The white horse galloped across the land, rigid as an ice sheet. Even in such harsh conditions, the speed of the white horse, Leidian (Thunderbolt), did not falter in the slightest.

However, as always, it preferred to cover every inch of this continent with its powerful, sturdy long legs rather than flying through the sky. He Yiming occasionally glanced down at the ground.

Faint traces of hoof prints were difficult for ordinary eyes to discern or distinguish, but to He Yiming and Leidian, they were unmistakable, revealing everything in minute detail. Following the path indicated by these tracks, He Yiming could clearly sense the subtle changes in the footprints; he knew he was about to catch up to the spirit beasts.

Although He Yiming was not a professional hunter, he had accompanied his elders on hunts in the back mountains during his youth, giving him some experience in identifying animal tracks. Thus, he could tell that the prints were left not by a single monstrous beast, but by at least two or three.

Moreover, these monstrous beasts were quite large and heavy; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to leave even faint marks on such hard ground. His ears twitched rapidly.

He Yiming’s expression shifted slightly, and he murmured softly, "Not good." In that instant, he had captured the piercing shrieks and fierce roars drifting from the distance. He knew instantly, without needing to think, that the beasts had broken into the human settlement and were already running rampant.

Without waiting for a command, Leidian immediately unleashed its four hooves. Though fast before, it had certainly not exerted its full power.

Now, however, it streaked through the air in a white arc of light, charging forward like a meteor chasing the moon. Once Leidian unleashed its true speed, the entire world seemed to quiet down.

Apart from the deafening sonic boom exploding beside his ears, there was no other sound. "Rumble..." As Leidian abruptly halted, an unparalleled, massive explosive sound erupted around it, instantly spreading throughout the entire area.

This was clearly a human settlement, not heavily populated, housing only about a thousand people. In this remote, seldom-visited region of the Northern Frontier, it could barely qualify as a small to medium-sized settlement.

Although living conditions here were quite arduous, once the population reached a certain scale, they could manage to survive in such an unforgiving environment. But now, this place was facing utter annihilation.

Two enormous, powerfully built spirit beasts were rampaging through the area, crushing everything in their path. Wherever they struck, structures instantly collapsed.

These two spirit beasts were as large as elephants, though lacking the long trunk. They possessed four terrifying, cold tusks jutting from their mouths, which gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight.

The living conditions of the people of the Northern Frontier were extremely harsh, but this had forged a fierce local character. Facing two gigantic spirit beasts that were clearly insurmountable, the men of the Northern Frontier did not retreat.

Instead, they snatched up their weapons, trying by every means possible to block the charge of these ferocious creatures. He Yiming’s gaze shifted, and he immediately realized that there wasn't a single Xiantian (Innate/Premordial) level expert among them.

The highest cultivation level belonged to a practitioner at the tenth layer of Neijin (Inner Strength). And their opponents were two spirit beasts.

While these creatures weren't particularly formidable in He Yiming’s estimation, to this tribe, lacking any Xiantian protector, they represented an unstoppable harbinger of death. The most powerful Neijin practitioner was a middle-aged man wielding a long saber.

He roared fiercely, "Scatter! Flee..." His voice was filled with despair and sorrow, yet he swung his saber without hesitation toward the front leg of one of the beasts.

Though boiling with rage, he knew his strength was insufficient to slay the spirit beast, so he aimed for its leg. Delaying its attack speed, allowing everyone else to escape, was satisfaction enough for him.

However, the beast's power was far beyond his imagination. It didn't even spare a glance for the minuscule human before it, its eyes filled with a blood-red hue, and it trampled forward like a massive tank, without hesitation.

The middle-aged man’s slash landed heavily on the beast’s leg. But other than kicking up a shower of sparks, it had absolutely no effect.

This was the gap in power—the gulf between a Xiantian spirit beast and an ordinary practitioner was immense, essentially unbridgeable. A powerful recoil threw the middle-aged man backward involuntarily, even knocking the long saber from his grasp.

His ribs cracked, and blood poured out, but his eyes were wide with terror. Perhaps the force of that single blow had been too great; though it caused no damage to the spirit beast, it had at least registered as pain.

Thus, it checked its stride, its massive body abruptly turning. The tusks on its mouth were raised high, revealing savage aggression.

After glaring at the middle-aged man, it charged forward violently. Despite its immense size, the spirit beast’s speed was not slow; it was clearly a step faster than a Houtian (Postnatal) practitioner.

Though the middle-aged man dodged with all his might, he was quickly overtaken. Seeing the gaping, blood-soaked maw just inches away, the stench overwhelming him, the man closed his eyes, awaiting death.

But then, he heard a violent sound. Subsequently, he felt as if something had been flung away from in front of him.

His body trembled slightly. He was naturally a courageous person, otherwise, he wouldn't have charged out with his blade earlier.

He quickly opened his eyes, only to find the space before him empty; the spirit beast whose jaws had been poised over him was gone. Another huge roar echoed from another direction.

Then, he witnessed a sight that would be etched into his memory forever. The other giant beast that had been smashing its way through the village was suddenly launched high into the air, tracing a graceful arc before crashing down more than ten zhang (a unit of length) away.

There, a spirit beast was already lying prone, groaning heavily, seemingly severely injured and unable to rise. The beast that had been airborne, as if guided by an eye, slammed directly onto the downed creature.

Both spirit beasts let out piercing screams, but these cries now lacked any hint of arrogance; instead, they were saturated with sheer terror. Spirit beasts possess considerable intelligence, and those over a thousand years old have wisdom comparable to humans.

These two beasts instantly realized that the sudden force they had encountered was something they absolutely could not contend with. A flash of white light appeared, and He Yiming, astride Leidian, stood before the two spirit beasts.

Their eyes mirrored the same fear, for only at this moment did they understand who had violently flung them out of the village. At this instant, all their ferocity vanished, replaced by a flicker of pleading in their eyes.

They recalled the ancient warnings passed down by their ancestors: living on this ice-shrouded land, it was best not to provoke those humans, for among these seemingly fragile beings, there were always some who wielded immense power—powers far beyond the ability of their own kind to resist. Under normal circumstances, they would never dare attack a human stronghold, but the air was currently filled with an intense oppressive aura.

It was this inexplicable pressure that could turn even the most docile spirit beast into a raging frenzy. They would cast aside all caution and strike at whatever caught their eye.

This was not limited to humans; even spirit beasts encountering one another would sometimes fight to the death, with the one choosing to flee being a rare occurrence. He Yiming glanced at them, feeling somewhat surprised.

The might possessed by the Northern Frontier spirit beasts was indeed remarkable; they were clearly superior to those on the mainland. Perhaps only the spirit beasts of the Outer Seas could contend with them.

Even Leidian’s current 'Lightning Kick' was insufficient to slay them in a single blow. This showed that the constitution of these beasts far surpassed that of ordinary spirit beasts.

However, the fate of these spirit beasts had been sealed the moment Leidian appeared. No matter how thick their hides or coarse their flesh, before Leidian, they amounted to nothing.

With a soft neigh, the horn atop the white horse began to glow with purple electrical arcs. In a mere instant, a powerful bolt of electricity shot away from the horn, surging toward the two struggling spirit beasts.

Piercing shrieks rang out again, but this time they were brief, cut off completely as if severed by a sharp blade, and then vanished. Looking at the two scorched, blackened corpses before him, He Yiming shook his head slightly.

He waved his hand, and the Five Elements Ring appeared in his grasp. Under his control, a golden light flashed over the heads of the two beasts, and their skulls instantly exploded.

He Yiming’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his consciousness probed outward, immediately sensing the two hidden inner cores. With a beckoning motion, the two inner cores shot out from the beasts' heads and flew into He Yiming’s hands.

Of course, he had already retrieved a clean soft cloth from the Five Elements World to wipe away the adherent blood. With a slight flick of his wrist, he stored the two Xiantian inner cores within the Five Elements World.

Although ordinary Xiantian spirit beast inner cores were not something he held in high regard anymore, such cores were excellent ingredients for refining Xiantian Golden Pills; no sect would ever disdain them. Cautious footsteps sounded behind He Yiming.

However, no matter how discreet this person moved, his every action could not escape He Yiming's ears. Turning around, the person sneaking up was the middle-aged man he had rescued moments earlier from the mouth of the spirit beast.

At this moment, his face was a mixture of shock, gratitude, and awe. Seeing He Yiming’s gaze turn toward him, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and spoke respectfully, "This humble servant is Aige (Eigh), paying respects to Your Excellency."