Those roots seemed endless; no matter how many I chopped down, more immediately surged forward to replace them.
Even after hacking away until I was drenched in sweat, I couldn't completely destroy them. Eventually, I had no choice but to retreat.
Just then, Nuwa's Forsaken Shade pulled out a shamanic charm. After muttering a few incantations, she actually swallowed the talisman whole.
A few seconds later, her neck suddenly flushed red, and her cheeks bulged.
With a roaring sound, Nuwa's Forsaken Shade spewed a massive mouthful of fire from her mouth, instantly reducing the oncoming red roots to ashes. The ones behind hesitated and no longer dared to advance.
"This is a plant-based demon—these are its demonic roots. Fire works best against them. Have you two seen enough? Come out and help!" Nuwa's Forsaken Shade shouted.
She was referring to Makaay and Big Beard. We'd been fighting for a while now, and those two still hadn't shown themselves.
Right at that moment, a Bagua sword suddenly flew out. It divided into two, then three, and finally into eight duplicates, all plunging into the mass of roots. A crackling sound erupted among the roots, accompanied by countless sparks.
Those roots were chopped into pieces, retreating fearfully like a tidal wave. In the end, the eight swords merged back into one.
Amazing. I'd only seen this kind of magic on TV—it was incredible. But if you had this ability, why not show up earlier? Damn you!
Big Beard emerged and, instead of pressing the advantage, picked up his Bagua Sword. Impaled on the tip was a still-wriggling root, seemingly still alive.
"Don't worry, it can't escape now. Once it shows itself, it won't get away from me," Makaay said as he also stepped out. He placed the severed root on his compass.
Makaay traced chaotic incantations over the root with two fingers, then gave a firm tap. After burning a yellow Taoist talisman, the compass immediately began to move.
"Stay close to me. Don't get separated," Makaay instructed before starting to run in the direction indicated by the compass. Big Beard followed immediately.
I wanted to leave—to let them chase the demon on their own. There was no point in me following anyway, and I had no intention of risking my life. But Nuwa's Forsaken Shade grabbed me firmly by the collar and dragged me along with her.
"Big sis, if you want to go, go ahead—why drag me into it?" I complained inwardly. Is this Nuwa's Forsaken Shade crazy?
"No. If I go back without completing the mission, that old man will definitely punish me. You have to stay with me. Even if I die, I'm taking you with me. I won't let that old man have his way. If you die, he'll never get the secret of immortality," Nuwa's Forsaken Shade explained.
What the hell kind of logic is that? So if you die, you have to drag me down with you? Besides, am I really that important? Can't the secret of immortality be found without me?
Anyway, Nuwa's Forsaken Shade didn't care and was determined to drag me along, pulling me relentlessly and refusing to let go until Makaay finally stopped at the edge of a cliff.
"This is it!" Makaay said just as the compass in his hand came to a halt.
There was definitely something wrong with this cliffside. It was the source of the red mist, and the fog here was at its thickest, almost dense as smoke.
But there was no demon in sight—only a woman in a red dress lying unconscious at the cliff's edge. She seemed to have fainted, and her position was precarious; one roll and she would plunge straight down.
Big Beard looked over at Makaay, silently asking what was going on.
"She doesn't carry any demonic aura—she's not a demon. But the demonic energy here is very strong. The demon must be hiding nearby," Makaay said.
Since she wasn't a demon, and the woman in the red dress was in such danger, we had to save her—even if we had no idea how she ended up fainted here.
Big Beard took the lead and walked over. Only when we got closer did we realize how extremely beautiful the woman was—with willow-leaf eyebrows, a melon-seed face, silky black hair, fair skin, and an extraordinary elegance.
"How did such a stunning beauty end up passed out here?" Big Beard squatted down and reached out to check her breathing.
"Still breathing—she's alive!" Big Beard chuckled nervously. "Makaay, keep an eye out for the demon for me. Don't let it sneak up and hurt me. I'll give the girl some artificial respiration."
"Ugh, pervert!" Nuwa's Forsaken Shade and I cursed under our breath in unison.
Big Beard was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation. Such a beautiful woman, and he wants to give her artificial respiration? How shameless.
"Be careful. This is demon territory," Makaay frowned. He didn't outright forbid it, but Big Beard was too captivated to care. He stared at the woman's red lips, leaning in to perform mouth-to-mouth.
"It's fine. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. It'd be such a waste for a beauty like this to die here," Big Beard said, opening his mouth wide as he moved in for the "kiss."
But the moment he got close, the woman suddenly opened her mouth wide too—revealing a full set of fangs, sharp and long. Her face gradually twisted into something hideous, and her jaw opened so wide she could have bitten off half of Big Beard's face.
"What the hell!" Big Beard reacted quickly, scrambling backward to dodge. But he was too close to completely avoid it. The right side of his face was torn open—a chunk of flesh bitten clean off. Blood immediately gushed out, covering half his face. The wound was horrifying to look at.
But losing a piece of flesh was still better than losing his life—any way you looked at it, coming out alive was a win.
"Makaay, damn you! You lied to me—that thing is clearly a demon! How could it have no demonic aura?" Big Beard covered half of his face and cursed angrily. He was probably in too much pain; his voice trembled as he spoke.
Makaay also looked surprised. "This demon is too powerful. It can conceal its demonic aura. It deliberately lured us here."
"Hehehehehehehe…" The woman in red stood up. In an instant, all of her hair transformed into roots, and that red dress turned into red leaves and petals.
"I was just toying with you, and you actually took yourselves seriously. Today, all of you will end up in my stomach and become my sustenance—humans!" The Red Demon laughed loudly and maniacally.
As soon as it finished speaking, all the red mist gathered together and transformed into a giant hand, clutching all four of us in its palm.
The hand exerted tremendous force. As it squeezed us, it felt like the bones in our bodies were about to shatter. At that moment, countless roots, like straws, wrapped around us and slowly drilled into our flesh. The Red Demon intended to drain us dry—though whether it was after our essence or our blood wasn't entirely clear.
"It's all your fault, damn Makaay! Half my face is ruined now," Big Beard cursed.
"What a time to be arguing! Are you out of your mind? Besides, it's not like you weren't the one who let lust cloud your judgment," Makaay retorted indignantly.
But while they were quarreling, Nuwa's Forsaken Shade had already made her move. The red mist-formed hand snapped shut around her, crushing what seemed to be her—but a closer look revealed it was nothing more than a paper figure.
"Isn't Red Lotus a medicinal herb? How can it also become a demon? And a man-eating one at that." Nuwa's Forsaken Shade appeared behind the Red Demon. Slowly, she began to remove the black veil from her neck, as if preparing to unleash a major attack.