Using the MC system to pretend spiritual revival

Chapter 267 Western Regions Demon Realm
"No~ No way~! All the kings have already achieved human form, and I'm the only one who can speak. Even if you gave me ten more lives, I wouldn't dare! Waaah~"

As he spoke, Huang Xiaojiu's entire wolf body couldn't help but radiate regret from the inside out.

If he had known that his prank today would result in him being captured and devoured by ten transformed demons, he would have stayed in his clan's territory and starved to death rather than come out.

But thinking about it now is useless. After begging for mercy, none of the ferocious demons around him showed any intention of letting him go.

I realized that if I didn't show some real results soon, I'd be finished today.

He gritted his teeth, reached behind his back and rummaged around for a while, then held up a string of rusty copper coins and two pieces of dark silver, as if they were treasures, and presented them to Niu Lei.

His tone was full of fawning:
"Great King Bull~ Here! This is the envoy fee given to us by our Demon King for sending us out to gather intelligence. It is all offered to Your Majesty!"

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, and hurriedly picked up the outdoor flashlight that had rolled to the side of the ground and handed it over as well.

"And this, this is a treasure I found in the cloth shed that those humans built before they left..."

Looking at the pile of odds and ends handed to him, and meeting the expectant gaze of the large weasel named Huang Xiaojiu in front of him, Niu Lei reached out and took the still-on outdoor flashlight.

After examining it closely, they indeed found a mark at the bottom belonging to an official exploration team from the Special Operations Bureau.

In this light, what the other party just said seems at least a bit more credible.

Holding the flashlight in his hand, he also grabbed the half-strand of copper coins and a few pieces of silver as he reached out.

I examined the coins by the light. The surface of the copper coins was severely worn and corroded, and it was impossible to tell which dynasty they belonged to. Judging from their thickness and weight, they did not seem to be products of recent dynasties.

The red rope she was wearing looked quite new, as if it had been added later, and there wasn't much information to verify. The same goes for the loose silver.

Hefted the small handful of things in his hand, and Niu Lei quickly processed the information he had extracted from the large yellow weasel in front of him.

The other party clearly doesn't know much about modern society, or rather, modern society as it is today. At the very least, they would mistake these awakened demon beasts for demons who have cultivated and transformed. Judging from this, the other party probably hasn't had any contact with other humans in a short period of time.

Based on the distance analysis, it is highly likely that it came from that desert forest.

Judging from what the other party just said, they seem to come from a family of weasels. The family doesn't seem to be very large, but they did mention a leader with the title of "Demon King".

Logically, it cannot be ruled out that it was a tribal system that governed multiple races.

The fact that they can send out a monster like this—whose cultivation is of unknown length, who can speak human language, and who is fairly intelligent—to gather information strongly suggests that they are the ruler of that region, which is inaccessible to non-awakened monsters…

While he was pondering to himself, Huang Xiaojiu, who was still huddled on the ground, watched as the transformed demon with two horns on its head and strange black and white fur put away the items, then stood with its eyes down, seemingly lost in thought, its eyes full of tension.

Logically speaking, once the goods are handed over, it's time to decide one's own fate, so one dares not say anything and can only watch helplessly.

Time passed by, and the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive, my throat felt dry.

Although these transformed demons in front of them were all extremely ugly, fierce, and spoke wickedly, they did not seem to have the bloody aura of someone who had committed too many killings and was bloodthirsty and soul-stealing.

Surely he won't eat himself...?

The longer time passed, the more wild thoughts he had. In less than a minute, he had imagined no less than 10 ways to die, scaring himself half to death before anything even happened.

After waiting a while longer, he finally couldn't resist any longer. He gritted his teeth, reached up and grabbed the tail behind him, then looked up to meet the other's questioning gaze:

"King Bull! My fur..."

But before he could finish speaking, Niu Lei had already stuffed the half-string of coins and loose silver into his pocket, and grinned menacingly.

"That's right! It seems you weren't lying to me."

"Now, take us to that human camp you mentioned. If you behave well, I'll let you go."

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaojiu, who was still clinging to his tail, forgot about being interrupted and hurriedly nodded with a beaming smile:

"Yes, Your Majesty! No problem, Your Majesty! I'm an expert at leading the way! I'll go right away!"

After saying that, he turned around and crouched down, running in one direction using all four limbs.

Although the other party's attitude did not soften, the meaning behind these words was clearly conveyed—that they had a way out.

But he had only run a few steps out excitedly when he suddenly stopped as if he had remembered something, turned around and looked at Niu Lei and his group who were still standing there, blinking his beady eyes, and said cautiously with a hint of ingratiation:

"Your Majesty! This way! The roads are slippery at night, I'll walk slowly and lead the way."

As it spoke, it slowed its pace, its long, thin, slightly black tail held high, swaying back and forth like a flag.

Upon seeing this, the members of the Special Operations Bureau team exchanged bewildered glances.

Niu Lei gave Wang Feng and Bat a wink, then stepped forward and followed.

Two team members with flying skills were positioned on either side, half a body length ahead of the team, serving as reconnaissance and early warning.

Niu Lei, along with Hai Dafu and the others, followed Huang Xiaojiu at a distance, advancing along the wind-eroded canyon.

The cold wind of the Gobi Desert at night, carrying fine sand like ice shards, brushed past my ears.

As Huang Xiaojiu led the way, he tried to make conversation to ease the atmosphere:

"Your Majesty, you must be from outside? I can tell from your scent that you have an air of nobility, unlike us demons, who are very rough."

Upon hearing this, Niu Lei, who was hanging about ten steps away, glanced at Hai Dafu, who was being stared at intently and striding across the sand, and was somewhat speechless.

However, it's clear that someone had the leisure to chime in.

The wasp, hovering above the group and buzzing, lowered its altitude upon hearing this.
"You have a keen sense of smell. What, in your area, are demons divided into different regions?"

"That's natural!"

Upon hearing that it was actually that terrifying wasp demon from before speaking to him, Huang Xiaojiu, feeling that the communication was working, became excited and hurriedly racked his brains to reply without thinking.

"The Western Grassland Demon Realm, which is my hometown, is considered the most miserable place among the five major demon realms."

As he spoke, he glanced around and noticed that several powerful demons in human form were looking at him, ready to hear what he was about to say. He deliberately slowed down his pace again and raised his voice so that everyone could hear him.

“I heard from the older generation in my clan that many of them moved here because they couldn’t make a living in the local area.”

"Initially, although spiritual herbs were scarce here, there were vast grasslands and livestock, so there was no shortage of food and drink. As a result, many weak and talentless demons gathered here to live, and they lived a comfortable life without fighting or competing."

As he spoke, you could sense the longing in his voice, which was immediately followed by regret:

"However, later, it is said that someone committed a crime, and a celestial being descended to earth. With a single stroke of the Yellow Dragon Seal, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, the dragon veins roamed, and the water veins were severed."

"Before the surviving demons could recover, the rivers on the grasslands dried up, the lakes dried up, and the grass began to die in patches. The grass-eaters had no chance to survive, and the meat-eating livestock also began to starve to death."

"It was only when our Demon King's great-great-great-great-grandfather used his great supernatural powers and joined forces with the remaining demons that he managed to cut off a broken water vein and save a piece of forest, which allowed us Western Region demons to survive."

"However, that was only a small area. Even though the demon race built and stabilized it generation after generation, they couldn't stop the other grasslands outside the Demon Extermination Zone from turning into vast expanses of yellow sand. The landscape of water and grass turned into a desert in the blink of an eye. Alas—~"

He sighed, gazing at the lifeless, rolling yellow sand before him, his eyes filled with desolation, and his tone was melancholic:
"As a result, our region has become notoriously poor, weak, and rough. The spiritual energy has only just begun to recover, and our realm is already unable to sustain itself, so we have no choice but to connect to the main realm ahead of schedule."

After rattling off a long speech, he turned back to look at Niu Lei and his group, who seemed lost in thought, as he walked forward.
"Surely you kings are powerful figures from the other four great demon realms who have come out in search of opportunities? Demons from the great lands look precious."

As he spoke, he turned his head again for the umpteenth time, his beady eyes filled with undisguised curiosity, looking at the figure with a fish head and human body striding away in the distance.

"...However, this one does resemble a sea creature."

"Idiot, I am a carp."

Hai Dafu conjured half a human face and coldly snorted. "Enough nonsense, how long until we reach the human camp you mentioned?"

Startled by the cold shout, Huang Xiaojiu shrank back and quickly sped up.

"Almost there! We'll be there after we get past that stone step!"

"Those humans built a really sturdy shed, it took them most of the day to build, but they left without even staying there, leaving behind a lot of stuff..."

As Huang Xiaojiu began his somewhat noisy narration, the group turned a corner and passed through a narrow gap that could only accommodate two people side by side. Then, a desert camouflage tent, half-hidden by sand and dust, came into view.

The tent cluster is built against the rock face, forming a semi-enclosed shape. In the center, there are several crooked metal supports with their solar-powered searchlights turned off.

As you get closer, you see a patch of open ground with scattered, twisted and broken cans and torn packaging tarpaulins.

And on this obviously discordant part, the surrounding sand is covered with faintly discernible, messy claw marks.

After only a quick glance, Niu Lei looked expressionlessly at the “instigator” who was standing upright and stiffly to the side.

Huang Xiaojiu nervously rubbed his hands together under the gaze, but quickly changed the subject, pointing to the largest tent:

"Boss Niu, that's it! That's where I found the flashlight, and a lot of other treasures that I haven't touched yet!"

Hearing this, Niu Lei stared at him for a while longer. Seeing his tense expression, and considering that they were now playing the roles of transformed demons, he didn't hold it against the other party for stealing the supplies that belonged to their side's advance action.

As Huang Xiaojiu breathed a sigh of relief and looked away, Niu Lei raised his hand and gestured for the team members to remain vigilant. He then stepped forward and lifted the curtain of the warehouse tent where supplies were stored.

The tent was filled with a thick layer of sand, and a folding table lay overturned on the floor.

After scanning the area, Niu Lei walked to a corner, reached out and brushed away a thin layer of sand from the ground, revealing several neatly stacked silver-white metal boxes underneath.

After entering a complicated password into the combination lock on the side, it clicked to activate and unlock, successfully opening the lock.

What comes into view are jars of small metal vials nestled in sponge filling. Picking one up and unscrewing the cap, you can see, by the light of your flashlight, a pile of brownish-green pills inside.

On the front of the small metal vial, a row of small, machine-engraved characters can be seen:

The 3rd Generation Yin Corpse Pill

Place of manufacture: Wushan City Third Pharmaceutical Factory.

Niu Lei checked each ammunition and supply to ensure they were all intact and free from leaks or contamination before standing up and waving to the team members outside the tent.
"Little Bat, Da Fu! Come here and pack up your things. Tell the rest of you to tidy up. We'll rest here tonight."

"Yes!"

"Okay Captain!"

Amidst a chorus of agreement, the entire desert camp sprang into action.

Left out in the cold, Huang Xiaojiu shifted her feet, avoiding the figures of the group that were quickly passing by, feeling somewhat lost.

Running away was out of the question. I wanted to offer my help but felt helpless. Watching the various metal parts and pipes being moved around, I could only stand there dumbly, peeking around.

However, all four of them remained in a semi-demon state and moved very quickly.

Before long, the tent that had been crushed by the sandstorm was re-erected, the broken supports were replaced, and the overturned frame was re-secured.

In the central open space, a small shed to shield against the sand and dust was set up, and a large pot was placed on the ground.

Click~
Amidst a series of friction sounds, sparks flew as the quick-burning materials under the stove were engulfed by the sparks. With a boom, flames shot up, illuminating the surrounding cold night and also entering Huang Xiaojiu's eyes.

Seeing all this, he was stunned, and even his own panic and caution were temporarily suppressed.

While he was still in a daze, Hai Dafu, who was in charge of starting the fire, had already nimbly torn open bags of sealed packaging, poured some solidified lumps into the pot, and added water.

Soon, as the temperature inside the pot rose, the billowing steam dispelled the chill carrying the ice crystals, and wisps of aroma mixed with warmth wafted out.

“Sniff…”

With a twitch of his shiny black nose, Huang Xiaojiu slowly came back to his senses, pulling himself out of his somewhat hazy memories as he smelled the aroma of spiciness and boiling oil.

The strong aroma, carrying a hint of familiarity, made his mouth water. His stomach, which had been filled by tearing open the can with his teeth and paws, now began to wriggle and protest.

Lost in thought, he raised his paw and prepared to walk towards the steaming pot.

However, just as he twitched his nose and approached the campfire, his movements suddenly froze.

Suddenly, a huge, lifeless fish eye, reflecting an eerie light, blocked the view. Hai Dafu, who had somehow appeared in front of the pot, had a huge fish head that drooped down, casting a large shadow against the firelight.

Under Huang Xiaojiu's trembling gaze, a gigantic fish mouth, almost large enough to swallow its entire head, slowly opened, then rapidly began to open and close with a series of "pop pop pop pop" sounds.
"What are you doing?! Do you think you can just stick out your claws because I'm giving you food?!"

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the others.

Niu Lei, who had been inspecting important supplies, also walked over with his arms crossed. His gaze swept briefly between Huang Xiaojiu, who was cowering on the ground in fear, and Hai Dafu, who was making a ruckus in front of the pot, and he immediately understood what had just happened.

After a moment's thought, he quickly curled the corners of his mouth, exchanged a brief glance with the other team members who had gathered, and then stepped in front of the two. Under the gaze of the beady green eyes that looked up at him upon hearing the sound, he spoke slowly and in a low voice.

"Want some? That's not a problem."

As he spoke, he took out the map he had just found from his pocket and held it up to the weasel's eyes.

"The desert forest, which is what you call the Western Demon Realm, take us in."

After saying that, without waiting for Huang Xiaojiu, who was still a little confused, to respond, he turned around and walked to the large pot that had already been cooked, pulled over a folding stool, sat down, and began to serve the food.

"Gulu..."

Smelling that tempting aroma, Huang Xiaojiu's nose twitched again. He raised his paw to rub his rumbling stomach and kept swallowing his saliva.

Under this temptation, their feet moved forward little by little.

Finally, after glancing at the enormous fish head next to him and seeing that it didn't react, he...

Huang Xiaojiu no longer bothered to hide it, and used all four claws to leap to the front of the boiler in two jumps.

He clumsily picked up the bowl with both hands and buried his entire face in it:
"Gulu gulu gulu~"

"Ah, it's so hot... Waaah... It's delicious!"

"..."

Seeing this, Niu Lei and his group, sitting around the large pot, exchanged silent smiles.

With this indigenous guide, a lot of troublesome exploration can be saved. One meal for one guide, what a bargain!

With joyful hearts, everyone found a place to sit down and began to eat.

The people and animals standing before the campfire had all been toiling away in the desert all day.

Now, finally, on this bitterly cold desert night, they were able to eat piping hot food, and everyone had a great appetite.

In the dimly lit Gobi camp, only the clatter of bowls and chopsticks and the slurping sound of Huang Xiaojiu burying his face in his bowl remained.

After a long while, Niu Lei put down his chopsticks, stood up, and nodded to the weasel who had already started refilling his second bowl.

"Remember what you promised. Rest for the night and set off tomorrow morning."

(End of this chapter)