The Exiled Fungus-Footed People Tribe

Just as the entire Fungus-Footed People was immersed in wild joy, the cheers and shouts came to an abrupt halt.

This abrupt Change left even the players somewhat bewildered. Cheng Shi turned his head to look in the direction of the Fungus-Footed People, only to see Zuo Qiu, who was standing at the back, holding out the broken lantern in his hand to the front with an inexplicable expression.

Just now, with the figures of the crowd concealing them, the Fungus-Footed People of the tribe may not have been able to see the state of the lantern clearly, but now, looking at it again, everyone can guess the answer to the question they asked.

Several small Fungus-Footed People immediately burst into tears. A beautiful female Fungus-Footed People knelt down and hugged them, also sobbing.

The players watched with varying expressions but remained silent. The old clan leader, however, sighed and said mournfully:

"Eupusca took Abul away; may his soul find peace under the Prosperity's Divine Shade, and may the will of Prosperity forever bless the Fungus-Footed People..."

The surrounding Fungus-Footed People faces filled with sorrow, also cried out in unison:

May prosperity endure forever, may our tribe be free from worry—

The players were welcomed down from the altar, and the entire tribe was exceptionally hospitable, as this was the first group of guests the Fungus-Footed People Tribe had hosted in hundreds of years.

But in Cheng Shi's eyes, their enthusiasm was a bit excessive; the light in their eyes seemed less like hospitality and more like they had finally found something they were looking forward to.

He frowned and looked at his teammates, only to find that only Zuo Qiu was staring at the Fungus-Footed People with the same strange expression as him, while the others were still looking around in confusion.

The Fungus-Footed People chattered and discussed among the players until the old patriarch dismissed everyone and invited them, full of doubts, into his home.

The old chief's house was the largest house in the Fungus-Footed People's tribe, but because the Fungus-Footed People's lifestyle was different from that of the Flesh and Blood People, the house did not have much decoration or furnishings. It looked like a shack, a shack built with dead branches.

The Cheng Shi the room, he noticed that the wood used to build the house looked very familiar. It wasn't until he quietly touched the doorpost that he realized that the wood was indeed from the Twisted Night Python!

Strange, why would the tribes in the rainforest use timber from the Sighing Forest as building materials?

Zuo Qiu noticed Cheng Shi's actions, nodded to him, and then silently took out his history book. Clearly, he had also noticed that there might be some unusual stories here.

After all, the fact that the Mist Gate connects the underground and the Surface is itself an incredible thing.

It is known that throughout history, there seems to have only been one passage connecting the underground and the surface of the Continent of Hope, and that passage is the Abyss Volcano, located west of the Tower of Reason and east of the Great Inquisition's Forest County.

Therefore, it is hard for ordinary people to imagine that there is a shortcut to the Surface in the Sighing Forest. If the Mist Gate really leads to the Southwest Rainforest, then why don't the creatures in the Sighing Forest use it to go to the Surface to forage?

They are far more terrifying than the wild beasts in the dense forest.

With a belly full of questions, Cheng Shi found a corner in the old clan chief's house and stood quietly...

Yes, standing.

Because Fungus-Footed People rest entirely by their mycorrhizae penetrating the ground, they do not have stools in their homes.

It's... pretty tiring.

The clan chief and several young men from the clan stood side by side. There were no tables, chairs, or food in the room, so they naturally formed a circle and began a formal meeting that seemed less formal than a formal conversation.

"The tribe hasn't had any outsiders for a long time. As far back as I can Memory, the fog has blocked all roads leading out of the tribe."

The old patriarch sighed and uttered his first words, but those one words caused the expressions of all the players present to change drastically!

A fog?

What fog?

The players were somewhat taken aback, and the Hunter even muttered to himself:

"So this isn't the southwestern rainforest of Isle of Hope?"

Unexpectedly, the old patriarch heard this muttering, and he was stunned for a moment, then his eyes were filled with boundless longing.

"Rainforest?"

I've heard of it; I've seen descriptions of the rainforest in the notes of the previous chieftain.

However, the previous clan chief had never seen it with his own eyes; he had only heard about it from the clan chief before him.

It is said that the place is suitable for the Fungus-Footed People to live in, with Abundance rainfall and fertile soil, far better than this Decay and cracked land.

Well...

Perhaps our piety did not move our Lord, so He did not forgive us, nor did He grant us the way home.

This is not the Surface of Isle of Hope; this is still underground, because where we are...

The Sighing Forest.

!!

The Sighing Forest?

How does this resemble the Sighing Forest?

[Prosperity] has never looked upon the Sighing Forest!

Knowing that this Decay forest is fraught with danger, how could any tribe possibly gather and live here? It's filled with mist and almost no sunlight, not even the Dark Sun...

Wait a minute! Sunlight?

Thinking of this, everyone looked towards the door in unison.

They suddenly remembered that the warm sunlight they had seen along the way, though it shone on every inch of the land of the Fungus-Footed People, seemed to have no warmth when it shone on their bodies!

Dark Sun!

Could it really be the Dark Sun?!

The Hunter near the window quietly took a step back, letting the sunlight fall on his arm. After a moment, he gave a barely perceptible nod to the others.

The players' gazes sharpened, and they suddenly felt that this Trials was beginning to veer into absurdity.

In the Decay forest, there lived a group of prosperous Believer. This scene was like a touch of green suddenly appearing on a black and white ink painting. But the paint was only ink, so where did the green come from?

Out of caution, no one responded, nor did they dare to show too much shock. However, Cheng Shi was intrigued. He looked at the old patriarch with great interest and gave him a "gesturing" smile, clearly wanting the old patriarch to continue.

The old patriarch's expression was also strange. He had deliberately said these things, and now that he saw someone giving him an ambiguous response, he tentatively said another part.

"According to our tribal history, we were once a carefree Fungus-Footed People tribe in the southwestern rainforest that you speak of. But one day, He... suddenly abandoned us and banished the entire tribe to this place."

How can the Fungus-Footed People survive in the Sighing Forest, where even the will to prosper is difficult to advance?

Perhaps our sins did not warrant death, or perhaps He still showed us mercy. In any case, He turned His gaze to this land of exile and, in this endless, Decay forest, peeled away a wisp of mist for us, letting the Dark Sun from the earth shine in, allowing our people, who had been punished for generations, to survive to this day.

No one remembers why the tribe was punished, and even if they did, those who know the details dare not bring up this blasphemous act again...

Therefore, exile is a foregone conclusion, and we, this branch of the Fungus-Footed People, can only live in this small area, caught between the fury of prosperity and the Decay influence of decay.