A gale of wind and snow tore past at breakneck speed. Lu Sheng pursued the white cloud ahead without pause.
That cloud was the giant white wolf in full sprint.
Forests blurred on either side as the land surged and dipped beneath his feet. Hills rose and fell in relentless succession, their number long since lost to him. Time slipped away unnoticed, until at last the white wolf descended lightly beside a frozen lake, silent, weightless, as though it truly were vapor.
Its massive body settled into a squat by the lakeshore, mountain-like and unmoving. Slowly, it turned its blood-red eyes toward Lu Sheng.
“You’re following me. What do you want?”
The voice was not loud, yet it carried effortlessly, entering Lu Sheng’s ears with uncanny clarity, as though spoken from right beside him.
Lu Sheng halted, momentarily taken aback. “What do I want?”
“I am the greatest White Wolf King par excellence, Gendi. State your wish, and what you are willing to offer in exchange. If it pleases me, I can fulfill it.” The deep voice rumbled on, sounding faintly absurd to Lu Sheng. “Since you have come after me, you should be familiar with my rule.”
Lu Sheng fixed his gaze on the white wolf. The pressure radiating from it was overwhelming, far beyond anything he had faced before. From its words alone, it was clear this creature as well-known, accustomed to bargains and exchanges.
He steadied himself and replied, “What can you give me?”
The White Wolf King arched its back, lowering its enormous head toward him.
“Me? Wealth? Gems? Power? Even the deepest longings of your heart…”
Its colossal head loomed only several meters away, close enough to swallow Lu Sheng whole in a single bite.
Lu Sheng considered this briefly before answering, “I don’t want any of those. I want power. Strength.”
The wolf showed no sign of recognizing him. Under Yin Extreme Mode, Lu Sheng’s presence was thoroughly concealed, and the strength he displayed now was worlds apart from his true power after transformation.
“Oh?” The White Wolf King studied him closely. “Why do you want strength?”
Lu Sheng let out a laugh. “In a world this chaotic, does one really need a reason?”
“You’re not wrong.” The White Wolf King nodded slowly. “But your power is already respectable. To trade for something greater, the price will naturally be heavier.”
Lu Sheng replied calmly, “As long as you can provide it, don’t worry about the cost. I can afford it.”
In truth, he was merely playing along. If this white wolf truly possessed a way to grant him greater strength, it would be an unexpected gain. If not, there was no loss to speak of. He had only followed it out of curiosity after spotting such a colossal creature while testing his martial arts.
The White Wolf King found him puzzling. As the head of Wandering Heart Society, ghosts and demons frequently sought him out for transactions. Some desired rare treasures, others craved power. Yet none had ever stood before him with such composure, entirely devoid of fear.
His presence here had been a coincidence as well.
After that mysterious man had spoken those words to him, he had vanished without a trace.
The White Wolf King did not fully believe those claims. Even if the Shangyang Family truly stood behind everything, there was little he could do. One of the Nine Great Families of the Central Plains, their might was beyond his reach. Any attempt at revenge would amount to no more than scratching their skin, while only serving to provoke a monstrous force.
Helpless fury churned within him. It was at that moment that an invitation from a close friend arrived, offering a rare chance to strike back at the Shangyang Family. That was why he had left his people behind and come deep into the Northern Lands.
What he had not expected was to encounter such a man here.
Most astonishing of all was this simple fact: the human before him had matched his speed.
“Once, a tribe of lone-eyed titans struck a deal with me, offering their loyalty in exchange for strength. I granted it. Other tribes and peoples did the same, trading all manner of precious things for power. I agreed to awaken their potential.” The White Wolf King’s voice was steady and deep. “I can give you power. Whether you obtain it depends on what you bring to the table.”
He did not recognize Lu Sheng, having never seen his likeness. His only concern in the Northern Lands was the hidden arm of the Shangyang Family. The fact that two of his Deputy Heads had been slain spoke volumes of the forces lurking here.
While he remained wary of the Shangyang Family, a minor mortal faction like the Crimson Whale Sect was beneath his notice.
“Oh?”
Lu Sheng’s interest was stirred. It seemed this creature truly was a merchant among demons and devils.
After a brief pause, he said, “I want power without side effects. It must not affect my mind.”152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb41U5iLkzu
He then reached into his robe and produced an object. “I’ll trade this.”
“This is…” The White Wolf King’s eyes narrowed, fixing on the item in Lu Sheng’s hand. “A shard of a Divine Weapon? It appears to be a remnant of the Yin Gloom Seal…”
The object was a dark yellow metal fragment Lu Sheng had obtained from Officiator Bai Jiang. He had once extracted several dozen units of Yin Qi from it, yet despite long study, he had never found a way to truly use it. With nothing to lose, he had decided to try his luck.
“Yin Gloom Seal…” Lu Sheng stored the name away, his expression unchanged.
He asked evenly, “So how much power can this buy?”
The White Wolf King examined the shard in silence.
“It’s a sizable piece. I can offer you three choices.”
Lu Sheng’s brows lifted slightly. “Please, go on.”
The White Wolf King raised his head and exhaled softly. A vast plume of white mist spilled forth, spreading like a drifting cloud and sealing the two of them away from the outside world.
“First, I can bestow strength upon you directly, drawn from my own body. It is fast.”
“Second, I inject demon power into you and turn you into a Half-Demon, though it will shorten your lifespan.”
“Third, I provide precious materials for you to absorb and refine, but much of the power will be lost in the process.”
He presented the three choices with measured calm, each option weighed with its own gains and sacrifices.
Lu Sheng considered them carefully. The metal shard was of little use to him, and to a behemoth like the Shangyang Family, a fragment of a Divine Weapon was hardly worth mentioning. It had merely been an item carried by an Officiator of Ashoka Manor, likely intended as a routine reward somewhere down the line.
After a moment, he decided to see the trade through.
“I’ll take the precious materials.”
“I possess rare herbs that strengthen either the body or inner Qi. Which do you seek?” the White Wolf King asked.
Lu Sheng recalled the precious herbs map in his mind, its entries unfolding one by one. “An aged Four Spirit Flower.”
“Deal.” With a slight twist of its head, the White Wolf King shook loose a white, palm-sized box from the fur at its neck.
As though held by an unseen giant hand, the box drifted downward and came to a halt before Lu Sheng.
“A thirty-thousand-year-old Four Spirit Flower in exchange for the Divine Weapon shard in your hand.”
The White Wolf King was nothing if not fair. This had always been the principle of Wandering Heart Society. Among the demon and devil races, they were known as mysterious merchants whose prices ran high, yet their goods were never counterfeit.
Lu Sheng accepted the box and opened it. Inside lay a small green flower with four delicate petals, its stem and leaves translucent, resting in absolute stillness.
A faint fragrance rose from the box, cool and refreshing like peppermint, carrying a clarity that seemed to seep straight into the depths of his heart.
“Thirty thousand years old…” Lu Sheng’s expression remained placid, yet a surge of elation stirred within him.
Even the finest herb recorded on Li Shunxi’s map of the Northern Lands was nowhere near half as effective as the Four Spirit Flower resting before his eyes. That was, of course, assuming its age was genuine.
If refined properly, this single stalk would be enough to offset several dozen units of Yin Qi expenditure. It might even suffice to elevate his entire inner force cultivation by one level.
Only then did he recall that he could have substituted Yin Qi with his own Yin-aspected inner Qi to upgrade the Light Void Skill. In the end, however, he had exhausted nearly all of his Aquarius Qi to heal the hidden injuries caused by the violent transformation of his body.
Now, though, he could slowly advance low-tier martial arts using Yin-aspected inner Qi alone. It would take time, but it was entirely feasible.
“So?” The White Wolf King regarded him steadily, waiting for his answer.
“Deal.” Lu Sheng nodded and flicked the metal shard forward.
An unseen force intercepted it midair and carried it toward the White Wolf King.
“In that case, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you. If you ever have need of me, you can find me on Frozen Sea Island next time.” With that, the White Wolf King tucked the shard into the fur at his neck, turned, and leapt away. In the blink of an eye, he dissolved into the swirling snow, vanishing like a drifting cloud.
Lu Sheng did not give chase this time. He simply watched the snow settle as the wolf disappeared. What he had gained from this journey was more than enough to return and digest.
…………
Mist and vapor suddenly cascaded down from the sky.
Across the boundless frozen plains, a slender, indistinct figure stood in silence, eyes fixed on the descending fog.
“Hoo…”
The White Wolf King emerged slowly from the rolling mist.
“The Shangyang Family has gone too far against me, Ice Fox King. The Nine Great Families of the Central Plains may be powerful, but that does not mean I must swallow every insult.” A low growl rumbled in his throat.
The slender figure offered no response.
The White Wolf King said nothing more, choosing instead to wait for the other party’s decision.
The Ice Fox King was, without question, the strongest demon in the Northern Lands.
If the White Wolf King ruled supreme over the Frozen Seas archipelago, then the being before him stood at the pinnacle of the entire Northern Lands, a fact acknowledged publicly by several Demon Kings, himself included. It was precisely this presence that prevented the Nine Great Families of the Central Plains from endlessly plundering the Northern Lands and its resources.
After a long stretch of silence—
“Will your going… achieve anything?” the figure finally asked.
“No.” A cruel, bloodthirsty smile crept across the White Wolf King’s face. “But killing a few of their Shangyang Family’s geniuses is still within my power.”
“During the struggle for the Scarlet Dragon Tribulation, even several of my princesses were gravely wounded. You acting now would be completely pointless,” the figure replied evenly.
The smile vanished from the White Wolf King’s face. No one understood the Ice Fox King’s cold, ruthless nature better than he did. Even so, he could not bring himself to cast aside his own offspring, forcing them to slaughter one another and contend with mere ants for opportunities that should have rightfully been theirs.
“So?” He steadied himself.
“You should return,” the figure said calmly.
Silence fell once more.
A chill seeped into the White Wolf King’s heart. Though the two Deputy Heads had been nothing more than replaceable vassals of modest strength, this exchange made the Ice Fox King’s stance unmistakably clear to him.
He stood aloof, lofty and untouchable, as though existing beyond the bounds of this world. So long as the Demon Kings themselves were not threatened, and no great upheaval disturbed the balance of affairs, he would never intervene. On the contrary, he would even restrain others from doing so.
“I understand…” The White Wolf King fell silent for a long time before finally stepping back. “You’ll regret it.”
“No one can make me regret my decisions,” the Ice Fox King replied evenly. “You do not understand.”
The White Wolf King let out a cold snort and turned away.
Amid the falling snow, the slender figure remained unmoving, watching the white wolf depart in silence, without uttering a single word.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGGIG0Q1rA
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