Chapter 1605: The Gift of the Great Green Mountains

Han Zhumei failed to notice Li Yan creeping closer. She had closed her eyes to sense her surroundings. She knew that without pills, he would eventually dissipate from his wounds. She stayed near, knowing he wouldn’t risk taking a pill with her so close.

A strange silence returned to the wasteland, broken only by the wind and fog. Suddenly, Han Zhumei’s heart constricted. An overwhelming sense of danger washed over her. She didn’t hesitate and immediately retreated. She trusted her instincts above all else.

But as she moved, a black shadow erupted in front of her like a meteor. The shadow was so fast it seemed to disappear entirely.

“What is this?” Han Zhumei was terrified. She abandoned her stealth and tried to fly away, but the shadow was even faster.

She felt like a giant mountain had crashed into her. With a deafening boom, an agonizing pain surged through her body before her vision went black.

Li Yan’s broken body plowed a long trench into the ground before stopping. He breathed heavily and looked back to see the sky filled with fading motes of light. “Finally dead,” he muttered. He could no longer sense her presence.

He stood up, his body battered. He had finally killed her without using his most guarded secrets. Han Zhumei was deadly, but like all wind-attribute cultivators, she was a glass cannon—all offense and no defense. Li Yan had tried to lure her out twice, but her speed had saved her.

However, once he realized he couldn’t find her with magic, he remembered the hunting lessons from his childhood in the Great Green Mountains. Uncle Guoxin had taught them that when a beast escaped a trap, they used mortal methods—scents and tracking—to find it. Most beasts and demons were more sensitive than humans, so they had to use scents that blended perfectly with the environment.

Li Yan had realized that while the Mountain River Diagram followed its own rules, the plants here looked the same as those in the mortal realm. He had used his Stealthy Night Art to slowly gather wild grass and extract their juice while he was hiding. He only moved when the wind blew to mask his movements.

The result was a success. He had coated himself in a scent that was virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding grass. No matter how clever Han Zhumei was, she never would have expected a powerful cultivator to use a simple mortal hunting trick to get close enough for a killing blow.