Chapter 57: I

The system alert in Wang Shan's mind, the Red Dot flashing like a death‑chaser, made his heart race! What does that thing mean?

At least an old monster at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Coming straight from Luo Bay County, it's barreling toward us like a fire‑lit butt!

Damn, it's less than a hundred li away!

"Zhi Ze!" Wang Shan's throat felt like a stone was stuck, his voice dry and hoarse, "Push this damn ship to the death! The faster, the better! Don't you damn well hold back the Spirit Stones!"

Creak… squeak…

This 【Black Feather Boat】 is like an old car about to fall apart, rattling all over when it runs; just listening makes you sweat for it.

Those spots patched temporarily with Spirit Glue Wood and Stable Flow Silk feel like they'll burst open any second.

Especially the Energy Core—Wang Shan knows just by feeling with his toe that the crack has definitely widened!

The Upper Grade Spirit Stone powering the vessel is losing its spiritual energy faster than a waterfall, whooshing, making Wang Shan feel his heart bleed.

This isn't flying; it's literally burning life for speed!

He glanced at the crude map on the system interface.

Combining the pitiful intel the Shangguan Family gave earlier with the snippets unearthed from the old dog Wan Hong's relics, the general direction is correct: the Man Yun Mountain Range to the south.

But how exactly to go? Which road is safe?

Who the hell knows! The Man Yun Mountain Range is notoriously treacherous, with beasts everywhere, poisonous miasma spreading; whether you can get out alive is another story.

Damn it, the cauldron's ready, just waiting for the turtle to arrive!

No, we can't dawdle any longer! If we go slower, that old thing behind will catch up, and everyone will have to be dealt with here!

Wang Shan abruptly pulled a talisman from his chest, its light flickering; it was the 【One-Time Acceleration Rune】 he scraped together from the system Mall. Without blinking, he poured Spiritual Power into it and slapped it onto the vessel's Control Console with a "pop".

"Hum——!"

The talisman turned into a sharp flash of light, shooting into the hull. The whole 【Black Feather Boat】 jolted, as if kicked hard from behind, and surged forward a great distance in an instant! The speed was terrifying; the night outside the window turned into streaks. On the System Map, the relentless Red Dot finally fell a little behind.

Wang Shan knew the deal; this thing was like a shot of adrenaline—its effect came fast and faded fast, while deadeningly adding weight to the damn ship. He had to seize the moment and whip up something else!

His thoughts shifted, and his awareness slipped back into the system space.

First, he took the batch of 【Soul-Returning Grass】, 【Coagulating Flower】 and the like that he'd previously hastened to mature, tossed them into the system's built‑in broken furnace, haphazardly forged them into a lump of pill, and flung it to Wang Zhize: "Take it! If you're wounded or weak, chew it right now! Don't hold back!"

Then, staring at the Spirit Plant Points that had just ticked up a bit, he steeled himself, closed his eyes, and slammed another batch of seeds for rapid maturation. The goal was simple: stock points! One more point might buy a life in a critical moment— even a mosquito's leg is still flesh!

【Warning: Temporary repair materials 'Spirit Glue Wood', 'Stable Flow Silk' are ineffective! The hull's about to give out! Find a solution quickly, either fix it or replace with premium goods!】

The system's alert tone remained cold and impersonal, lacking any humanity.

Wang Shan hurriedly opened the Mall, found the repair materials section. Hey, there was something better—【Star-Pattern Iron Essence】, the name sounded badass, said to be the hard currency for repairing second‑tier Magic Artifacts. But the price… Damn! Just a tiny pinch, yet 2000 Spirit Plant Points!

Fuck! This system knows how to butcher you! With his current meager funds, what can he even buy?

What to do? Just wait to be caught and then get wiped out in one go?

Wang Shan's gaze unintentionally drifted to the blindingly bright Upper Grade Spirit Stone in the drive core. Its energy was massive, far stronger than a Middle-Grade Spirit Stone. If… if he could scrape off just a tiny bit, maybe he could patch the soon‑to‑burst core?

The thought sprouted like weeds in his mind, impossible to suppress. He knew the Upper Grade Spirit Stone's energy could explode, possibly blowing the ship to fireworks! But now, was there any other way?

Damn, gamble! Fortune favors the bold!

Wang Shan held his breath, like a thief, carefully extending a sliver of Spiritual Sense to gently touch the Upper Grade Spirit Stone, trying to draw a thread of spiritual energy into the core's fissure.

Result: he was still too naive!

The strand of spiritual energy, once drawn, went berserk like a mad dog, instantly spiraling out of control! Pure frenzy!

Boom!

An indescribable surge of chaotic energy erupted in the core! The entire 【Black Feather Boat】 lurched like a drunk, wildly swaying and shaking! The cabin instantly turned into a mess of porridge, filled with screams and muffled groans. Several unlucky souls were flung against the walls with a 'bang‑bang', spitting blood on impact, clearly badly hurt. Wang Zhize also staggered, let out a muffled groan, his face as white as paper.

"Dad!" Wang Zhize hurriedly grabbed the nearby hull.

Wang Shan himself turned ghost‑pale, his soul nearly fled, and he quickly withdrew his Spiritual Sense. The violent surge only gradually subsided. Watching the cabin's chaotic state and the terrified, injured clan members, he felt a crushing regret—like being blinded by pork‑fat! That Upper Grade Spirit Stone is certainly not something he can touch now! The feeling was akin to the scene where Hua Fei, after rebirth, avoids Huan Yixiang and silently vows to have a big chubby child, only to be told at the ten‑month birth that she's carrying dragon‑phoenix twins, then unexpectedly goes into premature labor, the midwife asks which to save, and in indecision both are lost—a sheer sense of helplessness!

Just then, the system alert blared again like a soul‑chasing drum!

【Warning! That guy is close again! Less than eighty li!】

【Warning! Acceleration Rune effect is fading fast!】

Damn!

The acceleration's about to stop! That old immortal is catching up again!

Wang Shan snapped his head up, looking into the cabin. The clan members stared blankly, faces full of terror and bewilderment, and the little kids were so scared they clung to adults, trembling like sifted chaff.

Seeing these relatives who'd fled with him to the ends of the world, Wang Shan's uneasy heart instantly hardened like iron!

He slammed a fist into the nearby hull, a 'thud', startling everyone; the cabin fell silent.

All eyes instantly fixed on him.

Wang Shan's back, previously hunched from injury and fatigue, straightened abruptly, his eyes blazing, his voice thundering, echoing through the cramped cabin:

"Everyone, straighten your spines! Each of you with a grieving face, cursing who should die!"

"Those damn Wan Family dogs want us wiped out? Want to dig a pit and bury the Wang Family? What a damn lofty dream!"

"Even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of fire! Even if it's at Yama's doorstep! I'll carve a living path for you today!"

His gaze swept over each person like a blade, brimming with undeniable ferocity and reckless madness.

"Hold on tight!"