What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 128. Timid but Running Mycelium, Butterfly Gold Mine

Chloe has grafted magical plants onto magical plants more than once, but grafting magical plants onto magical beasts...

This is truly the first time.

The first step is to choose the right magical plant.

It needs to be someone with a strong vitality, preferably with a simple personality, someone who can deceive... no, it makes sense.

After a moment's thought, he focused on the bacteria on the soles of his feet.

Archaeobacteria.

Since they could survive for so long in the desolate and cold seabed until they were awakened by the divine power of Mother Earth, their vitality should be incredibly tenacious.

In fact, for a brief moment just now, he thought of orchids.

But upon closer examination... wouldn't cordyceps also work? Although it's different from the regular version of cordyceps.

He bent down, reached out and gently touched the endless ancient pasture fungi on the ground, extending his consciousness into them.

This strange ancient pasture fungus is certainly conscious, but Kroya has never observed it closely because the power it releases might affect him.

Of course, that was before level three.

Now that he's a level three mage, figuring out the consciousness of these fungi shouldn't be too difficult for him.

When he extended his consciousness into it, he did indeed sense the consciousness belonging to the ancient grass fungus, the only problem being that this consciousness... was extremely small.

Logically speaking, the consciousness and astral body strength of a magical plant should be closely related, and the astral body of the Ancient Pasture Fungus is actually quite powerful.

However, its consciousness is extremely small.

Almost too small to be detected, it cowered within the massive astral body, looking pitiful like an underdeveloped infant.

"Why is it so small?"

Kroya didn't dare to make any big moves, but when his consciousness reached out, the other party suddenly shrank back inside.

It exuded a trembling consciousness—

"No...don't come any closer."

"Fear, apprehension."

"I'll give you food, but please don't touch me, okay?"

Along with this awareness, the ancient pasture fungus suddenly grew wildly, reaching a height of seven or eight meters... transforming from a small blade of grass into a pillar-like structure.

Standing in front of him, he immediately opened his mouth wide.

Kroa: "..."

"what?"

Can you grow that tall?

He suddenly realized something: he seemed to have heard of some special magical beasts and magical plants that feed on spiritual power, or the so-called "soul".

Is it possible that the soul and spirit of the ancient forage fungus are also "food"?

This strange ancient pasture fungus seems to be specifically used to raise magical beasts; perhaps there really is such a possibility.

Not only can you raise grass-eating monsters, but you can also raise monsters that eat souls.

After having this conjecture, Kroya tentatively sensed it, and to her surprise, she actually felt...

It smells so good.

It was such a small piece, yet it possessed an indescribable allure that made him lick his lips.

Seemingly sensing Kroya's consciousness, the poor fungus immediately shrank even more, trembling.

"Don't……"

Consciousness can naturally influence the outside world, so its physical form also began to tremble.

To be honest, the contrast between such a tiny mycelium and such a large mushroom is truly striking.

Seeing this, Kroya also suppressed this desire.

"Don't be afraid."

He directly conveyed that he wouldn't eat it, and then spent a long time reassuring it.

The power from the Serenade and the Orange Hymn was naturally able to soothe the little fungus, and it quickly became less afraid.

Through this communication, Kroa was able to confirm that it definitely possessed sufficient intelligence, so she directly asked it if it could combine with the Golden Butterfly.

I thought it would take a lot of trouble, but this guy actually gave me an answer right away:

Is it powerful?

"Won't I get eaten?"

"Can I leave here?"

The three consecutive questions expressed its eagerness.

The Golden Butterfly is definitely strong. As a level four magical insect, it can be said to be domineering, but it can at least be considered to be able to dominate a region.

Naturally, it won't be eaten.

Moreover, these are flying magical insects, so they can fly freely and leave this place.

"Can."

He assured him, "Of course."

The ancient grass fungus seemed to fall silent for a moment, its enormous body suddenly shrinking before returning to its original size.

It pulled itself straight out of the soil, its legs made of tiny mycelium, and ran to Kroya's side.

Although it has no eyes, you can still feel its pitiful state, like a puppy begging for food.

"You actually know how to leave?"

He wondered if he had been neglecting the mycelium, since it could walk and run.

What shocked him even more was that the mycelium around him, which had been obediently rooted in the ground, seemed to have sensed something as well.

They began to wriggle in dense, countless tiny movements.

They were all pulled out of the ground and surrounded Kroya.

Keep in mind that this area now covers more than ten acres.

So many ancient pasture fungi surged in like a tide, revealing vast expanses of grayish-brown earth; to be honest, it was a bit frightening.

"We want it too."

"Protect!"

"Safety!"

One wave of consciousness after another came through.

This was the first time Kroa had found the power of the Celestial Imprint Technique somewhat annoying; there was just too much of it.

When these normally timid bacteria discover the possibility of protecting themselves, the power they unleash is simply exaggerated.

Moreover, their mental strength and consciousness are actually very resilient, probably equivalent to level four or even level five magical plants.

Even the sunflower spirits' spiritual power seemed like a weak child compared to them.

With so many, one can imagine how terrifying it would be if they were all gathered together.

In any case, it took a lot of effort for Kroya to barely suppress their consciousness.

Actually, it's not impossible. There are still a dozen or so gold-eating worms here, which is enough for a dozen or so.

However, if everyone comes, it won't be enough.

He could only come up with a way to convey his meaning:

"If you want that, fine, as long as you can raise my monsters to be fat and strong, I'll allow you to take one plant every month!"

"..."

The ancient pasture fungi were silent for a brief moment, then immediately swarmed towards the chickens, ducks, and sheep that had been leisurely strolling around.

Chickens, ducks, and sheep: "???"

Some of them, perhaps not quite understanding the situation and somewhat stunned, were directly shoved onto their bodies by the ancient grass fungus, which then approached their mouths and poked directly inside.

They certainly couldn't understand the consciousness of the ancient pasture fungi, nor did they comprehend what was going on, but Kroya heard it clearly—

"Eat us!"

"Eat quickly!"

"Ahhh, it's so delicious!"

Since the food was being fed to them, the chickens, ducks, and sheep didn't move, letting the ancient pasture fungi burrow into their mouths.

They simply and brazenly began to chew.

Whenever it is about to gnaw on the roots of the mycelium, the ancient pasture fungus will escape and then take root in the soil to grow again.

Then the ancient pasture fungi will take their place.

This alternation is almost like feeding on an assembly line.

Using the Celestial Imprint Technique, Kroa was able to discover that as long as there was even a tiny bit of their hyphae remaining, they could regrow.

In just a short while, the chickens, ducks, and sheep, led by their respective leaders, gathered together and lay peacefully enjoying the delivery of the ancient pasture fungi.

"You guys certainly know how to enjoy yourselves." Kroya shook her head and looked away.

That's fine too. As long as they don't forcefully stuff their food in, it doesn't matter. Anyway, there's not much to eat, it just means less time spent searching for food.

If this continues, they will likely grow quite quickly.

"Let's try connecting it now."

Kroya reached out and touched the Golden Butterfly, examining it and pondering where to cast the limb-reassembly magic.

"Or you could place it on your lap, so you can draw life force from the ancient pasture fungus when you land."

The Golden Butterfly understood Kroya's meaning. The golden halo on its wings flickered, and one of the butterflies bowed respectfully to Kroya.

"Just bear with the pain."

He first marked the location of its leg joints and the ancient forage fungus he had chosen with the image of the severed limbs, and then he simply broke it off with force.

A crisp sound rang out.

The poor butterfly trembled violently.

Its aura became even weaker, and it even seemed a bit listless. Golden liquid flowed from the spot where its leg was broken.

"Golden blood."

A thought struck Kroya, and he took a bottle and collected the few milliliters of liquid.

Next, press the ancient grass fungus onto the spot where its leg was broken.

The mycelium immediately began to actively wrap around its wound. Within the vision of the Astral Body Imprint Technique, one could clearly see the golden astral body representing the Brilliant Golden Butterfly and the emerald green astral body of the Ancient Pasture Fungus combining.

A moment later, the mycelium completely flooded inside, forming a shape similar to butterfly legs, which was somewhat out of place with the golden color of the Golden Butterfly.

[Engraving successful. Golden Butterfly Leg, Ancient Pasture Fungus (severed limb reassembly).]

The Golden Butterfly can draw sufficient life force from the Ancient Pasture Fungus to sustain its movements, and will also acquire the Ancient Pasture Fungus's abilities.

[This imprint is applicable to all Gold-Eating Worms, the Golden Butterfly, and the Ancient Pasture Fungus.]

After receiving the notification, the Golden Butterfly landed on the ground on its own, and mycelium extended from the ancient pasture fungus on its two legs, penetrating into the ground.

It looks like a butterfly with a bright green base underneath, but nothing particularly strange has ever happened.

It seemed to be in excellent condition, flapping its wings excitedly, with golden particles and phosphorus dust falling from them.

It drifted away in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings turned into a dazzling golden light.

Clearly, the soil on the ground has turned into gold.

(End of this chapter)