Chapter 62 — The Omen of the Storm
The Western Region was vast.
Far beyond the borders of Darkstone City, mountains stretched beneath a gray sky, their peaks disappearing into layers of mist.
Han Feng moved through them alone.
His black cloak fluttered in the wind.
Behind him, Darkstone City had already disappeared from sight.
He did not slow down.
The pursuit had taught him something important.
The Celestial Corpse Sect had not identified him.
Not yet.
But they had connected him to the Black Urn.
That alone was enough to make every step dangerous.
Han Feng glanced toward the horizon.
"The longer I stay in one place, the more chances they have to find me."
His expression remained calm.
But his mind was already calculating.
The Celestial Corpse Sect possessed corpse refinement techniques, soul-tracking methods, and specialized Gu.
A normal disguise would not be enough.
He needed to become difficult to recognize even when someone was actively searching for him.
After several hours of traveling, Han Feng found a narrow cave hidden beneath an overhanging cliff.
There were no recent footprints.
No spiritual beast territory.
No obvious signs of human activity.
He entered.
Then immediately inspected every inch of the cave.
Only after confirming that it was safe did he sit down.
The moment he relaxed, the pain in his body returned.
Han Feng frowned.
His shoulder still throbbed from the attack in Darkstone City.
The spiritual energy inside his body was also slightly disordered.
The battle had not been particularly long.
But fighting while escaping was completely different from fighting in a controlled environment.
Every movement had cost more.
Every technique had consumed more spiritual energy.
And his newly awakened ability—
Spectral Shadows—
had nearly exhausted his spiritual sense.
Han Feng closed his eyes.
He began circulating his Qi.
One cycle.
Two.
Three.
Gradually, the turbulence in his meridians settled.
The Dual Chaos Larva responded.
Its Rank 2 Gu aura spread through his body, carefully harmonizing the conflicting traces of energy.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu assisted from within his spiritual sea.
A faint connection formed between the three.
Qi.
Gu energy.
Chaos.
For several hours, Han Feng remained completely still.
When he finally opened his eyes, the fatigue had disappeared.
His foundation had not become stronger.
He had not broken through.
But his condition had returned to normal.
That was enough.
Han Feng looked toward the storage ring.
Several items appeared on the ground.
Medicinal pills.
Spiritual materials.
Broken Gu fragments.
And the Black Urn.
He stared at the last object for a long time.
The Black Urn remained completely silent.
Han Feng did not touch it.
After what had happened inside its spiritual space, he had no intention of casually probing it again.
The images were still fresh in his mind.
The endless darkness.
The ghostly figures.
The silver orb.
And—
The seventh point.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
"Six points..."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"And then a seventh."
He still didn't understand what it meant.
But he had learned something from the ancient ruins.
Whenever the Celestial Diagram reacted to something, there was usually a reason.
He simply didn't know the reason yet.
That was dangerous.
But it was also useful.
Mysteries could become weapons if one had enough patience.
Han Feng's attention shifted to another object.
A small ancient scroll.
He had acquired it during his travels through a ruined cultivation site several weeks earlier.
At first, it had appeared useless.
Now he understood why.
The scroll contained a damaged version of the Art of the Celestial Veil.
Not a new technique.
Not a treasure.
A cultivation method.
Han Feng slowly unfolded it.
The first several pages were incomplete.
Some sections had been destroyed.
Others were written in an ancient script that had faded with time.
Still, the principles were clear.
The technique did not simply conceal spiritual energy.
It taught the cultivator to alter the relationship between their energy and the surrounding environment.
Instead of suppressing one's presence—
One became part of the background.
Han Feng's eyes brightened.
"Interesting."
That was exactly what he needed.
Becoming the Shadow
Han Feng began practicing.
At first, the results were disappointing.
His aura disappeared.
But the environment still reacted to him.
Grass bent when he walked.
Dust moved beneath his feet.
His spiritual pressure left tiny disturbances in the air.
A skilled tracker might notice them.
Han Feng repeated the process.
Again.
And again.
For several days, he remained inside the cave.
He did not attempt to force a breakthrough.
Instead, he studied.
He observed how his Qi interacted with the air.
How spiritual fluctuations traveled through stone.
How living creatures unconsciously responded to another presence.
He even spent several hours sitting motionless beside the cave entrance.
A small bird landed nearby.
It looked directly at him.
Then flew away.
Han Feng frowned.
The Art of the Celestial Veil had failed.
He tried again.
This time, he suppressed his heartbeat.
Then his breathing.
Then the tiny fluctuations produced by his meridians.
The bird returned.
It landed closer.
It looked around.
But it no longer looked at him.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
A faint smile appeared.
"That's better."
He had not become invisible.
That wasn't what the technique did.
He had simply become—
Unimportant.
To ordinary perception, his presence blended into the environment.
To weak spiritual senses, he became a meaningless fluctuation.
Against stronger cultivators, however...
Han Feng knew better than to become arrogant.
The technique was still incomplete.
A powerful spiritual sense could tear through the disguise.
Tracking Gu could still detect anomalies.
And formations remained especially dangerous.
But compared to before—
It was a considerable improvement.
Han Feng named this stage in his mind.
Shadow Concealment.
Not the perfected Art of the Celestial Veil.
Not yet.
But the foundation of something greater.
He stood.
His shadow stretched beneath his feet.
For a brief instant, Spectral Shadows activated.
His body became slightly blurred.
The Shadow Concealment merged with it.
The result was unexpected.
His physical presence became considerably harder to detect.
But a sharp pain immediately struck his spiritual sea.
Han Feng stopped.
His expression became serious.
"So the two techniques can interact."
He had found another possibility.
But not one he could rely on yet.
The combination consumed too much spiritual energy.
If he used it during a prolonged battle, he might exhaust himself before his opponent.
Still...
It could save his life.
And that was enough.
The Name on the Wanted Poster
Several days later, Han Feng left the cave.
The sky was overcast.
Cold wind swept through the mountains.
He walked along an isolated trail.
For a while, nothing happened.
Then—
Something white drifted through the air.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
He caught it.
A piece of paper.
The edges were torn.
The ink was cheap.
It was a wanted notice.
Han Feng scanned the contents.
A crude drawing occupied most of the page.
A figure wearing dark clothing.
A blurred face.
White hair.
Purple eyes.
The resemblance was poor.
But recognizable enough to someone who had seen him before.
Below the image were several words.
WANTED
Demon of Shadows
Suspected involvement in the disturbance beneath the ancient ruins.
Possesses unknown resonance-related artifact.
Approach with caution.
Han Feng stared at the page.
Then he laughed softly.
"Demon of Shadows?"
The title was ridiculous.
But the information beneath it was more interesting.
They did not know his name.
They did not know his cultivation.
They did not know his origin.
Most importantly—
They did not know his face.
Not accurately.
Han Feng folded the paper.
"So the Black Urn is more important to them than I am."
His eyes became cold.
That meant the Celestial Corpse Sect would continue searching.
But they would search for a mysterious cultivator rather than Han Feng.
That bought him time.
Not much.
But enough.
Han Feng looked toward the distant mountains.
He had already chosen his next destination.
The Valley of Soul Devourers.
A dangerous region in the Western Region.
Few cultivators willingly entered.
The valley was famous for strange spiritual phenomena.
Cultivators who entered sometimes returned with fragmented memories.
Others lost their spiritual senses.
Some never returned at all.
Rumors claimed that an ancient Soul-Devouring Gu slept somewhere within its depths.
Han Feng didn't believe rumors easily.
But there was another reason he was interested.
Three days earlier, he had heard a merchant mention something else.
An ancient inscription had been discovered near the valley.
It contained a symbol resembling—
Six connected points.
Han Feng's expression became serious.
"Coincidence?"
He didn't believe in coincidences anymore.
He folded the wanted notice and placed it inside his storage ring.
Then he looked toward the road ahead.
"The Valley of Soul Devourers, then."
He turned.
But before taking another step—
Han Feng stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
The wind had changed.
There was a faint smell of incense in the air.
Not ordinary incense.
Corpse-scented incense.
A tracking method used by the Celestial Corpse Sect.
Han Feng's expression became cold.
"They're closer than I thought."
He immediately activated Shadow Concealment.
His aura faded.
His footsteps became silent.
He didn't run.
Running in a straight line would only confirm his direction.
Instead, Han Feng stepped off the road.
He entered the forest.
Then turned east.
After several hundred meters, he turned south.
Then west.
He deliberately created a misleading trail.
Only after he was certain the tracking incense had lost its connection did he change direction again.
This time—
Toward the Valley of Soul Devourers.
Han Feng disappeared into the forest.
Far behind him, on a distant ridge, three black-robed cultivators appeared.
One of them crouched down and touched the ground.
A faint gray mist gathered around his fingers.
His expression changed.
"The trace disappeared."
Another cultivator frowned.
"Impossible."
"The target changed direction."
"Which way?"
The first cultivator looked toward the mountains.
After several seconds, he shook his head.
"I don't know."
Silence followed.
The oldest among them slowly raised his head.
His eyes were cold.
"Then we search wider."
One of the younger cultivators hesitated.
"Should we report to the elders?"
The older man remained silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
"Not yet."
His gaze settled on the distant mountains.
"If this person really possesses the artifact described in the report..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...we should find out what it can do before anyone stronger takes it from us."
Far away, Han Feng walked alone beneath the darkening sky.
He had escaped the first pursuit.
But the Western Region was becoming increasingly restless.
The Black Urn had awakened something.
The Celestial Corpse Sect had begun moving.
The six ancient points were appearing in places they should not exist.
And somewhere beyond the mountains—
The Valley of Soul Devourers waited.
Han Feng looked toward the horizon.
Dark clouds were gathering.
Thunder rolled in the distance.
He stopped for a moment.
His Celestial Diagram suddenly pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
The seventh point appeared again.
This time, it remained visible for three breaths.
Han Feng's expression changed.
Before it disappeared, a single sensation entered his consciousness.
Not a voice.
Not a message.
A direction.
West.
Han Feng looked toward the approaching storm.
His eyes narrowed.
"So that's where you're pointing."
He continued walking.
Behind him, thunder shook the mountains.
Ahead—
The storm was coming.
And Han Feng had the uneasy feeling that it was not merely a storm in the sky.