Wolf King, Puppet, Life and Death!

The Hunting Grounds, a vast expanse between the former Spirit Field District and Hundred Beasts Mountain.

The setting sun burned like fire, staining the rolling low mountains and dense forests crimson, casting a crazed red glow over every person and beast within.

The roars of demonic beasts, the shouts of cultivators, the surging spiritual power of Daoist arts and demonic arts, the bloody hand-to-hand slaughter between body cultivators and demonic beasts.

Such scenes played out in every corner of this region.

The same was true atop one of the low mountains where Zhang Hai stood. No—this place was even fiercer than elsewhere.

A group of rogue cultivators had driven the wolf pack into a corner, setting up an array in a half-circle that sealed off every escape route.

Under the Wolf King's lead, hundreds of Gray Demonic Wolves charged again and again at the rogue cultivators' encirclement, attempting to break out.

The rogue cultivators, meanwhile, were led by a six-foot-tall Blue-robed Man with a scarred face.

Drawing upon the array's power, they repelled the demonic wolves' breakout attempts time and time again.

Throughout the battle, rogue cultivators died miserably, and demonic wolves fell as well.

This was a contest between men and beasts; the only question was which side could endure to the end.

"If I'd known it would be like this, only a stupid dog would've come!"

Zhang Hai swept his gaze around and felt that the eyes of the surrounding rogue cultivators were every bit as vicious as the wolf pack's.

At this moment, he bitterly regretted wading into this muddy water.

He had only thought he would be repairing a Tier 1 Returning Light Formation. There should not have been much danger involved.

But he had not expected that this Tier 1 Returning Light Formation had already teetered on the verge of collapse several times even before his arrival.

The formation, originally capable of accommodating only a dozen or so cultivators meditating to recover their breath, had long been pushed beyond its limits by hundreds of rogue cultivators.

Before him, two array apprentices had already died miserably just to keep the formation from collapsing.

The demonic wolves possessed intelligence. They knew where the key to breaking out lay, and they knew who needed to die most.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, what are you standing around for? The array light has weakened again. I'll have to trouble you to make another trip and replace the damaged Array Devices!

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. The wolf pack has been worn down to this point and can barely hold on. Once the deed is done, your reward will certainly not be lacking!"

The Blue-robed Man, Pang Zhizhong, spoke to Zhang Hai, but his eyes remained fixed on the Wolf King.

As a Tier-1 Peak body cultivator, he was the only one present capable of driving back the Wolf King, which was on the verge of advancing to Tier-2. He did not dare relax in the slightest.

Hearing this, Zhang Hai answered with a wry smile.

He had no ability to refuse. Rogue cultivators could never compare to the demonic wolves, who could charge fearlessly to their deaths under the Wolf King's command.

Without the Returning Light Formation to restore their spiritual power and heal their injuries, the rogue cultivators could never have lasted until now.

And once the formation collapsed, it would no longer be them hunting the wolf pack—it would be the wolf pack hunting them.

Zhang Hai did not think that, after everything fell apart, an array apprentice like him could outrun the other rogue cultivators.

Thus, despite the extreme danger of moving to the front and replacing the foremost Array Devices, he had no choice but to go.

Like the other rogue cultivators, he was now riding a tiger and unable to dismount!

If he took a gamble, he might still have a chance to live. If he did not, at least half the rogue cultivators on this low mountain would die!

The instant he appeared at the front—

The gray-bodied, silver-backed Wolf King let out several low growls, and dozens of demonic wolves lunged at Zhang Hai without fear of death.

At the same time, the rogue cultivators around him unleashed Daoist arts and Magic Artifacts, helping him intercept the Gray Demonic Wolves' attacks.

What drew attention was that the Lizard Warrior following behind him did not make a move during all this.

Although Zhang Hai had ordered the Lizard Warrior to protect only its own life and ignore everything else.

Still, he was already in enough danger, yet the Lizard Warrior remained utterly motionless. Zhang Hai could not help doubting whether Su Qing's manual had been telling the truth when it claimed that this Puppet was inscribed with a Tier 2 Intelligence Rune and was quite clever.

"You really can't be greedy for bargains. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bought such inferior goods. Fellow Daoist Su, you've gotten me killed this time!"

Zhang Hai cursed inwardly as he swiftly replaced the Array Device beneath his feet.

Fortunately, although the Lizard Warrior put on a show without putting in any effort, the dozen or so rogue cultivators Pang Zhizhong had assigned to protect him were strong enough. No mishap occurred even as he replaced the final Array Device.

Just as he let out a slight breath of relief—

A sudden change erupted.

The Wolf King, which had been lying half-prone on the ground and licking its wounds, shot up like an arrow loosed from the bow.

Gray body, silver back, wolf eyes gleaming with contempt—it closed the distance from far to near, rapidly swelling in Zhang Hai's vision.

"You beast, how dare you!"

Before the silver wolf shadow stood a broad-shouldered man gripping twin blades.

As he flew forward, two streaks of blade light, one above and one below, sealed off the Wolf King's path.

It was Pang Zhizhong, who had remained vigilant all along, coming to rescue him.

But before Zhang Hai could relax, one sweep of his eyes nearly frightened his soul out of his body.

The Wolf King twisted in midair, and a faint Wolf King Shadow separated from its body.

The shadow passed through the equally horrified Pang Zhizhong and shot straight toward Zhang Hai.

Pang Zhizhong turned to pursue it, only for the Wolf King's true body to slash him across the back with a claw. He barely steadied himself, but could only remain tied down by the Wolf King's true body, powerless to offer aid!

"The Soul Splitting Shadow Technique! Spell cultivators, destroy that wolf shadow! Break it, and the Wolf King is finished!"

As an experienced Monster Hunter, this was also Pang Zhizhong's first time witnessing the Soul Splitting Shadow Technique.

Yet he knew the truth of this technique. A demonic beast driven to the end of the road split off its demon core to form a shadow of its true body, possessing roughly thirty to fifty percent of the true body's power.

Used without warning, it could indeed turn defeat into victory. But if the demon core was destroyed, the true body would perish as well. Ordinary Tier 2 Demonic Beasts would not resort to such a thing.

This Silverback Gray Wolf King possessed only Tier 1 Extreme strength, yet Pang Zhizhong had not expected it to use such a demonic art. It caught him completely off guard.

At this moment, he could only pray that the others could at least protect the Array Devices. As for Zhang Hai, in his eyes, Zhang Hai had no chance of surviving.

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

Zhang Hai's face turned deathly pale. Under the Wolf King Shadow's pressure, he trembled violently and completely lost the ability to move.

The dozens of rogue cultivators around him were not as pathetic as he was, but they still did not dare step forward against the Wolf King Shadow.

Yes, if Zhang Hai and the Array Devices were destroyed together, the Returning Light Formation would immediately collapse. Their plan to use this formation to wear the wolf pack to death would become utterly impossible, and who knew how many fellow cultivators would die then?

But there was always a way to survive. If they went up now and fought the Wolf King Shadow head-on, they would truly die.

Rogue cultivators were best at protecting themselves wisely. Only a few spell cultivators cast several Daoist arts from afar, but their attacks did not hurt or itch the Wolf King Shadow.

One bold rogue cultivator gritted his teeth and released a Spirit Beast Puppet, placing it in front of the Wolf King Shadow.

But these were merely Tier 1 Lower grade spirit beasts or puppets, so naturally they could not block the Wolf King's path. In but a moment, nothing stood between Zhang Hai and the Wolf King Shadow.

The Wolf King Shadow swung its claw, about to effortlessly destroy Zhang Hai along with the Array Devices beside him.

Zhang Hai closed his eyes and awaited death.

Pang Zhizhong roared repeatedly, unwilling to see all his hard work go down the drain at the final step.

The rogue cultivators greased the soles of their feet, ready to flee at any moment.

Just as everything seemed set in stone—

A Green-skinned Lizardman charged into the battlefield.

With a sweep of its tail, it flung Zhang Hai and the Array Devices behind it. Pale gray runes lit up on both its arms as it tightly embraced the Wolf King Shadow, followed by a thunderous explosion.

Chunks of debris covered in runes slowly drifted down through the air.

The Wolf King Shadow, so majestic just moments ago, had been blasted more than ten meters away, looking thoroughly bedraggled.

"Good Puppet!"

Pang Zhizhong was overjoyed.

"This Puppet is surprisingly clever. It knew it could not stop the Wolf King Shadow, so it simply self-destructed to buy Zhang Hai time."

The rogue cultivators rallied once more!

"I'm alive, I'm alive! The Puppet is gone, but I'm alive!"

Zhang Hai had escaped death at the very brink!