My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

Deep in the dense forest of Black Wind Ridge, Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin supported each other as they trudged through the woods.

The wound, which had stopped bleeding, started bleeding again due to the bumpy mountain road. Every step I took aggravated the wound, causing excruciating pain.

The sunlight was blocked by the layers of tree canopy, making the forest dark and cold.

The air was filled with the sinister aura unique to demonic beasts.

Li Xuancang frowned slightly; even though he was seriously injured and weak, his alertness remained sharp.

He lowered his voice and warned in a deep voice, "Be careful, sir, there are monsters nearby."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dense bushes in front of him shook violently, and a gray-black figure suddenly darted out.

A fanged demon with gray fur all over its body, a protruding snout, and two sharp fangs that gleamed coldly charged straight at the two of them.

The fanged demon's crimson eyes were fixed on the two, and the smell of blood on them drove it completely mad.

It only had eyes for the two people and wanted to eat them.

The fanged demon in front of them had reached the mid-stage of the Body Tempering Realm. If the two of them were in their prime, they would naturally not be afraid.

But now, with both of them seriously injured, they find the fanged demon extremely difficult to deal with.

Attracted by the blood and stench of the two, the fanged demon turned its blood-red eyes and charged straight at Zhang Changlin.

Zhang Changlin was seriously injured and lacked Li Xuancang's powerful physique, making movement extremely difficult.

He was too slow to dodge and the fangs were about to pierce his neck.

"Be careful, sir."

At the critical moment, Li Xuancang disregarded the reopening of his wounds and suddenly exerted his strength, pulling Zhao Changlin behind him.

At the same time, he braced himself with one hand on the ground, barely managing to turn sideways to avoid the fanged demon's attack.

A sharp pain instantly swept through his body, multiple wounds reopened, and blood soaked through the bandages, but Li Xuancang dared not stop for a moment.

With his other hand gripping the spear tightly, he used the last of his strength to thrust it fiercely into the weak spot on the fanged demon's abdomen.

"Pfft!"

The spear tip pierced the demon's body, but due to insufficient strength, it did not penetrate it completely.

"roar!"

The fanged demon roared in pain, slamming its body and slamming Li Xuancang hard against a tree trunk.

"cough!"

Li Xuancang felt a sweet taste in his throat, and blood gushed out. His bones felt like they were falling apart, and he almost dropped his spear.

"Boom, rumble!"

The fanged demon stared intently at Li Xuancang, who was lying on the ground unable to get up, and charged towards him.

As the crisis struck, Li Xuancang's pupils dilated violently. He tried to dodge, but his body had reached its limit and was completely out of his control.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Changlin's eyes widened. Ignoring his own injuries, he gripped his battle sword tightly, leaped up, and with all his remaining strength, slashed down fiercely at the fanged demon's head.

"puff!"

The battle blade cleaved open the skull of the fanged demon, and demonic blood gushed out.

"Bang!"

The fanged demon fought back fiercely, its fangs piercing Zhao Changlin's chest and sending him flying.

"puff!"

Zhao Changlin fell to the ground, bleeding profusely, and was barely breathing.

"Go to hell!"

Li Xuancang seized the opportunity that Zhao Changlin had risked his life for, and pierced the fanged demon's head with his spear.

After the shot, Li Xuancang was exhausted and unable to move.

"Hmph, hmph..."

The fanged demon struggled a few times before losing all life and collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Li Xuancang struggled to his feet, his steps unsteady and swaying precariously. He managed to stand by holding onto a tree trunk.

His wounds bled profusely, and his face grew increasingly pale.

He leaned on his spear and slowly approached Zhao Changlin, who was lying on the ground. He took out the ointment from Zhao Changlin's body and used it to stop the bleeding from his wounds.

Zhao Changlin was barely breathing; he didn't even have the strength to speak.

Li Xuancang staggered to the corpse of the fanged demon, cut a gash in it with his knife, and the demon's blood spurted out.

Li Xuancang hurriedly opened his mouth and swallowed the warm demon blood, which restored some of his strength.

"puff!"

He cut open the fanged demon's corpse, took out its heart, and without the slightest hesitation, devoured it like a bloodthirsty beast.

The essence of the demon beast is concentrated in its heart, which contains enormous energy that can allow Li Xuancang to quickly recover his strength.

Li Xuancang also gave Zhao Changlin some demon blood and heart, which finally stabilized his injuries and saved his life.

Even so, Zhao Changlin was unable to move, had difficulty speaking, let alone walking.

"Don't worry about me, you should go!"

Zhao Changlin knew that he was no longer able to leave.

The smell of blood will soon attract other monsters, and those who stay behind will only face certain death.

He let Li Xuancang leave on his own; it was better than the two of them dying here together.

"My lord, I will carry you away."

Li Xuancang had no intention of leaving alone; he carried Zhao Changlin on his back and quickly departed.

After eating the fanged demon's heart, he regained much of his strength and carrying Zhao Changlin on his back was not too strenuous.

After walking in the mountains for a day, Li Xuancang finally emerged from the forest, and the outline of the continuous Cangyun Ridge in the distance was already clearly visible.

From a distance, the military camps and tents standing on the ridge and the fluttering flags of the Great Yan Army are particularly eye-catching.

Looking at the military camp ahead, Li Xuancang was excited. Zhao Changlin on his back also opened his eyes, which gleamed with a sharp light.

Li Xuancang was about to carry Zhao Changlin straight to the military camp when Zhao Changlin suddenly spoke.

"Be careful, there may be barbarian scouts outside the military camp. We must not be careless."

Having fought on the battlefield for many years, Zhao Changlin knew that both sides would send out scouts to gather intelligence on each other. There was a high possibility that barbarian scouts were lurking near the camp, so they could not let their guard down.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancang's heart skipped a beat. He realized he had been careless, but fortunately Zhao Changlin had reminded him.

After being reminded, Li Xuancang changed his route and proceeded cautiously, afraid of alerting the barbarian scouts.

As Li Xuancang approached the main camp, his heart sank.

Several groups of barbarian scouts were wandering around the mountain paths and forest entrances outside the Cangyunling camp.

These scouts, in groups of three to five, with sharp eyes, patrolled back and forth.

They meticulously searched every suspicious corner, carrying signal arrows so that if they discovered any unusual activity, they could immediately send a message to attract the army to encircle and annihilate them.

The barbarian army had already set its sights on the main force of Cangyun Ridge, sending out scouts in advance to block all outer passages and monitor the camp's movements.

Any stragglers or remnants returning to their camp would be intercepted and killed immediately.

The two men were still injured and weak. Let alone forcing their way through, if they made the slightest noise and were discovered by scouts, they would be surrounded instantly, all their previous efforts would be in vain, and they would die outside the mountains.

"The barbarian scouts are watching too closely; forcing our way in is absolutely out of the question."

Zhao Changlin also spotted the barbarian scouts and spoke in a hoarse voice.

He struggled to lift his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding terrain.

"We have to bypass the patrols in front and go in through the cliff path on the west side."

He had served in the county army and was familiar with the defenses of Cangyunling.

There is a steep cliff on the west side of the camp, which is rarely used by anyone. It is only accessible through the hidden outposts of the garrison and is the only entrance that can avoid scout patrols.

Following Zhao Changlin's instructions, Li Xuancang secretly observed the patrol patterns of the scouts and quickly noted down the gaps in the alternation of the two scout teams.

"The scouts take turns every half an incense stick's time, with a brief gap in between. We use this time to cross this open area and sneak into the dense forest on the west side."

Given the current situation, there is no turning back; we have no choice but to take a gamble.

Before long, the two teams of scouts completed their handover, and a gap opened up.

"Walk!"

Li Xuancang lowered his body and darted out of the dense forest like a ghost, using the terrain as cover to rush towards the western cliff.

As he sped away, the wounds all over his body burst open again, blood seeping out, and every step was excruciatingly painful.

He dared not pause for a moment, and with all his might, he managed to slip into the dense forest on the west side before the scouts returned, hiding behind a rock and holding his breath.

The patrol scouts turned back, passing by the rocks without finding anything amiss.

Having narrowly escaped death, Li Xuancang dared not stop and struggled to climb up the steep and rugged cliff path.

The path was narrow and slippery, with a deep valley on one side; a slight misstep and one would fall to their death.

After overcoming numerous hardships, they finally arrived at the secret outpost on the west side of the camp.

The guards at the outpost were taken aback when they saw the two men suddenly appear. They immediately raised their guns and shouted at them, looking on high alert.

"Who is it?"

Zhao Changlin struggled to pull out his identity token from his pocket and spoke with all his might.

"Zhao Changlin, the commander of a hundred men at the lakeside post station, along with his squad leader Li Xuancang, broke through the encirclement and returned to camp."

Upon hearing this, the garrison soldiers' expressions softened slightly.

"Go check it out quickly."

Several soldiers stepped forward to verify the two men's identities, while the others kept a close eye on them, weapons pointed at them, ready to pounce if they made any other move.

Li Xuancang and his companion did not resist and handed the token to the guards.

After verifying the tokens and seeing the two men covered in blood and covered in wounds, the guards lowered their guard.

"No problem."

The garrison quickly opened the checkpoint and brought the two men into the camp.

The moment they stepped into the Cangyunling camp, Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin could no longer hold on. Their tense minds relaxed, and they both collapsed to the ground, unconscious.