Halin's eyes were filled with a look of fervent hope. As she was about to meet Suoge, a powerful desire to survive surged within her heart.
He Yiming, that impossibly strong being, could only be contended with by an Arch-Emissary like Suoge and his millennium-mutated Spirit Beast.
Even though it was the dead of the twelfth lunar month, a fierce heat was rising from her body.
This was the result of excitement, causing her blood to boil. For her, a Totem Emissary, to become so flustered without realizing it—if this news reached the clan, few would ever believe it.
However, with all her companions fallen, in Halin’s mind, He Yiming was undoubtedly the Demon God of the current age, a truly nightmarish presence in her heart.
The Red Wolf King was not far now; she could even clearly see its gaping maw.
Yet, what struck her as strange was that within the Red Wolf King’s mouth, there was a huge ball of crimson fire.
Although she had not earned the recognition of that particular millennium Spirit Wolf, she knew this was the Red Wolf King's Breath of Fire, one of its ultimate trump cards.
But she could not comprehend why the Red Wolf King would prepare the Breath of Fire immediately upon meeting her.
Suddenly, she realized that the gazes of both Suoge and the Red Wolf King were not fixed on her, but were fixed on the space behind her.
Her heart instantly exploded; behind her…
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she felt something strike her lower back, followed by a massive broadsword piercing out from her chest.
The sword's residual force was unrelenting; the four-meter-long giant weapon completely impaled her body, carrying a spray of blood mist toward the Red Wolf King ahead.
Suoge pulled back his hand; on his grasp was a wolf’s claw forged from refined steel, seeming to possess the force of a thousand jun. The great Guan Dao, which made everyone tremble, stalled against his arm for a moment before its trajectory shifted.
Halin’s chest and abdomen had become a gaping, bloody hole, and only now did the whistling sound of the blade tearing through the air violently register in her ears.
All strength seemed to abandon her at that moment; her knees buckled, and she slumped diagonally onto the snow. Color slowly drained from her eyes.
Her century of life flashed across her dying vision like lightning, finally dissipating.
And just before everything returned to nothingness, she seemed to hear a clear voice, yet one filled with hatred.
“Only you remain…”
※※※※
He Yiming did not approach Harvey because she was too close to Suoge. Thus, he very simply threw the great Guan Dao in his hand like a projectile weapon.
This throw contained the entirety of his power; the mighty True Qi made the blade lightning-fast, perhaps even a fraction faster than sound itself.
Though Harvey was powerful, she possessed no ability to resist this strike.
The blade passed clean through her chest, and this final Wolf Totem Emissary collapsed to the ground, dying right before Suoge.
The man and the wolf stopped silently. Sensing the immense aura emanating from He Yiming, even the usually haughty Red Wolf King became cautious and vigilant.
Staring calmly at Suoge, He Yiming finally revealed a smile mixed with relief. He smiled and said, “Only you remain…”
Suoge’s pupils contracted sharply; his heart turned ice-cold. Seeing the ground littered with the corpses of Totem Emissaries, and recalling the mysteriously silent Snake Ru in front of him, even his breathing became ragged.
Taking a deep breath, Suoge asked coldly, “What do you mean?”
He Yiming gave a dry laugh. “Eleven went east, twenty went west, seventeen went south, and fifteen went north. Plus the thirteen hiding in tree hollows, ground holes, and treetops…”
With every number he called out, Suoge’s expression grew uglier. By the time all the figures were reported, his face was so dark it looked like it could drip water.
“A total of seventy-six, plus the twenty who died the previous night…” He Yiming fixed his eyes on Suoge, refusing to yield even an inch. “They all died because of you.”
“You actually killed everyone?” Suoge’s eyes flickered. “Everyone from Hengshan attacked.”
He Yiming sneered, “I alone was enough.”
Suoge snorted in anger. “They were all masters proficient in Inner Strength cultivation. How could you possibly have slain them all by yourself?”
He Yiming’s gaze held a hint of mockery. “Believe it or not, that is up to you. But I can tell you this: between you and me today, one must be left dead. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you will never escape my grasp.”
Though greatly shocked, Suoge’s heart remained terrifyingly cold. A thought stirred within him. “Do you possess a method of tracking across a thousand miles?”
He Yiming smiled proudly. Though he offered no reply, the expression on his face instantly confirmed the answer for Suoge.
His expression shifted constantly as he scanned the corpses on the ground one by one, then suddenly asked, “Brother Snake Ru, where is he?”
“He was the primary culprit in the murder of old brother Shui Xuanjin; naturally, He Mou could not let him go. Right now, he should be in hell awaiting your arrival,” He Yiming spoke slowly, yet his gaze was firmly locked onto the man and wolf before him. As he said, there would absolutely be no letting go today.
Suoge’s face finally changed. Confirming Snake Ru’s fate struck his confidence with an unprecedented blow.
Although several fallen Totem Emissaries lay before him, if the roles were reversed, he was confident he could have killed them all too.
But learning that even Snake Ru was dead filled him with an intense sense of crisis.
He had known Snake Ru for many years and knew that while Snake Ru wasn't as strong in direct confrontation, if they fought using any means necessary, Snake Ru would always be the victor.
Whether it was the terrifying monstrous snake on his person, his ability to conceal his movements, or his supreme skill for a killing blow, Snake Ru was the epitome of a perfect assassin.
But today, at this moment, Snake Ru was dead…
Suoge’s heart turned icy. If He Yiming could truly kill Snake Ru and Stone King, then even teaming up with the Red Wolf King, they might not necessarily win against He Yiming.
He extended his hand flatly. The great Guan Dao, which Suoge had drawn away, began to tremble slightly, responding to the reception of True Qi, as if ready to fly back.
Suoge’s face changed. Without hesitation, he slapped the Red Wolf King’s head. The giant wolf immediately transformed into a streak of crimson light and charged straight ahead.
Simultaneously, Suoge raised his steel claws high. The five razor-sharp tips tore through the air, generating a series of sonic booms due to their incomparable speed, raining down upon He Yiming indiscriminately.
He Yiming let out a soft hum and retreated, only to find the True Qi barrier before him had already been severed by the sharp talons.
He cursed inwardly, yet this offered some understanding as to why the Innate Realm experts avoided excessively heavy weaponry.
If a weapon is cumbersome, recalling a ten-jin weapon is clearly not the same as recalling a 360-jin weapon.
However, even without the great Guan Dao, He Yiming showed no fear.
He took a step back, and his form instantly dissolved into a wisp of cloud and mist, rapidly spreading outward.
The Cloud Rain Flying Art exerted its power to the absolute limit at this moment.
Suoge let out a sharp roar, as did his Crimson Wolf King. The man and wolf traversed the mist with ease, agile as lightning, twisting and soaring, managing to press closely behind He Yiming.
Furthermore, working in tandem, the pair completely sealed off the side near the great Guan Dao, leaving He Yiming no chance to find an instant breakthrough.
What troubled He Yiming even more was that Suoge’s body swayed with the Red Wolf King, and the wolf claws in his hands shifted with endless variations, striking along some unknowable, mysterious path, causing He Yiming immense trouble.
He Yiming’s expression gradually grew solemn. This was the first time that, while employing the Cloud Rain Flying Art, he had been utterly suppressed by opponents, repeatedly encountering perilous situations.
This man-and-wolf combination was truly extraordinary.
He Yiming immediately thought of Snake Ru, thankful that he had used the great Guan Dao to unleash his most powerful move upon exiting—the twenty-second stance of the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting—which allowed him to instantly kill Snake Ru. Otherwise, killing Snake Ru would have been incredibly difficult.
At this moment, He Yiming’s body darted like the wind through the swirling claw shadows. No matter how fierce the shadows were, they inflicted no harm on him. However, the Red Wolf King, manipulated by Suoge until it was almost integrated with him, was not slow in speed either. While it couldn't catch He Yiming, blocking his path of escape was proving somewhat difficult.
He snorted coldly and laughed loudly, “Suoge, do you think I cannot kill you just because I lack the great Guan Dao?”
As he shouted, his palms shifted rapidly, and He Yiming formed a peculiar hand seal technique.
His right palm curved inward slightly, where a powerful True Qi was accumulating in a state of extreme compression.
Suoge’s face tightened. In his ears, he seemed to hear the sound of surging, tumultuous ocean tides—a terrifying sound emanating from that single point on He Yiming’s palm.
His gaze became extremely sharp, and an intense sense of danger instantly rose within him.
His palm contracted then protruded, and a strange, needle-like stream of True Qi shot out. This stream was fast as lightning, thin as a cow's hair, silent and invisible, and its intended trajectory was incredibly bizarre: aimed directly at Suoge’s thigh.
Suoge was currently riding the Red Wolf King, rendering his legs largely useless; even if severed, they wouldn't affect his fighting capacity. However, the moment this needle-like True Qi was launched, a chill inexplicably rose in Suoge’s heart, as if this seemingly non-threatening strike was as terrifying as a monstrous flood beast.
He swung his wolf claw without hesitation. With a sharp ding, a clear sound of metal striking metal echoed far into the distance.
He Yiming exclaimed in surprise. This strike had been a sure thing; he had fully expected Suoge to ignore it, never imagining he would be so cautious.
Seeing the look of astonishment on He Yiming’s face, Suoge faintly felt he might have narrowly escaped a disaster.
Though he didn't understand the mystery within this needle-like True Qi, he resolved firmly that this stream must not touch him.
Frowning slightly, He Yiming strode forward and suddenly opened his mouth, spitting out a pale green flower.
When the flower emerged, both Suoge and the Red Wolf King widened their eyes, almost unable to believe what they were seeing.
When they had fought He Yiming beneath Hengshan, he had only managed to condense half of a tangible flower. Yet, after only a few days apart, that half-flower had become a complete one…
This speed of progress was absolutely earth-shattering and divine, utterly unbelievable.
The surroundings blurred momentarily, and the pale green flower vanished. A powerful binding force manifested around Suoge and the Red Wolf King, as if the flower had transformed into countless ropes tightly ensnaring them.
Suoge suddenly roared, his body swelling rapidly. His clothes ripped to shreds, only the Red Wolf armor expanding along with his growing physique.
Immediately following this, a massive, phantom wolf materialized behind him.
This illusory wolf was entirely condensed from powerful True Qi. Once it appeared, an intense, violent aura permeated the surroundings.
He Yiming narrowed his eyes, immediately understanding that this was not solely Suoge’s power, but that he had used some method to absorb the Red Wolf King’s True Qi as well, which was why the phantom wolf’s presence reached such magnitude.
The phantom wolf shook violently, as if numerous shackles bound its freedom. After struggling forcefully for a long time, a massive explosion echoed in the air. When the surroundings returned to peace, He Yiming, Suoge, and the Red Wolf King stood facing each other across the distance.
It seemed as if nothing had happened between them, but they all knew that the contest of Five Elements True Qi had ended in a draw.
The phantom wolf had certainly exploded, but the myriad wind ropes formed by He Yiming’s Wind Flower were also blown to pieces, rendered useless.
Suoge and the Red Wolf King felt a pang of bitterness. In the battle at Hengshan, even if He Yiming held a slight advantage over Suoge, at most he was only comparable to the Red Wolf King. But now, the combined True Qi of the Red Wolf King and Suoge had only managed to fight to a stalemate…
A thought crossed both their minds: if they met again next time, would they still be able to resist him?
He Yiming calmly pushed both palms forward again. From his palms, surges of intense cold poured out, causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply. That bone-piercing chill greatly startled Suoge and the Red Wolf King.
They had returned too late and thus missed the confrontation between He Yiming and the other Emissaries, naturally unaware of how powerful He Yiming’s Cold System True Qi was.
The Red Wolf King suddenly raised its head and spat out a fireball. This fireball was not aimed at He Yiming, but shot aimlessly towards the sky.
When the fireball reached a certain altitude, it burst, raining down countless fire droplets. The surrounding temperature, influenced by the fireball, instantly rose, completely neutralizing the low temperature created by He Yiming’s Cold System True Qi.
He Yiming sighed inwardly. Suoge and the Red Wolf King were truly not comparable to those other Totem Emissaries.
The eight Totem Emissaries, under the onslaught of Ice System power, couldn't have done anything even while fighting desperately, but Suoge didn't even need to move; the Red Wolf King had already negated the greatest danger posed by the Ice skill.
Such a Spirit Beast proved to be far more troublesome than Suoge himself.
Suoge crouched low, his eyes flashing with intense light. A low cry emanated from his mouth, and the Red Wolf King did likewise.
At this moment, the man and wolf appeared to have become one complete, inseparable entity.
Seeing this, He Yiming suddenly experienced a moment of clarity.
They intended to unleash some desperate, man-and-wolf merging technique.
Just like He Yiming’s Five Elements Merging Guan Dao, this was Suoge’s ultimate trump card.
Sensing the vast aura radiating from them, He Yiming suddenly displayed a dazzlingly brilliant smile toward them.
Suoge and the Red Wolf King were momentarily stunned, not understanding what madness He Yiming was exhibiting, when their vision blurred—He Yiming had already pulled away from their sight and vanished without a trace.
The hearts of the man and the wolf instantly turned ice-cold, devoid of any hope or excitement.
They recognized it—that was an impossibly powerful and heaven-defying skill. Since He Yiming had mastered this technique, no matter what method they used, they could never truly kill him.
Just as the man and wolf stood frozen in shock, a massive, world-splitting aura erupted from behind them.
Suoge and the Red Wolf King instinctively turned around and saw He Yiming picking up that terrifying great Guan Dao from the ground.
The moment the great Guan Dao settled into He Yiming’s hand, his spirit sank into it, and the Five Elements True Qi within his body circulated automatically.
Suoge and the Red Wolf King were his final enemies. In this final battle, He Yiming didn't mind using the Five Elements Merging technique one more time.
After all, only this strike, which exhausted all his power, could bring out his full potential and annihilate this man and wolf from the world completely.
The broadsword was slowly raised past his nostrils. The immense aura radiating from the blade was enough to make anyone tremble.
Even when Suoge and the Red Wolf King were preparing their ultimate man-and-wolf strike, they had not generated such an exaggerated presence.
Accompanying this incredible aura was a spreading pressure; by the time He Yiming's strike was fully raised above his head, the immense pressure would be enough to lock someone in place.
However, at that very moment, before the confining power could fully manifest, Suoge suddenly slapped the Red Wolf King’s head, and the man and wolf instantly vanished.
They fled without a fight, deciding instantly and without delay to dive straight into the earth.
He Yiming was stunned speechless, a massive wave of fury rising from the depths of his heart.
Ps: Today is April 16th, Bai He’s birthday, hehe…
Up until now, over four hundred friends have tipped me. Bai He is extremely grateful; truly, these past few years writing haven't been in vain ^_^
But a tip of just one hundred Origin Coins is enough. Many friends have tipped too much; Bai He is embarrassed. It’s actually a waste, because no matter how much one ID tips, it only shows one person.
To all my friends, Bai He bows in thanks.
Today I promised five updates totaling 25,000 characters; I have now posted four updates totaling 20,000. The final chapter of 5,000 is currently being written. I guarantee it will be sent out on time at ten o’clock. Finally, thank you all…
Also, it’s the middle of the month; Bai He urgently requests monthly tickets!