Images flashed by of countless human survivors, entangled in the roots of the master, withered like mummies! Their twisted faces were frozen in extreme pain and despair! These negative emotions were extracted, gathered, and transmitted to the master by the mycelium network...
This is the essence of Fungal Dome's power! The ultimate evil based on exploitation, enslavement, and feeding on the suffering of intelligent life!
"No... this... is... your... order...?!" Pei Du's shattered consciousness, washed over by the torrent of truth, let out a soul-tearing scream! This clashed devastatingly with the understanding of order instilled in him by the Fungus Master, based on "absolute power" and "elimination of inferiority!" A primal reverence and protective instinct for life itself, originating from the deepest depths of his soul (albeit deeply buried and distorted), was harshly awakened by this bloody truth!
"Lies... shackles... what... am I...?!" He clutched his head, letting out a beast-like roar of agony! The blade pressed against Xu Shuangyao's throat clanged and fell into the dust! The dark red bacterial membrane covering his body surged and swelled violently as if boiling! The rotten crown of thorns between his eyebrows flickered wildly, cracks appearing in the solidified dark red data crystals on the crown! The pulsating mycelial veins on his body trembled like snakes plunged into strong acid, emitting a sizzling whine, twisting and shrinking frantically, trying to escape from his body!
The will of the Fungus Master roared, trying to suppress the backlash from the truth! But the collective counterattack of the World Tree's root network was like billions of sharp knives stabbing its foundation, instantly reducing its control over Pei Du, the container, to the lowest point!
"Now... Pei Du... take back... your... will... your... crown!!!" Xu Shuangyao's hoarse voice, like tears of blood, echoed through Pei Du's chaotic mind. Her body trembled violently from the dual impact—the pain of the World Tree's roots and the annihilating pressure of the Fungus Master—and blood began to seep from all seven orifices. The fire of life burned like a candle in a raging wind, but her fingers pressing against the back of Pei Du's neck remained as if welded shut! Emerald green light streamed through her fingertips, continuously pouring into Pei Du's body, striking the Fungus Master's shackles!
Pei Du's pupils, blazing with dark gold flames, contracted and expanded violently! Within them surged extreme confusion, pain, the rage of being deceived, and... a sharp, cold edge that became increasingly clear, belonging to "Pei Du"! He looked at Xu Shuangyao, who was enveloped in emerald light, bleeding from all seven orifices, yet her eyes remained resolute. He looked at the long sword that had fallen to the ground, stained with her blood. He looked at the rotten throne in the sky, its roots trembling violently due to severe damage, its dark red spear of annihilation flickering...
"I... am not... your... food!!!" Pei Du roared hoarsely from the depths of his throat! His right hand, covered in mycelium, suddenly lifted up, no longer attacking Xu Shuangyao, but fiercely grabbing at the spot between his eyebrows—grabbing at the cracked, rotten crown of thorns!
Swish——!!!
It was like tearing his soul apart! The physical crown, composed of hyphae and data crystals, was torn from the flesh between his eyebrows by his dark red hyphae-covered fingers! Sticky dark red fungal blood mixed with the shattered data crystals splattered out!
"Ugh, ahh ...
Without the suppression of the Corrupted Crown, the violent power of the Crown of Thorns within him, which had been contaminated by the Fungus Lord, instantly lost its backbone! The torrent of truth that emanated from the World Tree's roots and the emerald will of life that Xu Shuangyao had infused into him, like two clear springs, fiercely washed away the contaminated power of the Crown of Thorns!
"In... my... name..." Pei Du's hand, stained with his own blood and mycelium fragments, trembled, yet he pressed with unwavering determination against the bloody wound between his eyebrows! He pressed against the faint, pure dark golden light! "The crown of thorns... returns... to its place!!!"
Buzz——!!!!
A pure, dark-golden light, like the sun breaking free from its cage, instantly erupted from the wound between his brows! Wherever the light reached, the dark-red bacterial membrane covering his body whistled as if encountering a natural enemy, rapidly melting and evaporating! The pulsating dark-red mycelial veins, like ignited fuses, broke apart piece by piece and turned to ash! A vast, cold, pure, thorny energy, imbued with an absolute will of purification, instantly swept over him like a sleeping beast awakening!
The dark golden flames in his eyes completely extinguished, and the scarlet mycelial veins vanished without a trace! In their place, black pupils, deep as a cold pond, sharp as a knife's edge, yet tinged with the heaviness and fatigue of being baptized by truth! The wound between his eyebrows healed rapidly under the cleansing energy of the crown, leaving only a dark golden vertical mark, like the mark of a thorn! A tiny, yet incomparably pure, phantom of a crown of thorns hovered and spun above the mark, emitting a majestic and cold aura!
Pei Du is back! He used his own flesh and blood to tear apart the pollution and regain control of the Crown of Thorns!
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes blazing with pure dark gold light, like two sharp swords piercing the darkness, fiercely stabbing at the decaying throne high in the sky. The throne roared in pain from the severe damage to its foundation, and the dark red spear of annihilation flickered unsteadily! There was no more confusion in his eyes, only a cold, all-consuming killing intent!
"It's your turn...Mushroom Master!"
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