Huyan Ming was a sight of utter disarray; his hair was a tangled mess, several bruises marked his body, and one side of his robe was shredded, revealing streaks of crimson blood.

Zhang Daofeng alone could not have managed this, but with the addition of Zhuifeng and Wuying, the situation changed entirely; the two little ones had certainly caused him no end of trouble.

Zhuifeng, in particular, was frighteningly fast, its hooves struck with vicious force, and it had even equipped itself with extra weaponry—those white jade snake fangs were lethally sharp. Huyan Ming had been caught off guard and struck, those patches of blood stemming from where Zhuifeng had kicked him.

“Yangyang!”

“Old Ancestor!”

The two men who had stopped immediately shouted out together, then simultaneously bolted outward.

All thoughts of contention were gone; the welfare of the people they cared about most was dire.

Zhuifeng and Wuying ceased their pursuit of Huyan Ming and instead raced over to Zhang Yang’s side, the two small creatures deeply worried for him too.

“Old Ancestor, how are you!”

Huyan Ming seized Huyan Feng, anxiously scrutinizing him from head to toe, then glanced back towards Zhang Yang, intending to rise and carry Huyan Feng away.

“No need, I can hold on, not dying yet, ha ha!”

Huyan Feng suddenly shook his head and roared with laughter again, sounding utterly triumphant, as if he had just devoured honey.

He was indeed feeling an immense satisfaction; the Zhang family’s greatest hope—the prospect of reaching the Fifth Layer—had ultimately been crushed by his own hand. This feeling of personally destroying someone’s destiny sent a thrill from his soles straight to the crown of his head.

He had managed to strike Zhang Yang just moments ago, and Soul Devourer had taken hold; it had decimated a significant portion of Zhang Yang’s vitality.

When vitality is destroyed, the path to advancement is sealed—that was the horror of Soul Devourer.

“Old Ancestor, perhaps we should withdraw for a time?”

Huyan Ming still looked at him with deep concern, sending the message via telepathic transmission. He knew Zhang Yang had been struck, but Huyan Feng’s own condition was hardly stable.

“Withdraw? To where? I have revealed Soul Devourer today. If we had the protection of a Fifth Layer spirit beast, there might still be hope, but alas, our Huyan family has none. From this day forward, in this vast world, there will be no place left for the Huyan family to stand!”

As he spoke these words, Huyan Feng’s expression turned wistful.

The Huyan family lacked the fortune of the Hua or Zhang families; they had failed to form a bond with such a powerful spirit beast, making reliance on their protection an impossibility.

“What about Black Mountain Valley? They wouldn’t dare pursue us there. Black Mountain Valley is a place of no return; no one knows what lies inside, but perhaps we have a slim chance of survival!”

Huyan Ming gritted his teeth and offered another suggestion. Of the three great forbidden grounds, Black Mountain Valley was the most enigmatic. Even those at the Great Perfection stage who entered never returned; to this day, no one knew the true nature of what lay within.

“Black Mountain Valley?”

Huyan Feng’s eyes suddenly lit up, then just as quickly dimmed. He shook his head slightly: “If this were before today, perhaps there would be a possibility. But today, the chance is gone. Do you truly believe the Zhang family will simply allow us to leave?”

Huyan Ming paused slightly, then nodded silently.

The Old Ancestor was correct. The Zhang family was here for vengeance this time; there was no way they would let them go, especially since their own Elder had just wounded Zhang Yang.

The Zhang family might have fewer members, but their strength was terrifyingly absolute. If the Old Ancestor failed to hold on, the Huyan family was doomed to annihilation today.

“Huyan Feng, give up your life!”

A furious roar suddenly flashed through Huyan Ming’s ears; the sound alone made his head swim. Zhang Pinglu was throwing every ounce of his remaining power into the strike.

He was determined to slay Huyan Feng, regardless of the cost.

It was Huyan Feng who had destroyed the Zhang family’s greatest hope—the hope of reaching the Fifth Layer. Once a Fifth Layer expert emerged from their ranks, the family could secure another thousand years of stability. This wasn’t just about the expert’s age; it was about the vast accumulated wealth they would leave behind, riches that dwarfed those of other clans.

It was akin to the Shaolin Temple or the Wudang Sect; two experts at the Fifth Layer had allowed those two schools to remain unvanquished for millennia.

“Elder!”

Before Zhang Pinglu could complete his swing, an arm grabbed him. Zhang Pinglu froze, then immediately turned back.

Zhang Yang was facing him, slowly shaking his head, his complexion darkening. A faint pattern, resembling the eerie black threads on Huyan Feng’s face, was beginning to appear on his own.

This was the visible sign of having been afflicted by Soul Devourer.

In that direct clash, Zhang Yang had successfully crippled Huyan Feng, but he too had been struck, and much of his vital energy had been destroyed. The sensation of lost vitality was truly agonizing.

It felt as if the entire body had been suddenly compressed, then had a piece ripped out—a pain originating from the soul, an indescribable agony.

It had taken him a long time just to catch his breath, and even now, the memory of that sensation made him tremble. If he had to face that again, he would never choose to clash head-on with Huyan Feng; that living death was too terrible to endure.

“Let me handle this!”

Zhang Yang slowly stood up, speaking softly.

He did not understand much about Soul Devourer, nor was its danger imprinted in his mind as deeply as it was for Zhang Pinglu. It was like a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger. Zhang Yang knew being hit by Soul Devourer was serious, but he hadn't given it the full weight it deserved.

However, that did not mean he would passively allow Huyan Feng to use Soul Devourer to harm others.

Zhang Yang was still young; even if he couldn't advance further, he was not afraid. Currently, he was at the Initial Stage of the Fourth Layer, coupled with the Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique, making him a match for ordinary Mid-Stage Fourth Layer masters.

He also possessed the Holy Hand System, his grand cheat code. As long as he completed missions, his strength would rise. While his internal energy growth was sluggish, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique could develop rapidly.

His ability to materialize energy this time was, in fact, thanks to the Holy Hand System.

Before brewing medicine, Zhang Yang had suddenly received a new mission from the system. This was a standard Level Four task with an uncomplicated requirement: to brew a single, ultimate-grade Fire Dragon Pill.

The Zhang family classified their brewed elixirs into grades: Low-grade, Mid-grade, and High-grade. The best was Ultimate-grade. Generally, the higher the grade of the primary herb, the higher the resulting quality of the elixir.

Since the Fire Dragon Fruit was already a high-grade herb, and Zhang Yang possessed the Thousand-Year Jade Poria, he succeeded in brewing an Ultimate-grade Fire Dragon Pill on the second attempt, completing the mission.

Upon mission completion, the system automatically granted the Zhang family two points of enhancement value, one directed to Medical Arts and the other to the Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique.

In addition, Zhang Yang received four points of free attribute value. He allocated all four points to the Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique without hesitation, causing its value to break out of the single digits and soar significantly.

The Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique remained at its First Form, having not yet advanced, but it gained the crucial ability of energy materialization—this was the direct result of the mission.

It was precisely because of this development that Zhang Yang was so concerned about Huyan Feng’s Soul Devourer.

Even if he couldn't reach the next tier of cultivation, relying solely on the advancement of the Heaven-Shattering Sword Technique, he could still become an existence comparable to the Great Perfection masters. Zhang Yang was confident that once the Sword Technique advanced to its Second Form, he would no longer fear these Great Perfection experts. While he might not be able to defeat them completely, he would at least possess the raw strength to stand toe-to-toe with them.