191: Chapter 191 The Disguise That Was Exposed

In the heart of Mang Mountain, the night wind scraped through the pitch-black pine forest like a sharp blade.

Gu Shen, wearing his thunder shadow boots, moved rapidly through the towering ancient trees with tangled roots. Behind him, the crimson alarm beam that had shot into the sky was already over ten miles away, obscured by layers of miasma and mountains.

The Cold Jade Bone beneath his flesh emitted a subtle resonance, swallowing all the body heat generated by his frantic sprint. Deep green True Essence flowed smoothly through his Meridians without the slightest obstruction.

As the surroundings flew past, Gu Shen's mind remained clear. The AI Crystal at his brow pulsated at high frequency, its multi-threaded computing power bringing every rustle of grass and breath of wind within a hundred-foot radius into his perception.

"Master, current physical movement speed has reached its Peak. No heat source signatures from pursuers have been detected behind us yet."

From his collar, an inconspicuous black iron buckle emitted a faint vibration. The light on the detector probe dimmed instantly, leaving only a trace of nearly imperceptible glimmer.

Crab's synthesized electronic voice reached Gu Shen's ears via bone conduction, carrying the precision of data calculation: "Based on the results, we have escaped to a safe distance. That early warning Formation will find it difficult to track us in the short term."

Gu Shen did not stop his pace, and his vigilance did not decrease in the slightest.

The foundations of a great Sect's True Disciple were unfathomable and could never be underestimated. Core Disciple Qin Wuyan seemed to be leading the crowd to pursue the young beast, but in reality, his mind was as deep as an abyss. Leaving behind the skeleton of a Peak Rank Two Great Yao—who knew if there was a hidden killing intent within it.

Passing through a forest of poisonous vines covered in barbs, the terrain ahead suddenly opened up, and a dry riverbed lay across the mountains.

As long as he crossed this riverbed and vanished into the deeper, more complex miasma basin, he could use the natural toxic barrier to completely hide his tracks.

Gu Shen's figure rose as he accelerated toward the opposite bank.

Just at that moment.

The iron buckle at his collar suddenly emitted a piercing, high-frequency vibration.

"Warning! High-energy physical reaction approaching!"

Crab's electronic voice suffered severe stuttering. "Eleven o'clock direction, distance two hundred feet. Target movement speed exceeds the sound barrier; space curvature is undergoing microscopic folding. It is an extremely strong humanoid energy entity!"

Gu Shen's thoughts raced. His body in mid-air forcibly twisted at an angle, and his feet slammed heavily into the center of the dry riverbed, stomping out two stone pits an inch deep.

He raised his head and looked forward.

Pale moonlight peeked through the gaps in the dark clouds, spilling onto a massive rock on the opposite bank of the riverbed.

A young Cultivator in robes as white as snow stood quietly at the very Peak of the boulder with his hands behind his back. Beneath his feet, a jade Flying Sword shimmering with radiant light emitted a clear, low hum.

This person's white clothes were untainted by dust, and his face was as warm as jade. He was surrounded by the thick Spiritual Pressure of the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Peak, appearing like a banished immortal descended from heaven, completely out of place in the desolate and dangerous heart of Mang Mountain.

The core True Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, Core Disciple Qin Wuyan.

Gu Shen's gaze narrowed instantly. He suppressed his entire aura deep within his Cold Jade Bone, his expression as calm as a deep well.

"Senior Brother Qin."

Following his Thousand Faces disguised identity as a member of the Beast Taming Sect, Gu Shen slightly cupped his hands in a salute, his tone steady. "This Junior Brother was ordered to patrol the perimeter. Noticing the red warning light from the camp, I was just about to rush back to provide assistance. Why is Senior Brother here?"

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan looked down from his high vantage point at Gu Shen standing in the middle of the riverbed.

He did not show anger, nor did he immediately activate his Flying Sword to kill. In his eyes, which were like deep pools, there was a sense of scrutiny, almost like a scholar examining an object.

"The main bone of that Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox is extremely heavy."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's voice was gentle, as if chatting with an old friend. "My four Junior Brothers would need several hours to strip the bone together. You, alone, were actually able to drain most of the Yao bones along with the marrow within ten breaths of the warning Formation being triggered. Such a spatial technique of 'storing a mountain in a mustard seed' is truly rare."

Gu Shen stood in place, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his large sleeves concealing the slight curling of his finger bones.

"Senior Brother's words are incorrect. This Junior Brother was just rushing back to the camp to help; I didn't even see the Yao Beast's corpse." Gu Shen responded fluently, showing no cowardice.

"Oh?"

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan let out a light chuckle. He pulled a Jade Slip carved with intricate cloud patterns from his sleeve, and True Essence breathed out from his fingertips.

An extremely precise miniature Formation map appeared on the surface of the Jade Slip. In the center of the map, a tiny earthy-yellow light point was clearly glowing.

"In our Beast Taming Sect, we always emphasize evidence when handling matters."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's gaze moved from the Jade Slip to Gu Shen's palm. "I had already used a secret technique to plant a trace of Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Sand into that Kui Ox's corpse. This sand is colorless and odorless, blending into the Yao Beast's skin. With the mother plate in hand, the location of the child sand is as clear as the lines on my palm."

Gu Shen understood in his heart. No wonder the other party could precisely intercept him here; it turned out the Yao bone itself had become a massive tracking beacon. As long as one made contact, they would inevitably be marked.

He had been careless. The methods of the great Sects in the Cultivation World were indeed impossible to guard against.

Since the lie had been exposed, Gu Shen simply stopped arguing.

His figure remained upright, the Thousand Faces disguise not fading in the slightest. He said coldly, "Since Fellow Daoist Qin has seen through it, then state your terms. This Yao bone has already been taken by this Chen, and there is no reason to spit it out."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan, standing on his Flying Sword, slowly descended to within ten feet of Gu Shen.

He carefully examined Gu Shen's astral Daoist robe, shook his head, and let out a sigh tinged with a bit of regret.

"Your Excellency's disguise technique is exquisite, and your magic fluctuations are imitated perfectly. If not for the guidance of that Soul-Chasing Sand, I would certainly have mistaken you based on sight and Divine Sense alone."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's slender fingers brushed over the hilt of his jade sword. "However, all things in this world have their inherent principles. Although you are wearing my Sect's ritual robe, you cannot hide that extraordinary sense of discord about you."

Gu Shen raised an eyebrow slightly, listening for the details.

"My Sect's Disciples control Yao Beasts year-round; their Meridians are often tainted with the light and agile Qi of birds and beasts, making their steps nimble. But you..."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan pointed to the stone pits Gu Shen's feet had made. "You fell from the sky onto this riverbed. You didn't use any gravity Spells like 'Thousand-Pound Drop,' yet the rock layer beneath your feet couldn't withstand the natural weight of your Physical Body and cracked. The bones beneath this skin of yours have a density and weight comparable to those Body Cultivators who specialize in Body Refining."

"Furthermore, as you stand here, the wind flowing past you actually shows a very faint deflection. It's as if there is an invisible vortex swallowing everything around it."

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan spoke word by word, slicing through Gu Shen's disguise like a blade.

"Who exactly are you? Why are you impersonating a Disciple of my Beast Taming Sect?"

His words were as sharp as a blade, fully displaying the depth of this man's intellect.

Gu Shen's heart shook slightly. The high-frequency calculations of the AI Crystal provided feedback at this moment.

"Master, the target's observation skills have reached the realm of micro-physics. Based solely on the ground deformation caused by your body weight and the faint gravitational field leaked unconsciously by the [Nirvana Star Core], he has logically and completely negated your disguised identity. This person is extremely dangerous." Crab's warning was clear in his ears.

Since the disguise had been stripped away layer by layer, there was no point in continuing to wear this skin.

Gu Shen raised his right hand and lightly wiped his face.

The astral Daoist robe lost its disguised luster, turning into a set of cold and hard black robes. His features shifted, returning to the appearance of a rugged man with a face full of flesh and a hideous scar.

This was the "Alias" identity he had used in Luoyan City.

"Fellow Daoist Qin has sharp eyes; this Chen has learned something." Gu Shen's voice was raspy, with a texture like metal scraping together.

He did not show any sign of retreat because the other party had seen through his background. On the contrary, the dormant Cold Jade Thunder Bone within him began to emit a rhythmic, slight resonance. Deep green True Essence surged within his Dantian Qi Sea, pushing the operation of that Nirvana Star Core into a state of combat readiness.

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan looked at Gu Shen's changed appearance, his expression still as calm as a deep well.

"Hand over the Yao bone."

The sound-stabilizing spirit tuning fork in Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's hand glowed with a faint cyan light. "I will leave you a whole corpse. The skeleton of an ultimate Body Cultivator like you would be a decent material for refining into a Protector Dao Soldier."

These words were devoid of the hypocritical pleasantries of a great Sect, filled only with naked threats.

Gu Shen's right hand slowly rested on the hilt of the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade at his waist.

"If you want the bone, come and take it yourself."

The words fell, and killing intent rose.

Above the dry riverbed, the wild wind abruptly stopped. Two completely different and powerful aura fields crashed into each other.

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's sleeves fluttered lightly; he did not sacrifice his Flying Sword to kill. He knew well the power of a Body Cultivator in close combat, so as soon as he moved, he used his most targeted technique.

His fingers flexed, lightly flicking the pronged tip of that sound-stabilizing spirit tuning fork.

"Buzz—"

A terrifying sonic ripple, difficult to discern with the naked eye but truly existing on the microscopic level of matter, swept toward Gu Shen's position with him as the center.

This was no ordinary magic impact, but an infrasonic resonance aimed directly at the inherent frequency of the matter's Origin.

The scattered gravel on the surrounding ground turned into powder under the sweep of this sound wave.

Gu Shen stood in place, the AI Crystal at his brow spinning frantically.