Don't Turn Around!!!

"Damn it, they just won't stop coming."

Fortunately, the resurrected Human Head Fireballs were greatly weakened. Lu Chen cut them down one by one, and within a few minutes, he had cleared them all out, raising his Experience Points to 327.

Then, looking at the silent, deserted night, Lu Chen thought for a moment and did not head out immediately. Instead, he issued a command in his mind.

"System, increase the Barbarian Blood Warrior's level."

System Notification: Host has consumed 300 Experience Points. Barbarian Blood Warrior level has increased to 3.

Barbarian Blood Warrior level increased. Host Constitution +1, Strength +1.

System Notification: Due to the influence of the Barbarian King Bloodline, Host Vitality +1.

At this point, Lu Chen's Strength was 32, Constitution 46, and Vitality 27.

After leveling up, Lu Chen took another bowl of medicinal soup and drank it dry. As the medicinal soup entered his stomach, he felt waves of warmth spreading through his body. Nourished by it, he felt as if strength were about to burst forth from within him.

"My condition is perfect now."

With the energy in his body fully replenished, Lu Chen took a broad step out of the Totem Pillar's protective range and walked into the silent, empty night.

After leaving the Totem Pillar's protection, Lu Chen did not immediately head forward to search for evil spirits. Instead, he closed his eyes and quietly sensed his surroundings.

Direct Perception was the connection between humanity's Sixth Sense and heaven and earth. Lu Chen intended to use his Sixth Sense to learn something from the world around him.

Unfortunately, after keeping his eyes closed for a long time, Lu Chen opened them again with a bitter expression. He had sensed nothing at all.

"As expected, my Direct Perception is still too low. Only when it reaches B, or even A, will I be able to sense things as I please."

"But this is enough for now. I may not be able to foresee danger before it comes, but it won't be easy for anyone to ambush me either."

With that thought in mind, Lu Chen carried an oil lamp in one hand and an iron sword in the other, striding forward with firm steps.

He did not venture too far. Lu Chen planned to remain within five hundred meters of the village, so that he could quickly return if danger arose.

However, when he was about three hundred meters from the village, Lu Chen stopped.

"It's actually getting a little cold. And there's fog here."

The night was indeed colder than the day, so feeling cold did not seem particularly unusual.

But one had to remember that Lu Chen's Constitution had reached 46. With such a physique, he had excellent resistance to harsh environments. As long as the temperature remained above freezing, Lu Chen would basically never feel cold.

Yet now, he actually felt cold. No matter how he thought about it, that was not normal. Not to mention that the suddenly rising fog also gave off an ominous feeling.

Just as Lu Chen was pondering this, a shadow suddenly flashed through the fog.

"Who's there?!"

The sudden figure made Lu Chen immediately turn his gaze toward it.

However, after staring carefully for a while, Lu Chen realized that he could see nothing.

"An illusion? Impossible. My senses wouldn't be wrong. And this feeling of dread... Direct Perception is warning me."

By now, Lu Chen knew that the fog before him was abnormal, and that the shadow within it was something unclean.

Yet despite knowing this, Lu Chen did not leave. Instead, he began searching through the fog.

There was no helping it. Lu Chen had not come out to avoid evil spirits, nor was he here to investigate anything. He had come specifically to exterminate evil spirits, so there was no way he would flee the moment he encountered one.

But after quite some time, Lu Chen found nothing in the fog. This made him pause for a moment.

"What exactly is going on with this monster?"

"Why isn't it charging at me?"

As he frowned and pondered, Lu Chen did not move. But when he raised his head again, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

While he had lowered his head to think, a human figure had somehow begun to take shape in the fog before him.

Yet no matter how long he stared, Lu Chen could not make out the figure's appearance.

But this did not make Lu Chen retreat. Instead, he took a step forward and strode toward the phantom.

"Evil spirit, come on. Face me head-on!"

Lu Chen understood his own strengths and weaknesses. He was not stupid, but neither was he exceptionally clever. At the same time, he did not know much about evil spirits.

Therefore, Lu Chen understood that if he tried to play tricks and schemes against evil spirits, he would gain no advantage whatsoever.

His intelligence might not be outstanding, but Lu Chen had his own strengths. He possessed a sturdy physique, immense power, and abundant vitality. This gave him extremely strong frontal combat abilities. Thus, Lu Chen did not choose to play mind games; he was ready to fight the evil spirit head-on.

But while Lu Chen wanted a direct confrontation, not every evil spirit liked that approach.

After taking several steps, Lu Chen discovered that he could not close the distance between himself and the figure in the fog.

He was walking while the figure in the fog remained still, yet the distance between them simply would not decrease.

Seeing this, Lu Chen could only stop. After thinking briefly, he turned around and faced away from the shadow in the fog.

After turning around, Lu Chen made no movement. Only after standing still for some time did he turn back to look again.

The instant he looked back, Lu Chen's gaze sharpened, and he raised the iron sword in his hand.

His reaction was understandable. At that moment, Lu Chen discovered that while he had turned around, the strange creature had come within less than ten meters of him.

Although Lu Chen had not been directly watching the evil spirit, his attention had remained fixed on it the entire time. Yet even so, he had not sensed how the evil spirit had moved at all. That was truly terrifying.

Ordinarily, anyone would have been terrified, shocked, then turned and fled at such a sight. But Lu Chen did not feel much fear. All he felt was understanding.

"Just as I thought."

"This monster only rapidly coalesces when no one is looking at it, then approaches from behind. But as long as someone keeps their eyes on it, it doesn't move at all."

In that short span of time, Lu Chen had already identified several traits of the evil entity before him.

Of course, he had discovered those traits so easily not because he was especially clever, but because his strength kept him unafraid of danger and calm at heart. Only then had he been able to notice some of the evil entity's characteristics.

If an ordinary barbarian encountered inexplicable fog with a shadow lurking inside it, they would have chosen to run.

That would have been the correct choice. After all, not every barbarian possessed the courage and strength to confront an evil entity head-on.

Yet the ways of the world were simply that strange. Ordinary barbarians wanted to flee, but because they stopped watching the evil entity, it would quickly coalesce.

As a result, they would never escape the fog's reach. They would only be caught and killed by the shadow in the fog behind them amid fear and despair.

Because Lu Chen was strong, he dared to stare directly at the evil entity. By sheer coincidence, he had discovered some of its traits. If he wanted to run now, he would actually have a better chance than someone who had fled from the start.

All one could say was that life was unpredictable.

However, even after finding the evil entity's weakness, Lu Chen had no intention of running.

"As long as I turn around, you'll come over? Good. Come, then!"

Lu Chen's sturdy body tensed as he prepared to turn around again and let the phantom draw near.

Just as he was about to act, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

He glanced at the phantom ahead and saw that it had not moved in the slightest. Then Lu Chen swiftly turned around.

But what he saw when he turned made his heart go cold.

"There's one behind me too..."