Inside the inner cliff of the crater, a fiery red glow shone through the smoke and caught everyone’s eye, and the fragrance was drifting from there.

Little Princess laughed and said, “There really is a Blazing Lotus! Master didn’t lie to me. Hehe, this is wonderful.”

Everyone took out their poison-proof scarves and covered their mouths and noses. Little Princess glanced at Ethan Brooks and tossed him one as well, saying, “Hurry up and put it on. That smoke is highly toxic.”

A trace of gratitude rose in Ethan Brooks’s heart, but it quickly vanished. He then heard Little Princess continue, “Put it on quickly and hurry up and lure that little snake out.”

He thought to himself: A demon will always be a demon!

The crater was shrouded in swirling smoke, with very low visibility. Looking down, only a faint glow could be seen, which was undoubtedly the churning magma. Ethan Brooks walked forward along the circular crater, trembling, silently praying that the little snake was napping.

The fragrance of the Blazing Lotus grew stronger and stronger. A gentle breeze blew, dispersing the smoke around the crater, and the scene before Ethan Brooks’s eyes immediately became clear.

The Blazing Lotus was rooted on the cliff three zhang below the crater’s edge. The whole plant was about half a meter tall, glowing fiery red, with nine crystal-clear red leaves on its stem. The flower at the top resembled a lotus, but was a hundred times more brilliant, its fiery red petals dazzling and lustrous like carved jade.

The smoke surged, gradually obscuring the Blazing Lotus, leaving only a patch of fiery red light visible. Suddenly, a tremendous sense of danger welled up in Ethan Brooks’s heart. He felt as if he were prey being watched by a “person.”

A pitch-black cave appeared on the cliff not far from the Blazing Lotus. Two blood-red points of light shone from within. Amid a thunderous rumble, countless massive rocks tumbled from the cave into the depths of the volcano, and a gigantic creature emerged from the cave.

Ethan Brooks was utterly terrified, nearly losing his soul. The enormous creature was actually a gigantic snake head, as large as a house. The two shining blood-red lights were the giant snake’s eyes, each as big as a washbasin.

“Rumble—”

More rocks tumbled into the depths of the volcano. The giant snake slowly moved out of the cave, revealing a section of its colorful body, covered in scales as large as palm fans, glittering and bizarrely terrifying.

“D-damn it, t-this is the ‘little snake’ that Little Demon was talking about? Damn… this is just too much.” Ethan Brooks cursed, his voice trembling.

The giant snake stopped moving, its blood-red eyes fixed on Ethan Brooks. At the same time, it opened its huge mouth, revealing gleaming white fangs, sharp as swords and half a meter long, ferocious and terrifying.

Ethan Brooks felt a chill rush from his head to his heels, goosebumps rising all over his body.

Suddenly, a blood-red tongue, two zhang long, shot out from the giant snake’s mouth, whipping toward him, the stench so strong it made him want to vomit.

“Ah—”

Ethan Brooks let out a scream and turned to flee, running faster than he ever had in his life, shouting as he ran, “Damn demon, stinky princess, I XXXXX you, are you trying to get me killed…”

Little Princess had always thought that Ethan Brooks’s mute acupoint had been sealed by her, so when she heard him shouting and cursing, she was first shocked, then furious and resentful. But when she saw the colorful giant snake behind Ethan Brooks, her face turned pale, though she quickly regained her composure and finally said something that nearly made Ethan Brooks faint: “This snake is so beautiful!”

Ethan Brooks ran down the volcano like the wind. As he passed by Little Princess, he cursed, “Pervert, lunatic, demon…”

The guards brought by Little Princess were indeed battle-hardened death warriors. After their initial shock, they quickly calmed down, gripping their weapons tightly and preparing for battle. The three apprentice magicians began chanting spells, and waves of magical energy rippled through the air. But unexpectedly, after the giant snake revealed a large part of its body at the crater, it stopped moving, only staring coldly at the group.

Little Princess remained exceptionally calm. “Everyone, don’t be afraid. The Blazing Lotus is about to mature. That stinky snake has guarded it for a thousand years and at this critical moment will not leave the lotus even half a step. We’ll attack it from a distance.”

She then ordered, “Quick, throw that realgar onto the stinky snake.”

A dozen cloth bags were thrown at the giant snake. At the same time, the apprentice magicians finished their spells, and a barrage of shimmering wind blades shot forward.

The wind blades tore open the cloth bags, and realgar drifted down from the air, landing on the giant snake. The snake’s body trembled and it retreated.

Everyone’s spirits soared. More realgar-filled bags and wind blades flew forward. The giant snake’s glittering, colorful scales became covered in realgar, and the pungent smell filled the crater. Before long, the giant snake shriveled on the ground, motionless.

Everyone immediately cheered.

Ethan Brooks had run halfway down the mountain in one breath. Hearing the cheers behind him, he couldn’t help but stop and turn to look.

“I didn’t expect that Little Demon really had some skills, actually managing to bring down such a huge creature. She truly is the devil’s sister.”

He still felt a lingering fear when he thought of the giant snake’s sharp fangs and terrifying red tongue, but at the same time, he also found it thrilling.