The Heavenly Horse finally halted, and Zhang Yang took a moment to rest as well. Chasing relentlessly, Zhang Yang had been running for almost an hour, covering well over a hundred kilometers in that time—a speed far surpassing his previous sprints in the mountains.

Such velocity came at the cost of immense consumption of internal energy; white mist had begun to drift from Zhang Yang's head, and his Neijin was nearing its limit. Fortunately, he still had undigested Essence-Blood Pills within his Ti (body), which were rapidly replenishing his stores even as his energy was drained at high speed; otherwise, he likely wouldn't even be able to draw breath.

"Jee-jee-jee!" Wuying sent another message. Wuying and Shandian were also tired from the chase, but as spirit beasts, their condition was somewhat better than Zhang Yang's.

A wry smile touched Zhang Yang’s lips. He summoned his Neijin and forced himself to pursue with all his might once more.

The message from Wuying was that the Heavenly Horse had started running again; if he allowed it to escape now, all this effort would have been for nothing. After such a strenuous pursuit, he absolutely could not give up.

A white shadow led the way, followed by two shadows, one large and one small, maintaining a constant distance of several hundred meters between them as they raced onward. Zhang Yang was so frustrated he felt like spitting blood.

The moment he increased his speed, the Heavenly Horse accelerated in response. Although each burst of speed was brief, the horse's velocity was so overwhelming that it would immediately widen the distance he had painstakingly closed.

This left Zhang Yang with the agonizing sensation of having delicious food right at his lips, yet unable to take a bite—a feeling beyond discomfort. It wasn't just him; Shandian and Wuying were suffering equally.

The two little ones had considered rushing ahead to intercept the Heavenly Horse, which, given their combined strength, shouldn't have been a major issue. Regrettably, despite using every ounce of their effort, they still couldn't catch the Heavenly Horse; its reputation as the swiftest under heaven was not merely a boast.

"Senior, why are you the only one back?" Beside the car, Long Cheng, who had been lazily sunbathing while leaning against a fender, straightened up suddenly, looking astonishedly at Long Feng, who had just returned. He looked at Long Feng, then behind him; Zhang Yang, Shandian, and Wuying were nowhere in sight.

"We got separated while chasing that spirit beast. I couldn't keep up with them, so I came back alone!" Long Feng shook his head slightly, a touch of helplessness on his face.

His speed had improved considerably since before, but he still couldn't match Zhang Yang and the two little ones. "There really is a spirit beast?" Long Cheng's eyes widened.

They had previously suspected the wild horse the poachers were after was a spirit beast, but it had only been speculation until now; they hadn't confirmed it. Long Feng nodded again.

"It is definitely a spirit beast!" On his way back, he had carefully examined the vehicles damaged by the wild horse; the sheer power required was beyond even an elephant, let alone an ordinary wild horse. "These few people are lucky to be alive after encountering a spirit beast!" Long Cheng glanced toward the poachers confined in the truck and muttered again.

Forget ordinary people; even a low-level Neijin cultivator like himself would perish without a trace encountering a spirit beast. For the poachers to only have their vehicles damaged and remain unharmed was truly immense luck.

Long Feng nodded as well, now starting to believe Zhang Yang's claims. This spirit beast horse was incredibly fast and hadn't harmed anyone, making it highly probable that it was the Heavenly Horse Zhang Yang described, rather than the Unicorn he had initially suspected.

Heavenly Horses were naturally gentle and wouldn't lash out randomly. "Jee-jee-jee!" The running Wuying suddenly chirped several times.

Zhang Yang's spirit jolted. Wiping the uncontrollable sweat from his forehead, he surged forward again.

Wuying's message indicated that the spirit beast horse's strength had waned further ahead, significantly less than when they first encountered it. The reduced strength of the spirit beast horse meant its endurance was dwindling; in this battle of attrition, he was close to victory.

After only a few strides, Zhang Yang was suddenly struck by a dizzy spell. This was the result of overtaxing his internal energy.

If he continued to maintain his Neijin at full exertion, he would exhaust his energy and collapse within moments. The residual medicinal power of the Essence-Blood Pills still in his Ti was no longer sufficient to support such massive expenditure.

Grit his teeth, Zhang Yang reached into his canvas satchel and pulled out a fresh Essence-Blood Pill—a Golden-Crowned Python Essence-Blood Pill—and swallowed it directly. A brand-new Essence-Blood Pill could sustain his exertion.

Taking a spiritual medicine at this moment felt wasteful, but for the sake of capturing this spirit beast horse, Zhang Yang couldn't afford to hesitate. As the medicine entered his stomach, a massive surge of energy swept through his body.

His nearly depleted Neijin flooded back like a torrential spring downpour, restoring his entire body with vigor. The sweat on his brow gradually receded, and Zhang Yang’s spirits lifted as he raced forward rapidly.

The gap of several hundred meters between him and the spirit beast horse quickly shrank to under a hundred meters. Zhang Yang could now clearly make out the spirit beast horse: a pure white horse without a single blemish, slightly smaller than an ordinary horse, but not by much.

The mane on its head fluttered in the wind. As Zhang Yang watched, it turned its head to look back at him.

Its eyes held a trace of indignation and despair—emotions it hadn't shown even when faced with all those poachers before. Spirit beasts are highly intelligent.

Although there were many ordinary humans, they couldn't harm it. The impact from the vehicles and the gunshots caused some damage, but it wasn't critical; it could even destroy those vehicles using its power during the collisions.

However, this person chasing it was different. This pursuer was clearly a Neijin cultivator, and a remarkably powerful one at that.

This person was accompanied by two different spirit beasts, and it vaguely sensed that these two creatures, much smaller than itself, also contained immense power that it could not ignore. If it were at its peak, it wouldn't care how formidable this man was; it was the Heavenly Horse, possessing the fastest speed under heaven.

If it wished to flee, absolutely no one could catch it. But the situation was different now.

This was arguably its weakest moment; it couldn't even sustain continuous running, let alone shake off this pursuer. "Tear!" The white horse head suddenly reared back and let out a loud neigh that echoed far into the distance.

The spirit beast horse, which Zhang Yang had been relentlessly pursuing, suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared directly at Zhang Yang. It was intelligent; it understood it could not escape.

To continue running might cost it its last reserves of strength, so it was better to meet the pursuer head-on. The spirit beast horse stopping abruptly caught Zhang Yang by surprise.

He immediately halted as well, but before he could fully brace himself, the horse accelerated with shocking speed, appearing before Zhang Yang like a flash of white light. A distance of a hundred meters was nothing to Shandian, who could cover it in a blink, let alone this incredibly fast spirit beast horse.

This sudden change was utterly unexpected. Zhang Yang could only instinctively raise his hands.

Immediately, his body flew backward violently; the full-force impact of the spirit beast horse was immense, and even he couldn't withstand it. Zhang Yang was sent flying back over twenty meters, and the spirit beast horse surged forward again.

However, before it could get far, two shadows converged. Shandian directly unleashed a stream of poisonous gas, and Wuying constricted its abdomen.

"Pfft!" A burst of Neijin shot out from Wuying's mouth. Wuying, who had always fled far away in every previous engagement, finally entered the fray for the first time, even taking a primary role.

Wuying’s Neijin and Shandian’s toxic mist were not something the spirit beast horse dared to dismiss easily, and it quickly dodged to the side. By this time, Zhang Yang had stabilized his body and could finally see the true appearance of the spirit beast horse before him.

The spirit beast horse was stunningly beautiful, especially its large eyes, though they now appeared exhausted and tinged with helplessness and despair. Above its eyes, there were two small, upright horns, not much larger than a thumb.

Looking at these tiny horns, Zhang Yang immediately realized his previous speculation was correct. This was indeed the Heavenly Horse, the spirit beast renowned for the fastest land speed under heaven.

Steadying himself, Zhang Yang slowly walked forward. Shandian and Wuying ceased their attack, watching the opposing Heavenly Horse warily.

Together, the three formed a triangle, sandwiching the horse in the center. Sensing Zhang Yang’s strength, the Heavenly Horse’s expression grew even more tragic.

It reared its head again and let out a cry, then rapidly charged toward Zhang Yang. The horse’s speed was indeed incredible, instantly exceeding Zhang Yang’s expectations.

Despite being prepared, he was still caught off guard as the Heavenly Horse closed the distance. Fortunately, this time he was not meeting the charge hastily.

Zhang Yang channeled all his Neijin into his palm, and his internal energy, freshly reinforced by the Essence-Blood Pill, continued to replenish rapidly. "Bang!" The horse's head collided with Zhang Yang again.

This time, Zhang Yang only retreated a few steps, unlike the previous twenty-meter flight. The Heavenly Horse did not retreat.

Seeing that it hadn't knocked its opponent down, it took another step forward, closing in on Zhang Yang, and opened its mouth to bite. While the Heavenly Horse was not specialized in brute strength, a bite from it would still be damaging.

Zhang Yang quickly bent his body, simultaneously driving his right fist toward the horse's head. "Bang!" The Heavenly Horse, mid-bite, failed to evade Zhang Yang’s punch and was struck squarely on the head, staggering back several steps.

After stumbling back a few paces, the Heavenly Horse suddenly bent its front legs, leaning its entire body forward, nearly collapsing onto the ground. It managed to brace itself and slowly rose again, but even standing, its body trembled incessantly, and it looked unsteady on its feet.

The Heavenly Horse let out a mournful neigh, its sound ringing out clearly, yet saturated with hopelessness. Furthermore, the horse's eyes now appeared somewhat glazed, and its head swayed slightly; its stance was no longer squarely facing Zhang Yang.

Judging by its appearance, the Heavenly Horse was utterly spent—a spent force, nearing collapse. "The boy has good luck indeed.

This is an adult Heavenly Horse; there must be a considerable amount of essence blood. The horse was poisoned first, so its resentment toward him won't be as great, and the essence blood will likely have a greater effect!" In the tall grass nearby, an old man sat watching, chuckling softly to himself.

He was situated far away, concealed within the grass, making him almost impossible to detect even if someone came close. No one would ever imagine that a Huajia old man was seated amidst this vast grassland.

"Thump!" After struggling for only a short while longer, the Heavenly Horse finally could hold on no more and collapsed heavily onto the ground. It tried desperately to push itself up again, but this time, it could not rise at all.

A patch of black mist rapidly spread across its face.