But the ladder beneath our feet didn't seem to stop. Just as it was about to hit the dome, to our alarm, the ladder suddenly turned and darted into the tree hole, then continued to climb outwards along it.

The ladder moved very quickly, weaving through the tree hole like a dragon, and the original appearance of the tree hole had changed drastically; the shimmering crystal stones had completely disappeared.

The tree hollow was no longer as dry and bright as it had been at the beginning. Instead, the tree walls around us were constantly wriggling, as if they were alive.

Upon seeing this, we all quickly stood up. It looked so strange; it didn't resemble a tree hole at all, but rather the belly of some enormous creature, and blood was constantly seeping from the surrounding tree walls, like its bodily fluids.

My face turned pale. Could this be inside the belly of the Tree King outside? The thought, coupled with the blood-like sap around me, sent chills down my spine.

Grandpa and Shui Yanling's expressions weren't very good either, as if they had both guessed it, and the ladder under their feet had somehow changed.

Without our noticing, what had originally resembled a ladder had transformed into a massive vine, round and plump like a thick dragon.

"Is this tree king going to devour us?" Shui Yanling asked with some doubt.

I was also a little worried. Although the tree king had let us go at first, we had no idea what it was thinking. We were inside its belly and all of us were injured. If it decided to attack us now, we would have no way to fight back.

"Probably not. Let's not act rashly and observe the situation first."

Grandpa's eyes narrowed, and he said calmly.

There was really no other way but to see how things went. Grandpa's injuries were extremely severe, and Yanling and I weren't much better off either; our energy was almost completely depleted.

We all know the power of that Tree King. Just one of its vines caused us a lot of trouble. If Grandpa were at his peak, we might have been able to escape, but in the current situation, we can only sit and wait for our doom.

Dense vertical lines flashed around us, and the surrounding tree walls constantly oozed red sap, emitting a faint fishy smell.

The fishy smell made me feel nauseous, and I even felt like vomiting. But the moment I looked down, I saw something that horrified me.

There seemed to be something hidden in the crevices between the vines and the tree wall, and when I looked closer, I could see it clearly.

Skeletons, all skeletons, a vast expanse of white filled entirely with skeletons.

"Look!" My voice trembled slightly, and my hand pointing to the crevice shook incessantly.

Grandpa and Shui Yanling looked in the direction I pointed, and they both felt a chill run down their spines.

Judging from the skeletons, they were all human remains, and there was no telling how many there were; it was like a sea of ​​bones, and in that sea of ​​bones was a lot of scarlet fluid.

The fishy smell was coming from below. This tree king had actually eaten so many people. I instantly felt a chill run down my spine and a strong sense of fear.

Grandpa's face turned pale when he saw this. Although he knew that the tree king was brought by Fang Shuang's father, he didn't know much about it and had never seen the piles of white bones when he passed by.

Now it seems that the Tree King is not a kind creature. Grandpa couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. It seems that he was too absolute in his initial statement. Who knows, the Tree King might really be planning to eat them.

After all, so many skeletons are not just decorations; they represent human lives. I even saw wisps of black energy on the skeletons and the blood-like fluid, as if it were thick resentment, which sent a chill down my spine.

They say killing one person is a crime, but slaughtering a million is heroic, but judging from the bones here, they shouldn't be much different. Looking at the path these vines are leading us towards, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

I could only raise the jade pendant in my hand for help. Although I didn't know what the jade pendant had to do with the Tree King, we were completely out of options and could only rely on it.

But no matter how I responded to the jade pendant, it seemed to have no intention of paying attention to me. It remained quietly hanging on my wrist, not even bothering to flash its light.

Seeing that the jade pendant was ignoring me, I felt a chill in my heart. What should I do? The sea of ​​bones was right in front of me, and I didn't want to become one of those countless white bones.

Then I looked at Grandpa and Yanling, and we exchanged glances, both of us seemingly sensing that the situation was not good. Grandpa then nodded at us with a grim expression.

Grandpa flicked his wrist, and the peach wood sword appeared in his hand. The moment the old hen peach wood sword appeared, Grandpa's face turned even paler.

But there's no better way out. We can only fight this tree king. That way, we still have a glimmer of hope. We don't know where this tree king will take us. If we wait any longer, we'll probably be in an even more passive position.

The instant her grandfather took out the peach wood sword, Yanling's eyes widened as the ball of black flame appeared in her hand without any warning.

I could only try to mobilize the energy in my body that was almost gone, but I could only sense a little bit.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!