Chapter 150: and translation of chapter title

On the outskirts of Ghost Sorrow Cliff, a section of the cliff face had collapsed, rubble piled up, looking utterly unremarkable. Wang Shan pushed aside the hanging vines, and before him it suddenly darkened; a deep cave quietly revealed itself. The airflow at the cave mouth was slightly abnormal; upon careful sensing, it turned out that the earth vein energy here showed a strange disorder, as if several dark currents converged and collided, yet were restrained by some invisible force, only churning within a small area.

"This is the place." A flicker of satisfaction appeared in Wang Shan's eyes. This spot was secluded enough; the disturbance in the earth vein energy could maximally conceal the spiritual power fluctuations when he impacted Foundation Establishment, practically a natural barrier.

He turned to Li Hu and Zhang Mei, who had followed him, and said, "Old Li, Ah Mei, from now on I will retreat here to attempt Foundation Establishment. All outside matters are left to you."

Speaking, he took out several stacks of talismans and a few bottles of medicinal pills, distributing them one by one: "These are third-order defense talismans, swift movement talismans, and pills for healing and restoring spiritual power. Keep them safe. Remember, no matter what sound arises inside the cave, even if the heavens collapse, you must not step inside even half a step, nor let anyone approach—understood?"

Li Hu slapped his chest, his voice deep and gruff, assuring: "Master, you can be a hundred and twenty percent at ease! With Old Li here, not even a person, not even a mouse could sneak in!"

Zhang Mei was more meticulous; she took the talismans and pills, nodded seriously: "You can rest assured in your retreat; we will protect Zhitao and guard the cave mouth."

Wang Shan also looked toward Wang Zhitao, whom Zhang Mei was leading by the hand; the little fellow, though the residual poison had cleared, his body was still weak, and he looked at him somewhat anxiously. Wang Shan forced a smile, rubbed his head, and said, "Zhitao, be good, listen to Uncle Li Hu and Aunt Zhang Mei; Grandfather will be out soon."

After settling everything, Wang Shan hesitated no more, turned and stepped into the depths of the cave. The cave wasn't deep; after about ten zhang he reached the end, the ground relatively dry. He found a flat spot and sat cross-legged.

Not rushing to begin, he first adjusted his breath for half an hour, bringing his essence, energy, and spirit to peak condition. Then he took out a jade box from his storage bag, opened it, and a stalk of grass glowing with purple light all over, emitting a strange fruit fragrance, lay still inside—exactly the Purple Monkey Flower he had painstakingly obtained.

Beside it was also a pill he had previously exchanged for auxiliary Foundation Establishment—the 【Condensed Yuan Obstacle-Breaking Pill】.

"Success or failure hinges on this one attempt." Wang Shan murmured, his eyes grave as never before. He first swallowed the 【Condensed Yuan Obstacle-Breaking Pill】; the medicine dissolved upon entry, turning into a gentle warm current that flowed through his limbs and bones. Immediately after, he plucked a petal of the Purple Monkey Flower and placed it in his mouth.

The Purple Monkey Flower truly is a heaven‑earth treasure; its petal, upon entering his throat, transformed into a stream of spiritual energy even purer and more mighty than the pill, exploding wildly and surging toward his dantian qi sea.

"Rise!" Wang Shan shouted low, formed hand seals, and fully activated the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Myriad Beasts Classic.

In an instant, it felt as if surging torrents were raging inside his body. His normally gentle spiritual power, like a docile sheep, under the stimulus of the Purple Monkey Flower's potency became like an untamed wild horse, violent and unbounded, rushing along specific meridian routes to launch the first probing assault against the intangible yet unbreakable Foundation Establishment barrier.

Boom!

A muffled roar seemed to explode deep within his soul.

【System Prompt: Host has begun impacting Foundation Establishment; bodily function monitoring activated. Current spiritual power surge intensity: medium. Meridian pressure bearing: light. Risk assessment: low.】

Wang Shan ignored the system's prompt, his entire mind immersed in guiding and controlling the inner spiritual power. The Purple Monkey Flower's potency was too fierce; were it not for his ninth‑layer body‑refining robust physique, this first wave alone would likely sever the meridians of an ordinary Qi‑peak cultivator.

Even so, he also felt waves of tearing‑like stabbing pain in his meridians.

"Again!" Wang Shan gritted his teeth, guiding a second, even more turbulent wave of spiritual power, condensing it into a piercing thrust that slammed hard against that layer of barrier.

Bang!

The barrier remained unmoved; instead, his own qi and blood surged in a wave, his throat tinged with sweetness.

【System Prompt: Spiritual power impact intensity: high. The first and third main meridians show slight signs of damage; meridian pressure bearing: moderate. Sea of consciousness shows slight tremor. Risk assessment: medium. Suggest the host adjust the rhythm of spiritual power operation, temporarily ease the impact intensity, and prioritize repairing the damaged meridians.】

"Can't worry about that!" Wang Shan roared inwardly. He could sense that something outside seemed to be stirring, an inexplicable sense of danger wrapped around his heart, urging him to hurry, hurry even more!

At this moment, far in the Core Area of Ghost Sorrow Cliff, a battlefield lay in utter chaos.

Wan Tianjue's face was ashen, a trace of blood still at the corner of his mouth; he looked at the equally unstable Black‑clad Leader opposite him and said in a cold voice, "Sir, we've been played! That Purple Monkey Flower must have been snatched by that 'Dan Fu Fierce Old' amidst the chaos!"

The Black‑clad Leader's hoarse voice carried a hint of shock and anger: "That old scoundrel… his familiarity with Ghost Sorrow Cliff far exceeds what you or I imagined! He not only took the flower, but likely also carried away something more important!"

Wan Tianjue's eyes flared with killing intent: "Pass my order—Wan family descendants, all‑out search for Wang Shan this scoundrel! Alive, we want the body; dead, we want the corpse! If necessary, mobilize every force we can; even if we have to turn the Man Yun Mountain Range upside down, we will drag him out!"

The Black‑clad Leader also ordered his subordinates: "Target the 'Dan Fu Fierce Old', spare no expense to find him! He possesses what the 'Master' needs!"

The two massive forces, because of their shared "enemy" Wang Shan, temporarily suppressed their mutual conflict, like two invisible great nets, began to slowly close in on the direction where Wang Shan might be hiding.

In the cave, Wang Shan vaguely sensed this, but at this moment he was already at the point of no return, having to launch.

"System, is there any way to speed up or increase the success rate?" He endured the intense pain, asking inwardly.

【Ding! Detected that the host's Foundation Establishment resolve is firm. Consume 5000 Spirit Plant Points to purchase the 【Foundation Establishment Assistance Plan (Optimized Version)】, which can boost the success rate by fifteen percent and provide three instances of key‑node spiritual power guidance assistance.】

"Five thousand points? Why don't you go rob someone!" Wang Shan almost cursed, but preserving his life was urgent; this fifteen percent boost, plus three key assists, was a lifeline at a critical moment! "Exchange!"

【Exchange successful, deducted 5000 Spirit Plant Points. Optimization plan activated, first‑stage spiritual power sorting and guidance begins……】

A stream of cool qi flowed from the system into Wang Shan's body, instantly easing his frenzy‑about‑to‑burst meridians a little; the originally rampant spiritual power, like a wild horse, was also skillfully guided by a gentle force—the assault's momentum remained fierce, yet wasted loss diminished and precision increased.

Even so, the pain persisted.

Wang Shan's muscles bulged all over, veins like earthworms throbbing beneath his skin, sweat had soaked his clothes, pooling a small puddle beneath him. His face twisted from extreme pain, his gums bitten until they bled.

That Foundation Establishment bottleneck seemed like an ancient impregnable pass, unbreakable.

One time, two times, ten times, a hundred times……

Each impact felt like using his own flesh and blood to strike a bronze wall and iron wall, bringing boundless agony and fierce backlash. Wang Shan's consciousness blurred in waves amid the excruciating pain, his sea of consciousness churned, as if it might be torn apart at any moment.

Outside the cave, Li Hu and Zhang Mei stood grim‑faced on either side of the entrance. They could hear no sound from within, because before his retreat Wang Shan had set up sound‑proofing and defensive formations on the inner side of the mouth. Yet they could feel the spiritual power fluctuations faintly transmitting from deep inside the cave—heart‑pounding, now violent, now calm—each fluctuation tugging at their hearts.

Zhitao was shielded behind Zhang Mei, his little face tense with worry as he gazed toward the cave mouth.

"Ah Mei, do you think… Old Sir he… can make it?" Li Hu, a bit restless, rubbed his hands and asked quietly. The difficulty of Foundation Establishment, though he had never experienced it himself, he had heard countless legends; even nine deaths to one life was considered light.

Zhang Mei gazed firmly into the depths of the cave, her tone steady: "Old Sir is no ordinary man; he will surely succeed." She gripped her longbow tightly, a few specially made armor‑piercing arrows nocked on the string, ready for any sudden situation.

Following Wang Shan's instructions, they laid multiple layers of warning talisman formations around the cave mouth and released several domesticated low‑grade demon beasts as dark sentries, scattered among the surrounding woods.

Time trickled by; for Wang Shan inside the cave, each breath felt as long as an age.

His spiritual power was consumed enormously in each impact, and the potency of the Purple Monkey Flower showed signs of depletion. Yet the barrier remained towering, as solid as at the start, not even a hairline crack appearing.

"Could it be… that I, Wang Shan, am truly destined to stop here today?" A deep sense of helplessness welled up. He thought of his grandson Zhitao, of Li Hu and Zhang Mei, of the Wan family's pursuit, of the terrifying force behind the mysterious black‑clad figures, and of that black jade slip entwined with the Beast Taming Sect's earth‑shaking secret…

No! He cannot lose!

To lose would mean eternal ruin! Not only himself, but everyone he cares about nearby would plunge into the abyss!

"Ah——!" Wang Shan unleashed a roar stifled deep in his throat, born from the deepest resentment and defiance of his soul.

【Warning! Host's vital signs plummeting! Spiritual power core showing signs of collapse! Meridians suffering massive damage! Sea of consciousness on the verge of shattering! Advise immediate cessation of Foundation Establishment!】 The system's icy alert blared frenziedly in his mind.

"Shut up!" Wang Shan roared in his mind, "It's not over yet—what's this talk of giving up!"

He bit his tongue hard; the sharp pain cleared his muddled consciousness for an instant. He mobilized the last trace of lingering spiritual power within his body, no longer a frantic assault but transformed into a gentle trickle—soft yet endowed with unyielding will—seeping in bit by bit, wearing away the barrier bit by bit.

【System Assistance: Second‑stage spiritual power guidance activated…… Third‑stage spiritual power guidance activated……】

Two successive streams of coolness flowed in, like long drought meeting sweet rain, infusing Wang Shan's exhausted spiritual sea with new vitality, repairing his shattered meridians.

He could feel that the unbreakable barrier, under the relentless "water dripping wears away stone," seemed…… to have finally gained a barely perceptible loosening!

Now!

Wang Shan poured all his will, all his belief, all his hope into this final strike! He could even hear his own bones groaning, his meridians wailing, his soul and spirit trembling.

Life and death hanging by a thread!

Success, then leap the dragon gate, be reborn, and have the confidence to contend with Foundation Establishment experts; failure, then body dies and Dao disappears, all plans and hopes will turn to nothing!

"Give me...... break!"

All of his essence, qi, and spirit gathered upon this all-or-nothing strike. His consciousness seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, upward, upward, piercing layer after layer of obstacles...... Then, before his eyes, it seemed as if billions of rays of light exploded, and the world turned into a blank whiteness.