Chapter 229

Chapter 229: The Person Still Remains

The mountain collapsed, the booming sound finally unleashing Zhang Yang’s bottled-up frustration over nearly being pinned down.

He sat cross-legged, beginning to reorganize his fully developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power.

After this battle, he realized—there were indeed flaws.

It had to be said—forcibly refining the Diamond Dragon Holy Power to its fully developed state had come with its own problems.

Becoming small in form was originally a state of refinement.

Yet, despite its small imperfections, the dominance of the fully developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power still amazed him.

Even against a Holy Body.

Even against Saints’ Laws.

Even against a unique Great Boundless being like Qiu Yinong.

The combined power of all three still couldn’t withstand a single punch from him.

Had it not been for Qiu Yinong’s ‘special’ tactic, he might have actually killed her—or at the very least, beaten her so badly that she had no choice but to flee in disgrace.

Now, standing in the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins, or perhaps the entire Touching Heaven Realm, who could rival Qiu Yinong?

Even she was suppressed by the Great Boundless rank.

Zhang Yang closed himself off, focusing on resolving these minor issues.

Then, he "painfully" discovered that Qiu Yinong’s ‘special’ tactic was far more terrifying than he had anticipated.

Images of her beauty kept surfacing in his mind—unbidden, uncontrollable.

They blended with the memory of what he had seen at Mo City’s Trapped Dragon Pavilion.

He felt ashamed of himself.

How could he be so weak-minded?

Since when had he become so easily affected by a woman?

It was just a physical matter.

He was meant to become an immortal.

He had ambitions far beyond this.

He sought to step into the river of time… to roar upstream… to laugh across the ages.

This was nothing more than a trial.

A test to grind away distractions and make his heart even clearer.

With this newfound clarity, he would perfect himself, and refining the flaws in his Diamond Dragon Holy Power would become easier than ever.

Even so…

He still spent an entire day forcing himself to forget her.

"From now on, when facing an opponent, I should change my approach. Instead of going all out from the start, I should aim to end the battle quickly."

"It’s not that I don’t want to, but the consumption of Nine Extremes True Essence by the fully developed Diamond Dragon Strength is simply too intense. Otherwise, even if affected by a ‘special’ tactic, I wouldn’t have ended up with a woman riding on me. What a disgrace!"

"For the fully developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power to activate perfectly, based on that last strike, it would be ideal to reach level nine of the Ascending to Heaven realm or even the Opening the Sky realm. Only then could I truly unleash its full power without interference."

"By contrast, the small developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power is sufficient at level four of the Touching Heaven realm."

"In fact, aside from Qiu Yinong’s uniqueness, no one else can even rival the small developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power."

"No! I must cultivate diligently, raise my level as soon as possible, and unleash my strongest combat power without restraint!"

Determined, he immediately entered a state of cultivation again.

At that moment, he radiated sheer dominance.

There was no need to hide. No need for forbidden laws as protection. No need for any deliberate precautions.

He simply focused on his cultivation.

No one could easily assassinate him—he was too powerful. His holy might, holy intent, and holy light were enough to intimidate any opponent.

So he cultivated diligently.

Another half a day passed.

He made significant progress at level four of the Touching Heaven realm, but the rate at which his Spirit Stones were being consumed was increasing rapidly.

It wasn’t that his cultivation speed had slowed down—rather, the Spirit Stones were gradually becoming insufficient to sustain the Nine Extremes True Essence.

As his realm advanced, the Nine Extremes True Essence required a refining process. He realized he might need to use Spirit Saint Stones instead to maintain his cultivation speed.

But where could he find Spirit Saint Stones?

There were none in the Vast Forest.

He had found none in the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins.

They were private resources held exclusively by major Saint-level forces, essential for Saints’ cultivation.

For now, he had no choice but to rely on Spirit Stones, which naturally slowed his progress.

"Master."

A voice interrupted Zhang Yang’s training.

In the distance, the charming Flower Phantom appeared, her waterfall-like hair dancing in the wind, a beautiful smile on her face.

"You must be here with good news!" Zhang Yang smiled.

He withdrew his holy might, holy intent, and holy light.

Only then was the Flower Phantom able to approach. She beamed with joy and said, "Congratulations, Master! You’ve made great progress in your holy power!"

"Are you flattering me?" Zhang Yang teased.

The Flower Phantom replied, "Sister Yuluan said flattery can earn rewards."

Zhang Yang chuckled. It was obvious Yuluan had been teaching her this on purpose. The fact that the Flower Phantom had picked up on it meant she must have made Yuluan very happy.

With a generous gesture, he took out a hairpin and gifted it to her.

The hairpin was a Boundless Artifact, carved with a lifelike daffodil, perfectly complementing the Flower Phantom’s elegant demeanor.

"Thank you, Master!" The Flower Phantom happily pinned it into her meticulously styled hair.

Despite her delicate appearance, she naturally carried a big-sister aura, wearing her hair high, which enhanced her refined elegance.

Zhang Yang said, "Alright, now share the good news with your master."

The Flower Phantom nodded and reported, "First, the Rebirth Fire has been located! Sister Yuluan, Ye Kuanglan, and Yi Ren Zui are all in position and will likely make their move in the next few days."

Good news!

Zhang Yang knew that securing the Rebirth Fire would allow him to extract Mu Lin’er’s Phoenix Soul, transforming her into a False Phoenix Woman—an essential step in restoring the Daybreak Phoenix Luan’s lineage.

The Flower Phantom continued, "Secondly, we have strategically retreated, intensifying conflicts among several Saint-level forces in the Southern Region. With their growing ambitions for more Great Path Sacred Fruit trees—and without us as their main opposition—they have begun plotting against each other in secret. The Fire Phantom and Wind Phantom have skillfully exposed their schemes, igniting small-scale conflicts."

Zhang Yang smirked. How amusing.

The Flower Phantom then added, "Finally, this is a surprising stroke of luck—I have discovered the location of the Great Path Sacred Fruit tree!"

Zhang Yang was stunned.

The early discovery of the Great Path Sacred Fruit tree?

This was far beyond his expectations.

"Are you certain?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The Flower Phantom nodded. "At first, I doubted it too, but after repeated verification, I am now absolutely sure—this is indeed the location of the Great Path Sacred Fruit tree!"

Zhang Yang burst into laughter. "Take me there!"

Excitement surged through him.

The Great Path Sacred Fruit tree would be the final battlefield of the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins. If a single faction monopolized it, their power would skyrocket, transforming their entire future.

If it were divided among many, the benefits would be limited.

After all, even among Saint-level forces, ten had united against the Vast Forest.

What good would it do to share the fruits and end up with just one or two?

Adding one or two Saints would make little difference.

But if he could secure enough Great Path Sacred Fruits to create seven or eight Saints…

Then everything would change.

They moved quickly. In his eagerness, Zhang Yang took the Flower Phantom with him, fully unleashing the Three Steps of Mountains and Rivers and vanishing in an instant.

The Flower Phantom also activated her Qian Kun Spirit Plate with all her might.

As they traveled, she shared an important detail with Zhang Yang.

“The Great Path Sacred Fruit tree is not fixed.”

“We have yet to determine whether the tree itself is moving or if the space it occupies is shifting.”

Zhang Yang focused on the Qian Kun Spirit Plate.

A hazy glow surrounded it, and a light mist swirled around. The Flower Phantom’s delicate fingers moved like butterflies dancing among flowers, guiding its energy. Amidst this graceful motion, a radiant light appeared on the Qian Kun Spirit Plate, pointing like an arrow toward the right front.

Zhang Yang followed the direction indicated.

Little did he know that shortly after his departure, Qiu Yinong emerged from the shadows, clad in a light golden Boundless Artifact-level battle outfit.

“Stinky man, you’re definitely up to no good, always surrounded by women!” Qiu Yinong muttered coldly. “No matter what you’re after, this will be my opportunity to kill you. You would never guess that I never left—I’ve just been waiting for the right moment to strike!”