Yet, a far swifter figure instantaneously shot past the wind, streaking over the sapling with even greater power and velocity, vanishing ahead like a blur.

Immediately following, a flash of red light appeared; another crimson shadow, in no way inferior to the dark shape ahead, pursued it relentlessly, as if tethered.

Their speed was so immense that even the wind drifting through the forest could not keep pace.

These two figures, one leading and one following in their headlong rush, were none other than Bai Lingba and the Red Wolf King.

When Suoge and the Red Wolf King joined forces, even He Yiming could not stand against them.

However, when He Yiming fell into peril, Bai Lingba, serving as his bodyguard, naturally could not stand idly by.

The issue was Bai Lingba's peculiar identity and his staggering, almost unimaginable fighting style.

To engage in battle before so many innate masters and Totem Envoys risked exposing something about him.

Thus, Bai Lingba employed his own method, launching an unexpected sneak attack on the Red Wolf King, which Yu Jinglei had evaluated as invincible within the 'Sheer Cliff' realm.

By nature, wolves were accustomed only to ambushing others; the concept of being ambushed was alien to them.

Furthermore, Bai Lingba's strike was incredibly precise; the grab to a vital spot unleashed a spray of blood that sent agony deep into the Red Wolf King’s bones.

Moreover, having fur plucked from such a place—whether human or wolf—was an unbearable affront to any being possessing intellect and dignity.

The majestic Red Wolf King, maddened by the sudden assault, gave chase without a second thought.

It resolved that even if it had to run to the ends of the earth, it would tear this person limb from limb and devour him, even if it meant breaking the decades-old vow never to consume human flesh again.

But after crossing several ridges, it discovered that the pursuer’s speed was also reaching its absolute peak.

Although his movements were clumsy and lacked any martial grace, resembling someone who knew nothing of combat techniques and only how to sprint for dear life, utterly lacking the fluidity of a lightness skill user.

Yet, this simple, direct running achieved an incredible pace.

Even employing its full strength, the Wolf King could not close the distance by even an inch.

Slowly, hesitation began to creep in.

After all, it was a spirit beast that had lived for over a thousand years and undergone a mysterious rite; its intelligence was by no means inferior to that of humans.

Once it realized its opponent was far more troublesome than anticipated, it immediately considered retreat.

Though wolves are known for holding grudges, at its advanced stage, it preferred not to engage in ventures where success was uncertain.

Its pace momentarily faltered, and the Red Wolf King slowed slightly.

But in that very instant, it spotted a streak of crimson.

It was a strand of hair, as intensely red as blood, its long end drifting languidly in the air, carried by the wind until it floated right before its eyes.

Staring fixedly at this single hair, its eyes turned scarlet once more.

Anger banished reason, and it drove forward on all four paws, surging ahead like a flying beast.

Suddenly, its motion ceased.

Astonishment flickered through its blood-red eyes.

After passing one more rise, the person ahead had stopped and turned, silently waiting for its arrival.

It had intended to pounce, to rend the target into unrecognizable scraps.

However, the opponent's composed and unhurried demeanor instilled deep caution.

What chilled it further was the chilling realization that it could not sense the figure's aura.

The Red Wolf King, possessing intelligence comparable to humans, understood the application of aura.

It had been blinded by rage earlier, relying only on sight to track; now, after the intense run, it had calmed down.

It slightly lowered its body, baring its teeth in a snarl that suggested an imminent attack, yet its eyes betrayed increasing bewilderment.

This person was clearly right before it, yet why could it not be sensed? It felt as if this massive thing were not a living being, but merely a stone.

Bai Lingba looked at the Red Wolf King and suddenly spoke, "Your combat power is significant." The Red Wolf King paused, startled.

Had the stone just spoken? "I might not necessarily win against you, so perhaps we shouldn't fight at all.

We can just wait here for the outcome of the fight over there." The Red Wolf King’s blood-red eyes darted around.

In its thousand-plus years of existence, the events of today were undoubtedly the strangest.

Even with its profound experience, there was no precedent to draw upon.

Bai Lingba watched the seemingly indecisive Red Wolf King and added, "My body is very hard; you had better not bite me." With that, he leisurely sat down, appearing ready to simply outlast the Wolf King.

The Red Wolf King's muscles slowly relaxed, as if accepting Bai Lingba's suggestion.

Its body gradually lowered towards the ground, seemingly preparing to lie down.

But the moment its belly touched the earth, it suddenly sprang up! In an instant, it was before Bai Lingba, its terrifying, cavernous mouth snapping fiercely toward the latter's head.

Bai Lingba remained seated, unmoving, as if completely oblivious to the impending doom.

The Red Wolf King’s jaws were stretched to their absolute limit.

It felt immense satisfaction; if it had known this creature was merely bluffing, it would have acted sooner.

But it wasn't too late; devouring this detestable creature alive would avenge the insult of having its fur plucked.

Its mouth was far larger than that of a normal wolf, opening to an unbelievable span.

Were anyone to witness it, they might truly wonder if it belonged to a wolf or an alligator.

However, as it bit down, it managed to sever Bai Lingba's entire head.

The teeth, sharp as newly forged blades, lightly sliced through Bai Lingba’s neck, cleanly separating the head.

The Wolf King, still unsatisfied, moved the severed head back before its teeth, aligning it perfectly, and bit down hard.

It intended to splatter Bai Lingba’s brains, leaving not a whole piece behind.

As its teeth sank in, it began to reminisce about its former life.

Back when it was merely an ordinary spirit wolf, not a thousand-year-old entity, it had tasted human brain matter.

That delicacy was unforgettable.

Since aligning itself with Suoge, it hadn't had the chance to savor such a treat.

Just as it began fantasizing about the warm, delicious fluids flowing into its mouth, its teeth finally made intimate contact with Bai Lingba’s head. "Crack…" The Red Wolf King’s action abruptly froze.

Even its large, normally lazy-swishing red tail halted mid-air.

As if struck by a paralysis spell, it was utterly stunned.

Its eyes bulged wide, and its mouth slowly widened further.

A round head slid out of its mouth, embedded in which was a stark white, dagger-sharp fang… A trickle of bright red blood seeped from the Red Wolf King’s mouth, a thick scent of gore flooding its jaws.

Only then did the Red Wolf King recall the person's earlier statement.

His body wasn't just hard; it was hard to an unbelievable degree.

The Red Wolf King, whose wisdom rivaled that of humans, suddenly grasped a terrifying notion: Was this being human, or some peculiar spirit beast akin to a human? No matter the level of human cultivation, a human skull could never be this resilient.

Its teeth were one of its primary weapons of dominance.

Forget a human head; even objects forged from metal as hard as stone—weapons referred to as 'Treasure Artifacts' by humans—could not withstand them.

Yet, here it was, biting into a human skull, and a tooth had broken.

This reality inflicted a perception that utterly overturned its worldview.

Suddenly, a calm voice, utterly devoid of inflection, resonated from somewhere nearby. "I told you, you had better not bite me." Every hair on the Red Wolf King's body immediately stood on end, each strand imbued with potent Heaven and Earth energy.

As a spirit beast over a millennium old, it could absorb as much natural energy as any human.

Yet now, it had deployed everything, reserving not a trace.

Its fur stood erect, making it look like a giant, terrifying, yet oddly comical hedgehog.

Its eyes were locked onto a corpse a short distance away.

The crimson tinge had completely drained from its gaze, leaving behind only an expression of absolute, extreme terror.

Had it not been a millennium-old mutated spirit beast, accustomed to ordering the wolf packs, it would have turned tail and fled long ago.

Because that voice was not coming from an empty space, but from the headless corpse on the ground.

Years of experience told it that not just humans, but even spirit beasts, were undeniably dead once their heads were severed.

A corpse speaking without a head was something unprecedented, something it had never dared to imagine.

Its four legs began to move slowly, but not forward; they were retreating.

The inherent cunning of the wolf took over; it decided that with the slightest unexpected movement, it would bolt.

As for the one who had inflicted such a massive loss upon it… Forget it.

As the great King of the Wolf Clan, a necessary degree of magnanimity was required.

What was one broken tooth and a few lost hairs? They would grow back eventually.

Suddenly, its eyeballs bulged once more.

The corpse, utterly devoid of vital signs, slowly twitched.

As if suffering a spasm, the body moved slightly.

The fur on its body, which had begun to lie flat, exploded outward again, accompanied by the fresh blood dripping from its mouth, making the sight even more terrifyingly grotesque.

From its maw issued a low, warning growl, and a ball of intense flame slowly formed in its mouth.

Apparently unaffected by the pressure emanating from the fireball, the corpse moved again. "Hoooh…" Scorching heat erupted from the Red Wolf King’s mouth.

The fireball shot toward the corpse on the ground with maximum velocity.

With a massive boom, a gaping hole melted through the center of the corpse, nearly severing it into two pieces at the waist.

This breath of fire expelled every bit of fire energy contained within the Red Wolf King.

Faced with this terrifying, unknown horror it had never encountered, it had pushed its potential to the limit, concentrating all its internal fire energy into a single point.

A blast this powerful was certainly the first of its life.

A flicker of relief finally crossed its eyes.

The head was gone, and the remaining body was blasted into two segments.

At this point, even a legendary Divine Path master would likely not survive.

It stared intently at the body on the ground, and after a long moment, the Red Wolf King was finally certain that this person was completely dead.

Only then did the fur on its body gradually settle down, and its small, frightened heart returned to its normal rhythm.

But then… The Red Wolf King turned its head.

It felt that something about the scene was fundamentally wrong, yet for a moment, it couldn't pinpoint the discrepancy.

Its keen vision swept back and forth across the ground.

When its gaze fell upon the head with its own wolf fang embedded in it, a trace of sadness crossed the Red Wolf King’s eyes—its fang, which had been with it for nearly a thousand years, was now gone.

Hatred flared in its eyes again, but having learned its lesson, even with twice the courage, it would not dare covet this corpse again.

To lose another tooth would be a regret beyond measure.

It licked the wound with its thick tongue, the bloody taste filling its mouth.

However, its action suddenly halted.

It slowly raised its head, its gaze glittering with sheer terror.

In that moment, it finally understood what was amiss.

The blood.

Whether its head was severed or its body blown in half, this person had not shed a single drop of blood from start to finish.

It was as if there were not a single drop of blood within his body.

This realization sent a chill through its entire being, plunging it into an icy abyss.

As the new King of the Wolf Clan, it had never known fear, even when facing the kings of the Tiger, Bear, Lion, or Leopard clans.

From the day it was born, it had been proud.

A thousand years of reigning supreme in the mountains had instilled in it an unshakeable confidence to face any enemy.

But now, it was afraid—a fear of the unknown.

No matter how powerful a spirit beast, it remained a beast.

While possessing intelligence comparable to humans, when confronted with the unknown or a vastly superior existence, their primal instincts could override their rationality.

The corpse on the ground moved again.

This time, the movement was slight, as if merely nudged by the wind.

But the Red Wolf King knew this was not the wind's doing; it was the (bizarre) corpse’s own power.

Its gaze suddenly snapped to the head it had violently torn off.

At this sight, its normally vibrant heart seemed unable to bear the pressure and abruptly stopped beating.

All the fur on its body stood erect for the third time, and this time, it remained stiffly raised, showing no sign of subsiding.

That head had, somehow, turned to face it.

Eye to eye, a pair of bright, jewel-like eyes stared intently at it.

In those eyes, there was no emotion, only a stillness as deep and distant as the night sky.

Suddenly, a piercing, shrill howl echoed across the area, breaking the silence.

This abrupt sound jolted the Red Wolf King back to awareness.

It reared its head and let out a matching howl, though its cry now contained a note of panic, fear, and a deep current of relief.

Finally free; no longer needing to be near this terrifying entity—this was the only sentiment the intelligent, thousand-year-old mutated Red Wolf King held.

Then, the Red Wolf King turned and fled into the distance at an unprecedented speed, instantly reaching its maximum velocity.

Along the way, it lacked the courage to even glance back.

Of course, retrieving the broken fang embedded in the severed head was out of the question… ※※※※ After the Red Wolf King escaped at top speed, the corpse on the ground, which was nearly in three pieces, finally began to writhe in earnest.

It started to melt first, transforming into a metallic-hued liquid.

This liquid seemed to possess an inherent memory, converging toward a single point.

As this occurred, the surroundings fell utterly silent, not even the chirp of an insect remaining.

Slowly, all the liquid gathered together, then, as if a central pillar were rising from within, it began to stand erect.

In just a few breaths, Bai Lingba was reborn from this pool of liquid metal.

His body was spotless, just as before, and his gaze shone with bright light, clearly marking him as something other than human.

He extended one hand.

In the palm of this metal-sheened hand rested a single, chillingly sharp fang.

The tooth was incredibly hard; even with his power, he had only managed to break off a single one of the Red Wolf King's fangs.

The might of a supreme spirit beast was indeed unmatched.

Based solely on the resilience of its body, Bai Lingba deduced that the Red Wolf King’s power was likely comparable to that of He Yiming.

A thousand-year mutated spirit beast was truly an unrivaled existence among its peers.

His expression remained fixed, apparently contemplating something.

After a moment, he spoke to himself, "I only promised not to disclose the matter to others.

This wolf is not human, so my actions have not violated the sequence." "Its actions demonstrated that it is also an intelligent life form, and I have no right to kill intelligent life on the Primitive Planet, so I cannot kill it either." "However, it intends to kill He Yiming, and since I must secure He Yiming’s safety to obtain the Energy Stone for evolution, there is a conflict in the program sequence...

The first sequence takes priority: ensuring the evolution of the first sequence, therefore, protect He Yiming." Once he reached this final decision, his feet were already launched into motion, swift as lightning.

While his movements might lack the graceful extension of the Red Wolf King's limbs during its run, in terms of pure speed, he was not the least bit slow!