Bloodsucking Vine

"Everyone, be careful. Stay on twelvefold alert! We're about to enter the territory of Great Black Mountain!"

Village Chief Zhao Zongren gripped his spear and solemnly warned everyone.

"Careful! There's a striped venomous snake in the grass to the left! Don't move recklessly!"

A young man raised his blade and rushed forward. With several swift slashes, he killed the venomous snake, then grinned.

"Just a little snake, nothing to fear! Watch me—kill!"

"Watch your heads! There's a poisonous spider in the tree!"

"Ah..."

A villager hurriedly dodged aside, letting out a frightened cry that drew teasing from the others.

"You're already this grown, and a tiny spider scared you like that!"

Warnings from the villagers rang out from time to time throughout the party.

The group pressed onward, traveling in pairs. Every step was cautious; they focused their minds, gathered their breath, and gripped their weapons tightly.

There were roughly twenty or thirty villagers who had come along.

Most of them had experience hunting in the mountains and forests and were quite skilled.

It was only that their cultivation was rather shallow.

Xie Jinghan took a look. The highest cultivation in the party was merely Postnatal Fourth Grade, while the rest were mostly at the Lower Third Grade of the Postnatal realm.

"Hua Liang, take a look. Following this route, how far are we from the hidden cave you mentioned?"

Zhao Zongren turned to Zhao Hualiang and asked in a low voice.

"Not far now! Once we pass through the dense forest ahead and head west a little farther, we'll arrive before long."

Zhao Hualiang raised his eyes toward the dense forest ahead. After carefully identifying their position, he answered.

Hearing this, Zhao Zongren immediately halted the party, took out a packet of Miasma-Repelling Pills from his robes, and said,

"There may be miasma in the forest ahead. I have Miasma-Repelling Pills here. Pass them around."

Everyone took the Miasma-Repelling Pills in turn and swallowed them.

Then they carefully stepped into the dense forest.

The forest was dark and silent.

Only moments after they entered, a startled cry suddenly rang out.

"Ah..."

A villager was suddenly tripped by a vine. Then the vines on the ground began writhing madly, as though they had come alive.

Countless vines surged forth, wildly winding around everyone.

They moved incredibly fast.

"This is bad—it's a Bloodsucking Vine!"

"This thing sucks blood the moment it touches you! Everyone, retreat!"

"Don't let yourselves get tangled up!"

"If it catches you, you'll lose your lives!"

Village Chief Zhao Zongren was knowledgeable and experienced, and he shouted loudly.

Everyone hurriedly retreated.

Yet a dark figure charged forward against the tide.

"Black Boy! What are you doing? Don't be reckless! Get back here!"

Recognizing the figure, Zhao Zongren hurriedly shouted at him.

A tall, burly man with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear stood there, gripping a long blade.

Without a word, he swung his blade and hacked madly at the vines, sending layer after layer of gleaming blade light flashing out.

The vines were struck by the blade light and easily severed into several pieces.

In moments, he rescued the trapped villager.

"Thank you, Black Boy!"

"Black Boy, well done!"

Seeing this, everyone praised him one after another.

Black Boy continued swinging his blade, its light cold and fierce.

Until the Bloodsucking Vine retreated.

Seeing this, Zhao Zongren said,

"This Bloodsucking Vine is also a rather rare medicinal herb. We mustn't waste it. Everyone, hurry and gather it!"

Everyone immediately bent down and quickly picked up the broken vines.

Xie Jinghan stood to one side, quietly watching everyone and nodding to himself.

He recognized Black Boy as the person who had previously saved Zhao Hualiang. His real name was Zhao Song. He was around fifteen or sixteen years old, tall and dark-skinned, and everyone called him Black Boy.

The group continued onward cautiously. Along the way, they encountered several more dangers, but each time they were frightened without suffering harm, turning peril into safety.

At last, they emerged from the perilous miasma-filled forest.