Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Vines shot out from the branches like living pythons. At the same time, water vapor condensed into rings, attempting to further bind and constrict the enemy’s space.

Su Chen’s expression was focused. He used his Startle Step to instantly enter the Heart Stream state. As the world around him slowed, he performed a phase-evasion without a moment’s pause.

His consciousness, meanwhile, continued its remote micromanagement. With the precision of a master butcher, he swiftly severed the tangled mass of fungal hyphae.

Besides, he wasn’t fighting alone.

The moment two summoning circles appeared, the Soul-devouring Dog emerged from the shadows. With a single Shadow Leap, it intercepted a charging Earth Element giant mid-rush, its Soul-Splitting Claw tearing through the creature’s shoulder blade.

At the same time, the Ice Feather Frost Bird swooped down, wings beating. A Rapid Freeze Ray instantly turned the two-headed monstrosity on a high branch into a half-frozen statue, causing it to fall.

The next second, its wings stirred up a frosty current. An Ice Storm howled through the woods to the left. The surrounding Water Mist even amplified the freezing aura, causing a large swarm of reinforcing bullet ants and the surging thorny vines to be frozen solid and shattered.

With such overwhelming power clearing all interference, Su Chen calmed himself and focused single-mindedly on prying off the Jade Lingzhi.

The situation was irreversible.

The hive mind lurking behind the scenes realized that any further futile resistance would only serve to hand over its hard-won Rune Essence to the enemy.

Flee!

The half of the two-headed monstrosity’s body that hadn’t been frozen began to spontaneously disintegrate. Its husk sloughed off, revealing a fleshy, rune-wrapped mycelial core that sprouted numerous hyphae and rapidly burrowed deep into the earth.

On the other side, the parasitic Earth Element giant, despite suffering multiple piercing wounds from the Soul-devouring Dog, felt no Perception of pain. It cast an Earth Escape Skill, and its massive, broken body instantly vanished into the rock layer, disappearing without a trace.

Unable to be in two places at once, Su Chen didn’t get greedy.

”At least leave one behind.”

Under the precise control of a Strong Will combined with a Weightlessness Skill, the mycelial core containing the Wood Element Rune, having just burrowed four meters underground, was forcibly scooped out along with a large chunk of rock and soil by a bucket formed from Telekinesis Weaving.

The mycelial core trembled violently, the purple-red veins on its surface pulsating madly as it still tried to escape by flying away.

But when it felt the air thicken and realized escape was hopeless...

This fleshy mycelial core gave up the struggle. A fissure split open on its surface, forming a mouth-like orifice. Through a high-frequency scraping sound, it forcibly simulated a human voice.

’Hate you... flay you alive, swallow you whole...’

’Remember this. I will kill you.’

Every word carried intense resentment, filled with hatred.

Su Chen’s expression was indifferent; he merely found the creature noisy. The next instant, his Telekinesis tightened like a noose. The mycelial core exploded with a BANG, and along with its chattering mouth, was reduced to dust.

He extracted two Wood Element Runes that glowed with a rich cyan light: one Growth Skill Lv4 and one Entanglement Skill Lv4. Additionally, after shattering the other frozen half of the corpse, he obtained a Water Mist Skill Lv3 and a Water Prison Skill Lv4.

The only downside was that the large swarm of zombie flying ants, which had been instantly killed by the Ice Storm, had all been stripped of their essence. Besides their limbs and wing structures being controlled by hyphae, they also each had a spore sac inside.

Their function wasn’t to kill, but mainly to pierce a target’s skin and fur to inject spores.

I have to admit...

This kind of swarm attack from the flying ants was quite dangerous, even for a Spellcaster.

After all, the inherent weakness of a Spellcaster remained: their physical fragility. Without countermeasures, a moment of carelessness could easily lead to being parasitized and controlled.

”I can’t let you keep evolving.”

Su Chen would not underestimate his opponent.

As the saying goes: despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically.

Essentially, its underground mycelial network was rooted deep within the earth’s veins and entangled with the roots of many ancient trees. Without a way to completely uproot and eliminate it along with the forest it shared a Symbiosis with...

...the fungal consciousness behind it all was, for all intents and purposes, immortal.

’It’s consciously improving the surrounding environment to counteract the effects of the weather.’

The fungal species he encountered earlier, the one that could grow octopus-like tentacles, had used Runes to improve the geological conditions, keeping the soil moist and nutrient-rich at all times.

As for this strange, flesh-eating fungus, it had taken a different approach, using the Jade Lingzhi to improve the surrounding ecosystem and even drawing upon its abundant Life Force to nourish the new life in its giant ovary.

’It didn’t melt completely...’

What put Su Chen on high alert was that within the scorched black earth from the earlier meltdown-implosion blast, some unidentifiable, ruined flesh and tissue still remained.

One could only imagine how vigorous its Life Force was.

The newborn monster being nurtured in this incubation chamber was definitely not some simple flesh golem. Otherwise, there would be no need to go to such lengths to incubate and raise it.

”This is probably something good.”

Su Chen glanced at the Jade Lingzhi in his palm. Judging by the life fluctuations it contained, its volume was small, but the energy was incredibly dense and pure—far more potent than the plant-life crystals he had encountered before. No wonder the fungal consciousness had sought to use it.

Upon closer inspection, the Lingzhi shimmered, suffused with a gentle, warm luster.

For no apparent reason, an indescribable craving rose from the depths of his heart.

He had a feeling that a single bite could extend one’s life and grant immortality.

He parted his lips slightly, and the Lingzhi in his hand rose higher.

Hm?!

Just then, Su Chen’s heart tightened. He inexplicably sensed that something was wrong and quickly stopped his hand.

’I almost fell for it.’

His expression turned serious. He stopped staring at the Heavenly and Earthly Treasure and put it away in his canvas bag, making a special point to remain wary of it.