The world enters the fungal world

Chapter 84 Breakthrough (Thanks to Nine Tribulations Sword Master for the reward)

Having learned from past experience, Li Yu did not block directly, but instead moved to the side in an instant to dodge, revealing the power of crystallized bacteria in his left hand, which then gripped the spear shaft.

He clasped his hands together, exhaled, and let out a loud "Hey!" before slashing the iron spear down from above.

This time, Li Yu used all his strength, and with a dull thud, the shaft of the iron spear bent.

The insect-like beast's curled-up body was struck by the iron spear, crashing heavily into the ground below with a "boom." The soft soil beneath couldn't withstand the impact and immediately created a shallow crater.

The attack was so powerful that the insect-like beast was forced to curl up and split in two. Li Yu seized the opportunity, and the spear tip fell, piercing into its soft abdomen.

The insect-like beast let out a sharp screech and tried to struggle, but Li Yu had already lifted its body and slammed it down heavily once again.

This time, the soft belly slammed into the ground, spraying out a large amount of white fluid. Li Yu's left hand revealed a foot-long crystal knife. He pounced from behind and plunged it into the hard shell on the insect-like beast's back, trying to cut it open. However, even with the sharpness of the crystal knife, he could not break through the hard shell.

Li Yu was taken aback. He could only insert his penis into the gaps between the hard shell joints on the back of the insect-like beast, and then pull it sharply to cut its body in half.

Seeing that the insect-like beast had stopped moving, Li Yu let out a soft sigh of relief.

This insectoid beast's attacks were simple and brutal. In terms of offensive power, it was no stronger than the elite beasts encountered before, but relying on the hard shell on its back that shone with a steely luster, its defensive power was simply heaven-defying. Killing it was really not easy.

As the insect-like beast was sliced ​​open by his crystal knife, Li Yu suddenly noticed that the steely luster on its hard shell was gradually brightening.

Soon, a layer of molten steel-like substance bulged out from the hard shell, and a faint white light appeared. Inside, a mushroom about half the size of a fist formed, resembling a piece of steel, and rolled down the hard shell.

Li Yu looked at the small mushroom that suddenly appeared, shrouded in white light, and suddenly realized that the hard shell on the back of this insect-like beast contained special fungal power. No wonder its defense was so incredible that even a crystal knife could not cut through the hard shell.

He quickly picked up the steel mushroom, swung his iron spear, and charged towards the other larval beasts.

The group of four, including Lin Muying and Zhou Xigang, had already killed most of the twenty-odd larval beasts that had rushed out. In particular, Lin Muying had now switched to using a spiked club, a heavy weapon with astonishing destructive power.

Lin Muying snatched the spiked club, and with almost every swing, she could kill a larval beast.

Now that Li Yu has joined the fray, these larval beasts are even more vulnerable, and the group quickly killed the rest.

After killing the larvae and beasts, Lin Muying was panting. The spiked club in her right hand stood upright, taller than her, and her eyes were slightly narrowed, as if she was sensing something.

Seeing her standing there motionless as if meditating, Li Yu had a sudden realization: Lin Muying had broken through and had finally entered the second stage of the spore stage.

As she successfully entered the second stage of the spore stage, Lin Muying could feel tremendous changes taking place in her body.

Muscles, bones, vision, hearing, strength, speed, physical fitness, reaction speed—it can be said that all kinds of abilities are being improved and strengthened.

This is the second stage of the spore stage. Compared to the initial spore stage, once this stage is broken through, an amazing change will occur.

Zhou Xigang, Qian Lili, and Fang Mingxuan watched as Lin Muying stood there motionless, which seemed very unusual. Zhou Xigang reacted quickly and immediately understood, then revealed an expression of envy and excitement.

He envied Lin Muying for breaking through and gaining power like Li Yu, but he was also excited because if Lin Muying had broken through, he should be close to doing so soon.

Lin Muying remained motionless for two or three minutes before letting out a long sigh, twisting her neck, and suddenly gripping the spiked club in her hands, swinging it around her body repeatedly.

The wind howled, and the speed and power of the spiked club that was swung out were both amazingly improved compared to before.

Suddenly, the spiked club came down and smashed into the insect-like beast's corpse, which Li Yu had cut in two.

Although the corpse's shell had lost the power of the Steel Mushroom, it was still extremely hard. When it was struck by the spiked club, it immediately shattered into countless fragments with a tooth-grinding sound, and a large amount of flesh and blood splattered everywhere.

"Amazing—" Li Yu's eyes lit up as he watched, revealing an expression of admiration. Lin Muying, who had entered the second stage of the spore stage, combined with this spiked club, made the power of this strike immeasurable.

Lin Muying looked at the destructive power of her strike and secretly marveled, a look of excitement on her face.

Li Yu suddenly remembered something, took out the rock mushroom, and said, "Mu Ying, you've now reached the second stage of the spore stage. Try this again and see if there's any reaction."

At the same time, he grasped the steel mushroom he had just obtained, wanting to see if it could react with the pupil fungus.

Lin Muying hummed in agreement, took the rock mushroom, and held it in her left hand. This time, she hardly needed to consciously sense it; the light fungus in her right arm immediately responded on its own.

A faint stream of heat extended down her right arm and quickly gathered in her left palm, resonating with the rock mushroom.

The rock mushroom seemed to melt, turning into a liquid the color of rocks. Countless mycelia extended and burrowed into her left palm. In a short while, the rock mushroom permeated her left hand and disappeared.

A look of surprise appeared on her face. She raised her left hand, and soon rock-like patterns appeared on the surface of her left hand, as if it had turned into petrified stone.

"Rock claw fungus, this is called rock claw fungus." Lin Muying looked up at Li Yu and exclaimed excitedly.

Li Yu tried to sense the steel mushroom, but there was no response, so he had to give up. When he saw that Lin Muying had successfully fused with the rock claw fungus, he immediately understood.

Only by entering the second stage of the spore stage can one fuse with this special fungus, and each person can only fuse with one type.

Zhou Xigang looked on with envy and said, "I understand. Only by reaching the second stage of the spore stage can one fuse with this mushroom."

Looking at the steel mushroom in Li Yu's hand, he was very envious. If he could break through to the second stage of the spore stage now, he could fuse with this steel mushroom.

Li Yu placed the steel mushroom into Lin Muying's backpack and asked, "What special abilities does this rock claw fungus have?"

His crystallizing bacteria can crystallize his left hand, enhancing its strength. More importantly, the crystal blades that extend from it can cut through iron like mud. Unless the opponent also possesses similar special bacterial power, they cannot stop it.

Lin Muying opened her left hand, and the five fingers of that petrified left hand were growing, extending forward half a foot to form five stone claws.

She reached out and grabbed at the air a few times, then suddenly grabbed at the corpse of a larval beast. Her five stone claws, like daggers, pierced through the flesh, and with a sharp twist, she tore a huge bloody hole in it.

A strange look appeared on her face, and she scratched the larval beast's corpse several times, leaving several bloody holes.

Immediately afterward, her five claws descended, piercing into the corpse's skull. With a jerk, she ripped open the skullcap. In battle, this single strike could instantly kill a larval beast.

Li Yu saw this and nodded secretly.

Qian Lili opened her eyes wide and murmured, "What powerful claws—"

Then she raised her voice, her face filled with excitement: "Mu Ying, you're getting better and better—"

Lin Muying slowly retracted her rock claw, her left hand returning to its original state. A hint of excitement appeared on her face as she said, "This rock claw fungus is truly incredible. If I hadn't experienced it firsthand, I would never have imagined that such a fungus existed."

Zhou Xigang was a little excited and said, "It seems I also need to level up quickly."

Qian Lili said, "Mu Ying has already reached the second stage, and I think you should be close to it too."

A hopeful look appeared in Zhou Xigang's eyes as he said, "I hope so."

Li Yu let out a soft breath, raised his eyes slightly, and looked at the cluster of buildings in the distance shrouded in a thin mist.

Now, they have finally produced a second person at the second stage of the spore stage, so even if they encounter several elite beasts at the same time, they can handle it.

"Let's go, let's get out of here first. There are too many corpses here, it might attract new mutated beasts." Li Yu picked up the iron spear.

Lin Muying hummed in agreement, Fang Mingxuan nodded, and the five of them continued on their way, still heading towards the Nanshan District.

With two second-stage spore-stage members in the team, the five felt much more at ease, and their travel speed noticeably improved.

The five people crossed two streets and came to a mushroom forest growing in the residential area. Li Yu, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped.

He didn't discover danger, but rather felt a surge of hunger; most of the day had passed since he set off in the morning.

Everyone rested on the spot, and Li Yu opened Fang Mingxuan's backpack and took out edible fungi.

Lin Muying has advanced to the second stage of the spore stage and has also fused with rock claw fungus, doubling her nutritional energy requirements. She needs to eat more edible fungi.

Seeing a large variety of level-five edible fungi on both sides, Li Yu, after eating his fill, joined the others in picking them, quickly filling all four backpacks.

The edible fungi in these four backpacks are enough for them to eat for several meals.

After resting for a while, the five continued their journey. They had now entered the Nanshan District and walked about twenty meters ahead to reach the mushroom forest growing in the residential area.

Most of the residential buildings in this community have collapsed, as if they were damaged by some powerful force. Among these ruins, a large number of giant plants that resemble both mushrooms and trees are growing.

They have thick trunks with outstretched branches and leaves, but at the top grows a huge cap, with the branches and cap intertwined and countless mycelia hanging down.

"Can these things be considered fungal trees?" Zhou Xigang pointed to the mushroom-shaped trees in front of him. "Since those monsters are called fungal beasts, then calling these fungal trees is quite fitting."

Qian Lili glanced at him and said, "Zhou Xigang, you're quite good at picking names."

Zhou Xigang chuckled smugly, about to speak, when Li Yu suddenly exclaimed softly. With his sharp eyes, he noticed six jelly mushrooms, each about the size of a fist, growing on the ground among the mushroom trees.