The battle of the fifth layer of Savage Mountain shook the heavens and earth; any cultivator or spirit beast would need to retreat three steps in awe. The two parrots of Savage Mountain had long since retreated into their cave. Yet, one figure pressed on against the immense pressure, forcing a path toward Savage Mountain.
The initial wave of pressure had been the most tremendous, nearly forcing it out of the clouds to crash upon the ground. Yet, it ultimately endured without fainting and continued to draw closer to Savage Mountain.
It was nearly there; it could already glimpse the shadow of Savage Mountain in the distance.
The one determined to penetrate Savage Mountain from beginning to end was the Golden Three-Eyed Beast that had remained on Dragon Family Plain. Not only had it come itself, but it had also brought its offspring.
“Roar…”
Two small heads peeked out from its shoulders—it was Da Lei and Xiao Lei. The two seemed entirely oblivious, merely gazing into the distance.
They traveled quickly.
At the foot of Savage Mountain, Pu Tian'en’s face was already contorted into a sinister grin. The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast was by his side, and his own body was continually strengthening. Once the Rootless Water completely took effect, his only weakness would vanish.
At that point, even if Zhang Yang wasn't torn apart by the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, he would never escape Pu Tian'en’s narrow blade. Although Pu Tian'en was injured, it was a minor injury. In contrast, his current strength was still superior to Zhang Yang’s.
Losing once, losing twice—Pu Tian'en refused to believe he could lose a third time! Right now, Pu Tian'en couldn't imagine any miraculous method Zhang Yang might use to reverse the situation again.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, hearing Pu Tian'en’s instruction, opened its gaping maw, revealing two fangs, its ferocious nature unmistakable. It pulled back slightly, preparing to pounce directly at Zhang Yang!
Shadowless Lightning Chasing Wind lay unconscious on the ground; no one else was left to help Zhang Yang restrain this Three-Eyed Demonic Beast.
Zhang Yang’s brow was tightly furrowed as he frantically considered what to do next!
But it seemed he was utterly helpless!
Zhang Yang stood up, his eyes narrowing slightly, revealing a resolute gaze.
At this moment, he had only one choice: fight to the death!
“Roar!”
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast let out a mighty roar and lunged forward abruptly. Zhang Yang gritted his teeth, once again condensing an ice sword in his hand, holding it before him. However, a change occurred in an instant—the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, which had leaped toward Zhang Yang, violently dropped from the air, turned its head to look outside Savage Mountain, let out a few whimpering roars, and even displayed an expression of sheer terror!
What was happening?
Zhang Yang froze. All the fierce demeanor of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast vanished instantly, replaced by extreme fear. Who exactly had arrived?
Turning his head, Zhang Yang immediately sensed the aura rushing toward Savage Mountain from afar—it was the Golden Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast, bringing Da Lei and Xiao Lei along!
But… why was this Three-Eyed Demonic Beast so terrified of the Golden Three-Eyed Beast?
Zhang Yang glanced at the pitch-black Three-Eyed Demonic Beast before him, a thought stirring in his mind: why would it fear the Golden Three-Eyed Beast that guarded the ten-thousand-year-old flat peach?
Not only Zhang Yang, but even Pu Tian'en was stunned. Although he could share the power of the fifth layer with the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, he lacked the perfect telepathic connection Zhang Yang shared with the three great spirit beasts, and he couldn't communicate with it, so he had no idea why this was happening.
“What are you doing? Go! Kill Zhang Yang!”
Pu Tian'en grew agitated, glaring angrily at the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast and shouting, but the usually obedient beast defied his command for the first time. Upon hearing his words, it didn't attack Zhang Yang but instead quickly hid behind Pu Tian'en, letting out low, mournful growls.
“A mere regular Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast scares you this much?”
Pu Tian'en was enraged by shame, but no matter what he said, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast only stayed behind him, refusing to advance another step. It even bit down on the corner of Pu Tian'en’s clothes and began to pull backward, seemingly urging Pu Tian'en to leave quickly.
“It’s not a fifth-layer powerhouse coming, nor some formidable fifth-layer spirit beast! What exactly are you afraid of!”
Furious, Pu Tian'en raised the narrow blade in his hand and slammed the flat side of the blade hard against the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast’s head, roaring fiercely: “Go kill Zhang Yang for me now!”
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast shook its head vigorously, crying out pitifully, but it absolutely refused to move forward!
Seeing this, Zhang Yang no longer hesitated. He raised his hand, and a gentle surge of Heaven and Earth energy suddenly appeared beneath Shadowless Lightning Chasing Wind and the other two spirit beasts, instantly pulling all three to his side.
Taking advantage of the moment Pu Tian'en was coercing the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, Zhang Yang sent a thread of his own spiritual energy into the bodies of Shadowless, Lightning, and Chasing Wind.
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Shadowless slowly awoke, and Chasing Wind shook its head, rousing from its stupor. Even at this point, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast refused to leave Pu Tian'en’s side to attack Zhang Yang.
“Hmph, you think one Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast is enough to help you defeat me?”
Pu Tian'en finally abandoned his plan to command the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast to attack Zhang Yang. He turned his head to look at Zhang Yang, his face ferocious.
Putting aside his thoughts—regardless of why Pu Tian'en’s Three-Eyed Demonic Beast feared the Golden Three-Eyed Beast—this was undoubtedly good news for Zhang Yang. Without the threat of the Demonic Beast, defeating Pu Tian'en again would not be difficult!
“Damn it!”
Pu Tian'en glared at Zhang Yang. Without the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast’s assistance, he no longer felt as confidently assured against Zhang Yang as he had initially. Being defeated twice by a severely weakened Zhang Yang had cast a shadow over his heart. Moreover, Zhang Yang’s spiritual energy seemed even greater now than at the beginning.
He knew of a miraculous medical technique in Huaxia that used silver needles to stimulate acupuncture points to unleash greater potential. Pu Tian'en had already witnessed Zhang Yang’s potential, and Zhang Yang was a descendant of the renowned Zhang family, the Medical Sages of Huaxia. He had not yet seen Zhang Yang use this needle-stabbing technique.
Pu Tian'en never anticipated being trapped in such a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. He gripped the narrow blade tightly but dared not attack rashly.
Time seemed to pass in a meaningless standoff, yet Zhang Yang and Pu Tian'en, locked in confrontation, both knew that the thin Heaven and Earth energy in Savage Mountain was clashing between them countless times under their control.
No victor emerged!
“Roar!!”
The Golden Three-Eyed Beast, which had rushed rapidly from Kunlun in the northwest, finally reached the boundary of Savage Mountain, arriving at the foot of the mountain where Zhang Yang and Pu Tian'en were fighting.
“Roar roar roar!”
With the arrival of the Golden Three-Eyed Beast, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast abruptly retreated several steps, roaring loudly in extreme fear. This sound simultaneously disrupted the standoff between Zhang Yang and Pu Tian'en!
Zhang Yang stepped back one pace, his face growing slightly paler. Pu Tian'en also retreated one pace, and a trace of black blood oozed from the corner of his mouth again.
All the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy was drawn to the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, and the black, poisonous mist enveloped it in several more layers.
It stared fixedly at the Golden Three-Eyed Beast, utterly vigilant, treating the newcomer as a great enemy.
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Shadowless and Lightning froze for a moment upon seeing the Golden Three-Eyed Beast, then began to cry out loudly.
“Roar…”
Da Lei and Xiao Lei jumped down from the Golden Three-Eyed Beast. Seeing Shadowless and Lightning, they immediately ran over and threw themselves into Shadowless and Lightning’s embrace, even sticking out their tongues to lick them vigorously.
At the same moment, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast’s intensely wary gaze shifted from the Golden Three-Eyed Beast to Shadowless and Lightning!
Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned—so its fear was not of the Golden Three-Eyed Beast, but of Da Lei and Xiao Lei!
Da Lei and Xiao Lei were merely newly born Three-Eyed Spirit Beasts, not even as powerful as Shadowless and Lightning. How could they cause a fifth-layer spirit beast to be so apprehensive?
“Even if it has degenerated, it is still one of my kind, the Three-Eyed Beasts. Facing the Beast King, it naturally feels terror and an inability to resist!”
The Golden Three-Eyed Beast opened its third eye, emitting a beam of energy. This voice simultaneously resonated within the minds of Zhang Yang and Pu Tian'en.
Beast King!
The Golden Three-Eyed Beast clearly implied that Da Lei and Xiao Lei were the Kings of the Three-Eyed Beasts, and Zhang Yang had never imagined that Da Lei and Xiao Lei were actually the legendary sovereigns of the Three-Eyed Beasts!
In a very ancient legend, as the most powerful among spirit beasts, the Three-Eyed Beasts placed extreme importance on the purity of their bloodline. It was rumored that a Beast King was born only once every thousand years among the Three-Eyed Beasts possessing the purest bloodline. The status of the Beast King was the absolute highest among all Three-Eyed Beasts, and generally, no Three-Eyed Beast would intentionally provoke a Beast King.
Pu Tian'en’s Three-Eyed Demonic Beast had not yet fully awakened its intelligence. Why would it care that Da Lei and Xiao Lei were immature? Facing this pressure from its very bloodline, its only thought was to flee far away!
“Roar…”
Shadowless and Lightning remained constantly alert for Pu Tian'en and the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, thus having no time to play with Da Lei and Xiao Lei. The excitement of the two little ones instantly waned. They looked dissatisfiedly at Pu Tian'en and the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast; the two small creatures knew that because of those two, Shadowless and Lightning couldn't play with them.
“Roar!!”
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast was looked at by Da Lei and Xiao Lei, and it suddenly leaped up, issuing a bizarre roar before shooting away rapidly.
It actually abandoned Pu Tian'en and fled Savage Mountain!
At a sufficiently safe distance, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast stopped its flight. It looked back toward the direction of Pu Tian'en on Savage Mountain, but it absolutely dared not approach again.
Pu Tian'en was utterly dumbfounded. He had calculated everything, yet he never expected that a Three-Eyed Beast King would appear beside Zhang Yang!
“What he smeared on his body is the Rootless Water of the Heavenly Lake!”
The Golden Three-Eyed Beast glanced at Pu Tian'en and then spoke. It was intimately familiar with the scent of the Heavenly Lake Rootless Water and understood exactly how Pu Tian'en’s body was being strengthened.
The Rootless Water of Changbai Mountain’s Heavenly Lake was mysterious and unfathomable. Even Zhang Yang only knew it was the 'Water' component among the Three Elixirs and One Water, and no one knew its specific effects.
But for the Three-Eyed Beasts, this was no secret. In fact, several thousand years ago, Changbai Mountain was the territory of the Three-Eyed Beasts. Only later did some massive change occur, rendering Changbai Mountain unsuitable for the Three-Eyed Beasts to live, which caused them to leave Changbai Mountain and seek other places to survive and procreate.