Chapter 338: I'm So Tanky Even an Immortal Mage Can't Kill Me

"Luo Geng" keenly sensed a threat.

After killing the last of the first-rank Mages, he turned to look, a hint of surprise on his face.

Strange auras swirled around the head of the white-haired ox, which had a single eye and a snake's tail.

More importantly, half of Qi Suian's body was protruding from the monster's single eye.

The other half was nowhere to be seen, as if it had become part of the eye itself.

"Cough... cough..." Suddenly, "Luo Geng" broke into a fit of coughing.

He vomited a large mouthful of blood.

It was a good thing those first-rank Mages had died quickly; otherwise, their symptoms would have been far more severe.

"This plague... It's you!" Killing intent flashed in "Luo Geng's" eyes. He could sense that some of the abyssal viruses being released were specifically designed to target the Spiritual Root.

However, Qi Suian paid him no mind, instead testing out his new body.

Based primarily on the Fei and the Mad Cathedral, and supplemented with other modules from the Tai Sui God, his form was no longer human in the slightest.

Qi Suian felt quite awkward in this new state.

Fortunately, since it was all his own power, he adapted quickly.

Polyform energy, plagues and diseases, the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper, Taiyin Body-Refining, the Tinder Flame—a whole series of abilities were layered upon him.

"Have you ever heard of a palm technique that descends from the heavens?" The Spatial Element from his polyform energy coated Qi Suian's ox hoof. He stomped down, forcibly shattering the spatial turbulence erupting beneath him.

"Luo Geng" relentlessly tore at space, attempting to threaten Qi Suian.

However, with his own power augmented by the Tai Sui God's modules, their strengths compensated for any weaknesses. Space was no longer a threat.

Unless his opponent could complete the possession, Qi Suian would have little trouble dealing with such incomplete power.

Before his opponent could react, a Polyform Energy Great Hand Seal—a composite structure formed from abyssal, elemental, kinetic, and other energies—descended from the sky.

It didn't just inflict energy-based damage; its downward charge also gave it a powerful kinetic impact.

"A mere parlor trick." "Luo Geng" glanced at the Great Hand Seal, his expression filled with contempt.

'It's fast, to be sure, but is it faster than my spatial jumps?'

With a simple swipe of his hand, a spatial portal materialized, and the Great Hand Seal plunged inside.

The other end of the portal then appeared behind Qi Suian. As "Luo Geng" watched with gloating eyes, the Great Hand Seal slammed into Qi Suian's enormous Fei body.

BOOM!

Qi Suian planted a solid kick on "Luo Geng" with his ox hoof. Even in the body of an Immortal Mage, he was still injured by the blow.

And the Great Hand Seal that had hit Qi Suian?

Far from causing any damage, it was absorbed.

It was all his own energy; how could it possibly harm him?

It was like drawing one's own blood and transfusing it back in. Ignoring factors like bacteria and viruses, the most that would happen is a little loss from the round trip.

As for external factors like those, Qi Suian had nothing to fear.

What would be a damaging attack to anyone else was, for Qi Suian, a healing boost.

"You... how... BLEGH—" "Luo Geng" stared in disbelief, then vomited up a mouthful of his own internal organs.

The abyssal virus Qi Suian was emitting was taking effect.

His opponent's physique was certainly formidable, but his Spiritual Root couldn't take the strain.

This was the Spiritual Root-targeting gene weapon Qi Suian had created after obtaining data on the Spirit Root Race.

Even against an Immortal Spiritual Root, this gene weapon would still have an effect.

Especially now that the gene weapon was empowered by the Fei and the Mad Cathedral, its efficacy was on another level entirely.

It wasn't enough to kill "Luo Geng," but it could weaken him further.

"Impressive. You've managed to reduce my abilities so drastically."

"Without the aid of my arts, artifacts, and Taoist Scriptures, my strength is a mere fraction of what it was."

"However, the physical prowess of an Immortal Mage is not to be underestimated. Find a chance to strip away the Spir—"

This time, it wasn't "Luo Geng" who spoke, but the real Luo Geng. Before he could finish, "Luo Geng" forced him back down.

Clearly, the virus's influence had allowed the real Luo Geng to reclaim partial control of his body.

"Fool. Without me, you're just an ordinary man," "Luo Geng" spat, his expression sour.

He hadn't expected that in a moment of carelessness, his secrets would be laid bare.

He could no longer use his spatial powers. He might have been able to bluff his way through against Qi Suian before, but not now.

His opponent not only knew the truth but was already seizing the opportunity to attack.

Without a moment's hesitation, a hoof descended.

CLANG!

"Luo Geng" blocked Qi Suian's hoof attack while sealing off his own respiration to avoid inhaling any more of the abyssal virus.

"Even if I'm limited to physical strength, you're still just a first-rank Mage. What makes you think you can hurt me?" "Luo Geng" fought through the weakness brought on by the abyssal virus—that Spiritual Root-targeting gene weapon—and grabbed the leg of Qi Suian's bovine form, heaving him into a shoulder throw.

The force was immense, smashing Qi Suian to pieces on the spot. Bone and flesh splattered everywhere.

"A mere mortal thing, you dare compare yourself to the kin of a great one like me?"

Another shoulder throw. It was strangely reminiscent of Loki flinging the Hulk around.

"So what if you're big? You're just an empty shell, all show and no substance."

Only after a third consecutive shoulder throw did he stop.

Qi Suian had been beaten senseless, but... he wasn't dead.

In fact, by the time "Luo Geng" prepared to make another move, he had already recovered completely.

"Ever heard of immortality? Well, as it happens, I am immortal," Qi Suian bluffed after recovering, then charged, ramming him with a horn.

'I don't have any kind of immortality. It's all just my powerful regeneration.'

He pierced straight through his opponent's body, knocking him a great distance away.

The reason "Luo Geng" had stopped was clearly that the real Luo Geng was fighting back. Otherwise, why would he have paused?

"Strip the Spiritual Root! It's located in my—" The moment the real Luo Geng resurfaced, he immediately tried to reveal the weakness.

This, of course, provoked "Luo Geng," who promptly redoubled his efforts and forced him back down.

Seeing this, Qi Suian remained calm and immediately unleashed a Polyform Energy Great Hand Seal.

'This time, it'll finally hit... okay, never mind, it missed.'

As the battle progressed, "Luo Geng's" control over the body grew more proficient.

So even with his spatial abilities suppressed, his mastery over the physical body had increased, making him incredibly fast.

"Luo Geng" not only dodged Qi Suian's Polyform Great Hand Seal but also closed the distance in a flash, arriving right before the Fei body's single eye—the very spot where Qi Suian was located.

His fist smashed into Qi Suian's head, shattering it on impact.

But it was useless.

The half-figure of Qi Suian protruding from the eye wasn't him at all. It was a lure, like the esca on a deep-sea anglerfish's head.

'Would I be crazy enough to create a weak point for myself, then put it right out in the open for someone to attack?'

So, when "Luo Geng" shattered the decoy, the resulting blood mist instantly transformed into countless Fiber Worms.

Aided by the abyssal virus, they swarmed directly into "Luo Geng's" body.

"You!" "Luo Geng" was stunned. He never imagined someone would be so shameless as to use their own image as bait.

As the word left his lips, the other half of Qi Suian's body—the part that had been hidden—also burst into Fiber Worms and joined the swarm.

The whole process was simple and unadorned—pure fraud.

Qi Suian's true goal wasn't for the Fiber Worms to find a way to kill "Luo Geng" from the inside.

Rather, it was to use them to ascertain the state of the Spiritual Root within Luo Geng's body.

Besides, the Fiber Worms couldn't have inflicted much damage even after getting inside.

'More than half his body has been hollowed out. This is going to be tricky.' Qi Suian quickly received the reconnaissance data from the Fiber Worms, compiled by his bio-computer.

Qi Suian reviewed the scan of Luo Geng's anatomy. Even his brain was nearly half-eroded.

Ninety percent of his organs and bones were now part of the Spiritual Root. His flesh and blood were slightly better off, but still seventy percent converted.

'Saving him is going to be a real headache.'

"There's still a chance. My right brain... that's its weak point."

"You just need to take it out." Having heard Qi Suian's thoughts, Luo Geng managed to surface again.

Qi Suian was left speechless.

The skull is the hardest bone in the human body. He was already weaker than his opponent; it was only thanks to some serious plot armor, the incomplete possession, and his own unique abilities that he was even holding his own, albeit at a slight disadvantage.

And now he was supposed to crack open the guy's skull and remove his right brain?

That was simply beyond his capabilities.

Luo Geng seemed to sense Qi Suian's dilemma. "Intensify the plague," he said. "I'll fight for control..."

He didn't finish, but Qi Suian understood. If he continued to weaken "Luo Geng," the real Luo Geng could gain more control.

At this, Qi Suian didn't hesitate. He commanded all the surrounding abyssal virus to forcibly flood into "Luo Geng's" body.

'If I can't beat him head-on, I'll have to weaken him first.'

As the concentration of the abyssal virus within his body increased, the Spiritual Root began to show signs of weakening, though only slightly.

The next moment, his opponent raised his own right hand and, without a shred of hesitation, smashed it against his own head, shattering his skull.

The brain lay exposed to the air. The left hemisphere was a normal human brain, but the right was a pseudo-brain—a writhing mass of what looked like tapeworms.

Seeing his chance, Qi Suian instantly dissolved his fusion, shot forward in his human form, and grabbed the ball of tapeworm-like pseudo-brain to yank it out.

Meanwhile, Luo Geng was also cooperating.

The tapeworm mass, along with various parasitized organ tissues, was ripped out by Qi Suian in one go.

Luo Geng's body went limp.

"Fuck, it's still moving!" Qi Suian keenly felt the Spiritual Root in his hand swell rapidly, unleashing a terrifying, suffocating pressure.

He immediately flung it into the distance. The Tai Sui God form reappeared, snatched the limp Luo Geng, maxed out its flight and acceleration modules, and bolted.