Chapter 192

Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, sect main hall.

The atmosphere was so oppressive you could wring water out of it.

A shattered soul tablet lay silently in the center of the hall, while several disheveled disciples who had fled back knelt beside it; the news they brought back was like a resounding slap, striking the faces of every high-ranking member of the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate.

"Wan Tianxiong… defeated? Even trapped by a Foundation Establishment old thing in the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin?" On the main seat, a stern-faced middle-aged man spoke softly, but each word hit like a lump of ice hitting the ground: "Our Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, Golden Core Elders, carrying the Soul-Suppressing Banner and Binding Demon Rope, were taken care of by a Wan family traitor?"

No one below dared to respond.

"Lose face!" another hot-tempered Elder slammed the armrest, "Not just losing face! If it gets out, our Ten Thousand Beasts Gate's techniques are actually restrained by some unknown old coot—who will still obey us? The Wan family's roots must be dug up!"

"Wan Tianxiong's distress signal was intermittent, only mentioning that Wang Shan's methods were strange, his cultivation art sinister, seemingly able to draw power from deep within the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin. He wasn't trapped; he was more like being made prey." A meticulous Elder added, his tone carrying a hint of chill.

The sect leader on the main seat lightly tapped his fingers on the throne, producing a dull sound.

"What kind of wave can a Foundation Establishment cultivator stir up? His ability to restrain Tianxiong is merely due to geographical advantage. That ghostly place, the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin, indeed suppresses our orthodox arts."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "But this matter cannot just be left as is. The Wan family traitor must die, Wan Tianxiong must be rescued, and the face of our Ten Thousand Beasts Gate must also be reclaimed!"

"Please give your orders, Sect Leader!" all the Elders replied in unison.

"Elder Wan Tiande." The sect leader looked toward an elderly man with closed eyes, resting his spirit, seated to the side below the dais.

The old man slowly opened his eyes; a flash of sharp light flickered and vanished in his gaze.

"Go on this trip." The sect leader's voice left no room for doubt, "Take the 'Void-Breaking Vessel' and the 'Star-Fixing Disk,' plus a squad of law-enforcement disciples. The Void-Breaking Vessel lets you ignore the outer spatial mist array, and the Star-Fixing Disk can lock onto Tianxiong's position. Remember, I want results, not the process."

"As you command." Wan Tiande rose, his aura deep as an abyss—indeed a mid-stage Golden Core expert, somewhat deeper than Wan Tianxiong.

"Also," the sect leader added, "that Wang Shan likely hides a significant secret. If possible, keep him alive; I want to personally search his soul to see what shameful things the Wan family are hiding."

"Understood." Wan Tiande bowed, turned, and transformed into a stream of light, disappearing outside the hall.

Moments later, a matchless surge of spiritual pressure shot up from the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate like an invisible giant hand sweeping across the Man Yun Mountain Range. This force was so overbearing and pure that even the distorted space surrounding the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin rippled with clear concentric waves.

……

Ten Thousand Beasts Origin, core area, inside the cave dwelling.

Wang Shan was immersed in the ocean of the Yushou Sect Inheritance when his body suddenly jolted and he flung his eyes open.

It was not a soul attack, nor an energy backlash.

Rather, it was a pure, suffocating pressure emanating from the outside world.

"Ancestor?" Li Hu and Zhang Mei also felt it; their faces instantly turned pale, as if a mountain had materialized and pressed down on their chests, making even breathing difficult.

"What's going on… this feeling…" Li Hu's voice trembled.

Wang Shan ignored them, his brows knotting into a lump, and directly commanded the system in his mind: "Analyze the source and intensity of this energy fluctuation!"

【Command received. Performing external energy scan……】

【Scan complete. Detected a high-intensity spiritual power source originating outside the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin, assessed as mid-stage Golden Core. This energy source carries a special treasure with spatial penetration properties, rapidly approaching this area.】

【Warning: Based on current analysis, the opponent can break through the outer barrier and reach the core area within twelve hours. Threat level: lethal.】

Mid-stage Golden Core!

And it carries a treasure capable of penetrating spatial arrays!

Wang Shan's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood the cause and effect.

Wan Tianxiong! Surely his distress signal got out.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Gate has sent stronger reinforcements, and they came prepared!

"Damn, they really think highly of me, Wang Shan." Wang Shan couldn't help muttering a curse under his breath.

"Ancestor, is… is it someone from the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate?" Li Hu, having seen the world, immediately connected the dots.

"Besides them, who else would stir up such a commotion?" Wang Shan rose and paced back and forth in the cave.

Big trouble.

His original plan was to use this time to fully absorb the Yushou Sect Inheritance, then capture that Holy Beast, after which he'd dare to tangle with even a Nascent Soul old monster, let alone a Golden Core cultivator.

But now, they simply won't give him any time to develop.

A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator wielding a treasure specifically designed to counter the environment, in a head‑on clash, even if we added up every one of us, we wouldn't match a single slap from them.

"They're not just here to rescue people; they're also after what I hold." Wang Shan's mind raced.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator killing a Golden Core? Even a toe could tell something's off. Those old foxes of the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate surely guessed I'd obtained some tremendous fortune; pursuit is secondary, seizing the treasure is their true goal.

"Ancestor, what should we do? Fight them to the death?" Li Hu clenched his fists, his face full of reckless determination.

"Fight? With what? Ram our heads into their flying swords?" Wang Shan glared at him, "You think this is a street brawl where shouting a couple slogans wins?"

Li Hu was left red‑faced, choked.

"Grandfather…" Wang Zhitao and Wang Zhize, the two little rascals, also sensed the tense atmosphere, timidly tugging at Wang Shan's pant legs.

Wang Shan lowered his head to look at his two grandsons; that flicker of anxiety in his heart was instantly suppressed.

Don't panic; the more critical the moment, the calmer we must be.

He patted the grandsons' heads, then turned his gaze back toward the hazy world outside the cave.

"Waiting to die is death; fighting head‑on is suicide." Wang Shan's voice returned to calm, "Our only way to live is to take action."

He looked at Li Hu and Zhang Mei: "How much of the forbidden craft I just taught you have you memorized?"

"Pretty much!" the two replied hurriedly.

"Good enough." Wang Shan pointed deeper into the cave, "Pack up; we're moving out immediately. We can't stay here."

"Move? Where to?" Zhang Mei asked, her voice tinged with bewilderment.

Wang Shan's gaze pierced through layer after layer of mist, as if he could see some unknown region.

"A place more dangerous, yet for us also safer."

The knowledge he had just learned from the jade slip has now become his sole lifeline. To others, the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin is a dead‑end; to him, it is a chessboard bristling with mechanisms and traps.

"Just as I learned to read a map, here comes a city official driving a war chariot—how interesting." Wang Shan gave a self‑deprecating chuckle, his eyes turning razor‑sharp.

He snatched the freshly forged Beast Spirit Talisman and stuffed it into his bosom, then glanced at his two grandsons.

Yeah, there are also these two little guys.

One "purifier", one "key".

"Let's go! Let them chase!" Wang Shan waved his hand, his tone carrying a reckless ferocity, "I want to see, on this Beast Taming Sect's turf, just who ends up hunting whom!"