Drunken Dance

Sitting on the branches of a large tree to cool off, Du Ke silently looked at the small block of yellow powder compressed in his hand.

He was now basically certain that the so-called Devil Explosion Flower was a type of fungus, not a plant. The yellow powder was the Devil Explosion Flower's spores, which relied on explosions to propel themselves and spread.

"Half an hour has passed, and my body has shown no adverse reactions. I can basically confirm that the Devil Explosion Flower's spores are not poisonous and are edible." He opened the test tube, scraped off a bit, and put it in his mouth.

The spores melted in his mouth, turning into a warm current that flowed through his limbs.

A sweet and sour taste spread, making him feel comfortable all over. The taste was incredible; Du Ke thought it was tastier than any food he had ever eaten. No wonder all the animals in the forest came scrambling for them after the spores were ejected. Without paying attention, he ate all the spores he had collected. A warm current surged through his body, and even with the cooling system of his Nano Armor, he still felt hot.

It was as if he had an inexhaustible supply of energy that needed to be released.

He couldn't help but jump down from the tree and start dancing wildly on the ground, materializing a Great Sword and swinging it without any form or grace, sending bushes, weeds, and branches flying. It took a full ten minutes before he felt the surging energy subside and his body return to normal. "The Devil Explosion Flower's spores are indeed good stuff. They're potent, like eating tiger penis for a boost."

Of course, the Devil Explosion Flower's spores boost strength, while tiger penis boosts... that other thing.

It was already afternoon, and the two suns were beginning to set in the west, one after the other. Du Ke searched near the forest, and after nearly an hour of diligent searching, he finally found the second Devil Explosion Flower growing on a tree trunk. It was slightly smaller than the previous one, and its stamen was a bulging sphere, seemingly about to explode with the slightest touch. This time, Du Ke smiled.

He quickly materialized a metal box and enclosed the Devil Explosion Flower.

Just as he was about to poke it, he suddenly thought of something.

He quickly caught some large insects in the forest, each the size of his palm, and firmly pinned them to the surrounding tree trunks. After doing all this, he poked the Devil Explosion Flower. BOOM! The metal box hanging on the tree trunk was deformed by the huge explosion, but fortunately, it didn't crack, and not a single spore powder leaked out. Du Ke collected it all.

After removing a few fragments of the tree trunk, the rest was high-quality, pure spore powder, weighing over two pounds.

"This should be enough for me to eat for a week, right?" Du Ke happily put away the spore powder and took out some parts that looked like impurities, smearing them on the insects pinned to the tree trunk.

Soon.

The nascent Devil Explosion Flower sprouted, quickly drying out the insects before growing on the tree trunk.

"This is sustainable development," Du Ke mused, feeling unsatisfied. He continued to search a wider area, sensing that the spore powder not only tasted good but also had high nutritional value, possibly serving as his food source in the Fantasy World. However, he searched until dusk without finding a third Devil Explosion Flower, so he had to give up.

"Now I have two choices: camp nearby for the night or return to the South Lake Sea of Flowers and spend the night in a tree." Glancing at the sky, Du Ke thought for a moment and chose to return to the South Lake Sea of Flowers.

Who knew what dangers lurked in the forest at night? It was safer to be with the Flower Spirits.

His Nano Armor quickly extended, materializing a Mountain Motorcycle. In a short while, he passed through the forest and bushes, returning to the blue reeds. He chose the same large tree as the previous night and materialized a bird's nest dwelling on it.

After waiting for a moment.

A magical scene unfolded.

The flowers at the tips of some blue reeds gradually began to emit a faint glow and then bloomed. The Flower Spirits curled up inside stretched their bodies and wings as if waking up and began to fly joyfully. Then, seeing Du Ke's bird's nest dwelling, they swarmed over to enjoy the air conditioning. Even at night, with temperatures still over thirty degrees Celsius, the Flower Spirits felt hot.

"Du Ke."

"Du Ke."

"Du Ke."

The Flower Spirits could now call out Du Ke's name.

"Hello," Du Ke waved, his mood instantly improving. With the company of the Flower Spirits, he didn't feel lonely or scared at night. Even being light-years away, he felt carefree and content.

"Du Ke, have you been here all along?" Shawa Shawa asked, holding her Heart Flower Stamen, speaking slowly in the Flower Spirit language.

She deliberately slowed her speech, allowing Du Ke to understand her without needing the Touch of Mind. However, the Flower Spirit language itself was very simple, and the meaning of the sentences was straightforward. Direct translation would require Du Ke to embellish it himself.

Otherwise, a literal translation would be just four simple words strung together: "Du Ke, here, always, stay?"

"I came back from the south and am staying here for the night," Du Ke replied, also using the Flower Spirit language.

"South, what's there?"

"Many Beasts."

"The Sea of Flowers has them too."

"There are Dodder Vines... the kind that kill people," Du Ke chatted happily with Shawa Shawa.

Just then, a pale blue phantom of a Displacer Beast rushed over, with Xise Xise standing on its head. This advanced Flower Spirit was quite proud, possessing a powerful Displacer Beast Spirit, which made her feel imposing at all times.

"Xise Xise!" she shouted her own name and then, riding the Displacer Beast Spirit, vanished in a flash.

This interlude did not affect Du Ke's conversation with Shawa Shawa and the other Flower Spirits. Borg Borg, Lusa Lusa, and Azo Azo gathered together. They were advanced Flower Spirits with significantly higher intelligence than ordinary ones.

They were having a pleasant chat.

Du Ke said, "Oh, right, Shawa Shawa, I brought you a gift. Do you know what this is?" He took out a small cup of the Devil Explosion Flower spore powder he had collected.

"Wow!" Shawa Shawa immediately exclaimed, "It smells so good!"

"What is this? It looks delicious."

"I want to eat it, Du Ke."

The Flower Spirits were quickly drawn to the spore powder.

Du Ke said to Shawa Shawa, "Do you think you can eat it? I saw many small animals like to eat it, and I've eaten it myself. But I don't know if you Flower Spirits can."

"We can eat it. Flower Spirits can sense danger," Shawa Shawa replied.

"You have that ability?"

"Yes."

"Then, this is for you to eat, Shawa Shawa."

After receiving permission, Shawa Shawa and the other three advanced Flower Spirits immediately took a bit of Spore Powder from the cup and inhaled it as if drinking dew. Each Flower Spirit only took a small amount before stopping. Then, Shawa Shawa and the other three began to fly unsteadily, as if they were drunk. Recalling his own previous heatiness, Du Ke wasn't worried.

About two minutes later, the four Flower Spirits returned to normal. Borg Borg and the other two Flower Spirits shook their heads and said, "We're full."

"If you're full, call the other Flower Spirits over to eat," Du Ke said generously.

The Flower Spirits had such small appetites that they couldn't eat much Spore Powder.

At this moment, Shawa Shawa suddenly said, "Du Ke, can I eat a little more?"

"Of course."

"I feel like I'm about to advance. I'll eat it," Shawa Shawa said. She then took another sip of Spore Powder and flew around unsteadily, dancing with the other ordinary Flower Spirits.

Soon, the area around the nest dwelling was filled with "drunken" Flower Spirits. All the Flower Spirits could only take a small sip. The more than four hundred Flower Spirits just managed to finish a little less than half a cup of Spore Powder.

Only Shawa Shawa took four sips before stopping.

After her "drunkenness," she sat down on the windowsill of the nest dwelling with a hint of annoyance. "I can't eat anymore today, or I'll burst. But it seems I still can't advance."