activa-t Chapter 2362 Acupuncture
Chapter 2362 Acupuncture
Chapter 2362 Acupuncture
It turned out that these demons were taking advantage of their patrol trip to quickly hunt for some wild food. The demon population in Jade Capital was large and clearly hierarchical; ordinary demons never got their hands on the best prey. If they wanted a taste of fresh food, they had to come and find it themselves.
The Earth Mother doesn't usually care if the monsters go out to forage, since it's not easy for Jade Capital City to support so many fat men. So, monsters roam freely throughout the Panlong Wasteland. However, the Earth Mother orders the core demons and demon armies to be stationed in the city at all times, and they are not allowed to go out unless necessary.
As for the cultivators chasing them, they all came from Mount Ling, shouting about revenge, but the animals didn't understand what they meant.
The long-armed ape also revealed that most of the monsters in the city had been recruited or subdued by the Earth Mother in recent years. Previously, during a period of scarce spiritual energy, the Earth Mother and Jade Capital City were in a slumber, leaving only a few monsters. The Earth Mother only began recruiting again after waking up.
This gibbon followed the Earth Mother through her long slumber, approximately three hundred years ago. Although its cultivation level wasn't particularly outstanding, it excelled at managing resources, which is why it was allowed to stay.
“Since you’re in charge of the accounts, you must know how to use a pen, right?” Dong Rui handed over a wolf-hair brush. “Draw a map of Jade Capital City for me, and make sure to mark the Earth Mother’s residence, the places she frequents, the warehouses where supplies are stored, and so on.”
The gibbon was so badly trained that it was afraid of anything long and tubular, and its hand trembled as it held a pen, drawing cautiously.
The blank scroll that Dong Rui took out was also very interesting. Once the painting reached the edge, it could be easily pushed open and turned into a blank scroll again.
After the long-armed ape was completely drawn, he brought his hands together in the middle, and the entire map shrank and was piled in the middle of the scroll.
"Is that all?" Dong Rui asked.
“Yes, yes, these are the important locations.” The gibbon nodded vigorously.
Dong Rui showed the scroll to the other three monsters: "You can all understand this map, right?"
He was lucky; all three monsters nodded, and none of them were truly foolish.
Dong Rui then pulled out the long thorn and waved it lightly in front of the three demons: "Originally, it was your turn to be pricked. However, if you can point out a major mistake in this painting, this needle can be transferred to the Long-Armed Ape."
Huh? The three demons were stunned.
Holding the large needle, Dong Rui approached Lu Shu first: "You go first."
The three demons had witnessed the horrific state of the long-armed ape and were filled with fear. This person before them was not only ruthless, but also possessed particularly insidious methods of torture!
As a devoted follower of Mother Earth, the gibbon is usually very tough and loyal to her, but it couldn't even withstand the pressure of these spikes for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea!
Seeing that the large needle was about to pierce his body, its tip still stained with the blood of the Long-Armed Ape, Lu Shu quickly said:
"Wait, wait, the location of several powerful guardian spirits is missing from this painting!"
"Where is the guardian spirit located?"
Ignoring the gibbon's horrified expression, Lu Shu continued to confess:
"If the ruins or sects devoured by the Earth Mother have guardian spirits, they will also be tamed and kept in Jade Capital City. The guardian spirit will be located wherever the representative building of the ruins is placed."
The long-armed ape couldn't help but speak up to stop him: "If you dare to say it, Mother Goddess will definitely send you to the wolf pack..."
Before he could finish speaking, the ghost ape picked up a ball of spider webs and stuffed it into the ape's mouth.
Based on Lu Shu's dictation, Dong Rui made further annotations on the scroll. It was a white-headed, chestnut-bodied monster with tiger stripes, resembling an antelope in appearance, but it could eat both grass and meat. It joined Yujing City about six years ago and usually helped manage the city's grass fields, so it was very familiar with the ghost city.
After marking seven places in a row, Dong Rui couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "Yujing City actually has so many guardian spirits? Are they all under the command of the Earth Mother?"
"Most of them are, but some are very stubborn and remain defiant even after being imprisoned for hundreds of years."
"Interesting." Dong Rui became interested. "Come on, mark the key points for me. Oh, what's the reason this guardian spirit refuses to submit?"
Lu Shu gave a detailed explanation for more than a quarter of an hour before Dong Rui nodded in satisfaction and inserted a needle into the gibbon.
While the screams of the gibbon were muffled, he turned to the second monster:
"Come on, it's your turn."
After a long period of thought, the monster was ready and said, "I... I can help too."
"Oh?" Dong Rui held up the map. "What needs to be improved?"
"Jade Capital City isn't just one level! There's also an underground city!" the monster exclaimed. "The first level of the Azure Shell Tower that I usually guard is actually the fifteenth level of the underground city!"
"So it's actually divided into two levels, above ground and underground?" Holy crap, if you include the underground area, the total area of Jade Capital City is outrageous. Doesn't Mother Earth get tired carrying it around all day?
"Yes, yes! The underground level is used to grow medicinal herbs that cannot be exposed to the light of day, to imprison prisoners, and to store supplies."
With its help, Dong Rui drew a map of the underground city.
Then, he stuck another needle into the long-armed ape and turned to the third monster: "Come on, it's your turn."
"..."
Each of the three monsters had their own focus, and after they finished speaking, Dong Rui turned to the Long-Armed Ape, which was already trembling. The ghost ape took out the spider web from its mouth.
"If you can answer the next question, you can skip the injection it gave you—what is the true form of the Earth Mother?"
The gibbon's expression froze for a moment, but upon seeing the flash of light on the spike, it immediately said, "I'll talk, I'll talk, it's Jade Capital City itself!"
Dong Rui hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pierced the ape's body with a needle, causing it to let out a miserable cry.
"Bullshit."
Then the gibbon gave three or four more answers, all of which were seen through by Dong Rui.
Finally, it didn't even have the strength to cry out anymore, and it wept bitterly: "I don't know! I really don't know! The Mother Goddess never spoke of her true form, and none of us—no, no demon—have ever seen it! But I've heard that the Mother Goddess's true form is a huge mountain range!"
Have you ever heard of a stone heart?
The gibbon was taken aback.
Dong Rui raised his hand again, and it stared at the needle tip, shouting, "I've heard of it! That's the Mother's heart!"
Where is it hidden?
"I heard it's in the city, but I don't know the exact location," the Long-Armed Ape added. "The Mother Goddess would never let us know such a secret! Anyone who accidentally finds out will die!"
Seeing that it had indeed told the truth, Dong Rui stretched and asked, "Next question: Are there any forbidden areas in Jade Capital City that the Earth Mother forbids any monsters from approaching?"
"That's too much."
"I said 'any'! Even its closest confidants are forbidden from approaching, is there such a place?"
After adding this condition, the Long-Armed Ape pondered for a while before saying, "Ah, yes. There is a small white house deep inside the city, which even the most trusted Bear King Chu Ba of the Mother Goddess cannot enter."
"Then who can get in?"
"No one can enter, or rather, no one can get close."
(End of this chapter)