The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast utterly lost what little intelligence it possessed in that moment, thoroughly transforming into a mere level-five spirit beast driven only by slaughter—perhaps describing it as a savage beast would be more fitting now! Its primary target was Zhang Yang, but simultaneously, it also sought to attack that Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons.
Erupting from the fissure in the earth, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast instantly shattered the delicate balance between Zhang Yang and the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons, causing the two golden energy orbs of unequal size to detonate almost simultaneously! BOOM!!!
One second later, the energy barrier Zhang Yang had erected was almost completely shattered! The Golden Three-Eyed Beast, along with Da Lei and Xiao Lei, was flung backward by the powerful aftermath of the explosion.
At this juncture, the Golden Three-Eyed Beast hastily swallowed the essence of spiritual energy beneath its tongue, instantly entering the level-five state! It had already mastered this method during the month in Changjing; entering the level-five state took mere blinks of an eye, the essence of spiritual energy merging instantly with its inner core once it reached its abdomen!
A surge of pure spiritual energy erupted from the Golden Three-Eyed Beast’s body, replacing the energy shield enveloping it, which barely allowed it to withstand the residual shockwave of the explosion! It had no way of perceiving what was happening by the shore of Tianchi Lake, but the collapse of the barrier meant the energy detonation occurring at Tianchi would now engulf the entirety of Changbai Mountain!
The land of Huaxia itself began to tremble, centered on Changbai Mountain, as the unparalleled explosive force prepared to cover the whole nation! The duel between Zhang Yang and the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons, compounded by the meddling of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, seemed poised to spiral out of control!
“Roar!” Having entered level five and stabilized its form, the Golden Three-Eyed Beast began to continuously leak spiritual energy, injecting it into the barrier Zhang Yang had raised, desperately attempting to salvage the situation! Only when it personally tried to mend the barrier did it grasp the sheer amount of spiritual energy Zhang Yang had expended to raise it; the spiritual energy generated within its own body was nowhere near enough!
The barrier continued to shatter, and countless powerful energy explosions leaked out, sweeping through the surroundings! “Chirp chirp chirp!” “Squeak squeak squeak!” “Hiss!” Wuying, Shandian, and Zhuifeng, the three spirit beasts, swept through the air, having already consumed the spiritual energy essence Zhang Yang left them to enter the level-five state.
Old Master Zhang Pinglu, Master Shi Ming, and Hua Feitian arrived shortly after, but they couldn't even approach the barrier, forced only to resist the massive, overflowing energy shockwaves with the full extent of their comparatively meager strength. The three spirit beasts immediately joined the Golden Three-Eyed Beast’s effort, continuously channeling their overflowing spiritual energy into the barrier.
Perhaps this was the only thing they could do now; Zhang Yang certainly would not wish for his duel with the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons to affect the entire Hua family. Two level-five spirit beasts and the most powerful level-five inner energy practitioner in history—their full-power confrontation possessed utterly devastating destructive capability!
Even after the addition of Wuying, Shandian, and Zhuifeng, with four level-five spirit beasts simultaneously supplying spiritual energy to mend the fracturing barrier, the barrier still could not stop collapsing. More and more residual energy explosions escaped, detonating all around Changbai Mountain, destroying countless trees and marring the formerly scenic landscape.
This destructive trend continued to expand. It was certain that within another minute, all of Changbai Mountain would be leveled, and the four level-five spirit beasts seemed to realize this outcome, casting aside any thought for their own lives, channeling every ounce of spiritual energy the moment it was converted by their inner cores directly into the barrier!
Yet, the barrier continued its relentless collapse. “Roar!” Just as the four great spirit beasts were about to collapse from exhaustion, another tsunami surged from the South Sea, and immense Heaven and Earth energy rushed toward this location!
A clear dragon's roar echoed from Yinlong Mountain, and above Changbai Mountain, the torrential Heaven and Earth energy transformed into countless clouds, rapidly converging on the peak! Across the land of Huaxia, the energy moved invisibly and lightly, faster than the spirit beasts themselves.
The speed at which the barrier was collapsing finally slowed, but... it still did not seem capable of holding for much longer.
Zheng!! In an instant, the barrier suddenly solidified as if untouched, causing the four great spirit beasts to lose their point of focus and tumble from the air.
The Heaven and Earth energy floating from the South Sea and Yinlong Mountain gradually dissipated. The barrier had healed itself; not a single energy explosion could now pass through it to affect the innocent.
The four spirit beasts exchanged glances, none knowing what had occurred, and as for the Old Master and Zhang Pinglu, they were even more bewildered. The prior collapse of the barrier had only one possible explanation: that Zhang Yang, who erected it, must have been gravely injured or lost control of the barrier during the fight, meaning he lost mastery over his spiritual energy, causing the barrier to lose its power.
But now the barrier had self-repaired and solidified—didn't this imply that Zhang Yang had turned the tide once more? The four spirit beasts and the Old Master and the others grasped this possibility; though their faces were utterly exhausted, their hearts were filled with comfort.
However, no one could peer through the barrier to see what was happening inside. Inside the barrier, by the shore of Tianchi Lake.
The water level of the formerly calm Tianchi Lake had dropped nearly a meter, the shoreline littered with massive craters and winding fissures. The energy explosions were still ongoing, though the three figures were now separated.
The Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons, relying on its formidable physique, returned to the waters of Tianchi Lake, completely unharmed thanks to the earlier interference from the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast. Zhang Yang was disheveled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face livid and bruised; he was not only injured but also poisoned by the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast lay sprawled on the ground, flipped onto its back; an un-dissipated shard of an ice sword was deeply embedded in its dark belly, from which large quantities of blood were spilling. Since the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast had already devolved into a creature that only knew slaughter, it was at this very moment that Zhang Yang abandoned his assault on the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons and directed the long-prepared Second Strike of the Heaven-Shattering Sword toward it.
Long prepared, this Second Strike of the Heaven-Shattering Sword was far more potent in Zhang Yang’s hands than it had been before; amidst countless energy detonations, it pierced the body of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast with flawless accuracy, slaying it! “Roar…” The light in the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast’s scarlet eyes gradually faded; its breath grew weak to the extreme.
Its two remaining eyes gazed toward the sky before slowly closing. Pu Tian'en was dead, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast had fallen, and Hua Feitian had renounced everything to become a monk.
If the five-level elder in Korea succeeded, then the world would see no more Fallen Demonic Beasts. Its demise was, in a way, another form of liberation.
Zhang Yang wiped the blood from his mouth and retrieved several silver needles from his person; in that single preceding second, only these few needles had remained completely intact. He casually inserted them into several of his acupoints, and Zhang Yang’s bruised complexion gradually improved.
The Three-Eyed Beast was the foremost of the Ten Great Poisonous Beasts, its toxic mist unmatched in the world. Previously, when Hua Feitian was poisoned by the Three-Eyed Beast, he needed Li Jian to bring him back to Changbai Mountain to be detoxified with the aid of the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons standing before them now.
Yet, Zhang Yang had merely inserted a few needles into his acupoints, and the poison was brought under control. Of course, this was partly due to Zhang Yang’s body being incomparably robust after being tempered by the nine thunder tribulations upon advancing to the fifth level.
“Hiss!” The Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons tilted its head high, gazing at Zhang Yang; the disdain in its eyes finally vanished, replaced by a serious regard for him. The strength Zhang Yang had displayed was worthy of its attention.
This was only a fraction of the true strength of the Medical Saint Zhang Family. Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes, using the power of Heaven and Earth energy to withdraw the silver needles from his body, then immediately inserted them into other acupoints!
Zhang Yang had originally thought he would never use this technique again; he had employed it once to help the Huang family while completing a system task to slay the demonic cultivator Chu Yunfei. The secret art of the Zhang Family involved piercing acupoints with needles to stimulate one’s latent potential.
After advancing to the fifth level, Zhang Yang’s body was exceptionally powerful, and he had endured the nine thunder tribulations. A vast amount of spiritual energy remained trapped within his body along with the tribulation lightning, though he himself was unaware of it.
This latent spiritual energy had all transformed into Zhang Yang’s untapped potential, lying dormant within him. As the needles pierced his flesh, Zhang Yang immediately felt his entire body boil!
“Hiss!” The Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons felt an indescribable tension. It knew Zhang Yang’s spiritual energy was increasing exponentially—a phenomenon it had never witnessed.
Even the previous few five-level experts did not possess the terrifying level of power Zhang Yang exhibited now. Instinctively, it felt fear.
Its massive serpent head hovered in the air, its forked tongue flickering out like a steel trident, and the scattered dark clouds overhead began to coalesce once more. Full offensive!
With a great roar, the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons cast aside its lofty superiority and initiated the attack! “Heh heh!” Zhang Yang suddenly looked up, his face twisted into a fierce grimace; in that moment, he seemed possessed by a god or demon, an aura indescribable to any observer.
The enormous Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons coiled and dove, but in Zhang Yang’s eyes, it began to shrink, no longer appearing as a monstrous python, but merely a harmless little green snake. Whoosh!
Zhang Yang suddenly spread his palms wide, spiritual energy erupting forth! Cycle of the Heavens!
Under Zhang Yang’s control, the ejected spiritual energy cycled—sucking in and expelling—instantly splitting into eight distinct streams. Tai Chi Staff!
Following the Cold Spring Sword, Zhang Yang once again conjured a divine weapon from spiritual energy, the Tai Chi Staff, simultaneously manifesting the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation before him in a flash! “Hiss!” The Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons was immediately trapped within the formation, unable to launch any further attacks on Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang leaped high, borne aloft by the Heaven and Earth energy beneath his feet, hovering in the sky as he looked down upon the colossal python! In the air, ten thousand bolts of lightning surged like a stampeding army, pouring down!
“Heaven-Shattering Sword, First Form!” In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yang conjured an ice sword in his hand again and swept it upward! The way the dark clouds had gathered, they scattered just as quickly after that single strike; not a single lightning bolt managed to descend!
“Heaven-Shattering Sword, Second Form!” The ice sword swept down from the sky, and as the tip pointed toward the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons, Zhang Yang roared. At some unseen point, a golden-yellow ball of energy had gathered at the sword's tip, but it receded with extreme speed, making the sword tip appear devoid of any energy cluster.
Absence did not mean non-existence; this light cluster was minuscule, and once the dazzling golden-yellow faded, it became formless and colorless. This was simply because it contained not Heaven and Earth energy, but true spiritual energy.
Everything arising from nothingness, and returning to nothingness. This was true of Heaven and Earth energy, and even more so of spiritual energy!
Zhang Yang was no longer touching upon mere brute strength now, but grasping control over a certain rule—the rule of spiritual energy itself. “Shatter!” As Zhang Yang softly spoke the word, the Second Strike finally plunged downward!
“Hiss!” Sensing the spiritual energy-condensed light cluster at the sword tip posed a threat, the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons desperately thrashed its body, trying to twist away. But how domineering was Zhang Yang’s Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation?
Once it charged in, relying on its powerful bulk to scorn the formation was a fatal mistake. True, even the most potent or dense energy bombardments within the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation could not harm it in the slightest, but this formation could control the trajectory of its movements, allowing Zhang Yang to strike the Second Strike as if it were a stationary target!
“Hiss!” As the Second Strike landed, the powerful Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation could no longer withstand the combined onslaught from within and without, finally collapsing. But by then, the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons had lost its chance to evade.
It could only rely on its incredibly powerful body to endure Zhang Yang’s strike! BOOM!
The earth shook violently, and the waters of Tianchi surged upward again, whipping up a three-meter-high wave that even exposed a corner of the cavern containing the rootless water beneath the lakebed! “Hiss!!!” The Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons fell from the sky like a broken kite, plunging into Tianchi Lake!
Its scarlet tongue shot out of its mouth, and suddenly, the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons managed to stabilize itself. A massive sword gash scored its body, splitting its scales, and copious amounts of blood scattered into Tianchi Lake, instantly dyeing the water a layer of blood-red.
Zhang Yang, using a mere human body, had completely defeated the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons, which had been continuously strengthened by the rootless water! This was not because the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons was too weak, but rather because Zhang Yang was too overwhelmingly powerful.
The Nine-Layered Heavenly Tribulation, the nine bolts of lightning—the tempering of the body resulting from two extra tribulations compared to spirit beasts that only endured seven—provided a level of strengthening that the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons could never achieve, even by drinking all the rootless water in Tianchi. In reality, once Zhang Yang stimulated the full potential of his body, the failure of the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons was sealed.
At this moment, the silver needles used to stimulate Zhang Yang’s potential acupoints had completely embedded themselves in his body. Ordinary people could never withstand such intense stimulation, yet Zhang Yang appeared to control it with ease.
Aftermath... Zhang Yang never considered the aftermath; his gaze sharpened, and the ice sword in his hand suddenly elongated by several centimeters!
The entire body of the Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons trembled; it twisted its head, attempting to flee into Tianchi Lake! However, the Third Strike was already descending!
“Heaven-Shattering Sword, Third Form, Sword Intent Cage!” Zhang Yang roared, actually stabbing his sword up from beneath the floor of Tianchi Lake, confronting the fleeing Twelve-Crowned Golden-Pythons head-on! Zhang Yang’s speed was too fast!
Countless sword lights, transformed from spiritual energy, crisscrossed and intersected. This strike was the third form of the Heaven-Shattering Sword that Zhang Yang comprehended while slaying Pu Tian'en in the Wildman Mountain; deploying it again now, its power was hundreds of times greater than before!
Three strikes. Deciding life or death!