Chapter 124

After the three left the Cave, they proceeded stealthily all the way toward the southeast.

Wang Shan led the way, relying on his growing familiarity with the mountains and forests and the system's assistance, carefully avoiding some areas clearly inhabited by powerful demon beasts.

"Wang Shan, how much farther is this southeast direction…? My legs are about to give out." Li Hu wiped his sweat, his palm‑sized big hand drooping limp, the opening‑mountain knife in his hand looking less spirited. After walking most of the day, not even a bird feather had been found, nothing but endless trees.

Zhang Mei spoke softly from the other side: "Li Hu, we've only walked less than half a day. Wang Shan said the clue to the young masters lies in this direction; we need to be patient."

Wang Shan didn't turn back, his voice steady: "Cut the nonsense. If you're tired, go back—no one's stopping you."

Li Hu shrank his neck, giving a dry, heh‑heh laugh: "How could I, Wang Shan? I'm just… a bit hungry. Your family's expertise runs deep—this Man Yun Mountain Range is like our backyard to you; following you puts our minds at ease."

"Don't flatter me." Wang Shan snapped, though he was calculating in his mind. The depths of the Man Yun Mountain Range were indeed no friendly place. They had tried to detour around the several dangerous spots marked on the map, but the faint barbaric aura in the air still made hearts tighten. Not to mention Purple Monkey Flower, they hadn't even seen a third‑tier spirit plant.

"I wonder how those two brats, Zhetao and Zhitao, are doing…" Wang Shan muttered to himself, his steps quickening a bit.

At that moment, Wang Shan was focusing to identify a plant that resembled a "dragon‑whisker vine", trying to match it from the recesses of his memory with the illustrations, when a string in his mind snapped taut!

The system almost screamed out an alert: 【Alert! Detected ultra‑high intensity spiritual energy fluctuation! Direction northwest, distance 120 li, rapidly approaching! Threat level: lethal! Repeat, lethal threat!】

At the same time, a terrifying pressure, almost tangible, swept across the sky and earth from afar.

"Plop!"

Li Hu's blackened face turned white instantly, his opening‑mountain knife clanged and almost slipped from his grip, his calves trembling uncontrollably, his whole body feeling as if pressed by an invisible mountain, nearly kneeling: "My granny… what the hell is this coming over? Is the mountain going to collapse?"

Zhang Mei's situation was no better—her face turned deathly pale, she bit her lower lip, her usually lively eyes now somewhat unfocused, the fingers gripping her bow turned white from overexertion, her body stiff as if frozen.

"Don't make a sound!" Wang Shan barked lowly; under this pressure he too felt his breath catch, his chest as if weighed by a boulder. But having reached the ninth layer of Body Refining, his spirit far surpassed Li Hu and Zhang Mei's, allowing him to barely maintain movement.

"The Wan family… they've sent tough opposition!" Wang Shan's thoughts raced. This aura was far beyond what the injured Wan Tianjue could match! It was definitely Foundation Establishment, and probably not just early stage.

He grabbed the nearly limp Li Hu with one hand, seized Zhang Mei's arm with the other, his fingertips swiftly forming seals as he chanted. A faint azure light instantly enveloped the three of them.

【Third Tier Concealing Breath Art】!

"Quick, there's a depression over there—hide in it!" Wang Shan's eyes flashed like lightning as he rapidly scanned the surroundings, pointing to a natural hollow not far off, formed by the roots of a huge ancient tree and surrounding rocks.

The three scrambled into the depression, the space small but just enough for them to curl up. Wang Shan fished out from his bosom a few freshly drawn 【Third‑Order Defense Talisman】 and 【Second‑Tier Concealment Talisman】, slapping them in specific positions on the stones and roots inside the wall to form a crude protective circle.

After doing all that, the terrifying spiritual sense pressure was already upon them, sweeping over like a stormy wave, sweeping across this mountain forest.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei's teeth chattered, they dared not draw a breath. They could clearly feel that the spiritual sense was like an invisible blade, scraping inch by inch over their heads, as if it could shred their feeble concealment at any moment.

Wang Shan's heart rose to his throat. He could sense that after deploying the Third Tier Concealing Breath Art, their aura had been suppressed to the minimum, nearly blending with the surroundings. But the opponent's cultivation was simply too high, their spiritual sense too overbearing.

"Wan Honghai… why does that name sound familiar?" A thought flashed in Wang Shan's mind, as if he'd seen it in some Wan family records. An elder of the Wan family, supposedly named Wan Honghai, was late‑stage Foundation Establishment! Could it be him?

Just as Wang Shan was letting his mind wander, the sweeping spiritual sense, as it passed over their hiding depression, seemed… to have the faintest imperceptible pause.

Wang Shan's heart gave a sudden thud, his palms instantly breaking out in cold sweat.

Been discovered?

He almost instinctively moved to activate the 【Third‑Order Earth Escape Talisman】 in his bosom.

Fortunately, that spiritual sense merely paused slightly, then receded like a tide, continuing to extend toward the southeast.

"Hah…"

Only after the suffocating pressure had completely withdrawn did the three in the depression gasp like they'd been hauled out of water, drawing deep breaths.

Li Hu plopped onto the ground, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice still trembling: "Wang Shan… what the hell just passed by? It's… scarier than that Wan Tianjue last time!"

Zhang Mei also leaned against the stone wall, her face still pallid, she whispered: "I feel… I almost couldn't move just now, even forgot to breathe." She gazed anxiously toward the opening, "You guys hear…"

Wang Shan listened closely, and sure enough, from the distant mountains came a commotion—panicked cries of birds and beasts, the sounds of running and trampling rising and falling, even the auras of normally hidden demonic beasts grew chaotic. Evidently, the arrival of that powerful one filled the region's living beings with great terror; some low‑grade demonic beasts even began a frantic flight, forming a minor beast tide.

"Late‑stage Foundation Establishment." Wang Shan spat out three words, his voice dry, "The Wan family this time is dead set on destroying us. Wan Tianjue that old bastard surely exaggerated everything he knew and reported it up."

He recalled the system's earlier hints: the 【Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele】, the 【Beast Taming Sect Core Inheritance】, the 【new relic clues】… these were enough to drive any cultivation clan mad.

"Late‑stage Foundation Establishment…" Li Hu clicked his tongue, fear still on his face but now laced with ruthlessness, "Damn it, the Wan family's bastards really treat us like soft persimmons! Wang Shan, what do we do? Keep heading southeast?"

Wang Shan didn't answer right away, his eyes on the forest outside the depression that had briefly calmed but still roiled with undercurrents, his brow furrowed.

Was that brief pause in the spiritual sense a coincidence, or… had the other party already grown suspicious?

If Wan Honghai truly suspected this area and doubled back to search carefully, their modest concealment methods would likely fail to hide them.

Moreover, if it really was Wan Honghai, the Wan family's records state that he not only possessed profound cultivation, his tracking and tracing methods were top‑notch, and he was ruthless and cruel. When the Wan family annexed a small clan years ago, it was he who led the raid, wiping out the entire household in a single night, leaving not a chicken or dog.

"That old coot… could he be bringing something specifically to counter our treasures?" Wang Shan suddenly thought. Since the Wan family knew he had mastered the Beast Taming Sect's techniques and could even counter the Ten Thousand Beast Method, the reinforcements they sent this time surely weren't unprepared. Things like a 【Ten Thousand Beasts Soul‑Suppressing Banner】 or a 【Law‑Breaking Mirror】—a clan with such deep foundations might well have them.

"Wang Shan, what are you thinking?" Li Hu couldn't help but ask when Wang Shan stayed silent for a while.

Wang Shan snapped back, glanced at Li Hu and Zhang Mei: "The plan needs changing. That Wan Honghai is tough to deal with. We can't keep marching boldly southeast—that would just be pointing him the way."

"Then… where should we go?" Zhang Mei said, a little lost.

Wang Shan's eyes flashed, his mind rapidly calculating countermoves. A head‑on clash was definitely out; fleeing also required strategy.

"That old thing's target is me, or rather, the secret on my person." Wang Shan said slowly, "He should be roughly locking down our activity range based on the direction Wan Tianjue gave. But the Man Yun Mountain Range is vast; relying on a single sweep of spiritual sense to ferret us out isn't that easy."

"We need to do the opposite!"