235: Outskirts of ancient forest

Polaris Palace, deep within the Great Hall of Extreme Cold.

The concepts of time and space were blurred here. Endless ethereal blue ice crystals formed the pillars and the dome, and the projections of stars flowed slowly across the mirror-smooth floor. Within the silence resided a vast pressure capable of freezing the Soul.

At the end of the hall, the Blue-Clad Woman, seated high upon a throne of cold ice, suddenly opened her eyes. Within those eyes, which seemed to contain the eternal galaxy and endless frost, a tiny ripple of fluctuation passed through, like a ripple blown across the surface of an icy lake by the wind.

As if sensing something, her gaze seemed to penetrate through layers of palaces and the barriers of endless time and space, casting toward a distant and specific location. A faint, almost imperceptible cold curve slightly hooked at the corner of her perfect yet temperatureless lips.

“Oh? Someone in the Lower Realm has actually used a secret deduction technique at the level of Bloodline Karma... It seems those little fellows have run into a bit of trouble.” Her voice was ethereal and clear, yet carried a detachment as if she were looking down at ants from above.

Below, a man standing in attendance, clad in star-patterned armor and possessing an aura as majestic as an abyss, felt his body shudder imperceptibly upon hearing this.

He had personally witnessed this Law Enforcer, in a near-crushing manner, wipe the notorious main branch of the Leviathan Clan—which occupied the depths of the Endless Sea—along with its Martial God Clan Chief from the world. Even now, that terrifying scene left him with lingering fear. At this moment, this god of slaughter actually... smiled? Although that smile was cold and devoid of warmth, adding even more chill to the air, it was still an extremely rare occurrence.

“Lord Law Enforcer,” the man bowed, his voice carrying absolute respect, “does your subordinate need to send someone to... clean up those overconfident troubles?” In his view, a “trouble” that could be slightly mentioned by the Law Enforcer could probably be solved with a single breath.

The Blue-Clad Woman—the Polaris Palace Law Enforcer—her gaze shifted, and that slight trace of a smile had already vanished, returning to its habitual coldness: “No.”

Her fingertip lightly tapped the icy jade armrest, producing crisp “tap, tap” sounds that were exceptionally clear in the silent hall.

“That boy and the little girl have been staying at the little turtle's place... a bit too comfortably. Flowers in a greenhouse cannot withstand real wind and frost. Appropriate trouble is a whetstone. The current trouble is not fatal for them.”

She paused, a deeper, almost playful glint flashing in her eyes, as if she were setting up a chessboard beyond the understanding of ordinary people:

“Perhaps... not only can we not intervene, but sometimes, within the scope allowed by the rules, we can even... appropriately add some fuel to the fire. After all, true gold does not fear the furnace.”

“I have a handle on this matter. Go and keep an eye on your task.”

The man’s heart tightened, and he quickly lowered his head: “Your subordinate understands. I shall obey your command, My Lord.”

He did not dare to speculate on the specific meaning of “adding fuel to the fire.” He only knew that this Law Enforcer's will was the will of Polaris Palace—unquestionable, needing only to be executed.

The hall returned to silence, with only eternal starlight and coldness interweaving and flowing. Meanwhile, in the distant Lower Realm, the trajectory of certain people's fates had perhaps invisibly been cast with a more complex variable.

Ancient Wood Deep Forest, the edge zone.

The dense canopy almost blocked out all sunlight, with only scattered patches of light filtering through the gaps, casting swaying spots of light onto the ground covered in thick humus. The air was humid, permeated with a mixture of earth, rotting wood, and a faint fishy scent. The surroundings were so quiet it was somewhat oppressive; only the occasional hiss of an unknown insect served to make the area feel even more profound.

The two carriages had long been put away, as they could not travel in such an environment. Qin Feng's group walked through the forest, with Tao Yuanyi and Cold Peach Blossom at the front and back, their auras restrained but their gazes sharply scanning the surroundings. Qin Feng was in the middle to provide support, Xia Ya and Ji Ruxue guarded the sides, and Xiaochun was surrounded in the center. Little Fire in her arms seemed curious about the forest environment, its dark eyes looking around and its nose twitching from time to time.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle...”

Dense, scalp-numbing friction sounds and low beastly roars came from all directions without warning! Immediately after, lithe gray figures darted out like ghosts from bushes, from behind trees, and even from the branches overhead!

Gale Wolves! And it was a massive pack! At a glance, there were no less than several hundred! They were a size larger than ordinary wild wolves, their fur was dark gray, blending perfectly with the forest shadows, and their four claws hit the ground soundlessly. Only their eerie green wolf eyes flashed with the light of cruelty and hunger. The vast majority of their auras were at the Martial Master level, with dozens of exceptionally robust ones reaching the Grand Martial Master level. The three giant wolves leading them were nearly as tall as a person at the shoulder, with exposed fangs and powerful wind-attribute energy surging around them—they were actually Half-Step Martial King Yao Beasts!

“Form the array!” Tao Yuanyi barked, instantly pulling several steps away from Cold Peach Blossom, their Qi vaguely connecting.

The wolf pack clearly treated this human team as prey that had intruded into their territory. Without any hesitation, at the long howl of the alpha wolf, they pounced forward like a gray tide! They were extremely fast, leaving trails of afterimages, their claws and fangs flashing with cold light!

“Vile beasts!” Tao Yuanyi's expression remained gentle, but his eyes suddenly became as sharp as a spear. At some point, a long spear that was dark throughout and looked simple and unadorned had appeared in his hand. His body did not move, but with a flick of his wrist, the spear struck out like a dragon!

There was no world-shaking momentum, only spear shadows condensed to the extreme and so fast they seemed to tear the air! Wherever the spear tip went, it accurately struck the foreheads, throats, hearts, and other fatal spots of the pouncing Gale Wolves. Whether it was a Martial Master or Grand Martial Master level wolf, none could get within three feet of him. Often, one would only see a flash of the spear shadow before the wolf whimpered and fell dead. There wasn't even much blood splashing from the wounds, showing that his control of force had reached the Transcendent stage.

At the same time, Cold Peach Blossom's figure had drifted out like a ghost. In her hand was a slender soft sword, its blade nearly transparent. It was silent when swung, with only faint peach-colored sword light falling lightly like fluttering petals. This sword light looked beautiful, yet it contained extreme sharpness and icy coldness. Her movement was agile and eerie, passing through the gaps in the wolf pack's encirclement every time. As the sword light swept past, several Yao Wolves would stand frozen in place, then fine lines of blood would bloom on their necks or bodies as they collapsed to the ground.

One was hard and the other soft, one steady and the other eerie; the two coordinated with seamless tacit understanding. Tao Yuanyi’s spear was like a stabilizing pillar, firmly holding the front and crushing the wolves' most ferocious pounces. Cold Peach Blossom’s sword was like a life-taking specter, roaming and harvesting, clearing the flanks and those attempting to sneak attack. In just over a dozen breaths, dozens of Gale Wolves had died at their hands.

Qin Feng's group of four was not idle either. The Four Symbols Battle Array instantly unfolded. Qin Feng’s ink plum sword left its scabbard, its Sword Qi like plum blossoms blooming in cold light, cutting back or killing the wolves that slipped through toward them. Xia Ya’s giant shield stood tall, blocking a wave of impact, and her giant tooth sword swept across with a thousand pounds of force. Ji Ruxue’s figure was flickering, her purple moon dagger bringing trails of ghostly shadows as she performed precise assassinations. Although Xiaochun was not good at direct attacks, the cool aura of the northern darkness star essence pearl spread out, keeping everyone’s mind clear. She also injected several strands of pure vitality into Qin Feng and the others to help them quickly recover from their minor exhaustion.

Seeing this, the three Half-Step Martial King alpha wolves grew even more ferocious. They roared in unison, the green wind cyclones around them surging. Their speed soared again, like three streaks of green lightning, pouncing in a triangular formation directly toward Xiaochun’s direction, which appeared to be the “weakest”!

“Courting death.” Tao Yuanyi snorted coldly. The long spear in his hand suddenly trembled, and the spear tip exploded with a point of piercing cold light as if it could pierce the Void Realm, instantly locking onto one of the alpha wolves. At the same time, Cold Peach Blossom’s sword stance changed; the peach-colored sword light suddenly condensed into a thin line, silently slicing toward the waist and belly of another alpha wolf—copper head, iron bones, but a tofu waist!

“Awoooo—!”

Two shrill and short miserable howls rang out almost simultaneously. One alpha wolf was pierced through the head by Tao Yuanyi’s spear and pinned to the ground; the other was nearly cut in half at the waist by Cold Peach Blossom’s Sword Qi, its internal organs spilling out as it fell and convulsed.

Seeing this, the last alpha wolf finally showed a look of terror in its eyes and actually turned to flee.

“Stay here.” Tao Yuanyi flicked his wrist, and the long spear flew out of his hand like a meteor streaking across the night sky. It arrived first despite starting later, accurately piercing through the back of the wolf's head and emerging from its forehead, pinning it firmly to the trunk of an ancient tree. Its limbs convulsed a few times before it went silent.

With the alpha wolves dead, the remaining Gale Wolf pack instantly collapsed. They let out terrified whimpers and fled into the depths of the dense forest with their tails between their legs, disappearing in an instant.

In the forest clearing, only wolf corpses and a thick stench of blood remained.

Xia Ya put away her giant shield. Seeing Tao Yuanyi and Cold Peach Blossom calmly retrieve their weapons without even getting much blood on themselves, she couldn't help but click her tongue: “Senior Brother Tao, Senior Sister Leng, you guys are too amazing! These hundreds of wolves, plus three Half-Step Martial Kings, and you... killed them all so quickly?” She reckoned that even if she defended with all her might, being surrounded by so many wolves would have left her in a frantic state.

Xiaochun also breathed a sigh of relief and said admiringly: “Senior Brother and Senior Sister's spear and sword techniques are truly incredible!”

Ji Ruxue nodded silently, a trace of recognition also in her cold eyes.

Tao Yuanyi smiled slightly, leaned over to check the alpha wolf's corpse, then looked at the surrounding environment and said warmly: “They were just some Yao Beasts relying on instinct and numbers, nothing much. Gale Wolves have a very strong sense of territory and are very vengeful. If an ordinary lone Martial King is entangled by them, it’s possible for them to die of exhaustion after running out of true essence. We finished the battle quickly and didn't give them a chance to encircle and wear us down.”

Cold Peach Blossom had returned to his side, still silent, only taking out a plain handkerchief to lightly wipe away the non-existent bloodstains on her blade.

“The smell of blood here is too strong; we shouldn't stay long. We need to leave as soon as possible,” Tao Yuanyi said seriously. “This is just one of the common packs of Yao Beasts in the outermost areas of the Ancient Wood Deep Forest. The deeper we go, the more difficult and bizarre the monsters we might encounter will be. Our goal for this trip is not exploration. We just need to follow the relatively safe forest paths trodden by predecessors, bypass the most dangerous core area, and pass through Old Crow Ridge.”

“Understood, we’ll follow Senior Brother’s arrangements.” Qin Feng nodded. The battle just now gave him a more direct understanding of Tao Yuanyi and Cold Peach Blossom’s strength. With them leading the way, he was indeed much more at ease. However, thinking of that black warning and the gaze that Polaris Palace might cast, the string in his heart had never relaxed.

The group quickly cleaned up the battlefield (taking some valuable wolf fangs, wolf skins, and Yao cores), then continued along the forest path Tao Yuanyi identified—which was almost covered by wild grass and vines—cautiously heading deeper into the forest.

Overhead, the dense canopy completely shut out the sunlight, and only eternal darkness and silence descended.