CHAPTER 390: CHAPTER 321: RESURRECTION, FUNGUS PERSON COLONY_3

The hair was a reddish mass of mycelium, its eye sockets teemed with wriggling maggots, and its soft, sagging body was composed of an unknown number of earthworms and nematodes.

Its bloated abdomen had countless rats burrowing in and out, and its forehead sprouted two clusters of colorful, mushroom-like growths resembling the massive antlers of a reindeer.

Its body surface was covered with green, black, white, yellow, and red molds.

A dark cloud of flying insects swirled around it, and with every breath, it inhaled and exhaled clouds of insects and spores.

This was the very being symbolizing the natural will of the cave world’s ecosystem, a tier above the Heart of the Swarm of a single species like [Swarm]—the [Chǐ God]!

Byron had encountered it during his first exploration of the mines.

It lacked coherent self-awareness and killed according to rules, similar to the Old Gods steeped in the sea—it was a Bizarre that had "died."

However, what Byron hadn’t anticipated was that the Chǐ God’s transformation wasn’t over.

Its body suddenly blazed with colorful Divine Light, and the myriad worms and insects, which had been barely holding together, each with its own chaotic thoughts, began to merge into one.

Before Byron’s astonished gaze, it contorted, stretched, and finally transformed into a bizarre "lady" garbed in green tights, with a fiery red mane and a curvaceous figure.

And in her green eyes, there flickered the light of Human Nature, no longer the chaotic, diffuse consciousness of before.

Although only her face had transformed into a complete human visage, the humanoid body below the neck still resembled a tree stump hollowed out by insects, moss, and fungi.

It seemed to have merely shifted from one type of oddity to another, but Byron knew there was a fundamental difference between the two.

Has the Beastliness within it been somewhat balanced? Has it returned to its original state as a Nature Spirit? For humans, that would be... Resurrection? HISS!

Seeing the other’s half-human, half-Beast appearance, yet able to maintain its sanity, Byron drew a sharp intake of breath.

A sudden flash of insight in his brain seemed to connect many scattered memories and clues.

He couldn’t help but recall the various Bizarres he had previously encountered.

They were mostly composed of human souls and beasts. Because the [Beastliness] and [Divinity] within them were imbalanced, they ultimately presented this half-human, half-Beast appearance.

The ratio of Divinity to Beastliness differed, and similarly, the proportions of human and beast forms varied; the beastly aspects usually far outweighed the divine parts.

Even the Old Gods in eternal slumber were no different, having lost most of their Divinity for some unknown reason, retaining only their immensely vast Beastliness.

All the Old Gods Byron had seen, without exception, had something akin to a human head.

The [Thousand-Faced Serpent Hydra]’s neck bore a triangular, decayed human head, half-snake and half-human; the [Greedy Worm Mammon] possessed a humanoid gold mask; the [Slumbering God Kraken] had a fleshless skull—all were like this.

Considering the current state of this Chǐ God, Byron felt that Bizarres or Old Gods possessing human heads were likely in a state closest to regaining balance.

If they had a human head, they could control the Beastliness within and gradually restore their sanity.

Even in the mythological stories of Byron’s past life, there were many half-human, half-Beast monsters, among which those with human faces and animal bodies were often revered as gods or Ryūjin.

Especially since the [Chǐ God] before him had personally proven that the Fallen state was entirely reversible; even dead Old Gods could achieve Resurrection!

And the method was quite simple—eat humans!

For those Old Gods beyond specification, once they recover a complete human head and face like the [Chǐ God], they might no longer be easily exploitable rule-based Bizarres, but instead, truly come back to life. Then the Greedy Worm Mammon and the Slumbering God Kraken I have offended...???

This discovery, unexpected yet logically sound, sent a shiver down Byron’s spine.

And the Decryption Rate of the [Secret: The Shadow Behind the Red and White Rose War, Influence 31] rose from 78% to 82%.

At that moment, a familiar bout of maniacal laughter echoed through the mushroom forest.

"HAHAHA! Metamorphosis, replacement! The refined Blood of Transformation is clearly more effective than eating living humans raw. I didn’t waste the bulk of the Blood of Transformation I’d accumulated by feeding it to [Chǐ God Nora]. It took a full five months, but my beautiful Nora has finally recovered from her death-like state of lost selfhood. Moreover, the knowledge she has imparted to me has allowed me to take a crucial step forward."

Byron quickly set aside his thoughts and looked up, only to find many large black locusts still clinging to the body of the Chǐ God.

The Grand Wizard [Swarm] itself was composed of tens of thousands of palm-sized locusts, so it wasn’t hard to guess the identity of these black locusts.

At this moment, as Swarm’s voice fell, those locusts began to differentiate again.

They dispersed into the air as extremely fine black spores, which then whirled and converged into a thick spore cloud.

Then, mycelia extended and gradually gathered, forming a huge Fungus Person beside the Chǐ God, no shorter than her.

Underneath the vast mushroom cap was the sturdy body of a giant, with Swarm’s triumphant face emerging at the top.

This Grand Wizard had actually obtained a second form—the Fungus Person—through knowledge extracted from the Chǐ God.

It was just like how the Bloody Mary Faction, in addition to the [Night Demon], had another simplified Ghoul route: the [Gluttonous Lord].

Perhaps in the future, this type of Fungus Person would also become an important branch of the Book of Giant Insects sect.

At least in appearance, the Fungus Person was far more palatable than an Insect-man.

At the same time, Swarm’s voice sounded in the minds of all the disciples, including Byron, "My disciples, as far back as the Dark Millennium Era, we utilized the various Lilith-affiliated beings that invaded from the Old Continent’s World Rifts to analyze forbidden knowledge. Yet, despite nurturing the Mother of Creation, Lilith for so many years, we are still somewhat lacking for the third ritual, the [Crimson Holy Grail], needed to brew a cup of the Blood of Immortality. Chǐ God Nora has proven that, without relying on Lilith, we can also summarize and complete the corresponding knowledge from other existences on similar paths. At this moment, I have completed all the rituals of the [Rite·Fungus Person Colony]. I’ve gained a series of abilities, including a poisonous spore cloud, telepathy, colony regeneration... and many others. In the future, you too will have more choices. You can customize your species and gender at will, even become a multitude as one, or create an entire species by yourself!"

This widespread telepathy was clearly achieved through the spore cloud.

"Teacher is too strong."

"Long live Teacher! From now on, I am who I am, no longer defined by others."

"Teacher Swarm will eventually become the Grand Priest of the Bloodthirsty Cult!"

"..."

The Black Witches present, still fixated on matters of gender identity, erupted in cheers.

Only [Swarm], with its new senses, silently watched Byron, an almost uncontrollable, extreme Greed reverberating through the spore network:

Whether it’s the Fungus Person Colony or the Heart of the Swarm, there’s essentially no difference. Blood of Immortality! Only the Blood of Immortality can grant true undeath, even offsetting the costs required for any bloodline ascension ritual. Even the Saints of the Church desperately need this treasure to complete their essential transformation. The Cult’s ’Eternal Life Project’ has been ongoing for centuries without results. Now that the Bloody Mary Faction is annihilated, it’s time for us, the Book of Giant Insects sect, to take the lead and be more radical. Let’s start with this exceptionally talented test subject before us. Come with me to the holy land to face the Mother of Creation, Lilith, and become a living, affiliated being, forever listening to the Old Gods’ whispers.