This kid... his luck is too damn good

The night was as black as ink, utterly devouring Black Wind Gully.

The campfire was the sole source of light in this dead, silent world. The orange flames crackled and popped, twisting and elongating the shadows of the group, casting them against the cold mountain wall behind like writhing specters.

The wind grew more shrill, whipping up sand and gravel from the ground that pattered against the faint light barrier Leader Liu had raised, a rustling sound like countless invisible hands scratching from outside.

Lu Chen sat quietly by the fire, having taken over for the scar-faced Warrior who was now snoring loudly.

He kept his head down, seemingly focused on adding firewood, but in truth, he had already pushed the Turtle Breath Meditation Method to its limit.

The faint warm current in his dantian slowly circulated through his limbs and bones, not only dispelling the bone-piercing chill but also sharpening his five senses to an unprecedented degree.

He could clearly hear the faint, minute cracking of weathered rock in the distance. He could detect, beyond the Killing Intent in the air, an extremely faint, sweetish scent like rotting vegetation.

What made him even more alert was that elusive scraping sound.

It was very light, very fine—like someone slowly dragging a fingernail across rough sandpaper. Intermittent, yet omnipresent.

The other Warriors clearly hadn't noticed it. Only the most experienced old Imperial Guard, Leader Liu, occasionally furrowed his brow and cast wary glances into the depths of the darkness, but even he seemed unable to pinpoint the source.

Lu Chen didn't raise an alarm.

His identity didn't allow him to display any ability beyond that of a lucky good-for-nothing.

He merely, without any change in expression, added a dry piece of pine to the fire, making it burn a little brighter.

At the same time, he adjusted his body into a stance most conducive to explosive movement, his right hand resting casually on his knee, but in truth, it was only a hair's breadth from the hilt of the Boning Knife at his lower back.

Time trickled by.

That strange scraping sound didn't disappear; instead, it grew clearer, as if something was slowly closing in on their small camp from all directions.

Suddenly, the campfire's flames shrank inward, flickering violently, and the light dimmed in an instant!

The Warrior guarding the other side was startled and instinctively gripped his sword hilt.

"What's going on? Did the wind get in?"

"No!" Leader Liu's aged but sharp voice cut through. He shot up from the ground, staring intently at the earth around the camp. "The yin and Killing Intent underground is surging upward!"

The moment his words fell.

The change erupted!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

A series of dull sounds came from the ground around them.

Vines as thick as a baby's arm, pitch-black and covered in barbs, burst forth from the soil like venomous snakes!

They moved silently, their tips splitting open to reveal a dark red, mouth-like structure, exuding a nauseating, sweet stench.

These black vines seemed to possess their own will. They carefully avoided the blazing campfire, their targets clear—the Warriors who were either sleeping or feigning rest!

"Urgh..."

Not far from Lu Chen, the scar-faced Warrior, whose snores had been thunderous, didn't even have time to let out a full cry. A black vine lashed around his neck like lightning and tightened violently!

Another vine clamped down over his mouth and nose, turning all his struggles into futile, muffled grunts.

The scar-faced Warrior's eyes bulged instantly, bloodshot with terror. His limbs thrashed wildly, but he couldn't break free from the steel-like grip.

At the same time, several other Warriors were attacked in the same way. The camp plunged into a silent chaos!

In that split second between life and death, Lu Chen didn't hesitate!

But he didn't choose to draw his blade.

At this moment, when everyone was entangled by the black vines and couldn't see his movements clearly, any overly professional counterattack might expose his true strength.

"Ah!"

Lu Chen let out a terrified, distorted scream, as if scared out of his wits by the sight.

He fumbled frantically, grabbing a red-hot stick from the campfire, and like a madman, scrambled and crawled toward the nearest scar-faced Warrior.

With all his strength, he rammed the burning stick hard into the black vine coiled around the scar-faced man's neck!

Sizzle—!

A burst of acrid, white smoke erupted!

The incredibly tough black vine, upon contact with the flame, shuddered violently like a snake touched by a branding iron, letting out a sharp, inhuman hiss!

It abruptly released its grip on the scar-faced Warrior and retracted into the ground like lightning!

"Cough, cough, cough! Hack!"

Freed, the scar-faced Warrior collapsed to the ground, clutching the deep purple ligature mark on his neck, coughing violently, his face a mask of post-traumatic terror and lingering fear.

"Fire! They're afraid of fire!"

The most experienced Leader Liu was the first to react.

He slashed through the vine wrapped around his leg with one stroke of his blade and roared, "Everyone, fall back to the fire, damn it! Use torches!"

His roar, like a thunderclap, jolted the Warriors still struggling with the vines back to their senses.

The group scrambled back to the campfire, hastily lit torches, and swung them wildly, driving back the black vines that tried to approach again.

For a moment, the camp was a chaos of dancing flames, screams, and curses.

"Shhk!"

A black vine shot out from the shadows with a sinister angle, aiming straight for a Warrior's back.

Lu Chen's foot was "tripped" by a stone, sending him pitching forward in an extremely clumsy posture.

But as he fell, the sharp Boning Knife at his lower back met the black vine's attack path as if it had foreseen it.

Pfft!

A soft sound.

His minor mastery of Shadow Step gave him exquisite control over his body, while his major mastery of Demon Suppressing Saber Technique let him see through a demon's weaknesses with perfect clarity.

This slash seemed accidental, but it was actually the result of his flawless calculation of timing, angle, and force.

The blade precisely cut into the vine's most vulnerable joint, severing it cleanly in two!

The Warrior felt a chill behind him and turned to see the half-severed black vine still writhing on the ground, along with Lu Chen, who was covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Thanks... thanks, brother!"

Lu Chen paid him no mind. He leaped up from the ground, his face still wearing that terrified expression, and wildly waved his torch as he darted aimlessly through the crowd.

Yet every clumsy dodge he made happened to evade a lethal strike.

"This kid... his luck is just too damn good, isn't it?"