Wang Lin had never conceived it possible. Here, amidst the primordial expanse of the Starry Cosmos, he beheld the dreaded Greed Wolf! In his memory, the beast was surely vanquished, slain beneath the gaze of the celestial leviathan, Wang Yue. Utterly annihilated!

Yet, the mere sight of Greed Wolf in this ancient domain, even for one with Wang Lin’s renowned composure, stirred a moment of disorienting disbelief.

He glanced again, but the Greed Wolf had already vanished, fled like a phantom, leaving behind only a thousand stunned cultivators.

A glint ignited within Wang Lin’s eyes. The Greed Wolf’s cultivation could never have breached the Great Barrier Seal. Yet here it was, a specter in reality!

Furthermore, its speed of escape was astounding, even to Wang Lin. In a mere breath, it had likely fled the confines of this cultivation star, abandoning even its precious treasures upon the ground.

There stood a colossal treant, formed from a living forest, now motionless. Bereft of the Greed Wolf’s control, it possessed no vestige of its destructive might.

Beside the treant lay a massive cauldron, radiating an aura of immeasurable age, its oppressive power palpable even from afar.

And nearby, a spear coalesced from a swirling black mist. It never fully solidified, instead constantly shifting between pure vapor and tangible weapon, transforming a hundred times in a single heartbeat.

Surrounding these artifacts were nine colossal monoliths, arranged as if in a mystic formation, casting an ethereal glow, forming a dense shield. Beyond them, ninety-nine flying swords whirled in constant orbit, their blades connected in a symphony of piercing energy, like countless draconic blades traversing the heavens!

Wang Lin surveyed these varied treasures, inhaling deeply, his pupils contracting.

“This Greed Wolf… after all these years, it has gathered such an arsenal!” Wang Lin licked his lips, striding forward, ignoring the thousand awestruck cultivators. He raised his right hand, forming a gargantuan, ethereal hand that descended, encompassing the treasures below. The outermost ring of ninety-nine flying swords trembled, drawn to the hand as if by an irresistible magnetic force.

As he grasped the ninety-nine blades, Wang Lin exhaled a torrent of primordial spirit essence, transforming it into a tempest that swept over the swords. Cracking sounds erupted as every last trace of the Greed Wolf’s spiritual imprints crumbled and dispersed.

At the very instant the Greed Wolf’s mark was forcibly erased from the blades, far away in the starfields beyond this cultivation star, the Greed Wolf, haggard and disheveled, fled desperately.

Upon seeing Wang Lin, Greed Wolf’s mind was consumed by a single instinct: flight. Even the idea of resistance failed to form. Subconscious terror seized him, and his body, before his mind could truly contemplate, was already in motion, propelled by a desperate, all-consuming need to escape.

He feared that any hesitation would result in his treasures being snatched away, one by one, as in days of old.

But as he fled, a flicker of realization sparked within him. He halted in the starry void, his expression a shifting tapestry of emotions.

“My cultivation is now a thousandfold greater than it was then! My treasures are far more numerous and powerful! I could face even a Heavenly Ascension cultivator! Why did I flee from that mere whelp, Wang Lin!” Greed Wolf snarled, consumed by a rage directed not at Wang Lin, but at himself!

“I will not flee! I will return and crush Wang Lin, avenging the humiliations of the past!” A murderous glint lit Greed Wolf’s eyes. He spun around, ready to turn back towards the cultivation star.

But at that instant, his face contorted in sudden horror, his eyes widening with disbelief.

“The spiritual mark on the Ninety-Nine Swords of Floating Wonder… forcibly erased! Damnation! What is Wang Lin’s true cultivation? How could he erase my spiritual imprint so easily!” Greed Wolf froze, his face ashen, once again haunted by the nightmares of his past.

His mind raced. Yet, despite his fury, the beast did not turn back. Instead, he stomped and dashed back towards the star where Wang Lin was, only to stop dead in his tracks after three steps, his expression now one of absolute dread.

“The spiritual mark on the Nine Ossuary Stones… erased! The Nine Ossuary Stones were taken from the outer perimeters of a mysterious tomb, untouched by spiritual power for eons. Once I branded them with my mark, it was merged as one. How can he remove my mark so easily?”

Greed Wolf wavered, sensing that his opponent was far more than he had perceived.

“Cursed be this haste! I was too quick to flee; now the swords and stones are stolen, and my cultivation cannot compare to Wang Lin’s current power. He’ll not so easily claim the Celestial Furnace and the Mist Demon Spear!”

“I will risk it all!” he growled, his face a mask of desperation. Then he charged back, a single-minded goal in his eyes.

But as he rushed ahead, three breaths passed and his body shook. He violently coughed up blood.

“The Mist Demon Spear… claimed!” The Greed Wolf’s blood froze. The tidal wave of dread washed over him. And Wang Lin was not long to follow.

Without a second of hesitation, the Greed Wolf spun once more, fleeing at ninety times the speed.

“A nemesis! He is my nemesis! The kill-ten-thousand times Wang Lin is the bane of my existence!” Greed Wolf lamented, a mix of bitterness, rage, fear, and… humiliation.

He had barely escaped death in the past, only to be greeted by the same horror once again.

A few breaths later, the fleeing Greed Wolf choked back another mouthful of blood.

“The Celestial Furnace! My Celestial Furnace!”

The Greed Wolf howled and sobbed in regret, pain, fear, and horror.

“I will never forget! Had I not shown those damn Cloud Drifters my treasure, I would not be running now!”

Back on the cultivation star, Wang Lin grasped the Nine Ossuary Stones, the Mist Demon Spear, and the Celestial Furnace. Finally, he turned to the giant treant.

“The Greed Wolf’s strength and collection of artifacts has grown since the past. Even the Ninety-Nine Swords are leaps ahead, and the ancient Mist Demon Spear reeks of ancient demon power.

“And the Celestial Furnace… I sense that it contains the spirits of Ancient Demons!”

Wang Lin cast down the Celestial Hand, only to meet resistance.

“This spirit is powerful, and can deflect even the most powerful attacks!”

“I will take everything from you, Greed Wolf.”

Wang Lin grasped the entity.

“Who knows of this item?”

An old man rushed forward and trembled.

“This is the Emblem!”

“No one will leave until I return! Obey him!” Wang Lin said, pointing to Zhong Dahong.

He dashed towards the sky. His body disappeared.