Before dawn, darkness was at its thickest. The cold wind was sharp as a blade as it swept across the desolate official road. Li Yifan wore a gray-black martial outfit, his cloak snapping in the wind, yet his speed was not affected. He had chosen not to ride a horse—the sound of hoofbeats would have been too conspicuous in the silent night and unfavorable for concealing his tracks. Relying solely on his legs and circulating the Spirit Fox Steps, he flitted through the forests and mountain paths like a ghost. His speed was in no way slower than that of an ordinary fine steed, while his movements were even more concealed.
His destination this time—Mist Canyon—lay northwest of Qingzhou Prefecture, on the border with a neighboring prefecture. It was a perilous, rarely visited wilderness. According to the case files, the depths of the canyon were shrouded year-round in dense fog that never dispersed. Light could barely penetrate it, and the terrain was labyrinthine, riddled with karst caves, underground rivers, and jagged boulders. Ordinary people who entered could easily lose their way or even meet with disaster. For the "Shadow Demon" Li Heng, who excelled at the Phantom Demon Technique, this place was undoubtedly an ideal hiding spot.
Li Yifan hurried onward, constantly deducing the situations he might encounter. He did not charge straight into the canyon's central region. Instead, he stopped in a secluded mountain hollow more than ten li from the canyon entrance. By then, the sky had begun to brighten faintly, but the direction of the canyon was still shrouded in a gray, hazy mist, making it impossible to see what lay within.
"Entering recklessly would be no different from walking into a trap." Li Yifan found a spot behind a huge boulder that offered a broad view while also providing concealment, then sat cross-legged. As he regulated his breathing to recover the true qi expended on the journey, he carefully observed the distant canyon entrance and its surroundings.
He first needed to understand the general situation in this area, as well as any traces of Li Heng's possible activities. According to the case files, Li Heng was crafty by nature and would certainly have placed lookouts or warning mechanisms around his lair. Charging in directly might alert the enemy and even leave him caught in a carefully prepared trap.
After regulating his breathing for a while, once his condition had recovered to its peak, Li Yifan did not hurry into action. Instead, he took the crude map from his pack and checked it carefully once more. The map marked several dangerous locations that might serve as hiding places: "Ghost Stream," "Silent Lake," and "Thousand Caves." Every one of these places had an extremely harsh environment, making them easy to hide in and difficult to search.
"Thousand Caves... The karst caves are interconnected, extending in all directions. It's the most suitable place for hiding and relocation. If I were Li Heng, this would be my first choice." Li Yifan fixed his gaze on the area marked Thousand Caves, but did not set out immediately. He needed more definite information.
Over the next two days, Li Yifan acted like the most patient of hunters. Taking the canyon entrance as his center, he cautiously investigated the surrounding area. He did not venture into the fog, instead relying on the Investigation skill and perception far beyond that of ordinary people to search for any suspicious traces.
His efforts finally bore fruit. On a scree slope about five li from the canyon entrance, he discovered several unusual signs. The positions of several stones looked random, but on closer inspection, they faintly formed a simple warning zone that would be easily triggered if any living creature entered. In addition, he found a trace of extremely faint energy lingering in a wind-sheltered crevice between some rocks. It was cold and fleeting, bearing some resemblance to the aura of the Phantom Demon Technique described in the case files. It was exceedingly thin, however, and without his keen senses, he would almost certainly have failed to detect it.
"As expected, he's active here—and extremely cautious." Li Yifan understood at once, becoming even more certain that Li Heng was hiding in Mist Canyon. Even so, he still did not enter recklessly. He was waiting—for a more suitable opportunity, or for Li Heng to reveal a flaw himself.
On the evening of the third day, the sky gradually darkened, and the fog in the direction of the canyon seemed even thicker than during the day. Li Yifan lay hidden in a thicket on elevated ground, watching the canyon entrance from afar. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. A faint silhouette, so blurred that it was almost one with its surroundings, flashed out of the canyon entrance at an incredible speed and silently melted into the dense forest outside.
"What incredible footwork! What superb concealment!" Li Yifan secretly marveled. If he had not been completely focused, and if the spiritual perception cultivated by the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique had not far surpassed that of ordinary people, he would almost have missed that fleeting trace. The figure's aura was cold and elusive—there was no doubt that it bore the characteristics of the Phantom Demon Technique!
"Was that Li Heng? Or one of his lackeys?" Li Yifan could not be completely certain, but this was an opportunity. He immediately used the Spirit Fox Steps, restraining his aura to the utmost as he followed silently like a civet. He dared not get too close lest he be detected, merely trailing from a distance and tracking the figure through the extremely faint traces it left while moving through the forest, along with that thread of cold aura that seemed to exist and yet not exist.
The shadow seemed to have a clear destination and headed straight northeast. After tracking it for about half an hour and crossing two mountain ridges, a small mountain town appeared ahead. Its lights flickered faintly. It was none other than Black Mountain Town, marked on the map.
The shadow paused briefly outside the town, seemingly observing for a moment. Then its figure wavered and, like a ghost, merged into the town's shadows before vanishing without a trace.
Li Yifan stopped in a small grove outside the town, his brows drawing together slightly. What was Li Heng doing in this little town? Buying supplies? Or did he have another scheme? Not daring to be careless, he cautiously slipped into the town.
Black Mountain Town was not prosperous, and it was already night. Few pedestrians remained on the streets. Li Yifan stayed concealed in the darkness, carefully sensing the movement of that cold aura. In the end, it stopped in the rear courtyard of a rather dilapidated inn on the edge of town.
Li Yifan did not approach. Instead, he chose a rooftop from which he could overlook the inn's rear courtyard, then held his breath and focused as he watched in silence. Straining his eyes through the night, he could vaguely make out what appeared to be a pile of odds and ends in the courtyard, with nothing unusual about it. After entering the inn, the cold aura sank like a stone into the sea, and no obvious movement emerged again.
After waiting for about the time it took to burn a stick of incense, just as Li Yifan was considering whether to change his angle of investigation, an unexpected change suddenly occurred!
In the shadows beside the pile of miscellaneous goods in the rear courtyard, space seemed to warp slightly. A blurred figure quietly emerged as if rising from water—it was the very shadow he had been tracking! And now, the shadow held a small bundle in its hands.
"Not buying supplies... stealing them!" Li Yifan understood instantly. Li Heng—or one of his lackeys—had actually used the Phantom Demon Technique to sneak into the town and steal! Judging by the shape of the bundle, it did not seem to contain ordinary valuables.
After securing his prize, the shadow did not hesitate. Its figure merged into the darkness once more and sped toward the outskirts of town, heading straight for Mist Canyon.
Li Yifan's eyes turned cold. He was just about to continue tracking when he suddenly sensed a warning! Almost at the same time, he felt another extremely obscure yet far more sinister and powerful aura spread from the darkness in another direction of the inn, locking onto the fleeing shadow!
"There's someone else? Is it Li Heng himself? Or... are they fighting over the spoils?" Li Yifan immediately suppressed his urge to pursue. He reined in his aura to the utmost and lay on the rooftop like an immovable rock, his thoughts racing.
The fleeing shadow seemed to sense the danger as well. Its speed suddenly increased, and it urged the Phantom Demon Technique to its limit. Its figure grew increasingly indistinct, as if it were about to dissolve into wisps of blue smoke. Yet the sinister aura locked onto it like its own shadow. A pitch-black finger force shot silently from the darkness like a venomous snake, aimed straight at the shadow's heart!
Its speed was astonishing, its angle viciously precise, and its timing ruthless—far beyond the ordinary!
At the critical moment, the shadow twisted in an extremely strange manner and narrowly avoided a fatal blow, but its left shoulder was still grazed by the finger force. A muffled groan rang out as the illusions surrounding the shadow rippled violently. It had clearly been badly injured, yet its escape did not slow. Instead, it borrowed the force of the impact and vanished into the darkness outside the town at even greater speed.
The black figure that had unleashed the finger force did not pursue. It merely let out a deep, hoarse snort filled with disdain. Then its aura receded like the tide and disappeared into the shadows on the other side of the inn, as though it had never appeared.
The entire exchange had occurred in the blink of an eye. If not for Li Yifan's extraordinary perception, he would have found it almost impossible to catch the details.
The little town remained silent, as if nothing had happened.
On the rooftop, Li Yifan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his gaze turning grave beyond measure.
"What terrifying finger force! Sinister and tyrannical—clearly not a righteous art. The shadow that escaped did indeed use the Phantom Demon Technique, but its mastery seemed lacking. It wasn't Li Heng himself; it was most likely one of his disciples or accomplices. As for the black figure that appeared afterward, its strength was probably even greater than the shadow's. Its cultivation art... carried a pure evil and deathly stillness, completely different from the strange, elusive nature of the Phantom Demon Technique."
The situation was more complicated than he had anticipated. Mist Canyon not only concealed the "Shadow Demon" Li Heng—it seemed to have drawn other uninvited guests as well. Were they friend or foe? Coincidence, or did they harbor another scheme?
Li Yifan did not act rashly. He carefully recalled every detail of the brief clash, especially the characteristics of the black figure's finger force and the feeling of its aura, trying to find clues in his memory. At the same time, he realized that Li Heng's lair would likely be even more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. He had to be even more careful and cautious.
He decided to remain still for the time being and continue observing. At the very least, he had to determine whether the black figure that appeared later had come for Li Heng or had another objective. Recklessly entering a perilous place where two—or even more—experts were confronting each other would be anything but wise.
The night deepened. Li Yifan seemed to merge into the rooftop's shadows as he waited patiently, like a lifeless stone statue. The danger of Mist Canyon had only just revealed one corner. And the true hunt might already have begun before anyone realized it.
Before you continue