Chapter 268 Why is it a crippled wolf?

The Wolf God stood upon the earth, looking down at the mountains, rivers, and all living beings.

He was only a little over a meter tall, yet he exuded an extremely terrifying Aura, appearing more lofty and distant than the heavens themselves.

His black fur stood on end like steel needles, seemingly capable of piercing the firmament.

That innate, terrifying majesty and the cold indifference that viewed all life as mere weeds were displayed vividly upon his form.

However, everyone present looked at him with strange expressions.

Because, this seemed to be a crippled wolf?

The Wolf God had only two front paws and a head. From the middle of his body backward, he had simply vanished into thin air. His two front paws stood on the ground, supporting a single head, creating an incredibly bizarre sight.

Slurp!

As the Wolf God descended, he took a deep breath, sucking the human skin of the Helian Clan Chief into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it.

As the Helian Clan Chief's final bit of skin went down, his body grew a bit more, but the back half was still empty, with only the two front paws supporting the partial torso.

"The sacrifices are too few; this deity cannot even condense a complete divine body!"

The Wolf God muttered to himself, his indifferent gaze falling upon Yan Chu, Duan Yu, and the others several hundred meters away.

"Greetings to the Howling Moon Wolf God!"

Meeting the gaze of that crippled wolf, Duan Yu, despite being a Celestial, felt his face tighten. His eyes were filled with nervousness as he dropped to one knee in respectful greeting.

"Oh? You recognize this god?"

The crippled wolf with only half a body asked with some surprise:

"This is but a lost Small World. I didn't expect someone here to recognize me."

Duan Yu kept his head low; his dread and trembling were clearly palpable.

"To the north, there is a nation called Northern Mang that worships the eternal heaven. I had the honor of seeing you on a mural!"

As a Celestial within the border army, Duan Yu knew many secrets of Northern Mang, and the sacrificial methods of the Longevity Cult were among them.

"I see. So that's how it is!"

The Howling Moon Wolf God understood and nodded slowly.

Duan Yu continued:

"We have no intention of becoming your enemy. We ask the Howling Moon Wolf God to show mercy."

The Wolf God slowly shook his black lupine head.

"Though you have no intention of being my enemy, this deity was summoned here. The sole obsession of the one who summoned me is to kill you, so..."

Swish!

Before the Howling Moon Wolf God could finish speaking, he raised a single claw and swept it across. With only one claw remaining to support his body, he stood like a golden rooster on one leg.

Smack!

As the claw swept past, ripples vibrated through the air. Moving at a speed that was impossible to dodge, two great mountains simply vanished.

They didn't collapse or shatter; they simply disappeared.

It was too fast!

Duan Yu couldn't dodge at all; even his thoughts were horrifyingly slow. Amidst the ripples, his entire being shattered like glass and was then swept into nothingness.

His Primordial Spirit and Physical Body vanished simultaneously, as if he had never existed in this world.

Even a Celestial like him met such a fate, let alone the other border army generals. None of them escaped this wave; they died without any pain.

With a mere display of his skills, the Wolf God had killed one Celestial and five Supreme Grandmasters, as if it were a trivial matter.

Then, he looked toward Yan Chu.

He swept his claw again.

Crack! Crack!

The air his claw passed through made the sound of breaking glass as an ineffable power washed over everything with grand momentum.

Yan Chu's heart tightened. Executing the Nine Heavens Profound Wind, he merged into the wind, instantly vanishing from his spot and reappearing dozens of miles away.

But that wolf claw followed him like a shadow, seemingly locking onto his position in advance. It directly imprisoned the entire space, causing even the wind to stop flowing, forcing Yan Chu out of the Profound Wind.

This was power belonging to a 'God'!

Even if it wasn't even one-ten-thousandth of a 'God's' power, it was not something people of this world could withstand.

This claw strike was meant to crush Yan Chu, just as it had crushed the Celestial Duan Yu.

Clang!

At that moment, a crisp saber hum rang out. The frost Ming saber appeared in Yan Chu's hand at some unknown point, his expression becoming more solemn than ever before.

All his past insights into the Way of the Saber surfaced in his mind, sublimating into the most powerful strike of his life.

This single strike integrated the fire, thunder, wind, and rain of the Hun Tian Four Absolutes, gathering the four elemental Divine Powers of heaven and earth into the frost Ming saber.

Yan Chu called this strike: the Nirvana Style!

Hum!

As the saber light slashed out, four purple-black Origin patterns appeared around Yan Chu. Thunder flashed in the sky, fire clouds billowed, torrential rain poured down, and fierce gales rose.

Given Yan Chu's foundations, this single strike actually drained sixty percent of his True Qi.

The tragic saber light sought to bring nirvana to all things, tearing through space to strike that black wolf claw.

Splat!

Blood splattered as half a claw flew off. A massive amount of blood sprayed out like a rain of blood, filling dozens of large and small craters below.

The heavy sense of oppression dissipated under this single strike.

Crack! Crack! Snap!

The frost Ming saber in Yan Chu's hand could not bear the burden. Large and small cracks blossomed on the blade, followed by a 'bang' as it exploded into countless tiny shards.

A divine weapon was destroyed just like that.

"Oh? A decent strike!"

"It can almost be called a Divine Ability!"

Looking down, the Howling Moon Wolf God stood on a large rock. Only one front claw remained intact; the other was mangled and still dripping blood, yet he seemed completely oblivious to it.

Yan Chu seemed to have piqued his interest; for a moment, he was in no hurry to continue his attack.

"At your age, it is truly rare to be able to Cultivate to this Realm."

"If you were in the Upper Realm, you might have become the Saint of some Holy Land or the successor of a major sect."

Yan Chu took a deep breath and spoke:

"May I ask, Wolf God, given your cultivation, what level do you belong to in the Upper Realm?"

"Me?"

The Howling Moon Wolf God smiled conceitedly, baring four snow-white wolf fangs, and said:

"This seat has reached the God Realm. Even in the Upper Realm, I am a deity of a region, enjoying the worship of ten thousand nations. It is a Realm you cannot imagine right now."

"Then what is your relationship with the eternal heaven?"

"The eternal heaven is my lord. I am one of the Four Great Divine Generals under the eternal heaven!"

Having said that, the flesh on the Howling Moon Wolf God's severed claw writhed. Fine lines of blood extended, regrowing a new claw.

"Boy, you could take that last strike. Let's see if you can take this one!"

He raised his right claw, and a ripple emanated from it. In Yan Chu's vision, this claw became infinitely large and infinitely high.

The surrounding hundreds of miles were shrouded within this wolf claw. The entire space was imprisoned, rendering one's thoughts unable to move.

Yan Chu's hands, which had been behind his back the whole time, finally reached out.

Upon his palms, a ball of blue flame was condensed to the extreme.

The vast and masculine Nine Yang True Qi circulated through his body, and at this moment, it converged into one, turning into an energy sphere.

"Hmm?"

The Howling Moon Wolf God felt something was wrong. The black wolf claw immediately descended, coming straight for the top of his head.

The ground below collapsed as a whole, cracking into countless thick fissures as underground magma erupted upward.

Yan Chu threw the blue holy flame from his palm. The concentrated energy sphere collided with the wolf claw, instantly erupting with world-destroying, terrifying power.

Boom!

...

...

BOOM!!!

The terrifying explosion swept through heaven and earth, forming a giant mushroom cloud that rose into the high sky. Fire and gales covered the surrounding hundred miles. Sand and stones flew everywhere as everything within was torn apart and destroyed in the firestorm.

Nine Yang Great Thunderbolt!

The top killing move within the Nine Yang Divine Art. When executed by Yan Chu at the Ten Yang Realm, it was more terrifying than a nuclear explosion.

The earth shook violently, countless times more frightening than an earthquake.

[Killed the Howling Moon Wolf God's Incarnation, extremely satisfying, Law Fragment +1]

Amidst the continuous sounds of explosions, a crisp voice rang out in Yan Chu's mind.

Along with the exploding fire clouds, a tiny fragment fell from the sky, and Yan Chu reached out to catch it.

He found it was a piece of black-gray hard skin about the size of a fingernail.

In the explosion of the Nine Yang Great Thunderbolt, this piece of hard skin was actually unharmed?

Whoosh!

Blue flames rose from Yan Chu's hand and began to burn it.

But the fragment remained motionless in the fire. The blue flames, which could easily burn a Celestial to death, were actually unable to cause any effect on this piece of hard skin.

Yan Chu had some guesses; this likely had something to do with the Howling Moon Wolf God's ability to descend into this world.

But since he couldn't figure out what use this hard skin had for the moment, he temporarily tossed it into his item slot, to be dealt with whenever he remembered it again.

Then he looked at the Law Fragment dropped by the System.

Unlike previous experience points, there was no experience this time, but a direct Law Fragment.

Yan Chu naturally knew what a Law was.

As someone who had read countless novels and spent so much time in the Jianghu, he understood this thing perfectly.

A Law is the rule by which the world operates, the original order followed by all things in heaven and earth.

Like the flowing wind—Yan Chu's Nine Heavens Profound Wind from the Hun Tian Four Absolutes could harness the power of wind, but if he mastered the Law of Wind, he would become the Incarnation of wind. Anyone cultivating wind-attribute techniques would be unable to act up before him.

He could casually create over a hundred peerless divine techniques of the wind attribute.

With just the phrase "No Wind," the wind of the entire world would vanish.

"But this thing is useless to me right now!"

Yan Chu then frowned again. What he lacked now was experience; what use was a Law Fragment?

He probed his consciousness into the Law Fragment.

Whoosh!

In his consciousness, the Law Fragment vanished instantly, flowing into his mind like a beam of light. Countless grand insights surged into his heart.

At this moment, Yan Chu seemed to see the birth and death of worlds and the cracking of the heavens.

A seed took root and sprouted within his body. The Law contained in that fragment was injected into the seed, and the seed began to grow and strengthen, turning into a towering tree.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

While Yan Chu had his eyes closed digesting the Law Fragment, several beams of light flew in from afar.

The first to land here was Luo Jin.

Her long hair fluttered, and her figure was tall and slender. Her exquisite face was full of shock, and her beautiful eyes could not hide her astonishment.

She had originally been worried that someone else might act against Princess Yunshu's convoy, so she hadn't chased after them immediately.

It wasn't until that world-destroying explosion that she could no longer suppress her worry. After instructing Cui Yiting and the others to guard carefully, she flew here alone.

As a result, she saw total devastation within a hundred miles, with no life surviving.

The residual fluctuations in the air made even her, a Celestial, feel alarmed.

Not long after she arrived, two more terrifying Auras arrived together from afar.

Luo Jin hurriedly stood ready.

Yan Chu seemed to be in a meditative state with his eyes closed; at such a time, he could least afford to be disturbed.

The leading figure descended from the sky.

Luo Jin's pretty face changed slightly as she recognized the newcomer. She performed a formal bow and said calmly:

"This humble one greets the Prince of Zhenbei!"

The newcomer was none other than the number one person in the Great Jin Dynasty's northern border army, Prince of Zhenbei Li Shuoting.

He wore a set of golden armor, had a square face, and a tall, majestic physique. His countenance was stern and inviolable.

Behind him, another Celestial descended.

He also wore iron armor, though it was black. His face was rugged, and he was not much inferior to Li Shuoting—it was none other than General Pang Chong.

Noticing the residual Aura in the air, Pang Chong's face changed slightly, filled with solemnity.

As fellow Great Jin Celestials, and with Luo Jin being a confidante of the Empress Dowager, Li Shuoting naturally recognized her. He couldn't help but ask at this moment:

"Miss Luo, you arrived a step earlier. Do you know who fought a great battle here?"

Luo Jin shook her head slightly and said:

"I don't know! I just arrived, and it was already like this."

"Who is he?"

General Pang Chong suddenly turned his gaze toward Yan Chu, who was standing with his eyes closed, and asked coldly.

Luo Jin moved slightly, blocking the way, and said slowly:

"His name is Yan Chu, known in the Jianghu as the Saber Demon. This time, he was entrusted by the Empress Dowager to escort Princess Yunshu north with me."

"Yan Chu?"

Li Shuoting and Pang Chong glanced at each other and slowly withdrew their gazes.

They had naturally heard of Yan Chu's name, but this was their first time meeting him. He was indeed much younger than the rumors suggested.

"Yan Chu arrived earlier than I did; perhaps he knows something."

"Why don't you two wait a moment? When he wakes up, you can ask him."

While the two from the Prince of Zhenbei's side were full of doubts, Luo Jin's words forced them to suppress their thoughts and wait for Yan Chu to wake up first.

...

Over a hundred thousand miles away, at Chilie Mountain in Northern Mang.

This was the sacred mountain in the hearts of the Northern Mang people. During major Northern Mang festivals, the nobility would gather here to worship the eternal heaven, praying for the eternal heaven to bestow blessings and ensure Northern Mang's national strength remained prosperous.

When there were no major sacrifices, this place was a Northern Mang Forbidden Ground.

Because the Longevity Cult was located within Chilie Mountain.

Surrounding Chilie Mountain for hundreds of miles, there was a yurt every certain distance, garrisoned by Northern Mang soldiers.

Within Chilie Mountain, in the very center of the mountain, a hollow several hundred feet wide had been carved out. Everburning lamps flickered inside the cave.

In the heart of the cave, there was a high platform.

A white-robed old man sat cross-legged on the platform. He had a thick beard and a tall frame. Surrounded by the lamplight, he was chanting something.

Suddenly, the old man snapped his eyes open.

A gust of wind appeared in the cave, blowing the everburning lamps into a flicker.

"Someone, come!"

The old man spoke in a deep voice, his words rolling out.

A tall, middle-aged man guarding outside entered the cave, came before the old man, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed:

"High Priest!"

The old man's cloudy eyes looked at the middle-aged man and said:

"The Howling Moon Wolf God's Sacred Skin has vanished. This Sacred Object was always kept by the Helian family, sewn onto Helian Clan Chief's chest for safekeeping. Something must have happened to him."

"Go report to the Khan and immediately send people to Youzhou. The place where the Sacred Object disappeared is right there."

"Remember, no matter what means you use, you must retrieve the Wolf God's Sacred Object!"

"There must be no mistakes!"