Chapter 353

Everyone turned to look.

Suddenly, a strange figure appeared in the sky above the castle.

She was exceptionally tall, estimated to be nearly 2.5 meters, and wore a purple mushroom-shaped crown and a layered dark purple umbrella skirt.

Beneath the crown, a face as pale as porcelain held an unyielding coldness, and purplish-black lips were slightly pursed, conveying an air of indifference towards all living beings.

Even from several kilometers away, one could still clearly feel the woman's powerful and oppressive aura.

It was as if the moment she appeared, she became the absolute ruler of this world.

"Heh... a small dragon, an orc, and a few humans..."

The woman in the umbrella-shaped skirt parted her purple lips slightly, her voice as authoritative as ever. "This underground kingdom hasn't seen such audacious guests as you for many years."

"You stole my Dragon Vein Mushroom, leave them all here to atone for your sins!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a tangible, dark purple shockwave exploded out, and seven or eight thick, thorny vines, as thick as dragons, swept towards them!

[You have entered the 'Overlord Domain' of Mushroom Queen:???. All flight abilities are disabled, and all attributes are reduced by 30%...]

At that moment, Shen Xing and the other four felt a terrifying pressure and instantly fell from mid-air to the ground.

Moreover, they even felt waves of weakness surging from deep within their bodies, leaving them without the strength to even run away.

The several giant dragon vines had already spanned several kilometers and were about to close in.

"My lord, I'll hold off the enemy. You all go first."

Fordring's voice was resolute, and a dazzling Holy Light shone from his body, along with an equally terrifying aura.

Shen Xing had seen him in this state once before.

On the fifth level of the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, Old Fordring unleashed the same power, using his Tier Two combat strength to sweep aside a group of Tier Three Water Elemental.

However, this is also a desperate measure and should not be used except in critical moments.

"Return."

Shen Xing quickly called out to him, "It's not time for you to sacrifice yourself yet."

Old Fordring paused, turning back to look at him with a puzzled expression.

But then Shen Xing took out the ancient Lotus Lantern, and the flame in the wick instantly lit up.

"Buzz—"

An incredibly bright green light erupted, forming Lotus Flame Barrier with a diameter of 1500 meters.

"Bang! Bang bang!"

The giant dragon vines frantically rammed against the barrier, but could not make any progress.

Seeing this from afar, the Mushroom Queen frowned. "You've got some skill; you actually managed to block my vine dragon."

"But can you hold them off for a while, or forever?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her delicate hand, and the entire underground kingdom began to tremble.

On the ground, countless lichens, vines, and mushrooms began to rapidly coalesce and recombine.

In the blink of an eye, it formed a massive body, sky-covering wings, and sharp claws.

A colossal plant dragon with a wingspan exceeding several hundred meters and emanating a dark purple aura suddenly appeared.

The plant dragon pounced with destructive force, pressing down firmly on the Lotus Flame Barrier of the Lotus Lantern, seemingly intent on tearing everyone apart.

But Shen Xing ignored it completely and activated another life-saving ability on the Lotus Lantern — Lotus Flame Spatial Escape!

At that moment, a green flame ignited all five of their bodies, and waves of spatial fluctuations spread outwards.

The Mushroom Queen seemed to realize something, her eyes widening suddenly. "Spatial teleportation? Don't even think about escaping!"

The oppressive aura emanating from her surged once more, as if to completely seal off the entire underground kingdom.

However, the transmission of the Lotus Lantern is absolute and unaffected by any force.

To her astonishment, a dazzling burst of flame erupted, instantly dissipating the Lotus Flame Barrier.

"Boom!"

The plant dragon's massive body crashed down, but only created a crater a hundred meters wide in the same spot.

The five figures had vanished without a trace.

At this moment, the entire Mushroom Kingdom fell into a brief silence.

The curtain of stars in the sky disappeared, revealing once again a dome covered in lichen.

The ground was a mess, with deep craters from the explosion and traces of flames everywhere.

All the Mushroom Folk soldiers stared blankly at this scene, seemingly unable to comprehend how those humans had escaped.

A moment later, one of the Mushroom General came to his senses and exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you've awakened?"

After saying this, he knelt down first. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The other Mushroom Folk soldiers also snapped out of their daze and knelt down in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

In the air, the Mushroom Queen remained silent, gazing thoughtfully at the distant, vanishing flames.

That lamp... it's strange.

"The flames above even fill me with fear, and the domain seal has no effect on them..."

"So what kind of lamp is it?"

She murmured to herself, her long eyelashes fluttering, a look of confusion in her eyes.

At this moment, a Mushroom General shouted, "Your Majesty, those thieves stole our Dragon Vein Mushroom! They are the foundation of our Mushroom Kingdom!"

The Mushroom Queen calmly raised her head and said coldly, "They can't escape. This area within a hundred miles is my territory."

"Unless they manage to escape to the other side of the Blackwater River, I will bring them back no matter where they are!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she soared into the air and vanished from the dome in an instant.

At this moment, the plains are shrouded in thick fog.

Five figures appeared out of thin air, their green flames gradually extinguishing.

Shen Xing looked up immediately and found that he was in an unfamiliar area.

However, although the teleportation of 'Lotus Flame Spatial Escape' is random, it is also random to a safe place, so there is no need to worry about it teleporting them to some strange and dangerous place.

The group was still reeling from the scene and seemed somewhat shaken.

Shen Xing remained calm, because he believed in the Lotus Lantern's ability to save his life.

With group invincibility and group teleportation, they're practically invincible.

However, he did not let his guard down.

That Mushroom Queen is terrifyingly strong, far surpassing ordinary Master Rank experts.

Although he hasn't reached the Grandmaster, he's probably not far off.

Moreover, the [Dragon Vein Mushroom] that I stole this time seems to be very important to them.

The other side will definitely not let this go, and may even leave the underground to hunt them down.

After quickly determining the direction and glancing at the mini-map, he said in a deep voice, "Let's go to the Blackwater River and return to our territory."

"Whoosh—"

Onyxia swiftly spread her wings, taking the four of them into the air.

The Shadow Dragon transformed into a flowing shadow and sped off towards the southeast at top speed.

The location they teleported to was not far from the Blackwater River, only a dozen kilometers away as the crow flies.

In addition, Onyxia was flying at full speed.

Just three or four minutes later, the group arrived at their previous landing site.

At this moment, in the surging river, the hunchbacked boatman quietly waits in his small boat.

Shen Xing led his men onto the boat and shouted, "Boatman, set sail!"

The hunchbacked boatman glanced at him and said slowly, "It's not time yet, you'll have to wait another two hours..."

"I'll give up another 50 years of my life!"

The boatman paused for a moment, then picked up his bamboo pole and gently tapped the boat five times.

That familiar, chilling aura seeped into Shen Xing's body, but quickly vanished without a trace.

"The fog has lifted, the boat returns; the other shore has been reached. There was a path when we came, but no trace remains when we leave..."

"The Blackwaters stretch far, each to its own destination—time to return."

After the song ended, the hunchbacked boatman inserted a bamboo pole into the water, and the small boat silently turned around and glided back to the riverbank from which it had come.

"Splash... splash..."

The sound of surging river water filled my ears, and a gray mist surrounded me, with waves crashing against the boat.

I don't know why.

When they first arrived by this boat, they felt the scene was somewhat eerie and worried that they might fall into the river at any moment, making them feel very unsafe.

But now, they found the old, dilapidated wooden boat surprisingly reassuring.

Like a small boat that has been adrift in a storm for many days, it has finally found a safe harbor.

Soon, the small boat entered the central area of white fog.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief...

A majestic and powerful aura swept in from the riverbank.

"Boom!!!"

A violent surge of dark purple energy erupted, even creating massive waves in the Blackwater River and dispelling the thick fog on its surface.

Shen Xing turned around and immediately saw that familiar dark purple figure.

Her eerie face was filled with icy rage, her long purple mushroom-shaped dress was layered upon layered, and her dark purple hair danced like a venomous snake.

"Oh! It's that terrifying woman, she actually caught up with us!" Gorehowl exclaimed, instinctively raising his weapon.

Even Shen Xing secretly became wary.

However, the figure ultimately did not cross the river to pursue.

After lingering on the shore for a moment, he turned and left angrily.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.