The Black Moon Tracking Technique
Han Feng touched the faint spiritual mark inside his consciousness.
He finally understood how the Black Moon Sect was following him.
The mark was not transmitting his location.
It could not see through his eyes.
It could not reveal his thoughts.
It could not tell the pursuers exactly where he was.
Instead, it retained a faint resonance with the Celestial Diagram Scroll.
And the scroll was still inside the Forbidden Hall.
If a cultivator used a compatible tracking technique, that resonance could be detected.
The technique could determine only two things:
direction and approximate distance.
Nothing more.
Even then, the connection was extremely unstable.
The farther Han Feng moved from the Black Moon Sect, the weaker the resonance became.
Formations could distort it.
Caves could interfere with it.
Strong spiritual currents could bend its perceived direction.
Even rivers carrying dense spiritual energy could temporarily disrupt the connection.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
So they aren't tracking me.
They're tracking the connection between the mark and the scroll.
That distinction was extremely important.
If he could interfere with the resonance without completely destroying it, he might be able to make the pursuers follow the wrong direction.
Far behind him, the elder of the Black Moon Sect suddenly stopped.
"Everyone, remain still."
The surrounding disciples froze.
The elder reached beneath his robe and took out a thin black jade plate.
Its surface was covered with tiny silver inscriptions.
It was a low-grade tracking artifact known as a Soultrace Plate.
The elder placed the plate on his palm.
Then he bit the tip of his finger and pressed a drop of blood against its center.
The blood disappeared.
The inscriptions immediately began to glow.
He closed his eyes.
A thin strand of spiritual sense extended from his consciousness into the jade plate.
The artifact trembled.
Then—
a faint golden thread appeared above its surface.
It pointed toward the distant forest.
The elder's expression became serious.
"Found it."
One of the disciples looked surprised.
"The intruder?"
The elder shook his head.
"Not exactly."
He stared at the golden thread.
"This is not his aura."
He slowly circulated his Qi through the Soultrace Plate.
The golden thread became clearer.
"It is a residual resonance."
The disciples exchanged uneasy glances.
"So the person who entered the Forbidden Hall is carrying the resonance?"
"Probably."
The elder's voice remained cautious.
"But the technique cannot distinguish the person from the residue."
He raised his hand.
The Soultrace Plate projected a faint circular formation into the air.
A small golden point appeared at its center.
A second point appeared farther away.
A thin line connected them.
The elder explained,
"The first point is the Celestial Diagram Scroll."
"The second is the residual resonance."
"The distance between them gives us an approximate direction."
He narrowed his eyes.
"But it cannot show us the person's exact location."
One of the disciples asked,
"Then how do we find him?"
The elder pointed toward the mountains.
"We follow the direction."
He paused.
"And we watch how the resonance changes."
He stepped forward.
The Soultrace Plate trembled.
The golden line shifted slightly.
The elder immediately stopped.
His expression darkened.
"The connection is weakening."
"Why?"
"Caves. Formations. Strong spiritual currents."
He looked toward the mountain range.
"The terrain is interfering with the signal."
He changed the flow of Qi entering the artifact.
The golden thread flickered.
For a moment, it pointed east.
Then northeast.
Then faded almost completely.
The elder frowned.
"Someone is interfering with the resonance."
Several hundred meters away, Han Feng felt the change.
The spiritual mark inside his consciousness suddenly became warm.
He stopped behind a rock.
They're using a tracking technique.
He immediately understood.
The mark was not broadcasting his location.
The Black Moon Sect had established a connection between the residual resonance and the Celestial Diagram Scroll.
As long as the Soultrace Plate could detect that resonance, the pursuers could determine his general direction.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Then I need to disrupt the connection.
He activated the Dual Chaos Larva.
A tiny amount of chaotic energy flowed through his consciousness.
He did not attack the mark.
He merely disturbed its rhythm.
The effect was immediate.
Far behind him, the Soultrace Plate violently trembled.
The golden thread split into two faint traces.
The elder's expression changed.
"What?"
He increased the amount of Qi flowing into the artifact.
The two traces moved apart.
One pointed toward the eastern valley.
The other toward the northeast.
Neither remained stable.
The elder's face darkened.
"A false fluctuation..."
One disciple asked,
"Which direction is correct?"
The elder stared at the Soultrace Plate.
"I don't know."
Silence fell.
After several breaths, the elder slowly withdrew his Qi.
"Do not chase blindly."
He looked toward the surrounding mountains.
"The resonance is real."
"But its direction has become unreliable."
His eyes narrowed.
"Whoever did this understands spiritual tracking."
Han Feng slowly released his breath.
The mark had not disappeared.
The Soultrace Plate was still connected.
But the connection had become unstable.
That was enough.
So this is how they are tracking me.
Han Feng looked toward the deeper mountains.
Not through my aura.
Not through my identity.
Through the resonance I left behind.
His expression became serious.
That meant the danger was greater than he had expected.
As long as the Celestial Diagram Scroll remained inside the Black Moon Sect, the connection could potentially be re-established.
He could not erase the mark.
He could only weaken it.
And every time he used his Qi to interfere with it, he risked making the resonance easier to notice.
Han Feng clenched his fist.
I need to reach somewhere the tracking technique cannot penetrate.
Then his gaze fell upon the faint blue glow beneath the rocks.
Ancient runes.
A forgotten formation.
Perhaps...
the mountain itself had already provided the answer.