Extraction: Transformation

Lu Li vaguely sensed that the monster behind him had not pursued, perhaps due to the sunlight or some other reason, but he did not slow his pace. Evening was approaching, and it would be dark before long. Although Lu Li's own strength would increase significantly in the night, who knew what kind of monsters might lurk in the forest after dark?

While a glimmer of twilight still remained, Lu Li stepped into the territory of the Witch's hut and discovered that it was still bright here, with no sign of nightfall. This led Lu Li to form a slight conjecture regarding the Witch's abilities: Is this an independent pocket dimension?

Picking up the mass of Flesh Ganoderma, Lu Li pushed open the small wooden hut to find that Xu Haoran had already returned. He was staring with a flushed face at the Witch, who was busy concocting a potion, while Gao Xiaowen sat to the side, clutching her left arm and sneering. It seemed Xu Haoran had failed to escape the Witch's charm, becoming a slave beneath her robes.

Xu Haoran was a man who appeared strong, but his heart had long since been shattered by fear. He desperately needed to use various means to prove himself, which was why he always walked at the front of every operation. He wanted to lead the team and trigger side quests, all to prove his own strength, but his psyche had already suffered a major fracture in the previous instance, which was why he was so easily bewitched by the Witch.

"You're back. I've been waiting for you. Quickly, give me the item..." The Witch's voice was as aesthetically grating as ever, yet this time, Xu Haoran showed no reaction, his face still filled with infatuation.

Handing the Flesh Ganoderma directly to the Witch, she examined it and said with a smile, "The quality is good. It was worth all the effort I put in..."

The Witch made no attempt to hide anything, and this single sentence exposed a wealth of information. Seeing the contemplative look on Lu Li's face, she spoke without a care: "That village just happened to have a plague outbreak, and I happened to need this thing, so I gave the seeds of this creature to a gravedigger. According to the contract, it was up to him whether to use it or not, and you've seen the result..."

"Even those who obtained it later chose to sign a contract with me to continue using it, all for the sake of immortality..." The Witch wore a mocking expression. "Those fellows even wanted to break the contract and monopolize the Flesh Ganoderma, so I struck first."

"That's right, it was all those people's fault," Xu Haoran chimed in from the side. The Witch ignored him entirely, instead looking at Lu Li with a smile as she said, "I only want to extract a portion of something from within; it won't affect the effects of this Flesh Ganoderma in the slightest. If you need it, I can give this Flesh Ganoderma to you."

"I have no interest in something that has been tampered with by who knows how many dark hands. Also, why do you know so much about us?" Facing Lu Li's question, the Witch had no intention of concealing anything. Instead, she said directly, "Of course, I placed my methods on all of you shortly after you entered the hut. Your every move is in my eyes. Rest assured, this thing only serves as a surveillance tool; it will do you no harm."

As she spoke, the Witch placed the Flesh Ganoderma on the wooden table and picked up a freshly prepared potion, pouring it over the mass. The Flesh Ganoderma seemed to absorb something, closing back up into a bud shape. Black filaments extended once more, swaying constantly in the surroundings as if searching for something.

The Witch began to chant an ancient, strange incantation and picked up a crystal needle, stabbing it fiercely into the center of the Flesh Ganoderma bud. Those black filaments immediately coiled around the crystal needle, spitting out brilliant rays of light from their tips, which were then integrated into the crystal needle.

Not long after, the Witch pulled out the crystal needle, placed it into a metal box, and then set the somewhat withered Flesh Ganoderma bud in front of Lu Li, saying, "Are you sure you don't want this Flesh Ganoderma? As long as you feed it some food, it will immediately come back to life. Although this immortality comes with a price, it is still immortality, isn't it?"

"Come to think of it, your mysterious kingdom also possesses such methods..." As the Witch spoke, she waved her hand, and a yellow booklet flew over from a cabinet nearby. On it, written in ancient script, were the characters: Talisman of Flesh Ganoderma Longevity.

This subtle name immediately reminded Lu Li of the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return from the previous scenario. These two items seemed to be part of a series, meaning they should both belong to the Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch. The Witch did not mind Lu Li's strange expression and continued, "You could also consume it directly, and you would become the source of everything. I haven't told anyone else about this usage."

"No need. What I want to know now is, how much do you understand about my situation?" Lu Li asked directly, recalling the mission reward prompt. As soon as this question was asked, the Witch's smiling expression faded, and she said with a serious tone, "You have been marked by a certain Great Existence. You should know when you came into contact with such an entity. Come to think of it, I am truly curious—you haven't turned into a lunatic with a brain full of chaos."

"It gave you quite a few things, waiting for you to unearth them. Of course, you must also be careful; coming into contact with such an existence has never been a good thing..." The Witch said solemnly, a trace of self-deprecating laughter flashing across her face.

"Forget it. Since you don't want it, I won't force you." The Witch put away the wilted Flesh Ganoderma, took out the metal box, added some fresh herbs and potions to it, and placed it on the nearby fire. The metal box hovered, being continuously scorched.

At this moment, Hu Wenxu also returned. He looked a bit disheveled, but he hadn't suffered any injuries. Upon returning, he looked at the Witch, who giggled—though it was still unpleasant to the ear—and said, "The mission was completed well. My little darlings are very satisfied. In return for your hard work, this item is your reward."

The Flesh Ganoderma that the Witch had previously put away was tossed to Hu Wenxu, along with the booklet of the Talisman of Flesh Ganoderma Longevity. Facing the fact that the Witch had offloaded a trap onto Hu Wenxu, Gao Xiaowen, sitting to the side, maintained her sneer. Xu Haoran said nothing, staring at the Witch with infatuation, while Lu Li, that fellow, was looking at the mass of Flesh Ganoderma with curiosity, as if he had never seen it before.

Hu Wenxu nodded and sat to the side, earnestly flipping through the Talisman of Flesh Ganoderma Longevity, occasionally annotating it with notes. He seemed very satisfied with the item, stepping into this trap with a face full of joy. It remained to be seen whether he would be able to climb back out.

On the other side, the Witch retrieved the metal box from the fire and opened it to reveal that the crystal needle had transformed into a small, ink-green cube. Lu Li's expression froze; wasn't this an Extraction module...