Chapter 159: Bloodline Resonance

"Ka—crack!"

A crisp sound like ice cracking rang beside Wan Honghai and the Black-clad Leader, exploding in their ears, so pleasant to hear.

The ancient seal, so resilient that it troubled them both, finally filled with spiderweb-like cracks under the two's relentless bombardment, and its light completely dimmed.

"Hahaha! It's broken! Finally broken!" Wan Honghai roared with a feral, greedy grin. He hastily withdrew his fist, ready to be the first to rush in and shred the old dog who dared to defy the Wan family's authority into pieces.

The Black-clad Leader said nothing, silently stepping back half a pace; his gaze beneath the cloak pierced the collapsing Light Screen of the seal, locking firmly on Wang Zhize in the corner and the Black Jade Slip.

In his view, Wang Shan was already a trapped turtle; whether dead or alive, whether his Foundation Establishment succeeded or failed, none mattered. What mattered was that the "key" was about to be in his grasp.

And at the moment this final barrier was about to dissolve completely into a Light Spot—

Deep within the cave, in Wang Shan's mental realm, the Foundation Establishment Barrier that stretched before him like a celestial trench also let out an earth‑shaking roar under the impact of his life‑risking, mad will!

"Boom!"

It wasn't a mere breach; the entire barrier was utterly smashed and crushed by his concentrated Spiritual Power torrent, tearing it down like rotten wood.

An unprecedented wave of exhilaration spread through his whole body.

The previously chaotic, gaseous Spiritual Power, at the instant it broke through the barrier, seemed to undergo masterful refinement and tempering, rapidly condensing and shrinking into droplets of viscous, radiant golden liquid that flowed into the Dantian Qi Sea.

Spiritual Power liquid!

This is the fundamental sign of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

It's achieved!

Yet before Wang Shan could savor the joy of surviving the tribulation, a mutation rebirthed!

At the moment his Foundation Establishment succeeded, the surging Spiritual Power within him acted like a key, fully opening a door he had never before reached.

"Hum—!"

A strange resonance, without warning, sprang up among him, the Black Jade Slip cradled by Wang Zhize in the corner, and the ancient Altar deep within the cave.

"Ah!"

Wang Shan let out a muffled hum, feeling his soul yanked violently from his body by an irresistible force, thrust into a torrent of blood‑red.

Countless chaotic, shattered scenes filled with pain and despair flooded his mind like a breached dam, surging wildly.

It was a sect of such staggering grandeur that countless spirit mountains floated in the sky, celestial cranes sang in unison, and spirit beasts galloped.

But in an instant, the vision was overtaken by blood.

He "saw" a spirited sect disciple proudly riding a majestic flaming lion; the next moment, the beast's eyes turned blood‑red, it turned without warning and snapped his neck in one bite!

He "saw" a gentle female cultivator grooming a spirit fox she cherished like a child; the fox suddenly lunged, its claws piercing her heart, its face bearing a bizarre, human‑like grin!

He "saw" tens of thousands of disciples being counter‑devoured by their trusted contract spirit beasts; within the sect, blood ran like rivers, wails echoed everywhere. Former comrades turned into the fiercest foes, slaughtering each other, a living hell.

"Ten Thousand Beasts devour the master… this is… the Beast Taming Sect's end…"

A bleak, remorseful voice echoed deep within his sea of consciousness.

"Forbidden Secret Art… is still Forbidden Secret Art… human hearts are inscrutable, beast nature even more so… drawing beast nature into the body to strengthen oneself will ultimately be devoured by that beast nature, turning one into a monster neither human nor beast… I was wrong… I was wrong!"

Monster?

Wang Shan suddenly saw a scene: an elder who had practiced Forbidden Secret Art, not dying instantly from the Counter‑Devouring, his body began to warp and mutate, scales sprouting on his skin, fangs emerging from his mouth, his reason drowned in maddening beast nature amid wails, eventually becoming a creature that knows only killing!

This… isn't this exactly Wan Tianjue's final form?!

A startling thought exploded in Wang Shan's mind.

The Wan family's Ten Thousand Beast Method!

So that's it! So that's it! The Wan family's technique is merely a fragment ripped from the Beast Taming Sect's Forbidden Secret Arts! They have no clue about its core and pitfalls, and may even have wrongly altered it in pursuit of quick results!

No wonder Wan Tianjue's power suddenly surged; it wasn't some secret technique at all, but a premature life‑borrow that willingly courted the Counter‑Devouring!

The Wan family… all of them are on a path toward self‑destruction!

And I, because of this complete inheritance, have foreseen it all ahead of time!

Simultaneously, as these memory fragments poured in, several obscure yet powerful techniques were forcibly imprinted into his mind.

Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal!

Soul Thorn!

Blood Contract Rebirth!

…

All of them are the Beast Taming Sect's bottom‑drawer Forbidden Secret Arts, astonishingly powerful yet bearing a clear warning. Behind each technique seems a predatory beast waiting to choose a victim.

He could even distinctly feel that merely receiving this information added a faint, almost imperceptible chill to his Meridians, that was the inheritance's slight Counter‑Devouring.

Damn it… it really wasn't a free lunch.

But now is not the time to think about this.

…

"Hahaha, Wang Shan old dog, crawl out and meet your death!"

Outside the cave, Wan Honghai kicked away the last speck of the seal's Light Spot, swaggering in, his eyes immediately landing on Li Hu and Zhang Mei standing in the pool of blood.

"Tsk tsk, two loyal trashes."

He spat contemptuously, then his gaze was drawn to the trembling Wang Zhize in the corner.

No, it was the Black Jade Slip that Wang Zhize clutched tightly in his arms that caught his eye.

"Goodie! It belongs to me!"

Wan Honghai's greed swelled, paying no heed to the two half‑dead Body Refining practitioners and the two bratty kids; with a flick, he lunged toward Wang Zhize.

The Black-clad Leader followed closely, his target also the Jade Slip, but he was more cautious than Wan Honghai.

Because he sensed that the Spiritual Energy Fluctuation deep in the cave, just after breaking through the Foundation Establishment stage, was not unstable at all; instead it settled and condensed at an astonishing speed, becoming as deep as the sea and eerily tranquil.

When things go awry, a monster follows.

Just as Wan Honghai's hand was about to touch Wang Zhize's sleeve.

In the deepest part of the cave, a pair of eyes suddenly opened.

In those eyes, there was no longer the struggle and pain of before, nor the wild ecstasy of a breakthrough—only a deathly still coldness, and beneath that coldness, a towering fury sufficient to burn everything to ash!

He could sense Li Hu's breath, fainter than a candle guttering in the wind.

He could sense Zhang Mei's dying state, her heart's blood utterly spent.

He could sense his eldest grandson Wang Zhitao's painful groans in unconsciousness.

He could sense even more keenly his youngest grandson Wang Zhize's fear and despair from the depths of his soul.

And the source of all this was those two uninvited intruders.

Foundation Establishment successful, the inheritance's secrets revealed—he, Wang Shan, was reborn from the ashes.

Now, he had enough power.

To protect his family.

To… exact a blood debt!