That vine, miraculously, had pulled him up, leaving him suspended mid-air as he glared down at the stunned crowd below. “What the hell are you gawking at? Get me down, you idiots! How is the Earth supposed to spin without me?”

Lu Zong was the first to rush forward, grabbing the vine with both arms, trying to wrench it down from above. But what Ma Xiong couldn't budge, how could Lu Zong possibly pull free? All he could do was swing wildly with the vine's violent motion.

At that moment, Fatty charged in, swinging his fearsome machete at the plant’s tendril. He managed to leave several deep gashes in the vine before it retaliated. Unable to withstand the assault, the massive trunk thrashed violently, instantly knocking Fatty flying.

Ganda was waiting right behind Fatty for the vine to pass. Accompanied by a piercing shriek, the immense force of the vine flung itself directly onto Ganda’s blade. The impact jarred the knife loose from Ganda’s grip, sending his body tumbling until he slammed hard against the stone wall and dropped down. Because the plant possessed such overwhelming power, the force of it hitting the blade actually sheared the vine in half; the back section snapped away. Yet, Ma Xiong remained tightly entangled on the plant.

Ma Xiong had already slipped into unconsciousness, a clear sign of how tightly the plant had bound him. A wave of tension hit Lu Zong; he realized that if he didn’t free Ma Xiong quickly, his comrade might very well die right there.

Thinking this, he ignored the danger to himself, snatched a blade from the ground, and lunged at the vine. He swung down with ferocious force.

Since half of it was severed, its strength had noticeably diminished. Lu Zong’s every strike found the vine’s core, leaving behind sticky, milky-white fluid that smelled utterly foul—whatever it was. He dared not hesitate, hacking furiously as if striking down a personal enemy.

When he heard a sharp crack, Lu Zong finally exhaled in relief. Ma Xiong dropped from the vine, landing heavily on the ground. Lu Zong threw down his bloody knife and rushed to Ma Xiong’s side, softly calling his name.

Fatty and Ganda also got up, staggering over to Ma Xiong, looking down at their battered comrade. As Lu Zong continued to call out to him...

Ma Xiong awoke amidst a fit of coughing, his first action being to gasp huge drafts of air, exclaiming loudly, “Damn it, I finally get it! Being without women in this world isn’t agony; being without air is. From now on, I won’t let anything discourage me. Being a lifelong bachelor isn’t so bad; at least I can breathe. Who knows, maybe the air I inhale was just exhaled from a beautiful woman’s mouth.”

Lu Zong smacked the top of Ma Xiong’s head. “Stop messing around! How do you feel?”

Ma Xiong staggered to his feet, instantly noticing that all three of them were covered in injuries, likely from fighting the vine too fiercely. He urgently asked, “What about the vine? I want revenge. Damn it, that thing nearly strangled me to death.”

Lu Zong pointed to the dull, grayish length of vine lying on the ground beside him. “Look, it’s snapped in two. It probably won’t survive.”

Ma Xiong picked up the piece, smiling with grim satisfaction. “Not bad, you guys. You managed to complete such a difficult task. Wait, where did the other half go?” With that, his eyes swept the cavern, determined to find the severed piece so he could exact personal vengeance.

But after searching every corner of the cave, he couldn't find it, which only deepened his confusion. He quickly demanded, “Where did the other half disappear to?”

Lu Zong shrugged dismissively. “Now that you’re alive and awake, stop worrying about it. Maybe it retreated to heal. Don’t worry, I butchered it so badly it won’t dare show its face again anytime soon.”

Fatty interjected, “No, Ma Xiong is right to worry. If I’m not mistaken, Ma Xiong, you must think what we encountered was a true carnivorous plant.”

Ma Xiong nodded firmly. “What we fought was definitely a gigantic carnivorous plant. Didn’t Ganda say it? This place is crawling with carnivorous flora; finding a massive one inside an ancient tomb isn’t exactly unusual. It’s just that this one was enormous—it could actually swallow a person whole. We should still be cautious. I bet that baby we were holding was the plant’s mouth. Since we destroyed its mouth, it can’t eat, so it should starve to death. Even if it grows a new mouth temporarily, it won’t be that fast, no matter how advanced cellular replication is. But we won’t feel safe until we completely obliterate it. You lot just let the rest of it go back—what if it has companions? We’ll be in serious trouble.”

The moment the words left his mouth, a rhythmic thudding sound echoed from the wall. Ma Xiong snapped angrily, “See? That thing is knocking on the wall again.”

But the sound, which started as a few sparse taps, rapidly grew more frantic, spreading from one localized spot to encompass the entire wall. They looked up at the nearly ten-meter-high surface, which was now vibrating with deep thuds.

A wave of goosebumps swept over the four of them. Fatty quickly urged everyone to fall back. It seemed they had indeed encountered the creature’s accomplices. Ma Xiong slapped his own mouth repeatedly: “Damn it, I’m such a jinx!”

The noise grew louder and seemed frighteningly close, suggesting the wall was about to explode outward. They increased their retreat speed.

Beneath the loud, chaotic thumping, they could vaguely hear the cries of infants. It sounded like there were at least six babies inside now—plenty for them to handle. Fatty quickly counted on his fingers, then exclaimed in shock to the others, “Oh my god, we’ve got our hands full now! Each of us gets an average of one-point-two-five babies! Heh heh, today your Fatty is going to play rough with you guys.”

Saying this, he raised his machete high, ready for an attack. Though, to the other three, the blade appeared to be trembling.

Seeing that retreating further was impossible, Ma Xiong hurriedly pulled two daggers from his pocket, handing one to Lu Zong and gripping the other tightly. “No matter what we see in a moment, stab it immediately without a second thought. This thing is likely trying to trick us using the same method as the infants earlier. Don’t fall for it; just keep stabbing it.” He then gave his dagger a heartfelt look while panting heavily, an act so bizarre it made the other three burst into laughter. Perhaps the sheer terror had driven them all slightly mad; how could they laugh at a time like this?

With a loud CRASH, the wall burst open, immediately filling the air with smoke and dust. They could see nothing clearly, only feeling a powerful wave of air slam into them, knocking them backward. The shockwave sent them flying, tossing their bodies weightlessly as the air current propelled them backward.