Entering the Ranks, a Demonic Plant! Corpse Vine Demon Tree!

In the chaos, more than one Warrior found that absurd thought flashing through their mind.

They only saw Lu Chen darting about like a startled rabbit, but failed to notice that, with his help, the team's defensive line had miraculously held steady.

"ROAR--!!!"

Just as everyone thought they were temporarily safe, a muffled, furious bellow suddenly erupted from deep beneath the earth!

The entire ground trembled violently in response!

The severed black vines, as if answering some summons, writhed madly and burrowed back into the soil.

Then, on an open patch of ground thirty yards ahead of the camp, the earth bulged into a massive mound!

"BOOM!"

With a thunderous crash, dirt and rock exploded outward!

A colossal creature slowly rose from the ground amid a cloud of swirling dust!

It was a monstrous plant demon, immense and twisted like an ancient, gnarled tree!

Its main trunk was as thick as a water barrel, covered in layers of hard bark that resembled black scales.

Countless arm-thick black vines lashed wildly around it like a writhing nest of serpents.

At the top of its trunk gaped a huge, ferocious maw, lined with row upon row of blade-like, dark red fangs. As it opened and closed, it exuded a thick stench of rot and Corpse Qi.

"An... an Appraised-grade demon plant! The Corpse Vine Demon Tree!"

For the first time, Leader Liu's voice carried a tremor.

The Corpse Vine Demon Tree's appearance, like a moving mountain of death, shattered the last shred of hope within the camp.

The foul stench, a mix of dense Corpse Qi and decaying vegetation, was almost suffocating.

"Spread out! Attack its roots with fire!"

Leader Liu, a veteran Imperial Guard who had weathered countless battles, issued his first—and possibly last—command after the initial shock.

His voice was hoarse from extreme tension, but still clear.

Yet the command felt utterly feeble.

The Corpse Vine Demon Tree seemed to understand him, letting out a low growl.

The next moment, the thousands of black vines on its trunk surged forth like a bursting black flood, sweeping toward everyone in a sky-obscuring tide!

This attack was far fiercer and more violent than before!

Vine shadows cracked like whips, tearing through the air with sharp "whoosh" sounds. The ground was gouged with deep furrows, sending gravel flying!

"Ah!"

A slightly slower Warrior had his torch knocked away by a vine whip in an instant. Then, several black vines coiled around his limbs and yanked in four directions at once!

"RIP!"

A sickening sound of tearing flesh and muscle rang out.

Under the horrified gaze of the crowd, that burly Warrior was ripped apart into four pieces alive!

Warm blood and chunks of entrails rained down like a storm, staining the hopeless ground an even deeper red.

This bloody, brutal scene shattered the remaining Warriors' mental defenses.

"Monster! It's a monster!"

"Run! Get out of here!"

The scar-faced Warrior was the first to break. He dropped his torch and turned to flee beyond the light barrier, charging into the boundless darkness.

"Come back, you fool!" Leader Liu's eyes nearly split with rage as he hacked away a vine lunging at him, roaring, "Leave the formation, and you'll die even faster!"

But the fear of death had already consumed all reason. The scar-faced Warrior ignored him, sprinting madly outward.

Yet before he could take three steps, the ground beneath him exploded. A black vine, thicker than any before, burst from the earth like a giant python, wrapping him tightly from ankle to chest in an instant, then yanking him backward!

"No--!"

The scar-faced Warrior let out his final, piercing scream as he was dragged bodily into the ground, leaving behind only a collapsing pit and a fading plume of dust.

In the blink of an eye, the team had lost two men.

The remaining two Warriors were ashen-faced, trembling like leaves in a gale, merely swinging their torches in futile resistance.

Leader Liu's situation was equally precarious.

His blade technique was exquisite, each strike precisely severing a vine at its joint. But the Corpse Vine Demon Tree had too many vines—endless. Cut one down, and three more came, pinning him in place, his space shrinking bit by bit.

The light barrier formed by the bronze formation plate flickered violently under the relentless barrage of vines, growing dim and unsteady. It clearly wouldn't hold much longer.

Despair!

This was utter, absolute despair!

Amid the chaos of slaughter, only Lu Chen remained perfectly calm.

His figure flickered unpredictably through the gaps in the vine shadows, each dodge a hair's breadth from disaster, each shift executed with exquisite precision.

The entry-level Shadow Step, under the pressure of life and death, was growing increasingly refined at an almost unbelievable speed.

Lu Chen did not go to save anyone, because he knew he couldn't.

All his focus was locked onto the massive Corpse Vine Demon Tree.

"Its bark is tough as iron; ordinary blades can't scratch it... The vines regenerate extremely fast, impossible to cut through completely... Fire is effective, but the range is too small to reach its root..."

Countless pieces of information flashed through Lu Chen's mind as he conducted the coldest analysis.

"All its attacks come from those vines. And all the vines connect to the main trunk. Its core must be inside the trunk!"

"But the trunk is wrapped in thick bark—how do I break through?"

Lu Chen's gaze finally locked onto the huge, gaping maw at the top of the Corpse Vine Demon Tree, lined with fangs and constantly opening and closing.

He noticed that whenever the Corpse Vine Demon Tree roared or drove its vines into a large-scale attack, a faint, dark green light, pulsing like a heartbeat, would flicker deep within that maw!

That was where its Demon Core lay! Its vital weak point!

But that spot hung three zhang above the ground, surrounded by countless guardian vines—impossible to approach.

Unless...

A flash of extreme madness and resolve gleamed in Lu Chen's eyes.

He glanced at Leader Liu, who had been backed into a corner against the mountain wall and was barely holding on, then at the two Warriors who could be torn apart at any moment.

The timing was almost right.

"Beast! This old man will fight you to the death!"

Leader Liu roared, knowing there was no escape, and chose the most violent path. He bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood essence onto the saber in his hand!

Hum—!

That ordinary standard-issue saber, after absorbing the blood essence, burst into brilliant red light, and a fierce, sharp aura shot into the sky!

"Demon Suppression Division Secret Art: Blood Burning Slash!"

Leader Liu's hair and beard bristled as he transformed into a blood-colored whirlwind, charging straight at the main trunk of the Corpse Vine Demon Tree!

This was his ultimate strike, paid for by burning his own lifeblood!

Clang—!

A deafening clash of metal!

Leader Liu's blade struck the main trunk of the Corpse Vine Demon Tree solidly, exploding into a shower of sparks.

The black bark, harder than steel, was actually split open by that single blow, leaving a massive gash half a foot deep!

Foul, dark green sap gushed out like a spring!