What the hell are you projecting onto me!

"Rustle, rustle~ (Brother, you're alright!)"

The Tree Demon Leader exclaimed in surprise.

The other tree demons also began fussing over Ji Ruo, giving him the inexplicable feeling of a wandering scholar suddenly returning home.

Ji Ruo said, "Well, it's not exactly fine. That Wind God Falcon doesn't intend to let me go."

These tree demons were incredibly timid. The fact that they had braved their fear of the Wind God Falcon to charge into the range of its demonic aura—beneath that auntie's territory—already spoke volumes.

Regardless of whether these fellows had come here because of the [Sense of Immersion] skill, Ji Ruo had seen their sincerity.

Human and demon walked different paths. Ji Ruo couldn't get too close to these tree demons—everything before had just been playacting.

But after witnessing this sincerity firsthand, Ji Ruo couldn't bear to watch these fools wait beneath the Floating Island for tens of thousands of years. So, after a moment's deliberation, he suddenly said, "Here's the thing, Leader. The reason I showed up here is that the Wind God Falcon sensed your arrival. Moved by your sincerity, it sent me down to say goodbye."

Tree Demon Leader: "Rustle, rustle, rustle~ (Goodbye? What do you mean?)"

"I'm heading to the mountaintop." Ji Ruo feigned melancholy as he began spinning his tale.

"The Wind God Falcon is sending me and another brother to the mountaintop, for the Great Demons there to pick their teeth. They're huge and noble; ordinary trees aren't worthy of being their personal toothpicks. Only rare specimens like us tree demons barely qualify.

So, Leader, farewell. The other brother has already been sent over, and I'm next. Don't miss me, and don't try to save me. You live well. I'm glad to have known you, but please don't sacrifice your precious lives for me. It's already hard enough for us tree demons to survive in this Secret Realm.

If you truly can't bear to part with me, then live on even harder—for my sake too!"

With that, Ji Ruo stepped forward and hugged the Tree Demon Leader—and took the chance to jump up and pluck a few Spirit Fruits.

Ji Ruo waved his hand at these invisible tree demons and said, "Farewell, brothers. I'm off to deal with the tooth-picking problems of the Monster Beasts on the mountaintop. If there's a next life, we'll be brothers again!"

Then, Ji Ruo summoned a teleportation portal and returned to the Floating Island—the Wind God Falcon had been gone for nearly two hours and would likely be back soon. Ji Ruo dared not linger here.

On the Floating Island, only Liang Shixian remained as a human. Without the [Common Tongue], what if he accidentally got himself killed?

Blood Qi Power was once again down by a third, leaving only the final third.

Ji Ruo walked toward Liang Shixian's direction, casually pulling out a high-grade Spirit Fruit he couldn't name and taking a bite to speed up his Blood Qi Power recovery.

"Wah, wah, wah~"

Rosie was quietly crying on top of Ji Ruo's head.

Ji Ruo paused, then reached up and patted her little head. "What are you crying about, little one?"

"Meow~ meow~ meow~ wah wah wah wah. (Master, we're going to the mountaintop to deal with the Great Demons' tooth-picking problem. Can't we not go? It's so disgusting, Rosie's scared! Wah wah wah wah.)"

Ji Ruo: "???"

What the hell are you projecting for!

"I was lying to those tree demons!" Ji Ruo said irritably. "They're so timid, they'd never dare go to the mountaintop. At least they came to the Floating Island's base to try and save us—I couldn't just leave them hanging, could I?"

Rosie's emotions hit a snag.

I've already started crying, and you're telling me you were tricking the trees?

Mean master!

Ji Ruo ignored Rosie, who was throwing a little tantrum on his head, and walked while thinking.

From the looks of it, the teleportation function of this 'All-Encompassing Mirror' consumed a lot and couldn't be used consecutively.

He also didn't know yet whether the consumption was related to distance—the teleport from the Floating Island to the ground had already cost so much; teleporting back to Great Xia would likely be terrifying.

Ji Ruo couldn't use this thing to end the Martial Exam early.

And from the current situation, this ability's 'spatial coordinate recording' seemed to mark places he'd been or the locations of creatures he'd interacted with directly.

Now, the fifth day was almost half over. He had a day and a half left before he had to return. He'd just coast on the Floating Island.

After all, both of Wind God Falcon Auntie's children had become his 'disciples.'

As the saying goes, once a teacher, always a father. In theory, Ji Ruo counted as Wind God Falcon Auntie's husband—cough, anyway, in the Wind God Falcon's nest, Ji Ruo was absolutely safe.

No doubt about that.

What Ji Ruo didn't know was that after he left.

That group of tree demons fell into a long silence because of his words.

The Tree Demon Leader suddenly trembled all over, its crown leaves shaking violently.

"Rustle, rustle~ (Too much bullying of trees! Too much bullying of trees!)"

"Rustle, rustle, rustle~ (Toothpicks? Toothpicks? Toothpicks!)"

"Rustle, rustle, rustle~ (Those Great Demons and Great Devils living on the mountaintop oppress trees too much!)"

"Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle~ (Our Fertilizer Tree brother's words make me tremble with rage. In this heat, leaves turn yellow and fall, roots go cold. Can this Secret Realm still be saved? We tree demons have already withdrawn from the world, just basking in the sun and drinking water to get by. How must we live for them to be satisfied? Tree sap flows out unbidden. This Secret Realm is filled with oppression against tree demons. When will we tree demons truly stand up!)"

Its emotions spread through the falling leaves and the trembling roots beneath the ground to every tree demon.

They empathized. All the tree demons grew furious.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle~ (I can't take it anymore! Our tree demon clan finally produced two Divine Trees essential for travel and daily life. We tree demons could have been completely self-sufficient!

Toothpicks! Those damned mountaintop Great Demons are using our Divine Tree brothers as toothpicks!

I can't stand it!)"

"Rustle~ (Brothers, we must unite and rescue our Divine Tree brothers!)" The Tree Demon Leader shook its branches wildly. "Rustle rustle~ (We must prove to the other demons that we tree demons are no worse than any of them!)"

Once we rescue the Divine Tree brothers, I'll personally pair them up for breeding!

We live in peace, we root by day and migrate by night, we must hold our heads high and be proud tree demons!)"

The other tree demons responded in kind: "Rustle rustle~ (Right! Right! Right!)"

Their crude emotions were stirred, their sluggish feelings erupting in this moment.

A surge of fervor!

Of course, there were still some clearer-headed tree demons.

"Shasha~ (I understand all that, but chief, how do we actually rescue the Divine Tree brothers? We can't beat those big guys at the mountaintop!)"

"Rustle~ (Go find the Ancestor! Rally the tree demon brothers from other places! We must unite—unity is strength!)" The Tree Demon Leader called out to everyone.

"Compromise only invites more encroachment and oppression! We must unite, we must resist! Only resistance can make us grow into straight, towering trees!"

"Rustle~ (Resist! Resist!)"

"Rustle~ (Unite! Unite!)"

"Rustle, rustle~ (No compromise! No compromise!)"

They began to migrate once more, seeking their Ancestor and other tree demon brothers, determined to unite and rescue the Divine Tree brothers from the mountaintop!

Of course, the two Divine Tree brothers knew nothing of all this.

At some unknown point, among the lower-ranked demon clans or monsters, individuals of exceptional intelligence began to appear—goblins who could standardize farming and speak human tongues, or the Tree Demon Leader who could incite revolution.

It all seemed to have started over a hundred years ago.

These exceptionally intelligent low-ranked demon individuals appeared to be leading their clans toward prosperity through their remarkable wisdom, granting their kin a better life.

But time always proved that they were, in various ways, steering their clans into the abyss of extinction.

These extinction events occurred so coincidentally that no demon or monster ever noticed the pattern.

Yet the number of demons and monsters within the Secret Realm was slowly being consumed, dwindling year by year.

As if an invisible, massive hand was scheming and driving everything from the shadows.

Even the tree demons, the most gentle of clans, had now developed a will to resist—as if heralding—

The heavens above Ten Thousand Beast Mountain were about to change.

Thank you to reader 'Xun Mozhu' for the 500-point tip~

Thank you to reader 'longteng4' for the 100-point tip~

Thank you to brother 'Red of That Night' for the 1500-point tip~

Thank you to reader 'Last Three Days' for the 100-point tip~

PS: The setting about firearms being useless has been revised—they're not unusable, just relatively less lethal.