167: Sixth Brother - Void Shadow Leopard

Lin Wei's beautiful eyes sparkled with even more brilliance: "Junior Schoolmate, your strength... and what attribute of Source Power is that on your hand? It's so unique!"

She could feel the extremely powerful frost-fire interwoven Source Power attached to Lu Yuan's fist!

Raimond and Qin Feng also dealt with the remaining Shadow Wolves and walked over, their faces showing surprise at the wolf corpses on the ground.

"Lu Yuan, you've been hiding your strength quite deeply," Raimond said, looking at Lu Yuan with a complex expression.

This Junior Schoolmate, who had an "experience spot," was giving him more and more surprises.

"Just some crude punching and kicking skills, I hope I haven't made the Senior Schoolmates laugh," Lu Yuan said modestly.

Frost Flame Power was one of the benefits he gained after his Nirvana, and its power was astonishing. He didn't even know what attribute of Source Power it was.

But it was effective!

"Crude?" Shi Tai's mouth twitched. "If you're crude, then my brute strength is a joke, isn't it?"

Everyone exchanged smiles, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

Although this encounter was sudden, it gave them a more intuitive understanding of Lu Yuan's strength.

This Junior Schoolmate was by no means an ordinary person.

Qin Feng stepped forward and checked the Shadow Wolf's body; no card "dropped."

"What a pity. The pelts of these Shadow Wolves could be sold for some money. Their stealth ability is good, and their fur comes with a faint spatial disturbance effect, which can be used to make some special stealth tools."

Raimond nodded: "Pack up, we'll continue tracking the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard. The commotion just now was quite significant, that fellow must have been startled again."

The team continued to advance, but the atmosphere was clearly different from before.

In Shi Tai's and Lin Wei's eyes, there was a genuine recognition towards Lu Yuan.

Although Qin Feng remained taciturn, he would occasionally initiate a few exchanges with Lu Yuan about tracking tips.

However, the cunning of that Void Shadow Stealth Leopard far exceeded their imagination.

For the rest of the day, the team caught its trail several times, and twice they almost cornered it.

But each time, it escaped at the last moment by utilizing its incredible spatial leaping ability.

"Damn it!" Shi Tai punched a tree trunk, shaking down a shower of dead leaves. "This beast is too slippery! Like an eel!"

Lin Wei was also a bit frustrated: "Its spatial leaps have almost no warning, making them too difficult to predict!"

"And the cooldown time is extremely fast!"

"It's just defying the heavens!"

"This kind of mission only gives me two credits? It's too much of a loss! I'll never take on a credit mission for a spatial type demon beast again!"

Everyone nodded; it was indeed not worth it.

Raimond tried to calm his irritation and comforted them: "Spatial-type demon beasts are known for being bizarre and difficult to deal with. Everyone, keep your spirits up, it can't be this lucky forever."

"Next time! Let's aim for a one-hit kill next time!"

Lu Yuan remained silent. Through the Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon's vision, he had actually roughly pinpointed the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard's activity patterns and the direction of its probable lair.

But this leopard was too vigilant; it would immediately flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

Everyone was holding back a surge of anger.

This Void Shadow Stealth Leopard was just too good at hiding!

If they couldn't find it soon, this month's mission would be ruined!

...As night deepened, within Moon Scar Canyon, the light of three eerie moons was fragmented by the cliff walls.

The cold wind howled, sweeping up sand and stones from the ground, emitting wailing sounds like ghosts crying.

"Damn it, this cursed place!" Shi Tai stomped his foot, his combat boots making a dull thud on the rocks. "Is that beast a rat? Scurrying around, I can't even get a shadow of it!"

Lin Wei's delicate brows were tightly furrowed, the energy bowstring in her palm humming as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings: "Qin Feng, how is it? Any discoveries?"

Qin Feng's face was somewhat grim, the light of the compass-like card in his hand flickering erratically.

"No," he shook his head, his voice tinged with frustration. "The spatial fluctuations in this canyon are too chaotic. There are false traces left by the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard everywhere. My Tracking Butterfly is almost getting dizzy from being led around."

On the compass, several glowing butterflies fluttered aimlessly, unable to lock onto a clear direction.

Raimond said in a low voice: "The cunning of this beast has exceeded our expectations."

"It seems to know we're tracking it and is deliberately circling in the canyon, leaving a large number of misleading illusions."

Lu Yuan followed at the end of the team, seemingly calm, but his consciousness had long since merged into the shared vision of the Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon.

He could clearly "see" a blurry, faint purple shadow rapidly darting and leaping among the strange rocks.

Each leap would leave a faint, almost imperceptible spatial ripple in its wake, which dissipated extremely quickly.

Qin Feng's Tracking Butterfly couldn't capture these "afterimages" at all.

They were more like a "memory" of space itself, rather than a substantial aura left by a demon beast.

"Senior Schoolmate Qin Feng," Lu Yuan suddenly spoke.

"Hmm? Junior Schoolmate Lu Yuan, have you found anything?"

Lu Yuan pointed to an inconspicuous rock crevice to their front-left. The crevice was extremely narrow and didn't look like it could accommodate a demon beast of the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard's size.

"Over there, I feel... something seems a bit off." He scratched his head, displaying an unsure expression. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but I always feel like the light there twisted for a moment."

Shi Tai peered over: "That broken rock crevice? What could be there? The leopard's butt wouldn't even fit in there!"

Qin Feng carefully sensed the area but found no abnormal spatial fluctuations or demon beast aura.

"Qin Feng, go take a look."

"Yes, Captain."

Although Qin Feng had doubts, Lu Yuan's previous few "strokes of genius" made him hesitant to completely disregard it.

He carefully approached the rock crevice, activating his Source Power, and the Tracking Butterfly in his hand flew out again.

The glowing butterflies circled the crevice entrance a few times. Suddenly, one of the glowing butterflies seemed to discover something, accelerated sharply, and darted into the crevice!

Immediately after, the other glowing butterflies also followed suit!

"Something's happening!" Qin Feng's spirits lifted, a look of pleasant surprise on his face. "The Tracking Butterfly has caught its scent! That beast really did pass through here!"

He squeezed sideways into the crevice. A moment later, his voice came from inside: "Captain! There's a hidden world in here! It's a concealed natural passage! The leopard went through here!"

"Excellent!" Shi Tai slapped his thigh, looking at Lu Yuan with amazement. "Kid, are your eyes made of X-rays? You can even see that!"

Lin Wei also covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "Junior Schoolmate, your intuition is truly accurate."

Raimond gave Lu Yuan a deep look, asked no further questions, and simply nodded: "Follow up!"

The team filed in, passing through the narrow passage, and the area ahead suddenly opened up.

Sure enough, there were fresh tracks left by the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard, extending deep into the canyon.

Qin Feng's tracking became smooth again, and his attitude towards Lu Yuan became increasingly polite; he would even proactively ask for Lu Yuan's opinion.

Lu Yuan maintained his "lucky" and "just guessing" demeanor, occasionally "inadvertently" pointing out some overlooked details.

Under his "guidance," the team continuously narrowed their encirclement of the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard.

"Soon! I feel its aura getting closer and closer!" Qin Feng's voice was excited, and the Tracking Butterfly in his hand glowed brightly, pointing directly towards a pile of scattered rocks ahead.

A sharp glint flashed in Raimond's eyes: "Prepare for battle! Shi Tai, front and center! Lin Wei, Qin Feng, suppress from a distance! Lu Yuan, Liu Ying, watch the flanks!"

"Understood!"

Everyone's concentration was high, Source Power surged within their bodies, ready to strike at any moment.

However, just as they were about to rush into the pile of scattered rocks—

"Whoosh!"

A phantom, almost blending with the surrounding rocks, flashed through the pile of scattered rocks, incredibly fast!

"Oh no! It's trying to escape!" Raimond roared, his lightning battle saber instantly condensed in his hand. A purple lightning dragon, as thick as a millstone, roared out, tearing through the air, striking directly at the fleeing light!

"Boom!"

The lightning dragon missed, only shattering a giant rock into dust, smoke billowing.

But that phantom, just an instant before the lightning struck, dispersed into thin air like a bubble, vanishing without a trace!

"Damn it!" Shi Tai roared, "It got away again!"

Qin Feng's face turned incredibly grim: "It... it used a stronger spatial stealth skill! I... I can't sense its location anymore!"

The Tracking Butterfly circled anxiously in the air, having completely lost its target.

Only the howling wind reminded everyone that the cunning prey was still lurking in the shadows, watching them.

"Everyone, don't panic!" Raimond forced himself to remain calm. "It must still be nearby! This intensity of spatial stealth can't last long!"

Despite his words, he had no confidence in his heart.

The elusiveness of the Void Shadow Stealth Leopard once again refreshed his understanding...