An hour later, Ye Chen felt the wounds upon his body gradually knitting closed, his bones undergoing a restructuring to form denser, stronger lattices. If not for the fact that his genetic structure was four thousand times that of a normal human—equivalent to a peak deity's—and his sheer physical resilience almost surpassed that of the Lords of the Ten Hells, he might have been torn limb from limb by the savage, rushing wind during the fall alone.

Ye Chen moved his limbs, surveying his surroundings. Unlike the frozen wasteland he had seen before, the grass here was vividly emerald and lush, and the air was not bitingly cold but held a perfect, comforting warmth.

He frowned slightly, slowly summoning the fundamental law of wind energy within his body and concentrating it in his palm. He walked toward a sparse clearing beside the jungle. Up ahead, the dense, towering trees on either side parted, revealing a broad expanse of grassland. Lying there was a colossal, silver-white behemoth—undoubtedly the Silver Wolf that had fallen with him.

Its body bore few visible scars, save for the golden sigil clinging precariously to its forehead, with only one edge still adhered. A faint golden light seeped out from the wound beneath it.

Ye Chen let out a breath of relief and hastened his steps, arriving before the massive, silvery beast. With a gentle touch of his palm, he firmly pressed the golden sigil back onto its brow. Then, pinching with his index and middle fingers, he formed a miniature Wind Barrier, anchoring the sigil securely in place.

The moment the golden sigil settled, the silver-white giant wolf’s eyes snapped open. Its pupils were devoid of light, reflecting an empty indifference—not coldness, not brutality, not even emotion, just a hollowness that seemed indifferent to all life, sending a chill down Ye Chen’s spine.

Ye Chen gave it a satisfied glance, leaped upward, and floated gracefully onto its massive skull, lightly patting one of its erected, man-high, furry white ears. The ear felt as if carved from ice, hard and cool, possessing no trace of warmth beneath his touch.

“Let’s go,” Ye Chen murmured. His consciousness was now completely entwined with the silver-white wolf, feeling like he had gained a second cerebral hemisphere within his mind’s sea, granting him the ability to pilot another body and switch perspectives with the creature. The silver-white wolf let out a low whimper and then shot forward, tearing through the jungle at high speed. The colossal trees blurred past, leaving a wake of vibrant green lawn in their path.

After advancing a dozen kilometers, Ye Chen frowned. The silver-white wolf beneath him halted abruptly. He looked up, gazing far ahead. At the end of the quiet grassland, several patches of white blood were splattered across the meadow, frozen like shards of ice. Had he not witnessed the blood of the silver-white wolf before, Ye Chen would never have believed these white, fluid-like substances were blood at all.

Ahead of these blood pools lay a corpse the size of a small mountain. It was covered in shaggy brown fur, its body bloated into a sphere. Its limbs ended in broad paws tipped with sharp, obsidian claws. Now, a gaping hole, easily two people high in diameter, pierced its back, as if skewered by some unknown massive object.

Ye Chen pondered briefly, then flicked his finger. A streak of azure, razor-sharp wind sliced out, striking hard against the behemoth’s high, upturned rear. It sliced deep into the flesh, shredding the brown fur and deeply embedding itself, shattering the bone within.

A measure of relief settled in Ye Chen’s heart. It seemed this monstrous creature was inferior to the silver-white wolf beneath him. He guided the wolf forward and discovered that the massive body had been dead for quite some time; the blood that had flowed had already solidified into ice, and the internal muscle fibers were an eerie, crystalline white—so pure it made one’s scalp tingle.

Ye Chen took a cursory look, then grimaced. After a moment of contemplation, he immediately urged the wolf to leave this place swiftly and galloped straight ahead.

Not long after, Ye Chen spotted several more corpses. Some were as large as small mountains, others as small as cats and dogs, with large pools of white blood staining the ground along the route. The manner of death for each was agonizingly gruesome; their bodies had been pierced straight through. Based on the carnage, Ye Chen deduced that they had likely been pursued by some monster and had ultimately perished here, unable to escape.

Standing atop the wolf’s head, he scanned the distant horizon. The sky was a clear azure, dotted with thick, drifting white clouds. Beyond the overlapping layers of giant trees, several faint, dark mountains seemed to rise through the mist, indistinct and hazy.

He paused, then patted the wolf’s head, intending to change direction. Just then, the rustle of disturbed grass sounded, followed by a thunderous roar: “Who goes there!”

Ye Chen nearly fell unconscious from the shockwave of the shout. In the final instant, he hastily erected a Wind Barrier around his ears, muffling the sound, and turned to look.

On the path where the corpses had lain, a burly man clad in white, furry leather stood where none had been before. Slung over his shoulder was a snow deer as tall as a man. Its antlers, beautiful as coral, seemed carved from ice crystals, radiating a pristine aura. The creature’s hide was adorned with lovely, snowy-white patterns, but a conspicuous wound marred its neck—like a crack appearing on a flawless piece of art, making it jarringly conspicuous.

Ye Chen took a deep breath and calmly observed the suddenly appearing man. The man’s thick, blue eyebrows swept back like feathers into his temples. His face, as cold and white as ice, appeared knife-hewn, and his sharp, pale pupils fixed upon Ye Chen. He was wrapped tightly in thick, furred outerwear and gripped a sword-shaped weapon that looked chiseled from snow and ice.

Ye Chen forcibly suppressed the churning vitality stirred up by the man’s shout, but his heart still hammered in his chest. He hadn't expected to encounter another human being in this desolate place.

Although the appearance of this man—with his white skin—differed significantly from the yellow-skinned, black-haired people he had seen from the civilized world, having traveled to the Ancient World, he had grown accustomed to seeing people of all shapes and complexions.

“You… who are you?” The burly man, his skin as white as winter snow, looked at Ye Chen’s appearance with confusion and shock. His voice trembled slightly. “You, the… Moon Demon Wolf beneath your feet?!”

Ye Chen froze, glancing down instinctively. He hadn't known the name of the silver-white wolf beneath him was ‘Moon Demon Wolf.’ His mind immediately drifted to the mysterious woman in the silver-white hood on the ice cliff, and his brow furrowed deeply.

Seeing Ye Chen’s silence, the man became even more certain. His eyes shone with a fervent, excited light, and he stammered, “Legend says the Moon Demon Wolf is one of the most powerful of the Ice Beasts. I never imagined you could actually tame one to be your mount! And… and your skin tone, your eyes—could you be an Emissary of the Snow?”

Ye Chen’s mind churned slightly, his gaze shifting. He suddenly spoke in a deep voice, “Who are you, and what brings you here?” He laced the words with a sliver of the fundamental law of wind, injecting a sharp edge into his tone.

The burly man’s expression grew even more animated, tinged with a degree of reverence. He lowered his head respectfully and said humbly, “Great Emissary, I am a Gold-Rank Hunter from the nearby Peerless City. I entered the Snow-Thorn Forest to hunt this Heavenly Crystal Phantom Deer after receiving my assignment.”

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered as he glanced at the Heavenly Crystal Phantom Deer draped over the man’s shoulder. He murmured, “I have just arrived in this region and carry no map; I am lost. I wonder how far ‘Peerless City’ is from here, and which way I should head?”

The communicator on his wrist automatically converted his voice into a frequency akin to brainwaves, ensuring the other party understood him clearly. Similarly, the man’s voice was translated into brainwave frequency and rendered in a language Ye Chen was familiar with.

The Ancient World hosted myriad civilizations, each comprising a dozen or even a hundred races, and each race possessing ten or more languages. Language and script differences often complicated communication, but the widespread use of communicators had long eliminated such difficulties.

The burly man’s eyes lit up, and he said eagerly, “Great Emissary, are you heading to Peerless City? Please allow me to guide you! My name is ‘Kabatz,’ and I am very familiar with the area. If you deign to visit our city, our City Lord will surely be delighted and ensure you are treated with the utmost hospitality.”

A thought struck Ye Chen. He looked at the man thoughtfully, then nodded slowly. “Very well, lead the way then.”

The burly man beamed with excitement and quickly strode toward a small path branching off, turning back to say, “Emissary, this way, this is the shortcut. I apologize for my earlier rudeness; I hope you do not take offense. I meant no disrespect; I merely assumed you were another hunter trying to steal my quarry.”

Ye Chen waved a hand dismissively. “No matter.”

Whether in the apocalyptic era back on Earth or here in the Ancient World, he had long acted as a leader of the spiritual civilization, cultivating an innate aura characteristic of those in power. This natural demeanor, now subtly displayed, made Kabatz trust him even more deeply, fueling his excitement without a hint of suspicion.

Kabatz led the way quickly, while Ye Chen stood atop the Moon Demon Wolf, following close behind. His gaze grew distant. He hadn't expected that even in this frigid snow domain, there existed cities—and judging by the look of things, probably more than one, perhaps even nations.

I am unfamiliar with this territory. First, I need to ascertain the situation. Then, I’ll find a concealed place to store the body of the Patriarch of the Ten Pavilions and leave immediately. This is not a place I can explore safely until I truly reach the Epoch Realm.

Judging by his reaction, this Kabatz seems to view me as an important figure. I might as well utilize this assumed identity to gather sufficient information before proceeding with my plans.

Kabatz… Kaba…

Ye Chen’s eyes grew hazy. He recalled Kabatz and the swarm of Black Slime Bugs he had entrusted to Bai Long and others back on White Spirit Mountain.

“I wonder how they are faring now…” he murmured softly, the sound scattering into the wind.