Chapter 1424: Bloodthirsty Maw

"I'm already very grateful that you helped me deal with the fierce beast Fengxi," the great mulberry tree said, its leaves shaking as if in laughter. "I'm just a tree; how could I have so many wishes?"

The group felt a flush of embarrassment. This great mulberry tree had endured countless ages, already seeing through the fleeting nature of worldly affairs, exhibiting truly noble character, unlike humans with their endless schemes.

Zu An was somewhat lost in thought. He felt that the last sentence sounded familiar. The Fiery Tree Silver Flower he encountered in the Yu family's mine last time seemed to have a similar tone. Could that creature be a descendant of this great mulberry tree?

However, recalling the appearance of the Fiery Tree Silver Flower, it bore no resemblance to the great mulberry tree before him. It seemed he was overthinking things.

After thanking the great mulberry tree repeatedly and bidding it farewell, the group finally left the seemingly endless mulberry forest, following its guidance.

"Little An, were you paying close attention just now?" Yun Jianyue found an opportunity mid-journey to discreetly ask Zu An.

"Of course, I didn't even dare to blink. Sister Yun is truly breathtakingly beautiful..." Zu An naturally knew what she was asking and showered her with compliments, flattering her effusively. This was also his genuine thought; that scene had indeed been beautiful. He had never imagined that the usually fierce leader of the Demonic Sect had such a gentle and alluring side.

"Is that all you thought about then?" Yun Jianyue asked with a knowing smile, a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

Zu An's face flushed. He openly admitted, "Many disrespectful thoughts about Sister Yun crossed my mind at the time. I deserve to die..."

"You want to die?!" Yun Jianyue had only intended to tease him, but his directness embarrassed her. She quickly put on a stern face and said, "I'm Hong Lei's master. Don't entertain such thoughts. Don't let it happen again!"

Seeing no change in her rage value, Zu An knew she wasn't actually angry. He couldn't help but grumble, "I wonder who was dancing for me to see."

"What did you say?" Yun Jianyue's phoenix eyes were filled with danger.

"Ahem, I mean, Sister's Heavenly Demon Bewitching Dance and Heavenly Demon Enchanting Sound are too powerful. They make a person's brain unable to control itself, leaving only instinctive reactions, so you can't blame me," Zu An said, feigning injustice.

"I'm not blaming you," Yun Jianyue said, quite pleased with his reaction, feeling that her treasured arts had not been wasted after all these years.

"Oh, by the way," Zu An suddenly asked, looking odd, "were you changing your clothes hidden in the forest earlier? Wouldn't that mean the old mulberry tree saw everything? It would have been normal if it were just a regular tree, but who knew it had its own consciousness?"

Yun Jianyue, being who she was and having been immersed in the Demonic Sect, immediately realized what he was thinking. Her face flushed, and she retorted, "What are you thinking, you brat? For people of our cultivation, using a spell to conceal oneself while changing clothes is a basic operation. It's to guard against scoundrels like you."

"How did I become a scoundrel?" Zu An said indignantly. "Or how about next time you find a chance to dance for me alone? With others present, I can't fully appreciate it."

"Get lost!"

"Okay~"

Yan Xuehen had actually noticed them whispering for a while and had initially tried to pretend she hadn't. However, seeing how well they seemed to be getting along in their conversation, she could no longer hold back. "What are you two talking about?"

"None of your business," Yun Jianyue said, a little guiltily but quickly responding.

"You!" Yan Xuehen's rage flared.

Zu An was a little annoyed. He had no choice but to say, "We were just discussing the healing effects of the leaves the old mulberry tree gave us."

Yan Xuehen paused, then suddenly felt a little embarrassed, realizing she had misunderstood them. She quickly tried to make amends, saying, "Those leaves are indeed miraculous. I've noticed faint signs of my old injuries healing. At this rate, I should be able to recover ninety percent of my peak strength before long." She added, "Normally, severe injuries like ours wouldn't heal for ten or eight years. First, we recovered significantly at Mount Yu's Spirit Spring, and now, with the added benefit of these mulberry leaves, we're almost completely healed. It's still quite unbelievable when I think about it."

"If not for the missing laws of heaven and earth in this region, that great mulberry tree would likely have already cultivated into a spirit. The legendary ascension to immortality might even be possible," Yun Jianyue couldn't help but exclaim.

As they chatted along the way, they soon encountered a layer of white mist ahead. The ground beneath their feet also became soft and mushy, with puddles everywhere.

After walking a bit further, Zu An, who was leading, almost sank into the ground with one foot. He quickly stopped. "This must be the Great Swamp of Dongting, where the Xiushi snake resides." He wondered if it had any connection to Lake Dongting from his previous life. However, the scenery before him bore no resemblance to the Lake Dongting in his memories.

Yu Yanluo looked at the dense mist around them. "This must be miasma, right? Thanks to the great mulberry tree's leaves, I don't feel any discomfort at all now."

"This miasma is indeed poisonous," Yun Jianyue said, taking a light sniff. "I imagine its toxicity increases the further we go in."

"With the protection of the mulberry leaves, this miasma isn't a concern. However, we need to be careful of the legendary Xiushi snake. It hides in this great swamp, and a sudden attack would be very dangerous," Yu Yanluo said with some concern.

"It's fine. The demonic woman and I have recovered a lot of our strength now, so we wouldn't fear the Xiushi snake even if we encountered it," Yan Xuehen said. "My biggest concern is that if it hides within this great swamp and doesn't appear, it will be quite difficult for us to find it." They had suffered enough trying to find Yaoyu and Fengxi the previous two times and really didn't want to repeat that experience in this vast swamp.

Zu An had initially imagined the swamp to be a place piled with mud where one would sink in and be unable to get out. However, experiencing it firsthand, he realized that this swamp was mostly water, more like a shallow lake than a typical one.

Many trees grew in the water, and they could even see various schools of fish swimming and foraging among the trees' extensive root systems.

Besides the fish, some animals were dimly visible in the wooded area. Whether these animals had grown accustomed to the miasma in the air over countless ages or for some other reason, it seemed to have no effect on them.

The distant mountains were also lush and verdant, appearing full of life.

Seeing this scene, the three women also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the places they had encountered before rarely had living creatures, and this area felt much more vibrant.

Next, the group constructed a simple raft and drifted on the water, simultaneously searching for traces of the Xiushi snake.

After a while, Yan Xuehen asked, somewhat puzzled, "Do you think such shallow water can really hide a massive creature like the Xiushi snake?" They had initially thought the water was shallow only at the edges, but they had been paddling the raft inward for so long now, and in many places, the water depth was less than a meter, and even the deeper parts were only a few meters. With their cultivation levels, their eyesight was sufficient to see through to the bottom. It was truly hard to imagine such a legendary behemoth hiding in such shallow water.

"Look, there's a herd of elephants there!" Yu Yanluo exclaimed excitedly, pointing into the distance. Several elephants were frolicking by the water's edge, spraying water with their trunks, looking very gentle and adorable.

Their previous experiences had been too grim, so seeing such a harmonious scene lightened their spirits considerably.

"These elephants aren't afraid of getting stuck in the swamp," Zu An muttered to himself. In his previous life, he had watched nature documentaries and knew that elephants had few natural predators, but due to their immense weight, they could easily get trapped in mud and be unable to get out, eventually dying. Strictly speaking, the environment of this great swamp was not very suitable for elephants.

However, he noticed that these elephants were even larger than the African elephants he knew from his previous life, and during their movements, surges of spiritual energy seemed to flow through their muscles. He immediately realized that in this world of cultivation, there wouldn't be ordinary elephants. These creatures were clearly fierce beasts, and their strength seemed considerable.

At this moment, the elephant herd also spotted Zu An and his companions. The largest elephant, leading the group, stepped forward, its trunk raised to the sky, revealing long tusks as it roared towards them, seemingly as a warning. From its posture, it appeared ready to attack at any moment.

Zu An inwardly grumbled, *Sure enough, male elephants are ill-tempered in any world.*

They did not wish to conflict with the elephants. Just as they were about to steer clear, the water nearby suddenly broke open, and a gaping maw shot out, instantly swallowing the multi-ton elephant whole.

Zu An and the others were speechless.