Chapter 67: Departure

Hong Ren never expected it to be this kind of method—so utterly heretical. How could mere flesh and blood accomplish something like hunting a Deity? It was simply impossible.

Hong Ren suddenly thought of that mad Elven Divine Tree. Most of the Spirit Trees had already been corrupted, continuously posing threats across the World.

“What is the purpose of that Primordial Spirit?”

“His purpose is singular: to make contact with the Elven Divine Tree and help the Demon King seize its Unique Skill. That is why the Demon King places such great importance on this pursuit operation, even dispatching the two of us away from our posts despite the Human Hero’s army being at the city gates.”

Hong Ren had also heard a legend: the once incredibly prosperous Elven Kingdom had now become a dead zone. Any creature that approached would fall into madness, frenzy, and have their desires infinitely amplified, craving slaughter.

Even the inherently peaceful Forest Elves were no exception. At that time, the Forest Elves who managed to survive were mostly Demigods or those with diluted Bloodlines.

The rest had basically gone insane. A Deity turned mad—no one could predict the scale of threat it might pose. Fortunately, this Deity remained immobile, limiting the harm to a small area, which was why no Deity had stepped in to deal with it.

There were once countless Purebred Primordial Spirits. Only this race, personally birthed by that Deity, could contact the Elven Divine Tree unaffected. Yet, almost all who went never returned. How would the Demon King use this Primordial Spirit to seize the Unique Skill?

Hong Ren racked his brains but couldn’t figure it out. He could only quicken his pace to reunite with the old man first. If he ran any slower and got entangled with those Dragonkin, it would be troublesome.

Seeing that Hong Ren had truly left, Zhai Guangyi’s tense mood instantly relaxed. He wanted to turn and ask Ladong to confirm whether Hong Ren had really gone, since Ladong’s ability to give early warnings indicated he possessed such a special Skill.

Ladong waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to display his ability in public. He indicated that he didn’t know whether Hong Ren had left or not, and as for safety, he couldn’t guarantee it.

However, the Goblins surrounding the edge of the Forest seemed to have truly retreated. Over at Zhai Guangyi’s True Body, Sylph, Xiong Er returned with Xiong Da, happily reporting the situation to the Lord Divine Tree.

Zhai Guangyi hadn’t expected her to complete the task so easily; he originally thought it would take a long time. After all, he didn’t know when the Goblins would retreat or when Xiong Da would return. It could only be said that Xiong Er’s luck was exceptionally good.

Since the Goblin Legion had retreated, it could only mean the threat was temporarily resolved—Hong Ren hadn’t deceived him. But if Zhai Guangyi had refused the invitation, things probably still wouldn’t have been properly resolved. Yet, by accepting, this body would bear significant risks.

However, for Zhai Guangyi, this was merely an Avatar Body of a Primordial Spirit. Ever since the ‘World’ leveled up to 8, the System Currency required in the System Shop had been halved, and the amount needed to create a Primordial Spirit was also reduced by half. Now, only 2500 points of System Currency were needed to reconstitute one.

In that case, the losses Zhai Guangyi would have to bear wouldn’t be particularly significant. However, if he were to regenerate a new body, the Demon King would likely notice the abnormality of his True Body. After all, according to Feicui, a Spirit King Tree capable of giving birth to a Primordial Spirit was even more precious. He certainly didn’t want his True Body to catch the Demon King’s attention again; it was better to keep a low profile and develop steadily.

He would take a risk with this body and try to join the Demon King’s Army, while also investigating the Demon King’s excellent organizational system. He could learn from it and apply it to his own forces. If he could have a few reliable subordinates like Hong Ren, Zhai Guangyi could comfortably serve as a mascot, basking in the sun every day to receive the benefits of photosynthesis and simply laze around.

“He should have left. I should head back too. What are your plans?”

Zhai Guangyi turned to ask Ladong and the others. He was very grateful that Ladong had been willing to activate the Defensive Magic Array for him. Regardless of whether the array had been useful, at least when trouble arose, someone had been willing to stand with him and face it together. If Ladong wanted to leave the Forest, Zhai Guangyi wouldn’t mind helping him.

“Please escort us out of here. As long as we can leave the Forest, we are willing to…”

Luke had intended to mention offering Zhai Guangyi some form of compensation, but then he remembered that Zhai Guangyi had helped with the treatment earlier without demanding any payment—just those two gold coins, which weren’t even enough to cover the cost of a single treatment at a church.

A Primordial Spirit capable of using such advanced healing Magic, and one whom even Hong Ren, one of the Eight Demon Generals of the Demon King’s Army, had deigned to try and win over, must be incredibly powerful. Honestly, Luke hadn’t even heard of what a Primordial Spirit was before, but such a formidable being would surely have the ability to take them back.

In their current state, Luke’s Small Team would struggle not only to cross the northern mountains but even to traverse this icy, snowy terrain.

They also had to carry the unconscious Luqi, and their Equipment and remaining resources were insufficient. Defeating the dangerous Magical Beasts was out of the question.

“I also want to leave this place, but I don’t have anything valuable on me. However, if you can relocate everyone in our village to the outside world, I can lend you that Ancestral Magic Array for a year. You saw it yourself—the defensive capabilities of that array are absolutely top-notch.”

Ladong scratched his head, speaking somewhat sheepishly. Their village was poor and weak, consisting of low-ability Dragonkin Hybrid Descendants trapped here. Some of the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled even struggled to descend the Cliff to hunt, and some had never left the Cliff in their entire lives.

Zhai Guangyi glanced at the number of people in the village—roughly over two hundred. Although they were weak, they were all potential Followers. Moreover, as Sub-Humans, they were solid labor force! It would be a waste not to take them.

The little old man who had been controlling the array seemed to be Ladong’s grandfather, and Ladong appeared to be the village’s heir to the chief position. The work in the village basically relied on Ladong and a few other young laborers with some strength. They couldn’t farm on the Cliff, and if they went down into the Forest, they lacked the power to contend with the Magical Beasts inside. That was why their life here had made them increasingly weaker.

“Agreed. However, I can only take you to the protective range of my master, the Spirit King Tree. Of course, I won’t take you out for free. I’ll take your Magic Array as payment.”

“But you need not worry about danger. I will request the Spirit King Tree to grant you its protection, allowing you to live and farm there in peace.”

Zhai Guangyi thought he might as well aim high first, to see if he could squeeze a few more years out of their ancestral magic array. Once they lost the reliance on the array, they would have no choice but to accept his protection and pledge allegiance to him—then wouldn’t his Followers be secured?

“Very well, we agree!”

As it turned out, the old man who liked to stand at the village entrance didn’t even bargain with Zhai Guangyi. He simply went inside and brought out a golden compass, handing the golden defensive compass over to Zhai Guangyi.

Zhai Guangyi unceremoniously reached out to take it and performed a quick Appraisal.

Jade Dragon Magic Array — a Gold Grade Dragonkin magic array with three layers of barriers, each stronger than the last. The third barrier could withstand all damage below 50,000 attack power, while the second could withstand 20,000. Although the first barrier could only endure 10,000 attack power, its range was vast, covering a diameter of 700 meters.

In other words, if Hong Ren had tried to attack them earlier, it would have been nearly impossible—unless he possessed some ability to multiply his attack power several times over, it would have been a futile effort.

So Ladong really hadn’t lied to him—it truly was absolutely safe!

After a brief inspection, the System began analyzing the array’s structure. Soon, the Jade Dragon Magic Array appeared in the System Shop’s Gold Grade array section, priced at 30,000 System Currency.