Chapter 348: Trap

Liang Yan sealed off the restrictions and stepped out of the small courtyard. He paused slightly, a flicker of spiritual power enveloped him, and he changed into a black robe, his face hidden within the hood.

After glancing at Fengcang Market City, Liang Yan mused for a moment, then immediately hurried down the mountain.

At this moment, the Heart-Eating Worm's fluctuations had already left Fengcang Market City and then suddenly accelerated, indicating that the person had used a magic tool or an escape technique. This allowed Liang Yan to roughly gauge the person's strength.

The speed wasn't particularly fast. Based on this, he estimated the person's cultivation level to be only at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Naturally, Liang Yan's greatest hope was to control a late Foundation Establishment master, which would allow him to navigate many dangerous situations freely and help him gather better cultivation resources. An early Foundation Establishment cultivator was also good; they would be a significant asset, far stronger than a Qi Refining stage cultivator.

Pondering this, Liang Yan arrived at the foot of the mountain. He unhurriedly slowed his pace. Out of habit, he cautiously scanned his surroundings. Finding nothing unusual, he silently activated an escape technique, vanishing from his spot and stealthily giving chase.

Liang Yan had already broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, which was why he dared to pursue directly. Without the aid of a magic tool, Liang Yan could easily keep pace with his target.

From a distance, he saw a streak of white light speeding across the horizon, heading straight into the depths of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. He could faintly sense spiritual energy fluctuations, which perfectly matched Liang Yan's earlier conjecture: it was indeed an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!

The white light originated from a shuttle-shaped flying magic tool of low quality, merely a high-grade magic tool, consistent with the person's estimated strength. Liang Yan nodded discreetly but did not rush to act. Instead, he maintained the maximum distance for the Heart-Eating Worm's fluctuations, quietly trailing behind while observing the surroundings and the person's movements.

After some time, Liang Yan continued to follow patiently. There was no one tracking him from behind, and the person had been alone the entire time.

They had now traveled far from Fengcang Market City. The surrounding terrain began to change, with mountains rising and falling, and the swampy areas being encroached upon by peaks. Near Fengcang Market City, the mist was already very thin, and here it was almost nonexistent. The persistent smell of decay also became very faint.

Suddenly, the escape light ahead flickered and vanished without a trace. Liang Yan showed no sign of urgency, as he could easily sense the person's movements through the Heart-Eating Worm. He immediately changed direction and darted to the front left.

"In this direction, there's Tianfeng Mountain, Bright Valley, Ten Thousand Beast Ridge…" Liang Yan mumbled to himself. The places he mentioned were all in this direction. These areas shared a common characteristic: while there were no secret realms, they were teeming with cloud beasts, making them an inexhaustible hunting ground. Many cultivators hunted cloud beasts there, collected spirit-attached evil objects to earn spirit stones, and if lucky, might even discover spirit mines.

Liang Yan himself had frequented these areas during his early Foundation Establishment stage. Everything aligned perfectly.

Liang Yan suddenly accelerated his pace. The person had abandoned the conspicuous flying magic tool, and their escape technique had drastically slowed, allowing Liang Yan to quickly catch up.

Liang Yan, now invisible, quietly appeared on a mountaintop, focusing his gaze ahead. Between the desolate mountains, nothing seemed out of place. Liang Yan focused spiritual power in his eyes, staring in one direction. Although he couldn't see the person, if one's spiritual perception was keen, they would detect faint spiritual energy fluctuations coming from that spot.

The person was speeding through the mountains, seemingly oblivious to the impending danger. Seeing this, a chilling smile formed on Liang Yan's lips. Without hesitation, he activated the Gu Control Art, awakening the Gu worm.

Ahead, a sudden scream erupted, and a still somewhat ethereal figure instantly tumbled out of the void, plunging headfirst into the swamp at the foot of the mountain. *Splash!* A wave of mud churned.

Liang Yan did not intend to kill the person, so he merely commanded the Heart-Eating Worm to severely injure the person's primordial spirit, ensuring no chance of resistance. After capture, he would then slowly deal with them.

The poisonous Gu had indeed worked! This was a secret technique created by a Nascent Soul Grandmaster; Liang Yan had never considered the possibility of the Heart-Eating Gu failing. As he awakened the Gu worm, he simultaneously moved.

In the blink of an eye, Liang Yan arrived. Simultaneously, a blue spiritual light flickered in his palm, and a rope-like magic tool shot out like a spiritual snake. This was the Spirit-Binding Rope, one of Liang Yan's most relied-upon magic tools.

*Whoosh!* The Spirit-Binding Rope transformed into a streak of blue light, incredibly agile. Just as it was about to fly into the swamp and bind the person, a strange light suddenly burst forth from the mud. This strange light, alternating between black and white, was dazzling. Strangely, when the Spirit-Binding Rope was struck by the strange light, it immediately lost its direction, tangled into a mess, and became chaotic.

Before Liang Yan could react, a chilling wind suddenly rose in the valley, and endless black mist emerged. This black mist flew out from the swamp. Within the mist, six ghost banners stood tall, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. As the banners unfurled, malevolent spirits and Yin energy continuously poured forth. In an instant, the entire valley became eerie with ghostly aura, malevolent spirits howled, and it resembled a realm of ghosts.

Additionally, endless strange threads, hidden within the black mist, silently darted towards Liang Yan.

The Ten Directions Yama Array was activated!

The person Liang Yan had been tracking was none other than Qin Sang!

At this point, a month had passed since Yun Youzi's departure.

A month ago, after seeing Yun Youzi off, Qin Sang instructed Tan Hao to stay at Yinshan Pass to attempt a breakthrough. Qin Sang himself left Yinshan Pass and stealthily entered the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Tan Hao, who was very familiar with the area around Yinshan Pass, had clearly explained everything to Qin Sang.

Qin Sang had expected some trouble, but to his surprise, within a few days, he located Liang Yan's cave dwelling in Fengcang Market City through Tan Hao's connections. In recent years, Liang Yan likely felt the scrutiny had lessened, and thus no longer deliberately concealed his whereabouts. Furthermore, he always carried Shi Hong, making him easy to find.

As Liang Yan was cultivating within the market city, it was impossible to act there. Qin Sang began to operate in the vicinity of Fengcang Market City, waiting for Liang Yan to leave before making his move. Unexpectedly, Liang Yan was also an ascetic, capable of enduring loneliness. It was unknown how long he had been in seclusion, but a full month passed without any sign of him leaving. If this continued, there was no telling when Liang Yan would emerge from seclusion.

Just then, good news came from Tan Hao. After receiving guidance from Yun Youzi, Tan Hao gained some enlightenment. During his seclusion, he suddenly had an epiphany. Tan Hao knew that the longer he delayed, the slimmer his chances of establishing his foundation would be. He immediately decided to stake everything, consuming the Biying Pill and Foundation Establishment Pill without hesitation. To his surprise, he successfully established his foundation in one go! This left Qin Sang marveling.

It was not uncommon for Foundation Establishment cultivators to remain in seclusion for ten or even eight years at a time, so Qin Sang couldn't keep waiting indefinitely. Once Tan Hao arrived, Qin Sang immediately changed his plan. He decided to undo the Void Origin Seal on his primordial spirit and release the Heart-Eating Worm to test it out. If Liang Yan practiced this poisonous Gu technique, it would surely draw him out of seclusion!

Yinshan Pass was close to the orthodox forces, so the likelihood of remnants of the Kuiyin Sect being present in Fengcang Market City was low. Even if there truly was a late Foundation Establishment master, Qin Sang, relying on his treasures, especially the Nine Dragons Celestial Chariot Talisman, would find it easy to escape, even if he couldn't kill the opponent. To be safe, Qin Sang instructed Tan Hao to keep watch at the entrance of Fengcang Market City and alert Qin Sang if anything seemed amiss, allowing them to devise a plan early.

This approach indeed worked!