Perils at Every Turn

At that moment, the three people and the wolf faced one another, none daring to make a rash move. Village Chief Ye was deeply puzzled as well. By all rights, a Soul Beast with cultivation nearing one hundred thousand years should have lived near the heart of the forest. Why had it come to the outskirts?

The Wood Wolf stopped circling and suddenly charged at the three of them.

"Scatter!" Village Chief Ye cried.

Faced with such a powerful Soul Beast, Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling could only evade. Village Chief Ye activated his first and second Soul Rings at the same time. A formation of piercing spikes wrapped in massive wooden vines rose into a high wall before them. Yet it was obvious that this wall could not withstand the enemy. The Wood Wolf smashed it to pieces, but it still bought them enough time to dodge. The wolf's charge missed, but it swiftly changed direction and targeted Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling.

"What?!" Village Chief Ye cried out in shock. In his eyes, a Ten Thousand Year Wood Wolf should have disdained attacking two children, yet it truly was pouncing toward them.

The two under attack were equally shocked. Tang Chenfeng gritted his teeth and said, "Ling'er, run. I'll hold it back." As he spoke, his first Soul Ring appeared around him. His Martial Soul activated, and the muscles across his entire body seemed ready to burst through his clothes. He threw a heavy punch with his right fist. Tang Chenfeng knew he probably could not even withstand a single blow from it, but the more seconds he could buy, the greater Village Chief Ye's chance of saving Ling'er. In Ye Hongling's eyes, her brother's back as he stood before her seemed incomparably tall, branding itself deeply into her heart.

With a boom, Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling were knocked to the ground. However, it was not the Wood Wolf's attack that sent them flying, but a massive tree root erupting from beneath the earth.

Yet rather than a tree root, the thing that had suddenly emerged from underground looked more like a giant serpent. No, that was not right—it should have been called a giant dragon. Like a dragon formed from entwined trees, it clamped its enormous jaws around the Wood Wolf's neck and lifted it into the air.

"You two, get up and run farther away!" Village Chief Ye roared at them.

But then Tang Chenfeng's eyes lit up as he looked in Village Chief Ye's direction, as though he had suddenly noticed something. "Grandpa, get away from there!"

"What?!" Before Village Chief Ye could react, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed. Countless wooden vines stretched out from within and dragged him down.

Meanwhile, the enormous Wood Wolf beside them struggled violently. Cracks had already begun appearing across the body of the wooden dragon holding it.

"Grandpa... sob... Grandpa..." Ye Hongling watched Village Chief Ye get attacked with her own eyes, and it felt as though her heart had shattered. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. He was one of her few remaining family members. She struggled desperately in Tang Chenfeng's arms, wanting to save Village Chief Ye, while Tang Chenfeng held her tightly and ran toward the rear.

Tang Chenfeng had used his Domain Skill to observe the battlefield just now, but the moment he activated it, he saw Village Chief Ye being swallowed by the ground. His heart ached as well. Village Chief Ye's fate was unknown, but with his limited strength, he could not possibly defeat a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. He could only heed Village Chief Ye's command and flee. Though he was deeply unwilling, this was the only way he might preserve both their lives.

"Brother... put me down. I... I want to save Grandpa." Ye Hongling cried in Tang Chenfeng's arms, saying that she wanted to go back.

"No! Absolutely not!" Tang Chenfeng roared. Ye Hongling froze. She had never heard Tang Chenfeng speak to her in such a severe tone.

"Ling'er, I know what you're thinking. I know what you want to do. I want to go back and save the village chief too, but I can't take you with me to die!" Tang Chenfeng ran as he spoke, tears flowing uncontrollably down his face.

But soon, the two of them could hear the footsteps of their pursuer behind them. The Wood Wolf had already broken free.

"Damn it." Tang Chenfeng came to an abrupt stop, set Ye Hongling down, and said, "Ling'er, run. I'll hold it here. Though I don't know how long I can last."

"No! Absolutely not! Brother, you can't stop it. I'll stay with you—" Awoo—! Before Ye Hongling could finish, the Wood Wolf had already arrived before them.

"No choice now." Tang Chenfeng frowned tightly, activated his Martial Soul, and charged forward. He still had one last trump card: a full-force Spiritual Sense Attack. He believed it could at least buy them some time.

Seeing Tang Chenfeng charge straight at it, the Wood Wolf assumed an attacking stance as well. Thumb-thick wooden spikes emerged from its body and shot toward Tang Chenfeng. Tang Chenfeng had not expected them to come straight at him, but strangely, even though he neither dodged nor evaded, none of the wooden spikes pierced his body. At most, they grazed his skin. Tang Chenfeng did not spare it much thought. All he wanted now was to attack the enemy and buy time. He was already within striking range.

The Wood Wolf only saw an intense blue light flash through Tang Chenfeng's eyes. Then, its brain seemed to be struck by a massive hammer. Pain as though its head were splitting apart spread through its body. The enormous impact of the Divine Sense even caused blood to seep from its mouth, nose, and eyes. Awoo... The Wood Wolf wailed and struggled painfully on the ground.

But Tang Chenfeng was not faring well either. His control over his Divine Sense was still far from proficient. Not only had he failed to unleash its full power in that attack, he had even injured himself. Blood now trickled from his eyes, mouth, and nose as well. Moreover, the Wood Wolf's violent struggle affected him too. It swatted him away with a claw, and he crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Brother, are you okay?!" Ye Hongling ignored the Wood Wolf beside them and hurried to Tang Chenfeng's side to heal him.

"Cough, cough... I'm in terrible shape. I truly don't have even a shred of strength left to fight back." Every part of Tang Chenfeng's body hurt. Ye Hongling's healing made him feel somewhat better, but the true threat was still beside them. After struggling on the ground for a while, the Wood Wolf rose again. This time, the two of them could clearly sense the killing intent emanating from it.

The Wood Wolf's originally emerald-green eyes had turned red, filled with dense killing intent. Threatening growls rumbled from its mouth. Then, four wooden spikes as thick as arms emerged from its body, ready to attack the two of them.

We're finished. The thought arose in both their minds almost simultaneously, but it seemed they had no other choice left.

Boom—boom— Just as the two were nearly overcome by despair, several deafening explosions suddenly rang out from the ground. Two wooden dragons burst from beneath the earth and charged straight at the giant Wood Wolf. The wolf hurriedly retreated, but the spikes on its body still fired. Though they had not been aimed, one of the four still flew toward the two of them.