Chapter 89: and translation of title, then ===GLOSSARY=== with list of named entities/coined terms appearing in these lines, using e

Boom—

The heavy stone door slammed shut as Wang Shan and the others rushed in, emitting a deafening boom that completely sealed off the passage inside and out.

In that final instant, Wang Shan caught a glimpse of Wan Tianjue's startled and furious face out of the corner of his eye, and he too lunged forward.

"Ha, shut the door and beat the dog… no, shut the door and beat the old dog!" Wang Shan muttered to himself, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.

"Clan Leader, did this door… close by itself?" Wang Fang's voice trembled slightly; obviously that just now had frightened her quite a bit.

The light inside the passage suddenly dimmed, leaving only a few unknown minerals embedded in the stone walls emitting a faint fluorescence, barely enough to see by.

The air was filled with a heavy stench of decay, mixed with a faint smell of blood and dust, making it somewhat hard to bear.

"Well, it's shut. Good, saves that old thing from running off, or those mutant demon beasts outside from barging in and causing trouble." Wang Shan signaled everyone to stay alert, "Be careful, this place probably isn't simple."

As his words fell, the system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Beep—scan complete. The passage is about five hundred zhang long, three zhang wide, and three zhang high. Detected thirty-seven complex linked mechanism traps, fifteen remaining seals. Also detected one hundred twenty-three first-order demon beast remnant souls in a free state; these remnant souls have no substantive physical attack power, but can continuously disturb a cultivator's mind, causing mental fatigue, auditory and visual hallucinations, etc."

Wang Shan raised his eyebrows slightly and briefly informed everyone of the system's findings: "This passage has plenty of mechanism traps, plus some demon beast remnant souls that can affect the mind—stay extra vigilant!"

"Demon beast remnant souls? What are those?" Wang Yong asked in a muffled voice, clearly uneasy about something intangible and invisible.

"Simply put, they're the souls of demon beasts that didn't dissipate after death—nothing too serious." Wang Shan said lightly, though he was calculating in his mind. Though these remnant souls are only first-order, their numbers are not few, and constant harassment would be a considerable burden on the mental state of Qi Refining cultivators.

The group proceeded cautiously, Wang Shan leading the way, constantly heeding the system's warnings.

Having gone less than thirty zhang, Wang Shan's foot halted abruptly: "Stop! Three steps forward left, two steps forward right—something's off with the ground!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stopped, holding their breath and focusing.

"Crack—"

Almost simultaneously, as Wang Shan's words fell, the ground he had warned about suddenly collapsed without warning, revealing dense, icy-glinting sharp spikes below! Each spike was as thick as a child's arm, its tip glowing with a faint blue light, clearly coated with deadly poison.

"My mother!" Wang Zhitao sucked in a cold breath, feeling a chill run down his back. If it weren't for the Clan Leader's warning, at least two or three of us would have been hit.

Even so, a young tribesperson on the edge of the group, dodging a bit too slowly, had his calf sliced open by an outer spike, blood instantly welling up and the wound's edges quickly turning black.

"Quick! Antidote pill!" Wang Shan said at once.

That tribesman endured the pain and took the pill; his complexion eased a little.

"Clan Leader, this trap is too vicious!" Wang Yong said, still shaken.

Wang Shan remained silent as his mind's system swiftly analyzed: "Beep—mechanism analysis in progress… This trap is the 'Heart-Piercing Spike,' triggered by gravity sensing, linked to the residual Beast Taming Sect Soul-Gathering Array in the surrounding stone walls. When a living being steps into the sensing zone, it draws on the faint demon beast soul power stored in the array, thereby activating the trap."

"Using demon beast souls to control the mechanism?" After hearing the system's analysis, Wang Shan thought the Beast Taming Sect's methods were truly bizarre and unfathomable. Isn't this just another kind of automated trap? And with smart identification to boot.

"Everyone, stick close to me and don't act on your own!" Wang Shan cautioned again.

The group continued forward, the atmosphere even more solemn than before.

Not far along, Wang Shan sensed a faint, eerie chill beginning to waft around them.

"Woo—"

Several low, inhuman wails echoed through the passage, making scalps tingle.

"Here they come!" Wang Shan barked low.

Only to see several blurry, pale cyan phantoms, like will-o'-the-wisps, seeping from the stone walls and drifting toward the crowd. These phantoms varied in form, vaguely recognizable as the silhouettes of wolves, leopards, and similar demon beasts—exactly the first-order demon beast remnant souls the system had mentioned.

"Protective Body Light!" Wang Zhize reacted instantly, immediately raising his Protective Body Light.

The rest of the tribespeople followed suit.

Yet those demon beast remnant souls seemed to ignore their spiritual light defense, passing straight through and entering their bodies.

"Ah!"

"My head!"

Immediately, several tribespeople with weaker cultivation cried out in pain, clutching their heads, faces twisted in agony, their steps becoming unsteady.

Wang Shan also felt a cold force trying to invade his sea of consciousness, but the system's power easily blocked it from outside. He saw that Wang Zhize and the others, though barely holding on, looked none too well.

"These things attack the soul directly!" Wang Shan realized at once.

"Clan Leader, I… my head hurts terribly, my vision's swimming!" Wang Fang leaned against the stone wall, her voice weak.

"Damn it!" Wang Shan cursed inwardly; this was more troublesome than expected. He immediately opened the system mall and quickly browsed.

"Got it! 【Purifying Heart Talisman】, a second-order talisman, effective against mental intrusion, priced at 50 Spirit Plant Points each."

Earlier, after cleaning the battlefield and harvesting Shadow Wolf Spirit Cores, we had gained 1000 Spirit Plant Points; crafting the Third-Tier Healing Pill cost 50 recipe points and 300 for materials, leaving 200, plus the original 75 left over, for a total of 275.

"Exchange ten!" Wang Shan said without hesitation.

With the 【Purifying Heart Talisman】 in hand, Wang Shan immediately distributed them: "Put them on your forehead or chest!"

Everyone did as told. The pale yellow talisman, upon touching the skin, turned into a cool breath that flowed into the body; the previous splitting headache and mental unrest instantly lessened greatly, and their minds cleared.

"Huh? Much better!"

"This talisman really works! Clan Leader, your treasure is…" Wang Yong exclaimed delightedly, his gaze toward Wang Shan growing more reverent. This clan leader is practically a walking treasury!

Wang Shan ignored their astonishment, his voice deep: "Don't get careless; the talismans' effect is limited. We need to get through here quickly. Old Wan Tianjue is surely facing these troubles too."

As his words fell, the system prompt sounded again: "Beep—target Wan Tianjue detected about a hundred zhang behind; his advance speed is significantly reduced due to the mechanisms and demon beast remnant souls."

"Oh?" Wang Shan's heart stirred. "System, what's Wan Tianjue's current condition?"

"Target Wan Tianjue previously had injuries; his soul is damaged and not yet healed, making the demon beast remnant souls' interference more evident. When dealing with mechanism traps, his disturbed spiritual sense leads to easy misjudgment and greater consumption."

"Great opportunity!" Wang Shan's spirits lifted. This truly is heaven helping me! Wan Tianjue's soul was already wounded; these remnant souls are practically adding frost to snow for him. This is the perfect chance for us to widen the gap, or even turn the tables and scheme against him!

"Looks like the Beast Taming Sect's arrangements aren't entirely useless after all." Wang Shan mused, "System, do you have a higher-level analysis tool specifically for these ancient sect mechanisms?"

"Searching… recommending exchange for 【Third-Tier Mechanism Analysis Chart】, which can parse the principles of most third-tier and below mechanisms and seals, and provide solutions. Price: 150 Spirit Plant Points."

"Exchange!" Wang Shan now had plenty of Spirit Plant Points (275-50*10 per sheet—since he bought 10 sheets earlier, that leaves 275‑50=225 points remaining, then spending 150), so this investment to quickly escape the predicament is nothing.

A complex stream of information instantly flooded Wang Shan's mind, countless intricate mechanism diagrams and seal symbols flowing through his sea of consciousness.

"Now I see!" Wang Shan's eyes flashed with insight.

With the 【Third-Tier Mechanism Analysis Chart】, he instantly gained a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and traps in this passage.

Although the road ahead remained perilous, thanks to Wang Shan's early warning and command, the team always managed to avoid most deadly traps with narrow escapes.

"Turn left ahead, walk close to the right stone wall; the third stone slab is hollow—detour!"

"Stop! Wait, there are three linked arrow traps ahead; I'll break their activation runes first." Wang Shan said, tapping his fingers a few times in the air, sending weak Spiritual Power strikes into an inconspicuous corner of the stone wall. With a few soft "click" sounds, the danger ahead vanished.

Wang Zhize and the others stared agape, utterly admiring Wang Shan.

"Clan Leader, how… how do you know everything?" Wang Zhitao couldn't help asking.

"Just a little, just a little." Wang Shan waved his hand, as if he couldn't admit he was cheating.

He even tried to use the 【Mechanism Analysis Chart】 to subtly alter the trigger conditions of a few mechanisms they had just passed. Although he didn't know if it would actually harm Wan Tianjue behind them, making him feel uneasy was always good.

"Hey, old thing, take your time playing!" Wang Shan chuckled inwardly.

Thus, under Wang Shan's leadership, the team trudged through the passage filled with mechanisms and lingering souls, though their speed was considerably faster than at the start.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a faint light finally appeared ahead.

"Look, we've reached the end!" Wang Fang exclaimed delightedly.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they quickened their pace.

After passing through the final narrow corridor, the view suddenly opened up!

A vast underground space appeared before them, as large as several Black Stone Town squares, its high arched ceiling studded with countless glowing crystals that lit the whole area like daylight.

And in the center of the space, the most striking feature was a massive stone stele!

That stele stood about ten zhang high and three zhang wide, its whole body a dark gold of unknown material. Its surface was not smooth but covered with dense, tadpole-like mysterious symbols and some ancient scripts never seen before, exuding a vast, ancient, and solemn aura.

The stele hovered silently a few feet above the ground, surrounded by a faint seven-colored glow, as if it contained endless mysteries.

"This is..." Wang Zhize and the others were so stunned by the sight that they could not speak.

Wang Shan's heart also pounded violently at that moment, and a system prompt sounded timely in his mind:

"Beep—High-density energy reaction detected! The stele ahead is the Core Inheritance carrier of the 【Beast Taming Sect】—the 【Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele】!"

"【Ten Thousand Beasts General Compendium Stele】..." Wang Shan muttered, his eyes blazing, "Finally found it!"