Chapter 276 Cordyceps Symbiosis
"Um?"
Seeing that Chongcao dared to play tricks on him, a dangerous light suddenly appeared in Bai Qi's eyes, and Alpha had already raised the Sword of Death, intending to put an end to Chongcao.
"Ahem, hero, don't be anxious. Listen to my explanation."
Seeing this, Chongcao quickly took a few steps back and said, "I'm not kidding, my situation is indeed very strange."
"Strange? Tell me about it."
The mixture of plants and insects is indeed rare.
Chongcao simply organized his thoughts, and suddenly a sense of sadness emanated from his body.
"Once upon a time, I was a carefree dream vine, entwining myself around this ancient tree every day, absorbing its nutrients, and sharing dreams with the ancient tree and the surrounding plants. My life could be considered carefree."
"But one day, the ancient tree died. Without a companion to share dreams with, I fell into a long sleep."
Hearing this, Bai Qi couldn't help but interrupt Chongcao's words and said, "So, you are a dream vine?"
Chongcao shook his head and said, "Hero, don't be anxious. I haven't finished my story yet."
"Any more stories?"
Bai Qi immediately became interested after hearing this, and simply asked Shuke to conjure up a chair and sit on it, and asked Gama to pick a few angel fruits to eat.
Eat melons, eat melons. How can we live without melons?
Cordyceps was silent for a moment, and his aura suddenly changed and became cheerful.
"Once upon a time, I was a happy soul-eating insect. By living on different creatures, I continued to gain experience and roamed freely between heaven and earth. Until one day, I smelled an alluring scent. I was attracted by this scent and came to a valley..."
"Wait a minute, you are a vine one moment and a bug the next. Are you really a Cordyceps?"
Bai Qi couldn't help but interrupt Chongcao halfway through and complained.
"Cordyceps? This name is very suitable for my current state."
Chongcao sighed and said, "Although I don't know what caused this, I can now be considered a combination of the Soul Devouring Bug and the Dream Vine."
"A combination of the Soul Devouring Bug and the Dream Vine?"
Bai Qi was stunned, and the information about the soul-eating insects suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Name]: Soul Devouring Insect
[Attribute]: Insect
[Bloodline Level]: High Lord
[Introduction]: Soul Devouring Insects can seize control of their host by gnawing on its nerves, brain, and even the host's body, and can nourish themselves with the blood and energy of the host. When their own level exceeds that of the host, they will replace it with a stronger host. They are hated by both ferocious beasts and humans.
"I see. Is it a parasitic insect-type creature?"
Bai Qi suddenly understood. Looking at the half-insect and half-grass shape of Cordyceps sinensis, he said, "So, you are a soul-eating insect that is parasitic on the dream vine?"
“Not entirely.”
Chongcao shook his head and said, "Although I have seized control of the Dream Vine, my soul has also been eroded by the Dream Vine and my body has been taken away. So, I am now also a Dream Vine."
Aa ...
(I suddenly feel a little dizzy...)
After listening to Chongcao's explanation, Beta felt that his brain was about to crash, while Shuke was frantically calculating the possibility of this situation.
As for Alpha and the others, they were even more confused.
However, Bai Qi quickly figured it out.
"According to what you said, it was the Soul Devouring Bug that first parasitized the Dream Vine, but then the Dream Vine's soul took over the Soul Devouring Bug's body."
"To put it simply, you killed yourself, but then you resurrected yourself. You and yourself are in a very strange symbiotic state."
Chongcao nodded and said, "That's about what I mean."
Bai Qi looked at Shuke and said, "Shuke, is the probability of this happening high?"
Shuke shook his head and said, "Soul Devouring Insects are parasitic, so there's nothing strange about that. But Dream Vine rarely erodes the souls of other creatures. This should be considered as them activating their abilities at the same time, causing both their bodies and souls to be entangled together now."
"However, this is only feasible in theory. Normally, one party will succeed in plundering the other party's existence, and fusion is impossible."
Shuke's face was full of confusion, and his curious eyes kept looking at the Cordyceps.
Bloopers.
(Could it be that after the Soul Devouring Bug devoured the Dream Vine's control center, it was considered a new control center, so the souls of both parties did not reject this body and instinctively chose to merge? Hmm, similar to plant grafting?)
"I don't think so. Grafting is just the fusion of plant limbs. It has nothing to do with the soul. It must be some other reason."
Bloopers.
(But the body and soul are not inseparable. Except for undead creatures, the soul should exist in every part of the body, not to mention the core position such as the brain.)
"but……"
Under the bewildered eyes of Bai Qi and others, Shuke and Delta started a heated debate. Bai Qi, the owner of the two pets, wanted to step forward to mediate, but suddenly found that he could not get a word in.
There's no way, it's too professional and I can't make up any nonsense.
Huh?
(I want to ask, does the dream vine have a brain?)
"Shut up!"
Bloopers!
(Silence!)
Shuke and Delta turned to look at Beta at the same time. Beta, knowing that he had asked a stupid question, quickly turned his head and pretended that nothing had happened.
But it was precisely because of this that Shuke and Delta stopped arguing and began to patiently study Cordyceps.
"If the bodies and souls of two creatures can be completely merged, they will definitely not retain their original consciousness, otherwise it will easily cause a split."
(Yes, that is to say, this consciousness was actually born later, and the memory of both should be obtained from the remaining memory.)
"But they can't rely on themselves to successfully merge. I can't detect any trace of two life forms. There must be some external help."
(Delta thinks so, too.)
The two pets exchanged opinions instantly and looked at the big tree in front of them in unison. Bai Qi also seemed to be thinking about something.
Although this ancient tree looked like it had been dead for a long time, Bai Qi could still feel a little vitality and a unique breath. It was obvious that this was not just a simple plant.
After all, in this world, no matter it is an animal or plant, even a stone on the roadside or a long sword in the hands of the ancients, after the nurturing of time, it can give birth to a spirit and become a pet. And from what Chongcao said just now, this ancient tree also has dreams, which obviously means it has given birth to a spirit.
Crunch.
(Boss, judging from the remaining aura, this ancient tree might have been a sixth-order monarch creature, or even higher.)
"Sixth level king? It may even be higher!"
Bai Qi was stunned when he heard this, and Shuke suddenly said: "After testing, there is an 81% probability that this ancient tree is a knowledge ancient tree, 18% that it is a war ancient tree, and 1% that it is an ordinary ancient tree."
"The Ancient Tree of Knowledge, one of the three ancient trees as famous as the Tree of Life?"
Bai Qi looked at the basically withered ancient tree in front of him with some surprise. It was obvious that he could not connect it with the three ancient trees.
Listening to the conversation between the man and the four beasts, Chongcao raised his hand weakly and said, "Well, in my memory, it seems that the identity of this tree is indeed mentioned. It should be the Ancient Tree of Knowledge."
"It really is an ancient tree of knowledge. What a pity."
After getting the confirmation from Cordyceps, Bai Qi no longer had any doubts, and a sense of regret suddenly arose in his heart.
The Ancient Tree of Knowledge is a creature that claims to know everything in the world. It would be great if you could tame it. Even if you can't, taking out the core of the ancient tree before it dies completely is at least a legendary resource .
Um?
The core of the ancient tree?
Bai Qi suddenly rushed to the ancient tree of knowledge, and through the holes on the trunk, he quickly found a huge hole in it. He could vaguely feel a strong vitality.
"Where is the core of this ancient tree of knowledge? Where did it go?"
Bai Qi turned around, picked up the Cordyceps and asked loudly.
"Ancient tree core? You mean the delicious berry? I was so hungry when I was sleeping, so I ate it."
"have eaten!"
Bai Qi's eyes widened with anger, and he shook the Cordyceps sinensis up and down vigorously for a while, as if he wanted to throw the core out, while Shuke directly set out a full set of surgical tools, apparently intending to directly perform an autopsy.
Fortunately, Bai Qi was not so cruel. After struggling for a while, he chose to give up.
According to the discussion between Shuke and Delta, Cordyceps can fuse two bodies and souls and give birth to a new consciousness, which requires the assistance of external objects.
Obviously, it is definitely the core of this ancient tree of life.
Click, click.
(Master, why don't you let Gamma stew him? It should be able to absorb some of the core's energy.)
Gama, who had always been taciturn, finally spoke, but what he said almost frightened Chongcao to death.
He was sleeping peacefully at home, how did he end up attracting such a group of demons?
Or, find a chance to run away?
Thinking of this, Chongcao once again glanced at Bai Qi and the four pets who were discussing whether to cook him, and then quietly stepped back.
But before he retreated for long, Chongcao felt a chill on his back. A black sword was hanging on his back at some point, while the owner of the sword, Alpha, was still guarding Bai Qi.
It's over, there's no escape.
Chongcao suddenly felt that life was hopeless and completely gave up the idea of escaping. He simply lay down in front of Bai Qi and others, ready to be slaughtered.
Seeing this, Bai Qi couldn't help but laugh. He grabbed the Cordyceps and rode on Delta's back.
"Anyway, the mission is completed. Let's go back and hand it in first, and then study this guy carefully."
Soul-eating insects and dream vines, plus an ancient knowledge tree core of at least level six. The probability of getting all three of these things together is not high, and if they have to be fused together, the probability is even lower.
It is not Bai Qi's usual style to just leave such a rare creature in the wild .
