Chapter 109

Wan Family camp, a scene of chaos.

Wan Tianjue stood where Wang Shan's Earth Escape Talisman had vanished, the soil still fresh, bearing a trace of undispersed spiritual energy fluctuation. His face was ashen, his chest heaving violently, clearly very angry.

A Wan Family cultivator stammered as he approached: "Great… Great Elder, that brat… he he he… dug underground and ran!"

"Trash!" Wan Tianjue flung his sleeve, the cultivator terrified and sat on his butt, "A bunch of trash! With so many people, you can't even watch a Body Refining brat! What use are you!?"

Scolding aside, Wan Tianjue knew getting angry now was useless. He suppressed his anger, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

"Hmph, Earth Escape Talisman? You can flee the monk but not the temple!"

He quickly formed hand seals with both hands, murmuring incantations, strands of profound runes flying from his fingertips into the ground. Moments later, he snapped his eyes open, gazing deep into the Man Yun Mountain Range.

"Sure enough, he's still in the mountains! This aura…… is somewhat interesting, seems to mixed with a hint…… of the Beast Taming Sect?" Wan Tianjue's brows furrowed slightly, then he sneered, "No matter if you're a remnant of the Beast Taming Sect or some lucky brat, once you fall into my hands, you'll have to spill all your secrets!"

"Come here!" Wan Tianjue barked sternly.

"Here!" Several steward-like cultivators hurried forward.

"Pass my orders! All Wan Family descendants, offerings, and guest elders near the Man Yun Mountain Range, assemble here immediately! Those who fail to arrive within half an hour will go to the Law Enforcement Hall to receive punishment themselves!"

"Yes!"

"Also, bring out those treasured Bloodthirsty Hounds and Shadow Leopards! I want to see myself where he can escape to!" Wan Tianjue's voice carried undeniable authority.

One steward showed difficulty: "Great Elder, these few second-rank demonic beasts are ferocious; usually only specialized beast trainers look after them……"

"Nonsense!" Wan Tianjue glared, "Is now the time to quibble? If you can't bring them out, you're also going to the Law Enforcement Hall!"

"Yes yes yes! I'll go right away!" The steward shrank his neck in fear, scrambling away on hands and knees.

Not long after, several muffled beast roars came, four ferocious demonic beasts were brought over by several cultivators working together with specially made chains. Two were entirely dark red, fangs exposed, drool dripping, Bloodthirsty Hounds; the other two were agile, their fur oily and smooth, as if blending into shadows, Shadow Leopards.

Wan Tianjue walked up to them, those few ferocious second-rank demonic beasts also showing a hint of uneasy agitation. He pointed his fingers like swords, spiritual light flashing at his fingertips, quickly etching a tiny seal onto each beast's forehead.

"With my Divine Sense Imprint, I'll see where you hide!" Wan Tianjue felt the faint link forming with the beasts, a cruel curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

At that moment, a dust-covered Wan Family descendant hurried over: "Reporting to Great Elder! Black Stone Town has already followed your orders, spreading the portrait and bounty notice of the 'Pill Talisman Fiend Elder'! Nearby towns and those loose cultivators' markets have all been notified, and the bounty amount has been increased by thirty percent!"

"Pill Talisman Fiend Elder?" Wan Tianjue chewed on the title, nodding, "Well done. Tell them, alive we want the body, dead we want the corpse! Whoever provides accurate clues gets the bounty increased by another twenty percent! Whoever dares to shelter him will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!" The descendant received the order and left.

Wan Tianjue scanned the dozens of Wan Family cultivators assembled before him, picking out a few with cultivation at the seventh or eighth layer of Body Refining as capable individuals.

"You few, take these samples of the brat's aura," he tossed out several small jade bottles, each containing a trace of the aura Wang Shan had scattered during battle, "split into eight teams and search deep into the mountain range from different directions! Remember, it's 'search'! Not for you to sightsee! Upon finding any clue, immediately signal with Soul‑Summoning Incense! Whoever dares to slack off, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"As you command! Great Elder!" All replied in unison, daring not to be the slightest negligent.

Watching the squads depart with orders, Wan Tianjue's gaze once again turned to the deep and secluded Man Yun Mountain Range.

"Beast Taming Sect…… hmph, truly a centipede, dead but not stiff." He muttered to himself, his voice tinged with greed and unwillingness, "When the Beast Taming Sect fell, many good things ended up cheap for outsiders, or were simply lost. This brat, young as he is, employs such strange methods, especially those talismans and those pills that burst forth in battle…… Could he truly have obtained some core inheritance of the Beast Taming Sect?"

Thinking of this, Wan Tianjue's heart surged with heat.

"If that's truly the case…… then this inheritance must belong to my Wan Family! I absolutely cannot let him leave the Man Yun Mountain Range alive!" He clenched his fists, knuckles whitening from the force.

He raised his voice again: "Everyone listen clearly! Once you spot that brat's trail, or any suspicious person associated with him, no interrogation needed—kill on sight! If there is resistance, or anyone attempting to shelter him, treat them as accomplices and execute them on the spot, no need to report!"

His chilling words made every Wan Family cultivator present feel a shiver; this Great Elder's cruelty was already well known to them.

"I will make all the blind scoundrels in the Man Yun Mountain Range understand what fate awaits those who oppose my Wan Family!"

Just as Wan Tianjue was about to personally lead an elite squad, following the Bloodthirsty Hounds' lead to pursue, he suddenly let out an "Huh?" and snapped his head up toward a specific direction deep in the mountain range. There, mist coiled, and a deep gorge could be faintly seen, like the gaping maw of a giant beast.

He closed his eyes, his Spiritual Sense spreading out like a tide.

Moments later, he opened his eyes, his expression somewhat doubtful: "This faint fluctuation…… seems to be coming from the bottom of that Abyss? Could it be that the brat, driven to desperation, fled into that deadly place? No…… this fluctuation also seems to carry a hint…… of treasure light?"

Wan Tianjue's heart jumped violently.

"Could it be…… that he obtained some tremendous fortune in that Abyss, which is why he dares to act so arrogantly, even daring to counter‑kill my Wan Family people?" The thought arose, and he could no longer restrain himself.

"Everyone, speed up! That brat might be even more cunning than we imagined, and possibly…… carrying a great treasure!" His voice carried a hint of urgency.

The Wan Family forces, like a vast spiderweb, began to rapidly contract toward the depths of the Man Yun Mountain Range.

After pursuing several dozen li, Wan Tianjue halted in a relatively concealed mountain hollow, taking from his bosom a palm‑sized jade talisman engraved with intricate patterns.

He handed the talisman to a trusted aide: "Old Three, immediately use the family's highest‑grade Myriad‑Li Communication Talisman to report to the clan. Say, the target 'Pill Talisman Fiend Elder' likely holds part of the Beast Taming Sect's lost core secret arts; his methods are uncanny, his strength growing extremely fast, far surpassing peers. I suspect he hides major secrets related to the Beast Taming Sect on his person, possibly even an undiscovered inheritance site!"

That aide received the jade talisman, somewhat hesitant: 'Great Elder, this matter…… does it need more detailed evidence? Based merely on speculation, I fear……'

'Evidence?' Wan Tianjue snorted coldly, a flash of cold light in his eyes, 'My judgment is the greatest evidence! These three words ''Beast Taming Sect''—aren't they weight enough? Just do as I say! If this delays the family's major affair because of it, I will be the first to hold you accountable!'

'Yes! Yes! I understand, subordinate!' That aide dared not speak further, quickly stepped aside, activated his Spiritual Power, and began to trigger that precious Communication Jade Talisman.

Wan Tianjue gazed at the faint light emanating from the jade talisman, and thought to himself: 'Hmph, once I capture that brat and use the Soul-Searching Secret Technique to investigate, what secret won't be clear? By then, this tremendous merit will naturally all be mine! Those old fogies of the family ought to see my methods, Wan Tianjue! Perhaps, with this merit, I can advance even further……'

He had even begun to calculate that if he could obtain the complete inheritance of the Beast Taming Sect, the Wan Family might possibly leap to become one of the top cultivation clans in the surrounding area!

The party continued forward, the bloodthirsty hounds occasionally letting out low growls, tracking the faint scent lingering in the air.

Suddenly, a bloodthirsty hound ahead stopped in its tracks, frantically barking at a mountain wall covered in vines, its front paws incessantly digging at the ground.

'What's going on?' Wan Tianjue rode forward on his horse.

A Wan Family cultivator hurried forward, swung his blade to cut the vines, revealing a stretch of ancient rock wall covered in moss.

'Great Elder, here…… there seem to be some gnaw marks, as if something had chewed on them.' That cultivator examined them carefully.

Wan Tianjue dismounted and approached the rock face. The wall was indeed ancient, bearing many tooth marks from beasts, but in some relatively flat areas, faint patterns and symbols could barely be discerned.

'These…… are they runes?' Wan Tianjue's pupils contracted slightly. He reached out, brushing away dust and moss from the rock wall, striving to recognize those fragmented symbols.

The longer he looked, the graver his expression became.

'The structure of these runes…… how could they bear some resemblance to those several quite powerful talismans that brat unleashed at the camp earlier? No…… no!' Wan Tianjue lunged forward, almost pressing his face against the stone wall, 'This isn't mere similarity; it's practically from the same source! Only these runes on the stone wall seem far older, and…… more profound!'

He touched those icy, rough grooves with his finger, his heart tumultuous.

'Could there possibly be some unknown ancient relic hidden within the Man Yun Mountain Range? That brat…… his endless stream of talismans, could he have learned them from here? Just what is his background? A lone cultivator, how could he possibly come into contact with such profound and ancient rune inheritance?'

A series of questions surged in his mind, making Wan Tianjue feel an inexplicable irritation, while also intensifying his desire to capture Wang Shan.

That brat hides too many secrets! The inheritance of the Beast Taming Sect, mysterious elixirs, tremendously powerful talismans, and now possibly tied to an ancient rune relic……

'Hmph, no matter who you are or what secrets you hold, they will all be mine!' Greed and killing intent flashed in Wan Tianjue's eyes as he waved his hand: 'Keep pursuing! Dig three feet into the earth, I must drag him out for myself!'