Root of Magic

"Too bad. I just got my assembly line set up and didn’t even get to enjoy farming essence orbs to my heart's content before it was gone."

Blinking, Ye Chuan stared at the familiar ceiling above him, seemingly lost in thought. He reached out and touched his body—no longer the skeletal form of a monster but restored to his normal human self.

His "little brother" had returned too.

Truly, a man must never lose his roots.

Sitting up, Ye Chuan checked the entrance to the adventure world and found that the game realm had vanished. After all, it was a one-time dungeon—gone the moment he logged out.

But the haul from this run was staggering: millions of essence orbs!

Ye Chuan snapped his fingers and called out into the air, "Lilith."

"......"

"Lilith?"

When there was no response, Ye Chuan grabbed the pendant hanging from his neck and was about to put it in his mouth when a flash of violet light erupted. A small hand materialized from the void and forcefully pushed his face away.

"What are you trying to do?!"

Lilith emerged from the jade pendant, her furious expression more akin to an angry kitten than anything remotely threatening.

Meanwhile, Ye Chuan crossed his arms and casually propped one leg over the other.

"Lilith, massage my legs."

Lilith: "Hah?"

She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

"I collected a lot of essence orbs," Ye Chuan said with a grin.

"Pfft, just some measly soul energy," Lilith scoffed, unimpressed. Did he really think that was enough to make her serve him? Not a chance.

Of course, Ye Chuan was only joking. He still needed Lilith’s help when the time came to settle the score with the Qingyun Sect.

"Follow me." Ye Chuan got up and headed toward the training room—the only space large enough for what he had in mind.

Though puzzled, Lilith floated after him.

Once inside the spacious training area, Lilith tilted her head. "What’s with the secrecy? You really gathered that many essence orbs?" She doubted it could be anything significant.

"Just a small haul," Ye Chuan said before summoning the essence orbs.

The moment millions of them materialized, a torrent of soul energy swirled around him like a raging river. Even Lilith, with all her experience, was momentarily stunned by the sheer volume.

"Did you... slaughter an entire city?" Lilith frowned. The essence orbs didn’t carry the usual cold, sinister aura of demonic creatures, making their origin suspicious.

"Slaughter a city?" Ye Chuan thought for a moment. "Not really. I don’t know why they dropped so many, but it was definitely legit."

"Legit?"

"Yeah, legit." Ye Chuan nodded.

Very legit.

A horde of skeleton monsters getting farmed by thousands of players, culminating in a revenge-fueled inspirational tale.

What could be more righteous than that?

Lilith’s eyes gleamed as she eagerly began absorbing the essence orbs. The energy surged into her body like a flood, a process that lasted over an hour before the last orb vanished.

When Lilith opened her eyes again, violet light shimmered in her pupils. She took a deep breath, and countless magic circles enveloped her body.

Gradually, her form transformed—her petite figure giving way to a curvaceous, long-legged beauty.

Barefoot, she lightly stepped on the air, her presence now overwhelmingly powerful.

"Heh... my strength has finally returned, at least in part," Lilith murmured, her voice laced with lazy amusement. Her demeanor had shifted entirely, exuding a mature, almost languid confidence.

"So, what do you think?" she asked Ye Chuan.

"Bigger chest."

"......" Lilith rolled her eyes at his shallow response before elegantly crossing her legs as if sitting on an invisible chair.

"Well... Ye Chuan, want a little gift?" Her tone was playful.

"What kind of gift?"

"Guess."

"Last time you gave me a mana-regenerating Holy Grail. How about an infinite-health Holy Grail this time?" Ye Chuan joked.

Lilith felt like he was treating her like a wish-granting dragon, but she didn’t mind. It seemed her temper had mellowed along with her new form.

Rumor had it that temper was inversely proportional to bust size—flat-chested girls with screws for brains were the most volatile.

With a flick of her finger, a glowing orb materialized above her hand.

Ye Chuan recognized it.

"Isn’t that the same orb you used on Ye Yue last time?"

"Similar." Before he could react, the orb merged into his body—

[Item: Root Magic (Peerless)

The power of magic’s origin. Equipping this replaces all magic with [Root Magic].

Each new spell learned enhances [Root] potency.

Root Magic counters all magical attributes and cannot be blocked.

Fundamental Spells: Root Surge, Root Restoration, Root Slash...]

After studying it for a while, Ye Chuan looked up, puzzled. "What’s so special about this? Countering all magic sounds strong, but is it really ‘Peerless’ tier?"

Among the Peerless-tier abilities he knew of, Bai Qianshuang’s Innate Dao Body allowed absurdly rapid cultivation growth, while his own Chaos Immortal Body made him nearly immune to all rule-based spells.

The Holy Grail provided near-infinite mana regeneration, and Ye Yue’s Cognitive Pollution was a game-breaking debuff that could cripple an opponent’s strength by 80% before a fight even began.

But this Root Magic...?

"Mastering Root Magic means comprehending the very essence of magic," Lilith explained, seeing his confusion. "You can cast any spell you imagine—limited only by your creativity and mana reserves."

"Wait, seriously?" Ye Chuan’s eyes lit up with realization.

"Indeed. But given your current level, you won’t be able to wield it fully yet." Lilith yawned. "Absorbing so much soul energy has worn me out. I need some rest."

With that, she pointed at the jade pendant on Ye Chuan’s chest—shattering it instantly.

The fragments hovered in the air before being absorbed by Lilith.

"My soul is strong enough now—I no longer need a vessel," she declared. "Starting today, I’ll be staying in the room you prepared."

"Oh?"

Ye Chuan had no objections.

But just as Lilith was about to leave the training room, she paused mid-step. Without turning back, she spoke softly.

"Ye Chuan."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Ye Chuan was taken aback. By the time he turned to look, she was already gone.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"You’re welcome."