The night had grown late. Apart from those on watch, almost everyone had fallen asleep.
The wilderness lay quiet beneath the night sky, broken only by the occasional crackle of sparks from the campfire.
Keeping watch did not just mean sitting in camp. They also needed to check the surroundings from time to time and identify potential dangers in advance.
"I'll check the surroundings first."
Lin Xiao got up and headed toward the nearby woods.
Ma Hongjun stayed in camp to keep watch in case anything happened.
Once inside the woods, Lin Xiao immediately unleashed his soul skill, Sword Immortal Clone!
At level thirty, he could summon four Sword Immortal Clones, each possessing sixty percent of his own strength.
Even at only sixty percent, they were still beyond the likes of Tang San to challenge.
"Patrol the area. Pay special attention to the second half of the night!"
Lin Xiao issued his orders. He kept feeling that Tang San would try something.
That fellow would never be kind enough to volunteer for the second watch.
He certainly intended to seize the opportunity to do something.
This journey would not be peaceful. It would hardly be surprising if someone stirred up trouble.
But Lin Xiao had to ensure that everything remained under his control. He could not let Tang San take the lead.
Otherwise, things might spiral out of control, and the mission might fail.
He left one Sword Immortal Clone hidden in the shadows to keep track of Tang San's every move.
After patrolling for a while, he returned to camp. Ma Hongjun was already sitting there with his head drooping, looking as though he was about to fall asleep.
Lin Xiao frowned. He dared to let his guard down this much out in the wilderness?
If he were not part of the protagonist's camp, a few random soul beasts could probably have eaten him.
Ma Hongjun posed little threat to him. At least, an idiot like this could not inflict any real harm.
As long as Ma Hongjun did not court death by tying himself to Tang San and the others, Lin Xiao might still leave him a way out.
If he insisted on courting death, Lin Xiao could only grant his wish.
A glance showed that Ning Rongrong and the others' tent was quiet. Nothing had happened.
But when he looked toward Tang San's tent, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Tang San and Dai Mubai shared a tent. Although the flap was closed, Lin Xiao could still hear their breathing by sensing carefully with his soul power.
Their breathing was off. They were not asleep!
Staying awake this late when they still had the second watch to take was clearly abnormal.
Lin Xiao said nothing more and sat beside the campfire, keeping watch.
A little after two in the morning, Tang San and Dai Mubai opened the flap and came out.
"Lin Xiao, Fatty, time to change shifts."
At Dai Mubai's words, Ma Hongjun, who had been sleeping soundly, jolted awake. He hurriedly opened his eyes, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and scratched his head. "Is it time to change shifts?"
With that, he scurried into the tent.
Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged no pleasantries with Lin Xiao. They simply sat beside the campfire.
Naturally, Lin Xiao could not be bothered to waste words on them either. He went into his own tent to sleep.
Watching the flap close, a gleam flashed in Tang San's eyes. "Mubai, I'll patrol the surroundings to make sure it's safe."
"Mm, go ahead."
Dai Mubai answered, then looked toward Lin Xiao's tent again, a chilling smile tugging at his lips.
Half an hour later, Dai Mubai rose and walked toward Lin Xiao's tent. He took a pouch from inside his clothes and poured the white powder inside it around the tent.
Once he finished, he returned to the campfire and gestured toward the woods.
Everything had gone smoothly!
Little did he know that, from inside the tent, his approach looked like a large black shadow drawing near.
Naturally, Lin Xiao would not fall asleep so easily.
With someone plotting against him, how could he possibly sleep?
Watching that shadow busy itself beside the tent, he could more or less guess what was happening.
Perhaps Tang San had given Dai Mubai some sort of sleeping drug, or some other substance.
Whatever it was, it could not be anything good.
Connect to the clone's vision!
Lin Xiao silently gave the command.
As the original, he could access any clone's vision at any time.
He could even share the vision of several clones at once.
As long as his spiritual strength was powerful enough, he could process vast amounts of information simultaneously.
He switched to a clone's perspective. After waiting a while, he saw Tang San dart into the woods.
The moment Tang San entered the woods, he activated his Purple Demon Eye.
With that, the dark forest was practically no different from broad daylight to him.
"Found it!"
After running through the woods for quite some time, he finally spotted his target.
A Dark Cloud Leopard!
Night was the Dark Cloud Leopard's hunting time. Judging by this one's body length of over five meters, it should have been a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
This kind of soul beast excelled at using the darkness as cover, and its astonishing speed made it seem like a ghost.
Even when running at incredible speed, it made almost no sound.
Having found the Dark Cloud Leopard, Tang San's lips curled into a deranged smile.
As long as he handled this properly, everything would unfold according to his plan.
He could also eliminate the enormous threat that was Lin Xiao once and for all.
Once Lin Xiao was gone, Xiao Wu would naturally return to his side. She would no longer think about a "friend" she had only known for a few days.
Just thinking about it felt wonderful!
He immediately unleashed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, swiftly approaching the Dark Cloud Leopard.
The Dark Cloud Leopard was still waiting for prey to come to it. Ambush was its favorite method.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed before its eyes, followed by a stab of pain in its rear.
The pain in its rear nearly drove the Dark Cloud Leopard mad.
But even more unexpectedly, a cloud of white powder burst beside it.
After inhaling the white powder, the Dark Cloud Leopard's eyes turned blood-red. It bared its teeth and lowered its body, already poised to attack.
It spotted the person fleeing rapidly ahead.
Judging by the scent in the air, that was the person who had ambushed it!
Without any hesitation, the Dark Cloud Leopard gave chase.
Lin Xiao watched the entire scene through his Sword Immortal Clone's eyes and suddenly felt like laughing.
So Tang San's plan was to use a ten-thousand-year soul beast to eliminate him?
He really had no idea what that fellow was thinking.
With Zhao Wuji in camp, the Dark Cloud Leopard could not hurt them. Zhao Wuji would simply kill it.
No, Tang San's plan could not be that simple.
The powder!
It had to be the powder scattered over the Dark Cloud Leopard.
Combined with Dai Mubai's visit to his tent, the answer was more or less clear.
The agitated Dark Cloud Leopard would track the scent.
Once it reached camp, its first target would be the tent sprinkled with powder.
A ten-thousand-year soul beast was indeed beyond a level-thirty soul master's ability to fight.
Even a level-forty Soul Ancestor would struggle against it.
So Tang San was betting that the Dark Cloud Leopard could kill him before Zhao Wuji reacted!
Even if Zhao Wuji investigated afterward, they could claim that the Dark Cloud Leopard had been too fast for them to react in time.
Faced with the speed of a ten-thousand-year Dark Cloud Leopard, even Zhao Wuji could only gaze after it and sigh.
He really is the protagonist. Underhanded tricks come to him as easily as plucking something with his fingers.
If I hadn't been on guard against you, you really would have screwed me over.
Lin Xiao considered it. Since this chance to show off had delivered itself right to his door, he would gladly accept it!
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