Many sounds of hurried footsteps coming from above the forest’s canopy could be heard echoing in the ground below. A great shadowy wolf was dashing through the air, its gaze burned with a fierce hunger. It had smelled a familiar scent. The distinct smell of a human. As the wolf came nearer to its prey, he slowly crept behind him, each of its great sturdy paws gently stepping on the air around it. Saliva was dripping out of its snout as he began to excitedly await for the moment, in which it would devour its prey. To the wolf’s dismay, the old man had discovered its presence. Without a second thought, the wolf pounced at the fleeing old man. It wanted to injure him, not kill him. Its ivory fangs stabbed through the leg of his prey. Retracting its fangs, the wolf let out a blood-curdling howl that filled the air, as it slowly retreated back into the darkness, leaving its victim to bleed to his death.

“Human, do you think that you can escape my grasp. You are nothing, but a mere ant in my eyes. An ant that I can squash at any time.”, said the wolf. His ruby red eyes gleamed like a sapphire in the dark. Seeing the look of despair on the old man’s face, the wolf’s snout quivered in enthusiasm. Sharp blood-stained fangs slowly emerged from its mouth revealing its hideously yet devilish smile.

“….I know who you are…you are the fallen King of the Den…Father of all wolves and foul beasts that inhabit the darkness…”, mumbled the old man, while circulating his lifeforce in his injured leg. His wrinkled face contorted in pain as his wound sizzled, mending itself back to its original condition. Using so much lifeforce, in a single day, had already weakened him. His wounded leg glimmered as it bathe in a green light. The essence was flowing in and out of the wound until only a scar was left. The old man breathed heavily. Sweat was dripping out of his face as he stood up.

“Old man…You seemed to have healed your injury, but now, you are too weak to fight back or to even flee from me…Oh, I see…You are carrying a woman and a child with you…” said the wolf with a gaze that could pierce one’s soul. Emerging from the darkness, it slowly moved towards the old man.

“A woman and a child… My hunt has been good this time…I have been hungry for so long…I have yet to taste human flesh, but now, I will be able to taste it three times over…” said the wolf with a ravenous expression, as it leaped towards the old man, its mouth opened showing rows of sharp blood-stained fangs.

“…Do you look down on me, fallen one? I will show what the patriarch of the Chen Clan is made of…I was not given that title for my weakness, but for my strength!” yelled the old man, his powerful voice produced shockwaves that attacked the wolf.

“…A mere Xuan level practitioner dares to attack me!?! You seemed to still have strength in you…But it is not enough as I am beyond that level of cultivation!” laughed the wolf, its voice full of mockery and contempt, while abruptly stopping a few meters from its prey. As it lifted its great paws, showing its iron-like claws, the wolf’s cold gaze began to focus on the old man’s movement. Noticing its prey, not moving from his spot, the wolf slashed the air, dispelling the old man’s strike. The old man, seeing the wolf nullifying his attack, panicked.

“…A Kong Qi Level Beast! No, that cannot be…I thought they had all been killed during the Hundred Years Beast War!?!” shrieked the old man, his eyes filled with terror.

“…Old man, do you now understand what true strength is? I supposed you been living too arrogantly your whole life…Humph! You are nothing to me...Now, let me devour you...I am hungry!” screeched the wolf, its voice full of killing intent. Its shadowy fur was, all of a sudden, set ablaze, its amber color brightly shined in the darkness like a wildfire bent on consuming everything in its path. As it charged at the old man with a renewed endeavor, it howled, calling upon its pack to strike the old man from every direction.

“…No!!! I will not allow my daughter die, here!!” shouted the old man, in fury, as he swung his bruised arms around him, creating a protective shield with his spiritual essence. The translucent shield violently vibrated as the wolf and its pack restlessly assaulted it. The old man coughed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth coating the shield and his beard in an abysmal dark red color.

Noticing the wolves unable to penetrate the shield, he frantically tried to find something hiding deep within his darkened sack. As he found it, he tightly gripped it and began to quickly chant an incantation. His words filled the surrounding air with powerful primordial energy. Finishing his chant, the old man, without wasting a single breath, was about to lay down the object, his Recall Talisman, on top his daughter and her son, when, suddenly, Cui’er firmly grabbed his hand.

“Dad…Don’t do this…Don’t sacrifice yourself for my mistakes…Dad, I know I am no longer of any use to anybody in this state…I am no longer able to feel my legs…I wouldn’t be able to help my son anymore…” cried Cui’er, her fair face containing an expression of anguish and regret.

“No! I know what you are thinking Cui’er, I won’t allow it...I won’t…Never!” shouted the old man as tears streamed down his eyes. As he tried to let go of his daughter’s grip, she pushed him, grabbing hold of the talisman, while putting her son in between her father’s arm. As his back striked the side of the shield, his daughter, who had fallen to the bottom of it, activated the talisman, throwing it towards his direction. The old man caught it. The talisman began to glimmer in his hands, blue sparks sprang up into the air, surrounding her father and her child. As she saw the look of fear in father’s face, she hung her head down, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

“I am sorry, dad…I hope you will forgive me, one day…I am truly happy…I know in my heart that you loved me…” said Cui’er, her shaking voice filled with warmth.

“No!!! Please, come...Hold my hand…There is still time!” shouted the old man, his facial expression contorted in anguish at the thought of losing her.

“Dad don’t worry…I will join my husband…I will be able to see him again...Please, don’t tell my child what happened to me or my husband, until he is truly ready to hear about our fate…” tearfully murmured Cui’er.

“No!! Please, Heavens, no!! Why Cui’er…I can’t live without you...” painfully screamed the old man. He tried to reach his daughter, extending his hands towards her, but it was too late. The talisman had started conjuring a blue revolving spatial rift. It crackled as it began sucking the old man and his grandchild into it. Seeing the spatial rift, the old man tried, one last desperate attempt, to escape it. He could not leave his daughter here. While struggling against the suction force of the rift, he saw the shield vanishing in the air. He screamed in anguish as the wolves lunged at his daughter, who raised her head, revealing her angelic smile filled with tears. The wolves sank their fangs on her back as she turned around to face her father.

“I love you, dad…” gurgled Cui’er as she fell, blood coming out her mouth.

Looking at the desecrated corpse of his daughter being torn to shreds by the wolves, the old man was shocked, unable to move at all. His empty eyes, once full of contempt, closed shut. He had become a broken man, an empty shelf of his former self. Desperately, he tried to hold on to any memories that would remind him of her. As he became more distraught, the old man felt the talisman in his hands. The talisman. The only thing Cui'er had left him before she sacrificed herself to save their lives. Tears uncontrollably poured down his face, as he tried to scream. His pain was too great. Just as the spatial rift finished sucking him and his granchild into the void, he remembered his daughter's last words, words that will haunt him forever...