Chapter 2384

It turned out these few monsters had taken advantage of their patrol outside to hunt wild game. In Jade Capital City, monster populations were dense and clearly stratified—choice morsels never trickled down to ordinary monsters. If they wanted a few bites of fresh meat, they had to catch it themselves.

The Earth Mother usually didn't care when monsters went out foraging; after all, feeding so many big-bellied brutes within Jade Capital City wasn't easy either, so monsters roamed everywhere on the Panlong Wasteland. But the Earth Mother would order core great monsters and monster troops to stay stationed in the city, forbidden from leaving without cause.

As for the cultivators chasing them, they all came from Ling Mountain, shouting about revenge in their mouths, though the monsters didn't know what that meant.

The long-armed ape explained that most monsters in the city had been recruited or persuaded to surrender by the Earth Mother in recent years. During the earlier period when heavenly and earthly spiritual energy was scarce, both the Earth Mother and Jade Capital City had lain dormant, leaving only a few monsters behind. After the Earth Mother awoke, she began recruiting again.

This long-armed ape had lived through the Earth Mother's long slumber, about three hundred years. Though its cultivation wasn't outstanding, it excelled at managing supplies, so it was retained.

"Since you're an accountant, can you use a brush?" Dong Rui handed over a wolf-hair brush, "Draw me a map of Jade Capital City, marking the Earth Mother's residence, her usual haunts, supply warehouses, and so on."

The long-armed ape, having been conditioned to fear long tubular objects, trembled as it held the brush, drawing the map with nervous hesitation.

The blank scroll Dong Rui produced was also interesting—when reaching the edge, a simple push revealed another blank scroll.

After the long-armed ape finished drawing completely, he brought his hands together toward the center, and the entire map shrank, piling into the middle of the scroll.

"Is that all?" Dong Rui asked it.

"Yes yes, the important points are just these." The long-armed ape nodded vigorously, like pounding rice.

Dong Rui showed the scroll to the other three monsters: "Can you all read this map?"

He got lucky—all three monsters nodded, none of them truly stupid.

Dong Rui then produced that long spike, swaying it lightly before the three monsters: "Originally, it was your turn to be pierced. But if you can point out a major error in this scroll, this needle can be transferred to the long-armed ape."

Ah? The three monsters stared blankly.

Dong Rui gripped the large needle tip and first approached the Elk-Shu: "Let's start with you."

The long-armed ape's miserable state earlier had been seen by all three monsters, fear settling in their hearts. This person before them was not only ruthless and cruel, but his methods of punishment were especially vicious!

As a lackey of the Earth Mother, the long-armed ape was usually quite defiant, and normally loyal to the Earth Mother, yet it hadn't endured even half a cup of tea's time under this spike!

Seeing the large needle about to pierce itself, its tip still coated with the long-armed ape's blood, the Elk-Shu hurriedly said:

"Wait, wait, this map is missing the locations of several powerful guardian spirits!"

"Guardian spirits' locations?"

The Elk-Shu ignored the long-armed ape's eyes nearly bursting with fury and continued confessing:

"When the Earth Mother devours ruins or sects, if there are guardian spirits, they too will be tamed and kept within Jade Capital City. Where the representative architecture of the ruins is placed, there the guardian spirit resides."

The long-armed ape couldn't help but interject: "If you dare say that, the Mother Sovereign will surely send you to the wolf pack..."

Before it finished speaking, the ghost ape grabbed a spider-web rice ball and shoved it into its mouth.

The Elk-Shu spoke, and Dong Rui made additional marks on the scroll. It was a white-headed, chestnut-bodied monster with tiger stripes, resembling an antelope but eating both grass and meat, having joined Jade Capital City about six years ago, and usually helping manage the city's grasslands, so it was very familiar with the ghost city.

After marking seven locations in succession, the brush tip still hadn't stopped, and Dong Rui couldn't help but gasp: "Jade Capital City actually has this many guardian spirits? Do they all obey the Earth Mother?"

"Most do, but some are very stubborn, having been imprisoned for hundreds of years yet still refusing to submit."

"Interesting." Dong Rui became intrigued, "Come, you mark the key locations for me. Oh, what is the reason this guardian spirit refuses to submit?"

The Elk-Shu spoke in detail for over half an hour, after which Dong Rui nodded satisfiedly and pierced the long-armed ape with one needle.

While the long-armed ape's screams were muffled in its mouth, he turned to the second monster:

"Come, your turn."

This monster, after long consideration, had already prepared itself and blurted out: "I, I can also help."

"Oh?" Dong Rui raised the map, "What needs improvement?"

"Jade Capital City isn't just one level! There's also an underground city!" this monster said, "I usually guard the Blue Shell Tower's first level, which is actually the fifteenth level of the underground city!"

"So it's actually divided into upper and lower levels?" Holy shit, if you count the underground area, Jade Capital City's total area is truly outrageous. The Earth Mother lugs it around everywhere every day—doesn't she get tired?

"Exactly! The underground level is used to grow light-avoiding medicinal herbs, imprison prisoners, and store supplies."

With this monster's help, Dong Rui completed the map of the underground city.

Then he pierced the long-armed ape again with one needle, turning to the third monster: "Come, your turn."

"..."

After the three monsters each stated their key points, Dong Rui turned to the long-armed ape, which was already trembling all over, while the ghost ape produced the spider-web rice ball from its mouth.

"This needle it gave you—if you can answer the next question, you can be exempted—what is the Earth Mother's true form?"

The long-armed ape's expression clearly froze, but seeing the glint on the needle tip, it immediately said: "I'll say, I'll say—it's Jade Capital City itself!"

Dong Rui pondered, then suddenly pierced it with a needle, causing the long-armed ape to scream in pain.

"Nonsense."

Afterwards, the long-armed ape gave three or four more answers, all seen through by Dong Rui.

Finally, it had no strength left to cry out, weeping bitterly: "I don't know! I truly don't know—the Mother Sovereign never reveals her true form, and we, or rather, no monster has ever seen it! But I've heard the Mother Sovereign's true form is a vast mountain range!"

"Have you heard of Stone Heart?"

The long-armed ape startled.

Dong Rui raised his hand again, and it immediately stared at the needle tip and shouted: "Heard, heard of it! That's the Mother Sovereign's heart!"

"Where is it hidden?"

"I've heard it's in the city, but the exact location, I don't know either." The long-armed ape added, "Such a secret, the Mother Sovereign would never let us know! Whoever accidentally learns it must, must die!"

Seeing it had indeed spoken the truth, Dong Rui stretched lazily: "Next question—are there any forbidden zones in Jade Capital City that the Earth Mother prohibits any monster from approaching?"

"That, that there are too many."

"I mean 'any'! Including her closest aides, areas they cannot approach—do such places exist?"

After adding this condition, the long-armed ape thought for a while before saying: "Ah, there are. Deep in the underground city lies a white little house, which even the Earth Mother's most trusted Violent Bear King Ba cannot enter."

"Who can enter?"

"No one can enter, or rather, no one can approach."

(End of Chapter)