Chapter 208: Hunter and Prey

Wan Tiande's roar, like a stone tossed into a deep pool, echoed through the Cave, yet it failed to stir even a ripple.

At the opposite end of the Cave, on a stone platform completely hidden by vines and shadows, Wang Shan sat cross‑legged. His eyes were shut, yet the entire Cave's scene appeared in his mind a hundred times clearer than if he were looking.

This was not Spiritual Sense, but a more primal, more domineering perception.

He could 'feel' every burst of Spiritual Power from Wan Tiande, every futile strike, and even 'touch' the subtle fluctuations on the Golden Core cultivator's Protective Body Light caused by agitation. Wan Tiande was no longer a lofty Golden Core Elder, but a beetle trapped in a glass bottle, each move and each struggle crystal clear.

"Old thing, you're surprisingly troublesome," Wang Shan said in a low voice, with an odd calm as if commenting on a drama that had nothing to do with him.

Beside him, the brothers Wang Zhize and Wang Zhitao watched Grandfather anxiously.

"Grandfather, when do we strike?" Wang Zhitao clenched his fist; he could feel pure energy flowing slowly into his body through the Array patterns beneath his feet, the energy that Grandfather had 'stolen' from the enemy.

Wang Shan kept his eyes closed, merely extending a finger and giving it a gentle shake.

"Why the hurry."

He was like the most patient hunter, quietly observing his prey. Every attack and every attempt by Wan Tiande supplied Wang Shan with valuable data.

"System, analyze the Spiritual Power trajectory of his recent 'Rift‑Slash Claw'. Hmm… as expected, his technique is growing increasingly repelled by this place. For each unit of force he uses, the Array's suppression strengthens by one and a half units. Hey, buy one get one free, what a deal."

At the Cave Entrance, Wan Tiande fumed furiously, unleashing his mid‑stage Golden Core Spiritual Power without reserve, shredding wave after wave of mutated demonic beasts into fragments. Yet he soon realized that the ash‑black energy left by the slain beasts made the surrounding space thicker and tougher. It was as if he were using his own power to weave a sturdier cage for himself.

"Wang Shan! You skulking mouse!" Wan Tiande's roar rang again, this time with a barely perceptible edge of concealed fury.

"Insult, insult louder," Wang Shan chuckled inwardly, "the more incompetent your rage, the faster your Spiritual Power drains."

A thought flickered in his mind; via 'Environmental Resonance', he issued new orders to the death‑defying demonic beasts.

In the next instant, the tactics shifted.

The beasts were no longer mindless chargers; they turned cunning. Several massive mutated pangolins dove into the ground, not to attack but to frantically stir the rock layers, softening the ground beneath Wan Tiande's feet, making the Barrier‑Breaking Boat wobble. A few vine‑like demonic vines clinging to the Cave ceiling silently dropped countless thin tendrils, not to wound the enemy but to wrap the Barrier‑Breaking Boat like taffy, adding to its burden.

Wan Tiande, irritated beyond measure, unleashed a wide‑area spell to clear the field.

"Well done," Wang Shan not only felt no regret, but nodded approvingly.

He turned to the grandchildren beside him and said, "Look, this is a Golden Core cultivator's attack. Now, feel it."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a massive yet chaotic surge of Spiritual Power was drawn by the great Array from the Cave Entrance, like a breached dam flooding the entire Cave. Yet after passing through multiple layers of Array filtration and transmutation, the energy that reached Wang Shan and his companions had become much gentler.

"Zhize, use your talent to tidy up these 'residue'."

"Yes, Grandfather!" Wang Zhize's small face was solemn; the Beast‑Calming Source Pearl he cradled glowed faintly, emitting an invisible suction that drew the filtered energy 'residue' into it. The pearl's surface shimmered, and moments later, streams of ultra‑pure Spiritual Qi overflowed, nourishing this tiny hideout.

"Zhitao, it's your turn now."

Wang Zhitao immediately sat cross‑legged, activating 'Devour Origin Overlord Body', drawing into his body the tangled energy bearing Wan Tiande's technique imprint that Grandfather could not directly absorb. His body emitted a crackle of sound, and moments later he opened his mouth and 'spat' out a stream of purified life energy, feeding it back to Wang Shan.

Wang Shan leisurely absorbed the energy, feeling the tearing sensation from Counter‑Devouring in his half‑beast form ease considerably.

What is this called? It's wartime resupply. The fiercer the enemy attacks, the more abundant our supplies become. Is there any battle more comfortable than this?

This all‑controlling feeling made the beast nature within Wang Shan, derived from the Ten Thousand Beasts Reversal, not only lose its frenzy but become unprecedentedly calm and restrained. For the first time he realized that this power brought not just a desire for destruction, but a deep, inscrutable hunting wisdom belonging to a top predator.

"Li Hu, Zhang Mei," Wang Shan sent a thought through the spiritual imprints left on the two, "stay composed; it's not yet your turn. Let that old kid think he's alone here."

What he sought was not merely Wan Tiande's death, but the total shattering of his Dao heart. A mid‑stage Golden Core cultivator, reduced by a Foundation Establishment ant in his eyes, toyed with by a horde of low‑rank beasts he despised, only to realize he didn't even know how many allies his opponent had.

That despair would surely be delicious.

At the Cave Entrance, Wan Tiande had already sensed something amiss. His Spiritual Power consumption rate far exceeded expectations. This cursed place seemed a bottomless pit, endlessly devouring his strength. His pride and confidence as a Golden Core Elder were being worn away bit by bit by the relentless harassment and omnipresent suppression.

He had become a true caged bird, while the Wang Shan he so coveted as prey wove a death net from the shadows, relaxed and at ease.

"System, how's the data analysis coming along?"

【Report to Zhuren, thirty‑six variations of the target technique 'Ten Thousand Beasts Classic' have twenty‑seven recorded; its primary treasure 'Barrier‑Breaking Boat' has seven weak points locked. Based on its Spiritual Power consumption curve, it is projected that in half an hour his combat power will drop below the early Golden Core threshold.】

"Half an hour..." Wang Shan opened his eyes; in his eyes, a mix of murk and brilliance, a feral grin flashed, "Too long."

He rose, stretched his limbs, and emitted a crisp clack‑clack.

"Warm‑up's over, Wan Tiande."

"Now, as the prey, I shall step in myself and play with you."