This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 339, Section 338: Chaos
Lin Jun discovered that the combination of the [Colorful Splendor] and [Charm] skills worked surprisingly well!
The effect of [Charm] is quite excellent, but its triggering conditions are quite limited. It usually requires the target to stare at the Charm Puji for a long time before it gradually takes effect.

This tactic might work against inexperienced werewolves, but it's unlikely to be effective against experienced adventurers or other highly alert targets.

The moment the other person senses something is amiss, they will immediately look away, ending the seduction process.

However, once paired with [Colorful Flower], the situation is completely different!

This skill itself seems useless, it only makes Puji colorful and dazzling.

However, this sudden and intense visual impact will cause the target to subconsciously attribute the strange feeling they have to "amazement," "curiosity," or "attraction," thus prolonging the gaze before making a rational judgment and greatly increasing the probability of a successful seduction.

As for why he specifically sought out Solalyn, it was naturally because her recent unusual behavior had caught Lin Jun's attention.

Although the overall attitude of the human leadership seems to be clear now, it is still troublesome to let this stubborn Wings of Judgment squad leader keep tattling.

Lin Jun planned to use a "gentle" approach to help her understand "Puji's beauty".

Although this attempt was unexpectedly interrupted, there will be plenty of time and opportunities in the future.

……

Currently, the development of the Puji Master community is progressing as smoothly as expected. Even without Lin Jun's personal promotion, its expansion momentum has already formed its own system.

Meanwhile, the "Dream" battlefield has entered a new stalemate.

I don’t know what methods the other party used, but lately every night when I sneak in, I no longer encounter direct confrontation, but a huge, complex, but empty and boring dream lacking substantial content.

It's like an incredibly tough protective shell, firmly encasing the opponent's core consciousness. Without completely breaking through this shell, one cannot reach its true dream essence.

With the amount of mental energy Lin Jun can currently infiltrate each night, it would be somewhat difficult to forcibly break through this defensive shell before the dream's time limit ends.

Unsure how long the opponent could maintain this defensive tactic, Lin Jun hoped that her [Mental Guidance] skill could be upgraded to another level as soon as possible, perhaps then she would have enough power to break through this cumbersome defense.

On the contrary, the exploration of the Shenmu Underground City has made some new progress recently.
-
An elite squad of seven elves is swiftly traversing the Divine Tree Dungeon.

Salian, who discovered the anomaly and reported it, did not participate in the operation because he needed to stay in the city to set up the crucial "surveillance array".

The very composition of this team is enough to demonstrate how much importance the Elf side attaches to this reconnaissance.

An experienced Hall of Fame captain oversees the entire operation, with five elite members of Diamond rank as the main force. In addition, a Druid, who is only Gold rank but possesses special perception abilities, is also specially assigned to the team.

“By the way, don’t you guys think it’s unusually high that we’ve seen so many mushrooms along the way?” one of the agile hunters asked, maintaining a cautious pace. “I remember when I came down here last year, the ecosystem wasn’t like this at all.”

“It’s not just mushrooms,” another team member added. “The once common firefly plant has almost disappeared, and those fluorescent mushrooms provide much less light.”

"This proves that an unknown change has indeed occurred deep within the underground city, and we should not return empty-handed this time."

"Won't leave empty-handed? I doubt it! We're already on the seventh floor, and we haven't even caught a glimpse of the so-called 'tree demon with red markings'."

"Quiet!" The captain, who was running at the front, suddenly raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stop.

His gaze was fixed on the dark area ahead, where there wasn't even a single fluorescent mushroom.

Just then, a crimson light suddenly appeared in the darkness!
Almost at the same instant the red light appeared, a sharp whooshing sound reached the captain! It was a long, sticky tongue, tens of meters long and moving as fast as lightning!
"It's a giant forest frog!" A team member instantly recognized the attacking monster.

The captain's expression remained unchanged. He deftly swung the elven scimitar in his hand, which was engraved with intricate runes and flowed with a moon-like luster, cleaving the incoming long tongue in two from the very center!
Before the forest frog could retract its severed tongue or launch a second attack, the mages and hunters in the group had already made their move! A sharp stone cone and two arrows pierced the darkness ahead.

A painful cry erupted from the darkness, then quickly faded into silence.

Soon, the seven arrived beside the enormous carcass of the forest frog. Under the orange-yellow glow of the illumination spell, they could clearly see that beneath the creature's rough skin, some winding, twisting dark red lines were faintly visible. The captain stepped forward, and the mage behind him tacitly cast a mental protective barrier on him.

The moment his fingertips touched the dark red patterns, a familiar, unsettling tremor ran through him, almost exactly the same feeling he had experienced with the previous fragment of the dark red tree spirit skin.

“It seems the problem is more serious than we thought,” the captain said in a deep voice. “The problem is not just with the tree spirits.”

“The forest is terrified…” said the druid at the end of the group, pressing his palm tightly against a giant tree.

"Let's move on." The elf captain deftly cut off a piece of textured frog skin and flesh and put it into his bag, then stood up.

They need to determine the extent of this problem before they can report it to their superiors.

……

At this moment, the half-demon Bustaldos, who had already ventured deep into the thirteenth level and cleverly concealed himself among the gnarled branches of a giant ancient tree, clearly realized just how terrifying the severity of this infection truly was.

In the woods beneath him, countless figures with a dark red glow roared and fought madly, the chaotic roars and the sounds of flesh tearing apart seemed to never end.

Above him, the flying monsters, who should have followed the order of predation, were in complete chaos. Hunters killed their prey and then abandoned them, and even the weak prey dared to launch desperate charges against their natural enemies.

All reason and order have collapsed. The rich ecological foundation that the Shenmu Underground City has accumulated over countless years is being rapidly consumed and squandered in this all-encompassing frenzy.

Even with his top-tier strength, Bastardos felt considerable pressure in such an extreme environment, and had to be extremely cautious, greatly slowing down his movements.

"What a waste! What a waste!" Lin Jun was heartbroken when she saw all this.

He wished he could immediately spread out the fungal mat on the spot to save these lost souls.

call out!
Bastardos calmly fired an arrow, shooting down a frenzied giant bird that was trying to swoop down at him. He touched the few arrows left in his backpack and asked, "Boss, should we continue deeper?"

In the early stages of the operation, he still had the capacity to retrieve the arrows he had fired.

But in this completely out-of-control situation, any attempt to retrieve the arrows could lead to even greater risks and consume more arrows.

The remaining arrows, strictly calculated, were only enough to ensure his safe retreat.

If we continue deeper, we'll probably have to resort to close-quarters combat.

Having witnessed firsthand the horrors of the [Madness] infection, Bastardos had no desire to dirty his hands.

In fact, even without close combat, just being in this bloody inferno made him vaguely feel his calm mind being eroded by a faint, almost imperceptible, frenzy.

Fortunately, Lin Jun is not an unreasonable person.

Lin Jun readily agreed to Bastardos's request to withdraw based on the actual situation.

"Let's retreat, Dylan II. But before we retreat, we need to take that with us!"

Following the direction pointed to by the mycelial tentacles that popped out from the backpack, Bastardos's gaze pierced through the gaps in the layers of branches and leaves, and he saw an extremely strange little tree.

Its entire body flows with veins like liquid stars, radiating a soft and mysterious glow.

The sapling seemed to be moving slowly on its own, and any monster that dared to approach it, regardless of its strength, would fall to the ground in agony and die from poisoning within a short time.

On its winding branches, several plump, round, crystal-clear fruits that looked extremely juicy were prominently displayed!
Juicy!
(End of this chapter)