Yang Zhen swaggered toward Ghost's Sorrow, thinking about the Heavenly Demon Gang Fist all the way.
The Heavenly Demon Gang Fist had been created by fusing and upgrading the ultimate arts of the Black Nightmare Sect and the Demonic Sect, and it had advanced to a Heaven Grade martial skill.
Each successive layer of the Heavenly Demon Gang Fist brought a substantial increase in power, but also consumed more and more Qi and Blood. Because Yang Zhen had created the martial skill through his own fusion and comprehension, he had already mastered all nine transformations, but he could not use them to their full extent.
With Yang Zhen's current physical strength, even the sixth layer of the Heavenly Demon Gang Fist was difficult to withstand. The raging power of Qi and Blood within him was like a vast ocean, its demonic waves towering into the heavens. The terrifying impact could destroy his body almost instantly.
"Looks like I still need to find a way to strengthen my body. Otherwise, before I even get into a fight, I'll explode first... I..."
Bang!
Lost in thought, Yang Zhen failed to notice his surroundings and walked headfirst into a towering tree by the roadside. He rubbed his forehead and continued on his way.
His comprehension was so high, and his head was so full of things, that Yang Zhen was always prone to distraction. He might slip into sudden enlightenment at any moment.
It would be terrifying if someone could still move while in a state of sudden enlightenment. It was said that a powerful expert on the Youguang Continent had once accidentally entered sudden enlightenment while walking. He had walked all the way to the Far Northern Land and nearly blundered into the Savage Wilderness Barrier there. Along the way, he had casually killed countless Devil Beasts, leaving the iron-blooded cultivators guarding the Youguang Continent at the Savage Wilderness Barrier astonished, as though they had seen a Celestial Person.
These experts were each more eccentric than the last. Yang Zhen suddenly understood a little: it was not that the experts behaved oddly or had strange personalities, but that ordinary people simply could not experience what those experts felt. Others spent their entire lives seeking a chance at sudden enlightenment, while these experts could experience it anytime, anywhere. It would be strange if ordinary people could understand.
"I really am a genius!"
Yang Zhen looked back at the towering tree and chuckled.
A snicker sounded!
In a group nearby, a young woman burst out laughing and watched Yang Zhen with interest.
The others laughed too, their expressions strange.
"There really are all kinds these days. A man who walks into a tree actually calls himself a genius."
"Hey, brother, if you're a genius, doesn't that make me the equal of a holy son or divine son?"
Some of the superpowers on the Youzhou Continent nurtured holy sons and divine sons, or holy maidens and Divine Maidens. Every one of them was a favored child of heaven, gifted by the heavens, possessing exceptionally high cultivation at a young age and admired by all the young cultivators under heaven.
The speaker was short and stocky. He seemed to have found a sense of superiority in being more intelligent than Yang Zhen, and the people beside him roared with laughter.
Yang Zhen lost all interest when he saw the group. For one thing, too many cultivators had gathered here, all drawn by the extraordinary treasure that had stirred up the Primal Qi. For another, these people were all below the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even if they had anything good, Yang Zhen would not think much of it now.
"That man is so strange. He's actually carrying a big bundle on his back. Doesn't he find it cumbersome?" the young woman who had laughed earlier asked her senior brother from the same sect.
Her senior brother was refined and courteous. Hearing her, he smiled and said, "An ugly man making a spectacle of himself, that's all."
Yang Zhen glanced at the senior brother, laughed, and turned to leave, presenting them with an enigmatic back as he walked away.
"How could trash like you understand this brother's level? It's not that I look down on you. What I mean is, you and everyone seated... everyone present are all trash!"
Yang Zhen's words were wild and arrogant. A terrifying blast of Qi suddenly erupted from him, sweeping out like a raging tide and filling everyone with dread.
The young woman's eyes lit up, and she murmured to herself, "His State of Mind is so elevated that perhaps only Master could compare with him. This... this presence-he actually broke through?"
"What?" The group stared dumbfounded at Yang Zhen's aloof departing figure. The raging wave of Qi vanished in the blink of an eye, and he became ordinary again, even looking a little encumbered by the large bundle on his back.
"Others laugh at me for being too mad; I laugh at them for failing to see through it. Good poetry, what good poetry!"
Yang Zhen's voice drifted back. He seemed utterly mad and even somewhat disheveled, but for some reason, everyone present felt a sense of irony as they watched him walk away. They had treated him like a clown, only to find in the end that they themselves were the ones who truly cut the sorriest figures.
The refined senior brother saw the yearning and admiration on his junior sister's face, and she had even compared Yang Zhen to their master. When he then heard Yang Zhen's words, his face darkened, and he shot Yang Zhen a sinister glare.
Everyone was shocked and angry. Just then, a cry rang out: "Princess! Princess Changyang is here!"
At the mention of Princess Changyang's name, everyone was startled and turned to look in the direction the speaker was pointing.
A group was walking slowly toward them from deep in the valley. At their head was a young woman in a phoenix coronet, splendid robes, and a long golden skirt. Her unadorned face was veiled, and she moved with graceful lotus steps. Her serene, unaffected bearing held everyone's gaze. She was Princess Changyang of the Youyang Kingdom.
Princess Changyang had cultivated away from home for years and possessed exceptional talent. Her cultivation was among the best of her peers. In particular, after returning to the Youyang Kingdom this time, she had defeated a succession of long-renowned princes and princesses in the imperial palace, making her name widely known.
Most captivating of all, Princess Changyang possessed unrivaled beauty. The Cultivation Method she practiced gave her an extraordinary, otherworldly bearing, like a fairy descended from heaven. She had countless admirers, yet not a single young talent had caught her discerning eye.
In the valley, everyone who saw Princess Changyang, whether man or woman, was awed by her bearing and stood respectfully where they were. Many wore infatuated expressions and could scarcely tear their eyes away.
Even with her unadorned face veiled, Princess Changyang's bearing outshone countless young men and women. Yang Zhen alone glanced at her and continued walking.
Yang Zhen had seen too many beauties, whether natural or artificially made, all of the highest caliber. Naturally, he was highly immune to Princess Changyang's looks.
"Others laugh at me for being too mad; I laugh at them for failing to see through it..." Princess Changyang parted her delicate lips and looked at Yang Zhen. "He was the one who said that just now, wasn't he?"
A woman in black beside Princess Changyang nodded. "It should have been him!"
"I didn't expect to meet such an interesting person in the Youyang Kingdom. Can you find out his name?" Princess Changyang watched Yang Zhen's departing figure, a hint of interest showing between her brows.
The woman in black glanced at Princess Changyang in surprise and said, "I'll go call him over."
"Never mind. We'll run into him sooner or later. The Thunder Essence Wood is about to emerge. Let's hurry and retrieve it; we still have to return."
"Yes!"
Boom!
An earth-shaking crash suddenly erupted in midair. Countless bolts of lightning surged and tumbled, darting up and down through the dim sky in a dazzling display.
Yang Zhen looked up and clicked his tongue in wonder.
Such a terrifying phenomenon of heaven and earth, with the world's Primal Qi in turmoil-what on earth could unleash such might?
After the lightning surged, strange phenomena appeared one after another, and all of Ghost's Sorrow seemed to be shrouded beneath a layer of terrifying, raging thunder.
Everyone grew excited and surged toward the depths of Ghost's Sorrow.
With such a phenomenon, the extraordinary treasure about to emerge was certain to be no ordinary thing. No one was willing to fall a step behind, and everyone was excited.
Yang Zhen charged in with the crowd. Before long, he suddenly felt the earth shake and the mountains tremble. Ghost's Sorrow seemed to turn completely upside down. A terrifying wave of Qi surged skyward, countless rocks collapsed, and mist and miasma blotted out the sky and sun. The whole world seemed to have changed.
Wails and howls rang out around him. Caught off guard, Yang Zhen was sent flying. He tumbled head over heels through the air he knew not how many times, and the bundle on his back fell away. He hurriedly reached for it, but accidentally grabbed a woman's arm instead.
"Shameless lecher, you're courting death!" a woman shouted. Sword Qi swept toward his face, incomparably fierce.
"My bun... my bundle turned into a spirit?" Yang Zhen was startled, his eyes going wide. He had clearly been reaching for his bundle, so how had it turned into a woman?
This came a little late, sorry, brothers. Please support Nanfeng with some recommendation votes. My deepest thanks!
(End of chapter)