Chapter 131: Blood‑Soaked Reunion

Wang Shan's gaze was solemn, following the artificially cut marks downstream. The Dark River wound, its water sound echoed in the cramped space, unusually clear.

Li Hu held a torch, leading the way, axe never leaving his hand, vigilantly scanning the shadows. Zhang Mei clutched several Talismans, staying behind Li Hu, occasionally turning to glance at Wang Shan at the rear of the hall.

"Brother Wang, this place is really sinister, those pits and hollows look like they're for something to crawl through." Li Hu lowered his voice, the firelight reflecting his slightly pallid face.

"Be careful, don't be careless." Wang Shan replied, the detection of the Third-tier Spirit-Detecting Talisman growing clearer; the grandchildren's aura was not far ahead, but the demon‑beast aura intermingled was also intensifying, even making his heart flutter.

"Grandpa… Grandpa…"

Suddenly, a faint, almost completely drowned by the water sound, call came intermittently from a side tunnel deeper ahead.

Wang Shan shivered all over; that voice, he knew it too well! It was Zhizao!

"Zhizao!" Wang Shan could no longer hold back, his form flashed, leapt over Li Hu and Zhang Mei, and rushed toward the source of the voice.

"Brother Wang!" Li Hu and Zhang Mei were startled, and hurried to follow.

After passing a narrow rocky passage, the view opened to a massive underground Cave. In the center of the Cave, a weak Spiritual Energy Light Dome trembled on the verge of collapse; within the dome, two thin figures huddled together—Wang Zhizao and Wang Zhitao!

At this moment, they were ragged, covered in wounds, faces as pale as paper, clearly at the brink of exhaustion. Outside the dome, seven or eight jet‑black creatures, resembling huge earthworms but with snarling mouths and short sharp claws, continuously spewed ink‑green slime that corroded the already dim Spiritual Energy Light Dome. Each slime jet made the dome shake violently, and cracks multiplied.

"Corrosive Earth Dragon!" Wang Shan instantly recognized the beasts' origin, his heart ignited with rage and killing intent. These mutated underground demon beasts were the toughest to deal with; their slime was highly corrosive, even staining Magic Artifacts.

"Young master!" Li Hu and Zhang Mei also saw the scene inside the Cave and exclaimed in unison.

"Grandpa!" Wang Zhizao seemed to sense something too, laboriously lifted his head, saw Wang Shan at the Cave entrance, and his eyes burst with disbelief, then turned to tears of grievance and despair, "Grandpa, you finally came… Tao'er… he's about to die…"

"Looking for death!" Wang Shan's eyes turned crimson, the aura of Body Refinement, Ninth Stage, Early Phase erupted without reservation, his form like lightning, charging straight at the Corrosive Earth Dragon nearest the dome.

The Corrosive Earth Dragon apparently did not expect an enemy to appear suddenly, hesitated briefly, then was struck hard by Wang Shan's Thunder Rush Palm!

Boom!

Amid the muffled roar, the Corrosive Earth Dragon, comparable to a Second-tier Apex, didn't even have time to scream before the violent thunder‑type Spiritual Power blasted it into charcoal!

Ssss! The remaining Corrosive Earth Dragons, startled by the sudden turn of events, turned their heads, their snarling mouths aimed at Wang Shan, emitting threatening hisses.

"Brother, I'm coming!" Li Hu shouted, brandishing the Kaishan Axe, slashing a Corrosive Earth Dragon's head. Zhang Mei reacted swiftly, several Fireball Talismans flew from her hand, striking the beast horde.

"Watch their slime!" Wang Shan warned loudly, and with a flick of his wrist, several Third-Order Explosion Talismans activated, flung violently toward the densest part of the beasts.

Rumble!

The fierce explosions echoed through the Cave, stones shattered, flames surged skyward. Several Corrosive Earth Dragons were blown to a blood‑and‑flesh mush, yet these creatures possessed extremely tenacious life force; unless a vital point was hit, they still roared and surged forward.

One of them, noticeably larger than the others and exuding a stronger aura, was clearly the leader of this group of Corrosive Earth Dragons; it opened its massive gaping maw, and a thick ink‑green slime shot toward Wang Shan's face like an arrow.

Wang Shan had already prepared; he planted his foot, twisted his body oddly, and narrowly evaded the slime. The slime hit the rock wall, instantly emitting a "Sizzle" of corrosive sound and rising white smoke.

Good fellow, that's poisonous! Wang Shan muttered, not daring to slack. He realized that although these Corrosive Earth Dragons were physically robust, their spiritual intelligence seemed low.

In an instant of thought, he pulled a Soul-Disturbing Rune from his storage bag, infused it with Spiritual Power; the rune glowed instantly, forming an invisible wave that spread outward.

The few Corrosive Earth Dragons that were about to attack again froze abruptly, a flash of bewilderment in their eyes, and their movements slowed.

Perfect opportunity! Wang Shan's eyes brightened, the power of Body Refinement, Ninth Stage, Early Phase fully erupted, thunder light flashing on his palms, Thunder Rush Palm struck in succession, each palm precisely imprinting on a Corrosive Earth Dragon's head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a series of muffled thuds, three more Corrosive Earth Dragons fell dead on the spot.

Li Hu fought fiercely as well; his Kaishan Axe swung with great force, each slash leaving a deep, bone‑visible wound on a dragon, spraying ink‑green blood. Zhang Mei, using her agile movements, kept circling, harassing and finishing with Talismans and poisoned arrows.

The Corrosive Earth Dragon leader seemed to have higher resistance to the Soul-Disturbing Rune, only lagging slightly before recovering; seeing its subordinates die one after another, it let out an angry roar, abandoned Wang Shan, and lunged toward the seemingly easier target, Li Hu.

"Old Li, be careful!" Wang Shan saw this and immediately gave support.

Li Hu was tangled with a dragon; seeing the leader charge, a foul wind hit his face, his heart tightened, yet he did not retreat, instead let out a roar and blocked with his axe horizontally.

Clang!

A massive force surged, Li Hu felt his arms numb, his body was knocked back repeatedly, blood surged.

At this critical moment, Wang Shan arrived in time, slapping the side waist of the Earth Dragon Leader with a palm. He used full strength; thunder light exploded, sending the leader flying sideways, crashing heavily against the rock wall with a mournful screech.

Wang Shan seized the chance, surged forward, his palms fell like raindrops on the Earth Dragon Leader, each strike imbued with raging thunder‑type Spiritual Power.

Die!

With the final palm, Wang Shan pressed his hand onto the leader's Celestial Spirit Cover, Spiritual Power surged wildly!

Pop!

The leader's head burst open like a watermelon, ink‑green fluid splashed all over Wang Shan.

With the leader dead, the remaining Corrosive Earth Dragons instantly lost formation, emitting uneasy hisses, unwilling to advance further.

Wang Shan timed it right, tossed a few more Explosion Talismans, coordinated with Li Hu and Zhang Mei's attacks, and soon slashed all the remaining Corrosive Earth Dragons.

The entire Cave was filled with a strong scent of blood and char, Wang Shan's body was coated in the beasts' filthy blood, he gasped heavily, Spiritual Power consumption enormous.

He could not bother to regulate his breath, and rushed at the wobbling Spiritual Energy Light Dome at once.

"Zhizao! Tao'er!" Wang Shan's voice was hoarse, he waved his hand lightly, and the dome responded by dispersing.

"Grandpa…" Wang Zhizao saw Wang Shan, could no longer hold on, let out a wailing cry, clutched Wang Shan's thigh, "Grandpa, you finally came… sob sob… I'm so scared… Tao'er… he was bitten by that monster while trying to save me…"

Only then did Wang Shan see that Wang Zhitao's right leg was a mass of blood‑soaked flesh, a deep wound exposing bone constantly oozing black blood, clearly poisoned by the Corrosive Earth Dragon's toxin; his face was pallid beyond any hue, his aura barely existent.

"Tao'er!" Wang Shan's heart twisted like a knife, he quickly knelt, took two Three-Tier Healing Pills from his storage bag, placed one in Wang Zhitao's mouth and one for Wang Zhizao.

He then extended his trembling hand, slowly channeling pure Spiritual Power into the two grandchildren, nourishing their damaged Meridians.

"Grandpa…" Wang Zhizao swallowed the pill, his spirit improved slightly but remained extremely weak; he clutched Wang Shan's hand, speaking haltingly, "We… we were being hunted… fled here… they… they seem to be looking for… Ghost Sorrow Cliff… and… Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele…"

Before he could finish, Wang Zhizao could no longer hold on, his head tilted, and he fell unconscious.

Wang Zhitao only flickered his eyelids when the pill entered his mouth, then fell into a deep coma.

"Ghost Sorrow Cliff? Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele?" Wang Shan's heart tightened; those words were not unfamiliar! Ghost Sorrow Cliff was where he originally planned to search for the Purple Monkey Flower, and the Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele was closely linked to that Black Jade Slip and the Beast Taming Sect Inheritance!

Could the grandchildren's disappearance really be connected to these? Who was hunting them? the Wan family? or other forces coveting the Beast Taming Sect Inheritance?

A series of questions surged in his mind.

"Brother Wang, how are the young masters?" Li Hu and Zhang Mei also came over, faces full of worry.

"They're stable for now, but badly wounded, especially Tao'er, who's been poisoned." Wang Shan looked at the two lifeless, fate‑unknown grandchildren, feeling both the joy of reunion and a painful dread. Had he arrived any later, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

He carefully lifted the two grandsons, feeling their faint breaths, and an indescribable fatigue washed over him.

"This place is not suitable for staying long; we must leave as soon as possible." Wang Shan glanced at the ground littered with monster beast corpses and the wrecked Cave, his gaze heavy with solemnity. He knew that rescuing the grandsons was only the first step; what lay ahead might be an even more complex and dangerous situation.

The Wan family's pursuers, the mysterious Yushou Sect Inheritance, and the Ghost Sorrow Cliff and Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele mentioned by the grandsons, all are like an invisible great net tightening around them.