Natural enemies?

"..." Chen Mei shivered, her pupils suddenly widening.

It took her a full breath to realize what this meant, and her voice changed instantly, "Senior Sister Xiao! Didn't you say Pei Ling absolutely couldn't get out of the formation you set up?! Then why isn't he in the canyon anymore?"

Chen Huan, who had been softly coaxing Xiao Tasha, suddenly looked up and shouted, "What did you say?!"

"Brother, look at the Tracking Bee." Chen Mei quickly formed a hand seal to stabilize the Tracking Bee and cried, "The path in the canyon below is too difficult to walk, and I wasn't sure I wouldn't get lost, so I planned to let the Tracking Bee lead the way. But who knew it would fly south. Pei Ling isn't even in the valley anymore!"

"How is that possible?!" Before Chen Huan could answer, Xiao Tasha exclaimed in shock, "The sub-array alone is beyond his cultivation and knowledge to escape, let alone the illusion array I set up outside... He's not from some prominent family. His cousin is the Sect Son of the Pei clan. We all saw how ignorant he was when he first entered the Outer Sect?!"

"Otherwise, how could Pei Hong Nian be controlled by trash like Sun Yinglan?!"

"How could this Pei Ling possibly escape my trap formation?"

Xiao Tasha couldn't help but question the Tracking Bee, "Could your Tracking Bee have gone senile?"

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand." Chen Mei's cultivation wasn't high, and most of her value lay in this Tracking Bee. Hearing this, her expression changed, and she said, "My family put a lot of effort into this Tracking Bee... It's never made a mistake!"

Xiao Tasha was about to say more, but Chen Huan pressed her arm.

Chen Huan's expression was grim, and he shouted, "Stop arguing. Junior Brother Huang, could you please go down with Mei'er to see what's going on?"

He said lightly, "The Tracking Bee has indeed never made a mistake, and we've all witnessed Senior Sister Xiao's formation skills. In this situation, it doesn't necessarily mean Pei Ling escaped. Perhaps in his despair, he threw his outer garment or something out of the formation, and it was carried south by passing beasts?"

"It's best to go down and take a look."

Though he said this, Chen Huan's heart pounded with a sense of foreboding.

This premonition was soon confirmed: Huang Xian took Chen Mei down to the canyon and returned shortly after with a dark expression, "Senior Brother Chen, that Pei Ling is indeed no longer in the formation. Moreover, I saw a footprint by the stream outside the formation. It's very fresh, and judging by its size, it's most likely his."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Zhongqin's face changed drastically, and he angrily said to Xiao Tasha, "Didn't you just insist that Pei Ling absolutely couldn't escape?! That's why we felt at ease coming up to set up the formation, and now look?!"

Xiao Tasha's eyes went blank. After a moment of daze, she cried out in disbelief, "This... How is this possible?!"

"How is it impossible?" Huang Xian said coldly, "Do you think Senior Sister Chen and I would joke about something like this?"

"Alright, all of you, say less!" At this critical moment, Chen Huan stepped in to smooth things over, saying in a deep voice, "Although that brat just joined the sect, he has many secrets. Putting aside other things, just look at the saber techniques he used in the formation earlier. We all saw them. Don't even mention a family like the Pei's; even the Hall of Many Laws in the Outer Sect probably doesn't have many comparable techniques."

"It's likely he had some fortuitous encounters before entering the sect."

"Otherwise, how could someone at Qi Cultivation level four, and from a backwater place like Luquan City, have such a strong physique?"

"Escaping the sub-array is surprising, but not impossible..."

He looked up at the sky, "Fortunately, there's still some time before midnight. Let the Tracking Bee lead the way, and we'll go catch him."

"Senior Brother Chen, that brat is scared out of his wits," Huang Xian said. "Judging by the direction, he doesn't dare to return to Luoshan City and is running into the deep mountains instead. We need to hurry, lest he accidentally wander into a beast territory and cause more trouble."

After a brief discussion, it was decided that Huang Xian and Zhang Zhongqin would take Chen Mei to capture Pei Ling, while Chen Huan and Xiao Tasha would recover on the spot. Both sides held a communication talisman, to be used for contact if any changes occurred.

After all, no matter how urgent it was to capture Pei Ling, the formation would activate at midnight. Chen Huan and Xiao Tasha were the main forces. If they were overly exhausted now, and if they couldn't suppress the Soul Summoning Banner, the consequences would be dire.

Huang Xian and Zhang Zhongqin dared not delay. They had Chen Mei communicate with the Tracking Bee and set off in pursuit of Pei Ling.

Fortunately, as a precaution, they had cleared out any nearby troublesome beasts, such as the Fiery-eyed Green Apes, beforehand. With no foolish beasts interfering now, their progress was not significantly hindered.

The only one slowing them down was Chen Mei, but they needed her to control the Tracking Bee, and she was Chen Huan's blood relative, so they had to tolerate it despite their impatience.

Chen Mei was also anxious, but she was only at Qi Cultivation level four. Even with all her efforts, she inevitably fell behind.

After traveling like this for a while, the Tracking Bee continued to fly forward. Huang Xian couldn't help but curse, "Xiao Tasha is really unreliable. If that brat had suffered any damage while breaking the formation, he wouldn't have been able to run this far."

"Xiao Tasha's formation skills are quite good," Zhang Zhongqin shook his head slightly. "She's considered a talented individual at the Formation Peak. I personally tried to get out of an illusion array she set up before, and you know the result – I walked for three days and three nights, tried every method, and finally surrendered... For Senior Brother Chen, she wouldn't possibly not give her all. It's that brat Pei Ling who has a problem. When we see him later, don't hold back."

"At this point, even if we can't bring him back intact, as long as he's still breathing, it's better than letting him slip away again."

Huang Xian nodded, "I know..."

Before he could finish, Chen Mei suddenly cried out, "Ah!"

The two quickly became alert and asked, "Have you found that brat?!"

"...The Tracking Bee seems to have encountered its natural enemy and is afraid to go further." Chen Mei's expression was filled with shock and uncertainty. "Do you have the map? Is there anything nearby that the Tracking Bee fears?"

"Fears?" Huang Xian and Zhang Zhongqin exchanged glances, their eyes filled with doubt. "Senior Brother Chen has the map. We were in too much of a hurry earlier and forgot to ask for it. But I remember that along this route, there aren't any significant beasts until the Human-Faced Spider's territory?"

After all, near the Human-Faced Spider, even if there were stronger beasts before, they would have wisely fled upon sensing the aura of this Foundation Establishment stage beast; those who didn't would have likely become the Human-Faced Spider's meal.

Chen Mei blurted out upon hearing this, "Could we have gotten close to the Human-Faced Spider's territory?"

"That's impossible," Huang Xian shook his head and said, "I've been keeping track of the distance. We are now nearly a hundred miles away from the boundary of the Human-Faced Spider's hunting grounds. According to City Lord Duanmu, the Human-Faced Spider doesn't easily change its hunting range. After all, it came out from the depths of Luo Mountain for a safer place to lay and hatch its eggs. Therefore, it wouldn't easily stray far from its nest."

Zhang Zhongqin frowned, "It might be some natural enemy like snakes or insects... Tell the Tracking Bee to ignore it. If that doesn't work, tell us where the Tracking Bee is now, and we'll go take a look for any traces of Pei Ling?"

"Okay!" Chen Mei nodded and was about to lead them to where the Tracking Bee was currently stopped when Huang Xian's ears twitched. He shouted, "Wait! There's movement!"