Chapter 310: The Mages' Disaster, An Active Genetic Lesion

After starting their cooperation with the Sun Family, the Taiping Celestial King's faction expanded rapidly.

In less than ten days, they had swiftly taken over Pinghu City.

On the surface, Qi Suian, the Taiping Celestial King, was reaping enormous benefits. Secretly, however, the Sun Family was also amassing resources that would have taken them decades to acquire.

More importantly, this process destroyed many Mage Families and allowed them to take over numerous industries. These hidden gains would continue to serve the Sun Family well into the future.

After such a successful collaboration, the relationship between the two parties grew even closer.

As for Qi Suian, besides harvesting a large amount of "fuel," he also obtained various test subjects, allowing his research on the Spiritual Root system to advance by leaps and bounds.

Unfortunately, Pinghu City and its surroundings were still relatively poor. The available resources were only at the level required by Middle-Grade Mages.

The resources needed for Top-Grade Mages above them were practically nonexistent.

Qi Suian had also learned a bit about the Sun Family's Third-Grade Mage Ancestor.

It was a classic case of a monkey ruling a mountain with no tigers.

He was currently on the verge of death from old age. If he couldn't find a way to break through, he would probably die in about thirty years.

Hearing the words "about thirty years," Qi Suian felt that the man would live longer than him.

In his own condition, he wasn't even sure he could live for thirty years.

It could only be said that among all the Extraordinary systems he had seen, the Mage system was one of the few that managed to balance both longevity and power.

Back in the day, this Sun Family Ancestor had been forced to flee after losing in a higher-level conflict, coming to Pinghu City to establish his clan.

If he had been stubborn enough to stay in that prosperous land, he would have died long ago.

Even so, his current strength was a far cry from what it once was, and he seemed to be nursing an old injury.

He was much stronger than a Fourth-Grade Mage, but much weaker than a normal Third-Grade one.

Only in a remote area like this could a crippled Third-Grade Mage like him possess such power.

If his strength hadn't declined so drastically, how could the Sun Family have been content to remain quiet? They would have long ago started secretly backing Warlords to meddle in these chaotic times.

They wouldn't have waited until Qi Suian's arrival to have such an idea.

Every aspect revealed that this Mage Family, despite having a Third-Grade Mage, was more of an empty shell than a true powerhouse.

After occupying Pinghu City and its surrounding towns, the Taiping Celestial King's faction entered a period of consolidation.

Having expanded so quickly, they certainly needed to deepen their control.

However, these matters had nothing to do with Qi Suian; the AI was handling everything.

Especially with the Sun Family's help, they encountered no difficulties.

Their reputation, however, was still poor. The entire power structure was bound together by mutual interests.

The one advantage was that as long as their enemies couldn't offer a better deal than the Taiping Celestial King, the likelihood of betrayal was low.

But for this motley crew of riffraff, no one was willing to pay a high price; it was more practical to just attack them directly.

Thus, this strange equilibrium allowed the Taiping Celestial King's faction to expand continuously.

In any case, Qi Suian couldn't quite understand how the AI was operating.

Just by making empty promises and occasionally distributing benefits, it had formed a Warlord faction that was little better than a ragtag troupe.

'But there must be some plot armor involved. Otherwise, even if the AI could succeed on its own, it definitely couldn't have expanded this quickly.'

'A combination of various factors has led to the current result.'

"The bloodline fragments... no, it should be called a hereditary disease. It's actually starting to show signs of activity," Qi Suian said, his expression grave.

"Before, when it was harmless and even provided positive feedback, it could be called a bloodline fragment that created a special constitution."

"But things are different now. It has started producing certain harmful effects, which makes it a hereditary disease."

"A hereditary disease at the genetic level... The Mages are in big trouble."

"At this stage, it's just active. If this continues, it will likely become pathogenic."

"The AI was right about the apocalypse of the Spirit Root World. It originates from a pathogenic mutation in the gene fragments that fused with the parasites within the human body."

Previously, Qi Suian had always believed that the apocalypse in the "doomsday game" was aimed at humanity. Now, he could confirm this further.

The Spirit Root World seemed very much like a cultivation world, but if one were to truly classify it, its Extraordinary system belonged to the category of biological modification.

It was not traditional cultivation or martial arts.

'This genetic change is occurring on a large scale. Besides originating from the Spiritual Root parasites, it might also be coming from the environment.'

"AI, are there any changes in the data reports from the satellite projection?" Qi Suian asked.

[No changes yet. Sufficient time is required for observation.]

During this time, Qi Suian had dissected no fewer than a thousand Mages, ranging from Ninth Grade to Fifth Grade.

And in all of them, he discovered signs of the hereditary disease becoming active.

However, the level of activity was inversely proportional to their strength—the weaker the Mage, the more active the disease.

This was especially true at the level of Ninth-Grade Mages.

It was only because their bodies were already Extraordinary that they couldn't feel it yet.

But the disease had already seeped into their very bones.

As for ordinary people, they also had it, but it remained within safe limits and showed no signs of developing into a disease.

But Qi Suian didn't believe that "within safe limits" meant there was no problem. Once the Mages were affected, no one would be spared.

'The environment hasn't changed...'

'Continue monitoring, and shift the focus to the Spiritual Roots.'

Qi Suian knew that if it wasn't the environment, then it had to be the Spiritual Roots.

The natives of the Spirit Root World regarded them as the Extraordinary Source, but in Qi Suian's eyes, no matter how they evolved, they were still just parasites.

More importantly, the Mages didn't seem to have complete control over their Spiritual Roots.

After dissecting so many Mages, Qi Suian discovered that the relationship between them was still symbiotic.

Mages did indeed undergo an Extraordinary modification surgery to integrate the Spiritual Root with their organs and Spiritual Power. However, throughout this process, the Spiritual Root remained alive.

Conversely, the Extraordinary organs and abilities that Mages possessed were themselves composed of the Spiritual Root.

Their organs and Spiritual Power were also fused with the Spiritual Root. The Mage was dominant now, but what about in the future?

Especially since the combination of a Spiritual Root and a beast could form a third consciousness.

'The Mage system is indeed much stronger than that of the Spirit Demons, and it is also advancing.'

'However, the development of Mages isn't about deeply understanding the essence of their power. Instead, they are constantly developing more efficient refining methods, searching for more powerful Spiritual Root combinations, and figuring out how to capture better Spiritual Roots.'

'To this day, not a single Mage knows the origin of wild Spiritual Roots. They all just say they are born from heaven and earth.'

'They've always known what it is, but not why it is.'

In other words, the Mages were heading in the wrong direction.

But this was also normal. If they could get results without needing to develop the fundamentals, then they just needed to keep strengthening this "tool."

There was no need to explore the origin; that would just be troublesome.

After all, if you want to explore, you need strength. But the process of exploration consumes time that could be spent getting stronger.

And as for waiting until you reach the First Grade? By then, you'd be bogged down with countless responsibilities, and it would be out of your hands.

[Your research may need to be paused for a while. The first wave of harvesting can begin.]

The AI suddenly reminded Qi Suian.

The "first wave of harvesting," naturally, referred to the Sun Family.

"So soon?" Qi Suian was a little surprised.

'How long has it been since we took over Pinghu City? Why are we starting the harvest already?'

[Yes. According to data model calculations, the Sun Family will make a move within three days. They will act under the pretext of righteousness to take over your entire faction.]

[Therefore, we need to strike first and deal with them ahead of time.]

"The Sun Family is that impatient? They don't even want to fatten us up a bit more."

"Then when do we make our move?" Qi Suian asked directly about the timing, not whether it would affect their plans to ensnare other Mage Families later.

Since the AI dared to propose this, it meant it had a plan.

[We move at midnight tonight. I need you to deal with the Sun Family's Third-Grade Mage Ancestor.]

The other members of the Sun Family weren't a problem. The truly difficult one to handle was the Sun Family Ancestor, one of the top three grades.

Based on the limited data on hand, the projection showed that only Qi Suian, piloting the Tai Sui God and boosted by his "plot armor," could win.

The AI and the Tai Sui God alone had no chance of victory.

The Taoist Scripture transformed from a Top-Grade Spiritual Root could control the forces of heaven and earth. Combined with treasured artifacts and magic techniques, it could unleash incredible power.

Qi Suian had only ever seen the power of a Middle-Grade Mage, which was already at the level of Fan Fengfei.

Before Qi Suian, however, they were as flimsy as paper. But as for Top-Grade Mages, the Sun Family Ancestor was the only one in this area, making it difficult to even witness their power.

"The Taiping Celestial King is cunning and rebellious. Since we have already used him to pacify the surrounding troubles..."

"Then we shall eliminate this threat tomorrow morning."

"Pick a few people from the family to take over his faction. We will support our own Warlord." The Sun Family Ancestor spoke as he leaned against a carved railing, casually pinching fish food and scattering it into the lake.

"But... Ancestor, if we let him grow for a while longer, won't the prize be bigger?" A Fourth-Grade Mage from the Sun Family felt they could still gain more.

"He was able to drag our Sun Family into this mess in three days. He could just as easily drag other Mage Families into the game in three days." The Sun Family Ancestor clapped his hands. "Taking over as soon as possible is the only sound strategy."

The others looked at each other, feeling that their Ancestor was making a mountain out of a molehill.

'He's just a Middle-Grade Mage. What kind of trouble could he possibly stir up?'

'The only reason he has what he has today is because our Sun Family supported him. How would he dare to turn around and bite us?'

"Ancestor, you are overthinking things. He is just an ignorant junior who doesn't know his place. Why should you even concern yourself with him?" another Sun Family Mage continued.

But the Sun Family Ancestor acted as if he hadn't heard, repeating his point, "Tomorrow morning, we eliminate this threat."

"Prepare well tonight, so we don't have a chaotic mess tomorrow and let him escape."

With these two sentences, the members of the Sun Family immediately understood. Their Ancestor wasn't discussing this with them; he was informing them.

"Yes, Ancestor!" they all replied in unison.

At this point, they had no choice but to obey. After speaking, they all departed.

"Sigh. After being the kings of this small place for so long, with no external enemies, the new generation can't measure up." The Sun Family Ancestor sighed. The second and third generations who had helped him build his clan had been blinded by wealth and comfort.