Chapter 195: Vortex Trap

The deeper we walked into this wasteland, the stronger the smell of deathly stillness in the air became.

It was overly silent here, not even a wind sound, only the rustling of a few people stepping on gravel, like scratching an itch on this land of death, making one's heart creep.

"Ancestor, this ghostly place…… how come there's not even a breath left?" Li Hu shrank his neck, hand always on his waist sword hilt, feeling the hairs on his back never lay down.

Wang Shan ignored him, his entire mind and spirit were seized by another matter.

The black jade slip that Wang Zhize had been holding in his arms was now buzzing frantically, its temperature terrifyingly high, the scorching heat felt even through the cloth.

"Grandfather, it…… it wants to run." Wang Zhize's little face turned red from holding his breath, his two small hands clutched the jade slip tightly, as if holding a red-hot branding iron, yet he refused to let go.

"Hold on tight!" Wang Shan shouted low.

As his voice fell, the jade slip suddenly burst out a wave of black light, enveloping the several people.

Wang Shan's mind buzzed, and the scene before his eyes instantly twisted and shattered. He was no longer standing in the ruins, but floating in an endless void.

This was not the sea of consciousness filled with violent will as before; here…… there was nothing, only pure, vast darkness that drove one to despair.

At the center of this darkness, something so huge it defied description was slowly rotating.

It resembled a massive vortex formed from countless stars and light ribbons, yet also like a breathing cosmic alveolus. Innumerable brilliant light threads intertwined, collided, and annihilated within it; each flicker seemed to narrate the birth and death of a civilization.

This was not a living being.

Wang Shan was certain this was an energy structure he could not comprehend, an immensely vast…… machine? array?

"This is……"

He wanted to speak, but could not make any sound.

The vision flashed and vanished; he remained standing where he was, forehead drenched in cold sweat, heart pounding like a drum.

"Ancestor? Are you…… alright?" Zhang Mei's voice trembled; just then she felt her soul almost being pulled out.

Li Hu even more so sat down with a "plop", gasping heavily, "My goodness, what was that just now? I felt like I'd fallen into the starry sky."

Wang Shan did not answer them; he snatched the jade slip from Wang Zhize's arms. The slip had now returned to calm, only its surface ancient patterns seemed a bit brighter than before.

"Grandfather, it just…… showed me pictures." Wang Zhize whispered, his eyes still holding a hint of bewilderment and fear, "So many bright threads, intertwined, turning and turning……"

Wang Shan's pupils contracted.

Did Zhize also see it?

"System, analyze the energy fluctuations and the vision just now." He murmured in his heart.

【Beep…… starting analysis……】

【Analysis complete. The target area's energy structure is extremely complex, cannot be fully parsed. Preliminary judgment: a supermassive ancient space hub, code name: "Whirlwind Trap Zone".】

【Warning: The area contains high-density spatial folds and temporal distortion phenomena, with multiple unknown high-dimensional energy bodies sealed inside, extremely dangerous.】

【Based on database fragment comparison, the host's previous encounter with the will of the "Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor" has an energy model similarity of 99.7% with the energy fragments leaked from the "Whirlwind Trap Zone".】

A series of prompts left Wang Shan completely stunned.

Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor…… that terrifying will that almost devoured his soul and spirit, turned out to be just a tiny fragment leaking from this "trap"?

What a joke!

Then what monsters are actually locked inside this trap?

He suddenly recalled the scenes from the "Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor" memory he had seen—the Beast Taming Sect's destruction, those disciples' frenzied beastification…… it turned out they were not really fighting some "Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor", but rather contending with the pollution leaking from this huge trap!

They were like people living beside a nuclear reactor; no matter how careful, they would eventually be twisted into monsters by radiation.

And the Beast Taming Sect's patriarch probably wanted to control this "nuclear reactor", but he messed up, dragging himself and the entire sect into it.

"Ancestor, we…… should we still go forward?" Li Hu watched Wang Shan remain silent for a long time, his complexion shifting, his heart growing more uneasy.

"Go, why not go?" Wang Shan suddenly laughed, though that smile looked mad no matter how you viewed it.

He finally understood.

The idiots of Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, plus that damn "Supreme", took him as the key to open the treasury. But they had no idea this damn thing wasn't a treasury at all—it's a super prison imprisoning an ancient evil god!

They were eagerly bringing tools, intending to pry open Pandora's box.

Ridiculous, truly ridiculous.

"Grandfather, I'm scared." Wang Zhize tugged at his sleeve, his small hands icy cold. Although the jade slip was no longer hot, that summoning feeling and fear from deep within the soul grew stronger.

Wang Shan lowered his head, looking at his two grandsons.

His bodily corruption, that bloodthirsty urge, was like a bone‑eating maggot; Clear Heart Pills were useless, suppressing it with the Spring of Life was merely drinking poison to quench thirst.

If this continued, he would sooner or later become a complete monster, a beast that knows only killing and devouring.

Perhaps…… only by going to that most dangerous place could a solution be found.

Without destruction, no establishment; advance toward death to live.

Moreover, he is no longer alone.

He glanced at Wang Zhitao, this innate "purifier", and then at Wang Zhize clutching the jade slip, this bloodline "key".

One purifier, one opener, and he himself was the blade that could cleave everything.

Three generations of grandparents and grandchildren, this setup was practically tailor‑made for storming the "Whirlwind Trap Zone". Is this fate's arrangement, or a scheme set up across ten thousand years by that damned Beast Taming Sect ancestor?

Who cares!

"What's there to fear." Wang Shan rubbed Wang Zhize's head, his voice unusually calm, "With grandfather here, the sky won't fall."

He straightened his body, his gaze toward the deepest part of the ruins, the direction where the vision had appeared.

"Ten Thousand Beasts Gate wants to seize me as a sacrifice, that 'Supreme' wants to use me as a key."

"They all think I'm on the fifth layer, believing they're on the first layer, but actually we're all playing mud outside the atmosphere."

He muttered to himself, leaving Li Hu and Zhang Mei beside him blinking in confusion.

"Ancestor, what layer are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Wang Shan waved his hand, slipped the jade slip back into Wang Zhize's arms, "Hold it tight, this is our ticket."

Now he actually wasn't in a hurry to flee.

What the hell is Wan Tiande's Golden Core mid-stage? Compared to the thing locked inside the Vortex Trap, he doesn't even count as a fly.

The biggest enemy I currently face has never been the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, but rather this time bomb inside my own body, and…… the unknown ultimate horror ahead.

Since I can't dodge it, I might as well just charge straight in!

Zhitao, Zhize, stay close to me.

Li Hu, Zhang Mei, cheer up.

Wang Shan gave the order, his tone filled with an indomitable resolve.

We're not running away.

"Where to?" Li Hu asked instinctively.

Wang Shan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Let's go into the deepest core secret of the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin and see what it intends to do with us.

By the way, also prepare a big gift for the guests chasing us from behind.