Genshin Impact: Dionysus reigns supreme, all demons retreat!

Chapter 606 The Lingering Poison of Forbidden Knowledge

"Fungi have a simpler way of thinking than humans; they don't think too much. On the contrary, they are very sensitive to elemental forces."

Nasita explained, "Perhaps it sensed my presence in Sumeru City and thought I could save its family, which is why it risked going to find me."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Although this little thing is also a monster, it risked its life to save its companion, which alone surpasses most people. If we can save it, we should!"

Nasita responded earnestly, "That's what I was thinking too. But I don't know much about illnesses. If it's a common illness, I should have some solutions... Hmm?"

As soon as Nasita placed her hand on the fallen mushroom, she exclaimed in surprise, as if she had sensed something incredible.

Xu Ning walked over and squatted down. "What's wrong?"

Nasida squatted down and moved to the side. "Try touching it."

Xu Ning placed his hand on the floating water mushroom beast, and a smell of alcohol slowly seeped into its body.

As soon as the alcohol entered his body, Xu Ning felt something was different. He turned his head and looked at the small floating water mushroom beasts that were crowding around him.

Xu Ning poked the little creature with a finger, and the little mushroom beast let out a "roar" and bounced two meters away to the side.

Ignoring the little creature flying in the air, angrily whimpering, Xu Ning turned to Nasita and said, "These two are not the same species at all... The one on the ground should be an elemental creature that can mimic appearances, like a pure water sprite."

Nasida glanced at Xu Ning with envy. "Really? I've never even seen a pure water spirit before. This is the first time I've ever seen an elemental creature that can mimic human form."

Xu Ning sensed the flow of his alcohol-laden aura within the mushroom beast's body. "Since it's an elemental creature, the symptoms are quite obvious. For some reason, a cavity has appeared inside its body, causing the flow of elements to be suppressed, which is why it has lost its ability to move."

Nasita nodded, "...And it seems this situation has been going on for more than just a day or two. If it drags on any longer, I'm afraid it will dissipate into pure elemental energy."

Nasida reached out and comforted the little mushroom creature, which was almost calmed down, praising it, "Luckily you arrived in time!"

The little mushroom seemed to sense from Nasita's emotions that its companion was saved, and couldn't help but rub its round head against Nasita's small hand a couple of times, whimpering as if it were very comfortable.

"It seems that as long as this hole is filled, it should be able to be restored. I can manage that..."

Nasita carefully infused the grass elemental power into the mushroom beast's body until the elemental power and the elemental power within the mushroom beast's body were perfectly fused together. Only then did she feel confident enough to release the restrictions on the elemental power and quickly fill the void.

Seeing that the fungus on the ground was slowly regaining consciousness and moving, Nasita withdrew her elemental power.

Xu Ning allowed the smell of alcohol to circulate in its body a little longer before withdrawing his hand.

The elemental mushroom beast shook its large, round head, slowly rising a little higher. Looking at Nasita before it, it suddenly spoke, "King of Grass? And... this stranger..."

Xu Ning and Naxi Da exchanged a surprised glance.

"You can actually speak? And how do you know I'm the King of Grass?"

The planktonic fungus gently nudged the two smaller fungus beside it and said, "This is a long story. Let's find somewhere else to talk, otherwise I'll keep going on and on and on, and it will frighten them."

The floating fungus led the two small fungus to a large tree, handed them over to a slightly larger fungus to lead, and then walked away with Naxida and Xu Ning.

“I come from a very ancient ethnic group, and we have existed for longer than any record has ever been.”

The very first sentence about the floating aquatic fungus beast shocked Xu Ning.

Existing before records? How far before? Surpassing all records? Is that even possible?

The earliest record I know of is from the time of the Demon God War.

Judging from what this little thing says, it probably lived even longer than the history it knows.

Is this just empty boasting? I've never actually seen an elemental being that good at bragging before.

Xu Ning took a sip of wine and listened quietly to the mushroom beast's story.

"My family and I lived a carefree life in our lush, green home. Until the end of the world came, our home was corrupted by a terrible force, and the seeds of calamity took root and sprouted in our bodies, twisting and spiraling out of control..."

Upon hearing this description, for some reason, the first thing that came to Xu Ning's mind was the dead zone that Tinali had helped him eliminate.

"I survived by sheer luck and left my home with some companions, hoping to find a way to save it. We built relationships with various tribes, learned their ways of speaking and their knowledge, and tried to understand the truth of the apocalypse. Later, here, I discovered the power of the apocalypse, which is called 'forbidden knowledge'..."

Nasita exclaimed in surprise, "Forbidden knowledge? If this is the culprit that caused the destruction of your homeland, then you no longer need to pursue the answer. The forbidden knowledge within the Sumeru Realm no longer exists, and your homeland should have been saved."

The Floating Water Fungus's voice lowered, "It may sound a bit comical, but I've forgotten the location of my home."

Nasita suddenly realized, "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't expect that eliminating forbidden knowledge would have such a side effect..."

Xu Ning then spoke up: "You said you escaped with other companions, so they might be in a coma like you now. Do you have any way to find them or contact them? Perhaps with our treatment, they can not only save their lives but also remember the location of your home."

Nasita added, "After all, the knowledge and memories that have been lost are not necessarily information about the homeland."

The floating fungus beast nodded and said, "It is indeed a good method. However, in my perception, many family members have already met their end, and there are a few left, but I don't know who is still alive..."

Nasita volunteered, raising her hand and saying, "Leave this problem to me. At least here in the rainforest, my retinue can be of help..."

"Your retinue?" This was the first time Xu Ning had heard that the little grass god also had a retinue.

However, thinking about it, it seems that the gods I have met all have their own retinues, although those retinues all have some problems.

Just like the Wind Dragon of Barbatos, the Chief of the Shadows lacks respect for their own gods.

I wonder if the little grass god, being so small, will be bullied by his retinues who inherited the Great Compassion Tree King, just like other families bully their own gods.

As if sensing Xu Ning's worry, Nasita smiled and said, "It's alright, they are all cute little guys. Apart from being a little shy, they are still very capable."

Cute little thing? Something even smaller than you?

Xu Ning felt even more worried.

Nasita closed her eyes, and the tiny leaf on her forehead flickered, as if she were sending a message to her family.

"That's fine. They'll let us know if they have any news. Didn't you say there were still a few we could find? Let's go find them first and see if we can find any news about their home?"

The floating water mushroom beast nodded and said, "Thank you for your generous help. As the prophecy said, you will indeed take us home after the calamity ends."

Nasida said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm really sorry, some of my memories are actually blurry, and I'm not very clear about my responsibilities, but I feel that I should help you and your homeland."

The planktonic fungus thanked them again, "Can I go and tell my family here before I leave?"

Naxi Da readily agreed.

Xu Ning watched as the floating water fungus beast went off to whimper with the two little fungus beasts, and then softly asked Nasita, "You want to help them because you also sensed that, right?"

Nasita nodded and said, "Yes. The elemental power within its body is exactly the same as the power contained in the crystal I discovered, so I think the prophecy it just mentioned is very likely an agreement I made with some being."

"In other words, the old friend we're looking for is very likely the owner of the home it mentioned. It seems we really have to go with it."

Xu Ning watched as the floating water mushroom beast slowly drifted over and asked it to lead the way to find its companions.

The two people and the mushroom beast walked westward along the riverbank and soon came to see a desolate area.

"Stop! That's a dead zone ahead. If you go in like this, you'll get hurt."

Xu Ning immediately recognized the state of the desolate area ahead and quickly warned the mushroom beast.

"So you call it the Dead Zone?"

"it?"

This was the first time Xu Ning had heard someone refer to the Dead Zone as if it were a living thing, so he asked, "Do you know how the Dead Zone came about?"

The planktonic fungus nodded, its tone sorrowful.

"When our lives come to an end, this is the final form we take. Of course, this murky appearance only applies to those of us who have been tormented by forbidden knowledge and then die."

Xu Ning took a sip of wine and said with a wry smile, "A while ago, I was actually wondering why these dead zones didn't disappear even though the lesions of forbidden knowledge on the World Tree had been eradicated and even the Demon Scale Disease had disappeared. We still had to send people to search for and clean them one by one. But I never expected that it would be generated in this way."

The floating water mushroom beast flew forward slowly a short distance and said sadly, "Forbidden knowledge is the root cause of dead zones. Although it has been eliminated, the effects remain. Every time I see an adventurer clearing a dead zone, I will quietly approach. If I sense the elemental power of my companions, I will contain them in my body and take them with me. In the end, they will also return home with me."

Xu Ning sighed and took a big gulp of wine.

"In that case, let me handle it. After all, I have quite a bit of experience dealing with this."

As the billowing mist of wine surged through the dead zone, the floating water mushroom beast asked Nasita in surprise, "What kind of water did that person use? It not only cleansed the filth all over the ground, but even the last bit of elemental power remaining in the flowers became active."

Nasita laughed and said, "It's a very magical power. I think if you can return to your homeland, it can definitely be of great help to you."

Xu Ning acted swiftly, and the corrupted monsters in the Dead Zone vanished in a matter of breaths.

When Xu Ning poured the wine from his gourd onto the "Death Domain Tumor," the tumor disappeared like snow meeting the bright sun, vibrant flowers bloomed, and the surrounding desolate scenery was instantly covered by lush flowers and plants.

The planktonic fungus was utterly astonished.

“I never thought that such vibrant colors could return here. If only my fellow clansman could hold on a little longer, the magical water in his hands would surely heal it.”

The floating water mushroom beast slowly drifted towards the blooming flower of the Death Domain Tumor. After chanting something, a ball of pure elemental energy emerged from the center of the flower and, guided by the floating water mushroom beast, slowly merged into its body.

"Alright, appearance is just a gift of time. Even if it is discarded, the essence will not change easily. We will eventually grow again in our home."

Standing to the side, Xu Ning smiled at Nasita and said, "She's stronger than I thought. I was even thinking of what words to use to comfort her."

Naxi chuckled, about to speak, when suddenly her pair of emerald green eyes lost focus.

"Any news? Oh, I see. Thank you so much."

Xu Ning knew without asking that Naxida's relatives must have sent some exciting news.

“My retinue found a mushroom beast similar to you, which has also collapsed on the ground. If we hurry there now, we should still be able to revive it.”

The planktonic fungus almost immediately flew to Nasita's side. "Where are we? How do we get there?"

Nasita sensed the location transmitted by her followers, "It's in the Unfathomable Forest. As for how to get there, I remember this location seems to be very close to the Casazale Palace..."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "So it's my partner's territory? I just happened to activate the teleportation point over there. I'll take everyone there together."

There is an inactive teleportation anchor point on the mountaintop next to it.

After activating the device, Xu Ning immediately teleported over with Nasita and the floating water mushroom beast.

At first, Xu Ning was worried that the elemental life form he was carrying might suddenly decompose into pure elemental force while traversing the earth's veins. If that were the case, things would get really messy.

Fortunately, he was teleported to the edge of the dense forest without any major incidents. Since saving his life was the priority, Xu Ning did not meet with the old man, Mahabay.

After all, the fallen fungus could die at any moment.

With Naxida's guidance, they quickly found their target, a floating wind mushroom beast.

Naxi Da was about to step forward with practiced ease when Xu Ning reached out and stopped her.

"Nasita, let me try this time."