Chapter 29: The Game of Shadows
Han Feng moved like a ghost through the forest surrounding the cave.
Cold night air brushed against his face as he moved between the trees, keeping his steps light and controlled. He had already put several hundred meters between himself and the cave, but he did not dare slow down yet.
The hooded stranger had discovered that someone had passed the ancient trial.
Worse, he had found a way to follow the residual resonance of the Celestial Fragment.
Han Feng had deceived him for the moment.
But deception was never permanent.
The false resonance would eventually weaken.
When that happened, the people inside the cave would realize they had been tricked.
Han Feng needed to be far away by then.
He activated the Art of the Celestial Veil.
His aura gradually faded until it became almost indistinguishable from the surrounding forest. His Qi circulation slowed and changed its rhythm, suppressing the fluctuations that might reveal his cultivation.
The technique required tremendous control.
One careless surge of Qi could leave a trace.
One unnecessary burst of spiritual energy could expose his direction.
Han Feng moved deeper into the forest.
He did not travel in a straight line.
Instead, he changed direction whenever the terrain allowed it. Sometimes he moved between trees. Sometimes he crossed rocky ground. Once, he even stepped into a shallow stream and followed it for several dozen meters before leaving it again.
Every action had a purpose.
If someone tried to track him through ordinary footprints or residual Qi, the trail would become increasingly difficult to follow.
Still, Han Feng did not relax.
Something felt wrong.
He stopped beneath a large ancient tree.
Silence surrounded him.
He closed his eyes.
His spiritual sense slowly spread through the darkness.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No obvious spiritual fluctuations.
No killing intent.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
"Too quiet."
He looked back toward the direction of the cave.
The hooded stranger had not appeared.
That did not mean he had given up.
It meant the man was probably thinking.
Han Feng's expression became serious.
That was more dangerous.
Inside the cave, the stranger had already demonstrated that he was not reckless.
He had not blindly chased the false resonance.
He had examined it.
Tested it.
And sooner or later, he would realize that the spirit stone was an imitation.
Han Feng needed to use the time before that happened.
He continued moving.
After another few hundred meters, he noticed a strange spiritual fluctuation behind him.
Very faint.
Almost imperceptible.
Han Feng immediately stopped.
He did not turn around.
Instead, he focused his senses on the surrounding spiritual currents.
There it was.
A thin thread of spiritual energy.
The false resonance.
It was moving away from him.
Han Feng understood immediately.
The hooded man's tracking technique had locked onto the altered spirit stone.
For now, his plan was working.
But the false resonance was not perfect.
It was only an imitation of the fragment's external signature.
It contained no inheritance power.
It could not activate the ancient altar.
It could not communicate with the Celestial Diagram.
And most importantly—
It could not remain stable forever.
Han Feng estimated that the imitation would last less than an hour.
Possibly much less if the hooded man examined it directly.
"That should be enough."
Han Feng turned away from the false trail.
But instead of immediately heading deeper into the mountains, he stopped and considered the situation.
The cave was no longer safe.
The surrounding forest might already be watched.
Returning to any place he had previously used for cultivation would be foolish.
And the Black Moon Sect was another problem entirely.
He had already discovered that the sect possessed ancient records connected to the Celestial Pattern.
Now, another group was searching for an heir.
And somewhere behind all of this stood the mysterious Shadow Sect.
Too many pieces were beginning to connect.
Yet Han Feng still lacked the most important answer.
Why him?
Why had the ancient inheritance reacted to his presence?
Why had the guardian recognized the resonance within him?
And what exactly did the title "heir" mean?
Han Feng's hand unconsciously touched the place where the Celestial Fragment was stored.
He had not yet dared to study it properly.
The information it had shown him during the trial was too fragmented.
Ancient symbols.
A vast formation.
Black-robed figures.
A six-pointed celestial pattern.
And a young figure standing before the same altar.
That final image bothered him the most.
It had felt as if that person had seen him.
Not merely a memory.
Not merely an ancient recording.
Something more.
Han Feng pushed the thought aside.
There would be time to investigate it later.
First, he needed somewhere safe.
He looked toward the deeper regions of the Misty Shadow Mountains.
Few ordinary cultivators ventured there.
The area contained stronger spirit beasts, unstable spiritual currents, and abandoned cultivation sites.
It was dangerous.
But danger could also provide protection.
If he chose carefully, he might find a place where even experienced trackers would have difficulty locating him.
Han Feng took one final look toward the cave.
Then he smiled faintly.
"You'll discover the deception eventually."
His eyes became cold.
"But by then, I won't be there."
He turned and disappeared into the darkness.
He did not know that, several hundred meters behind him, the false resonance had already begun to weaken.
And deep within the cave, the hooded stranger was standing before the altered spirit stone.
He picked it up.
For several breaths, he said nothing.
Then his fingers tightened around it.
"This isn't the fragment's true resonance."
One of the masked figures lowered his head.
"Then he deceived us."
The hooded man looked toward the dark passage leading out of the cave.
A faint smile appeared beneath his hood.
"Yes."
He released the spirit stone.
It fell onto the ground and shattered.
"But now we know something else."
The masked figure looked at him.
"What?"
The hooded man's gaze remained fixed on the passage.
"The person who passed the trial is cautious."
He paused.
"And cautious people always leave fewer traces."
His smile disappeared.
"Which means we will have to make them create their own."
Far away, Han Feng suddenly stopped.
A strange sensation passed through his body.
He looked back.
For a moment, he felt as though someone was watching him from the darkness.
Then the sensation vanished.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
He did not know what had happened.
But he understood one thing.
The pursuit was no longer a simple hunt.
Someone was beginning to play the same game he was.
Han Feng turned toward the deeper mountains.
His figure disappeared among the trees.
Behind him, the cave became silent once more.
The hunt had begun.
But neither side intended to become the prey.