The speed of Zhui Feng was terrifyingly fast; this primordial forest, which would make ordinary people balk, was like flat ground to it. Zhui Feng’s body deftly avoided the towering ancient trees, rushing forward like a streak of white light, its most formidable speed now fully unleashed.

As this speed burst forth, Zhui Feng could no longer conceal its aura. The three undulating forces in the distance clearly paused, then immediately resumed their entanglement; it was evident they had all sensed Zhui Feng’s presence and its trajectory toward them.

After this momentary halt, the three forces seemed to collide with even greater intensity. Such a fierce clash could only mean one thing: the masters of these three forces were currently locked in a fierce battle, with the two weaker ones, both peak Fourth Layer mid-stage experts, fighting against one top-tier late Fourth Layer expert.

If the strongest force wasn't Great Perfection, then it could only be late Fourth Layer. The Savage Mountain was vast; an ordinary person would need a month to traverse it, but to Zhui Feng, it felt like its own garden.

They were only a few dozen li away from where the power erupted; at Zhui Feng's extreme velocity, this distance would be covered in mere minutes. Soon, Zhang Yang arrived at the epicenter of the three forces.

It was a canyon, devoid of trees but rich with vibrant flora, making the scene quite beautiful. The canyon was not small, spanning the size of a football field, with a cave mouth situated on one side.

Zhang Yang spared it only a cursory glance, his focus immediately settling on the center. Upon seeing the presence of the three powerful forces at the heart of the area, Zhang Yang’s eyes widened slightly before he looked away unnaturally.

Not far from the three powers, the corpse of a massive python lay sprawled on the ground; its body was dark black, clearly having been dead for some time, and covered with dirt. Zhang Yang was intimately familiar with this python—it was the Golden Crown Python he had slain before, the one that was later lost.

After noting the Golden Crown Python's corpse, Zhang Yang lifted his gaze again. Within the canyon, a colossal golden python was holding its head erect, facing two small parrots in front of it; these three spirit beasts were the source of the three powerful auras just moments ago.

Powerful man-made parrot spirit beasts—and there was more than one. This immense golden python was undoubtedly another Golden Crown Python.

Zhang Yang quickly inspected its crown and then permitted himself a wry smile. On the head of this Golden Crown Python sat a full ten golden crowns.

A Golden Crown Python grew one crown every sixty years, with each subsequent crown becoming progressively harder to achieve, requiring not only time but also many other stringent conditions. Failure to meet these conditions risked not only preventing the crown’s growth but also endangering the beast itself.

Exceeding ten crowns required far more than just sixty years; it demanded immense fortune. A ten-crowned Golden Crown Python had already reached the late Fourth Layer; Zhang Yang dared not contemplate the strength of one with twelve crowns.

It was no wonder that high-tier Golden Crown Pythons were scarcely mentioned in existing records. Such spirit beasts were too formidable, truly darlings of heaven, possessing devastating toxic attacks, immense physical strength, and supremely potent bloodlines capable of reaching terrifying levels of power.

The ten-crowned Golden Crown Python and the two parrots ceased their battle simultaneously, turning their attention toward Zhang Yang and his companions. Previously, they had only sensed one early Fourth Layer spirit beast and had not detected Zhang Yang or Wuying; now they realized there was more than one spirit beast present, along with humans and other creatures.

“Human, why have you returned?” One parrot flew over, calling out mid-air; Zhang Yang was familiar with its aura—it was the one that had flown to find him the night before. “I am here under orders from my clan elders to train in the Savage Mountain!” Zhang Yang hastily clasped his fists.

He now understood that this parrot must have served a powerful Fifth Layer expert, or at least had a connection with one, to have an energy seed planted within it. Now it seemed more than one had been seeded; both parrots possessed this trait.

What was even more remarkable was that both parrots had cultivated to the peak of the mid-Fourth Layer; these two parrots alone possessed the strength equivalent to an average noble family. “You shouldn't have come, shouldn't have come!” The parrot called out again, its voice laced with urgency, even a hint of anger.

It seemed displeased that Zhang Yang had disregarded its warning and barged into the Savage Mountain. After uttering this, it flapped its wings and returned to the side of the other parrot.

“Roar~” The ten-crowned Golden Crown Python suddenly emitted a low grunt. This python measured at least two to three meters in length, more than double the size of the five-crowned Golden Crown Python Zhang Yang had previously slain.

Such a colossal serpent would surely terrify an ordinary person half to death. Its flickering tongue alone was over a meter long, looking utterly frightening.

The massive Golden Crown Python stared furiously at Zhang Yang. “Human, the Golden Crown Python you killed was a descendant of this one.

It sought us out, demanding we hand over the murderer. We could have stalled him, blocked him, and driven him away, but you, disregarding our advice, entered the Savage Mountain.

Now we are powerless. Golden Crown Pythons possess their own bloodline inheritance; this one can sense that you are the one who slew its offspring!” The other parrot spoke; its voice was rather deep, resembling a male tone.

Zhang Yang finally realized that these parrots were a mated pair. “Human, according to our Master’s command, we are to guard this place, forbidden to harm any human or spirit beast, or participate in anyone else’s conflict.

If you had not arrived, we could have kept this behemoth occupied; though we are not its match, it could not harm us either. But since you have entered, your grievances must be resolved between yourselves; we will not interfere further!” The first parrot added its words.

Their speech confirmed at least one point for Zhang Yang. This ten-crowned Golden Crown Python was the parent of the five-crowned one, likely searching for its child and ultimately discovering it dead within the Savage Mountain.

This discovery must have driven it into a rage, leading it to question the pair of parrots. The parrot pair had indeed followed a Fifth Layer expert.

That expert was currently absent but had left them a directive: never harm any person or spirit beast, adhering only to this command, which seemed to compel them to guard this location. This also explained to Zhang Yang why they remained silent during his earlier fight with the five-crowned Golden Crown Python, and why they would watch him take the Saintess Flower.

Their refusal to involve themselves in others' battles was also easily understood: they acted as neutral parties. However, Zhang Yang was still slightly confused about why they had stolen the Golden Crown Python's corpse.

Upon reflection, Zhang Yang formed a theory: the ten-crowned Golden Crown Python likely sought them out, and upon realizing this, they preemptively moved the corpse here. If the ten-crowned Golden Crown Python had discovered its offspring dead outside, with the body being guarded by humans, it would likely have gone into a frenzy.

In that scenario, not only would everyone guarding the python corpse perish, but the surrounding towns might also suffer. If this were the case, then these parrots were truly benevolent spirit beasts, unwilling to see harm come to ordinary people outside, choosing instead to take the blame themselves, especially since the Golden Crown Python could sense the killer was not them.

After speaking, the two parrots flew together to a perch in the distance, watching from afar. Their posture clearly indicated they would not intervene further.

In truth, the moment Zhang Yang appeared, the ten-crowned Golden Crown Python had already understood that the human before it was the murderer of its offspring. On Zhang Yang’s person, it sensed a scent of blood—the distinct blood scent of their Golden Crown Python lineage.

What it found most unacceptable was that Zhang Yang carried more than one scent; there were two. This meant two of its descendants had been killed by this one human.

Golden Crown Pythons were powerful spirit beasts, yes, but they were not numerous. The death of two was enough to drive it into madness.

“Roar~” The Golden Crown Python let out another low grunt, and this time Zhang Yang felt the overwhelming rage contained within its sound. A power even greater than before surged from the python; it hadn't used its full strength during its previous skirmish with the parrots.

Facing the murderer of its successive offspring, it finally held nothing back. Zhui Feng watched the colossal figure ahead warily, its eyes carrying a trace of ferocity.

It could be said that the spirit beasts Zhui Feng despised and hated the most were the Golden Crown Pythons; it had nearly died at the hands of one right after leaving the mountain. Seeing such a huge Golden Crown Python now instantly brought back that painful memory.

If it hadn't recognized the sheer power of this behemoth—that it was not a match—it likely would have charged already. Late Fourth Layer was indeed significantly stronger than early Fourth Layer.

Wuying and Shandian also stood to the side, their small eyes locked firmly on the creature ahead. A ten-crowned Golden Crown Python was naturally far more powerful than the five-crowned one they had previously encountered.

Against such an opponent in the past, their first instinct would have been to flee as far as possible. But today, they could not run, nor could they escape.

The Golden Crown Python was a brutal and deeply vengeful spirit beast. Now that it had seen Zhang Yang and recognized him as the enemy, no matter where they fled, it would pursue.

Furthermore, a Golden Crown Python was not human; if it couldn't catch Zhang Yang, it might vent its fury on other beings. This possibility was not remote; Zhang Yang’s earlier guess was correct—the parrots likely considered this very factor when they chose to take the blame.

Looking at the behemoth before him, Zhang Yang’s heart grew unusually calm. His hand rested on the hilt of the Cold Spring Sword.

The Golden Crown Python’s power did indeed surpass his own, but Zhang Yang was not without his advantages. First, he possessed an excellent divine weapon, the Cold Spring Sword, whose might was considerable as a ranked Divine Weapon.

Second was the Heaven-Breaking Sword Style, a cultivation method reserved for Fifth Layer experts, the first form of which Zhang Yang had already mastered. Furthermore, he later gained the ability of energy materialization.

Beyond that, he was fortunate to obtain the cultivation insights of the Fifth Layer expert, Damo, leading to a deeper application of energy materialization. Previously, his energy materialization could only manifest as sword light, but now he could bring it into his palm to heal the Little Yellow Bird—this was the benefit granted by the Fifth Layer insights.

With this trump card, Zhang Yang did not fear even a late Fourth Layer opponent.