Forgive the error at the end of the last chapter; what was spoken in unison was 'Middle Stage of the Third Level.' Little Yu was confused and wrote it incorrectly; this will be corrected in subsequent sections.
……………… Zhang Yang cradled his hand, which still throbbed with pain.
He had just met the old hag’s blow barehanded.
Her internal energy was not inferior to his; if anything, it was slightly superior.
Coupled with her Ghost Head Staff, taking the strike unarmed naturally put him at a slight disadvantage.
It was a good thing his physical attributes had significantly increased.
His strength was formidable now; otherwise, taking a direct hit from her weapon might have resulted in serious injury.
After all, the old hag wielded a divine weapon, even a damaged one was still immensely dangerous.
The old hag, having been forced back a step, recoiled several paces further, staring at Zhang Yang with profound shock.
Zhang Yang looked even younger than Long Feng, perhaps barely past his early twenties.
At his age, even if he hailed from a prestigious lineage and had cultivated since birth, he should at most be at the Second Level of Internal Energy.
Reaching the Late Second Level was already an astounding feat for a genius.
Middle Stage of the Third Level? She dared not even contemplate it.
A person like this wasn't a genius; he was a monstrous anomaly.
She truly didn't want to believe it, but the facts were laid bare before her.
Zhang Yang’s power had been verified against her own.
Middle Stage of the Third Level—a genuine Middle Stage of the Third Level.
For a young man like Zhang Yang, even if he had started cultivating in the womb, this level was impossible to achieve.
In that instant, her thoughts inevitably drifted to Zhang Yang’s background.
The lineage of the Medical Saint—their art of compounding elixirs was unmatched under heaven.
The spirit medicines they formulated were the best, their effects the strongest.
This was an undisputed fact among all cultivators, from ancient times to the present.
Now, it seemed the rumors were not unfounded.
Even the Xuanyuan family, who possessed their own skill in formulating spirit medicines, could not compare to the Medical Saint lineage.
It must be that the Medical Saint lineage had supplied Zhang Yang with an enormous quantity of spirit medicines, allowing him to boost his strength so rapidly.
Vast quantities of spirit medicines—the mere thought sparked envy in her eyes.
Spirit medicines—a single one was a treasure hard to come by.
And this brat was advancing his strength, likely squandering countless more.
In her view, anything she could not use to its fullest potential was being wasted by others.
Zhang Yang gave Long Feng a subtle look, gesturing for him to stand aside for a moment.
The old hag’s strength was indeed formidable.
Middle Stage of the Third Level placed her firmly among the masters of Internal Energy cultivation.
But this also eased some of Zhang Yang’s anxiety; he could handle the Middle Stage of the Third Level.
He still had his trump cards in reserve, the most notable being Lightning, which he had held back until now.
Furthermore, the concern about the Gu worms could be easily managed by Shadowless.
Should the old hag dare to release them, Shadowless would promptly swoop in and devour them.
Shadowless had already assured Zhang Yang of this via telepathic link.
Without the threat of the Gu worms, Zhang Yang had absolutely no fear of confronting the old hag head-on.
However, there was one point that caused Zhang Yang some consternation.
His objective here wasn't to kill the old hag; he needed her to cure Wu Zhiguo’s Gu poisoning.
This necessitated keeping her alive.
Killing her meant Wu Zhiguo’s poison would remain incurable.
Not killing her, but capturing her alive—this significantly increased the difficulty.
“Good boy, no wonder you dared to act so presumptuously here.
Such young age, yet already at the Third Level of Internal Energy.
What will you become in the future!” The old hag spoke slowly, her eyes filled with naked jealousy and resentment.
Zhang Yang’s youth, coupled with the spiritual beast accompanying him and his own profound strength, brewed a deep sense of inadequacy within her.
She was a full forty years older than Zhang Yang.
Compared to him, it was as if her forty years of cultivation had been utterly wasted.
How many forty-year spans did one have in life? This realization fueled her jealousy to a frenzy, hardening her resolve: she had to eliminate this young man, no matter the cost.
If this young man were allowed to continue growing, he would indeed pose a tangible threat to her.
At the same Middle Stage of the Third Level, she still held a degree of confidence in handling Zhang Yang, given her decades more combat experience.
Moreover, this was her territory; she possessed the advantage of the ground.
Qu Meilan sat dumbfounded on the ground, completely paralyzed.
She had long suspected Zhang Yang was a master, truly powerful, but she never imagined he was this powerful.
Zhang Yang looked younger than her, yet his Internal Energy had already reached the Middle Stage of the Third Level, far surpassing her own.
She finally understood that from the moment she encountered this man, escape was never an option for her.
It was fortunate she hadn't done anything rash; otherwise, who knew how much more suffering she would have endured.
The other martial sisters standing nearby were no better off.
They too were stunned that Zhang Yang, so young, possessed strength capable of contending with their master.
In their eyes, their master had always been an invincible existence.
“You aren't qualified to kill me!” Zhang Yang smiled faintly.
He had already sensed the killing intent emanating from the old hag, and he noted her intense jealousy.
It was a maddening, consuming jealousy, which revealed the old hag to be petty-minded and intensely envious—not surprising, considering the disposition of her disciples.
“Jie jie jie!” The old hag suddenly let out a series of eerie cackles, the sound horrific enough to make several female disciples cover their heads, some even writhing on the ground, weeping in pain.
Long Feng also felt discomfort upon hearing the sound, but he managed to hold firm.
“Sound attack?” Zhang Yang’s expression shifted slightly.
The old hag had injected her internal energy into her voice, imbuing the sound itself with a measure of offensive power.
This was an offensive technique only accessible to those at the Third Level of Internal Energy.
However, this method was extremely draining and required specialized methods to execute.
Zhang Yang had no knowledge of this particular sound attack technique.
“No, wait!” Zhang Yang’s expression changed again.
While the old hag’s sound attack was potent, it posed no real threat to him.
Even Long Feng could withstand it.
The only ones who would suffer actual damage were lower-level cultivators.
Beyond that, this sound could harm one specific kind of entity.
That entity was Shadowless.
Shadowless was a Treasure-Seeking Mouse.
Treasure-Seeking Mice were auxiliary spiritual beasts, possessing virtually no combat capabilities.
Their resilience was naturally low.
This sound attack would be highly damaging to Shadowless.
Indeed, shortly after the sound began, Zhang Yang felt Shadowless’s pain.
Soon after, Shadowless leaped from his body and darted outside; it could not endure the sonic assault.
“Hahaha!” Having driven Shadowless away, the old hag immediately burst into laughter.
The sound attack she had just expended significant internal energy on was specifically targeting Shadowless.
Her rich combat experience told her that to utilize her strengths, she first had to expel anything that countered those strengths.
Once Shadowless was gone, her Gu worms could be used freely.
If she could successfully implant even one Gu worm in Zhang Yang, he would be forced to accept her control—his life or death would then be hers to decide.
“Pfft!” The old hag opposite him suddenly opened her mouth, spitting out six small shadows simultaneously.
This perverse old woman had been hiding the Gu worms directly in her mouth.
The Gu worms flew out, rapidly targeting Zhang Yang and Long Feng.
Zhang Yang had four directed at him, and two were aimed at Long Feng.
“Zhi zhi zhi!” Lightning, which had been curled up on Zhang Yang’s shoulder, suddenly stood erect and let out several sharp chirps.
A flash of white light streaked across, and Lightning materialized in front of Long Feng.
With a sweep of its two razor-sharp claws, the two Gu worms attacking Long Feng were sliced in half, falling to the ground.
Zhang Yang moved at the same moment.
He knew the terror of the Gu worms intimately and had no intention of taking them head-on.
He retreated a few steps, and a dagger suddenly appeared in his hand.
He slashed it rapidly through the air a few times.
The four small worms were reduced to eight pieces, which also dropped to the ground.
In a flash, the six Gu worms released by the old hag were annihilated by Zhang Yang and his companion.
Though it was a near miss, at least neither of them was harmed, and they had successfully destroyed the old hag’s six Gu insects.
“Spiritual beast.
Divine weapon?” The old hag shrieked oddly, her eyes wide open.
Lightning’s mere display of its preposterous speed was enough to confirm its identity; it was not only a spiritual beast but one of extreme swiftness.
Furthermore, there was the Dragon-Devouring Dagger in Zhang Yang’s hand; the chill emanating from the blade also indicated it was an extraordinary weapon.
Having prepared thoroughly for this outing, Zhang Yang certainly hadn't left the Dragon-Devouring Dagger at home.
The old hag’s jealousy intensified, now mixed with unconcealed avarice.
She envied Zhang Yang’s high level of internal energy at such a young age, envied the fact that he was accompanied by two spiritual beasts, and most of all, envied the divine weapon in his hand, which was superior to her own.
All of this, she felt, should belong to her, not some brash upstart like Zhang Yang.
“Millennium noble families, truly living up to their name.
You monopolize all the prime resources, forcing the likes of us to cultivate bitterly in the deep mountains!” the old hag wailed, her voice laced with deep bitterness.
Zhang Yang looked at her, feeling somewhat speechless.
First, these excellent resources were not left to him by the family.
The family had only bequeathed experience and knowledge; the tangible resources were minimal.
Everything Zhang Yang had acquired came from his own efforts after transmigrating.
As for being forced into bitter cultivation in the mountains, that was utterly baseless.
This was their home; they chose to cultivate there.
It was the old hag’s profound, burning envy of the resources Zhang Yang had accrued that caused her to say such things.
“Zhang Yang, this old hag is a lunatic.
Let’s stop wasting time talking and attack her together!” Long Feng turned to say to Zhang Yang, utterly incensed at the moment.
These people had repeatedly resorted to Gu worms, treating him like a soft target to be manipulated.
What he found most intolerable was that Zhang Yang had saved him the first time, Shadowless the second, and Lightning the third.
It made him feel like a burden, dependent on others.
His extremely strong sense of pride could not accept this.
He was determined to bring out twelve parts of his strength now to teach this old hag a severe lesson.
His individual strength might not match the old hag’s, but flanking her with surprise attacks was certainly feasible—just as he and Zhang Yang had allied to defeat the old Spirit Ape previously.
Zhang Yang took the main offensive, while he and Lightning provided support, ultimately defeating the ape.
The Spirit Ape’s immense power was far greater than that of the old hag before him.
“Good!” Zhang Yang glanced at Long Feng and nodded immediately.
He was not a stubborn man.
This old hag was not easy to deal with, and Wu Zhiguo was still waiting for aid.
The sooner she was subdued, the sooner Wu Zhiguo could be saved, and they could conclude this expedition to the Southern Border.
………… Sixth update, Chapter 100 bonus update, Chapter Thirty-Seven!