Chapter 954 - 39: Insect Clan, Demon Clan, Divine Clan (Three Updates)

Chapter 954: Chapter 39: Insect Clan, Demon Clan, Divine Clan (Three Updates)

Mu Qingge’s answer warmed Si Mo’s heart.

Si Mo’s actions also warmed Mu Qingge’s heart.

The two of them, who were originally cold-hearted and indifferent, collided in the dark, and from not understanding at first, learned to warm each other.

That night, nothing special happened in the end.

After accompanying Mu Qingge for a while, Si Mo left with Gu Ya and Gu Ye. He only left behind a sentence, ’We’ll meet again at the Gugu Tribe.’

After Si Mo left, it seemed as if the forbidden technique on Tong Teng was lifted, and he returned to normal.

He hesitated for a moment, looked at Mu Qingge, who seemed not to have moved from beside him, and asked, "Boss, what happened to me just now? Did I take a nap?"

"Well, you should be too tired, just nodded off for a while." Mu Qingge nodded slightly while tending to the fire pile, smoothly covering up for him.

Her calm demeanor and composure left Tong Teng without any suspicion.

He guiltily said, "Ah! How could I fall asleep? Making you keep watch alone, Boss."

Mu Qingge shook her head and said, "No problem. You just nodded off for a little while."

While they were conversing, footsteps came from behind.

Tong Teng looked up and saw Zhuang Shan and Feng Xing coming over to take their shift.

"You both must be tired, leave this to us. You should rest," Zhuang Shan said to Mu Qingge and Tong Teng.

At his words, Tong Teng felt embarrassed. He sneaked a glance at Mu Qingge, who then dropped the branch she was using to stir the bonfire, stood up, and said to Zhuang Shan and Feng Xing, "Thanks to Brother Zhuang Shan and Brother Feng Xing."

Feng Xing, still shy, lowered his head and shook it.

Zhuang Shan also shook his head and said, "The hard work is on you two, quickly go rest."

Mu Qingge nodded and led Tong Teng back to the cave behind them. On the way, Tong Teng embarrassingly suggested, "Boss, you go rest, I’ll accompany Brother Zhuang Shan for the watch."

Mu Qingge turned her eyes to him, "You’re not going to rest?"

Tong Teng replied, "I just nodded off during my watch. How can I go back to sleep now?"

"It’s fine, nothing happened anyway," Mu Qingge said.

Tong Teng felt guilty, "Originally, I was supposed to keep watch with you, but I fell asleep midway, and by the time I woke up, it was time for the shift change. If I don’t make up for it, I won’t feel at ease."

Mu Qingge smiled, "If you really feel uneasy, you can watch carefully tonight on your shift. Now, with Brother Zhuang Shan and Brother Feng Xing here, there’s no need for so many people."

Persuaded by Mu Qingge, Tong Teng finally gave up his intentions.

The eight of them rested for a night, and in the morning, it was Xuan Qiang and Xu Bing’s shift.

After resting enough, Li Chao led the group deeper into the Insect Abyss.

After another day’s journey, they arrived at the Gugu Tribe by sunset.

Upon reaching the Gugu Tribe, the Insect Clan members were already waiting outside.

"Are you from the Divine Clan?" The Insect Clan member standing outside the tribe addressed Mu Qingge’s group of eight.

The Insect Clan retained a very primitive architectural style. Even though the Gugu Tribe was already quite large and powerful among the Insect Clan, they still merely used stone to build pillars and round logs for the entrance gate at the entrance.

On the stones were painted various mysterious totems, inspiring awe and caution.

Upon hearing the Insect Clan’s query, Li Chao stepped forward and nodded, "Yes. We are from the East Divine Land Huan Yue Domain. I am Li Chao, they are all my junior brothers and sisters, coming to the Insect Abyss under the command of the Huan Yue God Emperor, representing the Divine Clan."

"So you are from the East Divine Land Huan Yue Domain, please come in." The Insect Clan member showed a friendly smile after hearing Li Chao’s introduction.

When entering the Gugu Tribe, Mu Qingge’s gaze involuntarily swept over the ground at the entrance.

She still remembered the hidden insect formation set at the entrance of the Insect Clan’s tribe during her first visit. If someone unaware of its nature intruded, they would likely meet an ugly death.

Upon entering the tribe, the environment of the Gugu Tribe became clearly visible to the group of eight.

The buildings here were circular stilt houses. The roofs were conical and covered with straw. The highest point had a totem carved out of stone and painted with colors.

The streets were not specifically treated but paved with small stones, which over time of constant walking, were polished smooth and round.

The Gugu Tribe is one of the stronger tribes among the Insect Clan.

However, its population is only about two thousand people, making it unable to match the might of the Divine and Demon Clans.

Upon entering the Gugu Tribe, Mu Qingge recalled how she and Si Mo had wiped out the Chongyan Tribe overnight, a tribe once claimed to be the strongest and most formidable among the Insect Clan. If they truly provoked the Divine and Demon Clans, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Demon Lord’s fury.

"Everyone, you are the first to arrive. The Demon Clan people have not yet arrived, so please rest in the prepared rooms first. There will be a welcoming banquet for you later in the tribe." The Insect Clan guide led the eight of them to four of those elevated circular buildings.

Eight people, four rooms, obviously two people per room.

"Everyone, please rest first. If something comes up, you can find me." After saying this, the person turned and left.

Watching his departing figure, Yu Qi couldn’t help but say, "As expected, the Insect Clan is an uncultivated place. They guided us here and that was it. When the Eldest Young Master reported his name earlier, this person didn’t even give his name, and now he says if there’s something, just find him, how are we supposed to find him?"

"Alright, Yu Qi," Li Chao interrupted Yu Qi’s complaints. He withdrew his gaze and said to the other seven, "The Insect Clan’s ways of treating people and handling matters do not require our attention. Before the Demon Clan arrives, let’s rest well in our rooms and cultivate, so there will be no trouble with the Insect Clan."

After a pause, he added, "There are four rooms. Let’s stick to the old rules."

Everyone understood what the old rules meant.

With a nod, he led Yu Qi into one room, and Xuan Qiang took Xu Bing into another. For the remaining two rooms, Mu Qingge let Zhuang Shan choose first.

Zhuang Shan smiled, "These houses look the same. Nothing to choose." After saying this, he led Feng Xing into one of the rooms.

The remaining room naturally went to Mu Qingge and Tong Teng.

As the two stood outside the room, Tong Teng chuckled and excitedly approached Mu Qingge, saying curiously, "Boss, since it’s rare for us to visit the Insect Clan, why not take a stroll?" The interest in his eyes was intense, clearly not wanting to stay in the room.

However, Mu Qingge shook her head and said to him, "I’ve heard that very few outsiders ever enter the tribes of the Insect Clan. Do you know why?"

Tong Teng was taken aback and shook his head in confusion.

Mu Qingge laughed playfully, "The Ancient Insect Abyss is a common trial ground for the Divine and Demon Clans, yet it is home to secluded tribes. It is said that these tribes, which outsiders are not allowed to approach, hide Insect Formations. The Insect Clan is skilled at controlling insects, so where they live, there are all sorts of bugs everywhere, capable of killing invisibly and making defense impossible. Who knows, there might be insects right under your feet at this very moment."

Tong Teng was so frightened by Mu Qingge’s words that his face turned pale and his legs went weak.

A single insect isn’t scary, but a swarm of insects... especially ones with Cultivation, is truly terrifying!

Just then, as if to prove Mu Qingge’s point, a small insect crawled out from a crack by Tong Teng’s foot and quickly scurried away.

"Ah!" Tong Teng screamed and quickly lifted his foot, then immediately closed his mouth tight, not daring to make another sound.

He looked at Mu Qingge with a pale face and pleaded, "Boss, let’s go back to the room before we talk."

Mu Qingge wanted to laugh at Tong Teng’s frightened appearance. She nodded, turned, and walked toward the remaining empty room. As she moved, Tong Teng immediately followed closely behind.

...

In the house where the Clan Leader lived in the Gugu Tribe, the person who had previously led Li Chao and the others in and made arrangements for them was now standing before an elderly man with a head full of gray braids and colorful paint on his cheeks.

This man was the Clan Leader of the Gugu Tribe, named Feng Tu.

"Have those from the Divine Clan been settled?" Feng Tu asked.

The person respectfully said to him, "They have all been settled, Clan Leader."

Feng Tu nodded and sighed, "This was supposed to be a matter for our Insect Abyss, yet the Divine and Demon Clans have muddled in."

The person quietly consoled, "Clan Leader, there’s nothing we can do. When the Exotic Treasure surfaced, it just so happened that members of the Demon Clan were also there training. If we don’t bring in the Divine Clan, we might not have any chance at all, and the treasure would be taken by the Demon Clan."

"But now with the Divine and Demon Clans involved, it seems like this has nothing to do with us anymore," Feng Tu said, frustrated.

The Divine and Demon Clans surely don’t want the Insect Clan to be won over by the other side, but the Insect Clan also knows that the Divine and Demon Clans’ attitude towards them isn’t out of fear.

"Perhaps not necessarily, Clan Leader. Didn’t they say someone from the Conghui Tribe once saved someone from the Demon Clan? When the time comes, perhaps they might exit the competition out of gratitude," the person suggested.

Feng Tu was stunned and sighed, "If it were as simple as you say, why would I involve the Divine Clan? It’s rare for an Exotic Treasure to appear in our Insect Abyss, and this time it was discovered together by the Conghui Tribe and the Demon Clan. They were afraid they couldn’t win, so they brought it to us. Just because they saved someone from the Demon Clan doesn’t mean all members of the Demon Clan owe them that favor, unless they saved the Demon Lord himself."

Seeing the Clan Leader’s distress, the person advised, "Clan Leader, now the people from the Conghui Tribe and the Divine Clan are here, only the Demon Clan is missing. We’ll have to take it step by step."

"There’s nothing else we can do," Feng Tu sighed.

...

On another side of the Gugu Tribe, in two guest rooms lived two people each.

In one of the rooms, if Mu Qingge were here, she would surely find the occupants inside surprising.

Because the people living in this room were the grandfather and granddaughter who once saved Si Mo. That elder from the Insect Clan, and his granddaughter, Lingling.

At this moment, the two of them were having a conversation in the room.

"Grandfather, the treasure was clearly discovered by our Conghui Tribe, why hand it over to the Gugu Tribe to handle?" Lingling asked, puzzled.

The elder didn’t seem unhappy, instead he appeared relaxed and said, "You don’t understand. Our Conghui Tribe is small and weak, why compete with the Demon Clan? By handing it over to the Gugu Tribe, we can just watch from the sidelines."

"But... won’t the treasure become someone else’s?" Lingling said, unwillingly.

The elder smacked his lips, squinting his eyes, and said, "No one knows what the treasure actually is, whether it’s good or bad, useful or not."

"But... that’s too weak," Lingling mumbled.

The elder glared at her and said, "What do you know? The ones who live the longest in this world are the strongest and most powerful."

"..." Lingling was stunned, speechless for a moment.

Grandfather’s words seemed to make sense, yet also seemed senseless.

After a while, she finally managed to say, "By grandfather’s logic, doesn’t that make the dragon-turtle that hasn’t moved an inch in tens of thousands of years the most powerful?"

This time, the elder was countered and left speechless, widening his eyes.

In the bustling Gugu Tribe, Mu Qingge didn’t know, nor did Li Chao and the others.

Perhaps the most clueless ones here were them.

There was nothing they could do, after all, they were sent by an unreliable God Emperor. The other Divine Domains didn’t want to bother with this, yet their God Emperor sent them here.

"Boss, what kind of treasure do you think has appeared in the Insect Abyss this time?" Tong Teng asked curiously.

Mu Qingge shook her head with a faint smile.

"I guess it’s nothing important, at most it’s something that the Divine Clan doesn’t care about. Otherwise, the people from other Divine Domains would have rushed here already," Zhuang Shan said, pushing the door open, and replied to Tong Teng with a smile.

However, Li Chao’s voice came from outside the door, "That’s not necessarily true. Perhaps they’re waiting for us to bring the item back to the Divine Land before discussing ownership."

Mu Qingge froze, silently thinking, ’So many people appearing?’

Then, Xuan Qiang’s voice also coldly sounded, "Discuss ownership? What we bring back naturally belongs to the Huan Yue Domain."

Li Chao slowly shook his head, smiled nonchalantly, and did not comment further.

Some matters, Xuan Qiang saw simply, but he saw them more far-reaching.

Mu Qingge looked at the people who had suddenly appeared inside and outside her room, and laughed, "Why has everyone come to me?"

Li Chao smiled and said, "The people of the Insect Clan came to invite us, saying the Demon Clan has arrived. They want us to attend the welcome feast they are preparing."

"A feast by the Insect Clan! I hope it’s not all insects to eat!" Tong Teng said with a face of terror.

However, what Mu Qingge paid attention to was the first half of Li Chao’s sentence. She muttered to herself in a very low voice, "The Demon Clan has arrived."