The cold wind whistled through the gaps between ice blocks, producing low, mournful howls.
Ice giants condensed by frost spirits patrolled back and forth through their territory.
Despite being elemental beings, they possessed an almost obsessive sense of territorial ownership.
When they had departed, the demon spawn's party had been strong and well-equipped. Qin Yan could casually shatter a frost spirit's icy body with a single hammer blow. Now upon their return, the frost spirit had long since reformed its ice form, while the party... only had the two broken figures of Qiong and Shou remaining.
So they chose to take a detour. Fortunately, these frost spirits didn't hold grudges—as long as they kept far away from the frost spirit's territory, they naturally wouldn't provoke an attack.
The frost spirit indeed paid no attention to the two distant figures, instead focusing its gaze on the sky.
An invisible reconnaissance puffshroom was struggling to flutter through the cold wind, following the demon spawn's trail from afar.
Hmm? It's been discovered?
Seeing the frost spirit's attention focused on the reconnaissance puffshroom, Lin Jun controlled the puffshroom to fly higher.
**[Race: Frost Spirit]**
**[Level: LV39]**
**[Racial Talent: Elemental Body]**
**[Skills: Ice Element Control LV6, Magic Perception LV4...]**
Magic perception—no wonder it could detect the reconnaissance puffshroom.
This was the second frost spirit encountered along the way. He'd have to catch one later to taste it.
Lin Jun had easily let the two demon spawn go, naturally wanting to follow behind and track them to their home base. Although Shou had been deliberately vague about the tribe's situation during their conversation.
But combining this with the relatively fresh demon spawn remains he'd found in Qis's territory, he guessed they had just suffered considerable losses—making this the perfect opportunity to... establish friendly relations!
In any case, observe first!
This puffshroom, expected to stay outside for a long time, had been specially equipped with **[Photosynthesis]** by Lin Jun.
But honestly, conditions in the extreme north were worse than anticipated.
First was the sunlight—the illumination here was pale and weak, with photosynthesis producing pitifully thin magic power, barely enough to maintain the puffshroom's minimum activity level.
Originally this wouldn't be too big a problem, since it was enough for reconnaissance puffshroom activities.
But... the temperature was too low!
Outside the dungeon, even with **[Cold Resistance LV7]**, it could barely withstand the conditions.
Lin Jun had no choice but to also equip it with **[High-Temperature Drilling LV6]**.
Self-heating from time to time barely maintained survival, but this increased magic consumption.
In any case, the total magic power kept declining. He estimated it could only last three or four days in the wild before other reconnaissance puffshrooms would need to take shifts.
Fortunately, the demon spawn tribe wasn't far from the dungeon—surprisingly only half a day's journey away.
---
Upon returning to the tribe, the two were immediately surrounded by their clansmen.
"Shou! Qiong! What is this..." Starfire, an upper-rank warrior who had rushed over upon hearing the news, locked his gaze on their gruesome severed limbs, his tone grave. "The others... could it be..."
"Complete annihilation," Shou's voice was hoarse. "Only we two remain. Starfire, what's this?" He noticed the bulging hunting pack on Starfire's back.
"With no word from you all, I was just preparing to investigate..." Starfire explained.
A wave of frightened relief surged in Shou's heart. Thank goodness... they had returned.
"Starfire, take us to see the Elder."
"The Elder..." Starfire seemed to hesitate, but ultimately remained silent, leading the two toward the largest tent in the center.
Behind them, whispered conversations among the clansmen were filled with confusion and worry.
...
Lifting the heavy hide curtain, they were greeted by the sight of the Elder leaning against the side of his bed.
The former figure—though aged, yet sharp-eyed and wise—was now like a completely different person.
The demon markings on his body were dim and nearly gray-white. Having lost the protection of power, he could only huddle in thick blankets, shivering. Even those eyes that had once seen through everything had become cloudy and dim.
"Elder?!" Shou's voice trembled with disbelief.
"Shou, Qiong," the Elder looked at them, his voice unexpectedly calm. "My lifespan has simply reached its end. As a demon spawn, I have lived long enough."
"But... but why at a time like this..." Even the usually calm Shou couldn't hide his unease.
"Fate never chooses its timing, child," the Elder's gaze fell on Shou's severed arm, where the mycelium spreading through the demon markings wasn't difficult to identify. "Tell me about your situation."
Shou held nothing back, from Qis's deadly trap to the strange flesh mass, to those mushroom monsters called "puffshrooms"... he recounted everything in detail.
Starfire listened with an iron-gray expression, fists clenched tight, while the Elder merely listened quietly, occasionally nodding his heavy head.
"You've worked hard," the Elder sighed deeply, his breath weak. "Perhaps... all of this is my fault."
"Elder!" Starfire said urgently. "The fault lies in Qin Yan's intelligence failure! How can you blame yourself?"
"Sigh..." the Elder slowly shook his head, his eyes revealing exhaustion and self-reproach. "It was I who stubbornly refused to migrate south, I who rejected contact with the Empire, I who... couldn't let go of our former Demon Lord. If we had submitted to the Empire early on, those children... perhaps wouldn't have had to die..."
"This..." Starfire wanted to argue but was cut off by the Elder's weak yet resolute gesture.
"Starfire, take Qiong to rest and comfort the clansmen. I... have something to say to Shou alone."
"...Yes!" Starfire looked deeply at Shou before helping Qiong exit.
The moment the curtain fell, the Elder's withered hand suddenly grasped Shou's arm! His cloudy eyes burst with unprecedented sharp light, his voice pressed extremely low but each word like a hammer blow:
"Shou! This is 'fusion parasitism'! Our entire tribe has likely already been... targeted by those puffshrooms!"
"Fusion... parasitism?" Shou looked at the seemingly living mycelium on his arm. Even though he had suspected this, having it confirmed by the Elder still filled his heart with regret. "So... I shouldn't have returned?"
"No! You were right to return!" The Elder's knuckles turned white from exertion, but his eyes were exceptionally determined. "Starfire was trained by my own hand—I know clearly that he alone cannot support the current tribe! The tribe needs you! Parasitic abilities are nothing—we are life forged by the Demon Lord's own hand, not mere flesh and blood mortals!"
A strange smile tinged with resolute power appeared on the Elder's face. "I... can still... fight for one chance for you..."
The demon markings on the Elder's body flared up like a final burst of light, all his magic power flowing in reverse toward his demon core.
"But... Shou... where does the tribe's future lie? After I'm gone... no need to cling to those old rules... whether to migrate south or not... you all... decide for yourselves... I have... failed everyone..."
"Elder?!" Shou's heart sank sharply.
...
When Starfire lifted the curtain again, the Elder's bed was empty.
On the thick blanket lay quietly a demon core with slightly dimmed luster.
Shou knelt beside the bed, his silhouette frozen like a stone carving.
"...The Elder entrusted the tribe to you." Starfire's voice was hoarse, without surprise, only a trace of understanding.
He looked deeply at the demon core and Shou's silhouette, leaving only one sentence before turning to depart: "...Pull yourself together quickly. The clansmen... are all waiting."
Shou slowly extended his severed hand and picked up the demon core.
The Elder had burned through his remaining lifespan early, leaving behind what he had called that chance—an opportunity to use this demon core as foundation to reshape flesh and blood and escape the parasitism!
No matter how strange these mycelia were, they couldn't invade the demon core's essence. This method could indeed free him from parasitism, even... restore both his hands.
But... there was only one chance, and it could only save him alone, while the entire tribe's future remained completely unknown...
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