Chapter 223: Real Combat and Breakthrough

Inside the Cave, the lingering energy waves have not yet subsided.

The air is thick with a mingled scent of blood, burnt odor, and an indescribably eerie sweet fragrance; inhaling it makes the head spin and the brain feel bloated.

Li Hu and Zhang Mei collapsed on the ground, gasped for a moment, then forced themselves to crawl up.

"Stop standing there, hurry! Gather all of Wan Laogou's stuff! Lord… the Lord is buying us time!" Li Hu's voice was hoarse like a broken gong; he dared not look at the massive black silhouette blocking the Cave Entrance, and could only force his attention onto the immediate task.

Zhang Mei's tears continued to fall silently, but her hands moved without delay. Together with Li Hu, she hurriedly gathered the scattered magical artifacts, Talisman, and the Storage Ring that Wan Tiande had been tossed over by the Lord, scooping them all up at once.

Each time they picked up a magical artifact flashing with Spiritual Light, their reverence and grief for Wang Shan deepened a notch.

That mountain had once been their backbone, their Lord. Now, he continues to protect them in a way they cannot comprehend. Such power comes at an unbearably heavy price.

In the corner, Wang Zhize and Wang Zhitao sat side by side, silently watching everything before them.

Grandpa turned into a monster, using his own body to brace against the magical artifact blasts, carving a path for them… These scenes, like red‑hot branding irons, were etched deep into their young hearts.

Fear? Of course.

But more than that, a scorching resentment that seemed ready to burn a hole through the chest.

"Brother, I don't want to keep watching like this," Wang Zhitao said suddenly, his voice low yet carrying a ruthlessness beyond his years, "Grandpa became like that… all for us!"

Wang Zhize clenched the Black Jade Slip in his hand and whispered, "Me too."

Being protected is a privilege of the weak. Yet when the one who protects them pays such a tragic price, that privilege becomes the sharpest sting.

Wang Zhitao clenched his teeth and looked toward the Cave at the slowly drifting, multicolored chaotic energy. It was the blood qi of a slain beast, the Spiritual Power residue from Wan Tiande's self‑detonation, and the chief culprit seeping from deep underground that turned Grandpa into this state.

Before, he had only passively endured the energy his Grandpa sent across.

Now, he will strike proactively!

"Brother, keep an eye out for me," Wang Zhitao said, then sat cross‑legged and closed his eyes.

"You're insane!" Wang Zhize jumped in shock.

"I have to go mad!"

Wang Zhitao ignored his brother's exclamation, sinking his spirit inward. He mimicked Grandpa's earlier guidance, beginning to actively circulate the Devouring Primordial Overlord Body technique.

Buzz!

Golden patterns on his tiny body lit up instantly, and an invisible suction radiated from him.

A wisp of faint blood‑red energy mist, the nearest to him, seemed drawn in and drifted slowly toward his nose, slipping in.

"Ugh!"

Excruciating pain! Unimaginable agony!

It felt like a rusted knife scraping back and forth through his Meridians, and like swallowing a red‑hot coal. Wang Zhitao's small face flushed scarlet, veins burst from his forehead, and his body convulsed uncontrollably.

"Zhitao!" Wang Zhize rushed to help him, but his hand halted mid‑air.

He saw that, though his brother's features were twisted in pain, the golden patterns on his body grew brighter and more dazzling at a visible pace. The patterns seemed alive, frantically devouring the invasive chaotic energy.

Wang Zhitao clenched his teeth hard, refusing to let out a sound.

He could feel the chaotic energy being gradually broken down, filtered, and refined by the golden patterns. Its ferocity, bloodiness, and contamination were erased by a domineering force, leaving only the purest life essence, which slowly merged into his limbs and bones.

The process was nothing short of torture.

But he endured.

When the first strand of energy was fully transformed, a warm current surged through his body; the Meridians that had been nearly torn apart not only remained intact but widened slightly.

It really works!

The huge exhilaration dispelled the fear born of pain. Wang Zhitao grew bolder, no longer absorbing strand by strand, but pushing the technique to its limit.

Huff—

Residual energy within a few meters swirled like it had found an outlet, forming a tiny vortex that rushed madly into his body.

"Pfft!" Wang Zhitao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face turning as pale as paper.

It got out of hand!

Just as he thought he would burst, the golden patterns inside him erupted in dazzling light. An insight suddenly flashed in his mind without warning.

Devouring is for transformation. Transformation is for greater strength. But what if you can no longer swallow?

Then… spit it out!

"Give me… out!" Wang Zhitao roared inside his mind.

The golden patterns inside him reversed in a mysterious way, and a perfectly purified energy surged along his arm, which he slammed onto the ground with a palm.

Bang!

A shallow palm imprint remained on the ground, and a pure life aura spread outward.

It worked!

Energy devouring and feedback!

Under the immense pressure of life‑and‑death, Wang Zhitao accidentally, yet surprisingly, grasped a deeper application of the Devouring Primordial Overlord Body! He could not only devour, but also expel the purified energy outward!

At that moment, he let loose completely, like a gluttonous little beast, ravenously devouring the Cave's residual energy and hurling the indigestible portion outward as attacks, honing his new ability in real combat.

On the other side, Wang Zhize watched his brother's transformation, his heart trembling beyond words.

He lowered his gaze to the warm black Black Jade Slip in his hand.

Brother has the Devouring Primordial Overlord Body; what does he have?

Just this unassuming Black Jade Slip that Grandpa shoved into him?

He mimicked his brother, trying to draw those twisted energies. Yet whenever they neared him, he felt a soul‑deep nausea and repulsion.

No, the approach is wrong.

His eyes returned to the Slip. Grandpa had said this is the Wang Family's Core of inheritance.

He attempted to infuse a sliver of his bloodline power into the Slip.

The Slip glowed faintly, and a cool breath flowed along his arm into his mind.

Detected homogenous high‑dimensional distortion energy…

Inheritance Core permission unlocked: basic analysis and guidance…

Establishing temporary link… Link established successfully.

A series of cold and unfamiliar data streams rang directly in his mind.

Wang Zhize was stunned. What is this…?

Before he could comprehend, he found that when he held the jade slip, the surrounding twisted energy that made him feel nauseous became gentle within a one‑foot radius of his body, as if tamed by some invisible force.

Summoning courage, he extended his other hand and cautiously touched a strand of the outermost gray‑black twisted energy.

This time, there was no nausea, only a chilling sensation.

Moreover, he felt a faint yet exceedingly pure force slip along his fingertip, piercing his body and merging into his bloodline.

This force differed from his younger brother's transformed life source; it was older, deeper, bearing the flavor of a "law."

Wang Zhize's eyes grew ever brighter.

He understood!

His brother's constitution is "devour," a plunder; his own bloodline and this jade slip are "analysis" and "guidance," a mastery!

He immediately steadied his mind, grasped the jade slip, and began repeatedly attempting deeper connections with the twisted energy. He discovered that through the jade slip he could even make a small stream of energy move slowly at his will.

Though the range was tiny and the control pitifully weak, it was undeniably an astonishing start!

One devours all, the other commands the law.

The two grandchildren of the Wang Family, in this desperate deathland, were forced to reveal their most astonishing potential. In the crucible of life and death, they grew wildly in a barbaric yet efficient manner.

And all of this fell into the "eye" of that massive black silhouette.

Deep within Wang Shan's crimson beast eye, a trace of humanized satisfaction flickered.

He could clearly perceive the changes in the two grandchildren.

One resembled an endless black hole, wildly expanding itself.

The other was like a newborn deity, learning to weave the law.

Good.

Very good!

This is the true seed of his Wang Family!

The children were no longer burdens that could only hide behind him; they began to possess claws to survive in this hell.

Wang Shan slowly turned his massive head, gazing toward the Cave Entrance behind him that he had forced open with his body, leading to deeper darkness.

Inside lay even more terrifying dangers, and also… endless "nutrients" that could make them stronger.

The mad plan in his heart now became clearer and more resolute.

He would pave the way for them.

Using his own body and this twisted law, he would forge for them a path to ultimate strength, strewn with thorns and glory.