Dead silence.
Everyone turned back in shock.
To think that the commander of the Empire's Tacheng garrison base, an influential Celestial-Human wielding immense authority, an imperial duke who had once contested for the imperial throne... had perished between wolf jaws in a single bout!
He had not even managed to leave behind a single final word.
Even an ordinary follower of Entropy would likely be killed or severely crippled after taking a full close-range combo from the White Stag, to say nothing of the Wolf of the Mountain, renowned for centuries for its ferocious fangs and claws.
Who cared about all that!
A Celestial-Human?
It wasn't as if it hadn't killed one before.
And so, following the vile fiend Corpse Mountain, the Celestial-Human Passarella fell!
Between bone-white teeth, blood like molten lava seeped forth, cascading from the sky and turning midair into a burning rain that engulfed the earth in a sea of fire.
Belated shrieks and roars echoed outward through the flames, chillingly shrill.
Having landed its blow, the Wolf of the Mountain did not press its advantage. Instead, it faded back into the shadows and vanished, leaving only raspy laughter echoing in the wind.
From the start of the battle until now, the Kingdom of the Woods had nearly fallen to pieces. The colossal tree was riddled with fissures, tottering precariously, looking as though a single kick would wipe it out completely.
Yet it was precisely this dying, moribund state that made everyone all the more wary.
Some had even... begun to pull back.
In this team fight, Corpse Mountain had died, and Passarella had died. Each side had given up one life, so their actual losses were technically equal.
A one-for-one trade—one could force themselves to call it even.
But in reality?
It was a colossal loss!
Don't forget where this was!
Setting aside Passarella's past status, right now he was merely a scapegoat seeking redemption through merit or awaiting trial; his political life was practically finished.
It was foreseeable that once due process ran its course, he would most likely be stripped of his noble title and forced to step down in disgrace. At that point, it wouldn't matter where he died.
Yet before that happened, he was still an imperial duke, an imperial tool and weapon, a Celestial-Human blessed by the Earth Sovereign!
As for Corpse Mountain, she was a vile fiend who had flourished for centuries, and an exceedingly rare Sin of the White Pavilion whose rarity arguably surpassed even Passarella's—not to mention that her rotting vitality was vast as mountains and seas.
Now, the representative of Tianyuan had died under the wolf's fangs and claws, and Corpse Mountain had crumbled under the White Stag's surprise assault. Both had perished together within the Kingdom of the Woods.
It was practically like two massive, successive sacrifices: with the Kingdom of the Woods serving as the altar, the various factions had used hunting and ambushes as rites, ultimately offering a colossal bounty to the unborn wolf!
What this triggered... was the instinctual [Plunder] of the third Wolf Sin, which had not yet completed its metamorphosis!
In an instant, the pale, colossal tree was dyed blood-red. Countless scarlet blooms withered in a flash, and the fracture-riddled branches became laden with plump, succulent fruits!
Amidst swirling blood-red halos, eerie silhouettes shifted endlessly inside the fruits.
Even Ji Jue felt a wave of dizziness.
The black flames within his soul surged in spasms, and his own Wolf Blood Oath swelled wildly, skyrocketing again and again!
This sudden gift had reached an abnormal degree of abundance—so much that it rattled his heart.
Compared to the meager, evenly distributed drippings received by the other wolves, it was as if an invisible hand had cranked open a valve and forcefully shoved the torrent from a fire hose straight down his throat!
Even though Ji Jue had no connection whatsoever to the third wolf and eating however much would yield no feedback for it, it made no difference.
It was as though someone hiding in Shangri-La was doing everything possible to stall the third Wolf Sin's metamorphosis!
Yet even if Ji Jue ate his fill, how much could he possibly consume?
In the end, it was a drop in the ocean...
Through waves of dizziness, countless insights and realizations born of the wolf welled up inside him.
If the common ground between Tianyuan and the White Stag lay in [Equality], then the origin of the entanglement between the birth of the Tower and the wolf lay in this near-essential [Inequality]!
In unequal subjugation, Usurpers were forged; in unequal hunts, wolves were nurtured!
The successive deaths of a vile fiend and a Celestial-Human acted like a sudden stimulant, revitalizing the tottering Kingdom of the Woods with renewed radiance. It further catalyzed the third wolf's metamorphosis, truly allowing the Priest-King to gradually return from death!
In that instant, atop the fractured colossal tree, that shriveled corpse stirred slightly.
As if jolted awake from a nightmare for a fleeting second.
What this stirred up was a frantic tide that swept through the entire Kingdom of the Woods—no, across the entirety of the White Nation!
A tide of bloody light erupted from the giant tree and blew outward in all directions, blanketing the night sky. Like swirling, murky blood, wisps of scarlet converged and shone like stars, hanging so low they seemed ready to drip down upon the mortal world.
And within the Kingdom of the Woods, amidst the countless dense forest phantoms manifesting out of thin air, a spine-chilling, crisp chiming of bells rang out once more from the deepest darkness.
The Wolf of Bones opened its eyes once more, gazing into the realm of the living in that brief moment.
It stared at the Empire and Federation, encroaching step by step once again.
It could no longer hold back its boundless venom and hatred!
With just this single glance, the immense Kingdom of the Woods completely transformed into an unholy domain, driving away all power of the Supreme Virtues, suppressing every Law of Tianyuan, and leaving no ground for the White Stag's blessings to take root.
As the surging aftershocks spread, the White Nation was thrown into turmoil. Every citizen entangled in the Wolf Blood Oath fell into daze and madness, shrieking in agony.
The lucky ones deteriorated rapidly; the less fortunate plunged into unconsciousness, their breaths faint as threads.
Every patient afflicted with Bloodthirst Syndrome went entirely mad in that very instant, lunging uncontrollably at any living thing beside them, cannibalizing one another amid wails.
The final boundary was crossed here.
No one could block or delay it any longer, nor was there any hope of turning back; the ritual could no longer be interrupted.
From this moment forth, the birth of the third Wolf Sin was virtually a foregone conclusion!
In Tacheng's garrison base, numerous Calamity Alerts popped up across the massive screen. Amidst a solemn and oppressive atmosphere, Fan Yun stood with hands clasped behind his back, quietly watching the spreading bloody red on the display.
Suddenly, he gave a soft sigh.
The corner of his mouth curved slightly.
"At last..."
*
In the fleeting illusion, Ji Jue looked once more toward the deepest reaches of the dense forest, into that mire-like darkness, toward that ferocious, venomous Wolf of Bones.
The wolf looked back at him.
Yet its gaze passed right through the insignificant Ji Jue, looking toward the White Nation drenched in blood. It stared blankly, as if unable to recognize its own homeland anymore.
Down its rotting face, turbid tears of blood trickled.
It erupted into sudden fury, struggling desperately. The darkness boiled and the shadowy forest trembled violently as it roared madly, screaming hysterically at everything.
It was like a mournful wail.
Yet no one was listening anymore.
Within the Kingdom of the Woods, across the blood-red sky, stars hung like wolves' eyes.
Amidst the roar of the third Wolf Sin, Tong Shan's vision went black. He stumbled, barely able to keep his footing, thick blood oozing from his mouth and nose.
Before long, a hand pressed onto his shoulder, causing all his injuries to slough away and restoring him to wholeness rapidly.
"For now, this is as much as I can heal you. You'll just have to endure the rest."
In the ruins, Xu Ranshuang, who had reconstituted her body, sighed softly as she suppressed the mutations along her arm and face.
The aura of the White Pavilion brought by Corpse Mountain was a lethal poison to all followers of Vortex. If tainted by even a speck of it, one would likely never know peace again in this life, unable to shake off the White Pavilion's corrosion.
Tong Shan smiled nonchalantly. "When did you arrive, Sister Xu?"
"Just in time—right now."
The rubble shifted, and several staggering figures climbed out, their faces pale and their breathing ragged.
When the explosion occurred, Xu Ranshuang had exerted all her power to rescue a dozen or so Security Bureau agents.
Without mentioning anything that had just transpired, Xu Ranshuang raised her head, looked at the firmament, and suddenly said, "Don't hesitate. Everyone, split up and leave."
Xu Ranshuang glanced back and told Tong Shan, "They take the east, you take the west, and I'll take the main route."
The main route?
Taking the path opened up by the Security Bureau at a time like this?
How was that any kind of main route?
It was clearly a dead end!
Tong Shan's expression shifted slightly. He was just about to speak when he caught Xu Ranshuang's half-smiling expression.
"Bunching together makes us too big a target."
Xu Ranshuang glanced sideways at him. "You're a follower of Tianyuan—are you really trying to compete in durability with someone from the Vortex path? If something goes wrong, could you even escape?"
Tong Shan fell silent, unable to argue.
"All right, get going, get going."
Xu Ranshuang chuckled and gave a final wave. "Stop dawdling. You're acting like it's a tearful farewell between life and death. Fretful and fussy—you're not even half as decisive as that kid Ji Jue."
Ji Jue said nothing, silently seizing every second to repair Little Niuma's outer shell at lightning speed.
Time was short.
"Oh, right."
Before parting, Xu Ranshuang took one last look back at Tong Shan and gave a mischievous grin. "Don't count your blessings too early. Once I come back alive, that secret will keep me fed on your dime for the rest of my life!"
"..."
Tong Shan gave a helpless sigh.
They were saying goodbye—could she not say something serious for once?
But Xu Ranshuang had already taken two steps back. Abruptly springing into the air, she transformed into hundreds of pale giant birds, blotting out the sky as they flew straight toward the forward base.
Under the watchful eyes of many beasts in the distance, she brazenly radiated her own spiritus fluctuations and aura.
Blatantly courting destruction.
Under Xu Ranshuang's cover, the awakened Security Bureau members took detour routes in batches, departing from the ruins and disappearing into the wilderness.
Even in such haste, they demonstrated exceptional operational capability; under temporary organization, with clear roles for vanguard and rearguard, their duties were well divided.
In the end, Tong Shan burned the logbooks to ash, wiping away their final traces. As ash mingled with ash, flames surged through the ruins of the outpost before settling into dead silence.
Meanwhile, an unrecognizable Little Niuma sped westward. Its rumbling engine drew who knew how much attention, but gradually, its outline grew blurrier and blurrier, its image thinning until it vanished into thin air.
Cloaked under the disguise of a blessed creation provided by Tong Shan, the real Little Niuma had taken a detour and plunged into a surging, turbid river.
Following the river's current, it drifted along amidst the silt and sand.
In the dim interior, Ji Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back. "Brother Shan, is anyone watching us?"
Tong Shan took a map from his pocket. The patterns on the map shifted continuously, reflecting their current location, while in the upper right corner, an eye symbol opened slightly, looked around, and closed again as if half-asleep.
Ji Jue was dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected Tong the Vegetable's personal stash to be so lavish—a piece of gear pulled casually from his pocket was actually a Masterwork of the Path of Aether!
"We're still within the perception range of the Kingdom of the Woods, but no one is specifically watching us." Tong Shan relaxed slightly, then his expression tightened. "Wait..."
In that instant, the eye opened a crack.
A reaction was triggered.
"Someone is trying to track us down!"
Tong Shan instantly grew alert. "The directional intent is very clear—it's aimed right at..."
Before he could finish, the earth shook violently.
In the distance, where the outpost had stood, a terrifying blaze soared, fully rivaling Jin Wuyan's earlier outburst.
Countless debris and fragments of rubble vaulted into the sky and crashed back down.
Raging fire dyed the sky crimson, and arcs of leaking lightning turned the entire outpost into scorched earth once again.
The resonant blast and tremors remained strikingly clear even across such a great distance.
One could even faintly hear furious roars and exasperated bellows...
"Whoa!"
Ji Jue marveled. "There really was someone?"
Through the Kingdom of the Woods' perception, another wave of feedback swarmed in, stuffing itself down his throat with such fury that Ji Jue couldn't even tell how much damage the bombs he had planted before leaving had actually achieved.
Then, the eye on the map closed once more.
"Well, there shouldn't be anyone now."
Ji Jue glanced at the map in Tong the Vegetable's hand, feeling his none-too-clean hands itch with the desire to touch and examine it.
Yet he never expected that the moment his fingers touched it, the eye on the map actually snapped open again!
And unlike its previous blank emptiness, it now brimmed with suspicion and fury. Bloodshot and seemingly beside itself with rage, it was staring directly... at him!
Not only that, but through the map's feedback and his wolf perception, he could faintly sense the malice of the pursuer on the other end—bone-deep malice, unutterable hatred!
The eye opened and shut repeatedly as the other party continually spurred tracking blessings of Aether or Defilement, searching for his trail. Yet beneath the faint glow of his wristwatch and the interference of the Imperial Sovereign's Hand, they couldn't locate him at all.
For a moment, Ji Jue couldn't help but be baffled.
This sort of irreconcilable, bitter hatred and revulsion... where on earth did this enemy come from? Wait, did he actually still have surviving enemies?!
The Evil Transmutation Cult? They were practically wiped out. Shehri? If he managed to think of Ji Jue, Ji Jue would eat his hat. Those beasts in Tacheng? Did they still dare to squeak? Surely it couldn't be Profo—
Wait, Profound?!
Ji Jue tensed immediately. Could that damned Kanemoto have come after him?!
But he quickly realized that if it really were Kanemoto, the man would probably have driven his workshop straight down from the sky and slammed right into their faces. Why bother with all this fuss?
Either way, they had to move faster.
He glanced back at the heavily injured Tong Shan, the listless An Ning, and the unconscious Ji Liu and Ji Xue... The Kingdom of the Woods was no longer a safe haven. Wandering around with a bunch of wounded who were teetering on the brink of the ICU was practically courting death.
The situation had deteriorated too quickly, and the trouble was spiraling out of control. The top priority was getting them out first.
Unfortunately, the Celestial Rail was too dangerous, involving far too many factors; unless it was an absolute emergency, it couldn't be used recklessly. Otherwise, why would they have to go through all this hassle?
After a brief deliberation, the aura on Ji Jue's body abruptly shifted, pure aura of Stagnant Rot surging forth.
Immediately following that, he whipped out a large pile of odds and ends and stuffed them into An Ning's and Tong Shan's arms.
"Listen up, everyone. From now on, Brother Shan, you're the envoy of the Usurper. An Ning, you're a Wolf of the Mountain under the Wolf Lord. And I'm a Profound artisan hiring you."
Ji Jue said decisively, "Starting now, we are inner circle members of the Turning Wheel lineage, under the jurisdiction of the Fountainhead of Surging Springs!"
"What the hell?"
Tong Shan was stunned, opening his mouth and then stopping.
"May the Holy King protect us!"
Ji Jue had already slipped into a chief priest's vestments, grinning as he raised both hands. "Welcome back the Saint, and Make the Evil Transmutation Cult Great Again!"
Just like that, after drifting with the current for a dozen or so li, when Little Niuma finally crawled out of the river, it was completely transformed.
Upon its bizarre shell covered in rust spots, totems and emblems of various Great Sins were painted all over, radiating an aura of the Abyss and Vortex purer than that of the Evil Transmutation Cult itself.
The freshly minted Evil Transmutation Cult blended seamlessly into the local aesthetic just like that.
They continued onward.
Meanwhile, behind them, on the scorched ruins of the outpost, severed limbs and shattered bodies were strewn everywhere.
The wails of the surviving pursuers rose continuously, but soon they dared not make a sound.
They held their breath.
From ground zero of the blast, a figure still smoldering with sparks walked out slowly, his hand clenching tightly around earth that retained a faint wisp of aura.
"They sure run fast..."
The three-eyed middle-aged man wore a ferocious expression. "Tell Geludi that the An family's stray little brat and the artisan taught by that b*tch are almost certainly together!
Have him mobilize every wolf in the area and hunt them down!"
Soon, a shrill howl sounded, echoing across the dark wasteland. The prowling wolf packs began to gallop once more.
Discerning every trace, chasing down every clue, they sped in hot pursuit toward the west—toward the forward base and its mountain pass.
Meanwhile, Little Niuma had penetrated deep into the heartland of the White Nation once more. After looping around in a giant arc to the south, it began heading toward the Red Nation.
The Federation's forward base?
Even a dog wouldn't go there!
Chapter 635