Dismissing its image didn't make the old wolfking any less wary. That Silverblaze was so willingly following a human was abnormal unto itself. She didn’t speak to him after returning to the manor, either.

Moonlit silver exuded from the old wolfking, casting his fur in bristling embers.

Although Jadeite Manor was in shambles outside, its interior remained magnificently grandiose. It was as if it hadn’t been affected by the devastation at all. Moreover, layer upon layer of formations scrambled the fabric of reality here, disconnecting the wolfking from the world outside. The whole place was like an enormous maze.

“Wherefore art thou a beast?” a cold voice slipped into the old wolf’s ear, and it shivered in awe and disbelief.

“Impossible!” The old wolf shrieked. It projected a forceful aura that threatened to tear the maze-like world asunder. Alas, an invisible pressure bounced it right back as soon as it materialized.

“How can this be… how can this be! Didn’t you fall many tens of thousands years ago? How can you manifest in this present age!” the old wolf howled with all its might.

“Wherefore art thou a beast?” the voice sounded again.

The wolfking’s chest heaved with rapid violence. Then a different, softer light blossomed all over its body. When the light disappeared, a slightly hunched old man stood in its place.

The old wolfking’s eyes seemed to open to the world in the next moment. Still in a daze, he found the maze’s haze clearing away from his field of view. Reality sharpened into focus out of the layers of formations and he came tumbling back to his senses. His face flickered through several colorful shades from the change.

“Who is it? Who dares skulk in the shadows like this… come on out!” The man-shaped Wolfking’s roar was nevertheless enough to shake the entirety of Jadeite Manor. Intense power flooded to the sky, destroying at least half of the formations here.

However, his expression suddenly froze as a silver-haired girl in a white chiffon dress strolled up to him, barefoot.

“Why is a monster spirit pretending to be a beast?” The girl’s silver eyes radiated an innocent curiosity. “Doesn’t that big monkey know? The whole reason humans taught monster spirits to take on human form in the first place was to make up for their natural deficiencies.”

“Is… is it really you?” The old wolfking’s cultivation was already at origin dao realm. His severe injuries hadn’t diminished his status as one of the strongest below the nine celestial emperors. Furthermore, he had an incredible amount of experience and seniority. Having already gained renown in the Primordial Era, he was a tenacious veteran of the war between immortals.

The great immortal restriction over the world of immortals—that, and all the rest—had struck him down to mortality like everyone else. But despite the broken path of cultivation, he’d managed to reach origin dao immortal once more.

However, he’d also sustained severe injuries in the process of plucking his origin dao fruit. If it weren’t for the importance of the Sovereign Ranking, the wolfking wouldn’t have accompanied Silverblaze to Destiny City in the first place.

Yet this old soldier of a wolfking was trembling in reverence before the silver-haired girl.

“Can... can it really be you, patriarch of the water qilins?” the old wolfking quavered.

The strongest of the silver bloodline wasn’t the Silvermoon Wolfkings, but the water qilins.

In the Primeval Era, humanity had established the dragon, phoenix, qilin, and turtle as the four true spirits, but they were in essence still monster spirits. It was only after the inauguration of immortal dao that dragons and phoenixes had split off into their own races. Qilins and spirit turtles, on the other hand, remained in their former classification.

Qilins, in particular, were monster spirit royalty, lords over the rest of the walking beasts. Additionally, water qilins ruled the silver bloodline. Once upon a time, the Silvermoon Wolfkings had served directly under their patriarch.

The old wolf had realized who the young girl was from a single glance. Even though Cangyin was only a peerless immortal now, his veneration for her remained unchanged.

“Silverblaze is now my disciple.” Cangyin’s reply was unrelated to the question, but hearing it made the wolfking beam in satisfaction. What an honor it was to be taught by the patriarch of water qilins herself!

“Alright, you may go now,” said Cangyin.

“Patriarch, please allow me to stay!” The old wolf knelt to the ground in eager desire.

“Come find me again when you can take human form without reservation.” The girl shook her silver tresses from side to side.

The old man cracked a rueful smile.

“I am not telling you this for you to defy that monkey,” continued Cangyin. “Some things look very different, depending on what you are. Wasn’t your experience just now proof enough?”

The wolfking blinked.

Nothing had changed in the formations ensnaring him. In wolf form, he’d been gravely hampered to the point of losing himself. After he’d turned human, however, he’d shaken off the layers of formations with trivial ease.

“Go on.” Cangyin turned, then melted into the mist.

The old wolfking stood still a long while before he left Jadeite Manor.

When the immortals in Destiny City saw an old man in human shape come out of Jadeite Manor, a small uproar ensued. The strongest experts of each race recognized who it was from a mile away: the old wolfking, in human form!

Many monster spirits began to panic, especially those affiliated with Levitating Island’s Sacred Land. Thankfully, the wolfking turned back into wolf form shortly after.

……

“The bait’s been cast, and the only thing left is for that big monkey to take it.” After the old wolfking left, Lu Yun and Qing Han could finally emerge.

The events transpiring in Destiny City had far exceeded his expectations, and things were getting completely out of control. If they dared leave Jadeite Manor right now, they would be annihilated in the next moment.

An invisible hand was acting to kill every genius in the entire world. Without muddying the waters some, it was doubtful they’d be able to leave the city alive.

Scarlet Ape of the North Sea was a key agent of change. 

It had the audacity to create a sacred land, divide the monster spirits, and resist the nine majors and ten lands, backed by its immense strength and deep charisma. There was really no other way to describe it.

It wouldn’t fail to notice the wolfking’s meeting with a qilin patriarch. The ape’s deep-seated hatred of the four true spirits meant it would indubitably come for Cangyin. When it did so, it would go on a huge rampage, whether it wanted to or not. The hand in the shadows, therefore, would be forced to intervene.