Chapter 162: A Name That Echoes Through Man Yun, Detering All Forces

A flash of yellow light and a wisp of black fog, like two rabbits startled by a hunter, fled recklessly from the direction of Ghost Sorrow Cliff, scrambling awkwardly through the forest.

Puff!

He flew over ten miles, and Wan Honghai could no longer contain his injuries; a spray of black blood mixed with shredded organs erupted, and his whole body fell from midair like a torn sack, snapping several thick branches.

He struggled to brace against a large tree; any trace of a Late Foundation Great Perfection master's bearing was gone from his face, leaving only the pallor of a near‑death survivor and bone‑deep terror.

"Cough… that old thing… what exactly is the evil technique he's using?" Wan Honghai's voice was hoarse, as if a handful of sand were lodged in his throat.

The black fog dissipated, and the Black-clad Leader revealed his form; his condition was slightly better, but the aura beneath his cloak was equally chaotic. He gave no answer, merely watching Wan Honghai silently, his eyes heavy with gravity.

"Speak!" Wan Honghai growled, losing control, "He gave a single palm strike—just one palm! My hundred‑year diligent cultivation of the Ten Thousand Beast Method has become a death‑summoning talisman! Why? The Beast Taming Sect's forbidden art—how could he possibly wield it? And he wielded it so… so smoothly!"

The Black-clad Leader finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "He isn't merely 'using' it; he is the 'master' of that technique. We were all wrong—the jade slip may be a key, but he himself is the Living Blueprint of that treasury."

"Living Blueprint?" Wan Honghai was stunned.

"We should return. This matter has already exceeded our sphere of control." The Black-clad Leader said no more, turned to leave, "Family Head, take care of yourself. That Wang Shan, from the moment you sent men to kill his grandson, has already become the Wan family's mortal enemy—unstoppable."

Wan Honghai watched his departing back, then lowered his head to examine his trembling hands; the tearing agony in his meridians still lingered. Bitterness and fear intertwined in his eyes, finally erupting into a resentful howl that echoed through the silent forest.

……

News sometimes travels faster than a cultivator's flying sword.

Especially those earth‑shaking revelations that overturn everyone's understanding.

Three days later, the largest gathering place for free cultivators in the Man Yun Mountain Range, Black Stone Town.

In the bustling Wind‑Sniffing Teahouse of the town, today was livelier than the New Year.

"Did you hear? That one at Ghost Sorrow Cliff has established a Foundation!" a burly man with a full beard slapped the table, splashing tea.

"Old Huang, this news spread three days ago, and you're just hearing it? Let me give you an update!" a skinny, sharp‑faced fellow lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Wan Honghai of the Wan family achieved Late Foundation Great Perfection! He led the Wan family and a group of mysterious people to block the gate; guess what happened?"

"What happened? What else could happen? A freshly founded cultivator flipping the world?"

"Ha! He flipped the world!" the skinny man thumped his thigh, his voice rising an octave, "I heard that senior Wang Shan, once he passed the barrier, delivered a single palm! *Snap! * Wan Honghai turned into a dead‑fly, the technique Counter‑Devoured and was ruined on the spot! Another Black‑clothed Person at the Foundation stage was knocked away with a single punch!"

"What?!"

"One palm disables a Late Foundation practitioner? That's bragging without tax, right!"

"My third uncle's second elder's neighbor was gathering herbs near Ghost Sorrow Cliff and saw Wan Honghai being carried back, drenched in blood, like a puddle of sludge! Could that be false?"

The teahouse erupted in uproar instantly.

"My god, is it real? That senior wasn't he called 'Foundation Establishment Fierce Elder' before? What should he be called now?"

"What? Foundation Establishment Fierce Elder! One battle scared off two major Foundations—what grandeur!" a young free cultivator, face flushed, rose excitedly, "This is the model for us free cultivators! Who says we must be dogs for those families?"

"Right! Well said!"

In an instant, the crowd surged with excitement. The name Wang Shan was fully deified at that moment. He was no longer just a powerful individual, but a symbol—a hope for low‑born cultivators rebelling against the powerful.

In a private room on the second floor, Clan Leader Shi Yi of the Shi Clan and Clan Leader Li Xuan of the Li Family sat opposite each other, both wearing slightly stiff expressions.

"Brother Li, this matter… how do you see it?" Shi Yi lifted his teacup, but hesitated to bring it to his lips.

Li Xuan forced a bitter smile, "How can I look at it? Just sit and watch. This time the Wan family has kicked a steel plate—no, a volcano."

"It's more than a volcano." Shi Yi set down his cup, his voice tinged with relief, "Fortunately we weren't duped into a limp by the Wan family and didn't join the fray. Someone who can disable Wan Honghai with a single palm… the technique he cultivates is probably the nemesis of the Ten Thousand Beast Method."

"Nemesis…" Li Xuan murmured, then his eyes flickered, "You mean the legend of the Beast Taming Sect?"

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing deep apprehension in the other's eyes.

"It seems the heavens over the Man Yun Mountain Range are about to change," Shi Yi sighed, "Send orders to restrain the clan; anyone who dares cause trouble near Ghost Sorrow Cliff shall have their legs broken and be thrown out! Also, prepare a lavish gift and say… congratulations to senior Wang Shan on completing his Foundation."

Li Xuan nodded, "My Li family agrees."

……

Wan family mansion.

The atmosphere was oppressive like a tomb.

In the main hall, Family Head Wan Tianhao of the Wan family sat on the main seat, his complexion iron‑blue. Below, a host of clan elders were silent as crickets.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Wan Tianhao slammed the armrest; the sturdy iron‑wood armrest shattered in response, "One Late Foundation, one Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, leading dozens of men to kill a freshly breakthrough old fool—what was the result? One was beaten to near death, the other fled faster than a rabbit! The Wan family's reputation has been ruined by you!"

Wan Honghai, lying on a stretcher, his face ashen as paper, weakly defended, "Family Head… it's not that we didn't try… Wang Shan's technique is too bizarre; he knows the Beast Taming Sect's forbidden art, which specifically counters our Ten Thousand Beast Method! My Beast Soul was almost detonated by him!"

"Forbidden art?" Wan Tianhao's pupils narrowed sharply.

"Yes! It's the forbidden art!" Wan Honghai became agitated, "Our cultivated Ten Thousand Beast Method perhaps… perhaps itself has a huge flaw!"

Those words rang like a bomb in everyone's hearts within the hall.

An elder rose shakily, "Family Head, Elder Honghai's words may be true. In recent years, many of our Wan family members who cultivated the Ten Thousand Beast Method have gone mad—perhaps too many? We once blamed it on talent, but now…"

Panic spread through the crowd like a plague.

The Wan family's foundation is the Ten Thousand Beast Method. If the technique itself is flawed, then the Wan family is built upon a sandcastle that could collapse at any moment.

"Enough!" Wan Tianhao barked, silencing the discussion. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm.

"Relay my orders!" He rose, his voice bearing unmistakable resolve, "First, all external forces of the clan must be withdrawn! No one may act on their own! Second, dispatch immediately, bearing my handwritten letter, to the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate! Report the matter of Wang Shan and the Beast Taming Sect's forbidden art to the sect in full detail, without omission. Let the sect decide!"

Upon hearing the words "Ten Thousand Beasts Gate," all elders perked up, a glimmer of hope rekindling in their previously panicked eyes.

……

In a dim underground chamber.

The Black-clad Leader knelt on one knee, reporting toward the deep darkness ahead.

"…That's the situation. Target Wang Shan not only succeeded in establishing a Foundation, but also seized the Beast Taming Sect's core inheritance, especially the forbidden secret art that counters the Ten Thousand Beast Method. I judge his value far exceeds that jade slip. He himself is a Living Key."

From the darkness came a hoarse, grating voice, like metal scraping.

"Oh? Living Key… interesting. To crush you with a single strike, it seems the inheritance is quite complete. Those Wan family idiots treated a treasure as trash, and forced its awakener into a mortal enemy—how laughable."

"Lord, what should be our next step?"

"No rush." The voice said leisurely, "Let the Wan family and the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate scout the path first. This 'Key' is still scorching hot. What we need to be is a yellow sparrow, not a mantis. Keep a close watch on him; I want to know his every move. One who can stir the Earth Vein of Ghost Sorrow Cliff… the secrets he carries may be more than we imagine."

"As you command!" the Black-clad Leader bowed respectfully, his figure immediately melting into the darkness.

For a time, throughout the entire Man Yun Mountain Range, whether the great families in the open or the mysterious organizations in the shadows, all became turbulent with undercurrents because of the name "Foundation Establishment Fierce Elder" Wang Shan.

At the center of the storm, inside the cave dwelling at Ghost Sorrow Cliff, it was unusually calm.

Wang Shan did not know that he had already become a legend; he was simply doing a very simple thing—cleaning up.