The distant, cautious spirit beasts had no idea that the immediate danger had completely passed. The aura of Lightning, the spirit beast, was unmistakable.

It wasn't just due to its late-stage Third Layer strength, but also the palpable presence of its venomous beast nature, which made ordinary spirit beasts too terrified to provoke it. Especially those Second Layer spirit beasts; some were trembling in fear, while the larger ones kept a considerable distance, ready to bolt at the slightest disturbance.

Zhang Yang had dismounted and was now walking slowly through the primeval forest. The surrounding toxic and swamp gases posed absolutely no threat to him.

As a successor of the Medical Sage lineage, dealing with such vapours was effortless. Not to mention his current strength: mid-stage Fourth Layer.

The treacherous swamp patches occasionally dotting the ground had no effect on him whatsoever. With his present power, Zhang Yang could easily glide across water surfaces without sinking.

Surely, the founding ancestor of Shaolin, Bodhidharma, who crossed the river on a single reed, hadn't reached the Fifth Layer back then. A Fifth Layer expert, when mobilizing the energies of Heaven and Earth, could likely walk directly on water without any major issue.

Walking slowly, Zhang Yang inhaled the unique air of this primeval forest. Mixed with the stench of decaying swamp gas was a clean, verdant essence—a scent that evoked an inexpressible feeling, the very essence of true, untamed nature.

As he walked, his companions, Zhuifeng and the others, lagged behind him. The three little ones watched Zhang Yang with wide, curious eyes.

At this moment, Zhang Yang felt to them like neither a cultivator nor an ordinary person; they couldn't even sense his existence with their eyes closed. Spirit beasts possess extraordinarily acute senses, allowing them to perceive countless details just through feeling, such as the faint traces left earlier by the Parrot.

Yet, in this moment, Zhang Yang carried no aura whatsoever, as if he had vanished. Only Zhang Pinglu and the earlier Huyan Feng had ever given them such a sensation.

After walking for a while, the three small creatures exchanged glances again. Zhang Yang was strange, profoundly strange in their estimation.

Not only could they not feel his presence, but they couldn't even sense him mentally, despite sharing a psychic link among themselves. Such a situation had never occurred before.

If their eyes weren't confirming his physical presence, they would have suspected he had simply ceased to exist. Ahead, Zhang Yang suddenly stopped and crouched down.

Before him, a small yellow bird was shivering violently. Its feathers were ruffled and smeared with dirt, and one of its claws lay unnaturally on the ground, clearly injured.

For a bird, a foot injury was often fatal, proving it could no longer fly. Zhang Yang didn't know the species of this little yellow bird, but he sensed it had been hurt very recently.

Otherwise, a bird injured and fallen beneath the canopy in this primeval forest wouldn't survive long. Nearby venomous snakes would surely find and swallow it whole in an instant.

Besides snakes, numerous other beasts posed a lethal threat; the little bird was currently just a tempting morsel awaiting a fortunate predator. Zhang Yang extended a hand and gently brushed the little yellow bird's feathers.

The small bird chirped weakly, its call laced with terror. Lightning’s retained aura made the creature feel even more menacing.

Slowly, a faint smile touched Zhang Yang's lips. A visible thread of energy slowly coalesced in his palm.

He gently stroked the little bird’s body as lines of white energy seeped bit by bit into its form. He recalled using the energies of Heaven and Earth to heal Zhuifeng when they were being hunted; now, he applied that same energy to the small yellow bird.

The normally fierce energy became incredibly gentle. The little yellow bird gradually stopped trembling.

It tilted its head up, looking at Zhang Yang in astonishment. The fear in its eyes completely vanished, replaced by a sense of wonder and gratitude.

“I understand, I finally understand!” Zhang Yang’s eyes flashed brightly. The smile on his lips deepened as he murmured softly to himself.

At this moment, he finally grasped why the Parrot, despite lacking spirit beast lineage, could become so powerful. It was because a strong entity had planted an energy seed within it—a seed that would slowly sprout, blossom, and bear fruit inside its body.

The resulting fruit created something akin to a human’s Dantian or the spiritual eyes found in other spirit beast bloodlines. The reason spirit beasts are powerful is their capacity to cultivate; the foundation of that cultivation lies in their bloodline, which allows them to stimulate their inherent spiritual eyes, generate power, and thus evolve and break through.

The quality of this bloodline spiritual eye determined the spirit beast's future achievements. This very point underscored the paramount importance of spirit beast bloodlines.

An adult Heavenly Horse was vastly superior to an adult Fox-tailed Sable because the Heavenly Horse’s inherent bloodline strength was naturally greater. The Fox-tailed Sable's greatest specialty was merely venom.

If Lightning hadn't followed Zhang Yang and benefited from so many fortuitous encounters, it likely wouldn't have reached the Third Layer yet. Zhuifeng advanced to the Fourth Layer earlier.

Despite consuming so many essence blood pills and spiritual herbs, it hadn't advanced sooner due to bloodline factors—much like human constitution, Zhuifeng possessed a superior inherent advantage. As for Wuying’s advancement, Zhang Yang couldn't decipher it; the little creature was a true anomaly.

Wuying emitted no spirit beast aura whatsoever; it resembled a harmless mouse, possessing no notable traits besides speed and treasure-seeking ability before it reached offensive power. Its rapid advancement to the Fourth Layer could only be attributed to consuming an excessive amount of high-quality resources.

In terms of bloodline, Zhang Yang couldn't see it surpassing Zhuifeng, or even Lightning. “Jee-jee?” Wuying walked over and called out softly.

It couldn't sense Zhang Yang's thoughts at the moment, thus remaining unaware of what he was contemplating regarding it. Looking at Wuying, Zhang Yang smiled faintly and gently lifted it into his arms.

In his hands, Wuying was in one, and the small yellow bird in the other. Lightning watched from the side, slightly envious, but it didn't leap over, remaining watchful.

It had a feeling that Zhang Yang was somehow different today. “The seed in the Parrot’s body must have been planted by a formidable Fifth Layer expert—and not just any Fifth Layer expert.

That Parrot was incredibly lucky!” Zhang Yang sighed softly. He moved his hand, and the small yellow bird looked at him in shock as it suddenly fluttered its wings and took flight.

The injured leg of the little yellow bird was completely healed. “It’s a pity I don’t possess the ability to plant seeds in you; otherwise, I could let you cultivate and become a spirit beast yourself!” Zhang Yang sighed again, though his smile grew wider.

The act of healing the bird with the energies of Heaven and Earth had unexpectedly given him a new insight into its application—not related to sword techniques, but a genuine, personal realization. When pushed to its extreme, the energy of Heaven and Earth possessed many other capabilities.

He had only discovered one such capability so far: altering the constitution of animals, bestowing them with capabilities like spiritual eyes without inherent spirit beast bloodlines, enabling them to cultivate like true spirit beasts. However, this in itself was an astonishingly heaven-defying ability.

If Zhang Yang could truly master this, it would mean that any animal he took a liking to could be transformed into a spirit beast—even the cats and dogs at home could become spirit beasts. Spirit beasts cultivated this way would possess far greater loyalty, eliminating any concerns about allegiance.

Beyond spirit beasts, it applied to humans as well. He could implant this energy seed in humans, granting them a physique capable of cultivation.

Every seed he planted would be equivalent to administering a Marrow Cleansing Pill, perhaps even more potent. Zhang Yang could find no adjective other than 'defying the heavens' for such an ability.

But attaining this power would undoubtedly be exceedingly difficult. Zhang Yang estimated that not just any ordinary Fifth Layer expert, but only those at the absolute peak, would possess such a capacity.

If the Fifth Layer was segmented into early, middle, and late stages, this ability unequivocally belonged to the late-stage experts. This experience had given Zhang Yang a far deeper understanding of Fifth Layer experts.

The little yellow bird had not flown away; it no longer feared Lightning but circled around Zhang Yang instead. “Go now.

You have your own life ahead. All I can give you is a new beginning; cherish this new life well!” Zhang Yang said with a smile.

The yellow bird seemed to understand, nodding its tiny head in the air. After circling him three times, it departed with reluctance, leaving before Zhang Yang could even identify its species; he was knowledgeable about spirit beasts but ignorant about common fauna.

“I’m fine; let’s keep moving!” Zhang Yang turned back to Zhuifeng and Lightning, offering a light smile. He could sense their worry for him.

But he truly was fine. His recent interaction had led to a deeper comprehension of the Way of Nature.

This realization wasn't an epiphany, but its effect was no less profound, as if he had only just opened the grand door to the Way of Nature for the very first time. This insight had propelled him forward significantly and stabilized the direction of his progress.

This realization was as crucial as the first time he grasped the concept: the first time ushered him in; this time, it provided him with an absolutely correct trajectory. Now, he only needed to follow this path to guarantee success.

“Boom!” Just as Zhang Yang opened his system panel, intending to check how this new comprehension would benefit his abilities, three immense surges of power erupted in the distance, instantly merging into one. Zhang Yang's expression shifted sharply.

Any one of those three forces was equal to his own strength, and one was significantly stronger. Among the three, one presence was familiar: the Parrot that had visited late one night was engaged in what looked like a desperate struggle against the strongest surge.

That most powerful force was indeed immense. If Zhang Yang wasn't mistaken, it indicated the presence of a late-stage Fourth Layer entity.

“Zhuifeng, let’s go!” Mounting his horse swiftly, Zhang Yang commanded. Zhuifeng immediately galloped forward.

Its expression, like that of Wuying and Lightning, was grave. They too sensed those three forces, each far superior to them.

The second installment, a bit late—my apologies once again! RQ