While the mushroom transformed by [Energy Sac] and [Symbiosis] differs from a normal Blood Boiling Mushroom, at the very core of it, it was still a Blood Boiling Mushroom.
Not only was the effect of enhancing one's power retained, but it was even enhanced.
After reaching the Transcendent Rank, Nexus can now ensure that anyone who consumes his mushroom will not die, but that is with the premise that he chooses to prevent deaths.
If not, at any time, he could control the mushroom to boil the host's blood and kill them eventually.
This was Nexus's guarantee and also the reason why he readily accepted the Butterfly Nymphs.
Only those who assimilated with his mushrooms could be regarded as truly part of the tribe.
If there was anyone who refused to assimilate with his mushroom, he would do his best to expel that nymph from the tribe.
The process of assimilating with the mushroom was easy. Wyden simply swallowed it whole amidst the envious gaze of the other nymphs.
This time, the mushroom didn't directly go down to Wyden's stomach, but through some means, it burrowed into his heart.
The mushroom even sprouted mycelium that connected to Wyden's blood vessels.
The assimilation was done quickly, and Wyden felt a slight increase in his blood circulation speed, slightly improving his overall physical qualities.
"That mushroom will not kill you but will instead become a reliable tool in your hands" Nexus said after the assimilation was completed.
"I shall continue to grow more of such mushrooms, and you are to decide those that would become priority to receive my mushrooms" Nexus continued, refraining from speaking the whole truth.
The mushroom will not kill anyone, that is true. But that was provided that they do not betray him. If they do, he can kill them anytime.
As for the matter of deciding who will receive the next mushroom, Nexus wouldn't bother with it. He doesn't plan on doing and planning everything on his own.
If he were to take care of all the big and small matters of the tribe, he would die from overwork.
He could just let them continue to grow on their own while providing support behind the scenes.
Besides, creating these special mushrooms consumed a lot more energy than growing normal Blood Boiling Mushrooms.
The mana cost was over three times more than normal mushrooms. Aside from that, Nexus knew that his further advancement all depended on his mushrooms.
To reach the next realm faster, he needs to grow Transcendent mushrooms. Creating normal Blood Boiling Mushrooms will also aid his advancement, but the effects were far inferior.
Now that Nexus thinks of it, it seems like being a Guardian Totem with countless subordinates was the path truly suitable for him.
With [Energy Sac] and [Symbiosis] that relies on having a host, Nexus's advancement would be bullet-fast compared to simply growing these mushrooms.
"I thank Your Highness for your blessing!" Wyden replied, and he immediately made some arrangements, the first one being the relocation of the tribe.
Now that they have a Guardian Totem, the tribe naturally must live with Nexus. To ensure the Guardian's protection, they need to build their tribe around him.
As for asking Nexus to move location, Wyden didn't even bother to try to suggest that.
Nature Spirits, despite being special and often powerful existences, are still innately plants, trees, or flowers. No plant would want to be transplanted, as it would affect its growth and health.
It was better to relocate the tribe itself rather than move the Guardian Totem. Besides, the Guardian Totem itself might refuse and even become displeased.
With Wyden's orders, he had the two other mid-level Transcendents of the tribe to guard Nexus.
As for Wyden, he protected the tribe while they returned to their previous settlement to take their belongings.
They also dismantled their tents to move them to their new home.
As for Nexus, he let the nymphs do their work. Even if he were to decide to help, what could he even do? It was better to focus on strengthening himself.
He continued to absorb the remaining corpses of the lizardmen, allocating the energy he absorbed to creating Transcendent Mushrooms.
With his lazy and untalented naming sense, he just called these mushrooms Morningstar Mushrooms to differentiate them from normal Blood Boiling Mushrooms.
The tribe and their surname have been changed to Morningstar; it wouldn't harm anyone if even these Transcendent Mushrooms were given the same name.
Growing these mushrooms takes more energy and time. If not for wanting to make a symbolic move, Nexus would not immediately create a Morningstar Mushroom to be given to Wyden, as it requires more energy than usual to expedite the process.
—-
Time passed by once more, and the Butterfly Nymphs finally settled into their new location. Although they had to move, none were unsatisfied.
It was already a stroke of luck for them to gain a Guardian Totem. Moving location was a small price to pay in exchange.
"Hmm?"
Nexus, who was busy absorbing mana to expand the range of his mushroom as well as to grow Morningstar Mushrooms, sensed something.
He sensed Wyden along with the other nymphs entering the range of his mycelium, enabling him to notice them.
"Your Highness, we are here to offer our sacrifice to you" Wyden, who was leading the tribe, spoke, and Iruline, along with the other nymphs, dragged the corpses of three lizardmen.
"We found these lizardmen who are members of the same tribe that attacked us before lurking nearby, possibly investigating what happened to their chief and tribesmen. With the help of Your Highness's blessing, we easily killed them" Wyden continued, and the nymphs respectfully placed the corpses inside Nexus's territory.
It was no secret to them that their Guardian Totem 'devours' corpses and uses them to grow even more mushrooms.
Now that they are worshippers benefiting from Nexus's blessings, they must do their part in serving him.
One way to do that was to offer sacrifices regularly. These lizardmen just came at the right time.
The tribe just finished relocating, and they now have the energy and time to hunt for offerings.
"Good. I accept your offering" Nexus said, satisfied at the tactful nymphs.
He didn't even need to order them to bring him some 'nourishments', they already offered some on their own.
With his control, his mycelium emerged underground and started covering the bodies to absorb their energy and nutrients.
While doing that, the nymphs started to offer their prayers and worship him. The invisible and formless faith energy coming from the nymphs intensified, and they gathered around Nexus's main body.
As usual, Nexus absorbed the faith energy to facilitate his growth. He is now a Guardian Totem, and he can absorb faith energy. Even if he was not, he feels like his Gluttony magic can still do it.
As Nexus absorbed the faith coming from the nymphs, he felt a subtle change inside him. His senses… they had expanded!
He previously could only sense the area within his mycelium network. But now, with the help of faith, it expanded to twenty meters beyond his mycelium network's current range.
In this way, he could now sense the tents of the nymphs closest to his territory. However, he found out that the senses he gained as a Guardian Totem were worse than even the senses his mycelium offered.
If inside his mycelium network, Nexus can only sense the medium to large details; his 'vision' outside can only let him see the outline of people and objects.
Inside his mycelium network, Nexus can 'see' the nymphs, but he cannot determine their exact facial features. As for outside of his territory, he could only see the shapes of people and objects.
Despite the low-level vision, this still pleases Nexus. This was just a proof that faith does have marvelous uses.
He just needs to absorb enough, and who knows, it might be possible for him to obtain the vision matching that of a human or these nymphs.
Since he was in a good mood, Nexus decided to provide more guidance and help to the nymphs. The stronger the nymphs are, the more faith he could absorb!
"Is that tribe still threatening you?" Nexus inquired and Wyden shook his head.
"The remnants of the tribe cannot threaten us that much anymore. However, we refrained from eradicating them as it might cause some casualties on our side"
"We currently cannot afford to lose any more nymphs and we plan on fully annihilating them when one of us reached the high-level of the Transcendent Realm"
"With Your Highness's blessing, a high-level Transcendent can temporarily obtain the power of a peak-level Transcendent which should be enough to prevent any casualties"
As of the moment, with all the remaining less than thirty nymphs, they can actually eradicate the enemy tribe as majority of them assimilated with a Morningstar Mushroom.
Wyden himself and the other two mid-level Transcendents can temporarily have the power of high-cycle Transcendent which should be enough to ensure victory.
Their caution was just because they do not want to lose any nymph again as they are already dangerously low in number.