Terrifying Vines

Ahead, behind, left, right...

Blood-Sucking Vines carpeted the ground and wrapped around the trees. They were everywhere—too many to count!

Wang Peng and Qian Feilong's fall had caused all the surrounding vines to "come alive." They converged on the two of them, as though eager to claim a share and drink fresh blood.

Qin Heng had seen this type of Demon Plant introduced on an educational program before. It was said to be one of the ten most dangerous plants in the wilderness.

Compared with other Demon Plants, its strength and intelligence were not particularly high. It could only barely be considered an Elementary Demon Plant.

But its appearance was ordinary, making it easy to confuse with common vines and difficult to identify. On top of that, it reproduced rapidly and existed in enormous numbers. Once it latched onto someone, even an Intermediate Martial Warrior would struggle to escape unscathed. To civilians and ordinary martial warriors, it was unquestionably a top-tier threat!

Qin Heng was glad he had not been caught by the vines. Otherwise, he would have been the one screaming in agony right now.

Wang Peng's limbs were bound by Blood-Sucking Vines, leaving him completely unable to resist. Even when he twisted his body with all his strength, he could only stretch the vines out of shape, not break free.

"Ah Long, hurry over! I can't move!" Wang Peng shouted for help.

"I can barely save myself, Young Master Wang." Qian Feilong sounded frantic. He was clearly panicking.

This guy was indeed formidable. His sword flashed like wind as he forcibly severed the Blood-Sucking Vines tangled around his legs. He even chopped away sections of the vines continuing to approach, preventing them from binding him completely.

But that was all. Escaping the Blood-Sucking Vine territory still looked rather difficult.

More vines were gathering around them. They possessed little intelligence and acted entirely on their instinctive craving for animal blood.

Wang Peng's Combat Suit was punctured by the fine thorns on the vines' surfaces. Needle-like barbs pierced his skin one after another, making him howl in pain.

"Qin Heng, Qin Heng, help me! I know I was wrong! Hurry and save me!"

Seeing that Qian Feilong could not help, Wang Peng tried begging Qin Heng instead.

Being entangled by Blood-Sucking Vines was a terrifying thing. Their surfaces were covered in countless needle-like barbs. Not only were they extremely sharp, but they also contained trace amounts of toxin, which numbed the body and gradually robbed a person of their ability to resist.

Of course, the most terrifying part was the "blood-sucking." The vines were hollow, and once they pierced the skin, they could rapidly drain a person's blood, sucking them alive into a dried corpse!

Faced with such a horrifying thing, Wang Peng could no longer care about anything else. He only wanted to live.

Seeing his enemy trapped in dire straits, Qin Heng could not help but smile. "Young Master Wang, who would have thought that you would have a day when you admitted your mistakes?"

Wang Peng hated Qin Heng to the bone. If not for him, he would not have fallen into the Blood-Sucking Vines' trap.

But he did not dare say it aloud now, because Qin Heng was the only person who could save him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I really know I was wrong! Please help me! I know you're one of the Good People! It hurts so much! Save me!" Wang Peng cried, tears spilling from his eyes.

The pain of being bound by Blood-Sucking Vines was a hundred times worse than being slashed by a blade. Every nerve ending in his body was being tortured.

And as his blood was drained away, his face and skin rapidly turned pale, while his strength steadily weakened.

"Good People?"

Qin Heng chuckled and shook his head. "Helping the person who bullied you after being bullied by them—that's not being a good person. That's being a fucking idiot. Pray for yourself. I don't have the time to help enemies."

His situation was far better than Wang Peng's and Qian Feilong's, but Blood-Sucking Vines were present around him as well.

There was a wound on Qin Heng's left arm, and blood was seeping from it. The scent of fresh blood was drawing the Blood-Sucking Vines closer.

Rustle, rustle~

Vines crept tentatively toward Qin Heng.

He gripped his battle saber and slashed more than a dozen times, cutting them apart one by one.

But Demon Plants were unlike Monsters. Chopping off a few vines was not fatal to them at all. One vine broke, then two more came, as if they were endless. Getting out of this vine-infested area would take some effort.

"Qin Heng, Qin Heng, Ah Long, Ah..." Wang Peng's cries echoed through the forest.

Qin Heng ignored him and focused on dealing with the Blood-Sucking Vines around him.

"I remember the educational program saying that Blood-Sucking Vines have a Main Root. One Main Root can produce three hundred to five hundred vines. As long as the Main Root is destroyed, the remaining vines temporarily lose their ability to move and need a long time to form a new Main Root."

His memories stirred, giving Qin Heng an idea.

Blood-Sucking Vines were extremely difficult to kill. The Main Root was their only weakness.

But even killing the Main Root would not destroy them completely. As long as one among the hundreds of vines could still touch the soil, it could regenerate after a few months and return to its peak in three years at most.

To kill it completely, the Main Root and all the hundreds of vines had to be burned to ashes.

That was impossible under the current conditions, so Qin Heng could only concentrate his gaze and search for the Blood-Sucking Vine's Main Root.

"Ordinary vines are bluish-green. The Main Root is old and thick, bluish-purple in color, usually as thick as an arm. Older ones can even be as thick as a thigh."

The surrounding vines were all small, only thumb-thick. None matched the Main Root's characteristics.

While swinging his saber to fend them off, Qin Heng carefully shifted his steps, searching for a way out of his predicament.

"Qin Heng, Qin Heng! These Blood-Sucking Vines are hard to deal with. How about we join forces? Otherwise, we'll all die!" Qian Feilong shouted at him.

This guy was nearly unable to hold on as well. Under repeated attacks from more than a hundred vines, his legs were finally caught.

As for Wang Peng, he could no longer even speak. Three vines were wrapped tightly around his mouth, leaving him able to make only pained whimpers.

Qin Heng ignored Qian Feilong, though he did glance at Wang Peng again.

Seeing that bastard trapped in a hopeless situation brought him some pleasure, even amid this crisis.

"Qin Heng, come help!" Qian Feilong shouted again.

There were two or three times more vines attacking him than Qin Heng, making them far too difficult to handle.

He tried to break free and run away, but every time he lifted a leg, more than a dozen vines coiled around it. Fine barbs punctured his Combat Suit, injecting faintly numbing toxin while simultaneously sucking away his blood.

At this moment, Qian Feilong felt somewhat despairing.

Qin Heng replied, "I don't make a habit of helping enemies, especially enemies who wanted to kill me a minute ago."

Just moments ago, these two had been shouting about killing him and wanting to take him out.

If he saved them now, would that not be the same as helping others kill himself?

Qin Heng was not a fool, nor was he foolishly kind. He would not do anything harmful to himself.

Qian Feilong anxiously explained, "The situation is different now. We're all in danger, and only by joining forces can we survive. Wang Peng is beyond saving, and your grudge with him has nothing to do with me. As long as we get out, the two of us will be brothers who would live and die together!"

Qin Heng said, "I don't need a live-and-die brother as cheap as you. Heh, I think I found a way out."

As he spoke, he unexpectedly noticed that the northeastern slope had the fewest vines. He immediately sped up and charged toward it.

Several vines tried to intercept him, but with his battle saber in hand, ordinary vines were hardly worth mentioning. He sliced through them with ease.

"Qin Heng, don't go!" Qian Feilong shouted desperately, his voice now filled with regret.

Wang Peng made muffled noises. His entire body was wrapped in vines like a rice dumpling, his weapon long since dropped to the ground. His Combat Suit was twisted out of shape, and the half of his face exposed through the gaps was filled with terror and despair.

"Don't blame me. You were the ones who started this, so this is the ending you brought upon yourselves." Qin Heng's tone was calm as he took several strides and rushed out of the encirclement of intertwined vines.

At that moment, Wang Peng's voice suddenly reached him. Filled with difficulty and pain, he rasped, "Qin Heng, save me... I'll tell you a secret, about... Fang Lingxue."