This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 92, Section 91: The Tree Spirit
Beneath the mottled bark, the gnarled branches slowly wriggled, and countless translucent mycelia covered the gaps between the branches in a net-like pattern, spreading from the chest to the limbs.

A cluster of fluorescent mushrooms sprouted from the crack on the tree spirit's head, their tender caps looking quite out of place against its withered, wood-like body.

Tree spirits are not flesh-and-blood creatures, so they cannot be parasitized by themselves. The tree spirit in front of us simply connected to the fungal network through the mushrooms on its body.

In terms of independence, it surpasses both Dylan and Xiao Hei.

However, Lin Jun also noticed this.

None of the spores it had sown last time had managed to remain in this tree spirit forest; this mushroom on its body was probably the only result.

Only this tree spirit stood at the entrance to the woodland, while deeper within the woodland, many other figures could be vaguely seen swaying.

It's... interesting.

The source was unknown, but the roots that covered the ground twisted and made way between the tree spirits and the puffies.

There was only one root that was being pulled by Xiao Hei, and it couldn't retract it no matter what it tried.

"Mushroom, ruler."

The tree spirit, which had only recently regrown its limbs and now appeared somewhat thin, approached Puji and once again sent a message through the fungal web.

"The branches and leaves of the ancestral tree yearn for peace; please do not bring destruction."

When destruction was mentioned, the tree spirit's head clearly turned a few degrees towards Xiao Hei.

Lin Jun sensed a hint of fear within the tree spirit's emotions.

So that's how it is, praying for peace.

but,

"What is the ancestral tree? And what are its branches and leaves? Does it refer to you?"

Hearing a peculiar term from a wild monster, Lin Jun couldn't help but be curious.

"The ancestral tree is the source of all tree spirits, and we are all its branches and leaves!"

When the ancestral tree was mentioned, the tree-man seemed a little excited and longing.

Lin Jun looked into the depths of the Tree Demon Forest: "Is this ancestral tree inside?"

They weren't intimidated by such a frightening title.

If this ancestral tree is on the sixth floor, then at most it would be about the size of an old bat.

If it's not on the sixth floor, then no matter how powerful it is, it won't affect Lin Jun.

"The ancestral tree is not here; we are merely a lost twig."

Tender branches?

Lin Jun glanced at the old tree bark on its body, which seemed ready to fall off at any moment...

"Okay, I understand."

But there's one question: what do you mean by 'tranquility'?

The tree spirit replied, "The branches and leaves do not attack the mushrooms, and the mushrooms do not attack the branches and leaves."

"If I need any help, can you provide it? Of course, I will reciprocate." Communication starts with small interactions, and Lin Jun knows how to do that.

The tree spirit paused, glanced at the other tree spirits in the forest, and finally shook its head, repeating, "Branches and leaves don't attack mushrooms, and mushrooms don't attack branches and leaves."

Lin Jun understood now; they were trying to promote isolationism.

Lin Jun thought for a few seconds and then replied, "But if that's the case... I refuse."

The cold-blooded will was conveyed to the tree spirit, making it fully understand that Lin Jun wanted more.

In Lin Jun's eyes, these tree spirits, as rare intelligent beings in the underground city, and able to easily connect to the fungal network without any communication barriers, are quite valuable.

Lin Jun was very willing to bring them in to improve the organization's average intelligence level.

Putting aside how much help these tree spirits, who cannot leave their social hierarchy, can bring, it is still very necessary to accumulate experience in managing other races.

But that's only if you join the organization!

The tree spirit's meaning was clear: it wasn't even willing to make a perfunctory attempt to contact him.

Then there's no way we can even talk about incorporating them.

but……

Why?

Although it may sound arrogant, Lin Jun has already treated the entire underground city as his private property—although he probably only controls less than a third of it now.

The tree spirit isn't even a being of comparable strength, so why should you be allowed to maintain the state within a state?
In that case, what difference would this group of tree spirits make from other demons outside to Lin Jun?
It could even be said that a group of intelligent but uncontrollable tree spirits poses a certain uncertain threat to Lin Jun, even if that threat seems very small at the moment.

Moreover, only this tree spirit came out to negotiate with Lin Jun; all the other tree spirits were hidden in the forest, so it was hard to say how sincere this conversation would be.

Lin Jun didn't want to appear domineering. If these tree spirits had just shown a willingness to make some contact, the conversation could have had a good outcome.

pity.

“I won’t force you to have contact with me if you don’t want to, but since we have no relationship, why should I stop Little Black for your sake? Oh, Little Black refers to that big black mushroom.”

Here, it's common for monsters to hunt each other. Since there are only tree spirits in your forest, it's unlikely that other monsters gave it up willingly, right?
dont you agree? "

Faced with Lin Jun's explanation, the tree spirit didn't know how to respond.

Lin Jun wasn't in a hurry; he wanted to give these tree spirits more time to think it over.

"I'll take Xiao Hei back with me this time. I hope to meet more tree spirits to talk to next time I come."

After saying that, Puji pulled Xiaohei away.

In fact, with Lin Jun's current strength, she could be even tougher and directly bring a squad of Puji to threaten them, but that method would be too unseemly.

It's hard to say whether the addition of a bunch of resentful tree spirits is a good thing.

While their current behavior isn't exactly friendly, at least they're leaving room for maneuver.

What Lin Jun wants to do now is to open a hole in the tree demon, even if it's just a small one.

Once contact is made, Lin Jun believes that with the resources she currently possesses, she should be able to win over a group of tree spirits.
-
The Mushroom Lord left, leaving the Treant standing there dumbfounded.

That time, even with its limbs severed, the tree spirit did not die.

It had no name; it was just an ordinary tree spirit in this forest, no different from the hundreds of others of its kind.

If there's any difference, it's that it was unlucky enough to encounter the black mushroom, a symbol of destruction, when it was its turn to guard the gate.

But it was also lucky; it didn't die at the hands of the black mushroom.

Although limbs are lost, they can regrow.

While they were fighting the giant black mushroom, the other tree spirits remained inside the forest and did not come out.

It wasn't actually like this at the beginning.

When the giant black mushroom first arrived, half the tree spirits in the forest gathered there. Killing all the outsiders who entered the forest was a consensus among all the tree spirits.

That time, it was far away, and by the time it arrived, the big black mushroom had already left, leaving behind countless broken wood chips on the ground.

The second time, the third time, the fourth time...

Amidst the endless harassment from the giant black mushroom, they realized—that was not an existence they could defeat.

Every fierce resistance only brings greater casualties; conversely, ignoring it will cause much less damage.

Thus, the practice of taking turns guarding the gate, or rather, taking turns being the sacrificial offerings, emerged.

Anyway, every time Big Black Mushroom comes, it will leave satisfied after destroying a few Tree Spirits.

Sacrificing a few unlucky ones on their shift in exchange for the survival of more tree spirits seems like a pretty good deal.

It just felt that this wouldn't work, but it couldn't think of any other way.

Dryads are not a fast-reproducing species; their numbers in the woodlands are steadily declining at a slow pace.

They'll all be killed sooner or later—that's what it thinks.

So there was no sense of relief at surviving a catastrophe; it merely postponed the end a little.

Until a mushroom bloomed on top of his head...

Although it was blurry, it sensed the enormous presence above!

The will of that being was as vast as an endless forest; compared to that being, all the tree spirits in the entire forest seemed insignificant.

It is an invincible force; even the black mushroom is only a small part of it.

It caught a glimpse of the enormous creature from afar, but the creature, because of its small size, did not notice it for the time being, which terrified it.

It considered removing the mushrooms from its body so that the being wouldn't notice it.

But in that case, the tree spirit's fate of destruction seems sealed.

The giant black mushroom is part of that existence, and the tree spirit has no choice but to try to communicate with it if it wants to survive.

It tried to convey this idea to its people, but the roots responded with nothing but doubt and anger.

Even with its best efforts, it only managed to secure this one-on-one communication opportunity.

Now, the communication is over.

Thanks to communication, the big black mushroom didn't tear it apart this time.

But it's hard to say that the communication will yield positive results.

This result is more like receiving an ultimatum.

It doesn't know how many of its kind would be willing to let a mushroom grow on their bodies.

All it knew was that it had to do its best to persuade more of its kind.

Hopefully not too little...

　Thanks to "空城灬奏" for being the alliance leader.
　　Thanks to the leader of "Rain and Star Reflection"
　　The next chapter will be updated at 6 PM.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)