A blinding bolt of lightning suddenly flared in the distance, vaporizing countless demon wolves into dust...

"What was that?" a man clad in colorful robes, whose sect affiliation was unknown, asked. His momentary distraction cost him dearly; a demon wolf savagely tore a chunk of flesh from his thigh...

"That is the Raging Thunder Purgatory. He has arrived!" Dugu Qian, dressed entirely in black, casually flicked away a demon wolf as long as two zhang, stating coldly.

Beside him, Dugu Ruolan, also in black, merely glanced back in the direction of the lightning flash. Her iron sword trembled lightly once more, blossoming into a flurry of sword flowers that instantly cut down over a dozen more demon wolves.

He has arrived. That simple phrase elicited varied reactions from the assembled group. Gui Jianchou frowned, his fighting spirit intensifying; Jiu Feng felt a surge of elation, her brown eyes constantly fixed on the source of the light; while most others looked on in blank confusion—they didn't know who he was.

As for Xuanyuan Jing, clad in pale yellow battle robes, he seemed not to have heard a thing. His deep gaze remained locked on the wolf pack, as if the flash of lightning had caused some discernible change among them. His body shot forward immediately.

In the very instant the lightning flashed, he had sensed the shift in the wolf pack's dynamics, allowing him to pinpoint the likely location of the Demon Wolf King.

Seeing Xuanyuan Jing launch himself forward so recklessly, the others gasped in alarm. Among this group, Xuanyuan Jing was the most powerful, second only to Gui Jianchou. But even with his strength, rushing blindly into the horde felt like courting death.

However, upon watching Xuanyuan Jing bolt, Gui Jianchou seemed to realize something too. After muttering a quick warning to Jiu Feng to be careful, his body also surged forward.

He trusted that Xuanyuan Jing would only charge so desperately if he had discovered the Demon Wolf King's presence.

Whoever slew the Demon Wolf King would be the victor of this Battle of the Soul, potentially earning the supreme spiritual elixir that could elevate them to the rank of Venerable Master—a treasure coveted by countless martial artists. Hadn't he cultivated ceaselessly precisely to reach the Venerable rank? Such a temptation was impossible for Gui Jianchou to resist. Even with lingering worry for Jiu Feng’s safety, he shot out without hesitation.

Dugu Qian, Dugu Ruolan, and the other Dugu family member, Dugu Lingtian, exchanged a glance. They then surged forward in a triangular formation, trailing right behind Xuanyuan Jing. They were of the Dugu lineage; how could they allow the Xuanyuan family to triumph over them once more?

With these top experts gone, the most formidable person left on the scene was Jiu Feng. When she first entered the Demon Realm, she was merely a Grandmaster realm expert. Yet, since entering this domain, her strength had soared rapidly. Without consuming a single spiritual medicine, she had already reached the second heaven of the Martial God realm, and was now pushing toward the third.

This pace astonished Gui Jianchou and the others. Why was Jiu Feng's cultivation increasing several times faster than theirs in the Demon Realm? Still, even with her current second-heaven cultivation, having lost the cover of Gui Jianchou and the other masters, the fiercest demon wolves now turned their attention toward her.

Most of the demon wolves were not overwhelmingly powerful; besides the Demon Wolf King, few reached the level of an eighth-tier magical beast. The sheer number, however, was the problem. Even counting only the seventh-tier wolves, equivalent to Martial Saints, there were easily over a hundred surrounding Jiu Feng and her cohort. With the main experts gone, these wolves, unable to reach the fleeing masters immediately, converged upon the remaining group. It was impossible to hold them off.

Instantly, three young experts who had reached Martial Saint level were ripped open across the chest by the wolves and perished. More than ten others sustained injuries. Even Jiu Feng found herself surrounded by over a dozen demon wolves; despite her second-heaven Martial God cultivation, she was struggling fiercely.

If not for the knowledge that Ye Jingyu had arrived, and if not for the half-grown Yingzhao by her side, she might already have succumbed. Power surged from within her core; the scimitar in her hand flashed ceaselessly, unleashing waves of sharp blade energy that tore across the air. Not a single demon wolf struck by the blade energy escaped certain death.

The Yingzhao was now coated in blood—some its own, some from the wolves. Large chunks of flesh had been bitten from its wings, and its hind leg bore a long, bloody gash where over a foot of flesh had been savagely torn away, an absolutely terrifying sight.

Just then, another demon wolf lunged, evading the Yingzhao's swipe and snapping its jaws toward Jiu Feng's shoulder. Jiu Feng let out a cold snort; the scimitar in her hand flickered, sending a crescent-shaped beam of blade light flashing toward the wolf's head...

Just as the blade light was about to shatter the wolf's skull, a black beam shot out from the single horn on the creature's forehead, leaving a bloody puncture wound in Jiu Feng’s shoulder. Jiu Feng groaned, and seven or eight more demon wolves immediately swarmed her.

Jiu Feng suppressed the searing pain, but those seven or eight wolves simultaneously fired the black light from their horns. The beams quickly merged, arcing directly toward Jiu Feng's heart.

Jiu Feng instinctively moved her scimitar to guard her chest, intercepting the cluster of dark energy. However, the immense force shattered her weapon, and the impact threw her from the Yingzhao’s back.

The seven or eight wolves pounced. The Yingzhao, sensing its mistress in mortal danger, beat its wounded wings forcefully, rising onto its white legs. Its jaws opened wide, releasing a brilliant white light that pierced through the attacking pack. But it seemed to have exhausted its last reserves; the Yingzhao's body collapsed onto the ground once more, unable to sustain itself.

"Xiao Zhao!" Jiu Feng cried out, seeing the Yingzhao sacrifice itself to save her. Profound energy circulated furiously within her, as she tried to struggle upright, but more wolves were already closing in.

Gazing at the circling horde, a bitter smile touched Jiu Feng’s lips. The senior brother who always promised to protect her had fled the moment the Demon Wolf King was sensed. And the man she had always loved? He seemed absent too. In the end, the only companion standing by her was this Yingzhao...

Just as Jiu Feng braced herself to be torn to shreds by the pack, a seven-colored radiance flared before her eyes. When the light faded, only dozens of wolf corpses, sliced into countless pieces, remained on the ground, alongside a solitary figure she had yearned for so intensely...

Seeing that figure, Jiu Feng’s eyes welled up with tears. He had finally come. In her direst need, he had arrived. Yes, he hadn't forgotten her. He truly hadn't forgotten her. Truly... not...

(Woke up very early today, but writing was slow! Ah, my back hurts!)