"Why? Didn’t you say no humans have come here for a long time? Based on the nature of you Flower Demon Elves, shouldn’t your numbers be growing without any external interference or enslavement by the Human Race?" Zhang Deming asked, confused.

The Flower Demon Elves of the Cyan Wood Secret Realm were clearly the domesticated Elves once kept by the Five Elements Blessed Land. With no one here to bother them, they should be thriving.

After all, when Zhang Deming first arrived, he had been dropped into a vast Flower Sea. For the Flower Demon Elves, the resources here should be more than sufficient.

The little one’s expression immediately fell. He said mournfully, "Because there are problems with the water source and our ancestral land."

Zhang Deming said, "Oh? Your ancestral land? What’s wrong with it?"

The little one shook his head and didn’t answer.

Zhang Deming paused for a moment, then said, "Then, can you take me to see your people?"

The little one said apprehensively, "Only if you promise not to capture my people indiscriminately."

Zhang Deming smiled slightly. "Alright, I promise you."

With that, he released the Vines binding the little one, setting him free. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Hearing this, the little one reluctantly handed over the small cloth bag he was clutching and said, "Here, your stuff."

Zhang Deming accepted the small cloth bag with a smile. He glanced inside and saw six Spirit-Storage Fruits lying quietly within.

He reached out, took the Spirit-Storage Fruits, placed them in his storage bag, and tossed the small cloth bag back.

"By the way, I still don’t know your name," Zhang Deming asked.

"My name is Qing Xiaolu. And you?" Qing Xiaolu replied.

Zhang Deming’s expression twitched. ’That name... is certainly... descriptive!’

"Me? I’m Zhang Deming. You can call me Brother Deming, or you can just call me by my name.

By the way, you just mentioned that because of the water source, there are fewer and fewer newborns among your people..." Zhang Deming said with a smile.

As the two introduced themselves, Zhang Deming guided the conversation and started chatting.

Qing Xiaolu actually had the intelligence of a teenager, but he was so simple-minded and naive that he seemed less clever than an eight or nine-year-old servant from the Sect.

As the two walked on, Zhang Deming slowly managed to coax out the details of the Flower Demon Elf territory, bit by bit.

Just as Zhang Deming had guessed, the Flower Demon Elves of the Cyan Wood Secret Realm were indeed the personal gardeners for the people of the Five Elements Blessed Land back then.

Thousands of years ago, with the fall of the Five Elements Blessed Land, its people miraculously vanished, and no members of the Human Race had been in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm since.

Thus, the entire Secret Realm became a paradise for Sub-Human Species like the Flower Demon Elves, and for a time, life was stable, prosperous, and flourishing.

Of course, due to the nature of the Flower Demon Elves, who loved nature and peace, they always lived a quiet and stable life, and their days were very tranquil.

That is, until a few hundred years ago, when the number of newborns suddenly began to decrease. Older members would also occasionally go mad, mutate, and develop metallic spots on their skin.

As the situation grew more serious, the plants also began to show problems.

The Flower Demon Elves searched for the cause for a long time but found nothing.

It wasn’t until the entire Royal Race had perished that the surviving Flower Demon Elves accidentally discovered the water source was polluted.

But by then, with the loss of their ancestral Flower Sea, the once-great Flower Demon Elf race had all but disappeared. The survivors could hardly even be called a clan anymore.

Zhang Deming guided the conversation as they talked along the way, and he gradually came to have a certain understanding of what Qing Xiaolu called his "territory."

At the same time, the anxiety in his heart finally subsided.

The territory was quite a long way from where they were. The two of them moved quickly, but they still hadn’t arrived by dusk.

Watching the sun set, Qing Xiaolu suddenly stopped.

Zhang Deming paused for a moment and looked at him. "Why’d you stop?"

Qing Xiaolu said, "We’re only halfway there. We won’t make it today, so let’s continue tomorrow. You can’t travel in the forest at night."

Zhang Deming asked, puzzled, "Why not? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark."

"Ever since a few hundred years ago, no one can go out after dark! Otherwise, something very, very bad will happen!" Qing Xiaolu said, his face filled with terror.

Zhang Deming: "..."

’Have the Flower Demon Elves started telling their children scary stories like this? Or does this Secret Realm really undergo some strange transformation at night?’

Zhang Deming mulled it over. ’If he’s not willing to travel overnight, we might as well rest. All I need to do is stick with this Qing Xiaolu anyway.’

Zhang Deming looked around and found a spot beside a massive, ancient tree. With A Thought, emerald-green vines sprouted up around them.

The vines sprouted thorns and twisted into various shapes. Their color was like emerald, resembling precious jade.

In moments, Zhang Deming had woven a peculiar thicket of vines at the base of the tree.

Inside the vine thicket was a surprisingly large Space.

Qing Xiaolu looked all around at the structure, which resembled a vine house built from jade. He seemed quite fond of it; apparently, his people were also fans of this architectural style.

Furthermore, he seemed to be extremely fond of the Jade Vines Zhang Deming had created, feeling a natural, deep-seated affinity for them. Consequently, he had completely let his guard down around Zhang Deming.

"Alright, let’s stay here for the night." With that, Zhang Deming tossed out a palm-sized tent. The moment it hit the ground, it began to expand rapidly.

Upon hearing this, Qing Xiaolu asked, "Brother Deming, can your Spiritual Power sustain a Technique like this all night?"

Zhang Deming just smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I can handle this level of consumption."

Zhang Deming wasn’t just bluffing. The ambient Spiritual Qi in this entire Secret Realm was at least as dense as that of a One-Star Spirit Vein.

With his scripts running automatically, Zhang Deming’s Spiritual Power Recovery was incredibly fast.

If he was just maintaining the Growth Technique and not fighting, his recovery rate was so high he could go all night with no net loss of Spiritual Power, and it would barely affect his Experience Points acquisition.

"Are all members of the Human Race this powerful?" Qing Xiaolu asked upon hearing this.

Zhang Deming smiled. "More or less. I’m considered one of the stronger ones. We have to travel tomorrow, so we should get some rest.

I only brought one tent, so you can sleep outside. I’ve set up a Concealing Array in the area."

With that said, Zhang Deming ducked into the tent.

’The Space in the tent isn’t exactly small. If it were a girl, we could squeeze in. Cuddling her to sleep would probably be a whole different kind of experience.’

’But a boy... no thanks, even if he is cute.’

Qing Xiaolu glanced at the tent. The two pairs of cicada wings on his back vibrated, and he flew straight up to a branch. After finding a comfortable spot, he peered through the vine thicket at the darkening sky outside.

Once inside the tent, Zhang Deming tossed out and activated a few more Array Cards. Then he took materials from his storage bag and initiated the Spirit Nurturing Technique.

A short while later, Zhang Deming had crafted several Spirit Nurturing Beads. He stopped when nearly half of his Spiritual Power was depleted.

He always carried the materials with him. Crafting Spirit Nurturing Beads had become more than just work for Zhang Deming; like his morning exercises, it was now a daily habit.

However, given they were out in the wilderness, Zhang Deming wasn’t reckless enough to continue crafting until his Spiritual Power was completely exhausted.

The Spiritual Qi here was abundant, so Zhang Deming simply waited for a while until his Spiritual Power was fully restored.

Zhang Deming took out his materials and started crafting again, repeating the cycle.

A few hours later, the sky was completely dark. Zhang Deming estimated that he had more or less completed his daily quota.

In an environment like this, there was no need to work overtime.

After tidying up, Zhang Deming flopped directly onto the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

...

At midnight, Zhang Deming, who hadn’t been asleep for long, suddenly snapped his eyes open.

He got up quickly. As he emerged from the tent, he looked up and saw that Qing Xiaolu was already awake on the branch above, staring into the distance.

Zhang Deming leaped up to the branch, reaching a higher vantage point. He scanned the surroundings but saw nothing.

His gaze focused, and a Spiritual Light flickered in his eyes. The surrounding scenery seemed to turn transparent and fade away as his line of sight began to stretch rapidly into the distance.

Within the three-hundred-meter range of his Basic Reconnaissance Technique, Zhang Deming found nothing out of the ordinary.