Ma Xiong stared at Lu Zong strangely, seeing that his serious expression didn't seem like a joke; why wouldn't he let him hold onto him as the gravitational pull grew stronger and stronger?

Could the lifeline in his hand be the problem? He hastily turned his head to look at the lifeline he was grasping.

But he was instantly frozen in terror. That was no lifeline he was looking at; what he had grabbed was clearly the vine of a carnivorous plant! There was no time to think; he frantically let go. But it was too late, because he realized that the vine had already dug deep into his hand. Terrified, he desperately gripped the vine with his other hand, yanking with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. It had rooted itself into his flesh. Yet, strangely, he felt no pain whatsoever.

He shouted to Ma Xiong and Fatty, “You two, hurry up and help! This thing is embedded in my flesh and I can’t pull it out no matter what.”

Ma Xiong scrambled to stand up, but the immense suction flipped him over. Fortunately, he managed to grab a nearby rock, which kept him from being pulled in. He had no choice but to crawl forward on the ground. Nevertheless, he could feel a significant attractive force pulling him backward. It seemed the thing’s suction was steadily increasing. He thought that if he got sucked in, it might be a form of transmigration—as long as he didn't end up as someone's dinner and subsequently excreted like feces, that would be fine.

He exerted every ounce of strength he possessed and finally managed to crawl over to Lu Zong. He grabbed Lu Zong’s arm and saw that the hand pierced by the vine had swollen and turned blue, with a mark the size of a wrist bulging on his arm. Ma Xiong anxiously asked, “Does it hurt?”

Lu Zong shook his head and replied, “Strange, why doesn’t it hurt at all?”

Ma Xiong grew more agitated. “It seems this thing has invaded your nervous system, which is why you can’t feel the pain. This is a huge problem.”

With that, he pulled a dagger from his pocket, preparing to perform a grim procedure on Lu Zong’s hand—to strip away that layer of skin and extract the plant.

Lu Zong was terrified and stopped Ma Xiong. “Ma Xiong, isn’t there any other way?”

Ma Xiong shook his head. “There’s no other way. In my observation, this thing will definitely secrete toxins, so we have to get it out. Don’t worry; I’ve removed bullets for the brothers before.”

Lu Zong suddenly recalled that Ma Xiong had served as an auxiliary medic in the army, where his task was to extract shell casings from fallen soldiers—a practice known as resource recycling. He quickly reminded Ma Xiong, “Ma Xiong, be careful. I am not a dead man. Please be gentle.”

At this moment, Fatty and Ganda also arrived next to Lu Zong. Seeing the massive vine growing out of Lu Zong’s hand, they were quite astonished. Ganda asked, “Lu Zong, you’re amazing.”

Lu Zong ignored their sarcasm and said to Ma Xiong, “Just bring it on. Get this damned thing off me. Damn it, today I’m fighting you to the death!”

Ma Xiong had already brought the blade down. Even though Lu Zong was mentally prepared, he still let out a painful moan. He felt a large amount of blood flowing out of his body along with the penetration of the vessel. Unexpectedly, he felt nothing when the thing burrowed in, but this slash finally elicited some sensation.

Ma Xiong comforted him, “Actually, you can’t feel the pain; that’s just psychological. This carnivorous plant has already injected a massive amount of anesthetic into your arm muscle. You shouldn't feel any pain, maybe just a tingling sensation. Try feeling it again.”

Indeed, after Ma Xiong said that, the pain subsided. When he looked down again, he saw his hand was dyed red with blood, and the vine had been successfully removed. What puzzled him, however, was why the plant showed no reaction, not trying to pull him over to eat him. He looked up toward the carnivorous plants. At this moment, those plants had completely unfurled, occupying the entire ten-meter-high cavern. They were dancing wildly, and the infant-like mouths at the tips occasionally split open, emitting hissing sounds that were chillingly reminiscent of an enraged cobra.

Lu Zong curiously asked Ma Xiong, “Ma Xiong, why isn’t it reacting? It seems to have no hostility toward us?”

Ma Xiong was also puzzled. “Yeah, why isn’t it launching a full-scale attack on us?”

But Fatty seemed to have grasped the reason. He said to everyone, “Look at the plants behind you. Why do their vines only curve to the sides and dare not face the fissure of the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus directly? I think the carnivorous plants must be afraid of them, which is why they don’t dare approach the territory of the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus lightly. This implies that as long as we stay here, those carnivorous plants won’t attack us.”

Lu Zong glanced at the plant and saw that it was indeed so. However, this also revealed a piece of bad news: the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus was definitely not something to trifle with. It would be better for them to escape now.

The whistling sound of the wind was already audible by their ears, and he felt that large objects were being sucked into the fissure. They didn't dare to speculate for a moment: how vast was the space inside the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus? Why, after sucking in so much, was there no sign of it being filled? Was it truly as they said—that the absorbed objects traveled through a time tunnel, transmigrating?

A term that was rather notorious internationally suddenly flashed through his mind: the Bermuda Triangle. Legend said it was a living sea that swallowed everything that passed through it, leaving no bodies behind. Weren't the conditions here exactly the same?

He felt a little curious. He recalled the explanation given by American experts: those missing objects might have passed through a wormhole above the Bermuda Triangle, thus returning to the past or arriving in the future. They had traveled through a time tunnel.

Could this fissure be a wormhole? He stared intently at the fissure, almost choking on his own saliva out of fright. He noticed that the female corpse inside the fetus was staring directly at him with a solemn expression. Startled, he hastily averted his gaze, his heart pounding wildly. He didn't know why his heart was racing, but he felt a powerful force awakening in his mind.

He looked at Ma Xiong and saw a trace of helplessness and panic in his eyes too. Fatty and Ganda were just struggling to hold onto the surrounding rocks to prevent their bodies from being sucked in.

Lu Zong’s mind went blank for a moment. Gritting his teeth, he said with firm conviction, “Retreat quickly, back toward the carnivorous plants!” With that, he took the lead and charged toward the vine plants. The others behind him had no time to object and could only follow Lu Zong's frantic sprint. They finally managed to escape that intense attractive force. But what awaited them was something even more powerful than gravity: the vines.

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