What the Hell Are You Imagining?!

"Rustle~ (Bro, you're okay!)"

The Tree Demon Leader exclaimed in delight.

The other tree demons also fussed over Ji Ruo, making him feel as if he were a student returning home after a long trip away.

Ji Ruo said, "It's not that I'm in trouble. That Wind God Falcon has no intention of letting me go."

These tree demons were timid to a fault. The fact that they'd overcome their fear of the Wind God Falcon and ventured into the area covered by its demonic aura—beneath that auntie's territory—said a lot.

Whether they'd come here because of the influence of the [Sense of Immersion] skill or not, Ji Ruo had seen the good intentions behind it.

Humans and demons followed different paths. Ji Ruo couldn't get too close to these tree demons—everything that had happened before had just been an act.

But after seeing their sincerity with his own eyes, Ji Ruo couldn't bear to leave them foolishly waiting beneath the Floating Island for tens of thousands of years. So, after a moment's thought, he suddenly said, "Here's the thing, Chief. The reason I showed up here is that the Wind God Falcon sensed your arrival. She was moved by your kindness and sent me down to say goodbye."

The Tree Demon Leader rustled. "Rustle rustle~ (Say goodbye? What do you mean?)"

"I'm going to the mountaintop." Ji Ruo put on a sorrowful expression and began to spin his tale.

"The Wind God Falcon is sending me and another brother up there so the Great Demons can use us to pick their teeth. They're huge and noble, and ordinary trees aren't worthy of becoming their personal toothpicks. Only treasures among tree demons like us barely qualify.

"So, Chief, this is goodbye. The other brother's already been sent up, and my turn is coming soon. Don't miss me, and don't come to save me. Just stay alive. I'm glad I got to know you, but please don't throw away your precious lives for my sake. It's hard enough for us tree demons to survive in this Secret Realm.

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

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

Ji Ruo waved at the tree demons he couldn't see. "Goodbye, brothers. I'm off to deal with the food stuck in the teeth of the beasts on the mountaintop. If there's another life, let's be brothers again!"

After that, Ji Ruo summoned a portal and returned to the Floating Island. The Wind God Falcon had been gone for nearly two hours and would probably be back soon. Ji Ruo didn't dare waste any more time here.

Liang Shixian was the only human on the Floating Island now, and he didn't have [Common Tongue]. What if he accidentally got himself killed?

His Blood Qi Power had been drained by another third, leaving only the last third.

Ji Ruo headed toward Liang Shixian, casually pulled out an advanced Spirit Fruit whose name he didn't know, and bit into it to speed up his recovery.

"Waaah..."

Rosie sobbed softly on top of Ji Ruo's head.

Ji Ruo paused and rubbed her little head. "Why are you crying, little one?"

"Meow~ meow~ meow~ waaah! (Master, we're going to the mountaintop to deal with the food stuck in the Great Demons' teeth. Can we not go? It's so gross! Rosie's scared! Waaah!)"

Ji Ruo: "???"

What the hell are you imagining?!

"I was lying to those tree demons!" Ji Ruo said irritably. "They're so timid, they'd never dare go to the mountaintop. Besides, they came beneath the Floating Island because they meant to save us. We can't just leave them to it, can we?"

Rosie's emotions instantly went off the rails.

I've already cried my eyes out, and now you're telling me you were lying to the trees?

Bad master!

Ji Ruo ignored Rosie's little tantrum on his head and kept walking, lost in thought.

It seemed that the All-Encompassing Mirror's teleportation function consumed a lot of energy. He couldn't use it repeatedly.

He also didn't yet know whether the energy cost depended on distance. Teleporting from the Floating Island to the ground had already cost so much; teleporting back to Great Xia would probably take even more.

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

And judging by the current situation, the ability's "spatial coordinate recording" seemed to mark places he'd visited or the locations of beings he'd had some concrete interaction with.

It was already nearly halfway through the fifth day. He'd be due to go back in another day and a half, so he might as well keep killing time on the Floating Island.

Besides, both of Aunt Wind God Falcon's children had already become his "disciples."

As the saying went, a teacher for a day was a father for life. In theory, that made Ji Ruo something like Aunt Wind God Falcon's husband. Ahem. In any case, Ji Ruo was absolutely safe in the Wind God Falcon's Nest.

There was no need to doubt that.

What Ji Ruo didn't know was that, after he left, the tree demons fell into a long silence over what he'd said.

The Tree Demon Leader suddenly began to tremble, its leaves shaking violently overhead.

"Rustle~ (This is too much! They're bullying trees!)"

"Rustle rustle~ (Picking teeth? Picking teeth? Picking teeth!)"

"Rustle rustle~ (Those Great Demons and Great Demon Monsters living on the mountaintop have gone too far in bullying trees!)"

"Rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle~ (The words of our Fertilizer Tree brother have me shaking with rage! In this sweltering heat, my leaves are turning yellow and falling off, and my roots are freezing! Can this Secret Realm get any worse? We tree demons have always minded our own business. We can get by every day just basking in the sun and drinking water. What will it take for them to be satisfied? Sap's leaking out of me! This Secret Realm is full of oppression against tree demons. When will we finally stand tall?)"

Its feelings spread to every tree demon through its shaking leaves and the trembling roots beneath the ground.

They empathized, and all the tree demons grew furious.

"Rustle rustle rustle~ (I can't take it anymore! Our tree demon clan finally has two Divine Trees, essentials for life at home and on the road. We tree demons can be completely self-sufficient!

"Picking teeth! Those damn Great Demons on the mountaintop are actually using our Divine Tree brothers to pick their teeth!

"I can't take it anymore!)"

"Rustle~ (Brothers, let's unite! We have to save our Divine Tree brothers!)" The Tree Demon Leader shook its branches wildly. "Rustle rustle rustle~ (We have to prove to the other demons that we tree demons are no worse than anyone else!

"Once we've rescued our Divine Tree brothers, I'll personally find them mates!

"We'll live in peace and contentment. We'll root ourselves by day and migrate by night. We'll hold our heads high and be proud tree demons!)"

The other tree demons chimed in. "Rustle rustle rustle~ (That's right! That's right! That's right!)"

Their simple emotions had been stirred up, and their sluggish feelings erupted in that moment.

The crowd was fired up!

Of course, some tree demons were still clearheaded.

"Rustle~ (I understand all that, Chief, but how are we supposed to save our Divine Tree brothers? We can't beat those big guys on the mountaintop!)"

"Rustle~ (We'll go find our ancestor! We'll gather the tree demon brothers from the other places! We have to unite—unity is strength!)" The Tree Demon Leader rallied everyone.

"Rustle rustle rustle~ (Giving in will only bring even more encroachment and oppression! We have to unite! We have to resist! Only by resisting can we grow into towering trees that stand straight and tall!)"

"Rustle~ (Resist! Resist!)"

"Rustle~ (Unite! Unite!)"

"Rustle~ (Never give in! Never give in!)"

They began migrating again, heading off to find their ancestor and their other tree demon brothers. They would unite and go to the mountaintop to save their Divine Tree brothers!

Of course, those two Divine Tree brothers knew nothing about any of this.

At some point, exceptionally intelligent individuals had begun to appear now and then among low-rank demons and demonic beasts. For example, there were Goblins who knew how to organize crop planting and speak human language, and then there was the Tree Demon Leader, who knew how to incite a revolution.

It all seemed to have started more than a hundred years ago.

These exceptionally intelligent low-rank demon and demonic-beast individuals appeared to use their outstanding intelligence to lead their tribes to prosperity and a better life.

But time always proved that, in reality, they were using all sorts of methods to lead their respective tribes into the abyss of extinction.

Each of these extinction events happened by such a strange coincidence that no demon or demonic beast had ever noticed the pattern.

Yet the number of demons and demonic beasts in the Secret Realm was slowly dwindling, year by year.

It was as if an invisible hand was secretly plotting and driving everything forward.

Even the gentlest tree demon clan had now developed the will to resist, as if it were a sign—

The skies over Ten Thousand Beast Mountain were about to change.

Thanks to reader Xun Mozhu for the 500 coin tip~

Thanks to reader longteng4 for the 100 coin tip~

Thanks to brother Red of That Night for the 1,500 coin tip~

Thanks to reader Last Three Days for the 100 coin tip~

P.S. I've changed the setting about firearms being useless. It's not that they can't be used; they're just relatively less damaging.