Lightning quickly bounded over, and Wuying hesitated for a brief moment before also scampering to the downed Heavenly Horse. Both little creatures stared at the spirit beast lying lifelessly on the ground, completely drained of strength.

"Poisoned?"

Zhang Yang approached and paused when he saw the uncontrollable black mist emanating from the horse's head, before nodding slowly.

He had already suspected that the Heavenly Horse was injured and affected by something, otherwise, it couldn't have been caught by those poachers, nor could he have caught up to it himself.

Zhang Yang had witnessed the speed of this Heavenly Horse with his own eyes.

It had been poisoned, which now explained everything. It had needed to suppress the toxicity within its body previously, preventing it from running at full capacity, which is why the poachers were able to follow it.

With its power, dealing with those poachers would have been no problem at all.

But Zhang Yang’s unexpected appearance made it feel a crisis. It stopped suppressing the poison and fled with all its might.

However, the moment it ran, the poison acted up more fiercely, forcing it to stop periodically to suppress the toxins and prevent immediate collapse.

This was the reason for its stop-start running pattern. If it could have maintained a full run, this peerless spirit beast, the fastest in the world, would have vanished long ago; even if Zhang Yang had doubled his speed, he wouldn't have caught up.

With the exertion of the chase, the poison became increasingly uncontrollable, compelling it to turn back and fight Zhang Yang desperately.

Unfortunately, by then, it was already on the verge of collapse; it couldn't even put up a decent fight. After clashing with Zhang Yang, it finally lost control, and the poison took over, causing it to fall.

With the suppression gone, the toxins spread rapidly, leading to the black mist appearing on its face and pushing it to the brink of death.

These were Zhang Yang's speculations, yet they were very close to the truth: the Heavenly Horse truly couldn't utilize its natural abilities because it was focused on suppressing the poison; otherwise, Zhang Yang would never have had this opportunity.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Both Lightning and Wuying began crying out. Zhang Yang was stunned again; these two little ones actually wanted him to save the Heavenly Horse first.

The two little ones hadn't overthought the situation. Faced with an injured, poisoned, and immobile spirit beast, they only felt pity. Moreover, this spirit beast had not harmed them.

This was characteristic of their kind nature, whether towards the Spirit Ape or now towards the Heavenly Horse.

Even the Golden Crown Python that had nearly devoured them—after the python died, they had insisted on burying its body so other animals couldn't defile it.

"Let me take a look first!"

Zhang Yang didn't immediately agree; instead, he bent down to examine the horse.

His medical skills were profound, and treating general poisoning should be manageable. But this was a spirit beast. Whatever could poison a spirit beast so severely couldn't be an ordinary toxin.

"Golden Crown Python venom?"

After checking for a while, Zhang Yang cried out suddenly. He hadn't expected the Heavenly Horse to be afflicted by Golden Crown Python poison.

Zhang Yang was somewhat familiar with the venom of the Golden Crown Python; they had even killed a Five-Crowned Golden Crown Python before.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Upon hearing that the Heavenly Horse was poisoned by the Golden Crown Python, Lightning cried out even louder. It was communicating that the Golden Crown Python was their enemy, and the enemy of their enemy was a friend.

It was unclear how Lightning grasped such a complex concept, but that was the meaning it was currently conveying.

"I'll try something,"

Zhang Yang nodded slowly. If it were any other poison, he might be helpless—venoms from beastly creatures were notoriously difficult to counteract. But he did have a specific method for Golden Crown Python poison.

Mainly because he had killed one and obtained its venom sac, resolving the poisoning wasn't impossible.

Taking out silver needles, Zhang Yang first pierced a few spots on the horse's head and belly, then flicked the needles.

He was using the silver needles to first protect the spirit beast's brain and heart, preventing the poison from reaching these vital areas. If the toxin invaded the heart meridian, even his high medical skills would be useless.

After this preparation, Zhang Yang carefully collected some saliva from Lightning.

Since Lightning had consumed a Golden Crown Python venom sac, its own venom carried a slight characteristic of the Golden Crown Python's poison. Its saliva offered some antitoxic effect against that specific venom.

Having done this, Zhang Yang cautiously monitored the Heavenly Horse's condition.

The black mist on the horse's face had somewhat receded, but it hadn't completely vanished. It had struggled to open its eyes just now but ultimately failed.

"Still not working. Wuying, bite it!"

Zhang Yang shook his head. Wuying immediately leaped onto the Heavenly Horse and bit a vulnerable spot.

Spirit beasts generally possessed extremely tough hides, skin that even conventional bullets couldn't penetrate. Wuying chose the thinnest point: the ear.

After Wuying bit, the black mist on the Heavenly Horse's face rapidly dissipated. It finally managed to open its eyes, but its expression showed no significant improvement.

It was poisoned too deeply. Even Wuying's bite couldn't save it immediately; its current state was different from Long Feng's situation back then.

Long Feng had also been poisoned by the Golden Crown Python, but the exposure time was short, and the poisoning shallow. This Heavenly Horse had been poisoned for at least ten days, suppressing it continuously until it could no longer hold back, resulting in the toxic eruption.

To suppress the Golden Crown Python venom for that long was a testament to the Heavenly Horse's resilience.

"Still no good,"

Zhang Yang shook his head. Wuying had helped neutralize a significant amount of the poison, but the depth of the affliction was too great; relying solely on Wuying's bite couldn't save its life.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

The two little ones cried out again. Lightning sat before Zhang Yang, adopting a posture of supplication.

It was begging Zhang Yang, imploring him to save the spirit horse no matter what.

Wuying didn't adopt the same posture, but its meaning was similar. Zhang Yang felt a degree of helplessness concerning these two little creatures.

"Let me try one more thing,"

Zhang Yang gently shook his head and took out a Celestial Fruit Pill from his canvas bag. Wuying's medicinal strength was insufficient; he needed to supplement it with other spiritual medicines.

The Celestial Fruit Pill was compounded from the Three-Colored Fruit and possessed excellent detoxifying effects, though Zhang Yang wasn't completely confident in its success now; he could only try.

The Celestial Fruit Pill was administered orally to the Heavenly Horse. Its eyes opened again. Although it couldn't move, it was aware of everything happening externally, and a trace of confusion flickered in its beautiful eyes.

Generally, internal energy cultivators who managed to catch a spirit beast like them would surely kill it for its vital essence blood or use parts of it to forge divine weapons.

Its confusion was short-lived as a massive surge of energy began to build inside. After Wuying's bite, Zhang Yang's acupuncture, and the use of Lightning's saliva, the Heavenly Horse's poison was more than half neutralized. The potent medicinal power of the Celestial Fruit Pill immediately purged the remaining toxins.

With the poison gone, its body began to recover, and aided by the spiritual medicine, the healing was swift.

"Hiss~"

With a neigh, the Heavenly Horse suddenly stood up. The look of utter despair was gone from its face, and its spirit was much improved.

The moment the Heavenly Horse stood, Zhang Yang's heart clenched. The poison was cured, its strength returning; if it decided to flee now, chasing it down would be incredibly difficult.

This meant that not only had he gained nothing from chasing the spirit beast, but he had also wasted a precious spiritual medicine—a significant loss.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Lightning and Wuying immediately positioned themselves beside Zhang Yang, barking loudly. As the Heavenly Horse recovered, the two little ones watched the spirit beast with vigilance.

"Forget it. It seems fate wasn't ready for you to die. Be more careful in the future, and don't show yourself in populated areas. This isn't a place for you,"

Zhang Yang stood up, letting out a soft sigh. He had felt regret moments before, but now he had come to terms with it.

This Heavenly Horse wasn't a vicious spirit beast like the Golden Crown Python. It had only destroyed vehicles earlier and hadn't harmed anyone, suggesting it disliked slaughter. Zhang Yang found it difficult to harm such a creature.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Horse was exceedingly rare, having not appeared for many years; killing it would be a shame.

There was one more factor: the Heavenly Horse wasn't a power-type spirit beast. Typically, power-type spirit beasts held the most vital essence blood. If this Heavenly Horse lacked that, killing it would be an even greater loss. Releasing it was better; at least, he couldn't bring himself to harm such a beautiful spirit beast.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Lightning and Wuying also chirped, conveying Zhang Yang's message to the Heavenly Horse.

Communication between spirit beasts was much easier than between humans and them. The Heavenly Horse quickly understood what the two little ones were saying, though it remained somewhat bewildered.

The Heavenly Horse looked suspiciously at Zhang Yang, then at Lightning and Wuying.

By now, the Heavenly Horse's spirit was rapidly improving. It felt the dissipation of the toxins and the immense medicinal power flowing from the spiritual drug. Coupled with Wuying's earlier bite, it was practically at its peak condition.

At this moment, if it chose to run, no one could catch it, not even a top master at the Fourth Layer of Internal Energy.

With its worries removed, the Heavenly Horse did not leave. Instead, it remained there, staring continuously at Zhang Yang, and then at Lightning and Wuying.

"Idiot! I guarantee this Heavenly Horse has vital essence blood. To not take the blood and waste a spiritual medicine—this brat is infuriating me!"

From the nearby thicket, an old man cursed angrily. He almost stood up right then to confront Zhang Yang and lecture him properly.

"Forget it. Let him do as he wishes. This is good too; it proves he isn't a greedy little whelp. Vital Essence Pills, Celestial Fruit Pills—this kid is certainly wealthy!"

After a while, the old man lowered his head again, muttering to himself, nodding in silent approval.

The moment he cursed out loud in anger, the Heavenly Horse abruptly turned its head and glanced in his direction, and even Wuying stiffened its posture.

Spirit beasts' senses far surpassed those of humans. When the old man shouted, his emotions carried a slight fluctuation, which both spirit beasts detected.

"Hiss!"

The Heavenly Horse suddenly cried out toward Zhang Yang, walking directly to his side. Its expression conveyed anxiety and fear.

Zhang Yang was briefly stunned, then immediately understood the Heavenly Horse's intent.

Lightning leaped onto Zhang Yang, and Wuying burrowed into the canvas bag. Without hesitation, Zhang Yang swung up and landed squarely on the Heavenly Horse's back, mounting it directly.

Before Zhang Yang was fully seated, the Heavenly Horse's four hooves struck out, and the next instant, it appeared far away, moving with a speed like light, leaving afterimages in its wake.

In moments, the man and the horse vanished toward the horizon, seen no more.