This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 208, Section 207: An Opportunity

The cold wind howled as it passed through the gaps between the ice blocks.

The ice giant, formed from condensed frost spirits, patrolled its territory.

Despite being an elemental being, it possesses an almost obsessive sense of territory.

When they set off, the demon race was strong and well-equipped. Han Yan even shattered Han Ling's icy body with a single blow. Now that they have returned, Han Ling has already rebuilt her icy body, while the team... only Qiong and Shou remain, two incomplete figures.

So they chose to take a detour. Fortunately, these cold spirits don't hold grudges. As long as they stayed far away from the cold spirits' territory, they naturally wouldn't be attacked.

Hanling didn't pay attention to the two people who were far away from it, but instead focused on the sky.

An invisible scout was struggling in the cold wind, following the trail of the demon race from afar.

Um? Discovered?

Seeing that Hanling's attention was focused on scouting Puji, Lin Jun controlled Puji to fly a little higher.

[Race: Frost Spirit]

[Level: LV39]

[Racial Talent: Elemental Body]

[Skills: Ice Element Mastery LV6, Magic Perception LV4...]

Magic perception, no wonder it could detect the detective Puji.

This is the second Cold Spirit I've encountered along the way. I'll get one later and try it out.

Lin Jun easily let the two demon descendants go, naturally intending to follow them to their hometown, even though Shou remained vague about the tribe's situation during their conversation.

However, considering the relatively fresh remains of the demon race that he found in Qis's territory, he guessed that they must have just suffered a considerable loss, and this was a good opportunity to take advantage of their weakness and befriend them!
In short, let's observe first!

As this Puji was expected to stay outside for a long time, Lin Jun specially added the [Photosynthesis] ability to it.

But to be honest, the situation in the far north is worse than expected.

First, there's the sunlight. The sunlight here is pale and weak, and the magic produced by photosynthesis is pitifully thin, barely enough to sustain Puji's minimal activities.

This wouldn't normally be a big problem, as long as it's enough to scout out the Puji activities.

But... the temperature is too low!

Outside the dungeon, even with [Cold Resistance LV7], it's not easy to withstand the cold.

Lin Jun had no choice but to equip it with [High Temperature Drilling LV6].

It occasionally self-heats up, barely managing to survive, but this increases its mana consumption.

Anyway, the total amount of magic power is constantly decreasing, so I estimate that I can only last three or four days in the wild. After that, I'll have to ask other scouts to take over.

Fortunately, the demon tribes were not far from the dungeon, only half a day's journey away.
-
Upon returning to the tribe, the two were immediately surrounded by the tribespeople.

"Hunter! Sky! What happened to you...?" Starfire, a senior warrior who rushed over upon hearing the news, stared intently at the two men's gruesome severed limbs, his tone grave, "The others... could it be...?"

“They’re all wiped out,” Hunt’s voice was hoarse. “Only the two of us are left. Starfire, what’s this?” He noticed the bulging hunting pack on Starfire’s back.

“I haven’t heard from you at all, and I was just about to go and find out what’s going on…” Xinghuo explained.

A wave of relief washed over Shou, a sense of lingering fear washing over him. Thank goodness... he's back.

"Spark, take us to see the elder."

“Elder…” Xinghuo seemed to hesitate, but in the end, she silently led the two toward the largest tent in the center.

Behind him, the whispers of his clansmen were filled with confusion and worry.

...Lifting the heavy animal-skin curtain, one could see the elder leaning against the bed.

The elder who was once old but had sharp eyes and a calm and wise demeanor is now a completely different person.

The magical runes on his body were dull and almost grayish-white. Without the protection of power, he could only shiver in a thick blanket. Even his eyes, which once saw through everything, had become cloudy.

“Elder?!” Shou’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“Hunter, Qiong,” the elder looked at them, his voice surprisingly calm, “It’s just that my lifespan has come to an end. As a demon descendant, I have lived long enough.”

“But…but it just so happens to be at this time…” Even the usually calm Hunter could not hide his unease at this moment.

“Fate never chooses its time, child,” the elder said, his gaze falling on the severed arm of the hunter, where the mycelium spreading within the magical runes was not hard to discern. “Tell me about your story.”

Hunt didn't hide anything, recounting everything in detail, from Qis's deadly trap to the bizarre lump of flesh, and then to those mushroom monsters called "Puji".

Xinghuo, standing to the side, turned ashen-faced and clenched his fists, while the elder listened quietly, occasionally nodding his heavy head.

"You've all worked so hard," the elder sighed, his breath weak. "Perhaps... all of this is my fault."

"Elder!" Xinghuo said urgently, "The mistake lies with Hengyan's intelligence failure! How can you be blamed?"

"Sigh..." The elder slowly shook his head, his eyes revealing weariness and self-reproach. "It was my insistence on not migrating south, it was my resistance to contact with the Empire, it was my... inability to let go of that former Demon King. If we had submitted to the Empire sooner, those children... perhaps they wouldn't have died..."

"This..." Xinghuo wanted to argue, but was interrupted by the elder's weak but firm gesture.

"Xinghuo, take Qiong to rest and comfort the tribesmen. I... have something to say to Shou alone."

“…Yes!” Xinghuo gave Shou a deep look, then helped Qiong back out.

The moment the tent flap fell, the elder's withered hand suddenly gripped Shou's arm! An unprecedentedly sharp light flashed in his cloudy eyes, and his voice, though extremely low, was as firm as a hammer blow:

"Hunter! This is 'fusion parasitism'! Our entire tribe is probably being targeted by those puffers!"

"Fusion...parasitism?" Looking at the seemingly living mycelium on his arm, even though he had suspected it before, the elder's confirmation instantly filled him with regret. "So...I shouldn't have come back?"

"No! You came back at the right time!" The elder's knuckles turned white from the force, but his eyes were unusually firm. "I personally trained Xinghuo, and I know that he alone cannot support the tribe as it is today! The tribe needs you! It's just a parasitic ability. We are life forms forged by the Demon King himself, not just ordinary mortals!"

A strange smile, filled with resolute power, appeared on the elder's face. "I... can still... fight for you one more chance..."

The magic runes on the elder's body lit up as if in a final burst of light, and all the magic power in his body converged back into the magic core.

"But... Hunting... what does the future of the tribe hold? After I'm gone... we don't need to abide by those old rules anymore... whether to migrate south or not... you... decide for yourselves... I... have failed everyone..."

"Elder?!" Shou's heart sank.

……

When Xinghuo lifted the curtain and entered again, the elder's bed was empty.

On the thick blanket, a magic core with a slightly dim luster lay quietly.

Shou knelt by the bed, his back frozen like a stone sculpture.

"...The elders have entrusted the tribe to you." Xinghuo's voice was dry, without surprise, only a hint of understanding.

He took a deep look at the magic core and the hunter's retreating figure, then turned and left with only one sentence: "...Hurry up and pull yourself together, your people...are all waiting."

Hunt slowly extended his severed hand and picked up the demon core.

The elder sacrificed his life prematurely to preserve the opportunity he spoke of—a chance to use this demonic core as a foundation to reshape his flesh and blood and break free from parasitism!

No matter how bizarre these mycelia are, they cannot invade the essence of the demonic core. This method can indeed free him from parasitism, and even... allow him to regain his hands.

But... there's only one chance, and it can only save him; the future of the entire tribe remains uncertain...

(End of this chapter)