On Snow Wolf Island.
The sky had already darkened. After the specially made signal flare burned and exploded, it was as if a small sun was suspended in the sky. The cultivators who were silently exploring Snow Wolf Island during the day sensed danger from the wolf howls and all rushed towards the direction of the signal flare.
At this moment, the Snow Spirit Wolves on Snow Wolf Island had already begun their hunt. Trying to fight their way out alone was equivalent to seeking death. It was better for the cultivators to gather together and seek a sliver of hope.
In a very short period, the cultivators on the island gathered in one place. The eleven rogue cultivators from the Southern Region, all of them at the Seventh Realm, were all respected figures in the Southern Region. Initially, their eyes were filled with fear, but when they saw Ji Qinghai and the Grand Princess from the Central Province among the crowd, their fear lessened slightly.
Beside Ji Qinghai and the Grand Princess, more than a dozen Snow Spirit Wolf corpses already lay on the ground.
Since the imperial family of the Central Province was willing to help, they must possess top-tier defensive spirit treasures that ordinary cultivators could not imagine, which gave them more room to survive.
Now that the crowd had gathered, there was no need for further discussion, nor was there extra time to wait for those who had not yet arrived. Ji Qinghai spoke, “The wolf pack on the island is filled with murderous intent. This is a moment of life and death. Everyone, follow me and fight our way out.”
Everyone agreed without objection, already drawing their swords and waiting. Now that the crowd had gathered, they all headed towards the northernmost part of Snow Wolf Island. Snow Bear Island was next to Snow Wolf Island, and perhaps they would be safe there.
The wolf roars in their ears grew louder and louder, sounding like death knells. The wolf pack quickly caught up. The thirteen cultivators each displayed their unique abilities, killing the approaching wolf pack with their own methods. Their speed did not decrease at all. In matters of life and death, no one dared to conserve the slightest bit of spiritual qi.
Cultivators at the Seventh Realm raced at full speed. Along the way, there were constant howls from the Snow Spirit Wolves. The cultivators were all safe. There were also cultivators who, with a slight carelessness, were almost decapitated by the Snow Spirit Wolves, but they were easily killed by the Grand Princess in the crowd. No one even saw the trajectory of her sword strike; it was as if with a mere thought, the Snow Spirit Wolf was split in two.
Grand Princess Ji Qingxuan’s expression was calm from beginning to end.
These Snow Spirit Wolves posed no threat to her. What she worried about was the Snow Spirit Wolf King lurking in the shadows. She knew very well that the Snow Spirit Wolf King had sensed the aura of each of them, yet it had not shown itself.
When the thirteen people arrived at the edge of Snow Wolf Island, no one had been lost, but their spiritual qi was largely depleted. They had now reached the coast. As long as they crossed this sea, they would reach the neighboring Snow Bear Island. But at this moment, everyone stopped in their tracks, and no one dared to take another step forward.
Ji Qingxuan, who had always been calm, also frowned subconsciously.
The Snow Spirit Wolf King, which had summoned the wolf pack, was now standing by the shore. Its massive body was like a ten-story building, as if it were about to block out the sky and the sun. It had summoned the wolf pack to drive them here, and it had been waiting here for a long time.
The Snow Spirit Wolf King stood there silently. The moonlight poured down on its body. Its body trembled, shaking off the snowflakes. A moment later, a wolf howl that deafened everyone rang out.
This wolf howl contained the soul power of the Snow Spirit Wolf King. Those with low cultivation levels even bled from their noses and mouths at that instant, their bodies trembling. Their spiritual qi had already been largely depleted, and they were now at the end of their strength, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, utterly helpless.
Almost instantly, all the cultivators turned their gazes to Ji Qinghai and Ji Qingxuan from the Central Province. Ji Qinghai’s gaze faltered, and he secretly transmitted a message, “Imperial Sister… should we use the spirit treasures Father Emperor gave us and leave first?”
Given their noble status, they would carry extremely high-level protective spirit treasures when exploring the Secret Realm.
Ji Qingxuan looked back and glanced at him calmly. After a moment, she said faintly, “You all go. I will hold off this Snow Spirit Wolf King.”
“Imperial Sister!” Ji Qinghai anxiously ignored the transmission and rebuked her sternly. A moment later, he only heard Ji Qingxuan’s reply, “I know what I’m doing, no need to worry.”
Ji Qinghai knew his Imperial Sister was being foolish again, but it wasn’t the first or second day she was being foolish. He knew he couldn’t persuade Ji Qingxuan at this moment, so he shouted, “Follow me across the sea together! Use whatever trump cards you have! Your lives are your own, don’t regret it when you’re on the verge of death!”
His voice was sharp and cold. In the next instant, he drew his sword and led the cultivators towards the other side of the sea. How could the Snow Spirit Wolf King allow them to succeed so easily? In an instant, another roar erupted, causing the eyes of nearly all the cultivators to bleed. But at that very moment, the spirit sword in Ji Qingxuan’s hand suddenly enlarged hundreds of times. The spirit sword flashed with dazzling brilliance, and a strike landed on the Snow Spirit Wolf King’s waist.
It had a bronze head and iron bones, but a tofu waist. The Snow Spirit Wolf King was no exception, but it had cultivated for nearly three thousand years. Even though its vital spot was struck by Ji Qingxuan’s sudden sword strike, it only left a shallow bloody mark. The next moment, the Snow Spirit Wolf roared and swiped with its claw, instantly leaving a large pit in the ground. Ji Qingxuan had already disappeared.
In the next instant, Ji Qingxuan, suspended in mid-air, swung the giant sword Daoist magic down again. The Snow Spirit Wolf King swung its thick, long tail, forcing her to twist her body, and the giant sword Daoist magic was shattered by the blow. The Snow Spirit Wolf King immediately wanted to pursue the fleeing crowd, but behind it, six giant golden flying swords, like an arrow rain, shot towards it.
The sword tips pierced halfway in, but then became immoveable due to the Snow Spirit Wolf King’s thick and hard bones. This finally angered the Snow Spirit Wolf King. It stopped chasing the fleeing crowd and instead rushed back. Its body moved as fast as lightning. Its enormous body was now like a charging mountain. It opened its bloody maw and bit down at Ji Qingxuan.
…
Among the fleeing crowd.
A rogue cultivator took out a spirit boat, and everyone was now on the spirit boat. In the distance, Ji Qingxuan and the Snow Spirit Wolf King were gradually disappearing. The Snow Spirit Wolves that were still trying to pursue them lost most of their combat power after entering the sea. After being killed by nearly a hundred more by the spirit treasures summoned by the cultivators, they finally stopped at the shore, letting out deafening howls.
Beneath the water, the waves were as dark and heavy as ink.
The crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief. A younger rogue cultivator could no longer help but ask softly, “Your Highness Prince, the Grand Princess… can she defeat that Snow Spirit Wolf King?”
“I don’t know,” Ji Qinghai’s voice revealed a trace of annoyance.
Perhaps it was because their emotions had been too tense earlier, but the rogue cultivator did not notice the irritation in his tone and couldn’t help but ask, “Why did the Grand Princess… save us?”
“Imperial Sister is a born saint with a compassionate heart,” Ji Qinghai replied coldly. The spirit boat had already traveled a considerable distance, but he was still worried. He finally drew his sword and said, “Is there anyone willing to return with me to aid Imperial Sister?”
On the vast spirit boat, there was no one who responded.
Ji Qinghai gave them a cold look but said no more. He had long predicted this outcome.
With a cold snort, he leaped up, mounted his sword, and flew back towards Snow Wolf Island alone.
On the spirit boat, the remaining thirteen rogue cultivators looked at each other, with traces of astonishment still lingering on their faces. They looked at each other, unable to speak for a long time.
They were all rogue cultivators from the Southern Region, where deceit and killing for treasure were common. Seeing Ji Qinghai and Ji Qingxuan willing to put themselves in danger to save them, they felt a sense of absurdity and unreality.
A rogue cultivator sitting alone on the spirit boat looked at the departing Ji Qinghai and said with a faint sneer, “This Great Prince of the Central Province seems to have a rather poor mind… If his Imperial Sister dies in the mouth of the Snow Spirit Wolf King, he will be the first successor to the throne of the Central Province. Yet, he still goes back to rescue her?”
The rogue cultivators had various expressions. Perhaps some were indignant and had something to say, but the person who spoke was the cultivator with the highest cultivation among them, so they ultimately chose to remain silent.
…
The Snow Spirit Wolf King’s body suddenly shrunk. Compared to its sky-obscuring previous size, it was now three meters tall and no longer so massive. The wolf pack behind it also pounced forward, their eyes emitting bloodthirsty ferocity. The sword in Ji Qingxuan’s hand also shrunk back to its normal size.
The sword in her hand was her reliance. Within the blade was the spiritual qi left by her Father Emperor. Coupled with her cultivation level, which was at the Half-step Mahayana, with the sword’s enhancement, she could unleash the combat power of the Mahayana third stage.
The Snow Spirit Wolf King shrunk its body because its previous massive form made it difficult to touch Ji Qingxuan. It was a true Eighth Realm great demon. Pure demon cultivation was extremely difficult, let alone in this Ancestral Secret Realm, where it was not easy for spiritual qi to nurture an Eighth Realm demonic beast.
When its body was no longer a giant wolf as large as a small mountain, it was no longer difficult to pounce and bite Ji Qingxuan. Ji Qingxuan could no longer dodge and weave by relying on its clumsiness. The two fought back and forth. Ji Qingxuan’s sword strikes landed on the Snow Spirit Wolf King, leaving deep bloody wounds, and her spiritual qi shield cracked again and again, the brilliance of her sword dimming.
Inadvertently, it struck her left shoulder with a claw, tearing through flesh, bones, and sinews, even damaging her acupoints.
The Snow Spirit Demonic Wolf slowly licked the blood on its claws. It knew that Ji Qingxuan before it was exhausted, her protective spiritual qi shield was gone, and even her sword had lost its luster.
Looking at Ji Qingxuan, who had been knocked to the ground by its paw, instinctual desire made it want to pounce and tear her flesh and blood apart to vent its hatred. But in an instant, a furious roar of a fox sounded in its ears.
The inherent bloodline suppression caused its blood and qi to stiffen. Its body trembled. In the next moment, in the moonlight and wind and snow, a fox, pure white with nine tails on its back, pounced directly at it. Its claws flashed with sharp cold light, and its speed was as fast as lightning. Before the Snow Spirit Demonic Wolf could react, its internal organs were ripped out by the fox’s claws. The demon fox stood up in a strange posture, its paws directly tearing open the wound on its abdomen, almost tearing it into two halves.
Before it died, the Snow Spirit Wolf King counterattacked, biting the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chest. In return, it received even more frenzied retaliation from the Nine-Tailed Fox. The nine tails behind it tightly entangled the Wolf King’s body. All the tails exerted their strength, and in the next moment, they tore the Wolf King’s body directly into two pieces!
The wolf pack that had not yet approached showed fear in their eyes. This fear stemmed from an instinctual bloodline suppression. The Nine-Tailed Fox roared again, and its fox cry inexplicably carried a trace of dragon-like majesty. The demon wolves were frightened and fled in all directions, and in an instant, the entire beach became quiet.
Under the moonlight, Jiang Huai transformed into his true form and looked at Ji Qingxuan. He said softly, “My clone can only last for ten breaths. I had to strike when he was least vigilant and most exhausted. It was slightly late after all. I’m sorry.”
Jiang Huai’s voice was also extremely weak at this moment. He lowered his head slightly, and blood was seeping from his chest. He coughed twice, took two Healing Pills, and took out two more. He bent down. Ji Qingxuan, who was lying on the ground, was also almost out of spiritual qi and strength, but thankfully, she was still hanging on. Jiang Huai took out two pills, pinched her chin, pried open her lips, and forcefully shoved the pills in.
Not far behind him, Ji Qinghai had arrived on his sword.
