Chapter 18: The Escape in the Shadows
The moment Han Feng sensed the approaching cultivators, he knew the situation had changed.
There were too many footsteps.
Too many auras.
And they were moving with purpose.
They weren't searching the cave blindly anymore.
They were hunting.
Han Feng's eyes shifted toward the newly awakened Gu resting in his palm.
The Yin-Yang Spirit Moth was still weak.
Its connection with him had only just been established, and its aura was far from stable.
If he fought now, he would expose everything.
His cultivation.
His Gu.
The Celestial Diagram.
Everything he had spent days hiding.
He couldn't afford that.
Han Feng took a slow breath.
"Then I won't fight."
The Art of the Celestial Veil activated.
His Qi contracted toward his dantian, and the fluctuations surrounding his body became faint.
But they didn't disappear completely.
That was the problem.
The technique could conceal his cultivation, but it couldn't erase reality.
A living person still breathed.
His body still produced heat.
His footsteps still disturbed the ground.
And spiritual energy still reacted to his presence.
Han Feng understood that relying entirely on concealment would eventually get him killed.
He needed to create a better opportunity.
His eyes turned toward the Mist Wolf.
The beast was standing near the cave entrance, its injured body tense.
Blood still stained its fur.
It looked toward Han Feng.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Han Feng transmitted a simple thought through their connection.
Run.
The Mist Wolf hesitated.
It wasn't a tamed beast.
Han Feng knew that.
It had no reason to obey every command.
But the wolf understood one thing:
The people approaching were enemies.
A low growl escaped its throat.
Then it turned and charged toward the opposite passage.
Its claws struck the stone.
Boom!
A cloud of dust filled the chamber.
Han Feng immediately moved.
Not toward the entrance.
Toward the hidden passage.
The enemy's attention would naturally follow the most obvious threat.
But Han Feng didn't expect them to be fooled completely.
He only needed a few seconds.
The first cultivator entered the chamber.
His eyes immediately locked onto the Mist Wolf.
"There!"
The wolf disappeared into the mist.
"Don't let it escape!"
Two cultivators rushed after it.
The leader stopped.
Something about the scene bothered him.
His gaze fell upon the shattered chrysalis.
He crouched and touched the fragments.
His expression changed.
"The Gu has already been refined."
One of his companions turned.
"What?"
The man rubbed the residue between his fingers.
"The refinement happened recently."
He stood slowly.
"Very recently."
His eyes scanned the cave.
"If the wolf refined it, there wouldn't be a human cultivation trace."
He closed his eyes.
His spiritual sense spread through the chamber.
Han Feng was already moving through the hidden passage.
He felt the spiritual pressure sweep across the stone behind him.
His heart tightened.
The enemy was searching.
The Celestial Veil suppressed his aura, but Han Feng knew it wouldn't withstand a thorough search.
He moved faster.
His shoulder scraped against the narrow wall.
Pain shot through his body.
He ignored it.
Behind him—
Boom!
The stone wall exploded.
The cultivator had attacked the chamber.
"Search the walls!"
Han Feng cursed silently.
They had realized there was another exit.
He reached the end of the passage.
A wall blocked his way.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Then he remembered the seventh symbol.
The ancient formation.
The same symbol that had awakened when he refined the Yin-Yang Spirit Moth.
Han Feng placed his palm against the stone.
Nothing happened.
"Damn it..."
Footsteps echoed behind him.
Closer.
He closed his eyes.
Instead of forcing Qi into the formation, he allowed the Celestial Diagram to resonate naturally.
The seventh symbol pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Click.
A thin crack appeared in the stone.
Han Feng immediately pushed against it.
The wall opened just enough for him to squeeze through.
He slipped inside.
The moment he passed through—
Boom!
The wall behind him shattered.
A black spear pierced the opening.
Han Feng felt the attack pass within inches of his shoulder.
He didn't look back.
He ran.
The passage eventually opened onto the mountainside.
Cold air struck his face.
Han Feng emerged beneath the cover of thick vegetation.
He didn't stop.
He ran downhill.
Not toward the village.
Never toward the village.
Instead, he deliberately moved through shallow streams and over exposed rocks.
His goal wasn't to erase every trace.
That was impossible.
His goal was to make the trail difficult to interpret.
After nearly half an hour, his breathing became ragged.
His cultivation was too low.
His body was exhausted.
The earlier refinement had already consumed much of his Qi.
The escape was draining what remained.
Han Feng finally stopped beside a stream.
He looked down.
Blood.
A thin line ran from his shoulder.
The black spear had grazed him.
"That was close."
He washed the wound quickly.
Then he noticed something.
A faint scent of blood remained in the water.
Han Feng frowned.
Blood could be tracked.
He immediately took out a small medicinal powder and scattered it into the stream.
Then he continued downstream.
But he deliberately left another trail.
A trail that led toward the eastern mountains.
If they followed it, they would find traces of a wounded cultivator heading in the wrong direction.
It wouldn't fool an expert forever.
But it might buy him time.
That was enough.
Several minutes later, the enemy cultivator emerged from the cave.
The Mist Wolf was nowhere to be seen.
He examined the ground.
Broken branches.
Blood.
Footprints.
He crouched.
"Two trails."
One of his companions looked confused.
"Which one is real?"
The cultivator didn't answer immediately.
He touched the blood.
Then smelled it.
"Human."
His expression darkened.
"He escaped."
"Should we pursue?"
The cultivator looked toward the eastern mountains.
Then toward the stream.
After a moment, he smiled coldly.
"Both."
His companions stared at him.
"We split up?"
"No."
He pointed toward the eastern trail.
"Send two people that way."
Then he pointed toward the stream.
"I'll investigate this one."
The others hesitated.
"What if the trail is a decoy?"
"Then we'll know soon enough."
He began walking.
"The person who refined that Gu isn't an ordinary child."
His eyes narrowed.
"Someone capable of activating the ancient formation won't leave an obvious trail by accident."
Han Feng didn't know how many people were following him.
That uncertainty was worse than knowing.
He continued through the forest until the terrain became steeper.
His legs were beginning to weaken.
He finally found a narrow ravine beneath a collapsed rock formation.
There was barely enough room for one person.
Perfect.
Han Feng entered.
He immediately activated the Celestial Veil and suppressed his breathing.
Then he used the remaining Qi in his body to erase the most obvious footprints around the entrance.
It wasn't perfect.
But perfection wasn't necessary.
He only needed to become difficult to find.
Minutes passed.
Nothing.
Then—
A sound.
Leaves.
Han Feng froze.
Someone was nearby.
A shadow moved between the trees.
The same cultivator from the cave.
Han Feng's muscles tensed.
The man stopped.
He looked around.
Then his gaze fell upon the stream.
He walked toward it.
Han Feng watched from the darkness.
The cultivator crouched and touched the water.
His eyes narrowed.
He had noticed something.
Han Feng's heart sank.
The man stood.
"Interesting."
He looked toward the eastern mountains.
Then back toward the stream.
He didn't continue.
Instead, he took out the black detection disc.
A wave of spiritual energy spread through the forest.
Han Feng held his breath.
The wave passed over the ravine.
His Celestial Veil trembled.
For one terrifying instant, Han Feng thought it would break.
The detection wave passed.
The cultivator frowned.
Nothing.
After several seconds, he finally turned away.
But he didn't look convinced.
He placed a small mark on a nearby tree.
A tracking mark.
Then he left.
Han Feng waited.
One minute.
Five.
Ten.
Only then did he move.
His expression was grim.
"They didn't find me."
He looked at the mark on the distant tree.
"But they haven't given up."
That was the important part.
The chase hadn't ended.
It had only changed.
Han Feng left the ravine from the opposite side.
He didn't return to the village.
He didn't return to the cave.
He didn't even follow the original route toward the Misty Mountains.
Instead, he headed deeper into unknown territory.
His body was exhausted.
His Qi was nearly depleted.
His shoulder hurt with every movement.
But he kept walking.
Because now he understood something.
Power wasn't enough.
Even concealment wasn't enough.
In this world, survival required information.
Knowing when to fight.
Knowing when to run.
Knowing what to leave behind.
And, most importantly...
Knowing when someone was hunting you.
Han Feng disappeared into the darkness.
Behind him, the cultivator stood beside the stream.
He looked at the bloodied water.
Then at the two trails.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Run."
He turned toward the mountains.
"Let's see how far you can get."
The hunt continued.