Yun Ling stood outside the cave as he stared at the mighty figure of the dead Goliath Mountain King standing in the distance. He still couldn’t come to terms that such a being died without being able to fight back at all if he had to judge it by its surroundings. If there had been a fight between it and the one responsible for its demise, the battle between them would have most like destroyed their surroundings by thousands of miles. The fact that there were no signs of such battle at all indicated that the Goliath Mountain King was outclassed by its opponent.

While Yun Ling was looking at the Goliath Mountain King, he heard the heavy footsteps of the wolf coming out of the cave as it headed towards him.

“How’s your son?” Yun Ling asked.

“He fell asleep while I was taking care of him,” the wolf said as it came beside him. “I checked his condition just now, it is steadily improving. By tomorrow, he’ll probably make a full recovery already.”

“That’s good.” Yun Ling nodded.

“Thank you very much. If not for you, my son would probably…” the wolf didn’t continue his words for he didn’t want those words to be associated with his son in any way at all if possible.

“There’s no need to thank me. I didn’t do this for charity. I did it for our agreement,” Yun Ling told him off.

“No matter what kind of reason you had, the fact remains that you were the one who saved my son. That’s all that matters to me,” the wolf said as it looked at Yun Ling seriously.

Yun Ling no longer said anything. Even though he said that he only helped the wolf because of their deal, it would be a total lie if Yun Ling said that was all it was. The main reason why Yun Ling helped the wolf was that he couldn’t help but put himself in the wolf’s position a little.

At the back of his mind, he couldn’t avoid thinking that one day, if something unfortunate were to happen to Yun Xia and he was left with no choice but to beg others for their help…

Even if he had to crawl on the ground…

Even if he had to strip naked in public…

Even if he had to do many humiliating acts…

Even if others mocked him, spitted on him…

Even if he had to discard all his pride and dignity…

Yun Ling would endure it all.

Why?

Simply because Yun Xia was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Someone he would unconditionally love until the end of time. Some might think that Yun Ling was too attached to her. Yun Xia might be his daughter but they haven't known each other for long. It was understandable that people might have found his action to be a bit unreasonable, however, they weren't him. The moment he saw Yun Xia, he could feel that there was some bond between them, an invisible thread connecting the two of them together. It was really strange. Even he himself couldn't explain it properly. Perhaps, what he was feeling was the same as those parents who instantly fell in love with their child the moment they saw them? Moreover, he was raised to value his family for as long as he could remember so that was a huge factor too.

Because of all that, Yun Ling would go to any lengths just to make sure she was safe.

However, if those people refused to help him no matter how much he begged them even if they had the capability to help him, Yun Ling didn’t know what he would do. One thing he knew for sure was that his heart would be filled with immense hatred for them. At that point, Yun Ling was afraid of what he would do to vent that hatred in his heart.

Would he perhaps lose his sanity and commit a massacre?

Yun Ling didn’t want to think any more about it. He removed those thoughts from his mind as he calmed himself down.

“There’s one thing I’ve forgotten to tell you,” the wolf said, earning Yun Ling’s attention.

Yun Ling raised a brow at him.

“What is it?” he asked.

The wolf let out a sigh as it said, “Although I told you that you can do as you please to me after you saved my son, it looks like that’s no longer possible.”

Yun Ling looked at him.

“I am dying,” the wolf said with a tired voice.

“How much longer do you have left to live?” Yun Ling asked.

The wolf thought for a moment before answering, “I can still hang on for three days at most.”

“I see…”

A look of hesitation briefly flashed on the wolf’s face as it said, “I know this is shameless of me after all that you’ve done for us but I have one last request of you.”

Yun Ling remained silent, waiting for the wolf to continue speaking.

“Please bring my son along with you when you leave this place. I’m afraid I can no longer protect him. He can’t survive in this place on his own especially at this time,” the wolf said sadly.

“Is it because of the one responsible for the death of the lesser beasts here including the Goliath Mountain King?”

“It is,” the wolf nodded.

“Oh?”

“That being is so powerful. Even I couldn’t do anything against it. The moment I saw that thing, I quickly brought my son with me and ran with all my might. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out unscathed. My son was gravely injured while I had become like this,” the wolf said indicating his malnourished body.

“What kind of being is it?” Yun Ling asked, frowning.

“It’s a tree. A huge tree that towers even the mountains themselves. That being is known as the Immortal Willow Tree.” The wolf suppressed the shiver in his body as it recalled the terrifying tree.

Yun Ling’s pupils constricted.

“An immortal?”

Yun Ling had never seen an immortal before. As far as Yun Ling knew, there shouldn’t be any immortal in the World of Terra. It’s impossible for one to be here since after an individual reaches a certain cultivation realm, the world wouldn’t allow that individual to remain here any longer and would instead send that individual into the higher realm. To think that there was an immortal hiding in the Thousand Mountain Valley, Yun Ling was a little short of breath.

“Are you okay?” the wolf asked, concern evident in his tone.

“I’m fine,” Yun Ling tried to compose himself. “I’m just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

“If you say so…”

“In any case, if what you’re saying is true, we have to leave this place as soon as we can,” Yun Ling said. This time, he was truly planning on leaving.

“We?”

Yun Ling threw the longevity fruit to him which the wolf quickly caught.

The wolf looked at Yun Ling questioningly. He already gave the fruit to Yun Ling after he saved his son earlier so why did he give it back to him?

“That thing is crucial for your survival right?” Yun Ling started. “You’re about to die because of your lack of vitality, it also just happens that the longevity fruit is one that can give vitality to those who eat it.”

“You’re giving this to me?” the wolf asked unsurely.

“It’s yours now.”