Cleanup

The bandit group leaders had a keen instinct for battle and an excellent sense of how far to take a fight.

Even after Ben Bandit Group's defeat, they could have continued their attack with other tactics. But once they discovered Xiao Ran's true form, only one thought remained in their minds.

Run!

It was obvious that their opponent's sheer size far exceeded anything they had imagined. Against something of that scale, overwhelming it with numbers would be utterly useless.

After all, the mere fact that this giant mass of Mutated Mycelium could support such a size meant its owner was powerful enough to terrify them.

Yet just as the bandit groups began to consider retreating, Xiao Ran made his move.

The parched ground suddenly split open, and a vast net woven from golden mycelium surged up from beneath the earth.

Like a giant net, it quickly closed around all the bandit groups' fungal masses, forcibly merging them with Xiao Ran's own.

Now, they wouldn't be able to escape even if they tried.

The mycelium began to contract. The third-generation mycelium Wu Man had cultivated was far stronger and more resilient than the Mutated Mycelium these bandits possessed.

As the net tightened, the bandit groups' fungal masses were torn apart like rotten tofu.

The bandits desperate to escape struggled frantically to squeeze through the gaps in the net.

But just then, cracks began to spread across Xiao Ran's enormous golden body, and scarlet mycelium reached out from within.

The bandits had never seen mycelium like this. It drifted through the air like tinder.

It was as beautiful as scarlet blossoms.

Then, in the next instant, blazing flames erupted from the scarlet mycelium. Fire engulfed Xiao Ran's massive body, and the temperature began to soar.

The fierce flames weren't ordinary fire. They