195: Overbearing aura

You Wu stared at her with piercing eyes, then threw out two crucial questions: “First, tell me, who exactly are you?”

“And second, why are you here, miss?”

Facing this inquiry, the woman showed a hint of confusion. She frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and softly replied, “This servant's name is Tao Yao. As for why I woke up in this place... to be honest, This servant isn't quite sure of the reason myself.”

“Tao Yao? That's a unique name,” You Wu murmured. His gaze swept over Tao Yao, trying to find some clues in her words and actions.

“Miss, have you ever eaten a person?”

Tao Yao bit her lip tightly and stated gravely, “Never.”

“Is that so?” You Wu waved his hand, his eyes darkening.

The woman swayed her waist, slowly bringing her pretty face closer to You Wu, and said sweetly, “Little Brother, This servant truly isn't lying to you!” Her tone was overly cutesy and seductive, carrying a spine-tingling charm.

“Heh heh!” You Wu sneered, suddenly lunging forward. His fist, the size of a clay pot, carried a fierce gust of wind and smashed violently toward the woman who called herself Tao Yao.

With a muffled 'bang,' Tao Yao's head instantly exploded. Foul-smelling blood mixed with white brain matter splattered everywhere.

“Big Sister, don't take me for a fool. I'm not blind. The bite marks on those fresh corpses are exactly the same shape as your fangs.”

“Also, doesn't your pretty face look ridiculous paired with such a bloated body?” You Wu said, shaking his hand in disgust, trying to get rid of the black blood and brain matter staining it.

The Tao Yao whose head had been shattered let out a mournful roar, violently tearing off the already ruined skull with both hands.

Following her movement, the entire small hill began to shake violently. The scattered bones on the hill, due to the intense tremor, rattled and fell, raining down like a shower of bone fragments.

Not only that, but some relatively intact skeletons instantly disintegrated, scattering at the foot of the hill. Countless thick vines, like a group of ferocious giant pythons, drilled out from the mountain body.

They quickly spread and grew, wrapping around You Wu's feet in the blink of an eye.

You Wu was startled and immediately struggled with all his might, but he quickly realized the vines were tightening even more, locking his ankles like iron chains.

Helpless, he reached for the dagger at his waist and fiercely slashed at the vines around his feet—to his surprise, the vines were incredibly tough. The dagger only left a shallow white mark and couldn't cut through them easily.

Seeing the vines gradually climbing up his body, You Wu formed a plan. He concentrated his mind and deployed the Fire Snake Technique, attempting to burn the vines away.

The flames scorched the vines, making sizzling sounds and emitting thick smoke.

Seeing this, Tao Yao sneered, and more vines surged forward like a tide.

“Little Brother, why won't you just be good and let This servant parasitize you obediently.”

“Do you know how much This servant yearns for freedom after being trapped here for thousands of years!”

You Wu's expression was strained. He hadn't expected the seemingly delicate female demon to be a thousand-year-old monster. He wondered if the two bosses, Black and White, could easily subdue her when they arrived.

The Fire Snake gradually fell into a disadvantage and was about to be swallowed by the vines.

In an instant, a burst of sword energy erupted. Wherever the light reached, the vines snapped one after another.

Shang Wan Ning held the radiating son of heaven sword, wearing the Crown of Mian, which symbolized supreme authority, on her head.

She floated lightly in mid-air, her beautiful eyes filled with majesty, and she cried out, “Impudence! How dare you attack an Underworld Ghost Emissary.”

You Wu tumbled miserably onto the mountain of piled white bones. His eyes sparkling, he looked up with immense admiration at Shang Wan Ning, who had descended like a goddess, and shouted, “Your Majesty is mighty! What an overwhelming aura!!!”

Shang Wan Ning's majestic face instantly contorted slightly because of the words “overwhelming aura” (literally 'side leak'), and the hand gripping the sword hilt involuntarily trembled.

She inwardly cursed You Wu for his lack of culture. If the System, which usually played dead, hadn't suddenly issued a side quest, why would She condescend to rush over and compete with Black and White Impermanence for this job?

The details of the side quest just issued by the System clearly appeared in her mind—

“Side Quest: Investigate the secret of the counterfeit Ghost Gate Pass.”

“Quest Duration: One month.”

“Quest Reward: four underworld demon messengers: Leopard Tail, Bird Beak, Fish Gills, and Wasp.”

Thinking of this, Shang Wan Ning couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Although one could become a god upon reaching the Seventh Rank of cultivation and freely control the body's blood flow, recalling that special period every month for the past two years...

The embarrassment and trouble caused by that 'side leak' truly sent chills down her spine—it was utterly terrifying!!!

“great host, simply put, you just haven't fully adapted to the physiological phenomenon known as Aunt Flow yet.” Little Four casually flipped through the fan art of the Host in his hand, teasing with a playful smile.

Shang Wan Ning frowned and scolded irritably, “Shut your mouth and go read your manga!”

Little Four quickly replied, “Oh! Got it!”

Then he lowered his head and continued flipping through the manga, but inwardly he muttered: [Hehehe ;-), the shy Host is really interesting, slurp slurp.]

Not far away, Tao Yao was gathering the vines that had been severed by the sharp sword energy. She glared at Shang Wan Ning with hatred, grinding her teeth as she roared, “Human, how dare you destroy the branches and leaves This Seat painstakingly cultivated! Today, I will make you pay the price!”

Shang Wan Ning's face was as calm as still water. She raised an eyebrow slightly, pointed the son of heaven sword at Tao Yao from afar, and said coldly, “Monster, cease your arrogance!”

“I am the dignified Underworld Empress. How could I fear a small monster like you?”

Tao Yao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: “Hahaha... How dare a mere human like you falsely claim to be the Underworld Empress?”

“What shameless boasting!”

Before her laughter stopped, a cold light streaked across the sky.

Immediately after, with a 'poof' sound, one of Tao Yao's arms fell to the ground.

“Ah!!!”

Along with a heart-rending scream, crimson blood splattered everywhere, and green sap sprayed all over, staining the surrounding white bones an eerie color.

Shang Wan Ning watched the scene unfolding before her without expression, as if this were merely a common occurrence.

She turned around and instructed You Wu behind her, “Take her.” Having said that, her figure flashed, and she instantly vanished from the spot.

You Wu respectfully cupped his hands and responded, “Understood!”

He immediately stepped forward, grabbed Tao Yao, who had fainted from the pain, and sped away in the direction the Empress had left.

Leaving behind only severed arms and sap scattered all over the ground, as well as that dilapidated, counterfeit Ghost Gate Pass...