A series of creaking noises echoed as the stone tiles on the ground were pried up one by one. A thick, root-like black tree root emerged, about a meter wide. The creaking continued, as if some massive creature was moving beneath the earth.
Rumbling vibrations kept coming from beneath our feet, growing louder and louder. Suddenly, with a bang, the stone slab shattered, and with a swish, a vine shot out from the ground, instantly wrapping itself around Snowy.
Snowy screamed, and Mason Yu, seeing things go wrong, raised the Celestial Chord Sword and slashed at the vine emerging from the earth.
However, to our astonishment, the Celestial Chord Sword struck the vine but failed to cut it—even leaving no mark at all.
Hugh Thompson grabbed Snowy, and I hurried over. The three of us joined forces, desperately tugging at the vine that had sprung up from the ground, as Snowy was slowly being dragged downward.
"Ethan, try using your deathbane aura—quick!" Hugh Thompson shouted. I extended my hand, forming a sword of deathbane aura, and slashed at the vine.
Suddenly, as my aura sword neared the vine, it was frantically absorbed, and I felt my own deathbane aura draining away bit by bit.
I quickly withdrew my hand. Snowy was crying, her feet already grabbed by the vine and dragged into the earth. A pitch-black hole yawned open, nothing visible inside. The three of us clung desperately to the vine as it pulled downward.
"Brother, help me! Help me..." Snowy kept crying out.
My heart raced with anxiety. Suddenly, with a boom, a burst of fire lit up—Hugh Thompson had slapped a yellow talisman onto the vine, then pulled out a small bottle, unscrewed it, and poured pale yellow liquid over the vine. With a sizzle, the vine rapidly released Snowy and shrank back into the dark hole.
I grabbed Snowy and pulled her up. Just then, a swishing sound erupted—I glimpsed a surge of purple rising from the shadowy depths below: tendrils of purple vines, all targeting Snowy.
"Get inside me!" I shouted. In a flash, Snowy darted into my body. Immediately, the purple vines wrapped around me, their immense force dragging me downward.
"Ethan!" Mason Yu shouted.
All around me was pitch black—I couldn't see, but in my mind, I sensed a world of blinding white, crisscrossed with black, tangled things swirling around me.
I felt myself being pulled relentlessly downward, falling through the darkness. My body brushed against what felt like countless leaves.
Still falling, I could sense everything around me through the ghost network—my body was wrapped up, dragged ever deeper. Slowly, I realized I was nearing a vast, black pool below.
With a splash, I plunged into the water, startled. I clamped my mouth shut, but the water was shallow, so I scrambled to my feet.
"Brother, I still feel terrible... it hurts so much..."
Inside my body, Snowy seemed triggered by something, struggling in agony. Her pain made me cry out as well. I quickly got up, and the purple vines wrapped around me vanished.
A space woven with green and purple. Looking up, I saw a towering, ancient tree, thick with branches and leaves—purple to the left, green to the right. Dots of purple and green light hung from the massive tree before me.
The tree grew right out of the black pool at my feet. Snowy kept crying and struggling inside me. Clutching my chest, I looked around. The tree's massive roots—each as big as a truck—could serve as footholds, though they were dozens of meters away. I ran toward them.
Looking up at the glowing dots above, I couldn't see clearly, but I was sure those were Rakshasa Fruits.
As I reached the tangled roots, I became even more aware of the Rakshasa Tree's immense size. Standing below it, I felt like an ant at a human's feet.
The gnarled roots now loomed before me. Grabbing hold, I climbed upward. After a while, I reached a section of root six or seven meters wide, about four or five meters above the black water below.
"Brother, it hurts... It hurts so much, sob sob..."
Snowy sobbed, and tears rolled down my own cheeks. Shivering with a wave of dread, I crouched on the ground, clutching myself, trembling uncontrollably.
"Are you feeling something?"
I asked, but for a long time, Snowy just cried and didn't answer.
"Brother, I don't know why, but the moment I fell into that water, I felt so sad, so heartbroken..."
Suddenly, I remembered the rumors about the Rakshasa Tree. I quickly released some deathbane aura, intending to extract the sap from the root and see what would happen.
But as soon as I released my deathbane aura, the root below acted like a vacuum cleaner, instantly sucking up all the aura I let out.
I didn't dare release any more deathbane aura.
"Brother, let's get out of here... I feel terrible..."
Snowy pleaded. I nodded and stood up. The root below was rock hard when I tried to dig at it with my finger—no sap at all. I decided to climb higher.
With a gurgle, bubbles rose from the water. I watched warily, sensing something was about to happen—something was definitely in the water.
I quickly looked around. After figuring out a route upward, I headed for the trunk. With a splash, Grandma turned her head—then, from the black water below, a mass of purple, mud-like substance erupted. That mud gradually took on human form—a woman.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
I stared in astonishment.
"Brother, hurry up!"
I broke into a run. Behind me came the sound of mud splashing into water. Glancing back, my eyes widened in shock—a group of women, their skin pale and luminous as snow, completely naked, and all stunningly beautiful, were coming straight toward me.
With a series of splashes, water sprayed everywhere. I glanced at a root across from me, about two meters away, took a few steps back, then sprinted and leapt, landing on the opposite root.
Those naked women were overwhelmingly seductive, but I had no mind to pay them any attention. I kept running toward the trunk.
Suddenly, a woman jumped up from beneath the root in front of me, reaching out with her hand. Her purple eyes were expressionless, staring coldly at me.
I immediately raised my fist, letting out deathbane aura, and punched at the woman. With a thud, it felt like my fist plunged into mud. The woman wrapped her arms around me.
My fist was stuck in her head, as if frozen in place, impossible to pull out. Her whole body was icy cold. As she pressed against me, waves of chill seeped through my body.
With a slap, I turned my head—several more women had climbed up behind me, reaching out to embrace me.
I screamed, deathbane aura pouring out of me. But the moment it appeared, it was devoured. Four or five women wrapped themselves around me, and then the surrounding women began to melt, slowly, like candles, enveloping me completely until only my head remained exposed.
But I noticed one difference from being wrapped in wax—everything around me was soft and yielding, and I couldn't muster any strength. Wrapped up, I was slowly moved downward along the root.
"What do we do, brother?"
Snowy kept screaming. I looked around—the only thing I could rely on, my deathbane aura, was now completely useless.
I was slowly dragged downward, nearly touching the black water. Snowy had stopped speaking, but I could feel her presence inside me growing weaker, as if she might vanish at any moment.
"Snowy, Snowy, what's happening? Say something..." I shouted anxiously.
With a splash, I fell into the black water. The purple mud enveloping me kept writhing, as if trying to digest me.
Frantically, I searched my mind for a solution. What should I do? What could I possibly do?
Suddenly, birds chirped inside my body. My head buzzed, and I realized Snowy was absorbing my deathbane aura. I began to feel weak all over.
"Snowy, Snowy..."
I called out again. Suddenly, with a splat, mud splashed behind me—I felt something sprout from my back. A gust of wind roared, and I realized I was being lifted out of the black pool, rising upward.
Turning my head, I saw a pair of jet-black wings, like those of a small bird, flapping rapidly. A powerful current instantly blew away the mud covering me, and I slowly began to rise.
Ripples spread across the black water all around. I looked at the surface—a huge section had caved in. With a splat, a mass of purple mud fell from my body into the water. My hands were free, and then, with a thunderous roar, I shot upward, soaring into the sky.
"Snowy, is that you? Is it you?" I suddenly asked, but there was no response from Snowy inside me.
I kept flying upward, unable to control my direction, carried only by the black wings on my back.