Indeed, the Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python felt a chill, fear creeping into its heart. It had no idea what this mass of yellow energy was, but it could sense the immense power it contained—an energy capable of utterly shattering it into dust.

Faced with such an overwhelming force, the late-Fourth Layer Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python was genuinely terrified. It was akin to a person instinctively fearing a gun pointed at them, knowing the bullet within could bring about their complete ruin, even if the chamber was empty.

The Golden-Crested Python was in that exact state, except this energy burst wasn't an unloaded pistol; it was a massive cannon, fully loaded with a shell. How could a mere physical body withstand a cannon?

“Sssis!” The Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python’s tongue flickered out even faster, its eyes locked onto Zhang Yang. “Roar!” The Python’s body involuntarily recoiled slightly.

It was no longer contemplating confronting the energy burst in Zhang Yang’s hand; its mind was now fixed on evasion. Revenge for its offspring was certainly a major matter, but the prerequisite was survival.

This fellow, apparently weaker than itself, possessed such a terrifying method of attack. It no longer held any contempt for Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang was definitely an existence on par with itself, perhaps even capable of killing it—at the very least, the energy burst in Zhang Yang's hand could manage that feat. The Golden-Crested Python let out a low growl, not loud, but still holding a hint of threat.

However, the threat was significantly diminished, sounding more like a negotiation. It was like two fighters, one unable to win but unwilling to concede, starting to talk about stopping the fight.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang didn't hear any of these sounds. The energy burst was derived from the cultivation insights of Shaolin Bodhidharma, which Zhang Yang had attempted before without success.

Having just been poisoned, Zhang Yang was no longer willing to underestimate the Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python, nor did he wish to use the Cold Spring Sword to wound it inch by inch; that method wouldn't kill the Python. An overwhelmingly powerful Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python wouldn't foolishly allow itself to be continually slashed open until it bled out.

Even ordinary animals wouldn't be that naive. Thus, after launching the sword light, Zhang Yang’s mind suddenly recalled this potent attack method, and he decided to attempt it on the spot.

To his surprise, it succeeded this time. However, the energy burst required a massive amount of ambient heaven-and-earth energy.

Don't underestimate that single yellow energy diagram; the energy it contained already exceeded Zhang Yang’s current capacity for control. The reason Zhang Yang hadn't moved was that he was exerting his utmost effort just to manage this attack method that fundamentally didn't belong to him.

If the Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python had attacked Zhang Yang at this moment, Zhang Yang would have been finished, utterly incapable of resistance. Of course, the solidified energy burst in Zhang Yang's hand could ensure the Python perished alongside him.

“Explode!” Zhang Yang suddenly roared the word. His face turned completely crimson.

The yellow energy mass shot straight out from the sword tip, trailing a yellow tail, hurtling toward the Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python. The ten brilliant golden crests atop the Python’s head instantly stood erect.

Its massive body retreated at lightning speed—impressive agility for such a colossal form. The power of this energy mass was too great; merely sensing it made it dare not confront it head-on, forcing it to flee.

As the Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python fled, Zhang Yang also retreated rapidly. He had condensed this energy burst and was intimately aware of its destructive power.

Regardless of whether the burst hit the Python, he needed to distance himself first to avoid being injured by the very power he unleashed. Being wounded by his own ultimate move would be laughable.

“Boom!” A deafening roar shook the ground, the tremor felt across at least tens of miles. All spirit beasts within a hundred-mile radius straightened up instantly.

Nearly all the creatures in the entire Wildman Mountain looked towards a single direction, a trace of fear in every animal eye. They hadn't heard the sound or felt the vibration, but a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread gripped them.

The eruption of such immense power was sensed first by the animals, whose senses surpassed those of humans. Even ordinary people near or inside the Wildman Mountain felt nothing yet.

Outside the Wildman Mountain, Long Cheng, who had gathered with others preparing dinner, abruptly froze, then quickly turned to look in the direction of the mountain. He heard or felt nothing, but his heart shuddered as if struck by a hammer in that instant.

He didn't know what happened, but he knew something significant must have occurred within the Wildman Mountain to evoke such a sensation. Zhang Yang was currently inside the Wildman Mountain.

Besides Long Cheng, there was one other person looking toward the Wildman Mountain: Yan Yefei. Being a person with the Tribulation-Enduring Physique, even without cultivation, his senses were far sharper than ordinary people.

Having discovered many things unknown to others since childhood, he had developed an intense interest in the supernatural. He also felt the anomaly, though not as clearly as Long Cheng, who was a cultivator.

Apart from them, within a thousand-mile radius of the Wildman Mountain, there was a small cultivation sect and two minor cultivation families. These two families and one sect collectively had only four cultivators at or above the Third Layer; there wasn't a single Fourth Layer expert among them.

These four individuals, wherever they were, all turned their gaze in one direction. They all had a certain premonition; the power unleashed by the energy burst was too immense.

Ordinary people wouldn't detect anything, but anyone who had cultivated internal energy could feel a faint trace. Due to the distance, only Third Layer cultivators could perceive it.

Further away, at Mount Shu, three figures from the Li family emerged almost simultaneously. These three were the two main elders of Mount Shu and a newly ascended Fourth Layer elder, whose advancement had been kept secret by the Li family from outsiders until now.

The direction they were looking was also towards the Wildman Mountain. Their brows furrowed slightly.

They felt something from that great distance but couldn't discern what had happened. Inside a secret chamber of the Li family, an elder opened his eyes and turned his head.

His brow furrowed even deeper. After a moment of silent contemplation, the three elders outside simultaneously received his mental transmission and converged in his chamber, kneeling respectfully before him—this was the Great Perfection stage elder of the Li family.

On the other side, in Changjing, Zhang Pinglu, who had been meditating to adjust his body, also opened his eyes, his expression slightly solemn. The Great Perfection stage possessed a much keener sense for energy fluctuations.

Even he had detected the ripple caused by the energy burst. Like the Li family elder, he only sensed the energy fluctuation, indicating an explosive release of massive power, but he knew nothing more.

However, this level of might was beyond his own capability, which was the source of his gravity. His eyes also turned towards the Wildman Mountain.

He only sensed the direction of the energy wave but could not pinpoint the exact location of the burst. With a slight sigh, Zhang Pinglu stood up.

The Zhang family had completely eradicated the Huyan family; maintaining a low profile was no longer an option. For them, the next step was either a return to glory or complete suppression and perhaps annihilation.

The Zhang family had no other recourse, and the most crucial person to them had become Zhang Yang. For Zhang Yang’s sake, Zhang Pinglu was unwilling to protect his own body, leading to his current inability to recover, even at the cost of his cultivation strength, bodily integrity, and even his three-hundred-year lifespan.

At Changjing University, a teacher who was currently lecturing also turned his head, a hint of surprise crossing his face. This was a new instructor in the Changjing University School of Medicine named Hua Tian, forty-five years old, possessing profound knowledge, exceptional credentials, and a Ph.D.

from MIT. His willingness to teach at Changjing University had warranted a personal welcome from the principal.

At this moment, his eyebrow twitched slightly. But he quickly returned to his lecture.

The students held a very high opinion of the new teacher and deeply respected him for his vast erudition. When he first arrived, some students had attempted to stump him with bizarre questions, only to be thoroughly answered—even better than the solutions they had found themselves.

This performance had completely won over the students to Teacher Hua Tian. Still in Changjing, at a guarded military area, no one knew that a person lay resting inside a cave here.

The person lying down lazily opened his eyes and softly uttered three words: "Energy burst?" “This energy burst is not right. I thought a new Fifth Layer had appeared—it’s not.

Interesting, very interesting!” After these words, he closed his eyes again, stretched languidly, turned over, and seemed to drift back to sleep. In the Yinlong Mountain of Southern Border, Tianchi Lake of Changbai Mountain, and Blue Fire Island in the South Sea, similar disturbances occurred simultaneously.

However, these movements vanished quickly. The masters of these three locations, having sensed what the Great Perfection stage could, understood things even more clearly.

They all detected the use of the unique energy burst attack reserved for the Fifth Layer, but they also sensed that this energy burst was impure. Like the Great Perfection stage experts, they only sensed the direction but couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the energy burst.

At such a vast distance, with only a single explosion, it was impossible to deduce much more. Zhang Yang was unaware that the energy burst he unleashed had alerted so many powerful figures.

But it was hardly surprising. No Fifth Layer expert had emerged for hundreds of years; the sudden appearance of an attack usable only by a Fifth Layer master, generating such a massive disturbance, would inevitably draw attention.

As Zhang Yang ran desperately, before he could reach the Parrots, the colossal shockwave arrived. This was different from internal energy attacks.

Internal energy could be compressed, and its explosive dispersal was far more powerful; if internal energy was like a standard bomb, the energy burst was a nuclear weapon. It was no wonder the two parrots had fled early, and the late Fourth Layer Ten-Crowned Golden-Crested Python was terrified into fleeing for its life.

“Hoo!” With no time to check the aftermath of the energy burst, Zhang Yang instantly collapsed. The internal energy in his Dantian was completely gone, leaving him empty.

The energy burst had not only absorbed the surrounding heaven-and-earth energy but had also drained Zhang Yang of all his internal energy, leaving him in a state of complete exhaustion. Second update.

Tonight, the family is celebrating together, and I also want to thank the many friends who congratulated Xiao Yu on his birthday. The monthly ticket count is still lagging by a dozen votes from hitting one hundred; just a few more votes to break into the top fifty.

On my birthday, let both these surprises come true! RS