Chapter 194: Signs of Aberration

The air in the relic strata was dead heavy, like congealed blood tofu, and even drawing it into the lungs carried a hint of iron rust and rot.

After great difficulty they found a relatively intact broken wall; behind it, the few of them could finally catch their breath.

"Old Ancestor, … should we just rest here?" Li Hu lowered his voice, eyes darting around, afraid some monster would crawl out of some corner. The things here are far more ferocious than those in the outer core area.

Wang Shan ignored him, leaning against the broken wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breath. The energy of the Spring of Life still flowed within his body, barely suppressing the burning pain brought by the Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal, but this suppression was increasingly like using a wet paper to cover a volcano about to erupt—treating the symptom, not the cause.

He felt like an inflating balloon that looked fine on the outside but inside was already stretched thin and cracked by various violent forces. The clash with the will of the Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor had etched an indelible mark deep in his soul.

"Grandpa, drink water." Wang Zhize held out a Water Bag carefully.

Wang Shan opened his eyes, the fierceness in his gaze instantly suppressed, replaced by a relatively mild expression. He reached to take the water bag, his eyes unintentionally falling on the back of his own hand.

The motion stopped.

In the dim red light, his skin seemed… slightly off. He silently drew his hand back into his sleeve, lightly rubbing the skin on the back of his hand with his fingertip. It was an extremely subtle sensation, with a hint of hardness, arranged in a very regular pattern.

As if some kind of scales were about to burst through his flesh.

This discovery made his heart clench violently.

"Old Ancestor, what's wrong with you?" Zhang Mei watched him remain motionless for a while, feeling concerned.

"It's fine." Wang Shan took the water bag, gulped a mouthful; the cool liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't extinguish the nameless fire welling up in his chest. "Rest well, don't make a sound—the 'neighbors' around here have tempers that aren't exactly pleasant."

While he warned others with his words, his own heart was in turmoil.

What is that? An illusion? Impossible.

He quietly circulated his Spiritual Power to examine himself, but aside from the chaotic forces in his meridians, he found nothing obviously abnormal. Yet the strange sensation on the back of his hand was so real it made him panic.

Could it be…

A terrifying thought surfaced, recalling the scene he had seen in the memory fragments of the Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor—disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, under the power's Counter-Devouring, their bodies twisted, scales and bone spurs growing, ultimately becoming mindless monsters.

Was he, then, following in their footsteps?

"Grandpa, look!" Wang Zhitao suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted softly, "There's something over there."

Everyone followed his gaze and saw, in the shadow of a distant collapsed tower, a huge mass of flesh covered in eyeballs slowly writhing, emitting a series of grating gurgling sounds.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei's scalps went numb instantly.

"Don't move." Wang Shan's voice was low, carrying an unquestionable command, "It's just digesting food; it has no time to bother us."

"You… how do you know?" Li Hu was a bit dazed.

Wang Shan himself couldn't explain it. Just a moment ago, he had clearly "felt" the emotion emanating from that mass of flesh—a sense of post‑satiation lethargy and drowsiness. This keen perception of demon beasts' emotions was clearer than ever before, as if those things were extensions of his own body.

Yet accompanying this wonderful sense of control came another emotion.

An impulse arising from deep within his own soul—primitive and savage.

He stared at the writhing mass of flesh; his Adam's apple moved involuntarily, and a strong hunger surged forth without warning—not an empty stomach, but a desire to tear that thing apart, devour it, and make it his own.

This thought startled even himself.

"Bang!"

He punched the stone wall beside him; the hard stone was dented into a shallow pit by his fist.

"Old Ancestor?"

Li Hu and Zhang Mei were both startled.

Wang Shan said nothing; fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He was using all his willpower to oppose that bloodthirsty instinct.

At that moment, a fleeting gleam of dark light flashed in his eyes.

"Grandpa, your eyes…" Wang Zhitao was looking at him, a hint of confusion on his small face, "Just now they seemed to be on fire."

Children speak without guile, yet it made Wang Shan's heart sink to the bottom.

【Warning: Zhuren's soul fusion with the Counter-Devouring Power exceeds 17%; aberration signs have appeared.】

【Warning: Detected abnormal surge in the host's inner Beastial Essence activity, posing a risk of erosion to rationality.】

In his mind, the system's cold alerts rang out one after another, like two heavy hammers, shattering his last sliver of hope.

It had truly begun.

He immediately pulled a Clear Heart Pill from his storage bag and tossed it into his mouth without a second thought. The pill dissolved, a cool sensation trying to soothe his agitated soul.

However, this time the effect was minuscule.

That cool sensation was like drizzle falling into a boiling oil pan—it not only failed to extinguish the fire, but instead provoked a louder crackle and pop. The bloodlust within him, provoked by this, only grew more arrogant.

"Damn it!" Wang Shan muttered a curse.

It was useless; even the pills didn't work.

He finally understood that this was not an injury or inner demon that could be suppressed by external force. It was a deeper, irreversible fusion—like a drop of ink falling into clear water; you can dilute it, but you can never separate it out again.

The power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal was transforming him from inside out, from soul to flesh, into something entirely different.

He had cured Wang Zhitao's strange poison, obtained the Beast Taming Sect's long‑sought complete inheritance, and even gained the means to resist the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate's pursuit… yet in the end, he himself was about to become a monster?

What is this? A vicious joke played by fate?

He lifted his head and looked at the two grandchildren leaning against him—Wang Zhize was already exhausted and asleep, his little mouth still making faint chewing motions. Wang Zhitao looked at him worriedly, reaching out his small hand to touch his forehead.

Wang Shan instinctively dodged.

He feared his own hand might suddenly lose control.

He feared the invisible scales on his body might prick the children.

He feared the dark light in his eyes might frighten them.

This sense of danger welling up from within was ten thousand times more terrifying than the Mid‑Golden Core Elder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate. Pursuit could be evaded, but where could he flee from the changes in his own body?

This was the true desperate situation.

He must find a way to eradicate this hidden danger before he completely loses his reason. Otherwise, even if he escaped with his grandchildren and became the new Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor, what would that mean?

The one who survives will no longer be Wang Shan.