Chapter 323: What? The Spirit Root Insect People are Immortal Spiritual Roots? Don't Scare Me

The annihilation of the Hu Family immediately put all the great families on high alert.

It wasn't that no news came through. The culprit's identity was still unknown, but some intelligence was gathered from the accounts of a few survivors.

What captivated everyone's attention most was something the Hu Family's patriarch had said before his death.

The five words: "You obtained an Immortal Spiritual Root."

Not a single First-Grade Mage in a high position didn't dream of breaking through to the higher realm of an Immortal Mage.

Unfortunately, there had never been any sign of one, and most had come to believe it was just a rumor. However, a First-Grade Mage had just proven with his life that it was no rumor—it was real.

As a result, the hearts of all the First-Grade Mages in the world were now burning with ambition.

And so, under the banner of avenging the Hu Family, they began to annex the family's assets while simultaneously launching an investigation, centered on the Hu Family's territory, for the person suspected of possessing the Immortal Spiritual Root.

They were certain of one thing: the owner of the Immortal Spiritual Root had not yet fully refined it to become an Immortal Mage.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to kill and run. If the person were truly an Immortal Mage, their power would be far beyond anything they could resist.

They would be the ones who should have run.

Of course, it was possible the person was simply lying low and avoiding conflict.

But they were unwilling to admit it. If that were the case, wouldn't all their efforts be for nothing?

Besides, the traces of the battle didn't suggest the power of an Immortal Mage. It was strong, yes, but not transcendent.

This was what gave them their confidence.

All the First-Grade Mages spoke as one, forcing the chaotic world to press the pause button.

Warlords and rebel armies were all helping the great clans search for clues.

Anyone who dared to disrespect them could just go die.

Qi Suian knew this, so he was hiding deep.

This time, he had truly stirred up a hornet's nest.

The allure of the Immortal Spiritual Root was far greater than he had imagined.

Fortunately, the Spiritual Root system wasn't as powerful as the Holy Relic system. As long as Qi Suian hid well, aided by his concealment modules, even First-Grade Mages would be blind to his presence unless he revealed himself.

"Do you really not have an Immortal Spiritual Root?" Hu Hong's Spirit asked doubtfully.

His head was separated from his body, so naturally, he couldn't speak in the usual way.

"Of course not. I'm an Innate Mage and possess the Nine Extremes Body, one of the special physiques."

"So, it's normal for me to be a bit stronger," Qi Suian said.

Hu Hong thought for a moment and quickly recalled some general information about the Nine Extremes Body.

The last person with a Nine Extremes Body dominated their era before vanishing without a trace.

No one knew where they went.

But he knew the effects of the Nine Extremes Body. If utilized properly, it could indeed produce the kind of immense power his opponent displayed.

'Ninety times the power of someone at the same level… Yes, that would be enough to defeat me.'

"But where did you pop out from? It's been many years since anyone with a special physique has appeared."

"The last one was also a Nine Extremes Body. How could there be another one?" Hu Hong was a little confused.

There were many kinds of special physiques, but they rarely ever repeated.

More importantly, ever since the last Nine Extremes Body vanished, hundreds of years had passed without any new special physiques appearing.

It was as if the lineage had been severed.

What? Weren't there any special physiques among the First-Grade Mages?

There really weren't. However, all First-Grade Mages were Innate Mages. They started out with three Lower-Grade Spiritual Roots that were most compatible with them, and by refining them step-by-step, they could become Seventh-Grade Mages.

With a Middle-Grade Spiritual Root, reaching the middle three grades was only a matter of time.

"Just lucky, I guess. Who can say for sure with things like this," Qi Suian said casually as he dissected Hu Hong to study his Spiritual Root.

"Why don't you tell me about the Immortal Spiritual Root instead? A country bumpkin like me wants to hear something new."

When Qi Suian annihilated the Hu Family, he had also found some information about the Immortal Spiritual Root.

The general gist was that refining an Immortal Spiritual Root allowed one to become an Immortal Mage. It was all more or less the same.

"I don't know. Even the most recent records concerning the Immortal Spiritual Root are from ten thousand years ago."

"A First-Grade Mage's lifespan is only a thousand years. Any Mage who knew about the Immortal Spiritual Root would have long since turned to dust." Hu Hong wasn't lying.

Hearing about ten thousand years here and a thousand years there, Qi Suian thought, 'This world's history is certainly long enough.'

"You have hands and feet, so how did you end up in this sorry state?" Qi Suian sighed.

It could be confirmed that Mages with Extraordinary power had existed for at least ten thousand years.

Yet the entire world still had such low productivity, stuck in a decadent feudal era with not a single shred of progress.

Even the Mages themselves seemed crude, their degree of evolution severely lacking.

They weren't a bunch of brainless rocks; they were more like a pool of stagnant water.

"What?" Hu Hong didn't understand what Qi Suian meant.

"I'm saying, you all need a Dharma Decline Era to give you a push," Qi Suian said.

It was like the Cold Winter World. When the cold wave returned, the hegemons of the previous era were dumbfounded as a bunch of frail humans nearly wiped them out with thermal weapons.

If it weren't for Qi Suian, that group of Cold Energy Monsters would have been singing and dancing by now.

"Such strange words. You seem a little crazy." Though he didn't quite understand, that didn't stop Hu Hong from insulting Qi Suian.

Qi Suian, however, ignored him and began a more in-depth study of Hu Hong's Spirit.

'As expected of a First-Grade Mage. The completeness of the data is far more valuable than that of a Third-Grade.'

"I've been meaning to ask, what is that thing?" Hu Hong's Spirit pointed at the Spirit Root Insect People floating in the nutrient fluid.

It had to be said, Hu Hong was truly a character. Even while being studied, his expression remained unchanged, and he still found the time to try and fish for information.

Qi Suian didn't even look up and said directly, "A Spiritual Root."

He didn't mind revealing a bit of information to keep Hu Hong in a good mood, lest any major emotional fluctuations interfere with the research on his Spirit.

In some respects, emotions and the Spirit were highly unified.

"???" A look of utter bewilderment appeared on the face of Hu Hong's Spirit.

'That thing looks like a person. While it has many characteristics of a Spiritual Root, how could a Spiritual Root be so big?'

"This couldn't be the Immortal Spiritual Root, could it..."

Since Qi Suian had given that answer, Hu Hong followed up on it.

"Are you brain-damaged? That's a Spiritual Root I dug out from the body of a Ninth-Grade Mage suffering from the Spiritual Root disease."

"In just ten days, a Ninth-Grade Mage will be completely devoured by their Spiritual Root, which then takes their place." Qi Suian didn't hide anything.

Hearing this, Hu Hong's first thought was disbelief.

But soon, his expression changed drastically.

'Because Qi Suian has no motive to lie to me.'

"How is that possible? How could a Spiritual Root..." Hu Hong believed him now, and his mind was in chaos.

"Don't think so much, you're interfering with my research." Qi Suian gave Fei a look, and Fei came over and slapped Hu Hong's Spirit across the face.

It knocked him right back to his senses.

"I don't know why this happens either. I only saw it when I was skinning the body," Qi Suian said, seeing that the other had calmed down.

Hu Hong examined the Spirit Root Insect Person again, and a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.

"The Immortal Spiritual Roots from ten thousand years ago might be related to them," Hu Hong said suddenly.

Qi Suian showed a look of interest. "Continue."

"It's from a little fable, a story meant to be both educational and entertaining. If I hadn't seen this Spiritual Root, I really might not have remembered it." Hu Hong then roughly recounted the tale.

It was about a personified Spiritual Root that talked with a Mage.

The overall message was to guide people toward goodness and optimism.

But there was one part of the plot where the Mage wasn't doing a good job, so the Spiritual Root took over his body to do good deeds. After experiencing this, the Mage had a change of heart, and the Spiritual Root accompanied him as he rose through the ranks.

At the end of the story, the personified Spiritual Root revealed that it was actually an Immortal Spiritual Root. Having guided the Mage onto the right path, its work was complete, and it helped him become an Immortal Mage.

The story had plenty of plot holes. For example, the Immortal Spiritual Root was just a Lower-Grade Spiritual Root at the beginning, so why did the story change its tune later?

So, under normal circumstances, even Mages who knew the story would just laugh it off, thinking some idiot must have made up such nonsense.

But now, Hu Hong no longer thought so.

Because he had truly encountered a Lower-Grade Spiritual Root that looked just like a person.

"Then... can your Lower-Grade Spiritual Root talk?" Hu Hong asked the crucial question.

"It can. And it's not much different from the personified Spiritual Root in the story you told," Qi Suian said with a strange expression.

'So the so-called Immortal Spiritual Root is actually a Spirit Root Insect Person created from an outbreak of the Spiritual Root disease?'

"The Spiritual Root disease can create Immortal Spiritual Roots!" Hu Hong declared forcefully.

"As much as I'd like to agree with you... you're overthinking it," Qi Suian said, speechless. "It's still just a Spiritual Root, and only a Lower-Grade Spiritual Root, not some Immortal Spiritual Root."

It wasn't as if Qi Suian hadn't studied and dissected them before, so he was quite familiar with the Spirit Root Insect People created by the Spiritual Root disease.

"The simplest point is that this thing is a parasite. Overall..." Qi Suian gave Hu Hong a brief explanation.

Hu Hong didn't understand. Instead, he became convinced that Qi Suian had an Immortal Spiritual Root in his possession but was simply too ignorant to recognize its value, thus wasting it.

Seeing that Hu Hong wasn't listening to his explanation, Qi Suian just ignored him.

"Fine, fine, it's an Immortal Spiritual Root. Just cooperate with my experiment first. When I'm done, I'll give you one," Qi Suian placated him.

"Hah. Instead of giving me one, why don't you just let me live?" How could Hu Hong not understand Qi Suian's meaning?

'What use is an 'Immortal Spiritual Root' to a dead man?'

'Besides, as long as I can survive, I can just find a Ninth-Grade Mage afflicted with the disease and wait ten days.'

"Can't do that. You're dead. I'm the one who says so," Qi Suian refused directly.

'A little comfort before death is fine, but there's no chance of him living.'

'Although the First-Grade Mage is no match for me, he's no ordinary person, not to mention he now knows a great deal of information.'

'How could I possibly let him live?'