"The way back is blocked!"
Seeing this, Wei Wen sighed helplessly and spoke.
Fang Qianyuan soon understood the situation as well. The entire Otherworld Grotto-Heaven of the Demon Suppression Cavern had a structure resembling a gourd. At the very bottom lay the Otherworld Grotto-Heaven that served as the Demon Domain, while above it were the first few levels used for training. The gourd's mouth was the entrance and exit.
They were now trapped near the gourd's mouth, in the clearing before that stone gate.
The Void Tide had swept large numbers of demons up above, and demons could appear at any moment inside the Demon Cave as well. This place had instead become the only safe haven.
That was only because the great array's structure had to protect the Teleportation Array, making the spatial structure here the most stable.
However, just as everyone had fought demons here earlier, more demons would continue to appear. As the Void Tide persisted, they would gather in ever greater numbers. Sooner or later, powerful demons would lead them through the barrier and infiltrate this place.
Nor could the group pass through here and return to the stone gate. Thousands upon thousands of demons were already there. Charging up recklessly would simply be courting death.
"The only way is to hold out here until the Training Institute responds and concentrates its forces to wipe out the demons!"
"We'll keep watch here. If the number of demons near the vortex decreases, that means someone has opened the stone gate from outside and reinforcements have arrived. Only then can we go over!"
After a brief discussion, they could only remain near the Teleportation Array and wait.
A while later, isolated demons began appearing one after another. They took turns killing them, and then the others returned in succession as well.
Thirty-six people in eight squads had taken part in this training expedition to the Demon Suppression Cavern. At last, everyone had gathered, but a glance revealed that several others had been injured, just like Wei Wu.
"Luckily, we have Senior Sister Mi!"
"Make way, everyone, make way! Senior Sister Mi is back."
Someone called out as the final squad returned.
Fang Qianyuan looked over and saw a woman in dark green robes walking toward them.
She told the group, "Gather the wounded together first."
Then she formed the Hand Seal of Soldier, empowering herself with the strength of rejuvenation grass.
Rejuvenation grass was a kind of plant spirit. Its original body resembled a ginseng plant, with a long, straight stem and palmate leaves spreading like an umbrella.
As Senior Sister Mi channeled its power, green spiritual markings resembling leaves appeared between her palms, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted toward them.
Senior Sister Mi lightly poised her slender fingers. Blades of grass appeared out of thin air, transforming into green mist that flowed into the wounded.
Their wounds soon began closing at astonishing speed, leaving them as though reborn.
Senior Sister Mi immediately changed techniques. This time, lotus-shaped spiritual markings of a watery blue appeared.
This was a plant spirit called the origin lotus, whose effects were entirely different from those of rejuvenation grass.
As the blue light sank into the spirit creatures, the injured, listless creatures soon recovered completely and grew vigorous again.
A spirit creature's manifested body was essentially a body composed of spirit essence. This origin lotus could generate pure spirit essence, and using it on spirit creatures was like remaking them. Any injury could be healed.
Everyone watched from the sidelines in amazement.
"Medics really do deserve their reputation as the foremost support specialists. If the aptitude requirements weren't so high, I'd want to train as one too."
"Oh, give it a rest. You're no genius like Senior Sister Mi!"
"Exactly. Even if you became a Medic, so what? Ordinary spirit creatures have no healing abilities at all. Even when they do, the effects are as useless as chicken ribs. At the very least, you'd have to bond with a high-grade spirit creature like Senior Sister Mi did."
Watching this, Fang Qianyuan was inwardly moved as well.
This was the power of Spirit Tamers working together with their spirit creatures. A Spirit Tamer alone was not enough; they also had to rely on the appropriate spirit creature.
After finishing the treatment, Senior Sister Mi seemed to have consumed a considerable amount of spirit essence. Under her teammates' protection, she withdrew to one side to rest.
The senior brothers and sisters from the other squads began gathering to discuss what to do.
Someone apparently said something provocative, and the discussion turned into an argument, their voices rising.
Fang Qianyuan listened from a distance and discovered that the senior brothers and sisters were arguing over how to proceed.
Some believed they could not simply wait here doing nothing. Opening the gate from outside and killing all the demons in the passage would take at least most of a day. They ought to organize their people and attempt to fight their way upward.
Others believed safety came first. Since there were no demons here for the moment, there was no need to act rashly.
The Training Institute's many elite experts and managing elders were not there for nothing. Reckless action would only bring disaster.
Others offered a compromise, proposing that they try first and retreat if things looked wrong.
"I never thought everyone would still be arguing at a time like this!" Ding Long said as he watched Wei Wen vigorously defend their squad's position.
At his words, Fang Qianyuan sank into thought.
Did these senior brothers and sisters truly not understand how urgent the situation was, and that only by standing united could they weather this crisis?
Impossible. None of them were fools. How could they be so stupid?
But just because they knew they had to unite, would they abandon their own views and follow someone else's instructions without resentment or regret?
Even more impossible. None of them were saints. How could they be so noble?
Pointless disputes arose from precisely this. It could hardly have been more natural.
Moreover, several of the stronger senior brothers and sisters seemed to be subtly vying for the right to lead, trying to arrange every squad's actions according to their own wishes.
If they could lead everyone through this crisis, their prestige would undoubtedly soar. The Training Institute would surely offer generous rewards as encouragement, and there would even be advantages in future allocations of cultivation resources, promotions, and appointments.
These were tangible benefits.
Given Fang Qianyuan's age and background, he should never have known so much. However, he happened to have a father who had once been a Spirit Tamer. During his childhood, he had listened to his father recount the past and describe many things he had seen and heard.
Fang Qianyuan had always been precocious. He had gleaned many lessons from those stories, so naturally, he could discern what was happening.
But just as he thought the argument would continue, he suddenly saw Ye Tianming step forward.
"Senior brothers and sisters, please hear me out."
"Tianming, what do you want to say?" asked a senior brother named Wu Longjie, his expression shifting slightly.
"We can't keep arguing like this. We should reach an agreement as soon as possible. How about this? Each of our eight squads sends one person to vote. If the majority favors staying here to defend, then even if the other squads disagree, the minority must follow the majority and no one may act on their own. What do you think?" Ye Tianming put him directly in check.
"That's a good idea. I say we do as Junior Brother Ye suggests. I, Feng Bao, will be the first to agree!" someone beside them immediately said.
He seemed entirely free of ulterior motives, wanting only to reach a decision as soon as possible.
Wei Wen hesitated, then said, "Our squad agrees to stay. Safety comes first, after all."
Immediately afterward, the leaders of two other squads also agreed to stay.
Wu Longjie's face alternated between red and white. Only after a long while did he say, "Fine. We'll stay, then!"