Chapter 121: A Brief Respite

Inside the Dark River Cave, the water murmurs, echoing through the spacious cavern, oddly bringing a touch of peace.

"Brother Wang, this place… is really hidden enough." Li Hu wiped the water droplets from his face and looked around. Strange stalactites hung from the ceiling, their surfaces lit by the Moonlight Stone's glow, casting mottled, jagged shadows.

Zhang Mei also nodded, her voice carrying a hint of relaxed fatigue: "Yeah, it's much better than that crevice before—at least it's more spacious, and the spiritual energy seems… denser?"

Wang Shan hummed, carefully inspected the cave entrance, then made another circuit inside, confirming no immediate danger. "The spiritual energy here is indeed better than outside, suitable for recuperation." He chose a relatively dry, flat stone platform and gestured for the two to sit.

After days of fleeing, nerves constantly taut, they could finally exhale a little; Li Hu and Zhang Mei almost instantly relaxed their bodies.

Wang Shan, however, did not rest right away; he sat cross‑legged, his mind sinking into the system.

"System, retrieve the loot."

During the earlier fierce battle in Zang Long Abyss, amid the chaos he killed several Wan Family Cultivators, whose storage bags could not be ignored. Also the demonic beasts he killed with the Soul-Disturbing Rune, and a few demonic beast corpses he opportunistically seized before leaping into the river.

【Ding! Recovered three Wan Family Cultivators' storage bags, containing 321 Lower Grade spirit stones and various First‑order and Second‑tier materials… assessed value grants 780 Spirit Plant Points.】

【Ding! Recovered one Second‑tier later‑stage Swiftwind Wolf King corpse (tattered), gaining 35 Spirit Plant Points. Recovered two Second‑tier mid‑stage demonic beast corpses, gaining 42 Spirit Plant Points…】

All together, the Spirit Plant Points added up to nearly a thousand. Wang Shan looked at the numbers on the system interface, feeling a bit reassured. Spirit Plant Points are the backbone, especially in the peril‑filled Man Yun Mountain Range.

"Brother Wang, this time… we owe it to you." Li Hu stared at Wang Shan, his eyes full of admiration and lingering fear, "If it weren't for you, the two of us… sigh."

Zhang Mei also whispered, "Brother Wang, thank you."

Wang Shan waved his hand, "Don't talk about that now; Wan Tianjue that old bastard won't give up easily. We need to boost our strength quickly."

He opened the system exchange list, his gaze landing on the pill section. Body Refinement, Ninth Stage, Early Phase was still too low. Wan Tianjue that old brute, once severely wounded, will surely become even more ferocious.

【Second-tier Essence Spirit Pill formula: stabilizes and enhances later‑stage Body Refining, price 150 Spirit Plant Points.】

【Refining Material Pack (Essence Spirit Pill): price 80 Spirit Plant Points per batch.】

"Exchange the formula, and add five more material packs."

【Ding! Exchange successful, deducted 550 Spirit Plant Points.】

The formula and materials instantly appeared in the system space. Wang Shan took out a simple alchemy furnace, a cheap one he had bought before, which was just adequate for refining Second‑tier pills.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei watched curiously as Wang Shan retrieved various herbs, skillfully tossing them into the furnace; under the drive of Spiritual Power, flames quickly rose from the furnace bottom.

"Brother Wang, you can also refine pills?" Li Hu's eyes widened. Their own Brother Wang knows so many things—runes, arrays, and now even alchemy?

Wang Shan didn't look up, focusing on the heat: "A little understanding, learned it before."

He said it lightly, but Zhang Mei noticed fine beads of sweat seeping from Wang Shan's temples, clearly not at ease.

An hour later, a faint medicinal aroma drifted from the furnace. Wang Shan extinguished the flame, opened the lid, and inside lay three dragon‑eye‑sized pills, quietly gleaming with a lustrous sheen.

"Done!" Li Hu couldn't help but shout.

"Lucky, three came out." Wang Shan carefully stored the pills and continued refining. With the first experience, the subsequent batches went much smoother, and he eventually refined thirteen Second‑tier Essence Spirit Pills.

He first swallowed one himself; the pill melted on contact, a gentle medicinal force spreading through his limbs and bones. Wang Shan immediately activated his technique, guiding the drug's power to strike his bottleneck and solidify his cultivation.

Half a day later, Wang Shan opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance in his pupils. The Ninth Stage, Early Phase of Body Refinement was completely stabilized, with a faint trend toward advancing to the mid‑stage.

"Huh…" He exhaled a puff of foul air, feeling his body brimming with power.

"Besides pills, runes are also indispensable." Wang Shan glanced again at the system list.

【Second-tier Defense Talisman Diagram: price 100 Spirit Plant Points.】

【Second-tier Swift Movement Talisman Diagram: price 100 Spirit Plant Points.】

"Both exchanged." In a flight for survival, these two are hard currency.

Another few hundred Spirit Plant Points vanished, yet Wang Shan felt no sting. He took out blank talisman paper and a talisman brush, beginning to draw. His deeper grasp of runes now made crafting Second‑tier talismans much smoother.

Soon, over a dozen Second‑tier Defense Talismans and Second‑tier Swift Movement Talismans were completed.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei watched from the side, already unperturbed—or rather, numb. Wang Shan's endless tactics had already reshaped their perception.

"Brother Wang, we…" Li Hu looked at Wang Shan, then at himself, feeling a bit embarrassed. The sibling pair seemed always to be lagging behind.

Wang Shan gave them a glance and said, "Don't just idle. The previous battles were also a grind for you. Li Hu, how do you feel now?"

Li Hu sensed it and exclaimed with surprise, "Brother Wang, I think… I think I've reached Body Refinement Seventh Layer!" After successive battles, plus Wang Shan's occasional guidance and ample pills, his advancement surged.

Zhang Mei whispered, "I… I think I'm also close to Body Refinement Sixth Layer."

"Not bad." Wang Shan nodded, "Pressure creates motivation. These pills and talismans, you'll have them too." He handed them a few First‑order healing and Spiritual Power‑restoring pills, as well as several First‑order talismans, and gave each a Second‑tier Essence Spirit Pill.

"This… this is too valuable!" Li Hu quickly waved his hand. Second‑tier pills—he'd never even dared to imagine them before.

"Take them." Wang Shan left no room for doubt, "If your strength increases even a bit, our chance of survival rises likewise. Don't be polite."

The siblings exchanged a glance and finally accepted them, their hearts full of gratitude.

"Brother Wang, what do we do next? Keep heading deeper into the mountain range?" Zhang Mei asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

Wang Shan pondered briefly, "Wan Tianjue will definitely block the exit of Zang Long Abyss, maybe even scour along the Dark River. We'll rest here for now to regain strength. But we can't hide forever."

He looked toward the cave's depths, where darkness still reigned and the water's sound grew even more profound.

"The Man Yun Mountain Range—danger is danger, but opportunities are plenty," Wang Shan said slowly, "High‑tier demonic beasts, Wan Family pursuers… from another angle, these are all ways for us to acquire resources. It depends on how we use them."

Li Hu listened, startled, "Brother Wang, you mean… we should actively go after them?"

"No," Wang Shan shook his head, "we look for isolated ones, or valuable targets. For example, Third Tier Demonic Beasts."

"Third Tier Demonic Beast?!" Li Hu and Zhang Mei were both shocked. Those are beings comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"The three of us together, plus talismans and my methods, might just make a dent." Wang Shan's gaze was calm, "High risk yields high reward. We need higher‑grade materials and more Spirit Plant Points."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, Wan Tianjue that old brute won't give us much breathing room. We must boost our strength as much as possible before he finds us."

The cave fell silent for a moment, only the sound of flowing water remaining.

Wang Shan shifted his focus back to the system space, beginning a careful inspection of the loot taken from the Wan Family Cultivators' storage bags. Aside from spirit stones and some common materials, most were just junk.

"Hmm?" Amid the fragments, Wang Shan picked up a palm‑sized Black Jade Slip. The slip felt icy cold, its surface covered with intricate, dense runes, exuding an ancient, desolate aura.

He tried to probe with his Spiritual Sense, but an invisible force blocked him.

"System, scan this slip."

【Ding! Detected unknown slip, containing incomplete Beast Taming Sect rune data… attempting to decode…】

Warning! The information in the jade slip is related to the Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele that the Zhuren already possesses, but the rune system is far older and more complex, and it contains a Seal; the system cannot fully parse it at present. Preliminary judgment suggests it may involve a branch of the Beast Taming Sect's Core Inheritance or an even earlier form.

Wang Shan felt his heart thump.

A branch of the Beast Taming Sect's Core Inheritance? An earlier form?

This jade slip actually has such a huge background!

He recalled the vague patterns Wan Tianjue discovered under the cliff and the System Prompt about that place, which seemed to be an Ancient Yushou Sect ruin. Could this jade slip be connected to there?

That old guy Wan Tianjue—does he know the true value of this jade slip? It looks like he probably doesn't, otherwise he wouldn't have casually tossed it into some ordinary disciple's storage bag.

Truly… after searching everywhere, to obtain it without any effort?

Wang Shan rubbed the jade slip; this thing is still not fully understood for now, but it is undeniably a huge surprise.

It seems the chase with the Wan family is far from over. And the secrets hidden in the Man Yun Mountain Range are far more than he imagined.

He glanced at Li Hu and Zhang Mei, who were still struggling to digest the pill's potency, and a new calculation formed in his mind.