Lin Jun was a magnanimous mushroom.
Stuffing the Sword Saint into a Puchi body was purely to test the Sun Stone’s capabilities.
As for the [Delicious LV10] and [Tempting Fragrance LV8] skills, those were just random picks while testing skill loading. Absolutely not because he held a grudge over the Sword Saint treating Puchis like disposable toys back then.
The terror of the Blood Calamity divine artifact was still fresh. Even if the Sun Stone wasn’t attack-oriented, it couldn’t possibly only have the single function of carving souls to create Mushroom Tribe members. There had to be more undiscovered uses.
From the looks of it now, this divine artifact was deeply tied to souls.
In theory, Lin Jun could shove any soul into a Puchi body.
In practice, normal souls got slurped clean by [Gluttony] and dissolved into the world. Lin Jun had no way to hold onto them.
Only the Sword Saint’s soul, thanks to [Sword Extremity] being indigestible, could be grabbed like this.
Interestingly, once the Sword Saint had a mushroom body, [Sword Extremity] digestion stalled.
When the Puchi body died, digestion resumed.
Experiments were mostly done. Let the Sword Saint stay a Puchi, or fully digest [Sword Extremity] and send him to reincarnation?
Lin Jun was kind-hearted; he’d keep him for now.
Anyway, the Sword Saint was completely under his control. The most he could do was refuse to cooperate.
And as long as he still cared about humanity’s survival, had attachments like Fifteen, and worried about the world’s future, Lin Jun believed the former Sword Saint would know what choice to make.
…
Facing the Puchi who had seen through his identity, sitting regally on a heavy-armor throne Puchi, draped in a bright red cape, the Marshal Puchi, countless thoughts flashed through Elven’s mind.
“You are the Fungus Lord?”
“Guaranteed genuine.” The Marshal Puchi elegantly tilted its cap, cape fluttering lightly in the breeze.
Resisting the urge to roast the ceremonial Puchi fanning beside it, Elven raised his mycelial tentacle, pointing at his short, fat Puchi body. “What exactly is your goal?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” Lin Jun controlled the Marshal Puchi to extend a tentacle toward Elven.
Without hesitation, Elven’s tentacle immediately wrapped around it.
Having lost everything, he had no reason to hesitate. What he needed most now was the truth.
He was pulled to stand beside the throne. The heavy-armor Puchi, escorted by the honor guard, slowly set off.
The surrounding numbered Puchis sent envious thought waves. The mycelial network echoed with whispers of “So nice, I want to stand up there too.”
Standing on the heavy-armor Puchi, Elven witnessed scenes that left him incredulous.
At first seeing lizardmen, he thought he was in demon territory, but soon realized that judgment was wrong.
Lizardmen, half-demons, demonkin, humans, dwarves… even elves?!
So many races living mixed together, yet not in a master-slave relationship.
He saw a dwarf laughing with a lizardman, a demonkin squatting seriously recording a little elf’s material needs, half-demons and humans sharing a table of steaming glowing mushroom porridge.
They seemed to completely ignore racial barriers and hatred.
To Elven, who had fought demons half his life, this scene completely overturned his worldview.
He wasn’t stubbornly convinced all demons were evil. In his long career, he had met many respectable demon opponents.
But he knew racial hatred wasn’t easily dissolved.
Individual humans and demons could be friends, but groups could never coexist peacefully.
The harmonious scene before him, with no racial boundaries, was beyond his comprehension.
Elven said nothing, only continued observing from atop the heavy-armor Puchi.
When the honor guard left Stone Fortress dungeon, cold wind carrying snowflakes hit his face.
Looking out, the world was pure white.
Only then did Elven realize he was in the far north.
The heavy-armor Puchi headed toward the fortress city. Along the way, Elven saw even more races.
Bearmen, snakefolk, horned demons, doppelgangers, succubi…
This place was like a melting pot embracing all things. Elven also noticed the residents’ common trait.
Every single one was fully symbioted with mycelium, followed by several heating Puchis.
When the Marshal Puchi passed, regardless of race, everyone paused their tasks and bowed respectfully from afar.
Not the cautious deference of kingdom commoners meeting nobles.
In fact, they hadn’t gone far before those people excitedly discussed where Lord Marshal was off to stroll today.
What shocked Elven more was their communication; almost everyone used fluent telepathy, an ability kingdom Puchi masters lacked.
The more he saw, the more questions Elven had.
Until the honor guard arrived at the fortress city; a prosperity unimaginable in the far north!
With many northern tribes successively joining under the call of love, though Lin Jun had begun diverting population to build new cities, as the most developed city in every aspect, the fortress’s population had reached unprecedented heights.
Crowded streets. Residents of all races naturally avoided the giant burrowing Puchis spewing heat to warm the city.
They chatted about the harsh winter, new quest rewards, or who had made a down payment on a house and settled in the fortress.
The bustling scene made Elven momentarily feel he was back in Oath City.
Now he was finally certain: this city had truly achieved multi-racial harmony.
“How is this possible?” Elven couldn’t suppress his confusion. “Why can they live with former mortal enemies without grudge?”
The Marshal Puchi’s mycelial tentacle elegantly wrapped around itself. “Simple. Just treat every member equ… equally.”
Elven didn’t think it was as simple as this so-called “Fungus Lord” claimed.
His gaze swept over the overly new buildings; chisel marks on stone were still clear. This force had risen recently.
With the Empire’s style, they would never tolerate such a potential threat in the north. It must have quietly risen while the human-demon war kept the Empire too busy to look north.
Thinking of the human-demon war, Elven finally asked the question he cared about most.
“What’s the situation at Threehill City now? How are humans? You should know, right?”
Lin Jun didn’t hide it. “After you died, due to some accidents, humans temporarily survived a crisis. But this peace probably won’t last long. In fact, the Empire is far from humanity’s greatest threat!”
“You asked my goal?” The Marshal Puchi “heave-ho” stood on the throne, dramatically shaking its cape. “I want to save humans, save demons… save this world!”
A Puchi theatrically declaring it would save the world; Elven didn’t laugh. He even had a guess in his heart.
After all, this “Fungus Lord” had already shown him too many unbelievable things!
“You can go personally confirm humanity’s situation if you want. But before that, how about a deal?” The Marshal Puchi leaned closer. “Don’t worry, we have common interests. The terms won’t be too hard for you.”
(End of Chapter)
