Mycelium

The description of the White Silk Mushroom caught Linsey's attention.

The Life Secret Realm of Courtyard in the Forest often produces a variety of plants with amazing effects.

And so on.

Where such things are abundant, it most likely means the existence of a secret realm.

[White Silk Mushroom], [Night-Shining Ramie Mushroom]

Both are fungi, and Linsey is determined to win the latter.

Although the fleet's current objective is to stop the anomalies in the forest, Linsey has not forgotten his own goal.

Now that he has a clue, he will definitely go to investigate immediately.

However, unlike Linsey's plan to act alone.

Upon hearing this request, Reze immediately rejected Linsey's plan to act alone:

"Drake, you are an important comrade of ours."

"Anyone with a modicum of sense would never send you out to explore a dangerous forest alone at a time like this."

Linsey was not swayed. "Reze, I have to..."

Reze interrupted Linsey abruptly, "What I mean is, Drake, take your companions with you."

Linsey paused for a moment, then quickly reiterated:

"This exploration was solely for my personal needs; there was no other reason..."

Reze turned directly to the people in the cabin. "Drake is going to investigate the situation in the forest. Anyone want to come along?"

"..."

"No problem, count me in."

"Me too."

And so, a simple team of five people was formed.

Because of his hunting work during the day, Linsey was familiar with the conditions in the forest, so he acted as the leader.

Less than half an hour.

He and his companions found the wild-growing White Silk Mushroom, and there were continuous discoveries to come.

These mushrooms are often found on decaying trees or near animal carcasses.

Linsey examined each one, and the results were the same as those Wayne had ingested: they contained toxins influenced by the Essence.

But as long as you leave the [White Silk Mushroom].

The surrounding trees, weeds, and shrubs were all unremarkable, as if only the White Silk Mushroom was the most special one.

"Unreasonable."

"The influence of the Essence is not driven by consciousness, so how could it specifically target one type of fungus..."

While everyone was watching and identifying the samples of the [White Silk Mushroom].

After a moment's thought, Linsey said, "Gentlemen, these mushrooms may be related to a secret realm in the forest. Please be careful and search the surrounding area thoroughly to see how they grow and distribute."

"..."

The air fell silent instantly, and the atmosphere within the group changed completely.

Everyone's gaze became unusually focused when observing the White Silk Mushroom, and even their breathing was deliberately lowered.

—A Life Secret Realm.

Before setting off, they thought it would be just an ordinary exploration.

However, it involves secret realms—you should know that the call issued by the city lord of Nine Bends City openly includes the idea of searching for secret realms.

Currently, only three Life Secret Realm have been discovered in the entire world of the Courtyard in the Forest.

If they find a new secret place.

Even if we take a step back and assume the plan to appease the forest has failed,

With this harvest, we can gain glory and wealth far beyond our imagination! "Next, we'll split up to search. If you encounter any problems, call for your companions immediately. Don't try to handle things alone."

Before the investigation was divided up, Linsey gave each person a packet of [Explosive Burning Explosive].

"Please be careful during the investigation."

"If attacked, set this on fire and throw it. It will make a very loud explosion and noise, and others will know what's going on immediately."

"..."

The forest at night is shrouded in ghostly shadows.

A gust of cold wind blew by, sending chills down one's spine.

Linsey opened the map to check on her companions' condition while continuing to search for the presence of the White Silk Mushroom.

But several hours passed.

The White Silk Mushroom found followed a clear pattern, still appearing on rotten wood and corpses, and there were no other surprising discoveries.

When everyone returned to shore, they shared their findings:

"I searched downstream along the Echo Valley River, and it's easier to find these things on rotting wood and animal carcasses."

"Going deeper into the forest will lead to the same result."

"There's no difference upstream either, and the distribution hasn't changed much."

Linsey then asked, "Have you discovered any other unusual plants?"

The response was a shake of the head from his companions:

"No."

"I don't have any either."

"It's too dark at night, why don't we take another look when it's light?"

"..."

Linsey frowned.

Based on information provided by others, he summarized:

"Exploring from all directions, the growth of the [White Silk Mushroom] is the same, with no significant difference in distribution probability, and no other special plants have appeared..."

The others, who had also come up empty-handed, chimed in, "That's right, and these things all look exactly the same, there are so many of them, and they grow everywhere. Could we have made a mistake?"

"Should we really continue searching?"

"..."

Others exchanged opinions.

Listening to these conversations, Linsey paid particular attention to one thing.

These White Silk Mushroom are indeed difficult to discern in terms of their growth.

However, the frequency and distribution of these occurrences are remarkably high compared to common fungi! "The quantity..."

Linsey murmured to herself as she took a step.

He found a patch of damp soil where White Silk Mushroom were growing.

But this time Linsey didn't pay attention to the wood or animal carcasses. Instead, she took a shovel out of her bag and dug into the soil.

Click—

The sound was soft.

But sure enough, there was a sound of something being cut in the soil! Linsey pulled out the shovel, bringing up a clump of soil.

Some pale white filaments were still embedded in the damp soil by the river.

Its texture is very fragile; it breaks easily when pinched by hand. You can vaguely make out some fine filaments that are connected to each other, forming a network structure.

"Is this mycelium?"

Linsey immediately recognized the fine filaments.

Mycelium is a type of fungus that grows underground; the part that grows above ground is called a mushroom.

These life forms grow underground, intertwining and forming a network.

In Linsey life, mycelium was considered the largest organism in the world, with a diameter of several kilometers and a coverage area of square kilometers!

And in the Courtyard in the Forest.

In this world where the power of Essence exists.

"Such a massive life form must have some unique characteristics, right?"

Linsey changed her approach.

Mycelium typically grows underground.

Following this line of thought, he transformed the map from a two-dimensional plane into a three-dimensional one and began searching underground.

Swipe—

Zoom in on the map as much as possible.

Linsey also found the growth trajectory of the mycelium underground, which was far more exaggerated than the clusters of White Silk Mushroom on the ground. In places where the mycelium was dense, some underground cavities could even be dug out! By comparing these cavities with the growth trend of the mycelium, Linsey finally discerned a result.

The further northeast you go, the denser the mycelium becomes.

"Reze, I think I have a solution."

Linsey beckoned to Reze, and the explorer walked over and immediately squatted down in front of the soil Linsey had dug up. "In the soil... Drake, is your discovery related to these white things?"

Linsey nodded in affirmation, "This thing is the underground root system of the [White Silk Mushroom]. I discovered their growth trend through this thing."

"..."

"Do mushrooms have roots?"

Reze reached out and crushed the soil.

Besides the thread-like mycelium, there were also cotton-like clumps inside, information that even the explorer was unaware of. "I've never heard of such a thing before."

Linsey shrugged:

"The Life Scholar in Volcano City might have some records of it. But since this thing is buried underground, it's normal that no one would find it."

Linsey turned to look at her companions. "Anyway, let's head northeast. This time we should have some results."

The group then set off.

Linsey also explained the concept of mycelium on the way.

Reze recorded this information in his notebook without hesitation, clearly a habit of explorers.

As dawn broke, the five arrived at a peculiar location.

The hill they were facing led down into a deep, sunken valley surrounded by towering, lush trees. It was impossible to notice the unusual nature of the place unless viewed from a specific angle.

Looking at it from afar now.

It's as if a Meteorite fell from the sky, crashed at an angle to the ground, and left such a deep trail.

The hills on both sides remained silent, as if guarding the secrets hidden in this forest.

"..."

It was here that Linsey's team stopped.

Besides the magnificent scenery, this deep valley is also filled with a pale purple poisonous miasma, so thick that it makes it impossible to see anything more than 5 meters away!

gurgle—

Someone in the line swallowed hard.

Soon, a helpless and bitter tremor arose:

"A place like this..."

How do we get in?