375: Wood Spirits: Master, you are finally here

The entrance to the Secret Realm opened, and Long Aotian and Mu Lan flashed inside.

Releasing his Divine Sense, Long Aotian quickly learned some basic information about the Secret Realm.

This Secret Realm was not large, only a hundred miles in circumference, with several miniature Immortal Rank supreme-grade spirit ore veins planted underground.

It was evident that the ancestors of the Wood Spirit Clan did not wish for their descendants to merely survive here for long, nor did they want the Wood Spirit Clan to collectively hide here and barely scrape by.

This place was primarily used as a repository for their essence, a place to preserve their lineage.

That is, in the face of an extinction crisis, a small portion of the Wood Spirit Clan was allowed to hide here to ensure that the Wood Spirit Clan would not be wiped out.

The opening of the Secret Realm's entrance seemed to startle all the Wood Spirit Clan members within the Secret Realm.

When Long Aotian and Mu Lan entered, they saw no one at first glance; it was completely silent inside.

The silence was eerie!

However, under the scrutiny of Divine Sense, these Wood Spirit Clan members could not hide.

They had all hidden, many comically covering their bodies with vegetation, while many others chose to burrow directly into the ground.

Seeing this scene, Long Aotian couldn't quite smile, because he saw that most of those who covered their bodies with vegetation were trembling.

They were afraid!

Mu Lan had clearly not lied to him; under the sweep of Divine Sense, the number of Wood Spirit Clan members in the Secret Realm could not be concealed.

Twenty-three thousand people!

Mu Lan's initial statement of less than a hundred thousand, then her revision to less than thirty thousand, was still optimistic.

Twenty-three thousand people, most of them young people around twenty years old, with only a few hundred males and all the rest females.

There were only three elderly beautiful women!

"Tell them all to come out!"

Long Aotian's heart felt heavy at this moment.

The cultivation of these people was generally not high; they clearly did not believe that the person who opened the Secret Realm's entrance would be their Clan Chief, who had been gone for a long time. Instead, they thought their hiding place had been exposed, and they were about to face death and extinction.

There was a graveyard in the Secret Realm, where tens of thousands of Wood Spirit Clan members rested. Seeing their young group, it was roughly evident how they survived and perpetuated their lineage while trapped here.

Once they reached a certain age, they either left the Secret Realm to find their own way, or faced death, so as not to consume too many survival resources within the Secret Realm.

But it was clear that, as the last remaining spark of the Wood Spirit Clan, their awareness was very high. Going out might mean exposure and the death of all their clan members. These people mostly made the tragic choice to bravely sacrifice themselves for the continued survival of their race.

"Grand Elder Mu Zhen, Grand Elder Mu Shan, Grand Elder Mu Mei, brothers and sisters, please all come out! I am Mu Lan, I have returned!"

"..."

"Grand Elder Mu Zhen, Grand Elder Mu Shan, Grand Elder Mu Mei, brothers and sisters, please all come out! I am Mu Lan, I have returned!"

"..."

"Grand Elder Mu Zhen"

"Mu Lan is back?"

"Is the Clan Chief back?"

"..."

Just as Mu Lan was about to call out for the third time, someone among the trembling Wood Spirit Clan members, who were hiding, finally spoke.

With the first person speaking, a second person followed, and then someone dared to boldly scan Mu Lan and Long Aotian with their Divine Sense.

Upon realizing it was truly their Clan Chief, some immediately stopped being afraid and hiding. Soon, joyous voices filled the air, and the Secret Realm was temporarily immersed in a festive atmosphere.

Watching their joyful scene, Long Aotian's heart felt complicated.

It was unimaginable how they, pushed to such a desperate situation, could still smile so happily and live so innocently.

This, perhaps, was the Wood Spirit Clan!

"Hmm? You are... Master?!"

Soon, everyone discovered that not only had Mu Lan returned, but she had also brought back a handsome man. In their surprise, Grand Elder Mu Zhen was the first to confirm Long Aotian's identity.

Mu Lan knew the importance of this place to the Wood Spirit Clan; it was impossible for her to bring anyone back casually. Anyone brought in undoubtedly proved that this person was very, very important to their Wood Spirit Clan.

Immediately after, she faintly sensed an aura from Long Aotian that made her feel very comfortable. Although she was not the Clan Chief and had not received the Ancestor's memory Legacy, it was not difficult for her to guess who this young man in front of her truly was.

Not to mention, their Clan Chief had left with the mission to find the Chaos Clan.

Could it be that their Clan Chief truly stumbled upon a dead rat like a blind cat and caught a Chaos Clan member?!

Long Aotian didn't know that at this moment, he had suddenly become a 'dead rat'.

A Chaos Clan member who had been caught!

"What, Master?!"

Following Grand Elder Mu Zhen's surprised voice, Grand Elder Mu Shan and Grand Elder Mu Mei also carefully scrutinized Long Aotian.

"Hehe, three Grand Elders, you guessed correctly. This handsome man is the brand new Chaos Clan, the Master of our Wood Spirit Clan. I found him and brought him back!"

"Is it really the Master?!"

"Wuwu... Master, you finally appeared, you finally came!"

"..."