Of course, if Shan Jia knew the Vine Tribe had an endless supply of salt, he probably wouldn’t think of showing off.
The two didn’t discuss anything further, focusing on their food.
They ate very quickly, and soon there were only two sticks left of the mushroom meat skewers.
Feeling unsatisfied, Shan Jia picked up a few more large skewers and feasted with Jiang Xuan, but this time without salt, the flavor was quite lacking.
After eating his fill, Shan Jia casually wiped his mouth and sighed, "It’s so delicious, no matter how many times I eat, it never feels enough."
Jiang Xuan agreed, "It’s indeed very tasty."
For many tribespeople, mushrooms aren’t considered ideal food because many mushrooms are toxic.
Quite a few people have lost their lives from eating poisonous mushrooms, so over time, they’ve become somewhat fearful of this delicacy.
Even Jiang Xuan, when leading the Vine Tribe warriors to find food, rarely collected mushrooms unless they were very familiar and confirmed non-toxic varieties.
Only tribes like the Mountain Turtle Tribe, which has long dealt with the Mushroom Forest and knows various mushrooms well, dare to gather large amounts for consumption.
After they were full and satisfied, they finally got down to business.
Shan Jia inquired, "Chief Xuan, what do you wish to trade with us this time?"
Jiang Xuan replied, "We want to trade for some mushrooms that enhance strength, like the Strength Mushroom you gave us last time."
Shan Jia’s face lit up with a brilliant smile because most tribes that come to the Mountain Turtle Tribe for trade want similar things from Jiang Xuan.
The Strength Mushroom given to Jiang Xuan last time was both a gift and a sample. If they found it useful, wouldn’t they surely come to the Mountain Turtle Tribe for trade?
Shan Jia appeared burly and clumsy, wearing a huge turtle shell every day and looking rather comical, but in reality, he was very clever, even a bit cunning.
Shan Jia said, "It just so happens that we picked a fresh batch of Strength Mushrooms from the Mushroom Forest this time."
Jiang Xuan added, "Besides the Strength Mushroom, are there other mushrooms that can enhance strength?"
The Mushroom Forest has a vast variety of mushrooms, and Jiang Xuan speculates that there are surely more than one kind that can enhance strength, so he asked directly.
Shan Jia smiled even brighter.
"Of course, besides the Strength Mushroom that boosts power, there’s also the Swift Mushroom for speed, the Large Ear Mushroom for hearing, and the Eagle Eye Mushroom for vision..."
Hearing Shan Jia’s introduction, Jiang Xuan felt his horizons broadened.
He had long known that this world contained many magical plants that could enhance various human abilities.
But he never imagined that just mushrooms alone could boost so many aspects of human strength.
Soon, however, Jiang Xuan noticed something was amiss.
If the Mountain Turtle Tribe really possessed so many strength-enhancing mushrooms, then wouldn’t their tribal warriors all be extremely powerful?
Why was the Mountain Turtle Tribe still a small tribe, vulnerable even to attacks from the Mosquito Tribe?
"Chief Shan Jia, if someone were to eat all the mushrooms you mentioned freely, what’s the highest level of warrior they could become?"
Shan Jia’s expression froze for a moment. After hesitating, he said, "Three-color."
"Three-color?" Jiang Xuan was astonished, could only reach three-color by eating freely?
Shan Jia said, "With luck, if they can harvest some rare mushrooms, they might have a chance to break through to Four-Color Warrior."
Jiang Xuan noticed that Shan Jia was a Four-Color Warrior himself, but aside from him, Jiang Xuan didn’t see any other Four-Color Warriors in the Mountain Turtle Tribe.
Clearly, the idea of breaking through by eating mushrooms wasn’t as simple as Jiang Xuan had imagined.
"Why is it ?" Jiang Xuan asked.
"Because with all mushrooms, the first consumption has the best effect; once eaten, the subsequent effects weaken significantly."
Shan Jia’s explanation was somewhat vague; in fact, after eating the same type of mushroom three times, there would be no further enhancement.
Furthermore, the effects of mushrooms in the Mushroom Forest, while varied, don’t enhance strength as significantly as imagined.
One-Color Warriors benefit most from these mushrooms; the higher the warrior’s strength, the lesser the effects these mushrooms have.
If it were otherwise, the Mountain Turtle Tribe guarding a mushroom-rich forest would have produced a troop of powerful warriors long ago.
Even so, the mushrooms of the Mountain Turtle Tribe are still highly valuable, with many tribes coveting them, leading to several attempts at theft.
Because these mushrooms can produce fairly strong low-tier warriors, which are very enticing to smaller tribes.
Truthfully, Jiang Xuan felt a bit disappointed, but somehow it seemed more logical.
If just eating some magical plants made one invincible, it would indeed be absurd.
Despite this, Jiang Xuan still planned to trade for some magical mushrooms because the Vine Tribe was indeed too weak, and these mushrooms could at least create a few low-tier warriors, which would be beneficial.
After discussing for a while, Shan Jia had some of the mushrooms collected yesterday brought out, while Jiang Xuan brought out the beast bones and beast teeth; both sides officially began trading.
"These are Strength Mushrooms that you’ve eaten before, so no need for me to say more about their effects."
"Three Strength Mushrooms for this beast’s scapula bone, how does Chief Xuan feel about that?"
Shan Jia picked up a shoulder blade of a beast, about half a meter long, very heavy and thick—a great material indeed!