Chapter 179: The Ancient Existence's Heavy Blow

Boom——!

A thunderous, earth-shaking muffled roar came from behind, as if the entire mountain range had shut its mouth.

The last light was completely swallowed, and the passage plunged into a darkness purer than the Abyss.

Li Hu staggered, nearly falling, and instinctively reached back with his hand, only to feel a sheet of icy, hard, seamless rock.

The life-and-death passage had vanished.

"Master……"

Li Hu's voice was dry as if scraped by sandpaper, his throat burning.

Master didn't come in.

He used his own life to push them through the Gate of Life, then turned and shut the door to Hell.

"Brother Wang……" Zhang Mei tightly embraced the weakly breathing Wang Zhitao in her arms, tears finally bursting forth and scalding the child's icy little face.

She didn't even dare to look back, fearing to see that despairing stone wall.

It's over.

This time it's truly over.

Without Wang Shan, they were like wild dogs without a spine—how could they survive in this godforsaken place? And what about the child in her arms?

In this deathlike silence, however, a faint light came from ahead, deep within the passage.

It was not firelight, nor the light of any magic treasure, but a kind of……soft, warm light, like the light of being soaked in a mother's amniotic fluid.

The light dispelled the darkness and illuminated each other's faces.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei simultaneously saw shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Where is this?

Immediately afterward, they saw Wang Shan, whom they were supporting between them.

"Pfft——"

A mouthful of dark purple blood spurted from Wang Shan's mouth without warning, carrying a scorching, burnt stench that seared his innards. His whole body slumped down like a puddle of mud, only kept from falling by Li Hu and Zhang Mei gripping him tightly.

"Master!"

"Brother Wang!"

The two were terrified, hurriedly steadying him.

By that soft light, they finally saw Wang Shan's current appearance for the first time.

His face was twisted beyond human shape, beneath his skin patches of fine, dark-gold scales flickered in and out, as if something were trying to burst from his flesh. His eyes were tightly shut, but his eyelids trembled violently, each tremor accompanied by a bodily spasm.

What a terrible price this was.

Li Hu, a seven-foot-tall man, felt his eye sockets redden instantly. He could sense that the warmth coming from Wang Shan was no longer that of a normal person, but a scorching heat almost enough to ignite his palms, and……a soul‑shaking fear rising from deep within the bloodline.

That was bestiality. Pure, violent bestiality capable of making all things submit.

Master alone, what exactly did he hold off out there?

"Can……not die……"

Wang Shan squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows. He flung his eyes open; they were filled with horrifying bloodshot veins, yet deep within shone a gleam more resolute than ever.

Relying on that stubbornness, he forced his sliding body to straighten a bit more.

Not fall.

He cannot fall.

"Don……worry about me." Wang Shan panted, each word feeling like it was tearing his lungs, "Look……look at the child!"

Only then did Li Hu and Zhang Mei snap out of their daze, hurriedly looking at Wang Zhitao in their arms.

The little fellow's complexion was no longer pale, but a deathly gray, his lips purple, his chest barely rising.

"Quick! Put him down!" Wang Shan barked.

The two dared not delay, fumbling as they laid Wang Zhitao flat on the ground.

The floor of this space was not stone, but a warm, jade‑like material that felt soft underfoot and carried a hint of warmth.

Only then did they have a moment to look around.

The passage had reached its end.

Before them lay an immense underground expanse, so vast its edge could not be seen. Countless crystals emitting soft light hung from the ceiling, bathing the whole space in daylight‑bright illumination. The air was suffused with a refreshing fragrance; a single inhale seemed to wash away some of the fatigue in their limbs.

Here the spiritual energy, or rather……the beast‑source energy, was so dense it seemed about to condense into substance.

It was completely different from the chaotic, twisted, malicious energy of the Outside World.

This place……was practically the legendary Cave Heaven Blessed Land!

【Ding! Detected that the host has entered the outer region of the "Beast Source Core".】

【The current area's energy field is pure and stable, with no negative spiritual contamination, meeting the standard of a "First Order Healing Holy Land".】

In his mind, the System's cold notification tone arrived belatedly.

Healing Holy Land?

Wang Shan cracked a smile, but it tugged at his internal organs' injury, sending another wave of heart‑rending pain.

He forced himself to walk over to Wang Zhitao, dropped to one knee, and tremblingly placed his hand on the grandson's forehead.

Icy cold, deathly icy cold.

"Master, Zhitao……" Zhang Mei's voice trembled with sobs.

"Shut up." Wang Shan cut her off without turning his head, "He's not dead yet."

He wasn't comforting anyone; he was stating a fact.

Although that damned Lord of Myriad Beasts had been dealt a sneaky blow by his mutual‑destruction method, temporarily gravely wounded, the old thing's will had not dissipated. Like a drop of ink falling into a water tank, though diluted, its essence still seeped into every inch of this secret realm.

Wang Shan could feel that the indomitable will, separated by thick layers of rock, was staring fixedly at this place.

It can't get in, but it's waiting.

Wait for them to die themselves, or… wait for it to recover, then come in to collect the corpses.

So this is absolutely not a breather; it's a countdown.

"Li Hu, stand guard." Wang Shan's voice was still hoarse, but he had regained some composure, "Zhang Mei, keep an eye on Zhezhe, don't let him run around."

"Yes!"

The two immediately sprang into action.

Wang Shan took a deep breath, enduring the Counter-Devouring force inside him that wanted to tear him apart, and began to carefully examine this so-called "healing holy land".

Everything here appeared so perfect, so peaceful.

Pure energy, warm surroundings, and secluded tranquility.

But the more this was the case, the stronger Wang Shan's vigilance grew.

When things go against the norm, there must be something uncanny.

Would that ancient monster, who has lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, kindly leave a utopia for intruders?

Who are you trying to fool?

He scanned his surroundings, his eyes sharp as knives. This place was both their only hope and, without a doubt, another, even more dangerous trap.

Only, the way this trap works is different from the one outside.

His gaze finally fell on the bloodless face of his grandson, Wang Zhitao.

No matter whether ahead lay a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, we must charge through.

"I paid for this ticket with my life, I can't waste it." He muttered under his breath, his voice carrying the grim determination of a smashed pot.

He slowly closed his eyes, sinking the last trace of clarity left in his body entirely into the Black Jade Slip pressed tightly against his chest.

The urgent task at hand is neither healing nor recovery.

It's detoxification!

【82> He must first save his grandson's life!

He wants to first save his grandson's life!