This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 377, Section 376: Divine artifacts possess spirits and choose their masters to serve!

This time it really was a lucky find!

The original owner, the Elf King Auriel, is dead; this is now unclaimed!
Besides, it's definitely more legitimate for me to take it than for the murderer who killed Aurel!
Lin Jun took a risk by making this move; if things went wrong, it would be difficult for her to survive in the elven territory in the future.

But this is a magical artifact!

It's not some skill or equipment; it's a divine artifact on par with the Sunstone!
Even if Lin Jun's half of the Sunstone was completely destroyed, she wouldn't be in a predicament of magic shortage because of her half.

While the specific effects of this life-giving wood core are still unclear, it is clearly related to life force, so it can't be anything bad!
Now that it has landed so fresh and clean within Puji's reach, how could Lin Jun not give it a try?
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected.

Taking advantage of Ilos being distracted by Eko, Lin Jun sneaked out, but was still discovered by Ilos.

"Don't even think about it!"

Just as the artifact was about to be dragged in, Iros maintained the wall of fire while the vines beneath him shot out at an extraordinary speed, grabbing the end of the staff!
Double casting again!

This old thing clearly doesn't have the Double Cast skill on its panel!
To minimize its presence, only one specially made "puji" stealthily approached to retrieve the wood core. It was currently struggling against the vines and, as expected, was at a disadvantage.

Puji tried to cut the vines with its tentacle blades, but could only leave wounds on them and could not cut them off in one go.

In no time, half of the wood core was pulled out.

However, Puji and Iros were not the only ones in the arena.

Leaving aside the bewildered rangers in the distance, unsure whether to step forward to help or mediate, Eko was determined to kill Iros, and a wall of fire couldn't stop him at all.

A whirlwind whipped up from the blade, instantly blasting open the seven- or eight-meter-high wall of fire in front of him. With a burst of speed, he appeared in front of Iros in an instant and slashed down with his blade!

Bang!
The close-range fireball spell blasted the two away again. Iros was unharmed thanks to the magic shield on his robe, but the magic patterns on his robe had dimmed a bit.

Although Eko was covered in soot and burns, these injuries had no effect on him. He was just annoyed that he hadn't been able to cut the traitor who had killed the Elf King in two.

However, while Iros's magical shield could protect himself, it could not protect the vines that extended outwards.

The explosion's flames and shockwave shattered the vines. The thief hiding in the burrow then seized the opportunity to drag the wooden core down again.

Iros had no choice but to resort to the same trick again, wrapping the staff end with new vines before the artifact completely sank into the ground.

But this time, before he could even drag him away, Eco's relentless attacks came one after another.

While fending off Eko's relentless onslaught, Iros was also forced to protect the vine that held the artifact together.

He raised his voice again, urging, "Eco! Calm down! There's been some misunderstanding between us! Let's get the artifact back first!"

"Misunderstanding? Then why was it His Majesty who died and not you?" Enraged, Eko's eyes were fixed on Iros, the murderer of the Elf King.

Constrained by his efforts to protect the vines, Iros became increasingly overwhelmed by Eko's relentless attacks, realizing he could not continue in this stalemate.

Seizing an opportunity, Iros used the remaining shield on his robe to forcefully block Eko's downward slash, while simultaneously activating the vines with all his might, attempting to reclaim the artifact in one fell swoop.

However, seeing that Puji was about to be pulled out along with the artifact, Lin Jun decisively made Puji self-destruct!
With a deafening roar, the already battered vines snapped in two.

The core of the living tree was thrown high into the air by the force of the explosion, drawing an arc in the air before finally falling into the giant spiral of the underground city.

Iros felt a tightness in his chest and almost vomited blood.

He was completely baffled. The little thief in the cave was clearly not strong in his perception, in fact, he could say he was very weak. Otherwise, even if his attention was initially drawn to Eco, he would have noticed him.

How could something so weak unleash such a powerful explosion in an instant?
Ilos wanted to retrieve the artifact, but Eko's blade was already upon him again.

His robes were temporarily ineffective, and he dared not confront the elven scimitar with his bare body, so he had no choice but to turn around and deal with it.

And he was truly enraged by the beating.

The original plan was to obtain the core of the tree, and using the opportunity created by Auriel's sacrifice, combined with abyssal magic, to further control the Sacred Tree and dominate the entire forest. Then, they would successfully take over the elven forces, place the Ark members in key positions, and, with the help of the surveillance array, eliminate the last remaining opponents, thus completing the consolidation of power.

Finally, release Eko, Salian, and others; whatever they choose then will be powerless to affect the overall situation.

However, just when it seemed that the project was about to be completed, problems arose one after another!

Eko's unexpected escape means that the plan to take over the Elven race will face numerous difficulties, making control of the Sacred Tree particularly crucial at this time.

And that little thief who appeared out of nowhere actually blew the wooden core into the underground city!

Although he left tracking marks on the wood core, the situation had already deviated significantly from its intended course.

“Eco, I’ll explain everything to you later, but for now, let me retrieve the artifact! The elves need it!” Iros made a final attempt.

His response was a sharp, gleaming blade.

Iros laughed in fury: "Fine! Then I'll let you die here!"

Although she lost a robe, freed from the artifact's constraints, Iros was finally able to unleash her full power. Under the overwhelming pressure of dual spellcasting, the battle quickly turned around, and Echo gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

……

On the other side, the wood core, like a broken stick, bumped and thrashed along the edge of the spiral, ultimately failing to fall to any layer and instead dropping directly to the bottom.

Half a minute later, Peragel, who appeared in the center, picked up the undamaged wooden core and respectfully handed it to the puff on his head.

To be honest, Lin Jun was a little surprised to get the artifact.

He confessed only to destroy evidence, never expecting it would blow up the wood core.

No, this is a divine artifact with a spirit, choosing a master to serve!

However, Lin Jun quickly discovered the magical traces attached to it. After trying a few times, she found that she could not remove them in a short time and had to take the artifact to a safe place as soon as possible!

The problem now is... this is the bottom layer, while the crack is located on the fourth layer.

Although much of the fungal carpet at the entrance has been destroyed due to the aftermath of their battle, Lin Jun's long field of vision allows her to still observe the situation.

Eco seems to be at a disadvantage, and it's unclear how much longer he can hold on.

But one thing is certain: that amount of time was definitely not enough for him to climb up and hide back in his hometown.

Several possibilities flashed through his mind, including guiding the ranger troops that were still nearby, or finding a way to send a message to other elves to come and stop Iros.

But either it's too late, or it's beyond our control.

Take the recent Ranger Corps for example. When Iros actually comes down, without knowing the full picture, even with Salian's testimony, will they listen to the Chief or Salian?
In that case, they might be instigated by Iros to cause trouble for me!
The uncertainty is too high; there's no way I can bring the artifact back.

In the end, Lin Jun returned to the abyss space beneath the divine tree with the divine artifact.

There are information blocks there, and the location is more advantageous to me.

At the same time, on the fungal carpet that had already spread to the fourteenth layer, a large number of puffs emerged one after another.

They bypassed the main force of the elves and headed towards the lowest level.

Along the way, most of them were killed by the living giant trees, but some of them managed to reach the finish line thanks to the sacrifice of their companions!

The death of the Puji allowed the creep to spread, and the vacancy created by the dead Puji allowed the newly born Puji to continue its journey.

In a short time, a fungal carpet was laid out on the fifteenth floor, a result of sacrifice!
(End of this chapter)