Husen and Tunisha, still astride them, stared blankly into the distance, frozen by the scene they had just witnessed.

Tunisha understood that her grandfather had been right, perhaps even understated things. When the wind had bolted just now, she had only felt a swift current pass, and then the horse, Pursuit Wind, was gone from sight.

“Tunisha, quick! Let’s chase after them!”

Husen was the first to react, his face still etched with shock, though threaded now with a clear vein of excitement.

He couldn't gauge Pursuit Wind’s exact speed, but he knew it was astonishing, a pace unmatched by any other horse in the world. He had seen high-speed trains flash by, but none had given him the sensation he felt then.

At that moment, Pursuit Wind truly felt like it had taken flight.

Tunisha was now visibly tense, nodding mechanically. Together, they pulled the reins and started running in the direction the horse had vanished.

After running for over an hour, they arrived at a scene of utter devastation.

Husen and Tunisha stared with wide eyes at the countless craters before them. A vast expanse of grassland had been completely ruined, deeply scarred by great pits. The shallow ones were one or two meters deep, the deepest three or four—it looked as if a bombardment had taken place.

Husen dismounted, picked up a clod of soil from the ground, and brought it to his nose to smell.

It was fresh earth, clearly recently turned, still carrying a damp, sweet fragrance. The scent sent a shiver down his spine.

He was instantly reminded of the shadow that had followed them earlier.

A vivid image flashed in his mind: a man riding a white horse, pursued relentlessly, finally reaching a place where escape was impossible, where a fierce battle erupted. Everything before him was the aftermath of that fight.

The thought was absurd. Raised on materialism, he should never have entertained such notions.

Yet, recalling the white horse and the human silhouette he had witnessed with his own eyes, he could not dismiss the connection. Perhaps there truly were things in this world beyond their comprehension.

After standing there for only a moment, Husen led the young girl, Tunisha, away.

Later, the ranch supervisor came to survey the site, followed by government officials, and eventually, local military units. This massive area riddled with deep craters astonished countless people.

Such destructive power suggested explosives, yet the surrounding land showed no trace of scorching or even impact marks from shells.

No shells, and definitely not the work of excavators. In the end, the area was sealed off. Subsequently, the ranch supervisor sought out Husen, urging him never to speak of the incident.

Gradually, the story faded, surviving only as a whispered legend within the ranch’s confines.

Of course, these were mere footnotes. The two protagonists responsible for the chaos, Zhang Yang and Hu Yanfeng, were still in the midst of a frantic flight.

Lightning was tearing across the ground, exerting every ounce of its strength, holding nothing back. It knew perfectly well that failure to escape meant doom for them all today.

Zhang Yang fought through the pain, taking out an Immortal Fruit Pill and placing it in his mouth. While the Essence Blood Pills primarily restored inner energy, the Immortal Fruit Pill was superior for healing.

After swallowing his pill, Zhang Yang took out a fourth-tier Spirit Beast Essence Blood Pill and jammed it directly into Pursuit Wind’s mouth.

Giving the horse the spirit medicine would allow them to run faster. It felt wasteful, but their very lives depended on it now.

Forget one Essence Blood Pill; even ten, or all of them, would be given to Pursuit Wind if it meant escaping. If they failed to escape, their lives would end, rendering all resources useless.

Lightning and Shadow remained silent this time, feeling no jealousy toward Pursuit Wind. They both understood that their survival hinged entirely on that single horse.

The powerful energy mass doggedly followed behind them. After taking the Essence Blood Pill, Pursuit Wind mustered one hundred and twenty percent of its power just to maintain that slight gap, preventing the terrifying pursuer from closing in.

But maintaining it was all it could do; the horse was operating on pure depletion. Without the Essence Blood Pills Zhang Yang provided, it wouldn't even be capable of such sustained overexertion.

After taking the Immortal Fruit Pill, Zhang Yang’s injuries improved slightly; at least his breathing was less ragged.

Those few exchanges had nearly cost him his life. Given the choice, he would never willingly confront an expert at the Great Perfection of the Fourth Tier; such powerhouses were terrifying.

Zhang Yang swore inwardly: until he reached Great Perfection himself, he would never provoke these fearsome beings. Simultaneously, his desire for power grew stronger.

Until one truly stood at the pinnacle, at the absolute summit, there would always be those capable of bullying him.

“Running fast, are you? Let’s see how long you can keep that up!”

Hu Yanfeng, who was chasing them, spoke coldly under his breath. If Zhang Yang had heard that, he would have become even more unsettled.

When in full stride, Pursuit Wind made virtually no sound. The fact that Hu Yanfeng could speak at such velocity indicated that his power was far from exhausted. This was truly dangerous territory.

“Into the mountains, run into the mountains!”

Seeing a mountain range nearby, Zhang Yang suddenly thought this, directing the thought straight to Pursuit Wind.

Pursuit Wind’s expression clearly flickered in surprise, then understanding dawned.

However, it also displayed confusion. Entering the mountains meant treacherous paths, offering them no inherent advantage, as they didn't know the terrain. Hitting a cliff face suddenly would be disastrous.

Pursuit Wind was merely the fastest land spirit beast; it could not fly.

“Into the mountains, but don't go too deep. Run along the slopes; that terrain suits us better!”

Zhang Yang explained further. Pursuit Wind finally grasped his meaning: Zhang Yang wanted it to use the complex mountain topography to shake off Hu Yanfeng.

Once clear on the strategy, Pursuit Wind instantly altered its course and plunged into the hills.

Having grown up in the mountains, it was intimately familiar with the terrain. Unless they encountered a sheer drop or a dead end, absolutely no one could catch it in this environment.

As Pursuit Wind entered the mountains, Zhang Yang closed his eyes, seizing the time to recuperate.

It was a pity that Zhang Pinglu, the ancestor of the Zhang family, was nowhere to be found. This reality prevented Zhang Yang from fleeing toward Changjing. It wasn't the city itself; Zhang Yang knew that Hu Yanfeng, even joined by Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yun'an, would still be no match for him.

Leading Hu Yanfeng there would only spell disaster for the Zhang family.

He could only rely on himself now, on his own ability to escape this terrifying predicament.

Pursuit Wind plunged into the mountains without a set direction or destination. Seeing the horse enter the terrain, Hu Yanfeng, trailing behind, gave a cold snort and followed it in.

“If I weren’t concerned about summoning a Heavenly Tribulation by expending too much energy, I would have ended you on the spot before. But I wish to see just how far you can run!”

Hu Yanfeng murmured softly, his pace unwavering as he pursued rapidly.

As he ran, the energy of heaven and earth occasionally converged upon him. Though the accumulation periods were brief, each convergence replenished some of his inner energy, easily offsetting what was spent during the run.

Once inside the mountains, Zhang Yang’s condition eased slightly; half of his injuries had healed, the remaining half requiring quiet rest for full recovery.

Touching the Snow Lotus Root in his embrace, Zhang Yang felt only bitterness.

He had the cure for Zhang Keqin, yet he had stumbled upon such a fearsome foe. He hadn't discounted the idea of letting Lightning or Shadow take the Snow Lotus Root and flee separately, carrying the cure back to Changjing.

But he dared not take that gamble. Both Lightning and Shadow were far slower than Pursuit Wind. If Hu Yanfeng decided to pursue them first, a single strike would easily end their lives, and he would still be free to continue chasing Zhang Yang.

Splitting up now would be a terrible strategy.

Faced with absolute power, their only recourse was to stay together, truly sharing life and death.

However, simply running like this was unsustainable. Entering the mountains had merely halted the closing of the gap; they hadn't managed to shake the old man off. Pursuit Wind had no access to ambient heaven and earth energy for replenishment, relying solely on the medicinal power of the Essence Blood Pills.

At this rate of consumption, new pills would soon be needed. Pursuit Wind was completely burning out its reserves, relying on the spirit medicine to maintain itself.

Zhang Yang carried a decent supply of Essence Blood Pills, but they would eventually run out. Furthermore, they had no clear destination; if they hit a dead end, it would be absolute ruin.

Alas, even understanding this now, there was absolutely nothing they could do.

“Kunlun Mountains?”

After running for an indeterminate amount of time, and after feeding Pursuit Wind the third Essence Blood Pill, Zhang Yang suddenly whispered.

He recognized the mountain range they were currently traversing: the Kunlun Range.

Seeing the Kunlun Mountains, Zhang Yang immediately thought of the Long family; they too had guardians capable of standing against Hu Yanfeng.

But the thought lasted only a moment before Zhang Yang dismissed it.

Aside from Long Feng, his relationship with the rest of the Long family wasn't close enough for them to confront the Hu Yan ancestor on his behalf.

Moreover, judging by the way his own ancestor, Zhang Pinglu, addressed the Long family ancestor, their relationship was merely one of cooperation. The Long family ancestor needed Zhang Pinglu to help formulate his medicinal compounds.

Beyond that, there was nothing more.

Not to mention the incident that occurred at the Long family plains last time. Fleeing to the Long family now meant that if they refused to help, he would effectively be trapped there. That place was easy to enter but difficult to leave.

Having abandoned the idea of seeking refuge with the Long family, Zhang Yang couldn't help but sigh again.

“Jiji ji!”

Shadow suddenly became agitated. Zhang Yang’s recent thoughts had been transparent; both it and Lightning had sensed them.

The Long family was out; they held no positive impressions of them and strongly objected to the idea.

But Shadow then proposed a new location. Its cries gradually formed a place name in Zhang Yang’s mind—a place Zhang Yang knew well and had visited before.

A look of surprise crossed Zhang Yang’s face again. He looked down at Shadow nestled in his arms; Shadow nodded firmly at him.

“Good, we go there. Shadow, you guide Pursuit Wind!”

Zhang Yang communicated silently. Shadow immediately climbed onto Pursuit Wind’s back and finally burrowed into its ear.

Pursuit Wind paused slightly, but then immediately resumed its run. That brief hesitation allowed Hu Yanfeng to close the distance significantly.

However, Zhang Yang no longer cared much. His entire focus was on the place Shadow had named; perhaps only there could they find salvation.

The place name Shadow had indicated contained only three characters: Yinlong Mountain ().