Not only him, but all the orcs of the Wushan tribe were unable to move.
"Do you know what this is?" Mu Qi lifted Quan Feng's arm, tears welling in his eyes as he laughed. He played with the pale green crystal in his hand, looking at Quan Feng with a cruel yet pitying gaze. "This is something taken out of the brain of your Wu Qing Priest."
Looking at the immobilized beastmen, Mu Qi sneered, "As long as it's here, you have no way to kill me. You can only stay like this, unable to move at all."
Ze, Bao Qiu, and Lang Yu had taken advantage of the chaos to approach earlier, but Mu Qi had already sensed it. He raised his voice and said, "Stop now if you don't want them to be burned alive!"
The three were forced to stop by Mu Qi.
Upon hearing Mu Qi's words, Shen Nong realized that the spirit core in his hand belonged to the previous priest of the Wushan tribe.
I finally understand what loyalty means to orcs who have been awakened and promoted by priests.
Rather than being "loyal" to the priest, it's more like the soul core's self-protection.
Orcs who have been awakened or advanced by a spirit core are unable to kill the owner of the spirit core. If they do, they will end up like Inu-kaze and the others.
I can't move at all.
Unless another spiritual core replaces the remaining spiritual core power in their bodies, they will not be able to be free from the control of the previous spiritual core.
But if the wood-type spirit core in Mu Qi's hand is Wu Qing, how could Wu Qing possibly be no match for Mu Qi?
That's a level six wood-type spirit core...
Not only did he lose the fight, but he was also imprisoned in a cliffside cave by Mu Qi for over a year. If he had superpowers, why didn't he escape?
Shen Nong paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered the rumors about the spiritual cores of superhumans.
When a person with superpowers suffers extreme torture, they will generate a large number of mental fluctuations. These fluctuations are the best nourishment for the spiritual core's spiritual power, with effects comparable to energy stones.
The pain one endures in order to generate this kind of mental fluctuation is worse than death.
Some superhumans who want to advance quickly might try this method, but they all give up shortly after starting.
Because the pain is so intense, some people even experience a complete mental breakdown.
The military uses this method to select the strongest soldiers, and it has been revealed that the longest they have persisted is one month.
Perhaps Wu Qing didn't have the ability to awaken wood-type superpowers, which is why he didn't use his superpowers to save himself.
The reason why Mu Qi extracted the spirit core in such a cruel way after imprisoning Wu Qing for a year, and why the spirit core was of such a high level, is now explained.
Shen Nong simply couldn't imagine how Wu Qing had spent those dozen or so months refining this level-six spirit core.
The raging fire was like a shield for Mu Qi, protecting him from everything, while Quan Feng and the others were his protective charms, making Shen Nong and the others feel restricted.
Unable to bear watching the Wushan tribesmen be burned to death, Shen Nong immediately manipulated the vines to wrap the immobile beastmen, thus isolating them from the flames.
Quan Feng frowned. He knew that because of them, Yingxi and the others could no longer harm Mu Qi.
He absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen. Quanfeng shouted, "Don't worry about us! Kill Muqi!"
The flames quickly burned away the vines that Shen Nong had wrapped around them, and Quan Feng and the others were able to move freely as long as they did not attack Mu Qi.
Without needing to say anything more, the other members of the Wushan tribe quickly moved away from Shen Nong's vines, unwilling to be protected within them any longer.
They scattered in the sea of fire, and Ti Ze, Bao Qiu, and Lang Yu found a path with the least amount of flames.
"Come quick!"
As the three of them set off, Yingxi soared and circled in the air.
He searched for a long time before finally spotting Shen Nong's figure amidst the billowing smoke. He immediately flew over, dropping the crystal he was carrying and shouting, "Priestess of the Wood Tribe!"
Shen Nong looked up upon hearing the sound, recognized what Yingxi had thrown, and immediately manipulated the vines to wrap around it.
After obtaining the crystal, he immediately used it to extinguish the raging sea of fire.
At this moment, Shen Nong was covered in sweat, and her hair and clothes clung tightly to her skin, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.
The flames suddenly disappeared, catching everyone off guard.
Taking advantage of the opening, Shen Nong knocked the spirit core out of Mu Qi's hand and shouted, "Ze! Take that spirit core!"
Ze reacted quickly, picking up the spirit core in front of the withered vines controlled by Mu Qi.
Shen Nong's bright eyes were filled with anger. "Leopard Autumn, you take the people of Wushan Tribe and leave!"
The orcs of the Wushan tribe were so badly burned that they collapsed on the ground, unable to even maintain their beast forms.
After the sea of fire disappeared, Lu Chun and the others were finally able to get closer. After hearing Shen Nong's words, they helped Bao Qiu and Lang Yu lead the beastmen of Wushan Tribe away from this area.
Previously, Shen Nong had been suppressing her special ability to make the fire even more ferocious, fearing it would make the flames even more intense.
Now that the sea of fire is gone, Shen Nong no longer keeps it.
The ground cracked open, and thick roots sprouted from underground. Mu Qi's brow twitched; he realized something was wrong and immediately tried to run.
No matter how he runs or where he goes, a few sharp spikes will appear on the ground a second before he lands.
Several roots swept in from all sides, and Mu Qi had no choice but to endure the excruciating pain in his feet and manipulate the withered vines to resist.
Shen Nong looked at Mu Qi's pained and contorted face, snorted coldly, and suddenly raised her slender fingertips, sending out several more vines.
Mu Qi had already used all his strength to control the withered vines to resist the thick root system, so he had no extra strength left to resist the vines.
His neck was entangled by vines, which slowly tightened, robbing him of his breath. Before long, Mu Qi completely gave up resisting.
Ze suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed beside Mu Qi, dislocating the joints of Mu Qi's arms and legs, rendering him unable to move.
Mu Qi screamed repeatedly, his neck veins bulging, and he was covered in cold sweat.
Shen Nong wrapped vines around Mu Qi's waist, pulled him close, and used the vines to hold his head in place, making sure Mu Qi's face was facing her before asking, "How did you know you could control other people's spirit cores to use superpowers, and how did you know the method to make a spirit core's level skyrocket?"
Mu Qi didn't want to pay attention to the other party. He was in excruciating pain, and no one except the High Priest had ever dared to make him suffer like this.
But the other party's two questions were different from before; they asked him what he wanted to do with the spirit core.
Instead, they asked him how he "knew these methods".
It means that the person in front of you also knows everything behind the scenes, but you're just wondering how he knows it.
Mu Qi sized up Shen Nong, thinking about his powerful ability to control wood. Apart from people from Beast City, there couldn't possibly be another priest who could control natural abilities.
He countered, "Are you from Beast City?"
“No.” Shen Nong tightened the vines around Mu Qi’s waist. “Answer my question.”
Mu Qi lowered his eyes. He had been out for so long but had not completed the task assigned by the High Priest. Going back would only mean certain death.
He didn't believe that the orcs of the Wushan tribe would let him continue to live.
The person in front of him knew all the secrets of the crystal, and Mu Qi couldn't be sure if he would be tortured and have the crystal removed from his brain.
Rather than be tormented to death by pain, it's better to...
With a slight twitch of his fingertips, Mu Qi heard a muffled "poof" as the withered vine pierced his heart.
...
Shen Nong used the carving knife he bought from the system to carve the last stroke on the wooden board. As he finished, he heard a system notification.
[Ding - Upon inspection, the host possesses two level-six spirit cores, one level-four spirit core, and one high-grade energy stone.]
[Ding - Host can use Spirit Cores/Energy Stones to exchange for android warriors in the System Shop - AI Sub-City]
[Analog warriors, men and women, young and old, tall and short, fat and thin—you name it, they have it. If you can imagine it, the store has it! What are you waiting for? Grab yours now!]
Upon hearing the advertising slogan, Shen Nong typed into the system, "Did your advertising department replace their AI?"
The system asked in surprise, "No, what's wrong?"
"Before, you guys would send me comments telling me which planet and which people got it, but now you're directly urging me to buy it."
Oh, it hasn't been placed yet.
As she spoke, Shen Nong saw the screen filled with bullet comments, all of which, without exception, listed how many people on which planet had already purchased the product.
Shen Nong: ...Okay.
The system subtly encouraged, "So, host, are you going to buy it? Our android warriors are incredibly powerful."
Shen Nong blew away the sawdust from the wooden board and said calmly, "Okay, I'll give you a discount."
The system shuddered upon hearing those three words, but for the sake of its commission, it had no choice but to ask, "How much discount do you want?"
"Same as always, 30% off."
The system shuddered again, "Who's going to follow the old rules with him!"
5% off!
"40% off".
[10% off!]
Shen Nong clicked her tongue. "50% off."
[Host, why don't you just grab it when it's 50% off! Go for 15% off!]
Shen Nong thoroughly cleaned the sawdust off the wooden board in her hand, then put the carving knife back into the system's inventory, saying nonchalantly, "I won't buy it."
The system gritted its teeth and said, "25% off! That's the biggest discount I can offer!"
Shen Nong's lips curled up slightly, "I'm giving you this much face today."
Mu Qi's own spiritual core was extracted directly from the system's data without anyone noticing; not a single hair on his head was lost.
The energy stone belonged to the Wushan tribe. Shen Nong did not keep it for herself and planned to give it to Quan Feng after he woke up, letting the Wushan tribe handle it themselves.
Shen Nong also placed the other two level-six spirit cores in the system warehouse along with the energy stones.
He only intended to keep Mu Qi's spirit core as a trophy.
How do I replace this?
The system displayed the trading rules to Shen Nong. After reading them, Shen Nong asked, "So, to purchase android warriors, the required aura is the spiritual power contained within the spirit core or energy stone, right?"
The system sensed something was off about its host's tone, yet it was also strangely familiar. It cautiously glanced through the rules and carefully replied, "That's how it is."
Shen Nong drawled, "Oh—"
The system code shuddered, sensing something was wrong.
Then it heard its host say, "So, as long as it's energy, it'll do, right? So, I can also use the spiritual power in my spirit core to exchange for android warriors, right?"
The system froze completely. It reviewed the rules several times but couldn't find a single word that said this was wrong.