Chapter 173: Counterattack(1)
Chapter 173: Counterattack(1)
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Wei Wuya and the other two arrived in front of the Stone Forest.
Similarly, upon seeing this Stone Forest, astonishment appeared on all three of their faces.
“Young Master Ma, what should we do now?”
Wei Wuya looked at the hundreds of entrances before him, feeling somewhat dazzled, and asked Young Master Ma beside him.
“Hmm, this place is very strange!”
A change appeared on Young Master Ma’s pale face for the first time; he furrowed his brows and gazed at the Stone Forest before him, contemplating.
“Could Tang Jinbiao have bypassed this place directly and escaped somewhere else?”
Jia Longwu stood to the side, his gaze sweeping around in search of other paths, frowning as he spoke.
“Probably not. Within dozens of miles around here, it’s all this kind of Stone Forest. If he wanted to escape… hm?”
A thoughtful look surfaced on Young Master Ma’s pale face; he pondered for a moment, then seemed to recall something—his body moved, and he immediately floated upwards into the air.
Whoosh!
Young Master Ma gently moved his sleeve, and a fireball the size of a head instantly shot out towards the void ahead.
Bang!
However, the fireball only flew a hundred zhang before it reached the sky above the Stone Forest, where it suddenly crashed into a layer of barrier and was directly swallowed by the barrier.
“This?”
“There actually is such a powerful barrier here!”
Jia Longwu and Wei Wuya hadn’t detected at all that there was a barrier above the Stone Forest; of course, this was mainly because their divine senses weren’t particularly strong.
“There really is a barrier up there!”
Even Tang Jinbiao, hiding in the distance, was momentarily stunned upon seeing the change in the sky above the Stone Forest—previously, he hadn’t noticed this issue either, only having climbed up to take a look.
“What? Can’t see?”
After discovering the barrier above, Tang Jinbiao narrowed his eyes slightly, intending to use his Spirit Eyes to clearly see the appearance of the Stone Forest, but this time there was an unexpected issue.
Even though he used his Spirit Eyes, the Stone Forest still appeared as an ordinary stone forest; it showed no differences like it did when he looked at other things.
Tang Jinbiao didn’t realize that he could only see some simple spiritual energy trails; if he wanted to truly see through everything, it was entirely impossible with his current cultivation level and abilities.
Just as Tang Jinbiao was puzzled about his Spirit Eyes, Young Master Ma slowly descended to the ground, his face gloomy.
“Young Master Ma, what’s the situation? Can we still catch that guy?”
Wei Wuya was the first to step forward and ask nervously.
Tang Jinbiao had stolen his storage pouch—the spirit stones and elixirs inside were minor concerns; what he worried about most was that it held a secret he couldn’t tell others.
Meanwhile, Jia Longwu stood to the side without speaking, though a trace of expectation still showed on his face as he awaited Young Master Ma’s answer.
“Young Master Wei, is it absolutely necessary to retrieve that storage pouch?”
Young Master Ma looked at Wei Wuya, his expression blank as he asked.
Clunk!
Wei Wuya’s heart gave a slight jolt, but he still tried his best to remain calm as he asked, “What’s wrong? Could something be amiss?”
“Hmm, there is indeed something amiss. Follow me!”
Young Master Ma nodded, then narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on the entrance of the first stone gate where Tang Jinbiao had previously set up a formation.
Immediately, under Young Master Ma’s lead, the three of them walked towards that spot.
“What?”
Tang Jinbiao, hiding in the distance, saw that Young Master Ma could actually spot the trick at that location with a single glance, and his pupils contracted sharply.
This was very different from what he had expected. He had originally planned to use that place as a hideout, never anticipating that Young Master Ma could see through it at a glance.
Terrifying!
Those were the only two words that Young Master Ma left Tang Jinbiao with now.
“Did you notice anything unusual about this place?”
Young Master Ma led Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu to the entrance concealed by the formation. He narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of a mocking smile playing on his lips as he asked.
“This?”
“Doesn’t seem unusual at all!”
Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu naturally hadn’t spotted anything different. This place looked just like any other area—thick stone pillars everywhere.
“Heh, follow me!”
Young Master Ma couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He walked directly towards the stone pillar.
“Young Master Ma, what are you doing?”
“Young Master Ma, stop!”
Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu saw Young Master Ma walking straight toward the stone wall as if to collide with it, and they hastily called out to stop him.
Swish!
But as soon as they spoke, they saw Young Master Ma’s figure vanish into the pillar, disappearing right before their eyes.
“What?”
“It’s an Illusion Array!”
Though they hadn’t noticed anything special about the spot, seeing Young Master Ma enter made them realize immediately.
Swish!
Another soft sound followed as Young Master Ma, who had just entered, stepped back out. A trace of mockery still on his lips, he lowered his head and looked towards the ground.
Drawn by Young Master Ma’s gaze, Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu naturally looked down as well.
The ground was densely covered with countless footprints, seemingly fresh and not made long ago.
“This?”
“Footprints!”
The two saw the footprints on the ground and were slightly startled again, a trace of doubt appearing in their eyes.
“Heh, it seems that kid isn’t simple either. Definitely not as weak as he appears on the surface!”
Staring at the footprints, Young Master Ma’s expression of mockery became even more pronounced.
“Young Master Ma, what exactly is going on?”
Wei Wuya naturally hadn’t discerned anything different, he merely felt somewhat surprised.
“Let me ask you again, do you absolutely have to have that Storage Pouch?”
Young Master Ma lifted his head, looked at Wei Wuya, and asked.
“I absolutely must have it!”
Wei Wuya’s heart skipped a beat; a sense of foreboding washed over him. Yet, remembering the contents of the Storage Pouch, he nodded and spoke firmly.
“Fine. Since you absolutely must have it, then you must be prepared to face death at any moment. That kid might very well be hiding in any one of these entrances!”
Having received Wei Wuya’s affirmation, Young Master Ma lifted his head and looked towards the numerous pitch-black entrances, a faint glimmer of killing intent flashing in his eyes as he spoke.
Thump!
Hearing this, both Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu were startled.
“What? You mean the kid didn’t run away, but is hidden in the shadows, ready to ambush us?”
After hearing this, Wei Wuya felt a slight shock and asked with uncertainty.
“Both of you, just pick any entrance and go in and see for yourselves!”
Young Master Ma’s face was dark as he spoke to the two.
Simultaneously, he unleashed a powerful surge of Divine Sense, comparable to that of a Late Core Formation Stage Cultivator, sweeping outwards in all directions.
“Alright!”
Sensing the overwhelming Divine Sense emanating from Young Master Ma, Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu both paled slightly. They no longer objected and walked side by side into one of the black entrances ahead of them.
Whoosh!
As Young Master Ma’s powerful Divine Sense swept over him, Tang Jinbiao’s body gave a slight tremble; he felt an inexplicable sensation of being seen through. Fortunately, the Stealth Talisman cloaked his form. Young Master Ma’s Divine Sense merely brushed past him without pause, failing to detect him.
“That man is absolutely not simple!”
Tang Jinbiao dared not move a muscle, utterly still where he hid within the dense forest. His eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Young Master Ma, who remained standing outside, a trace of fear surfacing in his gaze.
Suddenly, he felt regret. He had been hoping for a comeback, yet the traps he’d laid were seen through one by one in the blink of an eye.
“It’s alright. As long as they split up, I still have a chance. Endure, endure. I absolutely must not panic or give myself away!”
Though the thought to flee arose, in his current state he utterly lacked the confidence to escape. Having witnessed Young Master Ma’s terrifying power firsthand, he knew any rash movement now, if detected, would mean his end. All he could do was endure.
“Hmph. Seems he’s not as clever as I thought. If it were me, I’d deliberately lay false trails and then hide outside, watching secretly. Looks like that kid really is hiding inside the Stone Forest!”
After scanning the Divine Sense across a radius of several miles and finding no trace of Tang Jinbiao, Young Master Ma retracted his Divine Sense and gave a scornful snort.
Just then, Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu finally emerged from one of the entrances. Their faces too now wore expressions of shock and fear.
“I presume you’ve both discovered the strangeness of this Stone Forest by now? Moreover, these entrances are all separate, and the stone walls are incredibly tough. Not even I can break through them. Of course, there must be an exit within this Stone Forest. In such a short time, that kid might not have found it yet; he could still be hiding in any one of these. Or, perhaps he got lucky and has already fled into the Hundred Thousand Mountains!”
Watching the two emerge, Young Master Ma spoke calmly.
“Mmm.”
Jia Longwu and Wei Wuya listened quietly, neither saying much.
“However, judging from these footprints on the ground and the Illusion Array we saw earlier, he ought to be hiding within one of these entrances. And it’s very possible he’s also discovered the strangeness within and is already plotting against us from the shadows. Therefore, I have two options. First: the three of us stay together as one group and search the entrances one by one. While hoping to find the exit, we might also find the kid. But if we do this, it will undoubtedly consume vast amounts of time and energy. And if that kid does have dog’s luck and finds the exit, we’ll completely lose our target. Second: we split up. Each searches separately. This increases efficiency, but it also raises the risk of encountering danger. That kid absolutely has hidden strength!”
The longer Young Master Ma looked at the footprints on the ground, the more pronounced the killing intent in his eyes became. He now felt some regret for not having simply disposed of Tang Jinbiao earlier instead of letting him bicker with Wei Wuya.
“This…?”
Hearing Young Master Ma’s words, expressions of hesitation appeared on Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu’s faces. Indeed, each option had its pros and cons.
“Hurry up and decide. Don’t waste time, or it might be too late for anything!”
An inexplicable wave of agitation washed over Young Master Ma, as if he sensed some impending danger.
“Could you use the Five Ghost Pathfinding Art once? Otherwise, with so many entrances, we might not find the real exit by dark, let alone that kid!”
After wavering for a moment, Wei Wuya asked with a look of difficulty.
“Hmph, don’t even think about it. Divine Sense cannot leave your body inside this Stone Forest. If I released my Five Ghosts now, forget pathfinding, they would likely turn on me before I could even control them. You can abandon that idea.”
Young Master Ma snorted contemptuously; his dissatisfaction with Wei Wuya was now intense.
“Fine, we’ll split up to search then. Longwu, you start checking from the entrances on the right. I’ll take the ones on the left. Young Master Ma, you can start from the middle.”
With no other choice, Wei Wuya opted for the method that, while dangerous, was also the most efficient.
“Good! Just like that! But let me warn you both: not only can Divine Sense not leave the body within the Stone Forest, but the space is cramped. Be careful yourselves. If anything happens, use voice transmissions – that remains unaffected. And to prevent that kid pulling a ‘displaying a guilty conscience by protesting too much’ move, I’m going into that one first to check.”
Young Master Ma could not be bothered to say more. He rushed directly into the entrance concealed by the Illusion Array.
“Hm, let’s start too!”
“Alright!”
Exchanging a glance, Wei Wuya and Jia Longwu split off in opposite directions, beginning to inspect entrance after entrance.
“Good! You finally split up!”
Seeing the three separate, Tang Jinbiao slumped down, completely drained, a sigh of relief escaping him. A wicked smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Because he had finally waited for this moment…