Under Wang Zhong's spiritual lock, the wolf bandit leader fled south, desperately hiding his presence and meticulously erasing any traces that might reveal his whereabouts.
Even so, the target continuously circled through the dense forest, taking numerous detours.
After a full hour of winding through the wilderness, the wolf bandit leader finally plunged into the depths of a southern forest.
Wang Zhong followed closely from a considerable distance.
He observed the wolf bandit leader arriving at a section of the forest concealed by dense foliage. Here, countless wild wolves, like ants, were distributed around the area.
Each wolf was exceptionally robust, comparable to a small calf. They patrolled the periphery of the pack, vigilantly surveying their surroundings.
The wolf bandit leader's appearance did not draw much attention; a brief glance was all they gave before returning to their posts.
Passing through the wolf pack, a structure resembling a gateway stood before a remarkably wide cave. At the cave's entrance, the wolf bandit leader slightly lowered its head, as if receiving an order, before slowly entering.
Gazing at the thousands of wolves, Wang Zhong found himself in a quandary from afar.
It was utterly impossible to infiltrate the cave silently amidst such a pack.
"Wang Zhong, go directly in."
"No need to hide."
At that moment, the little fox spoke.
"Alright."
With a slight narrowing of his eyes, Wang Zhong's five clones spread out like blooming flowers, scattering in all directions. He himself, however, boldly advanced towards the area surrounded by wolves.
The Wood Clone's ability to swap reality and illusion was one of his trump cards for survival at this moment.
The sudden, unfamiliar aura startled all the wolves. They raised their heads, baring their sharp teeth, and glared ferociously in Wang Zhong's direction.
"Awooo!"
A long howl erupted, instantly electrifying the wolf pack in the entire forest. They converged on Wang Zhong from all sides. In less than fifteen minutes, the dense forest before them was completely obscured by the figures of the wolves.
Impenetrable.
Pairs of cold, greenish beastly eyes stared intently at Wang Zhong. Powerful wild wolves lowered their forelegs and dug their hind legs into the ground, poised to pounce in an instant.
"I don't know if you can understand me."
"But I've only come to meet the Wolf God!"
This simple statement suddenly caused the wolves, who were about to pounce, to appear perplexed, almost human-like. Their fierce aura momentarily dissipated.
They understood my words!
This realization surprised Wang Zhong. Normally, for a spirit beast to communicate with humans, even at a rudimentary level, it would need to be at least fifty thousand years old.
Yet, the entire wolf pack before him clearly did not possess such cultivation, but they understood the meaning of Wang Zhong's words. This was truly a remarkable phenomenon.
"How dare you follow me!"
From within the cave, the wolf bandit leader suddenly burst out, its gaze towards Wang Zhong filled with bloodlust and rage.
Over a hundred of its wolf bandit subordinates had been slaughtered on the spot, not a single one surviving. And this individual had tracked it all the way here.
"I'll say it again, I've come to meet the Wolf God!"
Wang Zhong's tone remained unchanged as he calmly stated his request.
However, unexpectedly, the wolf bandit leader now displayed a look of profound confusion.
"Meet who?"
The wolf pack knew of the Wolf God's existence, yet the wolf bandit leader seemed to have no awareness of it.
This was strange!
After a moment's thought, Wang Zhong considered another possibility and rephrased his statement: "I've come to meet the Wolf Bandit King!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the wolf bandit leader's expression changed instantly. The world only knew of "Wolf Bandits" and "Wolf Bandit Leaders," but no one had ever heard of a "Wolf Bandit King" from the mouths of the bandits themselves.
How did he know!
The wolf bandit leader's gaze towards Wang Zhong grew even more ferocious. The matter of the Wolf Bandit King was a secret kept from other races.
With narrowed eyes, Wang Zhong sensed the wolf bandit leader's killing intent and malice. Just as he was about to say something more, a fiery red spirit power suddenly surged from his body, enveloping him like a silken robe.
The silken robe fluttered, resembling a fox.
The fiery red spirit power continuously emanated, condensing in the sky into a colossal fox head. The fox head faced the cave, letting out a low growl.
The moment the growl was uttered, all the surrounding wolves instantly prostrated themselves. The wolf bandit leader, in particular, immediately fell to its knees, its body trembling uncontrollably.
A primal fear and terror from its bloodline filled its mind, rendering it speechless.
A majestic pressure spanned the wilderness. All the wild wolves around them bowed their heads, unable to rise for a long time. It was only after the spectral fox head in the sky dissipated that they slowly stood up, returning to normal.
Figures of upright wolf-men emerged from the cave. Some were gray, some silver-white, and some black. Among these wolf-men, Wang Zhong also spotted one with golden fur covering its entire body.
This group of wolf-men approached Wang Zhong, their pupils reflecting a mixture of dread and slight incomprehension. The leading golden wolf-man stepped forward and respectfully said, "Esteemed Excellency, Father God invites you inside!"
His voice was calm and gentle. Apart from his lupine appearance, one would never guess from his voice that he was a ferocious and bloodthirsty wolf bandit.
"Please lead the way."
Wang Zhong replied in an equally calm tone, steady and composed, neither haughty nor condescending, nor displaying any aversion.
This reaction elicited a strange sense of surprise among the wolf-men who had emerged.
No one had ever treated them with such an attitude before.
"Please follow me!"
The golden wolf-man walked ahead, while the other wolf-men stood to the sides, clearing a path as if waiting for Wang Zhong to pass.
As he traversed this path cleared by the wolf-men amidst the wolf pack, Wang Zhong's gaze swept over the wolf-men on either side. There were a total of twenty-seven wolf-men. In Wang Zhong's perception,
fifteen of them were over fifty thousand years old, and eight were over one hundred thousand years old!
Only the golden wolf-man beside him had an indiscernible strength. Such a foundation was undeniably terrifying.
A hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast was a being comparable to a Titled Douluo. This meant that within this wolf pack, there were as many as eight Titled Douluo!
Such power could utterly crush the so-called "Upper Three Sects" and was comparable to the Spirit Hall and the Holy Spirit Cult.
He subtly sensed the presence of several Wood Clones in the distance, which slightly eased his mind.
Entering the cave, Wang Zhong's eyes fell upon a vast, grand stone gate. Carved upon it was a majestic silver moon-howling wolf, exuding an ancient, wild aura. Guarding the stone gate were two powerful wolf-men, each reaching fifty thousand years in cultivation.
The moment the stone gate opened, the scene revealed within caused Wang Zhong to falter for a moment.
He saw a city! A city hidden within a cave!