Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Breakthrough

The people of Fengyu Town were stunned.

For a moment, their minds went blank.

Inside the ghostly coffin lay an unimaginably terrifying saint. With the keen eyes of Yilie, Liu Taixu, Mu Yujing, and the others, they could tell that this being was far more powerful than almost any saint they had ever encountered.

Yet, despite this overwhelming power, the saint harbored deep hatred toward Zhang Yang. What had he said? That Zhang Yang had ruined a thousand years of his efforts?

Just the thought of it sent chills down their spines.

They noticed that Zhang Yang displayed audacity beyond reason, showing no respect for the saint at all.

“Ancestors, we have mobilized a great force; we will surely slay him!” Ghost King Futian declared.

From within the ghostly coffin, a cold and eerie holy voice responded, “Bring him to me alive! This saint wishes to personally strip his skin, extract his soul, and burn it for a thousand years!”

“Understood!”

Ghost King Futian could only comply.

The ghostly coffin trembled before piercing through the void and vanishing from sight.

Fengyu Town remained silent.

After a long while, someone muttered, “Zhang Yang is truly too arrogant.”

“Too reckless—he dares to provoke such a holy being.”

“The Ghostly Divine Platform must be going mad.”

The once-quiet Fengyu Town erupted into murmurs and heated discussions.

Some even joked, “Every so often, someone brings up Zhang Yang, as if afraid we might forget him. He truly knows how to stir up trouble—wherever he goes, calamity follows. Even saints are not spared from this Human Catastrophe.”

The phrase quickly resonated with the crowd.

Before long, the title “Human Catastrophe” was firmly attached to Zhang Yang.

Yilie, a member of the Moonview Tower and known for his curiosity, asked, “Brother Futian, which saint resides inside the ghostly coffin?”

Liu Taixu, Mu Yujing, and the others listened intently.

All saints from the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins had participated in the War of the Saints a thousand years ago. Those who survived were undoubtedly incomparably powerful.

Ghost King Futian slowly answered, “The previous Ghost King.”

Many Great Boundless beings gasped in shock.

The previous Ghost King!

The title “Ghost King” was both a name and a symbol of royalty. Only saints from the Ghostly Divine Platform could be respectfully addressed as Ghost King, such as the current ruler, Ghost King Youye.

The previous Ghost King had been the most invincible ruler of the Ghostly Divine Platform a thousand years ago.

“Ghost King Yingtian!” Yilie was the first to react. “It seems Brother Futian is of his direct bloodline, and the name Futian was given to him in hopes that he would reach the same heights as the previous Ghost King.”

Ghost King Futian smirked with pride. “Elder Yilie is well-informed. You are correct. With the return of the previous Ghost King, our Ghostly Divine Platform will be even more unstoppable!”

No one among the Great Boundless beings dared to refute this.

The might of the Ghostly Divine Platform was truly terrifying.

“The previous Ghost King’s thousand years of effort have been undone. It appears he has suffered grievous wounds. Zhang Yang, this so-called Human Catastrophe, truly instills fear. Now that he has the Vast Forest, a sacred land, backing him, we cannot act rashly. Killing him has become even more difficult,” Liu Taixu remarked.

Ghost King Futian frowned. Though he took pride in the Ghostly Divine Platform’s invincibility, he knew that the Vast Forest was no longer the same Cangmang Sacred Land of old.

The forest itself was sealed by the Power of the Immortal Path.

The real issue was Chi Zhenyi—his vast network of connections allowed him to summon many powerful figures with a single call. If he truly went berserk, no one knew how many saints he could draw from beyond the Southern Region. More importantly, this involved the current First Sage, Zhan Tianque—caution was imperative.

Even more concerning was the fact that many Saint-level forces in the Southern Region had special ties to Chi Zhenyi, including the Founding Emperor of the Great Xia Empire, Mu Kaitian.

Given the circumstances, they could only rely on their true strength.

Yilie added, “The Demon Sword Master, Yaolun, who was sent from the Demon Sword Forbidden Area, has been slain. This has enraged the Forbidden Area, and now they have finally dispatched their top genius—Yaoruoxian is already on her way.”

All the Great Boundless beings displayed unusual expressions.

Yaoruoxian.

A woman whose name commanded attention across the entire Southern Region—unparalleled from birth.

Mu Yujing sneered. “Our Great Xia Empire’s Eldest Princess is about to arrive.”

The Eldest Princess—also known as the Phoenix Woman of the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins.

Just then, the ghostly coffin reappeared, and the emergence of the holy corpse caused an enormous disturbance that swept across the entire Daybreak Phoenix Ruins. For a brief moment, extreme silence reigned, and no one dared to act.

Zhang Yang’s surging fighting spirit gradually settled.

The green mountain beneath his feet began to shift subtly.

As the ghostly coffin departed, the gap that had opened earlier closed up once more, no longer flowing with holy blood.

The once towering green mountain silently shrank until it stood at only a hundred meters in height.

There were no flowers or trees atop the mountain—only firm, unyielding rocks.

It now resembled a polished treasure.

A faint holy light lingered around the mountain, and the Holy Might it emitted forced those nearby to retreat.

Zhang Yang retrieved the Thousand Wolves Pillar and sat down.

He attempted to communicate with the green mountain but received no response.

Sensing that the holy light was highly beneficial for cultivation, he simply sat atop the mountain’s peak and began to practice.

This environment was far superior to the seven-colored soil from before. He no longer needed Spirit Stones to cultivate, and the effects were astonishing.

In mere moments, the green mountain, which had initially remained unresponsive, began to resonate with him. Its holy light trembled in response to the swirling Nine Extremes True Essence within his dantian, achieving a unique synchronization that aligned with Zhang Yang’s breathing.

With each inhale and exhale, he absorbed the purest elements of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, and darkness from a hundred-mile radius.

This triggered a tremendous manifestation.

Nine radiant streams of light surged toward him like nine dragons from all directions. Refined by the holy light, they merged into his body before transforming into a new, more refined Nine Extremes True Essence through the Divine Strength Technique.

With every breath, the Nine Extremes True Essence expanded.

In less than an hour, a powerful roar erupted from his dantian.

He was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Having only recently reached the first level of the Ascending to Heaven realm, advancing so swiftly was a testament to the astonishing supportive effects of the holy light from the green mountain.

But Zhang Yang had long grown accustomed to rapid progress.

Even during his initial cultivation, breaking through a dozen levels in a single hour had been nothing extraordinary. After all, he was known as the fast man—speed was his natural forte.

A radiant light burst forth from his dantian as the Nine Extremes True Essence surged, exploding within him.

He had successfully broken through.

Now, he had stepped into the second level of the Ascending to Heaven realm!

His strength had doubled, and an overwhelming surge of power filled him. At this moment, he felt confident that he could dominate the entire Ascending to Heaven realm.

With this breakthrough, his connection to the green mountain deepened even further.

He felt as though he were becoming one with it.

It seemed as if the Nine Extremes True Essence was intertwining with the holy light, guiding him through the ethereal currents of the River of Time and Space.

Though his eyes remained closed, he perceived countless images swirling around him—a manifestation of time and space reversing.

Was this a spiritual perception?

Was it the influence of the green mountain?

Or was it a transformation brought about by his breakthrough and his deepening bond with the mountain?

He could not be certain.

When the sensation of time flowing backward finally subsided, he opened his eyes to behold a shattered world.

The heavens wept, their tears falling as blood.

The earth wailed, its mournful cries echoing with the Sounds of Death.

He saw the Ghost King Guards—frenzied, relentless in their slaughter.

They were the same Ghost King Guards he had encountered in the Ice and Snow Divine Palace within the Vast Forest, identical in every way.

There was no pain, no emotion—only cold, unfeeling slaughter.

Some fought back with desperate fervor, but they could only meet their end beneath the merciless blades.

Others summoned roaring flames, soaring through the air like the Phoenix Luan, yet they too were cut down without hesitation.

There were the elderly, frail and uncertain of their next meal, yet still beheaded—their white-haired heads left with wide, sorrowful eyes.

There were children, mere toddlers of three or four years, crying as they witnessed the brutality—only to be slain without mercy.

Even an infant, still swaddled in cloth, was pierced through by a boundless black divine knife.

The slaughter was devoid of humanity, driven solely by an insatiable thirst for blood.

This was the massacre of the Daybreak Phoenix Luan tribe.

This was the true history of the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins from a thousand years ago.

The bloodshed played out once more before his very eyes.

A thousand years had passed, yet the cries of the fallen still echoed in his ears.

Born into this world, what would you do, young man?!