"Cheep cheep cheep!"

Flicker circled the ground once and nodded affirmatively; Flicker was absolutely certain there was residual energy from a Level Four Spirit Beast in this courtyard.

At this moment, even Shadow started to cry out, clearly having also sensed the energy residue left by that Level Four Spirit Beast.

Zhang Yang's expression grew grave. Now he somewhat understood why Qiao Yihong, despite his masterful stealth abilities, had still been discovered by the other party.

The opponent actually had a Level Four Spirit Beast assisting them. Spirit Beasts of the same level actually possessed strength slightly greater than that of a Fourth Level Inner Strength practitioner, especially in terms of spiritual perception, where they were significantly stronger.

Qiao Yihong could evade the gaze of a Fourth Level Inner Strength practitioner and trail behind, but tracking a Level Four Spirit Beast was nearly impossible.

Zhang Yang took Qiao Yihong's phone from the old man's hand, pondered for a moment, and quickly deduced the general sequence of events.

Qiao Yihong must have followed the Korean all the way here, only to be discovered. He probably didn't even have time to notify Zhang Yang, so he could only resort to this secretive method of leaving the phone, having the inconspicuous ordinary old man call Zhang Yang for help.

However, another doubt arose in Zhang Yang’s mind: What exactly was the other party trying to accomplish? Why arrive at a farmhouse in the dead of night, and where were they taking Qiao Yihong?

The old man was already sleeping peacefully. Zhang Yang couldn't wake him now to find out what had happened, but if he waited for the old man to recover and wake up, it would be too late.

"Shadow, can you track where they went after leaving?"

Zhang Yang frowned deeply, then asked Shadow.

"Cheep cheep cheep!"

Shadow looked around, its cry carrying a hint of uncertainty. Zhang Yang understood its meaning: the opponent had clearly taken pains to conceal their tracks and hadn't left anything behind after departing.

"Cheep cheep cheep!"

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

Suddenly, Shadow and Flicker's expressions changed almost simultaneously. They rushed in front of Zhang Yang, the two small creatures chirping at him in succession, clearly agitated as they had discovered something that made them extremely frantic.

This was something Zhang Yang had never witnessed before. What could cause the Fox-tailed Sable, one of the Ten Great Poisons, to panic like this? Moreover, there was Shadow, a Level Four Spirit Beast; truly, few things could threaten both of them simultaneously.

After listening closely to what had caused the two little ones such distress, Zhang Yang's face instantly darkened. The reason for their panic was that the aura of that Level Four Spirit Beast instilled in them a sense of instinctive fear.

One had to remember that Spirit Beasts themselves possessed excellent danger perception. Anything capable of frightening Flicker certainly wasn't an ordinary Level Four Spirit Beast. After all, the Golden Crown Python they encountered in the Wildman Mountain hadn't shown even a hint of panic from Flicker.

"Hiss!!"

Outside the courtyard, Zhui Feng also neighed restlessly. Even he, who had been waiting outside the courtyard, sensed an extremely dangerous aura and instinctively warned Zhang Yang and the others inside to be careful.

The anxiety displayed simultaneously by the three great Spirit Beasts could not help but make Zhang Yang solemn and cautious.

Inside the courtyard, apart from a collapsed wall testifying to a brief scuffle, there were no other traces. And even these simple signs suggested that the fight had been entirely one-sided.

The combatants could only have been Qiao Yihong and the person from Korea. It seemed Qiao Yihong was no match for the opponent.

Zhang Yang meticulously inspected every corner of the courtyard and finally detected a faint clue near the collapsed wall.

In that collapsed area, there was a faint musky scent, like fox. Zhang Yang's expression changed instantly after just one sniff.

"Poisonous!"

Having lived with Shadow and Flicker for so long, Zhang Yang immediately analyzed that mixed within the faint fox musk lingering in the air was a highly potent toxin. Although the amount remaining in the air was already very thin, it hadn't completely dissipated.

This indicated that the opponent could, at the very least, easily spray toxins externally, much like Flicker. The other party was likely also one of the Great Poisons.

The information on the Ten Great Poisons flashed through Zhang Yang's mind at high speed. At this moment, Zhang Yang was suddenly shocked to realize that among the Ten Great Poisons, only one Spirit Beast could threaten the Fox-tailed Sable, the Treasure-Seeking Mouse, and the Heavenly Horse.

A Spirit Beast that had long since vanished from Chinese history: the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox!

Now, Zhang Yang finally understood why the Korean side was so audacious as to send only one person after such a significant incident.

It turned out the opponent had such a Spirit Beast by their side!

Others might not know, but Zhang Yang, as the successor of the Zhang family of Medical Saints, knew very clearly that records of the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox existed in some of the ancestral texts of the Zhang family.

While the venom of the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was not prominent among the Ten Great Poisons, it possessed an unknown characteristic: its poison had the ability to counteract other Spirit Beasts. In other words, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was inherently endowed with the instinct to hunt other Spirit Beasts!

Therefore, in Chinese history, some unorthodox or demonic sects had hunted the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox, using its venom to create poisons to control other Spirit Beasts, or they domesticated the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox and dispatched it to capture other powerful Spirit Beasts.

This was one of the reasons why the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox gradually disappeared from Chinese history. However, Zhang Yang also knew a secret history: during the era of Qin Shi Huang, when Xu Fu sailed eastward, his ships carried quite a few Nine-Tailed Spirit Foxes. Later, emperors of subsequent dynasties, to display the might of the Celestial Dynasty, presented the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox as a gift to the Goryeo Kingdom, which paid homage—present-day North and South Korea.

It could be said that just as the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox faded from Chinese history, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Foxes in Japan and Goryeo were fortunately preserved.

Now, the fact that the Korean man brought the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox to Changjing, China, and first appeared in these suburban wilds, his intention was self-evident!

Zhang Yang had not forgotten the conspiracy plotted when he met Ishino Kōtarō and Kim Hyun-shin at the Jingyang Four Flowers Hotel!

Korea's objective in coming to China this time was to hunt down Chinese Spirit Beasts and take them back to Korea; meanwhile, Japan was targeting some prodigious divine weapons in China that had yet to be born!

"Do they truly believe there are no capable men in China?"

Zhang Yang's anger erupted from within, his fists involuntarily clenching tightly!

This dilapidated courtyard was instantly enveloped in a white mist.

"Cheep cheep cheep!"

Flicker, sensing Zhang Yang's rage, volunteered and stepped forward, casting aside its previous anxiety. It patted its small chest with its paws, signaling to Zhang Yang that it was not afraid of that creature and would definitely stay by Zhang Yang's side!

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

Shadow was not to be outdone, immediately leaping onto Zhang Yang, full of spirit. It was using its actions to tell Zhang Yang that he, Shadow, was no mere Treasure-Seeking Mouse; ordinary Treasure-Seeking Mice feared the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox, but he, Master Shadow, was not afraid at all. Moreover, Shadow proudly informed Zhang Yang that it could track the location of the opponent by following the scent left by the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox.

The performance of the two little ones moved Zhang Yang deeply. Knowing that Shadow could find the opponent relieved him. The priority now was to settle this old man. If it weren't for this man, Zhang Yang might not have discovered Qiao Yihong was in danger until the next morning.

What's more, Zhang Yang felt a touch of self-reproach toward the old man. It was because he had been too trusting of those Koreans that they were able to seize the opportunity to cause trouble on Chinese soil. Moving forward, Zhang Yang had decided there would be no more mercy shown to these Koreans harboring ill intentions; he would certainly make them understand the might of Chinese cultivators!

Zhang Yang carried the old man into the house. After he administered acupuncture and gave him the pill, the old man's condition stabilized. Only occasionally in his sleep did he murmur about needing to save his 'Big Black.'

Zhang Yang surmised that the 'Big Black' mentioned by the old man was the Spirit Beast hunted and taken away by the Korean man.

"Old man, rest assured, I will avenge you and bring your Big Black back to you!" Zhang Yang whispered softly to the old man, then dialed the 120 emergency number, informed them the old man needed immediate hospitalization, provided the address, and hung up.

The 120 ambulance would arrive shortly to take the old man away from the village. Zhang Yang had no need to worry; his next task was to find the Korean man carrying the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox and stop and capture him before his scheme succeeded!

Outside the courtyard, Zhui Feng was an inherently proud Spirit Beast. Even when facing the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox, which could be called the nemesis of Spirit Beasts, it showed no fear. If it hadn't been for warning Zhang Yang to be careful inside the courtyard earlier, it wouldn't have felt uneasy.

Now that Zhui Feng understood Zhang Yang's resolve, it became even more invigorated, letting out a long neigh, its spirit soaring like a rainbow!

Leaving the courtyard, Zhui Feng carried Zhang Yang, following closely behind Shadow as they traced the scent of the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox.

The scent trail left by the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox after leaving the courtyard was extremely faint. Nevertheless, it could not escape Shadow's nose. Catching up with the opponent was only a matter of time.

Qiao Yihong labored behind Park Seung-eun. Although taking the pill had temporarily suppressed the spread of the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox's poison within his body, its effects still impacted him significantly.

Park Seung-eun walked at the front, and the powerful Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox occasionally turned its head lazily to glance at Qiao Yihong.

Qiao Yihong gritted his teeth, silent, neither sad nor in pain.

At the very least, Park Seung-eun had not discovered the countermeasures Qiao Yihong had set up when leaving that rural villa.