This time, there was not a shred of worry left; the Snow Lotus Root was secured. At the speed of his mount, Zhui Feng, he could rendezvous with Long Feng in Bash County that very afternoon. At most, two days, and they would be home, ready to concoct the spiritual medicine to detoxify Zhang Keqin. Once the poison was gone, all of Zhang Keqin’s crises would be averted. In this moment, Zhang Yang finally, truly relaxed.

“Spiritual Beast Heavenly Steed!”

From a great distance, standing on a branch, the old man’s eyes flashed with a cold glint, and he murmured the words softly. A smile suddenly returned to his face, but the coldness in his eyes intensified. His gaze remained locked on the tiny white dot in the distance. “I never expected him to come here. Ah Xin, Heaven demands vengeance for you!” The old man whispered, and before his voice faded, his figure vanished into the distance, leaving only a faint shadow in the mountains, which quickly disappeared entirely.

If Zhang Yang had witnessed this, he would have been utterly stunned. This person’s speed was not inferior to Zhui Feng’s. One must remember that even Zhang Yang, whose speed rivaled that of a late Fourth Layer expert, could not match Zhui Feng. The fastest land spiritual beast was certainly worthy of its reputation.

At this time, Zhang Yang was unaware that he was being tracked. He was in high spirits, allowing Zhui Feng to unleash its speed as they rushed back. It wasn’t long before they descended Ba Wang Peak and reached the foot of Mount Tian.

Down the mountain, Zhui Feng slowed its pace slightly, frequently glancing back at the white snowy summit. Mount Tian. This was where it had lived since it was young. Unfortunately, this trip had been rushed, and so was their departure. It understood that Zhang Yang had come here for something crucial before rushing back to save someone, so they couldn't linger. Otherwise, it would have taken Zhang Yang to the places it used to play when it was young, showing Zhang Yang and Shan Dian their homeland. Zhang Yang did not urge Shan Dian; now that the Snow Lotus Root was secured, his heart was at ease. He wasn't in such a frantic hurry anymore. Zhang Yang let Zhui Feng walk slowly at the foot of the mountain, while he closed his eyes, savoring the refreshing, cool breeze. It was a spring breeze; it was indeed spring now. Yet, the weather at the base of Mount Tian remained somewhat cold. However, this coldness did not bother Zhang Yang; instead, it gave him a comfortable coolness. When one’s mood is good, they tend to find the positive aspects of any environment.

Zhui Feng was walking when it suddenly stopped, its beautiful eyes looking ahead with a touch of confusion. Ahead was a patch of low grassland, and in the middle of it sat a large rock where an old man was seated, holding an unknown little wildflower in his hand. He was watching them. The old man appeared to be around eighty, with white hair and a matching beard, his back slightly hunched, his aged eyes looking blurry. He wore a very plain, gray long robe—a style reminiscent of the Republican era, looking quite peculiar. After Zhui Feng stopped, Zhang Yang also noticed the elder. After just one glance, Zhang Yang’s eyes tightened slightly, and he raised all his inner energy, maintaining a tense vigilance. This elder looked exceedingly ordinary. If seen in the city, Zhang Yang would not have paid him any mind, treating him as just another old man. But here, in a place where human habitation was absent for at least dozens of miles in every direction, the sudden appearance of such a figure was inherently eerie. What caught Zhang Yang’s attention most was that the elder wore only the thin gray long robe. Although it was spring, the temperature at the foot of Mount Tian still hovered around freezing. In such cold, a normal person wearing such attire could not last long, let alone an elderly man past his seventies.

After observing the elder for a while, Zhang Yang slowly spoke, “Elder, what are you doing here all alone? Do you live nearby?” This elder instinctively made Zhang Yang feel something was amiss, yet no matter how he scrutinized him, the man looked like an ordinary person, utterly devoid of any internal energy presence.

“Yes!” The elder looked up, his eyes still somewhat clouded, and nodded slowly. Zhang Yang’s brow twitched again, and he carefully examined the elder’s clothing once more: a very thin gray robe and ordinary cloth shoes. This attire would be acceptable in summer, and it was plausible for an old man to prefer antique clothing, but here at the cold foot of Mount Tian, where the temperature barely reached zero even at noon, wearing such clothes felt profoundly bizarre.

“Elder, where is your home? Would you like me to escort you back?” Doubt churning within him, Zhang Yang asked again. The elder suddenly started to chuckle, a smile that sent a chill down Zhang Yang’s spine. “My home is right there. Do you truly mean to take me back?” The old man extended a withered finger and pointed behind Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang turned, and his face immediately changed, paling slightly. The spot the elder indicated was precisely Ba Wang Peak, which he had just descended.

“Elder, may I ask your honorable name?” Zhang Yang inquired again, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of the Cold Spring Sword. Shan Dian, nestled in Zhang Yang’s arms, also emerged, displaying a watchful alertness. Wu Ying and Zhui Feng were similarly tense; they all sensed that something was wrong. “My surname is not high, and my given name is not grand. My name hasn't been spoken in a long time. I recall it being, called—Huyan Feng. Yes, Huyan Feng. It truly brings back memories; it’s been at least a century since anyone called me by that name!” The elder looked upward, speaking slowly, a hint of nostalgia in his tone.

Zhang Yang’s heart hammered like a heavy weight. His face remained shocked, his hand gripping the hilt of the Cold Spring Sword tightly. Huyan Feng. This was the first time Zhang Yang had heard that name, but merely hearing the surname Huyan confirmed his suspicion: he had run into trouble. It was impossible for anyone from the Huyan family, from the First Layer up to the late Fourth Layer, to conceal their cultivation from him. The elder also mentioned his name hadn't been spoken in over a century, implying he had lived for at least a hundred years. In the entire Huyan clan, there was seemingly only one person who could be so powerful that Zhang Yang couldn't discern his cultivation, and who had lived this long. A bitterness welled up in Zhang Yang’s heart. He didn't know when this old fellow had noticed him, but his luck was terrible. There was only one person in the entire Huyan family he truly needed to guard against, and he had encountered that very person.

“Little fellow, you are only twenty-one, aren't you? Twenty-one years old, yet at the peak of the early Fourth Layer. At your age, even the Patriarch Bodhidharma of yesteryear, or the Grand Ancestor Sanfeng, could not compare. What fortune, what luck!” Elder Huyan Feng continued to speak cheerfully, but Zhang Yang felt a chilling intent beneath his words. The current Zhang Yang was not the same as before. He knew exactly who the two figures Huyan Feng mentioned were. Patriarch Bodhidharma was a rarely seen expert who reached the Fifth Layer in history, a founding master who established the Shaolin school. Grand Ancestor Sanfeng was the legendary founder of Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng. Legend in the inner energy cultivation world claims that Zhang Sanfeng broke through to the Fifth Layer after turning one hundred, becoming an existence supreme between Heaven and Earth. Both were true Fifth Layer powerhouses. By comparing them to Zhang Yang, Huyan Feng was essentially asserting that Zhang Yang possessed the potential to rival those two in the future, capable of breaking through to the Fifth Layer and becoming the most powerful being. This was a compliment, but hearing it at this moment made Zhang Yang profoundly uneasy.

“Senior, you flatter me!” Zhang Yang spoke quietly, finally realizing why he felt something was wrong. This elder looked too ordinary. It was just like when he first saw his own ancestor, Zhang Pinglu; if his identity hadn't been revealed, he would have seemed like a common person. At this moment, Zhang Yang understood that Huyan Feng was the guardian of the Huyan family, the one who had reached the Great Perfection stage of the Fourth Layer. Huyan Feng suddenly smiled and spoke directly, “Whether it’s flattery or not, I know clearly. Back then, when they said Ah Xin died, I didn't believe it. When they said he died at the hands of a twenty-year-old child, I believed it even less. But now, I believe it!” His tone suddenly turned icy as he spoke, making the very air around them seem to chill. The Ah Xin he mentioned was Huyan Xin, the Huyan elder killed by Zhang Yang. One thing even the Huyan family didn't know: Huyan Xin was his great-grandson, the highest-cultivated among all his later descendants. The sudden shift sent a jolt through Zhang Yang’s heart. Without hesitation, Zhang Yang slammed a hand onto Zhui Feng’s head. Zhui Feng immediately pivoted halfway around and bolted in the opposite direction. Zhang Yang had witnessed the terror of the Great Perfection stage on the plains of the Long family. There, an early Fourth Layer elder of the Li family was repelled and injured merely by a shout from Zhang Pinglu. That was when Zhang Yang realized that the Great Perfection stage was far beyond that of ordinary Fourth Layer experts.

“Boom!” Scarcely had Zhui Feng fled the spot where they stood when a massive crater erupted there. Zhang Yang snapped his head back in horror. He felt the residual energy from that attack—an immensely powerful surge. This was the outward projection of inner energy from a Great Perfection Fourth Layer expert, its destructive power hundreds of times greater than that of an ordinary Fourth Layer powerhouse. The inner energy Zhang Yang released could snap large trees or shatter boulders, but it absolutely could not create a pit like this. It was the exact crater left after a cannonball explosion—deep and vast. Seeing Huyan Feng attack without so much as a greeting, Zhang Yang urged Zhui Feng onward, running faster. Fortunately, the terrain here was flat, ideal for Zhui Feng to maximize its speed. This old wretch! To use a sneak attack as a guardian—truly shameless.

“Trying to run? Even with a Spiritual Beast Heavenly Steed, you won’t escape!” Huyan Feng’s strike missed its mark, and Zhang Yang and Zhui Feng were already reduced to a distant white speck. He let out a cold laugh, his own body transforming into a gray streak as he rapidly gave chase. From a distance, his speed was in no way slower than Zhui Feng’s; in fact, he seemed slightly faster. As he sprinted, Huyan Feng’s powerful energy was completely unrestrained. Feeling this approaching wave of power from behind, Zhang Yang’s expression shifted again. Without needing instruction, Zhui Feng spread its hooves and accelerated once more. Zhui Feng was intelligent, fully aware of the old monster’s terrifying capability, now exerting every ounce of its strength, heedless of direction, simply focused on escaping first. One white, one gray—the two figures soon vanished together. First chapter of the New Year; there will be another before midnight! RS