A low growl rumbled from the maw of the Great Bear Sacred Beast. It no longer stood tall with its spine rigid, towering over four meters; instead, it slowly crouched, resting on all fours, its entire frame taut with tension.

It paid absolutely no heed to the stampede of beasts fleeing behind it. At this moment, it was enduring a pressure unimaginably immense.

In its perception, this minuscule human before it had, in an instant, swelled to gargantuan size, a giant who, with a mere glance, was suffocating it with sheer weight.

When initially facing off, it could sense the danger emanating from the human, believing there was still a chance to fight back. However, the longer the standoff lasted, the heavier the pressure became, nearly pushing it toward utter collapse. It desired nothing more than to flee, abandoning all dignity. Yet, the moment it betrayed a flicker of weakness, a look of cold mockery crossed the human’s face, and a massive, palpable pressure—one only the beast could feel—descended like a tidal wave, pinning it firmly to the ground.

Its four limbs trembled uncontrollably, the result of a refusal to yield completely despite the crushing force.

Only then did it truly comprehend that this human before it was far beyond anything it could possibly challenge. Nevertheless, as a Sacred Beast of the Northern Frontier, it possessed its own honor and could not simply surrender its resistance.

He Yi Ming shook his head slightly and sighed softly, “What a pity.”

The Great Bear Sacred Beast gazed at He Yi Ming with eyes full of suspicion and terror, the powerful oppressive force stealing its breath. Suddenly, the pressure lifted. The beast was overcome with ecstatic joy; it immediately spun around and bolted toward the distance, not even daring to glance back.

However, the air before it seemed to ripple, as if something had flashed past.

A massive head soared skyward, spraying a rain of blood across the expanse. The Sacred Beast’s body kept running, but its head was already detached from the rapidly moving torso.

It opened its mouth wide, its eyes—possessing a remarkable intelligence—filled with bewilderment. It watched its headless trunk continue to charge forward before finally collapsing inertly. As its head fell to the ground, it died without ever comprehending how its end had come.

On the city walls, though thousands watched, every person held their breath, gazing at the scene in disbelief.

Just when they had seen the Sacred Beast arrive, steeling themselves for the inevitable tragedy of the city’s ruin and their own demise, someone had stepped forward. Not only had he scared away all the lesser beasts, but he had also dispatched the Sacred Beast itself.

They had not witnessed the grueling battle they anticipated—no dazzling sword flashes, no exchange of devastating breaths from the Sacred Beast. What they saw was as effortless and clean as a human slaughtering a chicken or a duck; the Sacred Beast was finished in the blink of an eye.

But this was a Sacred Beast, one that instilled paralyzing fear in countless humans.

Yet, before this young man, the creature was no different from the poultry raised by humans. This stark reality made it impossible for anyone to believe what their eyes had witnessed.

He Yi Ming cast a final glance at the fallen Sacred Beast on the ground, then turned. In a few strides, he was at the base of the wall, and with a single step, he mounted the rampart directly.

The crowd flinched. He Yi Ming’s step was not dramatically large, yet it carried him securely atop the battlements.

It appeared as if he hadn't used any agility technique to leap up, but rather had simply ascended one step, like a person climbing stairs. Strangely, both the Xiantian experts and the vast majority of Houtian cultivators felt an incredibly bizarre sensation.

At that moment, however, every eye fixed on He Yi Ming was filled with a mixture of dread and profound reverence.

This was the first time they had ever seen an expert dispatch a Sacred Beast as easily as one would kill poultry.

“Brother Yi, I shall retire for a while. Would you mind handling the corpse of this Sacred Beast for me?” He Yi Ming spoke casually.

Yi Zhong Tian’s body jolted. Although he had long suspected He Yi Ming’s true identity, only now was it definitively confirmed: this man was at least a Grand Venerable of the Five Qi realm, and moreover, one of the supremely powerful experts achieving the Five Qi Unification. Otherwise, he could not have slain the Sacred Beast with such apparent ease.

Bowing deeply, Yi Zhong Tian hastened to reply, “Senior, rest assured, this junior will clean everything up perfectly.”

He Yi Ming nodded slightly and stepped toward the city interior. A clear path immediately opened before him; everyone strained to move to the sides, not a single person daring to approach He Yi Ming. Furthermore, wherever he passed, people bent low, touching their foreheads to the ground. Had this not been a battlefield, some might already have dropped their weapons to kneel.

He sighed inwardly. This, he knew, was the deserved respect accorded to true powerhouses in the Northern Frontier; the greater the strength, the higher the deference shown.

If he were to reveal his status as a peak expert of the Human Dao, he suspected these people would certainly perform the rites of full prostration.

His form shifted slightly, and He Yi Ming accelerated, vanishing from sight in a flicker.

At that, the vast majority finally let out long, shaky breaths. They looked at each other, joy at their survival mingling with an ineffable shock in every gaze.

It was the feeling of being instantly transported from the deepest hell to paradise—an experience that would remain etched in their memories for a lifetime.

Yi Zhong Tian’s expression suddenly tightened. “Brother Zhang, we should quickly extract the inner core, and the Sacred Beast’s body must also be dealt with swiftly.”

Zhang Bailin nodded heavily, exchanging a glance with Chen Linxi; they understood the meaning in each other’s eyes.

If initially they had felt reluctance about securing the hard-won Xiantian Inner Core, after witnessing He Yi Ming silence and slay a Sacred Beast, their entire perspective underwent a complete 180-degree reversal.

They would rather forfeit this Xiantian Inner Core now than risk offending He Yi Ming. To harbor designs of profiting off such a figure would be akin to courting death.

Yi Zhong Tian issued loud commands. His prestige within Peng City was significant, and virtually no one opposed what he said.

The city gates opened, and organized groups streamed out to clear the carnage beneath the gates.

Yi Zhong Tian, accompanied by Xu Jun, personally carried the Sacred Beast’s carcass onto the wall. They meticulously cracked open the beast's skull and located the inner core.

This was no ordinary inner core, but a genuine Sacred Beast Inner Core. The spherical object, radiating an ethereal light, instantly captured the attention of everyone still remaining on the wall the moment it was extracted.

Zhang Bailin and the Chen Linxi couple’s eyes grew fiercely hot. Yet, no matter how bold they were, they dared not covet this Sacred Beast Inner Core.

Instead, Xu Jun’s complexion shifted subtly. A Sacred Beast Inner Core could not only forge divine weapons, but when refined into elixirs, it offered a far greater chance of advancement for those in the Xiantian realm below the Venerable level.

Xu Jun’s martial cultivation had long been stagnant at the Xiantian level. Like Yi Zhong Tian, he was but a single step away from breaking through to the Yixiantian realm.

However, taking that final step was notoriously difficult; he had made no progress in twenty years. Now, gazing at the Sacred Beast Inner Core, his heart felt as if it were burning with a fever, making his blood boil.

Yi Zhong Tian observed his companion’s reaction and coughed lightly. “Brother Xu, how did Senior He slay this Sacred Beast?”

Xu Jun started slightly. He thought seriously for a long time before finally shaking his head, a trace of suspicion clouding his eyes.

Yi Zhong Tian spoke calmly, “Senior He could dispatch the Great Bear Sacred Beast so easily. How many elders within our Sect could achieve that?”

Xu Jun’s expression changed drastically; he immediately grasped Yi Zhong Tian’s implication.

Although he had the backing of the entire Ice Palace behind him, the martial cultivation level of this Senior He was utterly incomprehensible. Within the Ice Palace, perhaps only the Sect Master and one of the most elite Grand Venerable Elders of the Five Qi realm could stand as his equal.

While that Five Qi Grand Venerable was his direct relative, and he had relied on this connection to entertain thoughts of claiming the Sacred Beast Inner Core, Yi Zhong Tian’s reminder made him sober up instantly. Facing such a terrifying opponent, even the Ice Palace might be reluctant to provoke him.

He rapidly weighed his options for a moment before finally letting out a long sigh, thoroughly abandoning the notion of seizing the Sacred Beast Inner Core.

He knew that if he betrayed even the slightest hint of such an idea, He Yi Ming would undoubtedly strike lethally, and he would have no means of escape here.

Dealing with the Sacred Beast’s corpse was exceptionally troublesome. This was not only due to Yi Zhong Tian and the others being inexperienced in handling spirits beasts of this magnitude, but also because the immense power of a Sacred Beast made its physical body far harder than that of a thousand-year spirit beast. Even using the divine weapons Xu Jun possessed, peeling the hide perfectly proved extremely difficult.

It took a full two hours. Only after the forces inside the city had completely cleared the area beneath the walls and Zhang Bailin and the others had finished processing the corpses of the lesser Xiantian spirit beasts did Yi Zhong Tian and Xu Jun finally complete the dissection of the Sacred Beast.

They exchanged glances, both filled with utter horror.

Even a dead Sacred Beast was this difficult to handle; how immense must its power have been when alive?

The moment they considered how He Yi Ming had slain it so effortlessly, cold sweat broke out uncontrollably on the backs of their necks.

After a long pause, Xu Jun nodded gratefully toward Yi Zhong Tian. “Thank you.”

Yi Zhong Tian waved his hand, forcing a wry smile. He then addressed the other Xiantian experts, “Take your share, and let’s go see Senior He.”

Zhang Bailin and the others offered no objection. Though a lingering reluctance remained in their hearts, none allowed the thought to show.

P.S.: Just returned, posting the chapter. Five updates tomorrow ^_^