Chapter 198: Transformation and Resonance

Uh... ah...

Wang Shan collapsed to his knees on the ground, the sound squeezed from his throat not human, more like the dying wail of a beast.

The scouring of the energy vortex continued, every particle of his body being forcibly torn apart and reassembled. The excruciating pain of bones shattering and healing had already numbed him. Now, it was a deeper, soul‑rending tear that threatened to drive him mad.

He could clearly 'see' that the Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal technique was like a greedy taotie, using the influx of external energy as a tailwind to wildly expand its territory inside him. It wasn't remodeling him; it was… devouring him, seeking to turn his very existence as Wang Shan into a part of the technique, into a pure vessel born solely to bear the 'beast source'.

"Ancestor!", Li Hu's voice choked with tears; he wanted to step forward, but the invisible energy storm shoved him back repeatedly, "You… you must hold on!"

Wang Zhitao didn't cry out; he simply bit his lip hard, his small fist clenched until it turned white, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the twisting, deforming silhouette.

Amidst this boundless pain, a strange warmth emanated from Wang Shan's tightly gripped right hand.

It was that piece of black Beast Taming Sect jade slip.

It was no longer the cold, hard stone it had been; now it felt like a warm jade heated by body heat, emitting a faint yet resilient glow. A stream of information, utterly unlike the violent power raging inside him, flowed along that warmth into his chaotic sea of consciousness.

Boom!

Wang Shan's consciousness was instantly dragged into a bloody illusion.

He saw twisted, desperate faces—those were disciples of the Beast Taming Sect. He saw that, like himself, their bodies bore scales, bone spurs, even misshapen limbs. They embraced great power, yet were also being devoured by it.

An elder who bore the aura of a Daoist immortal stretched out a hand already transformed into a ferocious beast's claw, trying to grasp something, but only let out a reluctant roar; the last glimmer of lucidity in his eyes was utterly drowned in crimson.

The scene shifted to a battlefield piled high with corpses, countless bizarre 'monsters' tearing at each other, while from their barely discernible uniforms the markings of the Beast Taming Sect could still be seen.

They weren't wiped out by an external foe; they… had turned themselves into monsters and… devoured their own kind?

The illusion ended abruptly.

Wang Shan jolted back to awareness, his whole body drenched in cold sweat; that chill even temporarily outweighed the burning pain of his body being torn apart.

So that's how it is.

This is the truth behind the Beast Taming Sect's downfall. This is the ultimate fate of cultivating the Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal, or rather, of coming into contact with the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin—a one‑way road ending in becoming a beast that no longer knows who it is.

He himself had merely just set foot on that path.

Would he end up like those predecessors, briefly powerful before becoming a slave to bestial nature, or…

His gaze swept over Wang Zhitao and Wang Zheze not far away.

No.

Cannot.

He could not become a monster, and he could not, in front of his own grandson, turn into a monster.

A fierce will to live overrode fear; he began to think desperately, seeking any sliver of a breakthrough. Though his body still ached, his mind forcibly detached from the pain and started to frantically sense everything around him.

His post‑transformation perception was terrifyingly keen.

He 'heard'.

He heard the 'cheers' of the spirit plants by the lakeside; under the torrent of vast life energy, they were growing at an almost frenzied pace, each leaf unfurling, each root twitching.

A bold, nearly preposterous idea flashed through his mind.

Since this transformation was making him more and more like a 'beast,' did it also mean he could better comprehend everything within the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin?

He fixed his gaze on a nearby spirit plant, somewhat withered from the energy impact, and sent forth a trembling thread of his will, no longer to resist but to attempt a 'link'.

He issued no command; he merely conveyed his yearning for 'vitality' across.

The next second, Li Hu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"It moved! Zhang Mei, quick look—that grass… that grass has come back to life!"

All that could be seen was the previously withered spirit plant, now visibly re‑extending its branches and leaves, regaining its aqueous spirit; even the tip leaf gave a slight sway, pointing toward Wang Shan.

That posture was not submission; it was more like an… affectionate response.

"This… this…" Zhang Mei stared, dumbstruck; this had completely surpassed her understanding.

【Ding! Detected deep resonance between the host's transmuted traits and the Beast Taming Sect inheritance, preliminary awakening of talent—'Life Pulse Resonance'!】

【Ability Description: The host can, via their own transmuted essence, resonate with low‑level lifeforms within the Ten Thousand Beasts Origin, to a degree influencing their vital state.】

The system's icy alert, at this moment, sounded like heavenly music.

It really works!

Wang Shan's heart surged with wild joy. This damned transformation isn't all bad! It's a double‑edged sword—one side destruction, the other… control!

His gaze fell on the nearby monster‑snake corpse whose head he had crushed.

Plants work, but what about animals? Even if they're dead…

He extended his perception again; this time the target was not 'vitality' but the residual, mixed, violent beastly aura within the corpse that shared his origin.

"Come here!"

He silently chanted.

A gray‑black current, barely perceptible to the naked eye, was forcibly drawn from the snake carcass like a summoned little serpent, wobbling its way toward Wang Shan.

This energy was filthy, brimming with chaos and destruction.

"Ancestor, be careful!", Li Hu shouted, noticing something amiss.

Wang Shan paid no heed; he controlled the gray‑black 'transmuted essence energy,' not letting it enter his own body—his internal troubles were already enough—instead pressing it directly onto the black jade slip in his palm!

"Hum——!"

The slip's light suddenly blazed several times brighter, like a starving beggar who gulped down that energy in one gulp, leaving none behind.

Immediately afterward, more fragments of the illusion surged into Wang Shan's sea of consciousness.

This time, the vision became much clearer.

He saw a vast stone chamber where several Beast Taming Sect elders sat in a circle, each bearing different degrees of transmuted traits. One of them was forcibly injecting the essence‑blood of a ferocious demonic beast into another elder's body.

That elder screamed in agony; his transmuted state instantly worsened, yet the flicker of reason about to die in his eyes strangely steadied again.

On the stone wall, four large characters were carved with vigorous brushwork—'Fight Poison with Poison!'

So that's it!

The essence of Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal is not to suppress mutation, but to guide it, even to…… devour mutation!

Blocking is not as good as guiding! Since this force cannot be eliminated, we should harness it and make it serve us! Use a stronger "poison" to command all the poison within the body, and ultimately become the sole "Poison King"!

These Beast Taming Sect folks are really a bunch of outright lunatics!

But now, he, Wang Shan, must also become a lunatic!

"Haha…… hahahaha!"

Wang Shan suddenly burst into loud laughter, his voice hoarse and manic, yet filled with the joy of having survived a catastrophe and a fierce, resolute determination.

He no longer passively endured the energy's onslaught, but actively opened his arms, like an emperor embracing his territory, completely opening his body and mind to that energy vortex.

Pursuers? The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Beasts?

Just wait until I turn this trouble into my biggest trump card, then I'll settle the score with you properly!

Just wait until I turn this trouble into my biggest trump card, then I'll settle the score with you properly!