Chapter 127

"Wang bro, do you think that old monster will really go search in a place filled with poisonous miasma?" Li Hu shrank his neck, thinking of those legendary dangerous places, his scalp went numb.

【2

Wang Shan glanced at him: "He will. The more we think it's dangerous, the more likely he thinks we'll go." He himself had no idea either—Wan Honghai that old fox, deep‑minded, who knows what he's thinking.

The three moved cautiously through the dense forest, no longer heading southeast but toward a spot marked on the map—a barren mountain ridge rarely visited even by low‑tier demon beasts. Wang Shan's thought was simple: since the obvious routes were blocked, they'd take a desperate path, see if they could carve out a way to survive.

"Huh? Brother Wang, look over there!" Zhang Mei suddenly lowered her voice, pointing to a mountain hollow half‑hidden by vines to the left front.

Wang Shan followed her gaze; the System Map showed no special marking, but the air seemed to faintly ripple with a subtle spiritual energy fluctuation, slightly denser than the surroundings. His heart stirred, he made a silencing gesture to Li Hu and Zhang Mei, then activated the 【Third Tier Concealing Breath Art】 and moved forward soundlessly.

Parting the thick vines, a yawning cave entrance loomed into view. The entrance was small, just enough for one person to bend and enter, but the spiritual energy inside was several times denser than outside, mixed with a faint fishy‑sweet scent.

"Something's off." Wang Shan turned to the two, "You stay outside and keep watch; I'll go in and have a look."

"Brother Wang, be careful!" Li Hu and Zhang Mei exclaimed in unison.

Wang Shan nodded, took out the Moonlight Stone, drew a deep breath, lowered his body, and slipped inside. The cave passage twisted and descended; after walking about several tens of zhang, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

"Hiss——" Even though Wang Shan was well‑informed, he was startled by the sight before him.

This was a huge natural cavern, spanning several mu, its ceiling studded with many glowing strange crystals that lit the entire cavern brightly. In the center lay a pond with rippling blue waves, exuding astonishing spiritual energy. What kept Wang Shan from looking away, however, was that patches of spirit plants of various shapes grew along the pond's edge and the cavern walls, including many rare varieties seen only in classics!

"We've struck it rich! This is practically a natural medicinal garden!" Wang Shan's heart leapt with joy.

"Roar!"

A low, deep roar cut short Wang Shan's joy. Beyond a large stone beside the pond, a massive demon beast slowly rose to its feet. Resembling a fierce tiger, its body was covered in scales like green jade, yet a vertical eye grew in the center of its forehead, flashing a deep golden light as it fixed its gaze unwaveringly on Wang Shan, the unwelcome intruder.

"Third‑tier mid‑stage, Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast!" a system prompt sounded in Wang Shan's mind, and a strong sense of danger surged. This beast's aura far surpassed that of any third‑tier demon beast he had encountered before.

"Goodness, what a big guy!" Wang Shan wasn't startled but delighted, licking his slightly chapped lips. Fortune seeks risk; with so many spirit plants and this third‑tier mid‑stage demon beast, it's practically a delivered bounty of spirit plant points and materials!

The Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast evidently had no such thoughts; it only knew its territory had been invaded by a stranger. Its single eye flashed golden, and a visible golden beam shot straight at Wang Shan!

"So fast!" Wang Shan had been prepared; he shifted his body and narrowly dodged the beam. The beam struck the cavern wall, actually melting the hard rock into a fist‑sized hole, hissing and emitting green smoke.

"Paralyzing beam!" Wang Shan thought luckily; if he'd been hit, he wouldn't die but would lose a layer of skin.

He didn't dare delay, immediately pulling several talismans from his storage bag. A head‑on clash would surely fail—the beast's hide was thick, it was third‑tier mid‑stage, and he was only at the early phase of Body Refinement Ninth Layer; a direct fight would bring no good.

"You beast, come chase your grandpa!" Wang Shan hooked a finger at the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast, turned, and bolted down a narrow side passage. He had noticed upon entering that the cavern had many branching paths, the terrain complex—perfect for his plan.

Seeing its prey about to flee, the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast bellowed, sprang forward on four legs. Though large, its movements were unusually agile; a few leaps quickly closed the distance to Wang Shan.

Wang Shan sprinted desperately ahead, occasionally tossing out one or two low‑tier talismans to harass the beast while his mind raced. The system data had noted that although the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast was powerful, its spiritual intellect wasn't high, making it easy to provoke.

"Here!" Wang Shan slammed on the brakes; ahead lay a dead end, but the ground there had been secretly laden with several 【Third‑Order Explosion Talismans】.

Seeing Wang Shan with no escape, the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast flashed a hint of triumph in its eye and spat a golden beam.

"Just what I was waiting for!" Wang Shan didn't retreat but advanced; his fingertips glowed faintly, and a 【Soul‑Disturbing Rune】 instantly formed, imprinting directly onto the beast's forehead vertical eye!

"Aooo!" the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast felt a sudden headache; its golden beam veered off and struck empty air. Though the Soul‑Disturbing Rune was low‑rank, it specialized in attacking the soul and worked extremely well on such beasts that rely on innate divine abilities.

Seizing the moment, Wang Shan leapt backward and detonated the buried 【Third‑Order Explosion Talismans】!

Boom—

The violent explosion echoed within the cavern, shards of stone flying, smoke and dust filling the air.

"Cough… cough…" Wang Shan's blood and qi surged from the shockwave, but his eyes remained locked on the explosion's center.

As the smoke and dust gradually cleared, the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast lay on the ground, its scales shattered in many places, blood pouring out—especially its abdomen, where a huge rent had been blasted open, clearly unable to live. Yet its golden vertical eye still stared fixedly at Wang Shan, filled with unwillingness and venomous hatred.

Wang Shan exhaled in relief, stepped forward, and without hesitation ended its life. The battle seemed easy, but it was actually fraught with extreme danger; he had nearly used up half of the newly refined 【Third‑Order Explosion Talismans】, and his spiritual power was largely depleted.

"Brother Wang, are you alright?" Li Hu and Zhang Mei, hearing the commotion, crept in cautiously; seeing the demon beast's corpse and the devastated battlefield, they couldn't help but gape.

"I… my goodness! Brother Wang, you… you actually killed this big guy?" Li Hu stammered, eyes full of disbelief. "This is a third‑tier mid‑stage demon beast!"

Wang Shan smiled, gave a weary wave of his hand: "Just luck. Hurry, help tidy up—these spirit plants are all excellent stuff!"

The three sprang into action. Li Hu and Zhang Mei took charge of harvesting the precious spirit plants, while Wang Shan began processing the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast's carcass. Its demon core, hide, claws, and bones were all top‑grade materials.

When Wang Shan split open the beast's chest and abdomen, pulling out a fist‑sized object, wholly jade‑green and exuding a rich life‑force aura—the Spirit Core—the system prompt sounded again:

"【Ding! Special item discovered: Life‑Essence Core (Third Tier), containing vast life essence, usable for refining high‑grade pills or directly absorbing to enhance one's life origin.】"

"Life‑Essence Core?" Wang Shan's eyes lit up; this thing is excellent! Whether used to concoct Foundation Establishment pills or absorbed directly, it would greatly boost his foundation. This trip was worth it!

He carefully stored the Life‑Essence Core, then broke down the other materials one by one. After this busy spell, the Spirit Plant Points in his system surged again, bringing him seemingly a step closer to the peak of the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement.

"Brother Wang, we don't recognize many of these spirit plants, but they feel incredibly powerful!" Zhang Mei exclaimed, clutching a bundle of spirit‑potent herbs.

Li Hu broke into a goofy grin: "We've struck it rich, Brother Wang—this harvest is huge!"

Seeing their excitement, Wang Shan's mood also lifted. Deep in the Man Yun Mountain Range, danger and opportunity truly go hand in hand; every brush with death could bring unexpected rich rewards.

Just as Wang Shan was about to call the two to leave and find a place to rest, his gaze unintentionally swept over a stone wall deep in the cavern. The wall seemed to have been soaked in demon beast blood for years, presenting a dark‑red hue, as if something were carved into it.

"Huh?" Wang Shan approached and examined it closely.

On the stone wall were indeed etched some vague patterns and symbols. The lines were archaic, carrying an ancient, desolate aura; they bore a resemblance to the runes on the 【Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele】 he had previously obtained, and to those on the mysterious Black Jade Slip, yet they seemed even more primordial and intricate.

"Could this… be some kind of inheritance from the Beast Taming Sect?" Wang Shan's heart stirred. Was the Azure‑Eyed Golden‑Pupil Beast guarding this place not merely for the spirit plants? What, then, was this thing on the stone wall?