Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 420 - 39 World Mushroom Evolution

Although the World Tree had been subdued by Garon the Great Wizard, he did not clear the remaining World Tree Subbodies, instead letting them take root in the Green Forest World.

This was not because Garon the Great Wizard was particularly kind-hearted, but rather because he simply didn’t bother dealing with these minor characters.

Moreover, as the barrier between the inner and outer worlds was broken, the spatial structure of both worlds was altered, and spatial turbulence and Elemental Storms would occasionally enter through Space Rifts into both worlds.

Though these World Tree Subbodies were not as capable as the main body, they could also absorb a portion of the disasters as nutrients.

With their presence, the damage caused by these storms was considerably reduced, which was beneficial for the world’s recovery.

However, Garon the Great Wizard did not prohibit Wizards from hunting World Tree Subbodies—he just set a limit.

A Wizard or a group of Wizards could hunt a maximum of three World Tree Subbodies.

This rule was very crude and had many loopholes to exploit. But Wizards who participated in the Plane War chose not to take advantage of these.

Challenging an ancient Sixth Circle Great Wizard was not a wise decision.

...

Boom!

A great rumbling sound arose in the forest, and in an instant, countless fine bolts of Thunder, centered around a pitch-black giant tree, spread outwards like a Tesla sphere.

But no sooner had these bolts appeared than they were completely absorbed by mycelial tendrils.

Then, countless mycelium tendrils burst forth from the ground, surging toward the pitch-black giant tree like a tide, and no matter how the black giant tree attacked, their spread did not slow in the slightest.

The white mycelium tendrils quickly climbed up the Energy Barrier of the black giant tree like worms.

They absorbed the Energy of the Energy Barrier like parasites, rapidly dimming the black giant tree’s Energy Barrier.

Before long, a crisp cracking sound was heard as an entire mycelium tendril arched up the pitch-black giant tree from the ground.

Far away, Richard and Ulysses quietly watched this scene, with the Fire Lizard Battle Group solemn as iron beside him.

"This Old Mushroom is getting stronger," mentioned Ulysses casually, "the things over the years haven’t been fed in vain."

"It’s normal," Richard replied. "World Mushroom told me it’s about to evolve. I remember when World Mushroom was in its prime; it was a Level 4 Creature. Now that it’s evolving, is it about to be promoted to a Level 5 Creature?"

"About that," Ulysses replied. "But creatures that follow the World Tree evolutionary path cannot have their combat power classified under normal life-level classifications. The domains they control are what’s most important.

If your Secret Realm can expand to the size of a small world, then even if Old Mushroom is only Level 4, it can rival a Level 6 World Master."

"Hmm? Didn’t World Mushroom say earlier that the expansion of the Secret Realm had reached its limit?" Richard asked somewhat puzzled. "If it doesn’t evolve, how can the Secret Realm expand to a world?"

Ulysses: "... That was just a metaphor."

Amidst their light conversation, World Mushroom had already returned to the Secret Realm with the pitch-black giant tree.

This pitch-black giant tree was not a World Tree Subbody, but one of the remnants from the battle between the World Tree and Garon the Great Wizard.

Due to the exaggerated Life Energy of the World Tree, its fragments, upon falling to the ground, quickly took root.

If not dealt with, in no time, these fragments would become a degraded version of World Tree Subbodies.

Although these degraded versions of the World Tree Subbodies did not possess the abilities of World Tree Subbodies to guard the forest or summon Insect Tides,

their individual combat capabilities were in no way inferior to ordinary World Tree Subbodies.

If left to grow, the jungles of the Green Forest World would become even more dangerous in a few years.

Luckily, these things were extremely attractive food sources for many Biological Weapons. Before they formed a climate, the creatures of the Green Forest World had already cleaned up those tiny pieces.

However, those slightly larger had formed a symbiotic relationship with the Biological Weapons.

Only those with formidable strength continued to survive in the forest.

For World Mushroom, these degraded sub-entities of World Tree Fragments also held high value.

By consuming a large amount of these remnants, its power had rapidly increased, and now it was on the brink of evolving.

Seeing that World Mushroom had finished its action, Richard commanded the Fire Lizard Battle Group beside him:

"Alright, let’s continue exploring."

"Yes!" the Fire Lizard Battle Group responded in unison.

...

Time flowed like water, and the tenth year after the final battle suddenly arrived.

Swoosh!

Three Fire Lizard Warriors clad in camouflage Single Soldier Armor swiftly moved through the forest, with a Level 2 Biological Weapon, resembling a spider, relentlessly closing in behind them.

This Biological Weapon was entirely black, its surface resembling old tree bark, with moss-like growths covering its eight limbs.

Pfft.

The Biological Weapon suddenly spewed out a viscous purple venom, instantly filling the forest with a sweet, fishy smell which could easily dizzy Level 1 Creatures by smell alone.

However, the chased Fire Lizard Warriors made no pause whatsoever.

After years of modifications, the air filtration devices in their Single Soldier Armors could now filter out most of the poisonous gases.

The last of them casually pulled out a blunderbuss, didn’t even look back, and fired a shot behind him.

The next moment, a thick jet of Flames instantly burned the Biological Weapon’s venom clean.

These types of Biological Weapons had been hunted by them too many times over the years.

With the help of anatomy, they even understood the bodies of the Biological Weapons better than they understood themselves.

Suddenly, a vine net suddenly arose under the feet of the Biological Weapon. Soon after, eight robust steel cables, resembling living creatures, burst out from both sides of the forest and tightly bound the eight legs of the Biological Weapon.

These steel cables were engraved with a few Runes. Combined, they formed a piece of witchcraft known as Activated Rope.

On the other end of the rope, four Fire Lizard Warriors tightened the ropes, instantly immobilizing the Biological Weapon.

Shortly after, a tall Fire Lizard Warrior dropped from the tree canopy, holding a sharp Chain Saw Sword in one hand and a Golden Pattern Steel Cone in the other hand.

His chain saw sword buzzed and with one swing, it split open the shell on the back of the biological weapon.

But to his surprise, the shell of this biological weapon was truly like wood; the chain saw sword chopped at it and wood chips flew everywhere.

Following the breach, a one-meter-long golden pattern steel cone easily pierced into the body of the biological weapon like stabbing tofu, instantly destroying its neural center.

To ensure thoroughness, the towering Fire Lizard twisted the steel cone a few times, and only after confirming that the biological weapon showed no signs of activity did he speak:

"Pack it up."

Afterward, two Fire Lizard warriors picked up sticks and tied the biological weapon onto them, and then they used the sticks to carry it away.

Although the biological weapon was already dead, it still harbored an intense poison, and reckless contact was not a wise decision.

One Fire Lizard warrior tore open a scroll, and immediately thereafter, a Secret Realm Rift appeared in front of them.

The two Fire Lizard warriors first delivered the trophy into the Secret Realm, followed by the ordinary warriors; the largest among them entered last in line.

Inside the Secret Realm, immense energy fluctuations continuously emanated from within the body of the World Mushroom, pulsing like a heartbeat, bursting with vitality.

Suddenly, a Secret Realm Rift opened, and the Fire Lizard warriors carrying the freshly killed biological weapon entered the Secret Realm.

They lifted the biological weapon next to the World Mushroom, and then they began to disassemble the Single Soldier Armor with the help of the Holy Tree Elf.

The World Mushroom, treating the biological weapon like a snack, grasped it with its mycelial tentacles and tossed it into its stalk.

On the other side of the World Mushroom, Richard stood before an experimental table, carefully observing green algae through a microscope.

This Gestalt Creature, which he had acquired unexpectedly, exhibited traits that somewhat fascinated him.

Under the stimulation of Richard’s Magic Power, the green algae continuously morphed, adapting to sudden environmental changes.

Richard exclaimed, "Such high-efficiency in cellular cooperation, such high-efficiency in energy utilization, this creature is truly the ultimate form of life!"

But as Richard was engrossed in his experiment, the voice of the World Mushroom suddenly rang in his ear.

"Master, I may need to sleep for a while now."

"Oh... ah?" Richard, coming to his senses, asked in surprise, "Why are you suddenly going to sleep?"

"I’m about to evolve, Master," the voice of the World Mushroom sounded heavy yet contained an irrepressible excitement, "I’ve found a direction for breakthrough on that World Tree.

I’m about to break the boundaries and advance to a new level of life."

Richard, upon hearing this, was immediately overjoyed.

"Great, great, is there anything you need?"

"No need," replied the World Mushroom, "but this sleep might be a bit long. During this time, my body can perform some simple responses under the manipulation of the Holy Tree Elves.

They can help you handle the Fuel Ring.

But they won’t be able to provide the cross-Secret Realm support like before."

Richard nodded slightly, "Okay, I understand. Rest assured and evolve."

Seeing that Richard had no other matters, a vigorous energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from the body of the World Mushroom. Subsequently, the huge body of the World Mushroom began shimmering with wave-like lights.

Ulysses flew out from the Holy Nest and landed on Richard’s shoulder,

"Is Old Mushroom evolving?"

"Yes."

"Gah, it really hasn’t followed you in vain."

A flash of envy crossed Ulysses’ eyes; he had to scheme meticulously and exhaust great efforts to evolve successfully.

And yet, the World Mushroom, just lying in the Secret Realm, had the chance of evolution drop right into its lap.

Life was indeed too unfair.

"It’s just good luck," Richard replied with a smile, "Who would have thought we’d run into a World Tree World?"

Ulysses sighed softly and then spoke spiritedly, "No worries, once you become a Great Wizard, I can evolve while lying down too!"

"Hahaha, sure, once I become a Great Wizard, I’ll let you evolve while lying down."

...

Since the World Mushroom began its evolution, the activities of the Fire Lizard Battle Group were halted.

Prior to this, the Fire Lizard Battle Group had been in the jungles of the Green Forest World, capturing biological weapons that harbored fragments of the World Tree within them.

As for why they didn’t seek out the World Tree inferior sub-bodies, Richard could only say that individual power still couldn’t compare with a group’s capability.

Nine years ago, the Netherfire Army along with some lone wizards, totaling nearly seven hundred thousand, entered the jungle to clean up the World Tree inferior sub-bodies.

Thus, Richard had some gains due to his early advantage two years ago.

But as time progressed, the inferior sub-bodies in the jungle became increasingly rare.

Richard could only rely on hunting those creatures that coexisted with World Tree fragments to obtain them.

Though the missions had stopped, these Fire Lizard warriors showed no signs of relaxation.

They remained vigilant of their surroundings; any slight rustling could awaken them. Their daily training also constituted real combat with real weapons.

They were taciturn, calm yet brutal.

The ever-hostile environment of the Green Forest World seemed to have permanently changed these Fire Lizard warriors.

This made Richard ponder the future of these Fire Lizards.

In his original plan, once these Fire Lizards fought in a Plane War, most would retire to the rear to become trainers.

Only a small number would remain in the battle group.

But the current state of this Fire Lizard battle group members forced Richard to reconsider his plan.

Releasing a group of PTSD sufferers back would surely crush the morale of the reserve troops.

"Fire Lizard Battle Group, assemble! I have something to announce."