Chapter 199. Demons and Monsters (23) Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array?

     Ye Mo had not expected to receive such an invitation so close to the end of the Demons and Monsters dungeon. The battle 30,000 years ago must involve the core secrets of this world, and danger accompanied opportunity.

     Without a doubt, she wouldn’t refuse, but she needed to return to the half-demon base to make some arrangements.

      This point, most demon race leaders could still understand.

     This time, they had all brought the most valiant warriors from their clans, all for the sake of seeking ancient inheritance. How could the half-demons at the base not be tempted?

     There were also a very few impatient and irritable demons.

     Fortunately, there are all kinds of new things in the mission hall of the base, and the half-demon base also coveted many of the large-scale demon tribe’s resources—not just energy, as powerful demons might carry their own treasures.  

     Things like feathers, shed skins, or even poisonous fruits similar to the Taro Demon’s produce.  

     Speaking of the Taro Demons, it’s worth mentioning that they had already emerged from the life space. The Half-Demon Base had established a long-term supply relationship with the Taro Demon tribe. Meanwhile, the even more unfortunate Raven Demon, due to its invasion incident, had signed a semi-employment contract with the half-demon base and was now working at the mission hall. His fellow demons seemed to have already forgotten about him.  

     Both sides had their own demands, and negotiations quickly began. However, one side was clearly outmatched in the discussions—the gap between trained negotiators and mindless brutes was quite apparent. In any case, this bought the half-demon base plenty of buffer time to prepare.  

     Soon after, the second-in-command, Feng, arrived.  

     Ye Mo rejected the suggestion of having Feng entertain the other demon tribes, instead delegating the task to other half-demons and a squad of guards. She instructed Feng to summon all the half-demons of the base for a meeting at the central square in front of the conference hall.  

     No leave was permitted unless for urgent matters.  

     …

     Since there are more and more half-demons in the half-demons base, Ye Mo hasn’t held a meeting for a long time. Seeing the noisy team with more and more people, she was deeply moved.

     Feng: “Quiet!”

     The half-demons obediently quieted down. In an era without a fully established legal system, leaders naturally commanded such authority—and Feng had adapted to this role quite well.  

     Ye Mo snapped out of her sentimental thoughts and began to give instructions regarding the base.

     Having been preparing all along, there actually wasn’t much to instruct.

     It was more like reiterating key points as if making a will, to prevent the half-demon base from descending into chaos due to the struggle for leadership after she left the dungeon. This world was different from the Spring and Autumn period, a sudden disappearance could lead to great danger.

     First, acknowledge and solidify Feng’s position. She had privately given Feng a considerable amount of cultivation resources. A leader’s strength was also very important, and this favoritism was necessary. Second, chat with the other regional leaders. Third, hand a new spatial bracelet to Feng, inside which were mountains of equipment and weapons, but the most valuable items were books, audio recordings, and video recordings. Fourth, how to interact with other demon races, including the escort mission for the base’s water algae demons.

     Lastly, reiterate the core ideology of the base and express her heartfelt hopes to the half-demons.

     Ye Mo truly wasn’t hiding anything now. Not only the leaders headed by Feng, but more and more half-demons were sensing something. The atmosphere was heavy.

     A particularly emotional half-demon suddenly began to sob, and many ignorant half-demon cubs followed suit, crying loudly even though they didn’t understand why. They were just following the trend like kindergarten children.

     “…”

     Feng couldn’t help but say, “If that place is dangerous, you really shouldn’t go.”

     He had always addressed her as “Leader or Chief”—as did all the half-demons in the base. Hearing this familiar yet strangely distant form of address^[1]The shift from formal “首领” (Leader) to the more personal “你” (you) now felt just a little unfamiliar.  

     “It’s not about the Burial Grounds,” Ye Mo denied firmly. “This has nothing to do with that.”

     Due to the base’s education on belonging, the emotions of the vast majority of the half-demons were becoming richer, and the sadness of parting grew increasingly intense.

     Those that flew in the sky, swam in the water, ran on the ground, and grew in the soil – ninety days ago, they had been strangers. Perhaps they still were, in some ways. But now, they all bore the indelible mark of the Half-Demon Base—the mark of Ye Mo.

     While waiting for them to finalize the teams going to the Burial Grounds, Ye Mo had to comfort the half-demon cubs on the side.

     She stroked the little tiger’s fur, tugged at the cobra’s tail, and pulled at the grass growing on the little stone monster’s head, telling them to study hard and improve every day.

     One person was truly very busy.

     Forget about the adult monsters, don’t come to join in the fun, At their size, they barely even look like the cute cubs.

     …

    Ten hours have passed.

     Ye Mo and a team of nearly a hundred half-monsters appeared in front of the mission hall again. Watson, the elder of the algae monster, and a young algae monster were also hidden in the team. This was the departure lineup of the half-monster base.

     When leaving the mission hall of the half-monster base, some monster leaders were reluctant to leave, and they had completely forgotten their disdain for the half-monster base before coming.

     The mighty team finally set off.

     The journey ahead was very safe. No matter how blind the Monsters were, they wouldn’t ignore the overwhelming pressure of so many strong individuals and directly try to strike a comet with an egg – that would be asking for death.

     However, some demons who had heard information about the burial ground followed them from a distance.

     Ye Mo didn’t care, but some demon leaders, fearing that other demons would come out to snatch good things, drove them away and even tried to exterminate them. The other demon races who hadn’t taken action quite agreed with this.

     Essentially, this was still a cruel and cold-blooded world.

     The various demon races were also very childish at times. They had to compete over who was ahead or behind while traveling. Not long after setting off, fights broke out between races over minor quarrels, eventually escalating into a melee, and the journey forward had to be halted because of this.

     It really was a very trashy team.

     “I’m starting to doubt if we’ll even reach our destination before leaving this world,” Ye Mo muttered, leading the half-demons to silently watch at the edge of the chaotic battle, occasionally chatting with Watson.

     “Definitely not!”

     A booming voice joined in.

     Wang Xue, the woman whose appearance was becoming increasingly rugged, finally managed to say her first words to Ye Mo and Watson since arriving in this world, taking advantage of the chaos.

     Although there was still a considerable distance between them.

     The half-demons immediately cast wary glances at her, but Ye Mo stopped them with a look. Since there were mental-type fox demons in the group, she also didn’t use any illusions.

     “I’m your leader’s and Watson’s best partner, got it?” Wang Xue said with a smug and annoying expression. “Look there, there, and there. It’s rare to see strong members of your own kind fighting. If you don’t take the opportunity to learn and improve your strength, what are you looking at me for?”

     “Wang Xue,” Ye Mo stopped her from fooling around.

     The affectionate tone made the half-demons lower their guard, and some even accepted Wang Xue’s guidance, seriously watching the battle between powerful individuals who might share their talents or some of their physiology.

     “Oh, the tears of a strong woman!” Wang Xue chattered incessantly. “Do you two know what kind of hard life I’ve been living these past few dozen days? Not eating well, not staying warm, and for the first time in my life, I was despised for being small and useless. If Sister Jing hadn’t occasionally sent equipment and medicine, I really would have died in that primitive tribe.”

     The invisible Watson chimed in: “Sounds like your life has been quite exciting.”

     “Exciting doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Wang Xue shook her head. “There were also ironclad rules, a class system like a slave society, and a brutal team elimination system. I didn’t dare release my Xiǎolóng lóng for even a single day. It was absolutely suffocating.”

     “At least you’re a lot stronger.”

     “Right? Pressure either breaks you or makes you… well, not perverted, pui! It’s makes you grow.” Another reason Wang Xue was reluctant to leave the human race was that this place was really good for training people. Their ability improvement methods were practically tailor-made for her.

     The three of them chatted idly for a while, and it felt like no time had passed at all despite their long separation.

     Seeing that the demons in the melee were starting to decrease, Wang Xue slipped away again like a gust of wind. Her speed had increased several dozen times, allowing her to move in and out of the demon battle as if nothing were there.

     The melee ended, and the instigators on both sides suffered casualties. Under the lure of the burial ground, the group continued forward as if nothing had happened.

     The journey was full of stumbles.

     But thanks to these stumbles, Ye Mo had the opportunity to make several more spatial anchor points.

     If the burial ground truly held inheritance or treasures that could make the demons relive the past, leading to a life-or-death struggle, the half-demons would be able to use spatial teleportation to escape the battlefield.

     Ye Mo had also worried about this issue, but the burial ground didn’t belong only to the demon race, it also belonged to the half-demons. Danger and opportunity coexisted, and she respected the half-demons’ own choices.

     …

     On the third night before leaving the copy, the destination was finally reached.

     The burial ground is not desolate. 30,000 years have passed. This place has merged with the forest. Just like the trees that are taller and more luxuriant than the surrounding ones, the spiritual energy here is also slightly richer.

     A wolf clan elder howled towards the sky, saying, “It’s fading again! The spiritual energy here is weakening bit by bit, almost declining once every hundred years. Soon it will be on par with other places.”

     All the demon races looked towards the half-demon group.

     Under the gaze of so many eyes, Ye Mo’s attention wasn’t on them. She murmured to herself, “Metal, wood, water, fire, earth are all present, evenly distributed. Could this be a Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array?”

     It was precisely because all five elements were present that the demon races had fought over the territory of the burial ground for twenty thousand years. Ten thousand years ago, there were still several super clans living here, but when the spiritual energy became insufficient to withstand its dangers, the demon races moved away one after another.

     However, due to the special nature of the burial ground, the large demon races had never stopped exploring and pondering this place, especially the elders within the demon races who were over a thousand years old.

     “Spirit Gathering Array, this thing?” A black and white bear demon asked, holding a round metal disc.

     Ye Mo: “It looks like it, but it’s not certain.”

    If it really is a Spirit Gathering Array, it’s far too large. Just thinking about the strength of the experts back then, probably close to demigods, or even gods, you can imagine how vast this forest is.

     However, since we’re here, we definitely have to explore.

     “Hawk Eye, 360-degree vision.”

     Ye Mo took the lead and stepped into the Burial Forest. The various demon races followed suit, scrambling to keep up. not just on the ground, but even bird demons clashing midair over territorial dominance.