The red mist spread even faster.
The force that made people drowsy intensified as well, like countless invisible soft needles constantly giving Bai Zhu's brain a spa, gradually sending his consciousness drifting away.
His steps began to falter, and his heartbeat raced out of control.
Bai Zhu hitched Knov higher on his shoulder and forced his eyes open.
The exit ahead was still there.
Yet the crack in that door now seemed like a mirage hanging on the horizon. No matter how hard he ran forward, the distance did not lessen in the slightest.
What was more, the edges of the doorframe began to be tugged by the red mist, trailing several blurred afterimages.
"Gao Mao, what's wrong with that door?"
Bai Zhu spoke, his voice drifting slightly.
Gao Mao, ahead of him, did not answer.
The red light from the horn atop its head suddenly blazed, nearly dyeing the surrounding mist solid.
"Kid, run!"
Gao Mao turned around and shouted at him.
Its two short legs stomped against the springy ground, and its speed abruptly surged. Its tiny body became like a cannonball, forcibly smashing open a narrow passage through the thick red mist.
"That thing's caught up!"
Bai Zhu's heart tightened. He suppressed the urge to let his drooping eyelids fall and immediately followed.
Behind them came a distinct inhalation.
The sound was low, yet it carried an air of swallowing the entire space whole.
The red mist clinging to the ground was swept up by an invisible current, turning into a visible tide that closely pursued them.
The pressure bore down on them.
Bai Zhu felt as if half the air in his lungs had been sucked away. Every step was like walking through a swamp.
Just then, a massive black shadow shot past his side.
Almost