Ma Xiong shouted for everyone to retreat while calling out to Lu Zong, "Lu Zong, do you have any fuel left in your pack? I'll draw this thing away, you get the fuel ready!"

Lu Zong backed away, saying, "None left, it was all used for the light!"

Hearing this, Ma Xiong quickly unslung his own backpack, rummaged inside for fuel, and shouted to the others, "Everyone watch out for yourselves, I'm going to prepare the fire!" With that, Ma Xiong tossed his flashlight to Lu Zong and retreated several paces on his own before hastily opening his pack and pulling out the solid fuel. By the time Ma Xiong charged forward clutching the lighter and the fuel canister, the number of tendrils was already immense. Ma Xiong thought to himself that if he didn't light the fire now, it would be too late; if the tendrils continued to multiply, burning them with fire might endanger them as well.

Without hesitation, Ma Xiong immediately opened the fuel canister, wrapped the fuel in his clothing, secured it to the folding shovel, and ignited it!

A great ball of fire instantly erupted from the shovel head. Just then, a tendril snaked forward. Ma Xiong didn't think twice; he swung the folding shovel to burn the tendril. To his surprise, although the flame on the shovel head passed over the tendril, it didn't ignite. Ma Xiong was greatly startled, wondering if this thing wasn't a Mingshe Xu (Nether Serpent Tendril)? If not, what was it?

Fatty saw the tendril was unfazed by the fire and shouted to the others, "It's no use, I think this thing can't be burned away. What do we do now?"

Lu Zong had initially expected fire to be effective, but seeing the flames fail to ignite the tendril, he immediately cursed, "Isn't this thing supposed to be afraid of fire? Why the hell won't it catch now?"

They had retreated to the stone wall. The tendrils from the ancient tomb were sprouting everywhere, from all directions on the trunk. At this rate, it seemed those tendrils would eventually fill the entire space. If that happened, wouldn't they all be squeezed into pulp?

Ma Xiong realized this wouldn't work and quickly urged everyone to find a solution. Everyone was flustered, like ants on a hot pan. In this critical moment, Ma Xiong suddenly felt his mind go blank, unable to conjure a solution. Just then, the tendrils suddenly accelerated their growth. Caught off guard, everyone was immediately entangled by them.

At this point, everyone took out their daggers and began slashing at the tendrils. Ma Xiong then heard the Company Commander let out a sharp scream. He turned his head and saw that the Company Commander was already completely bound by the tendrils. She pulled with all her might, but the tendrils were too strong to tear loose. Only then did Ma Xiong remember the Company Commander didn't have a dagger. Watching her slender body being constricted tighter and tighter by the tendrils, her breathing growing ragged, Ma Xiong’s mind went hot. Without thinking, he shouted toward the Company Commander, "Catch!"

The Company Commander, startled by Ma Xiong's shout, looked over in alarm, then suddenly shook her head: "No! Ma Xiong, don't! Don't worry about me!"

"Catch!" Ma Xiong roared at her.

"No..." The Company Commander began to cry, nearly unable to breathe from the constriction of the tendrils.

"Damn it, catch the dagger from Ma Xiong!" Ma Xiong yelled, frantically hacking at the tendrils wrapped around him.

Tears streamed down her face, leaving her speechless, only shaking her head painfully at Ma Xiong. The tendrils had already coiled around her hands; even if she were willing to take Ma Xiong's dagger now, she couldn't free her hands. Seeing this, Ma Xiong immediately roared, frantically severing the tendrils binding him, trying to break free to save the Company Commander. But alas, the tendrils were too numerous; no matter how wildly he slashed, he couldn't escape.

Just then, a terrible shriek split the air. Ma Xiong looked up and saw the Company Commander suddenly spew a mouthful of blood!

"Take care of yourselves..." She managed only to softly call Ma Xiong's name before her eyes slowly closed, her lean body flung aside.

"Company Commander!" Ma Xiong’s tears immediately fell as he cried out her name.

Alas, she could no longer hear Ma Xiong speak.

"Damn it! Get back!" Ma Xiong was now completely crazed, venting all his remaining grief and indignation onto the tendrils. At this moment, Ma Xiong saw that Lu Zong had also lost all strength, hanging limply in the air, snagged by the tendrils.

Watching his comrades lose their lives one by one, Ma Xiong was sinking into despair. Lu Zong was frantically hacking at the tendrils near him. Suddenly, Ma Xiong felt the tendrils on his own body thinning out slightly. Startled, he quickly turned to look. Only then did he realize that Lu Zong had stopped looking after himself and was using his dagger to cut away the tendrils wrapping around Ma Xiong. Lu Zong, distressed by the constriction, was breathing in ragged gasps. He took a deep breath and said, "Old Ma, don't blame your brother. You two have looked after me since I was a kid. You are my only family left in this world. Even if we all end up here, I won't let you die before me."

"Don't worry about me! Damn it, stop! The tendrils will kill you!" Ma Xiong tried to turn and stop Lu Zong but was powerless to escape his own bonds. Lu Zong continued to hack at the tendrils near Ma Xiong, but they had already coiled around his chest. His breathing grew increasingly labored, and the movements of his hands began to falter.

"Ma Xiong!" Lu Zong suddenly roared, "Having you as a brother in this life, I have no regrets. Your brother will go first! In the next life..."

As Lu Zong spoke, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face swelling dreadfully. He used the last shred of his strength to sever one more tendril for Ma Xiong, then suddenly went limp, and the dagger slipped from his broad palm.

"In the next life... you're still my brother... You owe me, don't you dare run..." Lu Zong spoke these words with every ounce of strength he possessed, then slowly let his head droop.

"Lu Zong! Lu Zong!..." Seeing this, Ma Xiong instantly seemed to lose his soul, allowing the tendrils to wrap around his body blankly...

Ma Xiong felt every cell in his body suppressed; the tendrils tightened, and his head began to grow dizzy...

"Ma Xiong, Ma Xiong..." A voice like a heavenly melody woke him. Ma Xiong's consciousness immediately returned. He realized he was sitting right next to that ancient tree. The Company Commander, Lu Zong, and Fatty were all standing before him, looking at him with confusion. The ancient tree was still bare; there were no life-strangling tendrils anywhere.

Ma Xiong sat frozen for a long time until the Company Commander shook him vigorously, bringing him back to his senses.

Ma Xiong stared blankly at the group and mumbled, "I... they aren't dead?"

The Company Commander looked at Ma Xiong with deep concern. "Ma Xiong, what are you talking about?"

Lu Zong waved his hand in front of Ma Xiong's eyes. "Ma Xiong, what's wrong with you, kid?"

Only then did Ma Xiong confirm that the recent tragedies had been a hallucination. He shook his head at them. "I... I'm fine!"

Fatty said, "It's good that you're fine. You're probably exhausted. Rest for a while."

Lu Zong added, "Exactly. You get this exhausted and don't even tell us. You don't need to worry about this area anymore. I was just examining this moss. Go rest somewhere else."

Hearing this, Ma Xiong was immediately shocked and shouted, "Lu Zong, don't touch those things!"

At the same time, Ma Xiong rushed forward and pulled Lu Zong away. Still uneasy, he then pulled everyone else away from the vicinity of the ancient tree one by one. The others looked at Ma Xiong in confusion, not understanding why he was acting this way. Ma Xiong shouted to them, "Don't touch that moss! If you touch it, it's over!" Seeing Ma Xiong's strange demeanor, Fatty asked, "Little brother, do you know what these things are?"

Shaken by the hallucination, Ma Xiong’s mind was somewhat chaotic. He took a deep breath before shaking his head and saying, "I don't know what these things are, but in my hallucination just now, I touched something like this, and all these strange tendrils shot out of the tree trunk and strangled them to death!"

Seeing that Ma Xiong was clearly not right, the Company Commander walked over and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright, it was just a hallucination."

Ma Xiong shook his head again. "No, that hallucination was too real. So I have to believe it. In any case, everyone stay away from that ancient tree. I swear, those tendrils will kill us!"

Lu Zong took Ma Xiong by the arm and walked him toward the wall, pressing him down to sit with both hands. "Alright, alright, we won't touch. Ma Xiong, you rest well. Hey, everyone, come over and rest too. Listen to Ma Xiong, don't go near that tree."

The others exchanged glances and then all came over, sitting down next to Ma Xiong.

Ma Xiong rubbed his temples hard, finally feeling a slight sense of relief. That hallucination had come too strangely. Since childhood, Ma Xiong had never experienced anything like it. He wondered if the sudden appearance of this hallucination signaled some change in his body's functions. In any case, the vision felt strongly like a premonition of the future. Although it seemed utterly unrealistic, he couldn't afford not to believe it now. Discovering he possessed such an ability made Ma Xiong both thrilled and terrified—thrilled that the sudden hallucination had occurred, preventing Lu Zong from touching the moss, and terrified that the arrival of this ability might be accompanied by changes in his body. Everything had happened too suddenly, leaving Ma Xiong feeling utterly bewildered!

Next, everyone entered a state of rest, but the atmosphere was incredibly heavy. After all, in such a solemn setting, liveliness was needed to break the quiet fear dwelling in everyone’s hearts. Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong and said, "Lu Zong, I've actually always been secretly in love with you, you just never noticed. Don't call me a pervert, because I know I am a pervert. Even though you all call me a pervert, sometimes I won't admit it, and when that happens, don't blame me for being impolite."