Glancing back at Chase Wind and Lightning Shadowless, Long Cheng said directly, "You must be extra careful about your safety. If you run into any trouble, come back immediately!"

With Chase Wind around, he was confident that even if Zhang Yang encountered a powerful enemy, self-preservation wouldn't be an issue.

Although Zhang Yang was only at the first level of Inner Strength, he had been to the Long family headquarters and acquired a vast amount of knowledge there. Especially since Chase Wind had displayed its prowess on the Long family plains, Long Cheng knew how swift Chase Wind was.

With such a spirit beast accompanying him, maintaining an almost invincible position was virtually guaranteed.

That was why he spoke that way; Zhang Yang's strength far surpassed his own, and with the aid of three great spirit beasts, he could probably swagger through the Savage Mountain without a care.

Of course, if he had seen yesterday's parrot, he probably wouldn't have said that.

"Alright then, tell them for me; I won't bid them farewell individually!"

Zhang Yang nodded, and as soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left. Chase Wind followed slowly behind, while Shadowless and Lightning rode on Chase Wind's back.

The reason for not saying goodbye to everyone was that Su Zhantao, Li Ya, and Wang Chen were all troublesome individuals.

If they knew he was heading into the deep mountains, they would undoubtedly insist on accompanying him immediately.

Zhang Yang was entering the deep mountains for tempering and training; naturally, he couldn't bring these people along. He could only let Long Cheng inform them while he slipped away first.

Zhang Yang's concern was not unfounded. After Long Cheng returned and announced that Zhang Yang had departed and that everyone else should return to the town to wait, the group promptly erupted.

Su Zhantao immediately grabbed a hunting rifle and started shouting that he was going to find Zhang Yang.

Li Ya and Wang Chen were also shouting alongside him; even Chang Feng and Wu Zhiguo joined the commotion, saying they shouldn't let Zhang Yang leave alone, and that they should set out immediately to bring him back.

In the end, Long Cheng berated them all.

Long Cheng still held considerable authority among this group; even Li Ya and Wang Chen did not dare to disobey him. Since Long Cheng was backing Zhang Yang, no one could really object, and they could only stand there sullenly.

Only the newly joined Yan Yefei kept sneaking glances in the direction of the deep mountains.

He now had a new understanding of Zhang Yang, knowing that Zhang Yang was a very powerful Inner Strength cultivator who could even slay such a massive python, meaning ordinary fierce beasts posed no threat to him—not to mention Chase Wind, which was the 'Horse God' spoken of in the Weijiang region, where legends of the Horse God were widespread.

With them together, Yan Yefei believed they would be fine. Among all these people, he was the most at ease about Zhang Yang, second only to Long Cheng.

Even Su Zhantao felt a slight worry knowing Zhang Yang was entering the mountains, as he didn't know Zhang Yang's true strength.

After they had gone a good distance, Zhang Yang finally swung onto the horse, settling onto Chase Wind's back, and quickly headed toward the deep mountains.

Unlike other continuous, elongated mountain ranges, Savage Mountain was shaped like a perfect square and was the largest primeval mountain range within a radius of several thousand li.

The place Zhang Yang entered was merely one entry point.

The deeper they went, the larger and thicker the trees became. These trees in the primeval mountains had grown for unknown ages and had become incredibly hard.

On the ground and among the branches, small creatures like lizards and venomous snakes occasionally darted out.

These creatures were startled into motion, but none dared to jump onto Zhang Yang and his companions. With the slightest disturbance, whether it was Chase Wind or Lightning releasing a mere wisp of spirit beast pressure, these small animals would be scared senseless.

The difference in rank was too vast, just as Zhang Yang could make ordinary people crawl on the ground without moving simply by exerting his pressure.

As for the highly venomous snakes that leaped out, they were simply unlucky.

Zhang Yang had a pouch and collected all these venomous snakes; Lightning even had one clenched in its mouth, chewing with evident relish.

Back in Changjing, Lightning had always eaten fed venomous snakes brought by a regular delivery.

Fed snakes, of course, couldn't compare to these purely wild ones, especially those grown in a primeval forest.

In a short time, Lightning had consumed three snakes, even more than its usual intake.

"Jee-jee-jee!"

After traveling perhaps two or three li, Shadowless suddenly chirped and leaped off Chase Wind.

Chase Wind immediately picked up speed. Having been together for so many days, they shared an implicit coordination; Chase Wind clearly understood what Shadowless meant.

Shadowless had found something good again, or it wouldn't be acting this way.

"Earth Dragon Fruit?"

After running over a thousand meters, in a corner of a cliff face, Zhang Yang unexpectedly spotted a small fruit.

This fruit was inconspicuous and very small; if not for Shadowless, even someone passing by would have missed it, mistaking it for the most common wild fruit.

There were simply too many such wild fruits in the mountains.

"What a pity!"

After leaning close to examine it carefully, Zhang Yang shook his head and slowly stood up.

The Earth Dragon Fruit was a decent medicinal herb, but this specimen was too young, perhaps only around three hundred years old. Furthermore, its fruit wasn't a true fruit; it just looked that way.

A real Earth Dragon Fruit required a thousand years to develop medicinal properties. Picking it now could serve as a supplementary medicine, but it would be too wasteful.

If it were before, Zhang Yang would have collected such a treasure. He couldn't wait six hundred years for the Earth Dragon Fruit to mature. Even if he wanted to wait, he couldn't live that long—over six hundred years—and there was no telling what changes the environment would undergo if he just marked the location for future descendants. Therefore, he would have taken it, even if it meant using it only as a supplementary agent.

But that was in the past. Now that they had raided the Huyan family's treasury, they possessed countless high-quality raw materials. They didn't need this kind of supplementary medicine and shouldn't waste such a resource; it was better to let it grow naturally over time.

As for whether it could survive to a thousand years and transform into a true Heaven and Earth treasure, that would depend on its own destiny.

Zhang Yang left the item alone, and Shadowless didn't mind either. It hopped back onto Chase Wind, and they continued deeper inside.

Although the treasure Shadowless found this time couldn't be used, it significantly boosted Zhang Yang's confidence.

They had only traveled about ten kilometers in, and already they had found such a fine treasure. The primeval mountains truly held many excellent things, which explained why Zhang Pinglu had continually suggested he visit Savage Mountain.

Those powerhouses who had advanced to the fourth layer, besides training, likely also had the goal of treasure hunting when entering Savage Mountain.

Savage Mountain was shaped like a square, extending hundreds of li from east to west and south to north.

This area could not compare to those large mountain ranges spanning five or six thousand li. However, Savage Mountain had its own advantages.

Because of its large area, reaching the central region was more difficult. Zhang Yang had seen the map; although it was square, it wasn't perfectly so. He had entered from the east, and it was about five hundred li to the exact center. To exit Savage Mountain would require traversing at least a thousand li.

This distance was naturally not an issue for Chase Wind or Zhang Yang, but for ordinary people, it was an insurmountable gulf.

It wasn't that they couldn't travel that far; it was because the environment inside was too harsh. Ordinary people venturing in, let alone crossing this thousand li of primeval forest, would likely perish within a mere few dozen li.

The place was riddled with venomous insects and ferocious beasts, filled with toxic gases and marsh vapors. Even a military unit would take at least a month to traverse Savage Mountain.

Even if they succeeded, perhaps fewer than one in ten would emerge, or perhaps no one at all could walk out; the internal environment was simply too brutal.

Precisely because of this, the depths of Savage Mountain had remained a pure land, untrodden by humans.

Chase Wind's speed was swift, and even in the mountains, it was hardly affected.

Journeys that others couldn't cover in a day, Chase Wind traversed in an instant.

As they passed through these areas, many fierce beasts noticed them. They were only dozens of li into the mountain, and wolf packs, leopards, and tigers had already appeared.

A wolf pack even came out to pursue them, clearly mistaking them for prey.

Before the wolves could get close, Chase Wind merely released a slight pressure characteristic of a fourth-layer spirit beast, and all the wolves instantly collapsed onto the ground, too frightened to move. Long after Zhang Yang and the others had left, they finally rose and scattered in panic.

The pressure of a fourth-layer spirit beast was too terrifying for them.

Besides the wolf pack, a leopard and a black bear also fixed their sights on them. Furthermore, when passing through a marshy forest area, they even spotted crocodiles.

These creatures seemed utterly unaccustomed to seeing entering humans; their eerie blue eyes were fixed on the trio.

Tired of being watched by these creatures, Lightning suddenly burst forth with a wave of aura. All the beasts staring at them froze momentarily. Those farther away quickly fled as far as they could, not daring to look back.

Those closer dared not move at all, resembling frogs mesmerized by a viper.

After releasing this aura, Lightning did not withdraw it, which saved them from further harassment along the way; no overzealous fierce beast dared to approach them again.

All those who sensed this aura fled far away, including even the smaller animals.

Moving slowly, as evening approached, Zhang Yang had already entered the deeper regions, not far from the central area.

Along the way, thanks to Shadowless, their gains were considerable. Besides discovering several high-grade supplementary medicines, they had also found eight spirit medicinal herbs.

Unfortunately, seven of these eight were immature, just like the previous Earth Dragon Fruit. In the end, only one truly reached the level of a Heaven and Earth treasure.

This was a fifteen-hundred-year-old Thousand-Year He Shou Wu (Fo-Ti root). If it hadn't been hidden underground, it likely would have been lost long ago. Although Zhang Yang hadn't seen any spirit beasts on this journey, he had sensed the presence of several.

These spirit beasts were not high-ranked; Zhang Yang estimated the highest was perhaps only at the third layer, while the others were around the second layer.

They had also sensed Lightning's aura and never dared to approach. Zhang Yang had no intention of disturbing them; regardless of what spirit beasts they were, they were highly intelligent beings. Since they hadn't provoked him, Zhang Yang was unwilling to provoke them either.

Even though these spirit beasts would never be a match for Zhang Yang.

Having comprehended the Dao of Nature, Zhang Yang's mentality differed greatly from before. In the past, even if he spared these spirit beasts, he would likely have gone to check them out, at least to search for anything useful to him.

Handling property deeds, treating people to meals—my apologies for the late return. There is one more chapter below!