The vine transport was extremely efficient. Before long, it had delivered its passengers to the only dry little platform in the Waterlogged Ground—a platform made of countless banyan branches and vines, twisted and tangled together like a tiny island.
The little girl was lying on that tiny island, her hands flat at her sides, like a lamb willingly offering up her soul and body, devoutly sacrificing herself.
A tender green shoot extended from the enormous banyan tree and pierced her swollen belly. Blood mingled with pale green sap and gushed out, soon flowing through the gaps between the branches and vines beneath her into the Waterlogged Ground.
Gradually, less and less of the mixed liquid flowed out. The shoot embedded in the little girl's belly seemed deeply dissatisfied with the meager amount and began churning and stirring inside the wound in her stomach. Blood slowly began flowing again.
Qi Gu signaled for Miao Yue to cut the shoot.
Miao Yue swung her blade, severing the shoot, then reached out to grab the section in the little girl's belly, torn over whether she should pull it out.
But the little girl's first reaction was an expression of extreme obsession and fanaticism. She ran to the edge of the platform, buried her head deep in the water of the Waterlogged Ground, and gulped down the filthy water diluted with her own blood and the banyan's sap. She looked as though she wished she could turn into a sponge and soak her entire body full of water.
"The Water Sacrifice is the process of offering your body to the banyan as a vessel for its sap. Having the banyan's sap inside your body more or less means part of you has become a banyan, so you develop an intense craving for the water