After several searches, Zhang Yang found no trace of Pu Tian’en. It seemed Pu Tian’en had covered his tracks perfectly; there was no record or item on him detailing how he acquired the abilities of a fifth-layer spirit beast.
It appeared that to know everything, a trip to Changbai Mountain was necessary.
Hua Feitian giving Pu Tian’en the Rootless Water was tantamount to colluding with foreign cultivators, giving Zhang Yang absolute justification to lead the martial sects and aristocratic families of Huaxia in purging the family. Hua Feitian was well aware of this.
The guardian of the Hua family was no longer Hua Feitian, but that fifth-layer spirit beast residing in Changbai Mountain. Although he had grasped the Great Heavenly Cycle, whether to ascend to Changbai Mountain immediately still required careful consideration.
Zhang Yang rose to his feet, his gaze passing through the mountain wall as if he could see Changbai Mountain in the distance. In the Heavenly Lake atop Changbai Mountain, the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python was also gazing toward the Savage Mountain, though Hua Feitian was no longer in that cave.
Zhang Yang smoothed his brow, his focus returning to Pu Tian’en. This time, the cosmic energy he commanded did not linger on Pu Tian’en’s body but permeated within, circulating for inspection.
As a physician of exquisite skill, no detail within Pu Tian’en’s body escaped Zhang Yang’s inner sight. Within his Dantian resided a pitch-black inner core. It was this core that converted the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy into the unique spiritual energy possessed by a fifth-layer powerhouse.
Zhang Yang paused, feeling as though he had grasped something vital, yet simultaneously as if he had pushed open a grand door only to be blinded by the intense light within, preventing him from seeing what lay inside.
It was the feeling of sudden enlightenment, yet not knowing precisely what had been realized.
Zhang Yang sat down cross-legged, sending out a surge of energy to notify the great spirit beasts waiting for him outside Savage Mountain. He decided to enter seclusion within the cave at Savage Mountain.
Wuying, Shandian, Zhuifeng, the Golden Three-Eyed Beast, along with Da Lei and Xiao Lei, and the two parrots Ah Hua and Ah Cai, all received Zhang Yang’s message and understood his need for seclusion. They returned to Savage Mountain, guarding the entrance to the cave to protect him.
Five fourth-layer spirit beasts, one Great Perfection spirit beast, and two Three-Eyed Beast Kings standing guard for Zhang Yang—such an honor was unattainable for any other cultivator.
Three days passed, and there was still no sign of Zhang Yang emerging. This seclusion seemed destined to require a significant amount of time.
Wuying and Shandian, fearful that Mi Xue and the others waiting in Changjing were growing anxious, dispatched Zhuifeng, the fastest among them, along with Ah Hua and Ah Cai, to return to Changjing and inform Zhang Yang’s family.
Zhang Yang’s seclusion only alerted the Zhang family, the Medicine Saint lineage, and the Long family. However, besides Long Feng and Elder Mi Xue, no one else knew Zhang Yang was in seclusion at Savage Mountain. Savage Mountain, due to the scarcity of ambient energy, had long since become a desolate place, unlikely to attract any spirit beasts or internal energy practitioners again.
Huaxia appeared to have returned to peace, with everything proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Changbai Mountain, outside the rear Heavenly Lake.
A completely black Three-Eyed Demonic Beast whimpered, looking as if it desperately wished to enter the Heavenly Lake but dared not.
Hua Feitian stood vigilantly by its side. This fifth-layer Three-Eyed Demonic Beast was currently far less potent than when it battled Zhang Yang in Savage Mountain.
The Twelve-Crowned Golden Python had remained sequestered in the cavern beneath the lake ever since sensing Zhang Yang had slain Pu Tian’en, refusing to show its head.
Hua Feitian did not understand what was troubling this ancestor, but from the arrival of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast and the intelligence gathered by the Hua family, he had confirmation: Pu Tian’en, the fifth-layer powerhouse from Korea, had met his end at Zhang Yang’s hands.
This was why Hua Feitian had remained outside the Heavenly Lake for three full days. If the ancestor truly abandoned the Hua family, how could they withstand Zhang Yang’s wrath?
The previous Alliance Leader’s decree had become an undeniable piece of evidence against his family; now, no one but this ancestor could save the Hua family.
Hua Feitian deeply regretted his actions. He should have realized that even if he found a way to ascend to the fifth layer, it would be useless if the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python refused to cooperate.
However, the pride of a fifth-layer spirit beast would never allow Hua Feitian to use such an evil method to acquire its power.
Hua Feitian had suffered a complete loss, filled with despair.
“Roar.”
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast lay lazily on the ground, looking at the man who had stood by the water’s edge for three days and nights, letting out a low growl. It felt this person was an obstruction; perhaps the one beneath the lake refused to show itself because of this man.
Yes, it must be so!
After three days, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast finally settled on this conclusion. It immediately stood up, the dark mist surrounding it becoming even denser, and began to creep toward Hua Feitian.
Hua Feitian had barely registered the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast’s roar before a violent torrent erupted from the placid Heavenly Lake, striking him directly.
Puff!
Hua Feitian spat a mouthful of blood. If he hadn't cultivated for a few days in the Rootless Water cave beneath the lake, hardening his body recently, he would not have merely spat blood from such an attack.
Hua Feitian scrambled up from the ground, only then realizing that the torrent had just saved him!
The spot where he had been standing was now a patch of barren land, all nearby vegetation withered, and smoke curled from the soil.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast watched him intently, pure killing intent blazing in its eyes.
The calm Heavenly Lake began to bubble, countless spheres rising from the depths, and the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python emerged from the water.
“Roar!”
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast finally spotted the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python. Its whole body tensed, completely ignoring Hua Feitian, fixing its gaze on the Python.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast knew the Rootless Water it most desired was below, but that area was entirely occupied by the creature before it, preventing its descent. It wanted to go, but feared engaging; it remained locked in a tense standoff.
The Twelve-Crowned Golden Python, however, was unlike the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast. Its eyes, large as bronze bells, radiated nothing but disdain. It was clear that if they were not both fifth-layer spirit beasts, it would never tolerate such a degenerate creature within the domain of Changbai Mountain, much less at the edge of its Heavenly Lake.
It was precisely because the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast was a fifth-layer spirit beast that it hadn’t devolved into pure, mindless slaughter upon its master's demise, as the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox had. It had instinctively come here, instinctively seeking refuge in the cave containing the Rootless Water, as its instincts told it that was the safest place.
Yet, the same instinct also warned it that the creature before it was far too powerful; it could not win.
When the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python appeared, Hua Feitian wept with joy. The ancestor showing itself meant it had not abandoned the Hua family and would continue to guard them. The previous attack meant nothing in comparison.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast hesitated, unwilling to relinquish the Rootless Water below, yet terrified to leave Changbai Mountain. It curled its body tightly, burying its head, eyes shut tight, as if by not seeing the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python, it too would be unseen.
“Hiss!”
A massive forked tongue flicked out from the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python’s mouth, its gaze icy cold.
The sky above Changbai Mountain was heavily overcast.
Hua Feitian seemed to grasp the Python’s meaning, immediately rising and bowing before departing.
After Hua Feitian left, the Python turned its head toward Savage Mountain.
Too greedy.
Do you truly wish to comprehend the secrets of my spirit beast inner core?
The Twelve-Crowned Golden Python flicked its tongue, a cold sneer lingering in its mind. It seemed to already understand what Zhang Yang was doing.
Hua Feitian had informed it of the method Pu Tian’en used to advance to the fifth layer via a spirit beast. This made the Python realize Zhang Yang’s intention.
Zhang Yang intended to reverse the process, using himself as the anchor, enabling the spirit beasts that followed him to gain his abilities and thus ascend to the fifth layer!
How could this be possible?
Three months passed. Even Mi Xue could no longer wait, bringing Yan Liangfei and Qu Meilan to Savage Mountain, stopping outside the cave where Zhang Yang resided.
Mi Xue and the others carried different emotions, but hers was solely longing—an overwhelming, irresistible yearning.
This longing possessed the power to pierce everything: through rock, through earth, through countless layers of energy, reaching into the cave.
She missed him, missed him terribly.
Inside the cave, Zhang Yang felt time stretch, as if millennia passed in a day outside; he felt no sense of duration, believing he had only just begun to examine the inner core within Pu Tian’en.
The inner core converted Heaven and Earth energy into spiritual qi—the energy of a fifth-layer spirit beast. Spirit beasts were inherently blessed, possessing physical structures incomparably superior to those of cultivators. Their internal construction, therefore, had to be fundamentally different.
Yet, Pu Tian’en’s body, as time flowed, had become strikingly similar to the structure of a spirit beast.
It was this discovery that made Zhang Yang feel he had grasped something crucial, opening a door.
But after this door opened, Zhang Yang felt unable to enter; whenever he approached it, the doorway would inexplicably vanish. It was perpetually there, yet no matter his efforts, he could never draw near.
Zhang Yang could not give up. If he could step through that door, what he could achieve would no longer be limited to granting ordinary spirit beast seeds to cultivate into demonic beasts, as the owner of those two parrots had done.
What he could achieve was granting the three spirit beasts who followed him—Wuying, Shandian, and Zhuifeng—the capabilities of the fifth layer, allowing them to ascend to the fifth layer in a different sense!
Another three months elapsed. By this time, even Master Shi Ming of Shaolin could not restrain himself and journeyed to Savage Mountain.
Most visitors were turned away. Those remaining outside Savage Mountain were only Mi Xue, who firmly insisted on staying as Zhang Yang’s wife, the great spirit beasts, Elder Zhang Pinglu, and Master Shi Ming from Shaolin.