「Two hours later.」
Zhou Dayuan stood with his second disciple, Zhou Xingwu, and his third, Zhou Jian. The three of them gazed at the ground where three bloody skunks lay. Each skunk had one thing in common—a piece of cloth tied to its body.
Zhou Dayuan's face was grim as he asked, "Zhou Jian, what is the meaning of this?"
Zhou Jian was a short man in his thirties, an expert in the art of tracking. Hearing his master's question, he gave a wry smile. "The man who killed our fourth junior brother is meticulous, cunning, and an expert in counter-tracking. To throw us off his trail, he first caught three skunks, then smeared their blood on himself to mask his own scent. Then, he tied a piece of his clothing to them to lead us astray."
At this, Zhou Jian added in frustration, "We've been had. To think the enemy would be this vicious and cunning."
Zhou Dayuan grunted and cursed, "Useless fools!"
Zhou Xingwu and Zhou Jian both lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound. Ever since learning of his only son's death, their master had become exceptionally volatile, desperate to capture the murderer and subject him to death by a thousand cuts. With the killer still at large, his mood was at its absolute worst. If they dared to speak now, they feared Zhou Dayuan would strike them dead with a single palm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Zhou Dayuan furiously unleashed over a dozen palm strikes in every direction. The immense Palm Power snapped all trees within a radius of dozens of feet in half at the trunk, sending dust flying everywhere.
After venting his fury, Zhou Dayuan's gaze turned chillingly cold. "Zhou Jian, which direction do you think the killer went?"
Zhou Jian shivered under his master's icy gaze and quickly replied, "Our men have all the roads to Three Rivers Town blocked. The other two directions offer poor cover for hiding. Therefore, I believe the killer is most likely headed for the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range. Of course, there's another possibility... that he hasn't gone anywhere and is simply hiding here in this forest..."
Zhou Dayuan frowned. 'Hiding in the forest, not going anywhere?' He felt this was the most likely scenario. If the killer was indeed hiding in the forest, finding him would be incredibly difficult. After all, the forest was dozens of miles across, and Zhou Dayuan had only brought a little over a hundred men. For a mere hundred-odd men to find someone in a forest that size was like finding a needle in a haystack.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Dayuan said coldly, "Here's the plan. Xingwu, you take a few squads and search toward the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range. Zhou Jian, you're with me. I will personally use the Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique to hunt for him in this forest!"
At the mention of the "Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique," shocked expressions appeared on the faces of both Zhou Xingwu and Zhou Jian. This was one of the Secret Skills belonging to the Zhou Family of Cyan Mulberry City. When used, it allowed the caster to easily sense the slightest stirrings within a radius of several miles. Not even a tiny field mouse could escape the pursuit of this Secret Technique.
Although the Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique was incredibly powerful, it was also extremely difficult to perform, requiring a master at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. Zhou Dayuan's strength was only at the Early Stage of the Martial Weight Eighth Layer. To forcibly use this Secret Technique, he would have no choice but to burn his own Essence Blood to unleash his latent potential. Doing so would inevitably cause a great loss of his vital essence, severely damaging his Cultivation and, consequently, his standing within the Zhou Family.
Although Zhou Xingwu and Zhou Jian wanted to persuade their master to abandon the Secret Technique, they both knew he was in an exceptionally foul mood, and neither dared to speak up.
...
The forest was dense and gloomy, with wild grass growing taller than a man and vines coiling everywhere like great serpents. In this overgrown environment, not even the midday sun could pierce the canopy. Zhaang Ye clutched a Thick-Backed Saber that had been snapped in half as he made his way through the dead branches and fallen leaves. Occasionally, he would spot one or two large snakes slithering lazily past. Though they weren't venomous, the mere sight of their thick, mottled bodies was enough to make his skin crawl.
Beyond the large snakes, what made Zhaang Ye even more nervous were the venomous insects and spiders hiding in the leaves and grass. These small creatures were incredibly poisonous; a single careless bite could mean instant death.
After carefully trekking for several miles, Zhaang Ye came to a relatively open clearing. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard a chorus of sharp squeals from his left.
Zhaang Ye's heart clenched, and he quickly ducked behind a large tree. Fixing his gaze, he saw a black wave suddenly surge from between the trees to his left. As the wave drew nearer, Zhaang Ye could finally see what it was: a swarm of several thousand black-furred, pointy-snouted rats!
The black-furred, pointy-snouted rats were a species unique to the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range. They lived in colonies and were incredibly agile. They possessed sharp, horny mouthparts, hard and sharp enough to bite chunks out of solid rock. Even massive Fierce Beasts had no choice but to flee when they encountered such a dense swarm.
'Damn it all! I just got here and I'm already running into these things. My luck is absolutely terrible!' Zhaang Ye cursed inwardly. Before the swarm could spot him, he scrambled up a nearby tree like an ape.
SQUEAL—! The black-furred rats quickly spotted Zhaang Ye in the tree, and a group of them immediately began to swarm up the trunk. Despite their small size, they were excellent climbers, their bodies zipping up the smooth bark like black shadows.
'Die!' Zhaang Ye cursed, gripping his Thick-Backed Saber tightly. A faint glint of light flashed from the blade, and a leaping rat was instantly sliced in two.
Though rats, these creatures craved the taste of flesh and blood. The scent of their slain kin drove them into an even greater frenzy, and they lunged forward with a series of whooshing sounds.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Zhaang Ye swung his blade relentlessly. With every slash, another rat was cleaved in half. Within the space of a few breaths, he had struck over forty times, slaying dozens of the creatures. A circle of their corpses piled up around him, and the stench of blood and the rats' own musky odor filled the air.
Despite being continuously slaughtered, the rats only grew more agitated. As Zhaang Ye slashed down several dozen more, he heard a rustling sound, SHH-SHH-SHH, coming from the distance. Clearly, a massive new wave of black-furred rats was rushing toward him.
'Damn it. Judging by that sound, there must be over ten thousand more of them coming! Individually, these rats are weak, but getting swarmed by that many is a death sentence!' At this thought, Zhaang Ye immediately changed his strategy. His blade continued to flash, cutting down one rat after another, but his feet were already in motion. With a WHOOSH, he leaped to another large tree.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Zhaang Ye leaped across more than a dozen trees in quick succession. Then he grabbed a long, hanging vine and swung through the air to another tree dozens of meters away, finally breaking free from the rats' encirclement for the moment.
Looking back at the trees behind him, now completely covered in a dense mass of black-furred rats, Zhaang Ye broke out in a cold sweat. He redoubled his efforts, desperately leaping from tree to tree to put more distance between them.
Zhaang Ye leaped for several miles without stopping. Just as he was about to catch his breath, a terrifying, skin-crawling sensation suddenly washed over him. He felt as though he was being watched, from head to toe, by an invisible and intangible enemy!
Zhaang Ye forced his body's True Qi to circulate, trying to push away the feeling of being watched. Brandishing his Broken Blade, he barked, "Who's there?!"