Spectral Wolves Devour the Wind, Oblivion at His Fingertips

Lin Chen's pause abruptly intensified the taut atmosphere behind him.

Everyone's gaze followed his line of sight into the deeper darkness ahead, their hearts involuntarily beginning to race. The whimpering wind seemed to sharpen at that moment, as though some hidden malice lay within it.

Several points of ghostly green light suddenly lit up in the darkness without warning.

The lights were small, yet exceptionally cold, like flickering corpse-fire drifting over lonely graves in the wilderness, carrying an air of deathly stillness and ill omen. They moved soundlessly through the dark, growing faster and faster. As the energy fluctuations gradually became clearer, so too did the low, suppressed whimpering, like a beast grinding its teeth.

"Watch out! They're... Yin Wind Wolves!" Su Lie's experience allowed him to identify the source of those green lights at once. His expression changed drastically as he shouted sharply, "Prepare for battle!"

Before his words had even faded, three blurry shadows formed from flowing ink-black yin wind lunged out of the darkness! They vaguely resembled wolves, larger than ordinary wild wolves, swift and silent in their movements. Only those two ghostly green "eyes" stood out particularly clearly in the dark. Their targets were several guards on the relatively weak flank of the group.

The attack came too suddenly. Though the guards had remained alert all along, they were still half a beat too slow when faced with these bizarre creatures made entirely of energy.

"Beast!" one guard roared, hastily slashing with his saber. Blazing white saber light tore through the air, infused with true qi.

Yet the Yin Wind Wolf seemed to have no physical body. When the saber light struck it, its form merely warped and scattered, ink-black yin wind splashing outward and crashing against the guard's protective true qi with intensely frigid force, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound. The guard's qi barrier instantly dimmed, and the shock sent his blood and qi churning as he staggered back several steps.

Another Yin Wind Wolf was even craftier. Rather than taking the attack head-on, it made a blurred turn in midair. Like a ghostly shadow, it bypassed the frontal defense, its sharp claws—formed entirely from condensed yin wind—ruthlessly clawing toward another guard's ribs!

Squelch!

The protective true qi was torn apart like paper, and the claws plunged directly into the guard's flesh, bringing up a spray of blood mist. The guard screamed, his body trembling violently as a layer of black frost swiftly spread over the wound. Frigid yin force was madly invading his body.

Chaos erupted in an instant.

Though the guards tried to form a defensive formation under Su Lie's command, it was difficult to maintain one in such dim light, rugged terrain, and against enemies so bizarre. The Yin Wind Wolves were too fast, and their attacks were exceedingly unusual, acting directly upon true qi and flesh. Their whimpering seemed capable of disturbing the mind as well, leaving the already tense guards even more flustered.

Beside the carriage, Su Lie's face was iron-gray. He wielded the long whip in his hand to fend off one Yin Wind Wolf's pounce while anxiously observing the battle, his heart turning cold. The strength of these Yin Wind Wolves had likely neared the ninth level of Body Tempering. Worse, they were incredibly difficult to deal with—far beyond what their group could contend against.

In the midst of that brief chaos, Lin Chen, who had been standing at the very front all along, moved.

He did not even turn around to glance at the situation behind him.

Facing the two Yin Wind Wolves pouncing out of the darkness once more, he merely raised his right hand calmly, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and lightly pointed into the empty space ahead.

There was no astonishing aura, no dazzling radiance.

Yet the instant his fingers pointed out, the two Yin Wind Wolves rushing at high speed suddenly halted, as though they had crashed into an invisible wall.

Then, an even stranger scene unfolded.

The flowing ink-black yin wind across the Yin Wind Wolves' bodies began to twist and stretch in an unnatural manner, as though forcibly stripped away by an irresistible power. It transformed into countless fine black strands of energy and uncontrollably converged toward Lin Chen's fingertips!

The two Yin Wind Wolves let out soundless howls. Their green "eyes" flickered violently, as if struggling with all their might, but it was all in vain. Their bodies, composed of pure yin wind energy, rapidly shriveled and dissipated like punctured balloons.

It took no more than one or two breaths.

The two ferocious Yin Wind Wolves simply "melted" into the air, leaving behind only a few faint trails of black energy, which were completely devoured by the invisible suction at Lin Chen's fingertips.

His hand lowered, and all was calm again. It was as though those two vicious creatures that had sought to devour people had never existed.

Having dealt with the threat ahead, Lin Chen finally turned sideways, his gaze falling upon the Yin Wind Wolf attacking Su Lie and another guard.

That Yin Wind Wolf seemed to have sensed its companions' instant annihilation. Its movements visibly faltered, and a trace of... fear seemed to appear in its ghostly green eyes? It released a low whimper and actually retreated half a step, seemingly intending to flee into deeper darkness.

But Lin Chen gave it no chance.

His figure left behind an almost imperceptible afterimage where he stood. Phantom Step became ever more effortless amid this yin wind. In the next instant, he had appeared beside that Yin Wind Wolf.

Once again, he pointed with two fingers.

His fingertips struck precisely at the core where energy flowed most densely within the Yin Wind Wolf's body.

Without the slightest resistance, his fingers sank into it as if passing through mist.

The Yin Wind Wolf's body abruptly stiffened. Then, just like the first two, the yin wind energy that formed its body was violently drawn out, refined, and ultimately reduced to nothingness.

The entire process was so quick that no one could react.

From the Yin Wind Wolves' appearance and the chaos they caused to Lin Chen taking action and resolving every threat, only a dozen or so breaths had passed.

The whimpering wind continued, but the heart-chilling ghostly green lights and ink-black wolf shadows had vanished without a trace.

Silence descended once more, yet it was heavier than before.

Supported by their companions, the wounded guards bandaged their injuries with pale faces. Their gazes toward Lin Chen were filled with the relief of surviving a calamity and an indescribable awe. Su Lie withdrew his long whip and looked at the patches of black frost left on the ground, a faint sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead.

He walked up to Lin Chen and bowed. "Thank you, sir, for saving us! If not for you..."

Lin Chen waved a hand, cutting him off. His gaze rested upon the places where the Yin Wind Wolves had vanished, as though he were sensing something.

Those Yin Wind Wolves were, in essence, highly condensed yin wind energy that had developed a trace of weak intelligence. Their source of power was the omnipresent yin wind within Yin Wind Ravine. Refining them was more efficient than simply absorbing yin wind, and the energy obtained was purer. It even contained faint "instinctive fragments" concerning the use of yin wind's power.

Though such fragments were of little use to Lin Chen, grains of sand could pile into a tower. They would still benefit his understanding of frigid yin power.

Moreover, the appearance of these Yin Wind Wolves confirmed his earlier speculation. Within Yin Wind Ravine, dangerous entities truly existed, born by relying on its special environment.

"Move."

The simple command rang out again.

Lin Chen offered no further explanation and did not inspect the wounded, as though he had merely swatted a few flies to death. After identifying the direction, he seemed to head toward the source from which the Yin Wind Wolves had appeared, continuing deeper into the darkness.

Su Lie hurriedly called for everyone to follow. The atmosphere in the group became even more oppressive and cautious than before. They finally understood that this lord was not only unfathomably powerful—his way of doing things was also... cold to the extreme. Yet it was precisely such coldness and strength that served as their only guarantee of survival in this land of death.