Chapter Thirty-Three: Fierce Wolf, Even If You Wish to Die, You Can Still Change Your Mind!

“Do you know who I am?” Wuyun struck a commanding pose, his spirit soaring, reaching to the heavens. Then, under the watchful guard of the Battle King, he stepped out of the cauldron one step at a time, shouting at Direwolf, “Believe it or not, your remaining kind will cease to exist in the First Immortal Realm!”

Direwolf licked his lips with amusement, swallowing the soldier, and said, “If your third sentence fails to move me…”

“I could help you—save your race from extinction. But to save you yourself? That’s wishful thinking! You bear the weight of karma above your head, black fog swirling thick. When you traversed the spatial passage, retribution was established; even your tongue is black. Just how many beings have you devoured to become like this?”

The soldier, who had been held in Direwolf’s mouth, tumbled out with a splash; his face was scraped raw, but his life remained intact. Though horror-stricken, Wuyun summoned him back to the spirit ship.

Then, Wuyun approached Direwolf, saying, “You could use me to trade for three hundred thousand blood sacrifices, but what then? What will become of your descendants? Millennia will pass, but in the Immortal Realm, your kind will forever hang their heads in shame, destined to be treated like cattle and sheep, awaiting slaughter…”

“I want to devour you!”

Startled, the Battle King and Long Yi saw Wuyun instantly sucked into Direwolf’s mouth. Yet even inside, Long Yun remained calm, walking as if unperturbed, gesturing and speaking: “It is your greed and slaughter that created all this. On your own, you could never repay the debt, not in ten thousand lifetimes. Only your countless descendants can atone for you!”

“As for me, though I cannot save you, I can save your descendants and your race from further suffering. Since fate has brought us together, let us strike a bargain and complete this game!”

Each word was imbued with awe-inspiring righteousness. Direwolf, having seen countless people, could instantly judge truth from falsehood.

He hesitated, but Wuyun continued, “You have no other choice. With only this one head left, what is another ten thousand lifetimes of suffering to you? I can help you break free—end yourself here!”

“Truly?” Direwolf’s life was not his own; only a head remained, no techniques left, relying solely on mouth, nose, and eyes as weapons. His soul was bound, preventing suicide. If liberation were possible, he could spare himself tens of thousands of years of torment.

“That’s right. If you agree to assist me, I will swear an oath: within ten thousand years, I will ascend to the First Immortal Realm and ensure that the descendants of the Direwolf Demon Emperor will no longer suffer for your crimes!”

Wuyun took the oath, and thunder boomed from nowhere—an impossibility within the heart of the Magnetic Star. Sensing this, Direwolf also swore, “I have a legacy here; you may take it back.”

Wuyun shook his head and recited profound mental techniques, each one more mysterious and powerful than Direwolf’s legacy.

“Very well. Tell me how I may aid you, and how you will grant me release!”

“In truth, both things are one—open your heart and mind, repent, and let me strike you down!”

Wuyun’s words thundered through the air. Not only did Direwolf’s sole remaining eye open wide, but even Long Yi within the cauldron cried out, insisting Wuyun was seeking his own destruction!

Direwolf’s eyes widened, then at last he closed them. Upon opening them after a moment’s hesitation, he said, “I have no way out. Even a blade of grass is a lifeline to me.”

Amid the incredulity of Xiong Laosan and the others, Wuyun returned to the cauldron, and this time, entered the wolf’s mouth of his own accord, venturing deeper until he reached Direwolf’s throat. There, the air was gray and hazy, flashes of lightning blooming with color. He saw a bloody, bodiless dog’s head lodged in a spatial rift, ceaselessly struck by tribulation thunder.

The green tribulation thunder supplied a trace of energy, enough for Direwolf to maintain his current state.

This cruel punishment—severed head, soul lingering—was a method reserved for Immortal Emperors.

After much meditation, Long Yun shouted. Xiong Laosan, Liu Ruyan, and the Battle King each channeled their spiritual energy into Wuyun, sending his cultivation soaring to its peak. Then Long Yi produced his dragon core, followed by other support treasures—eight small pearls in all—circling Wuyun.

As Wuyun prepared to unleash his great art, a voice called out, “Are you ready? Don’t let me suffer endlessly and die in vain!”

“Don’t worry, I can dispel the emperor-level prohibition!”

With Wuyun’s assurance, Direwolf’s throat gradually relaxed. As he did, countless black sparks surged in, piercing the mucous membranes like needles. Not only that, but these black sparks wove together like knitting, pulling strips of flesh away.

Most tragic of all was the Direwolf Demon Emperor’s regenerative power; as soon as torment lacerated him, healing began anew. When his self-healing power nearly dried up, tribulation thunder would surge in, as if by calculation, jolting his nerves and supplying another trace of energy.

That little energy would heal the wounds, only to be devoured again by the black sparks, over and over, without end.

Only when the Demon Emperor’s lifespan was utterly exhausted would this end; but for an Immortal Realm Demon Emperor, a million years was perfectly ordinary.

“Heaven and earth have their way, shifting stars and gods, matter in balance, tribulation and rebirth, from two comes one, from one ten thousand…” Ancient words poured from Wuyun’s lips. With every syllable, his face grew more strained. When at last he finished the hundred-odd characters, countless runes appeared around the cauldron, shrouding the immortal script inscribed by Fanna Immortal Emperor, turning slowly.

This was a forbidden, heaven-defying technique—deceiving the immortal script’s consciousness, using the cauldron’s mightiest power to erode the prohibition in Direwolf’s head.

As the immortal script activated, it emerged from the cauldron, clashing with black lightning in the throat. The runes took the shape of Fanna Immortal Emperor, who battled a mass of black, emperor-like energy.

Both were imperial-tier techniques, but guided by Wuyun’s manipulation, the black lightning was forced into retreat. A mighty, black-faced head appeared, roaring, “I, the Emperor, have exiled an eternal sinner—he shall suffer eternal punishment! Spirit of Space, where are you?”

When no answer came for a long time, the black-faced Immortal Emperor shouted several more times, then in fury, “I am the Black Qilin Immortal Emperor of Tonggu Great Immortal Realm! If you break this seal, I will drag your soul into the wax-fire oil mountain—!”

“Enough. I am judging him in the name of justice. You’d better report to your true body!” Wuyun, nearly spent, had no patience for further argument. With a point of his finger, the runic Fanna Immortal Emperor surged forth, targeting the fatal weak point and turning the enemy’s force to energy. In time, the remnant will of the Black-faced Immortal Emperor was overwhelmed and extinguished.

“The seal is broken. Direwolf, do you still wish to turn back?”

None understood why Wuyun would say this at such a critical moment—least of all Xiong Laosan, who withdrew his spiritual energy, gasping, “If the Demon Emperor repents, our efforts are wasted and we’ll all end up as his meal!”

“Indeed, if he wants to rise again, this is his best chance!” the Battle King urged in distress.

After a long silence, a deep sigh was heard. Direwolf’s voice sounded forlorn: “No need to test me. My heart is set. Wuyun, it is you who must not go back on your word!”

Wuyun laughed heartily and pointed once more. The runic emperor shadow shot straight into Direwolf’s cranial core, shattering his damaged brain tissue and dispersing his lake-like immortal soul. This was Direwolf’s very essence; once destroyed, there would be no more Direwolf Immortal Emperor.

With a crash, the immortal soul was shattered, but Direwolf did not die immediately. His formidable body remained, but now he had lost all power to resist.

“Dragon King Long Yi, lend me your strength!” Wuyun cried out. Long Yi transferred the last of his refined immortal energy into Wuyun, who revived as if from the dead, roaring with renewed vigor. The emperor’s shadow faded, aligning itself—Bull-faced Nether Clan, Fanna Immortal Emperor, Nine-level Soul-restraining Immortal Cauldron—sixteen characters began to spin, faster and faster.

At their peak, light shone like a bracelet. At Wuyun’s gesture, the bracelet settled perfectly atop the cauldron lid.

“Die, die, die!” Wuyun stamped his foot and shouted. Direwolf’s soul began to dissolve, memories wafting out. Every murderous memory brought with it endless karma, all filtered by the bracelet and drawn into the cauldron.

Halfway through, as the bracelet’s glow dimmed, Wuyun, weakened, spoke: “Direwolf, you still have a chance!”

A crimson memory soul floated forth, its visage in the vision laughing wildly: “Trying to deceive me? Surely you have a fallback to bind me! If I repent, you will too—your oath is nothing. Ha ha!”

With that, Direwolf’s image vanished, his head and flesh began to disintegrate. Long Yi whispered, “Is he dead?”

“He’s dead.”

“Did you really have a backup plan, elder?”