Chapter 113 Elemental Life and Elemental Demon Realm in Diligent Work
"Stop!" Bluehorn's face darkened. "I don't want to hear you describe how much her soul suits your taste. I'm not interested in anyone's soul!"
"Oh. What a tasteless guy." Xi rolled her eyes.
However, Xi didn't continue the topic of the soul. He began to speak:
"I came to this territory with Shuxin. Don't be fooled by how nice this place looks now; it was almost exactly like the Poisonous Fog Wasteland at the beginning. It's all thanks to Shuxin that it's become what it is today. She says she's a River Elf, but I've never heard of this race before. And the people of her kind I've encountered all have bodies modified from alchemical golems made by humans. To be honest, if this race really exists, either it's been deliberately hidden, or it's on the verge of extinction, or both of these are true at the same time."
Bluehorn pondered, "I was wondering... those little things wielding staffs who came to greet us, were they this lord's kin? They... are completely different kinds of beings?"
Xi nodded, then shook her head: "That's what I thought at first too, but when I met those little things, they were ten thousand times weaker than they are now! In such a short time, Shu Xin has nurtured her weak kin into countless times stronger ones. Even if this race is really on the verge of extinction, with Shu Xin around, they will definitely be able to continue their lineage."
“Even if I choose to become the Demon King, I will only repeat the same mistakes. I was born from destruction, and all I can bring is destruction.” Xi stood up and said softly, “But Shu Xin is different, Lan Jiao. The path she walks is a path full of vitality and hope. The future she sees is a future where everyone can live well. Just watch, Lan Jiao, you will understand soon.”
Shu Xin was exhausted after cooking a meal for more than two thousand demons. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke up the next day, the first thing Shu Xin did was look out the window.
As dawn broke, the flower fairies were still asleep, and the wind rustled through the canopy of the Tree of Life.
Although Shu Xin said yesterday that the demons could sleep under the Tree of Life at night, it seems that they still spent the night far away from the Tree of Life. However, even though she could not see the demons at all, Shu Xin could still sense their presence—just like she could catch a glimpse of a large truck passing by on the road out of the corner of her eye.
The two thousand-plus demons all exuded a dangerous aura, and Xi had repeatedly emphasized their combat strength. Shu Xin thought of the empty salt powder in the kitchen, so she woke up the little lamb who was still fast asleep and asked the demons to go out and mine salt rocks.
“Xi, we’ve run out of salt powder. Have some of the demons go and mine for salt rocks. Tell them to bring back as many salt rocks as they can. If they can catch a snow sheep, that would be best. If not, catching other animals will do,” Shu Xin instructed. “It would also be best to check if there are any other water sources nearby. The Sun Spring alone can’t meet the water needs of so many people. Do you remember where we found the salt rocks before?”
Xi was now as obedient as he could possibly be. He quickly transformed back into human form and nodded earnestly, "I remember, don't worry, Shuxin!"
“I can only rest assured now. Water is such a big problem…” Shu Xin rubbed her temples, and then, as if remembering something, she added, “I said yesterday that I would give you the toilet blueprints tonight because I was thinking of separating the toilet from the living area. Now that I think about it, I should build the toilet inside the house. Anyway, there is cleaning magic. As for the specific structure of the underground dwelling, I still need you to provide it. After all, I don’t know the living preferences of your demon race.”
Xi: "...Preferences? We probably don't have any preferences. I've told you about the situation of mixed-race people before. It's good enough that we're alive. Shuxin, you can make the arrangements. I guarantee everyone will be satisfied!"
Forced satisfaction, is that it? Shu Xin was speechless, but not entirely unable to understand. "When the granaries are full, people know shame; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know etiquette." When survival is at stake, everything else has to take a back seat.
She noticed it yesterday: these demons were covered by feathers, scales, or a combination of both. Although they looked human, they were all naked.
Shu Xin glanced at the black robe on the blond boy, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Xi, is this a real robe?"
Xi looked down at her robe, not understanding what Shu Xin was asking: "What do you mean, real clothes or fake clothes? Ah, clothes..."
He fell silent, and Shu Xin understood, so she also fell silent.
Finally, Shu Xin changed the subject: "I saw the demons you brought yesterday, and they all seemed to be male? Are there no female hybrids? Or is it just that you didn't bring any?"
"I don't think I've told you about the Demon Realm yet?" Xi didn't answer directly, but asked this question instead.
Shu Xin nodded.
Lowering her eyes, Xi said, "The Demon Realm is also called the Elemental Demon Realm. Only elemental life forms can survive there. Although we acquire a material form of existence when we enter the material plane, we are still elemental life forms in essence."
Shu Xin only half understood: "Does this have anything to do with men or women?"
"Shuxin, do you think magical elements like wind, fire, and water have genders?" Xi asked rhetorically.
Shu Xin: "...Elements definitely don't have genders, wait, you mean elemental life forms don't have genders either?"
Xi laughed, her eyes curving into crescents: "Elemental life forms do have genders!"
Shu Xin: "…………"
"Doesn't that sound contradictory? Elements have no gender, but elemental life forms do. This is because the demons of the Demon Realm were not originally elemental life forms," Xi explained with a smile, her tone inexplicably sarcastic. "Shuxin, you know that the Earth Mother Goddess gave birth to the Creator God, and the Creator God created the world, right?"
Seeing Shu Xin nod, Xi continued, "The Demon Realm was created by the creator god who cursed the Earth Mother Goddess. The Demon Realm then betrayed its creator god, and all the races living in the Demon Realm were transformed into elemental life forms. Therefore, elemental life forms, which originally had no gender, were given gender. Magical elements can be transformed into each other, which means that elemental life forms can also be transformed into each other. This also means that demon races that have become elemental life forms can easily transform into other races."
"Huh?" Shu Xin was a little confused. "What do you mean, 'It's easy to become another race'? Can race be changed so easily?"
Could it be that an elf can turn into a dwarf?
“Water can turn into ice, and water can also turn into mist,” Xi gave a very straightforward example. “A water dragon can turn into an ice dragon, and a water dragon can also turn into a mist dragon.”
Shu Xin finally understood: "That's right, they're elemental life forms..." Truly, this is a magical world...
Xi said indifferently, "Once it becomes the latter, the former ceases to exist. Moreover, the elements are often contaminated during this process, making the change irreversible. When a water dragon becomes an ice dragon mixed with wind elements or a mist dragon mixed with lightning elements, it can never turn back into a water dragon. If water dragons cannot live in a suitable elemental environment, their population will continue to decline until they eventually become extinct."
"A suitable elemental environment?" Shu Xin immediately grasped the key point. "In order to ensure that their own race can have a suitable elemental environment for survival, there must be struggles between elemental life forms of different races, right?"
Xi's smile suddenly became so bright it was almost distorted: "You guessed right!"
Shu Xin: "...Be normal!"
With an "Oh," Xi touched her nose, her overly bright smile fading slightly. She then defended herself, saying, "I just find it ridiculous..."
Xi said softly, "Large-scale wars between elemental life forms will create elemental storms. Hybrids are born from these elemental storms. Because they are the ultimate mixture of the overflowing power of countless elemental life forms, hybrids find it difficult to transform into other elemental life forms. However, because they contain too much elemental power, hybrids do not have the ability to reproduce."
"For those purebloods who are committed to maintaining the stability and continuation of their own race, the existence of hybrids is unforgivable. All hybrids will be hunted down by purebloods, especially female hybrids. Even if they cannot bear offspring, they will still be relentlessly hunted down." He finally answered Shu Xin's initial question directly: "There are female hybrids, but none of them have survived to this day. Therefore, all the demon hybrids I brought are male."
"This is really awful..." Shu Xin couldn't help but sigh.
If only we could get to the Demon Realm and bring the mixed-blood women to the Material Plane before they were killed... Wait, if Xi and the others can come to the Material Plane, won't the purebloods also come after them? Thinking of this, Shu Xin hesitated for a moment before asking, "Won't you be chased by the purebloods again once you're in the Material Plane?"
Xi chuckled: "They're busy fighting and having babies! The elemental state of the material plane is far more complex and unpredictable, so they wouldn't dare come here!"
This put Shu Xin at ease. Otherwise, she would have to fight against the monsters from the outer continent while also fighting against the demon race that was chasing her across dimensions—it would have been hell on earth!
Remembering something, Xi added, "However, the gender of many hybrids can actually be changed. Being female would lead to more intense hunting, so naturally they would choose to become male. Now that we've come to a material plane where there are no purebloods, and you, as the territory's owner, are female, there should be quite a few hybrids who would choose to become female."
...Is that even possible?! This truly is a magical world, Shu Xin couldn't help but exclaim again.
"By the way, since purebloods don't dare to come to the material plane, did any of the mixed-blood demons come here to escape the pursuit?" Shu Xin asked curiously.
Xi smiled dismissively: "Them? The world barrier isn't that easy to open."
Shu Xin crossed her arms: "Oh? You seem pretty good. Then why did you act like you couldn't even beat a patrol officer before?"
Xi said quite confidently, "I can't beat anyone on an empty stomach."
"..." Shu Xin waved her hand, signaling him to leave quickly, out of sight, out of mind.
After chatting with Xi for so long, the sun had already risen. Shuxin quickly ate a quick breakfast to fill her stomach and then hurriedly started working.
First, she went to the terrace to retrieve the initial draft of the Harvest Moon patrol plan, which had been inscribed on the leaves of the Tree of Life. Now that the demons had joined the fray, Shu Xin planned to wait until they returned from mining salt rocks, assess their combat strength, and then adjust the plan accordingly.
Afterwards, Shu Xin went to Sun Spring to take a look, and the flower fairies had already begun to process the acorns soaking in Sun Spring.
Now, all the flower fairy commoners in the Land of Sin—including the flower fairies who recently became commoners from slaves—have received their own magic wands. After waving their wands to release a defensive shield, they go into the water under the shield to retrieve acorns that have been soaking for a long time. The flower fairy slaves help on the shore to shell the acorns, extract the kernels, and dry them. Once a certain amount has been accumulated, Shu Xin comes over to crush the processed kernels into acorn flour and transfer it to the underground warehouse for storage.
There weren't enough acorns today. Shu Xin glanced at them and, confirming that the flower fairies were becoming increasingly skilled at using their magic wands, happily flew off to check on the construction progress of the mushroom houses. The patrolling flower fairies were also working diligently. Shu Xin estimated that, at the current pace, they should be able to build all the necessary mushroom houses before the harvest month arrived.
With a soft exhale, Shu Xin turned and flew towards the cranberry grove. The gray birds she had previously entrusted to the servants of Flower Castle for hatching were now being raised in this area. The gray birds were growing quite fast, and now the gray birds roaming back and forth under the cranberry trees had become a small flock. They also had quite a appetite, having almost completely devoured the leaves on the lower half of the cranberry trees.
Using a concealment spell, Shu Xin landed in the cranberry grove and immediately spotted several bird eggs scattered on the ground.
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Author's Note: Developing a world-building concept is prone to getting stuck [like punching the Earth to pieces].
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