Su Han charged straight at the Variant Night Wolves King as soon as he arrived, taking the opportunity when the monster was focused on Jie Jiu. With his impromptu attack that successfully landed, Su Han forced the Variant Night Wolves King to stop its attack on Jie Jiu.

The Variant Night Wolves King hit by the sudden attack from behind looked in pain as red liquid oozed out from the back of its body—the place where Su Han had successfully attacked it. The Variant Night Wolves King quickly sprang into action and jumped to create space between the two to free himself from the pinned position.

Su Han took a position to attack directly opposite the Variant Night Wolves King, replacing Jie Jiu, who was currently in tatters and retreating backward—turning into a support position.

Su Han moved forward quickly and agilely, closing the distance between him and the Variant Night Wolves King. He attacked with such strong momentum that the Variant Night Wolves King managed to dodge by leaping diagonally forward before counterattacking by jumping and using the claws on its two sharp front legs to hit Su Han—or so it was supposed to happen—before Jie Jiu, who was stalking behind, managed to parry it.

Su Han knew that Jie Jiu was following him from behind, so he no longer needed to bother defending and anticipating counterattacks and just focused on attacking with all his might. With the cooperation between the two taking turns attacking and defending, both Su Han and Jie Jiu created a great chemistry between them by implementing seamless offense and defense.

If it continues like this, Su Han and Jie Jiu will manage to kill the Varian Night Wolves King without a hitch.

I guess it's only a matter of time until the two of them finally manage to kill the Varian Night Wolves King.

Xiao Ling saw Su Han and Jie Jiu successfully turn the tide against the Variant Night Wolf King and turned his gaze to look at the surrounding area. And as he did so, he winced as he saw the condition of the others, especially Hee So.

Hee So was already at his limit, as evidenced by his labored breathing and unsteady posture—even standing up might have been a difficult task for him.

Xiao Ling caught a glimpse of another one who fell after being simultaneously pounced on by two Night Wolves who attacked from two sides at once, bringing the casualties to five.

Another one...

Xiao Ling felt extremely helpless at the sight and could only grit his teeth and maintain his formation for as long as possible while hoping that Su Han and Jie Jiu could quickly end it all by killing the Variant Night Wolves King.

The defense circle became smaller and smaller, slowly covering the empty space created by losing the few people defending their positions.

"Jie Jiu!"

A shout rang out from Su Han, who saw Jie Jiu using his own body to lock down the movements of the Variant Night Wolves King.

"Do it quickly! I can only hold him for a moment."

It seemed like Jie Jiu deliberately used his body as bait to catch the Variant Night Wolves King by allowing his body to be attacked—Jie Jiu managed to provide a tremendous opening for Su Han to be able to finish it off with one strike.

"AAAARRRGGGHH!"

Letting his emotions flow out, Su Han slashed with every bit of strength his entire body could muster. Slashing right at its neck with such force that it managed to cut and separate its head and body into two.

At the same time, a change began to occur in the Night Wolves.

As predicted, when the Variant Night Wolves King was killed, the effects of its unique abilities granted to its pack disappeared in an instant. The Night Wolves that had regained their consciousness and instincts fell into a state of chaos, just like when the curse suddenly lifted and left only confusion. Some continued to attack, but most were seen running backward and fleeing at the loss of their leader.

Seeing the change in circumstances, the cultivators could more easily eradicate the remnants of the Night Wolves that still chose to resist and put up a fight.

One by one, the surviving Night Wolves began to fall, until, in the end, there was nothing left but scattered corpses.

This place has been completely transformed from an empty lot into a graveyard with piles of corpses and rivers of blood. The smell of death wafted strongly from all over the area, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste.

When there were no more Night Wolves left, everyone began to lose the tension that had built up thanks to the end of the battle. Not a single sound of joy or shout could be heard after making it through the life-and-death battle, but only the sound of panting breath could be heard and faces that looked relieved and weary could be seen.

Xiao Ling immediately ran towards someone the moment after he released his formation, while looking around in all directions out of the corner of his eye.

Some were seen lying down as if fainting to relieve fatigue and exhaustion; some were trying to treat their respective wounds; and the rest went to see and check on some of the wounded or non-survivors.

Xiao Ling came upon someone lying helpless, and there were several people trying to help him.

"Hee So!"

Xiao Ling quickly took out all the medicinal pills he had when he arrived. But what greeted them were eyes that looked like they would lose their light at any moment and extremely weak breathing.

"Xiao Ling... Is that you...?"

"Yes. it's me! Hee So! Hang in there. I'll save you soon!"

Xiao Ling winced when he saw Hee So's condition. Hee So was injured almost all over his body, and it seemed like he had also lost a lot of blood. He was probably currently hanging between life and death.

"There's no need. It's too late for me. Instead of me, it would be much better if you saw that old man. He might still have a better chance of survival than me."

Hee So said it with every ounce of life he had left before the light finally went out completely and left his eyes. His face had lost its expression.

A few moments had passed. Xiao Ling closed his eyes and gritted his teeth firmly, trying to accept the harsh reality he was about to face.

I'm sorry...

There was nothing else Xiao Ling could do but remain silent and resign while Hee So was at death's door.

Immediately, he got up, slowly leaving Hee So's body, which would never come back to life. He started moving quickly towards the place where Jie Jiu was.

"What I mean is, why did you let yourself be attacked so easily!?"

Su Han's voice still seemed to be having trouble understanding the situation. There was a burst of emotion in his tone.

"Ha-ha, there's nothing else I can do. I'm already at the limit of my abilities." Jie Jiu replied weakly.

"But still, you don't need to restrain it with your body, don't you? We should be able to kill it."

Perhaps at that time, Su Han couldn't see Jie Jiu's intentions clearly because he was in the middle of the fight. So he thought Jie Jiu was allowing himself to be attacked.

"Yes, I knew that. But when I saw we lost one more person, that's when I realized that we have to defeat him before it's too late, because there's not much time left." Jie Jiu replied, coughing up blood.

When Xiao Ling arrived, there was Su Han, who was supporting Jie Jiu's limp body. He immediately took medicine from his magic tool.

"Jie Jiu. Hang in there. I'll treat you soon."

Both Su Han and Jie Jiu simultaneously moved their heads to look at the person who had just arrived. Xiao Ling's sudden arrival quickly interrupted their conversation.

"Xiao Ling..."

"Ha-ha... No need to bother... I myself already know that my condition is beyond help. I can no longer even see or hear clearly." Jie Jiu stopped Xiao Ling, who was about to try to save him.

Xiao Ling paused for a moment to look at Jie Jiu's body carefully. Although it was difficult, he realized what Jie Jiu was saying. Just like Hee So, Jie Jiu was also on the verge of death. Jie Jiu's entire body was injured quite severely, but the most fatal was the blood flowing out of the wound on his neck, and he no longer had any spiritual essence that could help him stop the bleeding.

"Listen... No matter what happens after this, you must live and move on without regret for what happened. You have to stay strong, and I'm sorry that I can't help any further than this."

Jie Jiu's words were not only for Xiao Ling alone but also for Su Han; they both made faces that looked exactly the same.

"No need to make such a face; just like everyone else, I'm already prepared for this possibility... No, perhaps; on the contrary, I already knew that this would definitely happen. That's why I chose not to eat the Essence Replenishment Pill when I knew that we were one pill short."

Xiao Ling was surprised to hear that, and Jie Jiu immediately said something that had been on his mind.

"Why...?"

"..."

"Why did you do that? If only you had spiritual essence, it wouldn't have ended like this!"

That's right. If Jie Jiu had spiritual essence, then he would be able to fight more evenly, and there might even be a chance that he could defeat the Variant Night Wolves King without Su Han's help; moreover, he wouldn't end up like this, and maybe—

—There might be a chance for Hee So to survive.

"That may be true, and it may not—but nonetheless, I have made a choice since joining this endeavor. Rather than for this old man, I think it would be much better to give it to others. Compared to you and the others, I am just an old man who is looking for a place for his final resting place. Therefore, from the very first moment, I decided that I at least wanted to make sure that I didn't want to let anyone die first."

Unlike Xiao Ling, perhaps Jie Jiu understands the consequences of this journey better than anyone else, and he has strengthened his resolve not only to search for Mo Zhongzhi but also to make sure not to let anyone die before him.

No matter what happens, Jie Jiu tries to make sure that everyone survives the journey. That's why Jie Jiu is always at the forefront and puts himself in the most dangerous situations. However, there's no way to say for sure that everything will go smoothly.

Man plans, but heavens decided.

Both Xiao Ling and Jie Jiu were just ordinary people. There was no way they could know for sure that the eventuality they expected would happen. And because of that, what Xiao Ling said might sound like he was just ranting and venting his emotions, but he also knew for sure that all of this was just a possibility that he had hoped would happen, and now it had become a possibility that no longer mattered. Nevertheless, he also couldn't help but blame the situation for what had happened and let his frustration get the better of him.

"More importantly, what about the other conditions...? Didn't you go to Hee So's place first?"

As someone who tried his best to protect others, Jie Jiu wanted to know how others were doing.

"Did something happen to Hee So, Xiao Ling?"

Hearing this question, Xiao Ling fell silent, unable to answer. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, but not a single word came out.

"So that's it... You don't need to force yourself to say it. I can tell clearly from your face."

"Hee Soo..."

The expression and silence shown by Xiao Ling seemed to be an answer that she could not give. And both Jie Jiu and Su Han seemed to take it as another answer.

"I'm sorry..."

"There's nothing for you to apologize for, Xiao Ling. We all brought this on ourselves, and we have accepted it, and I hope you will too."

Those were the last words Jie Jiu spoke before he finally breathed his last breath and left following Hee So who had left earlier. The warmth had left his body. Xiao Ling, who saw his to the end, was overwhelmed by a feeling of weakness and helplessness.

I'm really sorry...

Even so, at this moment, those words were completely unable to erase the heavy feeling felt within Xiao Ling's heart. It was difficult for him to erase the guilt and helplessness currently creeping into his heart. He was the only person who had always been in the safest place—and because of that, it was almost certain that he was the one who would survive until the end.

Not long after, a streak of light was seen from the east, signaling that the long night was finally beginning to show signs of ending and a new hope was beginning to emerge, as if trying to brighten up the dark atmosphere that enveloped this place.

"Xiao Ling, what should we do next?"

Xiao Ling carefully observed the sunrise, answering Su Han's question without looking at him.

"Let's go back. We can no longer continue this journey." He said it in a weak and resigned tone.

They had just finished burying the seven victims, including Hee So and Jie Jiu.

Xiao Ling couldn't just leave their corpses in a place like this, nor could he bring them back to the village; the only option left was to bury them here.

At the very least, Xiao Ling wanted to give a proper farewell ceremony to those who had gone to another world.

Before doing the burial first, Su Han and the others had finished collecting beast cores and precious materials—especially the corpse of the Variant Night Wolves King. They couldn't just leave those precious objects behind after all the effort and sacrifice; it would only make what they had done go to waste; after all, they were cultivators.

Xiao Ling returned to the village with the others, retracing the route they had traveled earlier. Unlike when they traveled, Xiao Ling made it out of the forest without any obstacles at all and walked through the grassland to return to the village.

They returned in a very bad state after Mo Zhongzhi's search ended in vain. They had even lost a few lives, and a few others were injured.

The journey so far would leave a deep impression on Xiao Ling. An experience that would leave a lasting impression and a deep wound.