Chapter 149 - 110: The World Is So Big, I Want to Go and See
The six of them approached the Mammoth once again. Yuan Xiaobo was in the lead, followed by Rose, and then the other four members.
From a distance, the Mammoth assumed an attack stance and roared, "Damn you, what is it you want? I will absolutely not let you steal it!!"
Yuan Xiaobo and Rose had fought it for some time, and it knew it couldn’t defeat the two of them quickly. Thus, it stopped its reckless attacks.
Yuan Xiaobo and Rose said nothing, looking instead to Lin Kong.
"Hey, big guy! We mean you no harm!"
"No thief ever admits to being a thief!!"
"Don’t worry. We’re not going to take your stone. We’re the people from the other side of that stone Teleportation Array; we have no need for yours!!"
"How do you know it’s a Teleportation Array??" The Mammoth was stunned. It shifted its body, shielding the rock securely behind it.
"Like I said, we’re from the other side of the Teleportation Array. Of course we’ve seen one before."
Unexpectedly, this only made the Mammoth more nervous.
"You want to steal my Teleportation Array and go back to your world?"
Lin Kong waved his hands quickly. "No, we have our own way back; we don’t need your Teleportation Array. Besides, that stone of yours has no energy. It can’t be activated."
"How can you prove that?"
Lin Kong spread his hands with a helpless shrug. "I can’t. The place is a bit far. I could prove it if you came with us, but I’m guessing you don’t want to leave here right now."
...
Neither side spoke. However, Lin Kong’s sincere words had significantly reduced the Mammoth’s hostility. Its bloodshot eyes cleared, but it still guarded its precious stone, watching Lin Kong and the others warily.
Seeing that the Mammoth’s hostility had faded, Lin Kong and his group relaxed as well.
Before their fight, they had already inspected the entire cave. Other than the rock carved with the Teleportation Array’s pattern, they hadn’t found anything else of note.
As for why the Spiritual Energy concentration was highest here, it had to be the plants. They hadn’t understood it before, but thinking it over now, it became clear.
These plants must have been brought back by the Frost Mammoth from Lin Kong’s territory. Those plants had grown within the domain of the World Tree and could inherently generate natural energy. After arriving in this new world, they had mutated—just like the other creatures—and could now produce a small amount of Spiritual Energy.
Although they couldn’t compare to the plants in their home territory, the output was still considerable. Coupled with the enclosed environment of the underground space, the Spiritual Energy here had just kept accumulating.
After hearing Lin Kong’s analysis, the group marveled at the strange ways of the world. The Lord’s original action—using food to convince the Mammoth to cease its attack—had ended up bringing such a drastic change to this world.
"Whoa~~ So you’re saying this world should be thanking us for keeping it alive!!"
The Mammoth’s hearing was quite sharp. It had stood at a distance and listened to Lin Kong’s entire analysis. After weighing it against what it knew, it concluded that Lin Kong probably wasn’t lying.
However, it did have a few disagreements with what Lin Kong said. "Hey! These plants are much stronger than the ones from your world! They taste better and contain more energy, too."
The Mammoth retorted, clearly proud of the change it had unintentionally brought to this world.
Lin Kong and the others exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.
Amid the laughter, the Mammoth grew flustered. "What are you laughing at? My plants are obviously tastier and have more energy than the ones from your world did back then. If you don’t believe me, try one!!"
As it spoke, the Mammoth plucked a few fruits from a nearby plant and tossed them to Lin Kong and his group.
The six of them caught the fruit, wiped them off, and took a bite. (As Druids, being able to tell if a plant was poisonous was practically a passive skill.)
"Not bad. It’s pretty tasty."
"Yeah, they’re on par with the fruit from our territory a few years ago."
"I can feel some of my energy returning. They’re pretty good."
...
After finishing, the group was in agreement about the fruit’s taste and energy.
Seeing them eat with enjoyment, the Mammoth smiled smugly. "So, what do you think? Not bad, huh? I told you they’re better than the ones from your world now."
"The main reason I’m guarding this stone is that I want to go to your world, find more kinds of plants, and diversify my garden," the Mammoth added.
Lin Kong shook his head. "Big guy, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. The connection to our world through this stone was a one-time event. The kind of Teleportation Array you came through won’t be appearing in our world again."
"However, since you want to find other plants from our world, we happen to have brought some supplies with us. We have some extra fruit you can sample."
He decided to take out some fruit from their territory to let the Mammoth have a taste, to entice it a little.
Lin Kong pulled some nuts from his backpack and tossed them to the Mammoth.
SNIFF~~
The Mammoth took a sniff, sensed the dense Spiritual Qi within the nuts, then curled its trunk around them and popped them into its mouth.
"Ahhh~~ delicious—"
The taste of the nuts completely blew the Mammoth’s expectations out of the water. It had thought the plants it cultivated were delicious enough, but it never imagined the nuts Lin Kong’s group produced would taste even better and be far more packed with Spiritual Energy.
The Mammoth kept chewing the nuts, unwilling to swallow them. It savored them until they were ground into a fine paste.
GULP—
"Aah~~"
"Got any more?"
The Mammoth’s question drew stifled laughter from the team members.
Lin Kong chuckled. "Of course. We have some more."
He then pulled more nuts from his backpack and tossed them to the Mammoth.