesty... the Emperor's mercy, and were exiled to the frozen wastelands to forage for food—what are they if not losers?"

"Oh! I've heard that a group of demons were driven to the north. So it was them! It seems their living conditions are quite harsh!"

“Initially, there were more than ten races of demons who migrated to the north, forming dozens of tribes. But after hundreds of years, most of them either disappeared into the icy wilderness or gradually returned to the Empire. There shouldn’t be many left who stubbornly cling to a pile of ice,” Louisa said, lightly kicking the wreckage with the tip of her boot. “Anyway, I didn’t hear much news from the north when I was in the Empire.”

“In other words,” Lin Jun concluded, “this is a group of humanoid creatures who possess war potential but have no affiliation and whose numbers may not be considerable…?”

Humanoid?

Louisa found her boss's description a bit strange, but she nodded nonetheless.

Then, she added carefully, "Boss, strictly speaking, they are also loyal to the Demon King."

"Wasn't the Demon King dead long ago?"

"There is no conclusive evidence to prove that the Demon King has already..."

Before Louisa could finish speaking, Lin Jun said nonchalantly, "A demon king who has been missing for three hundred years, what else could he be but dead? Even if he isn't dead, he's probably no different from being dead! A demon without a master... good! Good indeed!"

He rubbed the broken magic core, wiping away the blood and stomach acid bit by bit, as if cleaning some precious treasure.

On the other side, Norris and Blackie were also escorted by the Puji through the rift to Mushroom Garden No. 3, which had not yet been cleaned up.

Little Black had barely touched the ground for two minutes when it tucked its tail between its legs and tried to burrow back, but the Pujis managed to stop it.

Her cold resistance is also level seven, which means she can survive here without much difficulty, but she still feels a bit cold.

Having no other choice, Lin Jun had to get a few burrowing puji and have them spread heat around Xiao Hei.

Little Black wasn't afraid of getting its paws burned. It used both hands to hug the scalding hot Puji tightly, one on each side, before finally letting out a comfortable sigh of relief.

As for Norris... a four-meter-tall gida covered in a hard shell also stood in Mushroom Garden No. 3.

Because the three-round enhancement was activated before the decision to stay overnight was made, Norris didn't have time to install [Cold Resistance], so he simply stayed in Jidari and didn't come out.

Despite the initial version of Jida's poor performance in testing—its combined combat power even inferior to that of the elite Puji fighting individually—Norris grew to enjoy controlling Jida. Lin Jun's assessment was—"Good eye!"

Since Norris hadn't yet received his reward for training the cavemen, Lin Jun simply spent some time creating a complete version of Jida for Norris to drive. In any case, it would definitely be stronger than Norris himself in a fight.

Considering the environment of the Qisi territory, these newly created Puji naturally come equipped with [Cold Resistance LV7] as standard.

Norris nestled in the sealed cockpit of the Gida, and with the warm ring that emitted a faint warmth, he was able to move around freely.

……

Although Qi Si no longer confronts Lin Jun directly, he still engages in many other underhanded tactics.

Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, they would sneak up behind the creeping fungus and destroy some of the burrows and passages to cause some minor trouble for Puji.

However, due to insufficient hard power, no matter how many small tricks are used, they can only slightly delay the spread of the fungal carpet. Qis's living space is being gradually eroded every minute and every second.

What Qis didn't know was that its harassment in a certain direction actually revealed its intentions, allowing Lin Jun to concentrate more of her forces in that direction and eventually discover an entrance to the ancient castle above...

With Jida by his side, Norris volunteered to go out and scout, and Xiao Hei said he wanted to go with Norris.

Originally, Lin Jun wouldn't have felt comfortable letting these two go out alone—one lacked ability, and the other lacked intelligence—but since they were going to act together…

After teaching Norris a trick to make a wish by plucking scales, he released them.

As for the Yellow Book... it's still under the deepest layer of the dungeon, and no one knows that Norris has already finished modifying it.
-
Boom--boom--

Kara—Kara—

Strange sounds echoed through the deep corridors of the ancient castle, dull like heavy hammering, mixed with harsh scraping sounds.

Qiong's footstep, which she had just taken, froze in place.

"Go!" Qi Si's voice echoed in Qiong's mind once again.

But this time, Qiong clearly sensed its almost panicked urgency—what was Qisi afraid of?
Seeing that Qiong remained motionless, Qi Si seemed to want to use the same trick again, using the hunt to coerce him, but at the end of the corridor, the source of the sound had already appeared first.

Around the corner, a towering figure, easily four meters tall, stepped out! Its entire body was covered in thick armor, and it had a mushroom-shaped cap on its head, making it look extremely strange.

Behind it followed a creature less than half the height of the giant, covered in thick black scales and with wings on its back…

"Dragonman!?"

Having grown up in the far north, Qiong could barely recognize Xiao Hei's dragon-human identity through his distinctive features.

As for the bizarre armored giant, and the two buzzing, constantly heating strange creatures in the dragonman's arms, he had never heard of them.

Although I don't recognize them, there's no doubt that none of these three things belong to the Stone Fortress Underground City!
"hiss--"

The Qis let out a threatening growl.

Qiong discovered that this was completely different from the cold and silent hunting posture she had displayed during the previous battles.

(End of this chapter)