The countless peaks stood as dense as a forest. Bathed in a brilliant crimson hue, they cast hazy, soft shadows, resembling an ink wash painting, utterly saturated with poetry.

Yet, only when one truly stood upon this seemingly endless mountain range of red could the sheer terror embedded within it be apprehended.

This was a land of volcanoes, stretching from beneath He Yiming's feet out towards the boundless expanse of the sky.

When they arrived at this volcanic expanse and felt the intense, searing heat radiating from it, they vaguely began to grasp the purpose behind Soguo's arduous journey in bringing them here.

"Here, your ice-elemental power and your cloud and mist abilities will be significantly suppressed," Bai Lingba said in a low voice. "With those powers weakened, the only thing you can truly rely on is the power of the Five Elements."

A faint, confident smile touched the corner of He Yiming's lips. "The power of the Five Elements is more than enough."

Within his words resonated an overwhelming surge of self-assurance. Since successfully refining his Wind Blossom, He Yiming had not only achieved a monumental leap in his martial cultivation but his mental fortitude had also become incomparably resilient.

These two aspects were inherently intertwined; only as one's personal strength gradually advanced could one's confidence continuously ascend to new, higher realms.

"Awooooo..."

From the distance, a mournful wolf howl sliced through the air. A flicker of surprise crossed He Yiming's eyes, but that astonishment quickly morphed into excitement.

The prolonged, painstaking effort of the pursuit had not been in vain; he had finally reached this moment.

This long howl from the Red Wolf King was the first provocative signal they had issued in a long time.

It was clear that Soguo and the Red Wolf King were no longer fleeing but had chosen this place as their battlefield, ready to fight him to the death.

Taking a deep breath, He Yiming threw back his head and let out a long cry, echoing the wolf's howl. Both sounds were saturated with a palpable killing intent, so dense it seemed almost tangible.

This was a murderous resolve rooted deep in bone-deep hatred, a promise that if even the slightest opportunity arose, neither side would yield until one was utterly extinguished.

Within that shared cry, they seemed to have signed a life-and-death contract on the dueling arenas of the Northwest Kingdoms, destined for one to fall eternally on this very spot.

His ears twitched slightly, and He Yiming sprang forward like a flying arrow. Spreading his arms wide, like a massive eagle diving down, he bolted toward the direction of the howl.

Though he wasn't wearing his Wind Shoes, in terms of pure speed, his full-effort advance was absolutely on par with the shoes' capability.

The primary utility of the Wind Shoes was allowing innate masters familiar with Wind techniques, or related arts, to traverse the air. While the altitude achievable wasn't entirely satisfactory, it was still an invaluable treasure.

To expect the Wind Shoes to boost speed even further would be the very definition of insatiable greed.

Bai Lingba did not immediately follow He Yiming, but He Yiming never worried about his safety.

In mere moments, He Yiming spotted the silhouette of the Red Wolf King in the distance. What struck him as odd, however, was that the wolf was alone; Soguo was nowhere in sight.

He Yiming's eyes gleamed faintly. This Red Wolf King was the truly difficult adversary; if it couldn't burrow through the earth, Soguo would already have been defeated by him.

If he could manage to kill the Red Wolf King while Soguo was absent, then the remaining Soguo would pose no further threat.

The realization sent a powerful, almost uncontrollable surge of killing intent welling up in He Yiming's heart.

He lowered his body slightly but did not unleash his absolute top speed. He knew the Red Wolf King's strength was certainly no less than that of a First-Tier expert, and coupled with its two supreme skills—earth burrowing and breath projection—the chance of killing it in a single strike was extremely slim. A rash move might prompt the Red Wolf King to immediately dive underground.

He Yiming maintained a steady pace, approaching the Red Wolf King. Just as he neared it, the beast suddenly flung open its massive, blood-red maw and spat forth a colossal fireball that hurtled toward him.

He Yiming let out a cold snort, his body shifting slightly to the side. In that razor-thin instant, he evaded the impact of the fireball.

The degree of his movement was minimal, yet perfectly precise. If measured with a ruler, one could see that as the flaming sphere zipped past He Yiming, it missed his robe by less than five centimeters.

Had He Yiming's powerful innate Zhenqi not been potent enough to guard even his clothing, that attire would surely be scorched black by now.

After expelling that single breath attack, the Red Wolf King immediately spun around and fled backward.

He Yiming found this highly peculiar. The Red Wolf King's strength was certainly incomparable to the Two-Headed Spirit Beast he had encountered previously.

Though that beast possessed two heads, it could only continuously launch its breath attacks when illuminated by the White Stone's light. Otherwise, after just one or two blasts, it would become so lethargic that it would exhaust itself and surrender without further struggle.

But the Red Wolf King was different. Its power had reached a terrifying level. Specifically, the breath projected from its mouth not only possessed a destructive power far exceeding that of ordinary spirit beasts, but more importantly, it was capable of launching far more than a single volley.

After dodging the first breath attack, He Yiming had been prepared to deal with a continuous barrage, but he was stunned when the Red Wolf King immediately turned to flee after just one shot.

Considering the status and power of the Red Wolf King, such behavior was utterly astonishing.

Without hesitation, He Yiming pushed off slightly with his feet and immediately gave chase.

Since the Red Wolf King wasn't even utilizing its earth-burrowing trick, Soguo must have laid a meticulous trap ahead. However, He Yiming had no intention of obliging Soguo's plans.

He extended his left hand, his palm concave and convex, and instantly launched a needle-like Zhenqi projectile that flew towards the Red Wolf King with lightning speed.

The Hidden Needle Seal, a supreme hand technique that originally required cooperation between both hands, had been modified by He Yiming to be usable with just one.

Just as the Zhenqi needle was about to strike the Red Wolf King, its massive red tail suddenly whipped into motion.

Like a horsetail whisk, the tail was raised high and brought down heavily. The instantaneous shift caught even He Yiming by surprise.

Although the needle Zhenqi was formidable, its energy volume was small, utterly incomparable to the impact force of the wolf’s tail. It was instantly enveloped and consumed by the descending sweep of the tail, ceasing to exist.

He Yiming's expression shifted slightly; the power in the wolf's tail far exceeded his expectations.

However, given the Red Wolf King's tough hide and iron bones, it shouldn't have been bothered by a single needle Zhenqi attack. Yet, this time, it acted with extreme caution, leaving He Yiming no opening whatsoever, indicating clearly that it must have received direct, whispered instruction from Soguo.

His ears twitched several times, and a sharp killing intent flashed in He Yiming's eyes.

He slowed his pace slightly because he had heard Soguo's voice.

Traversing deeper into this crimson mountain range, the temperature grew higher. Although He Yiming did not fear this heat, he noticed a strange phenomenon. The Red Wolf King seemed intimately familiar with this terrain, and the hotter the area, the more vigorous its spirit became. Moreover, the keenly sensitive He Yiming faintly sensed a bizarre synergy between the Red Wolf King's fire breath and the surrounding environment.

A sudden, unidentifiable thought crossed his mind: Could the Red Wolf King have grown up in this exact environment? But this place was diametrically opposed to the legendary totem clans of the deep mountains. If the Red Wolf King was a native spirit beast here, how could it have encountered and bonded with Soguo?

The moment this thought surfaced, He Yiming saw them.

In a vast clearing, Soguo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes glittering intensely as he watched He Yiming approach.

The Red Wolf King bounded over to Soguo's side, and Soguo, without hesitation, swung himself onto the wolf's back. Man and wolf, their four eyes instantly turned a ghastly, blood-red, inspiring sheer horror.

He Yiming stopped moving. From this duo, he sensed a powerful, even threatening aura of killing intent and icy coldness, persisting despite the sweltering environment.

In that moment, Soguo and the Red Wolf King seemed no longer two separate beings, but a single, integrated entity. Their gazes, their breathing, even their heartbeats, synchronized to the exact same frequency.

Under the surveillance of He Yiming’s enhanced hearing, he could only perceive a single sound—a sound so robust and forceful that it instilled deep caution in He Yiming.

The surrounding heaven-and-earth Qi began converging toward one point. A searing current of air suddenly erupted across the clearing, causing the temperature to escalate rapidly.

He Yiming’s expression grew grave. His muscles began to undulate rhythmically, and his Great Guan Dao deftly slid off his back, instantly appearing before him.

"Clang..."

A sharp resonance echoed as the three segments of the Great Guan Dao snapped together in an instant, forming a monstrous, terrifying weapon.

A vast pressure emanated from He Yiming. Once the Guan Dao was grasped in his hands, his confidence surged exponentially. No matter how formidable the skills possessed by the man and wolf before him, he harbored no fear or worry.

Limitless Zhenqi poured into the Great Guan Dao. Strangely, however, the blade did not shine with the usual golden light; instead, it became a dull, dark mass, exuding a damp, humid aura.

This time, He Yiming was not infusing Gold Element Zhenqi but rather concentrating his Water Element Zhenqi to its absolute peak. Water conquers fire. Facing such immense fiery power, using Water Element Zhenqi was undoubtedly the best choice.

Yet, He Yiming immediately noticed that the four blood-red eyes before him simultaneously flashed with a hint of derision.

Subsequently, the Red Wolf King opened its mouth and spat out a fireball that streaked through the air in a beautiful red arc toward He Yiming.

He Yiming snorted coldly, this time showing no intention of dodging. He swept his Great Guan Dao horizontally, neatly slicing the fireball into two halves.

But at that very moment, Soguo, mounted on the Red Wolf King, abruptly waved both hands. On his hands were steel claws resembling wolf talons, and as he swung them, sharp sonic rips tore through the air. Following the sound, the two halves of the cleaved fireball suddenly curved in mid-air. Far from extinguishing, they spun around and hurtled back toward He Yiming.

He Yiming’s heart clenched. This miraculous technique was something he had never encountered before. His initial thought of pressing the attack to crush the confidence of Soguo and the Red Wolf King was instantly suppressed.

He gave a slight twitch of his wrist. The three-hundred-sixty-pound Great Guan Dao moved in his hand like a nimble, obedient small rod. If anyone witnessed this, they might mistake the Guan Dao for an object possessing a life of its own.

The blade flashed, and the two halved fireballs, now smaller, were bisected once more.

To He Yiming’s surprise, these four fiery fragments still refused to die out. Soguo’s hands danced, and the four shrunken fireballs entangled themselves again. It seemed as if invisible lines, emanating from the steel claws on Soguo’s hands, were manipulating the airborne fireballs.

Almost simultaneously, the Red Wolf King's cavernous mouth opened again, and a massive fireball coalesced, shooting forth from its gaping maw toward He Yiming.

A sharp glint appeared in He Yiming's eyes. He partially retracted the Great Guan Dao, this time not to cleave the fireball, but to use the side of the blade to gently nudge it aside. Influenced by the gentle force from the Guan Dao, the fireball behaved like a stone flicked from a slingshot, soaring into the distance.

However, Soguo’s steel claws swept out sharply in front of him, much like He Yiming’s signature move, Mount Tai Crushing Down, when using the Guan Dao. He raked downward from mid-air.

The fireball suspended in the air detonated, instantly transforming into tens of thousands of sparks that rained down upon He Yiming. It was as if a firestorm had suddenly descended from the heavens, provoking a sense of utter helplessness.

He Yiming’s face grew extremely solemn. He realized that Soguo was employing far more than just his own strength; he was integrating the Red Wolf King’s innate abilities. Only when the man and wolf truly merged as one could such immense and incredible power be unleashed.

In that moment, all He Yiming could see were the endless sparks raining down like a torrential downpour. Yet, in his mind, a phrase once spoken by Yu Jinglei flashed back: The greatest strength of the Totem tribesmen is the combined power of man and spirit beast. Now, it seemed his words were entirely true.

Above his head was a sky full of stars resembling a prairie fire; around him were the four slightly smaller fireballs; and not far off lurked the calculating duo of Soguo and the Red Wolf King, ready to pounce and tear him to shreds the moment he showed the slightest weakness.

Yet, He Yiming smiled then, a smile brimming with disdain.

His Great Guan Dao moved, instantly generating countless ghostly afterimages. A black, shield-like blade surface materialized before He Yiming, followed quickly by a second, then a third. In the span of mere heartbeats, He Yiming vanished. Around him now swirled a cloud and mist formed entirely of black, Water Element Zhenqi.

No matter how numerous the sparks from above, no matter how cunning the flight paths of the opportunistic fireballs, as soon as they entered this cloud of black mist, they vanished without a trace. Within the swirling fog, a strange sound—like a fireball plunging into the ocean—was continuously heard, as if the infinite sparks in the air had been completely extinguished in an instant.

The clouds and mist rolled onward, surging toward Soguo and the Red Wolf King.

However, the duo was prepared. The Red Wolf King leaped lightly, seemingly without effort supporting the weight of Soguo on its back, darting out from a corner of the mist.

This time, He Yiming was truly astonished. He suddenly realized that the Red Wolf King’s speed and movements seemed even more agile than before. Had the human-wolf fusion somehow eliminated any form of hindrance, instead making them nimbler?

As He Yiming stood in bewildered surprise, the Red Wolf King opened its massive jaws and spat out three fireballs in rapid succession. The power contained within each fireball seemed equivalent to what the beast would muster after preparing and accumulating energy for three days and nights, yet this was merely the Red Wolf King’s casual breath projection.

That such casual spitting could yield such astonishing results was almost unbelievable to He Yiming.

Although he had an overwhelming urge to unleash his Wind Blossom and blow all the fireballs back, battle experience forced him to suppress the thought. The Wind Blossom, while powerful, consumed an extraordinary amount of Zhenqi. To rely on that skill to contend with a spirit beast's breath attack would mean his mind had been truly kicked by a donkey.

The Great Guan Dao continued to whirl. Within his sword motions, He Yiming incorporated the cloud and mist energy born from his many moments of enlightenment, warding off every threat aimed at him.

Yet, what shocked him was that the duo of Soguo and the Red Wolf King seemed to grow stronger the longer they fought. Their powerful, relentless offensive showed no sign of weakening, despite the expenditure of Zhenqi or the increased frequency of the Red Wolf King’s fire breath.

He Yiming frowned slightly. He finally understood that the battlefield Soguo and the Red Wolf King had specifically chosen was indeed the most suitable ground for them to exert their power.

Their hands were now locked together, each side wary of the other. While He Yiming was confident that using the Twenty-Second Style of Five Elements Merging—the Mountain Splitter—would absolutely slay the man and wolf on the spot, he understood even better that given the pair’s cunning and suspicious nature, the moment he displayed any inclination to use it, they would unhesitatingly burrow into the earth. If that happened, having to undertake another ten-thousand-mile chase would leave He Yiming utterly exasperated.