215: Chapter 215 Encirclement of the Cub

Deep in Mang Mountain, at the edge of a secluded valley.

Gu Shen lay prone on the thick trunk of an ancient pine tree that required three people to encircle, his figure completely obscured by the dense needles.

He restrained his blood and Qi to the extreme, and his Cold Jade Bone emitted a faint chill from deep within his flesh, forcibly lowering his body temperature to match that of the surrounding dead wood.

Inside the black iron clasp at his collar, the Crab's microwave detection function was operating at full power.

"Master, the composition of suspended particles in the air ahead has undergone a cliff-like change. The concentrations of nitrates and high-purity earth-type Spiritual Qi polymers are exceeding limits." The Crab's bone-conduction electronic voice sounded steadily in Gu Shen's ear.

Gu Shen's gaze shifted slightly, his eyes fixed on the depths of the valley.

He silently reviewed the situation in his mind. Upon first entering this place, the residual violent aura in the air was slightly chaotic, but after a moment of settling and analysis, he could clearly perceive that it was the aftermath of an extremely heavy, dense, and destructive earth-type Law filled with tremors.

The Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox clan were naturally the darlings of the earth veins. The fleeing young beast had inherited its clan's unique talent for manipulating rock layers and triggering earth vein resonances. This kind of earth-type Divine Ability that could trigger landslides and earthquakes had clashed violently with the many offensive means of the Beast Taming Sect Cultivators in this area, leaving behind this scene of devastation.

"Five miles ahead, the Spiritual Qi wavebands show a regular, artificial Formation arrangement. Infrared thermal imaging shows twelve hidden high-temperature carbon-based biological nodes, distributed in the Twelve Earthly Branches positions along the only path forward." The Crab quickly provided a warning.

Gu Shen looked down from his high vantage point, his gaze piercing through the heavy miasma.

Large Sects always conducted their affairs with strict discipline. Core Disciple Qin Wuyan had led the group to hunt the great Yao Beast young beast, so they would inevitably have set up a dragnet on the perimeter to prevent interference from other Loose Cultivators or Yao Beasts. Those twelve hidden nodes were the alternating overt and covert sentries set up by the Beast Taming Sect.

If an ordinary Cultivator tried to sneak in, they would easily trigger the secret Formation patterns interwoven in the forest, inviting total annihilation.

Gu Shen gripped the tree trunk with both hands, his body like a falling feather; it seemed slow, but within a few breaths, he drifted down from the ancient pine tree that was dozens of zhang high.

The Formation patterns of the thunder shadow boots were in a state of absolute silence, and when his feet touched the mud filled with rotting leaves, there was not a sound.

He avoided all the smooth paths rich in Spiritual Qi, choosing instead to advance through the dead zones filled with thorns and mutated poisonous insects. The black flood dragon black gold armor emitted a faint halo, isolating the surrounding poisonous miasma that tried to approach.

Advancing about two miles, between two giant rotting trees growing side by side, there was an extremely thin crystal thread that an ordinary person would find difficult to detect. Both ends of the crystal thread were connected to warning Formation Plates buried in the ground.

Two Beast Taming Sect Disciples wearing star-patterned Daoist robes were hiding in a crevice of a rock wall ten zhang away, sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, their Divine Sense locked tightly onto that crystal thread.

Gu Shen did not stop his pace.

The AI Crystal's multi-threaded computing power planned a perfect evasion route within a single breath. His body bent backward in an unnatural, thrilling arc, and with force from his waist, he glided like a ghostly wind skimming the ground, flashing through the gap less than half an inch below the crystal thread.

The two hidden sentries remained with their eyes closed, completely unaware of the god of slaughter who had brushed past them.

He repeated the process. Relying on the precise early warning of Wasteland technology and the terrifying control of his extreme Physical Body, in the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, he broke through three blockade lines in a row, as if entering an empty land.

The deeper he went, the more severe the environmental destruction became.

The towering cliffs reaching into the clouds were covered with huge cracks several zhang deep. The towering ancient trees along the way were not cut down by sharp blades, but were ground into sawdust from the roots by some savage, trembling force. Sharp stone pillars protruding from the ground and large patches of dried dark red Yao Beast blood could be seen everywhere.

This was clearly the tragic aftermath left by the Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox young beast, which had been frantically driving its innate earth-type Divine Ability in a desperate situation, triggering a riot of the earth veins.

Ten miles ahead, the roar of Spiritual Qi was like rolling thunder, shaking the surrounding poisonous miasma into violent turbulence.

The colorful lights of Divine Abilities constantly broke through the miasma, illuminating the dim valley as bright as day. Violent gale winds mixed with gravel shot out in all directions like blades.

Gu Shen tapped his toes on the ground, his body suddenly soaring into the air, climbing like a nimble ape to the top of a cliff with an excellent view.

He lay prone behind a huge blue rock, overlooking the vast basin below.

The killing trap had reached the time to close the net.

In the center of the basin, the originally rushing underground river had been forcibly cut off by several ice Formations emitting biting cold, turning it into a frozen pool of dead water.

A Mountain-Quaking Kui Ox young beast, about two zhang long and covered in thick, blue-gray fur, was being forced back into a recessed dead end. The young beast was surrounded by circles of earth-yellow Spiritual light. Its thick, single leg stomped heavily on the rock layer, and every time it landed, the surrounding earth would groan under the unbearable weight, raising thick walls of earth and stone to resist the attacks from all directions.

Its body was already covered in wounds, with blood constantly overflowing from several deep, bone-visible lacerations, and it let out bursts of desperate and violent low roars from its mouth.

And around the young beast.

Hundreds of elite Disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, each holding a Magical Artifact, had formed a huge and tight Formation. Azure star-patterned chains crisscrossed in mid-air, turning into a "Heavenly Net" that covered the sky and sun, pressing down bit by bit, constantly compressing the young beast's living space.

In the center of the Formation, suspended in the air, a young Cultivator dressed in snow-white robes stepped on a jade Flying Sword, looking like an immortal descended to the world.

Core Disciple Qin Wuyan.

This Core Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect had an air of composure on his face, as if victory was already in his grasp. There were still a few streaks of dried blood on the collar of his chest, indicating the secret loss he had suffered at Gu Shen's hands earlier, but his condescending posture of a Dominator over life and death remained undiminished.

He held up an ancient octagonal bronze mirror with one hand, the surface of which was gathering the vast Spiritual Qi drawn from the Formation above, and was about to descend the final blow upon the desperately resisting young beast, completely shattering its will.

Gu Shen watched this scene with cold eyes.

Inside his Dantian Qi Sea, the Nirvana Star Core rotated steadily. The deep cyan poison-evil True Yuan was poised in his meridians, and his right palm was already resting lightly on the hilt of the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade.

Inside the Storage Ring, nine Demon Bone Iron Guards, coated with anti-shock and sound-insulating layers and fully powered, waited quietly for the order to slaughter.

The positions of hunter and prey were completely finalized at this moment.

That high and mighty Sect Prodigy thought he had forced the Vicious Beast into a desperate situation, but he did not know that he had already stepped into an even more deadly net.

Gu Shen held his breath and focused, his heart as clear as ice.

He waited, waiting for the moment the azure Heavenly Net fell, waiting for that one breath when Core Disciple Qin Wuyan's mind was most relaxed.

The wind ceased in the secluded valley.

The killing intent condensed into reality.