Chapter 137

"Cough... cough cough!"

Wang Shan snapped his eyes open, a sharp pain gripped his chest, his throat felt like it was blocked by a burning coal. He propped himself against the stone wall and sat up, looking around; this was a narrow, dry cave, its entrance cleverly concealed by vines, letting in a few strands of light.

"Hiss... damn, that's potent." He grimaced, tugging at his internal injuries, pain making him suck in a breath. Spiritual power? His interior was empty as a blank, his meridians like a dried-up riverbed, not a trace of spiritual power could be squeezed out.

He hurriedly checked the system panel; the Spirit Plant Points column's number was glaring—just barely two digits.

"Really, when it rains it pours." Wang Shan gave a bitter smile; with this little savings, trying to exchange for high-grade pills to heal wounds was simply wishful thinking.

"System, any cheaper Return Spring Pills or Nourishing Spirit Pills? First-order is fine; give me a few to hang on to life!"

【First-order Return Spring Pill, 1 Spirit Plant Point per pill. First-order Nourishing Spirit Pill, 1 Spirit Plant Point per pill.】

"Fine, five each!" Even a mosquito-sized bit of meat is better than nothing.

The pills melted on contact, the weak medicinal power dispersing inside his body—better than nothing, but at least it let him catch a breath.

He turned his head to look aside; Wang Zhitao's face was sallow, lips purple, breathing weak but steady. The child's poison hadn't been cleared yet, needed priority. Wang Shan carefully fed him a Return Spring Pill and a Nourishing Spirit Pill, then passed over a trace of the just-recovered weak spiritual power, hoping to suppress the poison.

"Grandfather..." Wang Zhe leaned against the cave wall, clutching the broken jade slip tightly in his hand, eyes red.

"It's fine, grandfather's here." Wang Shan rubbed his head, voice a little hoarse, "How's the situation outside?"

Li Hu poked his head back from the cave entrance, lowering his voice: "Boss, you're finally awake! Outside there's no movement for now; those groups seem to be heading deeper into Ghost Sorrow Cliff, fighting fiercely."

Zhang Mei also came over, expression still stern: "Wan Tianjue's aura is the strongest, then those black-clothed persons; the Red Flame Flying Lizard King's demonic aura is still present, but seems considerably weaker."

Wang Shan pushed himself to his feet, moved his joints a bit, bones cracking with each motion, every movement feeling like countless needles pricking.

"System, the earth vein energy of Ghost Sorrow Cliff is abnormal—just how is it abnormal? Explain it to me." He now needed to scrutinize any factor that could be useful.

【Ghost Sorrow Cliff's earth vein contains a special energy field that affects cultivators' spiritual sense detection range, spiritual power circulation efficiency, talisman activation effects, and array stability to varying degrees. Specific areas may enhance or weaken the power of certain attributes.】

"Oh?" Wang Shan's eyes shifted, "Enhancing or weakening specific attributes? That's interesting. Isn't it saying that in some places, certain talismans become scrap paper, while in others, their effect doubles?"

Damn it, this isn't just a natural battlefield environment controller, is it?

Wang Shan called Li Hu, Zhang Mei, and the two grandsons to his side.

"Listen up," he said, voice low but steady, "you all know the situation. That Wan Tianjue kid got dog‑luck, inherited something, his strength surged; he's probably now sparring with that fourth‑tier beast. Then there's that bunch in black clothes, mysterious and shady, certainly not upstanding folks—likely they're also after the good stuff. As for Old Wan Honghai, who knows when he'll show up. We're like lambs fallen into a wolf den—one slip and we'll be torn apart."

Wang Zhe's face turned pale at the hearing, Wang Zhitao also weakly opened his eyes, a hint of fear in them.

Li Hu scratched his head: "Boss, what do we do? Charge out? With just us, and we're all injured……"

"Charge? With what?" Wang Shan glared at him, "You think those out there are low‑level qi practitioners? Any one of them could crush us!"

He paused, then continued: "So we can't be the exposed rafter. Let them fight first—the fiercer the better, ideally they'd wipe each other out. We'll be the yellow‑warbler hiding behind, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"Mantis stalks cicada, yellow‑warbler behind?" Zhang Mei pondered.

"Exactly!" Wang Shan nodded, "But being that yellow‑warbler isn't easy—you need patience, a venomous gaze, and above all, you must conceal your aura. Whoever moves first may be the one who dies first."

He spoke while unconsciously rubbing the black jade slip he'd gotten from the Wan Family cultivators, hidden in his bosom. This thing had previously resonated with his grandson's spiritual power; now, in Ghost Sorrow Cliff, he felt it had some unclear connection with the local earth vein.

He tried to infuse a trace of weak spiritual power into the black jade slip; it trembled slightly, emitting an extremely faint undulation.

"Huh?" Wang Shan sensed it; this undulation seemed to have a faint resonance with the earth‑vein energy drifting outside the cave. The air around the jade slip seemed to congeal for a moment, as if forming an invisible membrane.

"This thing…… can it draw earth‑vein energy?" Wang Shan was a bit surprised, "Although weak, it seems it can actually form a small‑scale energy barrier? This is truly…… an unexpected delight."

【Notice: The Black Jade Slip of the Beast Taming Sect, when resonating with a specific earth‑vein node of Ghost Sorrow Cliff, has its effect amplified; this jade slip is not only a carrier of inheritance information, but may also serve as a 'key' to open or influence certain special environments here.】

"'Key'?" Wang Shan muttered to himself, "The key to this damned place? Hey, it's getting more interesting. Could it be that this jade slip can help us swagger through Ghost Sorrow Cliff?"

He looked at Li Hu and Zhang Mei: "Alright, we'll lie low here for now. Li Hu, stay alert, watch the cave entrance; any stir, tell me right away. Zhang Mei, first regulate your breath, regain some strength; later you'll switch with Li Hu. Wang Zhe, look after your younger brother, don't let him move about, and keep quiet."

"Understood, grandfather." Wang Zhe nodded firmly.

Wang Shan gazed at the two grandsons, his heart heavy. Purple Monkey Flower must be obtained; otherwise Zhitao's poison and his own Foundation Establishment would have no hope.

He began careful calculations. With his current strength—early stage of the ninth level of Body Refinement, his spiritual power basically nil, the pills and talismans he'd used up in his death‑grip battle with Wan Honghai were mostly gone, and Spirit Plant Points were pitifully few; relying on the system mall to turn the tide was impossible.

Outside was a late‑stage Foundation Establishment Wan Tianjue (possibly stronger), a fourth‑tier demonic beast, a mysterious group of Foundation Establishment black‑clothed persons, and Wan Honghai who could appear at any moment.

Damn, this is practically a dead end!

"Head‑on definitely won't work; my small frame can't withstand even a slap from them." Wang Shan paced back and forth; the cave's space was too cramped, feeling stifled.

"All we can rely on is our wits, my understanding of talismans and pills, and the special environment of Ghost Sorrow Cliff."

"Didn't the system say earth‑vein energy affects talisman arrays? Perhaps…… we could make use of that to write something?"

"And there's that black jade slip—since it's a 'key', maybe we can locate an earth‑vein node and stir up a big commotion. The more chaos, the better for us—muddy water makes fishing easier; if the water isn't muddy, how can we fish?"

Wang Shan's eyes flashed; he had to find a gap among those strong ones, a way to bring the children out safely and secure a path to obtain the Purple Monkey Flower.

"Damn it, I don't believe this evil! Back when I raised several kids alone, what hardship haven't I endured? This scene won't scare me!"

He turned his head to look at the still‑weak Wang Zhitao, then at the worried‑looking Wang Zhe.

"For these two little ones, and for myself, I will surely stir up this Ghost Sorrow Cliff to heaven and earth!"

As for the true cause of the Beast Taming Sect's downfall? If I could also scoop some benefit, or find a way to counter the Wan Family's Ten Thousand Beasts Technique, that would be even better.

He drew a deep breath of air tinged with faint sulfur and earthy stench; this game was already set, he as a pawn had to step forward—now we'll see who ends up laughing last.

"Li Hu, come over, I have something to say……" Wang Shan lowered his voice and began to make arrangements.