Until now, Su Mu had been restraining himself. To avoid drawing too much attention from the humans, he rarely extended his influence beyond the Misty Forbidden Zone, limiting it mostly to the Ancient Wilderness Mountains. But now, as the undisputed ruler of these mountains, hunting there would yield limited rewards. While there might be some short-term gains, they wouldn’t be sustainable.

Su Mu needed to find a way to gain large amounts of lifespan and maintain a steady source of it over time. After pondering the possibilities, he realized that the best option was to extend his influence beyond the Ancient Wilderness Mountains.

After all, the world beyond was vast and full of untapped resources.

This world was dominated by four major powers: the Great Xia Empire, the Roman Empire, the Haori Alliance, and the Guo Holy Sect. Their combined territories covered an area of sixty million square kilometers. But even with such vast lands, they only occupied one-twentieth of the world’s total area. This showed just how enormous this world was—far larger than Earth, where Su Mu had lived in his previous life.

For Su Mu, this vast world represented an almost inexhaustible supply of hunting resources. He was most eager to hunt in the ocean, but unfortunately, the sea was too far away for his influence to reach.

"If there isn’t a channel, I’ll create one myself," Su Mu thought as he scanned the Misty Lake with his mind, suddenly struck by an idea.

All living beings were naturally drawn to water. Currently, nearly three thousand beasts were gathering around Misty Lake. When Su Mu first created the lake six months ago, there had only been a few dozen. If he could create a lake, he could also create a river—one that would extend from the Misty Forbidden Zone outward. Over time, beasts from outside the zone would naturally gather along the river, making them easier to hunt and harvest.

He could even guide fish from outside into the Misty Lake, increasing the variety of aquatic life there. At present, the lake’s fish population is still very small. The fish brought by the Sea Monk from the Eastern Sea couldn’t adapt to the freshwater environment of the lake. If Su Mu didn’t kill them, they would either flee or die.

"First, I’ll expand Misty Lake, and then I’ll carve out a river," Su Mu decided. Currently, the lake has a diameter of three miles. Using his Earth Force, he expanded the lake to five miles in diameter. He then redirected water from an underground river into the lake, forming a larger body of water.

Next, Su Mu created a river channel. Initially, he didn’t plan to make it too wide—just fifty feet—which would classify it as an ordinary river. The Misty Forbidden Zone already had several ponds and streams, so Su Mu made sure to connect these existing water systems as he carved the river channel. This made the process much easier than he had anticipated.

After three days of intense effort, Su Mu, using his Earth Force, successfully created a forty-five-mile-long river channel that extended to the edge of the Misty Forbidden Zone. Beyond that, his Earth Force could no longer reach, but that didn’t mean he was out of options. He called upon a hundred marmots, tasking them with continuing to dig and extend the river channel beyond his reach.

Su Mu decided to pause the expansion of the underground world for the time being. For the foreseeable future, the marmots’ main responsibility would be to extend the river channel.

With a thought, Su Mu broke through the soil between the lake and the river channel. A rush of water poured into the channel, transforming it into a flowing river. The entire water system of the Misty Forbidden Zone had now converged into a single river.

Su Mu decided to name this river "Sui River," inspired by memories from his previous life. The Sui Emperor was the pioneer of civilization on Earth, and this Sui River would be the beginning of the Misty Forbidden Zone's influence extending outward.

"Sui River?" Su Yao, Su Yan, Huang Shuling, and the spirit beasts all sensed Su Mu’s intent. They understood the name of this river and its significance. The creation of the Sui River marked the beginning of the Misty Forbidden Zone’s influence extending beyond its borders. They had long been tied to the interests of the Misty Forbidden Zone, and its growing strength would only bring them greater glory.

The next day, Huang Shuling suddenly let out a startled cry. Su Mu followed her gaze and noticed something under the tree—a mushroom. He felt a faint, mysterious, and innocent spiritual energy, like that of a newborn, trying to connect with him. The mushroom even quivered slightly, like a baby waking up.

"Oh my," Huang Shuling exclaimed, clutching her heart, feeling as if the tiny mushroom was about to melt her with its cuteness.

Su Mu, however, focused his mind on reading the mushroom’s information. Previously, when he had tried to do so, it had only shown as an ordinary mushroom. But Su Mu had trusted his instincts, convinced that this mushroom was anything but ordinary. And now, his suspicions were confirmed.

[Species: Immortal Mushroom]
[Height: 1 inch]
[Lifespan: 300 years]
[Rank: Tier-One, Lower Grade]
[Abilities: Symbiosis, Immortal Mycelium]

Su Mu was stunned. This mushroom was truly deserving of the name "Immortal Mushroom." Despite being only a Tier One, Lower Grade plant, it had a lifespan of 300 years. Moreover, it already had two abilities, both of which were extraordinary.

The first ability was Symbiosis.

Su Mu realized that the innocent spiritual energy he had sensed earlier was the Immortal Mushroom trying to establish a symbiotic relationship with him. From the information transmitted by that spiritual energy, Su Mu understood that this symbiosis didn’t mean they would necessarily share their life force all the time.

Instead, it connected their lives in a way that allowed them to transfer life force to each other when needed. Additionally, as one grew, the other would also benefit.

This discovery thrilled Su Mu. He had been pondering how to extend his influence outward, but as a tree, he was immobile. However, if he formed a symbiotic relationship with the Immortal Mushroom, everything would change.

This brought him to the mushroom’s second ability—Immortal Mycelium. Like other mushrooms, the Immortal Mushroom could release mycelium, which would sprout new mushrooms. But its mycelium was far more resilient than that of ordinary mushrooms. While not truly immortal, it was extremely difficult to kill. This made the Immortal Mushroom highly capable of survival and reproduction. As it continued to spread, Su Mu would be able to extend his influence along with it.

In the future, he could even use the Immortal Mushroom to hunt. Thanks to their symbiotic relationship, any life force the mushroom harvested during its hunts would be shared with Su Mu, allowing him to gain lifespan.

With this in mind, Su Mu didn’t hesitate any longer. He immediately accepted the spiritual energy transmitted by the Immortal Mushroom, sealing their symbiotic bond.