Chapter 128: Heavenly Net and Earthly Trap: Trapped in the Mountain Forest

"Brother Wang, do you get those weird markings on the stone wall?" Li Hu, while keeping watch outside the cave, couldn't help but ask. The ferocity of the earlier azure-eyed golden-eyed beast was still vivid in his mind, and now these mysterious stone carvings appeared in the cave, making him feel uneasy.

Wang Shan shook his head, brows slightly furrowed: "I don't understand, but it feels related to the Beast Taming Sect, possibly even older than the inheritance I previously obtained. Let's record it for now; we'll talk later." He quickly used a jade slip to make a rubbing of the patterns on the stone wall; now is not the time to study this.

Having just finished packing up and preparing to leave this natural herb garden, Wang Shan's expression suddenly tightened.

"Shh! Something's coming, fast!"

The three immediately held their breath, and Wang Shan swiftly cast several concealment runes, blending their auras with the surroundings.

"Creee—!" A sharp, piercing eagle cry split the sky, and immediately a huge black shadow swooped across the sky above the cave.

"It's a Third Tier Spirit-Seeking Eagle!" Zhang Mei lowered her voice, trembling slightly, "It belongs to the Wan Family!"

Wang Shan's heart sank. Spirit-Seeking Eagles excel at tracking; once they lock onto you, it's extremely hard to shake them off. It seems the Wan Family's great net has already been cast. Through the system map, he clearly saw a red dot representing strong energy approaching at astonishing speed from the direction they had previously left, and that Spirit-Seeking Eagle was undoubtedly their eye.

"Go! Change direction! We're heading northwest!" Wang Shan made a quick decision.

In the dense forest, the three figures darted like rabbits, not daring to pause even a moment.

"Brother Wang, that old guy is chasing us too closely! It's as if he knows where we're running!" Li Hu panted, sweat rolling down his forehead. They had been fleeing continuously for several hours, several times nearly colliding head-on with the Wan Family's search squads.

Wang Shan's face grew grave: "Old Fox Wan Honghai certainly didn't send only the Spirit-Seeking Eagle. I suspect he used some kind of treasure capable of roughly locking onto our area, possibly even combining the mountain range's spiritual energy flow to set up a formation."

As he spoke, light and shadow flickered ahead in the forest, and several strong auras suddenly appeared.

"Not good, they are Wan Family Body Refining Ninth Layer cultivators!" Wang Shan grabbed Li Hu and Zhang Mei, quickly darting behind a large rock.

"Search! Search carefully! The Family Head's order: dig three feet into the ground if necessary to drag out that old bastard Wang Shan!" A rough voice sounded not far away.

Footsteps, the clatter of weapons, and the low growls of demonic beasts were clearly audible.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei were so nervous their palms sweated, and they dared not breathe.

Wang Shan quietly poked out half his head and saw seven or eight cultivators dressed in Wan Family attire, driving a few second-tier demonic dogs as they carefully searched the forest. In the air, that Third Tier Spirit-Seeking Eagle hovered, its sharp gaze sweeping the ground like a searchlight.

"Damn it, this is literally a heavenly net and earthly trap!" Li Hu cursed under his breath.

Wang Shan quickly withdrew his gaze, making a gesture to the two, indicating they should quietly retreat behind him. This group was well-equipped and well-coordinated; a direct confrontation would offer no chance of victory.

"Brother Wang, how many more uses do we have left for our talismans?" After withdrawing a distance, Zhang Mei asked anxiously. Throughout this flight, to avoid pursuit and occasional demonic beast encounters, they had consumed a large number of talismans.

Wang Shan calculated the supplies in his storage bag, his brows furrowing tighter: "Third-tier talismans are running low, and half of the second-tier ones have been used up. The same goes for pills." Moreover, the Spirit Plant Points were decreasing at a visible rate.

Wan Honghai was clearly determined to trap them to death in this mountain range. His search net was not a simple encirclement; he used the spiritual energy nodes and beast distribution in the mountain range, advancing layer by layer, continually compressing their activity space.

"Brother Wang, look over there!" Li Hu suddenly pointed to a distant valley filled with miasma. "Why don't we charge in there? That kind of spooky place, they surely wouldn't dare to follow us in, right?"

Wang Shan looked in the direction he indicated; the system map showed that area's miasma was toxic and the internal beast ranks unknown, indeed a dangerous spot. He pondered briefly: "We can try, but we must be careful. Wan Honghai's goal is to capture me alive, so he'll likely avoid letting us enter such a life-or-death place, lest I jump the wall in desperation or die accidentally inside. But that doesn't mean his people won't set up patrols on the periphery."

After yet another narrow escape from a patrolling Wan Family cultivator squad, Wang Shan found a concealed cave and let Li Hu and Zhang Mei rest first.

"Brother Wang, have you noticed that old guy could have dealt a killing blow several times, but instead only forced us to retreat?" Li Hu muttered while chewing on dry rations.

Wang Shan nodded: "I've noticed. Wan Honghai indeed hasn't used lethal force; it seems Wan Tianhao's order is to capture us alive. This might be an opportunity for us."

"An opportunity?" Zhang Mei puzzled, "We're already surrounded like an iron barrel; what opportunity could there be?"

A hint of a smile curled Wang Shan's lips as a glint flashed in his eyes: "He wants to capture me alive, so he'll inevitably be cautious, fearing that pushing me too hard could lead to mutual destruction, or that I might flee into some dead end, wasting his effort. This gives us room to maneuver. Moreover, since he's laid out such a vast net, there must be its pattern and loopholes."

He opened the system map and carefully studied the spiritual energy fluctuations of Wan Honghai's blockade net. This old man's methods were indeed clever; the spiritual energy flow within the blocked area had almost all been altered by his human interference, forming a delicate balance, so any large-scale disturbance of external spiritual power would be detected.

"Huh?" Wang Shan suddenly noticed that in the northwest corner of the entire blockade net, there was an area where the spiritual energy fluctuations were exceptionally weak, even somewhat chaotic, not matching the surroundings.

"Here……" Wang Shan pointed to that point on the map, "The spiritual energy seal here seems not so solid, like a naturally formed weak point, or perhaps a 'pocket' deliberately left by Wan Honghai?"

Li Hu leaned in to look: "Brother Wang, do you mean this place could be a breakthrough point?"

"It's possible." Wang Shan said, "But it could also be a trap. Still, compared to the copper-wall-and-iron-wall-like blockade elsewhere, this spot is worth investigating."

"Damn it, whether we're being chased or not, we might as well give it our all!" Li Hu slapped his thigh, "Brother Wang, tell us what to do, and we'll do it!"

Zhang Mei also nodded firmly: "Brother Wang, we'll follow your lead."

Wang Shan looked at the two, a warm feeling welled up in his heart. In such dire circumstances, they still remained inseparable.

"All right!" Wang Shan said, "Since Wan Honghai wants to play cat-and-mouse, we'll turn the tables and see who ends up laughing last! We'll first head to that weak point; if it's a trap, we'll try to muddy the waters; if it's truly a breakthrough……"

A glint of calculation flashed in Wang Shan's eyes: "Then we'll feint east and strike west, tearing open a gap from a place he never expected!"

What he lacked most now was time, and the resources to refine more high-tier talismans and pills. As long as he could temporarily escape Wan Honghai's direct pursuit, he would have a chance to replenish his consumption and even set up a counter-ambush.

"Wan Honghai, if you want the Beast Taming Sect's inheritance and my Wang Shan's secrets, then see if you have the ability to take them!" Wang Shan snorted coldly in his heart.

A chase and counter-chase surrounding the Man Yun Mountain Range, the contest between hunter and prey, had just entered the white-hot stage.