The viscous, transparent slime that washed over Xiaobai, who had previously been encased in mud, now revealed limbs as bright as a beacon. When I first saw her, I actually thought she might glow; that sense of the sacredness somehow left me utterly devoid of any shyness.

I finally understood why even human body art qualifies as art—the human form is truly beautiful, especially the female form. However, only a select few approach the nude form with genuine artistic appreciation.

Even though Xiaobai's entire body was enveloped by the immense robes of the Mammoth, not much of what shouldn't be seen was exposed, yet after a few seconds, a blush still crept up my neck. I knew that feeling shy now was useless; if I didn't pull her out immediately, she would drown.

Though I was without the protection of my psychic shield, these tree roots that had sprouted from my hand proved surprisingly useful. With just a flicker of thought, these roots automatically stabbed toward the bubble above my head.

I watched the fierce momentum; it was practically like firing bullets, in no way inferior in power to my psychic abilities. I began to feel that this ability might not have just sprung up suddenly; perhaps it had lain dormant within my body for a long time, only erupting by chance when I encountered danger.

Since I felt no awkwardness and wielded it with complete ease, it meant that without realizing it, I had become one with this power. Now, these hands that felt like tree roots seemed to be an organic part of me.

Thinking this way, could it be that I would slowly transform into a tree? Even if I didn't become a full tree, this half-human, half-tree form would certainly mark me as an anomaly if I walked out.

How to change back—that was truly a difficult problem. Before, if my hands had mutated, I could just cover them with a scarf or something, but the situation now was entirely different; it was genuinely perplexing.

As I was thinking, Xiaobai had already slipped out of the elevated water bubble, and I rushed forward to catch her. When Xiaobai saw my hand, she seemed slightly surprised, widening her round eyes to look at me.

I intended to manage a smile to ease the awkwardness of the posture, but the moment I saw her face clearly, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. What kind of countenance was this?

Words like divinely beautiful, flawless from any angle, or possessing perfect contours seemed utterly weak; this was simply... I was momentarily speechless, truly unable to find the right way to describe it.

Xiaobai was completely clear-headed. Seeing me staring so intently at her face, a blush actually appeared on her cheeks.

In that moment, I was utterly captivated. Xiaobai struggled slightly and stammered, "Alien, let...

let go of me." Realizing my lapse in composure, I quickly helped her stand up and released my grip. Then the two of us stood apart, gazing at each other without exchanging a word, both unsure of what to do next.

Finally, it was Xiaobai who spoke, asking, "Where is this?" I snapped back to reality and replied, "Oh, this seems to be the Toad King's lair. Those bubbles are likely mucus secreted from its body, used to cultivate those monstrous fish that live in the capillary-like structures of the black hole.

While I'm unclear on its ultimate goal, those things—which look like fish yet also like insects—seem to provide it with considerable power, which is why it painstakingly uses human bodies to cultivate them." Xiaobai nodded and said, "This could also be a manifestation of a perverted desire. Since this giant toad is the last of its kind, it cannot reproduce.

It can only manage to fulfill its basic reproductive instinct through intercourse with snakes. Even a beast that has achieved enlightenment is still ultimately a beast.

Because it cannot propagate naturally, it creates these things resembling toad eggs out of mucus, and then cultivates the monstrous fish within, believing them to be its offspring, to satisfy this twisted desire." I was stunned and said, "I'm the biologist here. When did you develop such a profound understanding of animal instincts?" Xiaobai gave me a look and retorted, "Ignorant descendant of Atlantis, we are the noble Ilhereth, this is merely basic common knowledge in our society, okay?" Hearing her boast about her civilization again, I cut in, "Stop, stop.

The Toad King is gone now; maybe it’s out fighting the giant snake. We must chase after it immediately." Saying that, I moved to leave, but Xiaobai remained rooted to the spot, watching me as if I were an idiot.

Puzzled, I asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you worried?

Or are you afraid you can't win?" I raised my hand and said, "Don't be afraid, big brother has this. I named it the Infinitely Growing Weapon." Xiaobai spat, breaking tradition, and said, "What a terrible name, it sounds so lewd!" I flushed, realizing my chosen name might have brushed against something less than refined, and fell silent.

Xiaobai sighed and said, "Think about it: if a treasure you've cherished for ages is being destroyed or stolen, would you immediately rush back to save it, or continue looking for a fight?" I paused and asked, "You mean..." Xiaobai looked exasperated with me and said, "I thought you were quite smart, I guess I was wrong. If we cause destruction and make some noise right here, the Toad King is bound to return.

If we rush out blindly looking for it, we might just walk into another trap." I nodded, enlightened, and said, "That's a great idea... but..." Xiaobai asked, "Don't hesitate; just say what you want to say." I replied, "If we confront the Toad King head-on now, we still have a high chance of being disadvantaged.

Although men should be straightforward, when necessary, adopting a stealthy approach is often more likely to succeed in upholding justice. Moreover, it currently thinks we are dead, so this is the perfect opportunity.

But if we lure it back here and fight a cornered battle, our chances of winning might be very low, especially since this is its domain." Xiaobai conceded, "You have a point, but luring it back doesn't necessarily mean we have to meet it face-to-face. We can find a place to hide.

When it returns, it will surely be driven mad by the destruction of its treasures. A moment of distraction is the perfect time for a surprise attack." Having reached this consensus, we both enthusiastically agreed on the plan and began searching for a hiding spot.

However, we quickly discovered the terrain was extremely simple: a perfectly cylindrical deep pit, with a glowing blue ice crystal pillar in the center, surrounded by somewhat uneven rock walls. Where could we possibly hide in this situation?

In the end, our gazes settled upon the slime spheres on the walls that remained undamaged. Xiaobai smiled and said to me, "Looks like great minds think alike." I grinned back, saying, "Naturally, naturally." Xiaobai walked up to a slime sphere closest to the ground and said, "The rest is up to you." With that, she slipped into the sphere herself, once again enveloped by the viscous slime.

I swung the tree-root hands like whips, striking the remaining slime spheres. Amidst loud cracking sounds, all the spheres burst open, scattering down like rain.

At that moment, I could already hear a roar from afar, and something was charging toward us. Knowing the plan had succeeded, I walked toward the slime sphere I had designated earlier and leaped inside in a single bound.

Holding my breath, I retracted my tree-root hands into the sphere as well. Just then, the Toad King leaped down from above with menacing intent.

Seeing the scene before it, I heard a series of piercing, furious roars—a sound that was neither human nor monstrous, neither male nor female, harsh and unbearable to listen to. Then, it spoke in human language, "Who!

Who dared to kill my babies! If I find them, I will tear them limb from limb." It then began circling the central blue ice crystal pillar, its massive body shaking the entire pit as if threatening to collapse it.

At that moment, the Toad King had its back to me, venting its fury on the ice pillar, and Xiaobai winked at me. I knew this was the optimal moment for a sneak attack.

I cautiously let the tree roots extend out of the slime sphere, then exerted force. Several sharp roots shot out like bullets from a muzzle, whistling toward the lower back of the Toad King.

A normal person would aim for the heart, but as a biologist, I knew the toad's heart wasn't where a human's is. There were many vital organs in its abdomen; piercing them would mean certain death.

This strike felt like utter coldness to the bone. The Toad King clearly never anticipated that we, who were supposedly dead, could revive and strike back.

It had absolutely no defense for its back, and my new ability was incredibly sharp, directly piercing its thick skin. I could feel three roots passing clean through its body, with the others deeply embedded.

I thought, this time it must be over. Even an ancient demon that has cultivated for a thousand years wouldn't survive such a blow.

Evidently, I had been too simplistic. Although grievously wounded, the Toad King spun around with incredible speed.

Crack! The roots I had embedded in its body were all twisted off.

Though I felt no pain from severed limbs, I was greatly alarmed and quickly retracted my hands. At that very moment, the Toad King's golden eyes were laced with crimson, and its tongue shot out like a massive artillery shell aimed at me.

In desperation, I sliced the water bead and dropped down, narrowly dodging the attack, but the Toad King roared again, lunging with its tongue. I rolled away on the spot, evading it, but the ground behind me exploded with debris as its tongue struck, gouging out a large pit.

A few sharp stones struck my side, the force nearly shattering my ribs. Stung by the pain, I couldn't recover quickly enough.

At that moment, the Toad King pushed off its hind legs, launching itself toward me like a bomb. With such a large body, its attack radius was naturally vast.

I watched helplessly, with nowhere left to run.