This stand, erected temporarily to secure the carcass of the King Cobra, was utterly crude, constructed entirely of wood. Now that the massive snake was gone, only the hollow frame remained.
Traces of the King Cobra’s body still clung to the wooden structure.
Long Cheng, wearing gloves, examined it slowly. Soon, his brow furrowed deeply.
Beside him stood Chang Feng, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.
Chang Feng, being ex-police, grasped the problem quickly.
The King Cobra was enormous; they had all seen it with their own eyes. Something of that size moving away was bound to leave evidence—perhaps friction marks on the wood of the stand, stray pieces of viscera left elsewhere, or scuff marks against the frame.
Yet, every part of the stand looked exactly as it had when the body was secured, nothing else visible.
This was deeply perplexing.
Long Cheng had noticed it too. They exchanged a look, astonishment coloring their eyes.
Such a feat was not impossible, but the method required to achieve it was chilling, which explained their reaction.
Leaving absolutely no trace meant only one thing: the giant python’s corpse had been lifted directly from the middle, seized with immense, yet delicate, force and hoisted into the air, thus avoiding imprinting the stand.
This was a massive python, over ten meters long. No human could casually lift something of that magnitude unless they used a crane.
They were at the edge of the Savage Mountain. Setting aside the lack of cranes, even if one had been available, it couldn't have been done without alerting the many people stationed here at the time.
While the King Cobra corpse remained, many guards were posted around this very spot.
Chang Feng struggled to comprehend it, but Long Cheng’s thoughts raced further.
He had initially suspected an Inner Strength practitioner, but now that suspicion was wavering.
Inner Strength practitioners possessed great power, enough indeed to remove such a colossal python without machinery, but they couldn't do it without leaving some trace. At the very least, removing the snake from the stand should have caused friction marks.
Clearly, that wasn't the case here. Human cultivators, even those at the Fourth Layer, could not simply lift a python of this size straight into the air—unless they kicked it up. But even that would leave marks, certainly not the pristine condition before them.
Not human? Could it be a Spirit Beast?
Long Cheng shivered violently. He was, admittedly, very astute. Zhang Yang had sensed something wrong by observing environmental differences; Long Cheng focused on minute details.
“You watch this spot for a moment, I’m going over there!”
Long Cheng said to Chang Feng before hurrying toward Zhang Yang’s location. Zhang Yang had not approached the stand; instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the distance.
More precisely, he was looking deep into the heart of the Savage Mountain.
“Zhang Yang, I sense something deeply wrong, too bizarre. The python remains were not taken by ordinary means. It might not have been human!”
Long Cheng whispered, casting a frightened glance toward Zhang Yang as he spoke.
If it wasn't human, regardless of the Spirit Beast type, he knew he would be no match. He was acutely aware of how formidable Spirit Beasts were, and his own cultivation was too low.
Zhang Yang turned back, casting a slightly surprised look at Long Cheng. After a moment, he nodded. “A Spirit Beast has been here. A very powerful one!”
A Spirit Beast had visited. Zhang Yang was certain. Though the residual aura left by the beast was faint, it could not escape the senses of Shadowless.
Zhang Yang wasn't sure exactly how powerful this Spirit Beast was, but he could confidently assert that it was no lower than the Fourth Layer, though it had not broken through to the Fifth.
If it had broken through to the Fifth Layer, it wouldn't have left behind an energy fluctuation that Zhang Yang could detect; it wouldn't need to appear in person, a mere energy projection could have spirited away the King Cobra carcass.
“It really was a Spirit Beast!”
Long Cheng’s eyes widened. He had no doubt about Zhang Yang’s words; he knew Zhang Yang was far stronger than himself.
The realization that a Spirit Beast had taken the python’s body sent a chill down Long Cheng’s spine. He glanced back at Town Mayor Wang and the others standing nearby.
A Spirit Beast had been here, and these people were unharmed—truly lucky.
However, knowing a Spirit Beast was responsible for the missing corpse instantly extinguished Long Cheng’s curiosity. This matter lay far beyond his purview to question further.
As he pondered this, Long Cheng looked up again. The two men with cameras had approached them.
“Gentlemen, your horses are magnificent. They don't look like European breeds; are they our local Mongolian horses?”
One of the men, appearing to be in his mid-thirties, spoke with a cheerful smile. As he talked, he raised his camera and snapped a picture of Zhui Feng.
Zhang Yang noticed the device—it was the latest digital camera, expensive, and not yet available for purchase domestically.
“I apologize, but please delete that photo. Zhui Feng dislikes being photographed!”
Zhang Yang shook his head gently. Fortunately, the man's camera lacked a flash; if Zhui Feng didn't know what the device was, there was no telling what the horse might do.
“Zhui Feng?”
The man holding the camera paused momentarily, then understood immediately. He nodded with a smile. “I see. My apologies, we were reckless. I’ll delete the photo right away!”
The man genuinely began manipulating the camera. Zhang Yang watched as he successfully deleted the image on the camera, which operated entirely in English.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yan Yefei, from Jinxi Province. I currently serve as the President of the Jinxi Supernatural Abilities Research Association!”
After deleting the photo, the middle-aged man extended his hand to Zhang Yang.
“Supernatural Abilities Research?”
Zhang Yang shook his hand, looking slightly surprised. The name was certainly novel.
The man smiled faintly and explained softly, “We believe that certain supernatural abilities exist in the human world—things like souls, extraterrestrials, or perhaps demons and monsters. Our association primarily researches these phenomena!”
Finishing, he glanced at Zhang Yang and chuckled, “Does this sound incredible? Do you think we’re lunatics, or just insane?”
“Not at all, just curious. How is your research progressing?”
Zhang Yang smiled and shook his head. A Supernatural Research Association—he had heard of such groups in his previous life, but never expected to encounter them now.
Essentially, these people believed in the existence of gods, demons, and ghosts; they believed in the afterlife or the existence of aliens. They believed in many things, grouping them all under the umbrella of supernatural phenomena.
Beyond these, special abilities and even Inner Strength cultivators were subjects of their study. Anything beyond common understanding fell into their research scope.
Of course, this field was divided into subcategories: the UFO Association, which only believed in extraterrestrials; the Paranormal Association; the Special Abilities Association, and so on.
“It’s hard to explain. We have some research findings, but regrettably, not enough concrete evidence to prove them,” Yan Yefei said, shaking his head with a wry smile. Many people asked the same question Zhang Yang had when they learned his title.
They knew most people disbelieved them, but their own conviction was enough.
Glancing back, Yan Yefei continued, “Take this recent incident with the python carcass, for example. Most people just saw a massive snake, larger than any known python in the world, but we observed many anomalies.”
“Firstly, a python of this size has never appeared before. How did it grow so large, and what classification does it belong to? That’s a mystery. Secondly, how did it die? Why is only half a skeletal remnant left, and where did the other half go? Furthermore, its skin is gone. Was the hide deliberately peeled off, or did it simply dissolve?”
Yan Yefei didn't stop. “That’s just a fraction of our findings. From the moment I first saw photographs of this giant python, I had a feeling it wasn't just an ordinary animal, and it must have been killed by someone—certainly not an average person!”
“You’re saying this massive snake was murdered?”
Zhang Yang finally interjected, and Long Cheng instinctively glanced at him.
Yan Yefei seemed slightly excited, nodding emphatically before continuing, “I saw the newspaper report on the python the very first day. I even tracked down the reporter and bought many photos from him. Let me show you!”
The man beside Yan Yefei immediately retrieved a bag and produced several photos.
These were color photographs, unlike the black-and-white versions in the newspapers.
Yan Yefei picked out a photo of the python’s head. Since the snake had been buried for so long, the remaining eye had decayed, making it look less terrifying.
“Look here. There are clear signs of cutting marks. And here, and here, and on the head too. These marks are subtle, but I had them examined by an expert. They are indeed knife marks!”
Yan Yefei pointed to various areas on the photo while speaking softly. Zhang Yang’s eyes widened further as he looked.
These were precisely the injuries he had inflicted upon the King Cobra; they were indeed knife wounds.
“And look here. Did you notice this spot? The mark is light, but I suspect it’s a gunshot wound!”
Yan Yefei pointed to another spot, this time near the python’s mouth, which had indeed been hit by a hunting rifle.
“Because of this suspicion, I came to the Savage Mountain long ago and searched the interior thoroughly. In the end, I found these!”
Yan Yefei pulled two bags from his satchel. Zhang Yang’s vision sharpened, and he became even more astonished.
What Yan Yefei presented this time were two spent shell casings and half a blade fragment.
Those two casings were from the very hunting rifles they had used previously. As for the blade fragment, it was a piece broken off the short knife Zhang Yang had carried out last time. He hadn't expected it to be recovered here in the forest.
Long Cheng also noticed these items, especially the two shell casings.
He glanced unnaturally at Zhang Yang again. Now, he was completely certain that Zhang Yang had been the one to kill the giant python last time. But for Zhang Yang, accomplishing this wasn't difficult, given that he was now a Fourth Layer expert—the pinnacle of human cultivators.
Unaware of the existence of Fifth Layer experts, Long Cheng considered the Fourth Layer the absolute apex of human capability.