Chapter 396

Chapter 396: Three Days and Three Nights

All four pavilions of the Taixu Dynasty attended the conference at the peak of power, causing an even greater uproar.

People knew this meant the Taixu Dynasty had once again lowered its head, unable to maintain the tyrannical habits it had upheld for thousands of years. In the past, anyone who dared to provoke them, let alone kill a sage or burn down their palace would face the full force of the Taixu, ensuring their enemies suffered devastating consequences.

Now, however, they chose to endure in silence.

What did this mean?

Strength!

The Taixu Dynasty’s power had taken a serious blow. They no longer had the strength to look down upon the entire Western Desert with absolute dominance.

Even though their reserves ran deep, were the other Sacred Dynasties in the Western Desert without their own foundations?

In just one month, they had openly lost fifteen sages, not to mention the more than eighty sages who had died in an earlier battle, nor the losses deep within the mysterious palace.

Even if one only counted the fifteen sages, could the Taixu Dynasty avoid suffering substantial damage?

Even if people had initially overestimated them, and later realized they had underestimated them, losing fifteen sages, how could that loss be recovered?

Thirty sages?

But who would believe that?

Would they even believe it themselves?

Moreover, everyone knew the real losses had already surpassed twenty.

The reserves of the Taixu Dynasty might have been astonishing.

Their foundation might have been beyond imagination.

But facing a united front from all the Sacred Dynasties, could they afford to be careless?

Their continued endurance and willingness to swallow their pride proved that they could no longer act with the same arrogance as before.

The confidence of the major Sacred Dynasties rose.

Some who had long held grudges against the Taixu Dynasty even began stirring up trouble in secret, seizing the chance to take a bite out of Taixu if the opportunity arose.

This was a rare opening.

Even the Cold Moon Dynasty, in its weakest state, dared to step in and create chaos, so what about the others?

Thus, the balance in the Western Desert underwent a drastic transformation.

And it all happened because of one man:

Zhang Yang, the Battle God of the Southern Region!

This name had been mentioned more frequently than anyone could have imagined in recent days.

Some even joked, “If there truly is a power in collective will, then this Battle God of the Southern Region will surely be blessed with incredible fortune in the days to come.”

Many laughed at the comment.

In the Bi Tian Pavilion, the grand princess Yan Mengqing became especially aware of this change. She keenly sensed that Zhang Yang had suddenly become the most sought-after figure in the Western Desert.

In the past two days, countless people had come to see him.

As a result, she found herself acting more like a housekeeper, turning visitors away one after another.

The issue was that Zhang Yang had not seen her, not even once, and it was questionable whether he even knew she was there.

Just thinking about that stirred an unspeakable frustration in Yan Mengqing’s heart.

In the past, wherever she went, she had always been surrounded by admirers. But now, what was this?

“Princess, should we stay here any longer? The rumors outside are everywhere,” the charming woman said softly.

Yan Mengqing frowned slightly. “What are they saying?”

The charming woman hesitated and fell silent.

Yan Mengqing insisted, “Yao Tiao, you tell me.”

Yao Tiao, who had a cold temperament and disliked small talk, looked down and said, “Some say the princess is chasing after him. Others say the princess is enduring humiliation to retrieve the Phoenix Flame Holy Sword for the dynasty.”

“What do you think this princess would do that for?” Yan Mengqing snapped back.

Both the charming woman and Yao Tiao remained silent.

Yan Mengqing gritted her teeth. “This princess doesn’t believe that he won’t come out. He can’t possibly pretend he doesn’t know I’m here.”

In truth, Zhang Yang really didn’t know.

While others were in seclusion, he certainly hadn’t been idle.

Even just dealing with the pile of holy power martial arts techniques he had acquired required time.

He no longer cared for quantity alone.

A perfect Slaughter Thunder Saint Power had already taught him that at the saint level, sheer numbers meant little.

He speculated that even after stepping fully into the saint realm, the most he could simultaneously unleash in perfect holy power martial arts techniques would be four or five. Beyond that, he doubted his capacity, and even if he was wrong, he wouldn’t be off by much.

So he became selective.

At this point, he possessed five major powers: Slaughter Thunder Saint Power, Soul Binding Saint Power, Baxiang Saintly Power, Diamond Dragon Holy Power, and Ice Soul Holy Power.

Among them, the Soul Binding Saint Power was unique and required extraction.

That meant he effectively had four usable major powers.

Compared to spending enormous time and energy to refine more powers into holy powers, it made far more sense to push three of these four to Great Perfection first.

Thus, he temporarily set aside other martial arts techniques.

Even the Ultimate Baxiang Power was no exception.

Because he had an idea.

Could he use the foundation of these divine powers and the pile of holy power martial arts techniques given by the Cold Moon Dynasty to create a truly unique martial arts technique?

That would be the most valuable outcome.

Moreover, there was the Earth Holy Power, said to have evolved from the Earth Celestial Power, and it undoubtedly held an irresistible allure of its own.

He had no energy left to explore more avenues.

So, after returning from the Treasure Gathering Night Banquet, he threw himself entirely into his research.

Yan Donghuang had bowed his head for his sake, regardless of the reason, it was already commendable. Zhang Yang no longer needed to harbor resentment toward the Crimson Flame Dynasty, especially considering his ties with Chi Zhenyi and the Star Flame Saint.

He severed ties with the outside world.

With unwavering focus, he went into seclusion for study.

After a day and a night, Zhang Yang discovered that the Earth Holy Power had been tampered with.

That kidney-deficient Emperor Jin Shengtian of Taixu had harbored ill intentions.

Through repeated contemplation and careful analysis, Zhang Yang uncovered hidden dangers buried deep within it.

Fortunately, he had approached it with caution.

Solving the Earth Holy Power issue was not easy, it was difficult to tell whether the tampering would influence the understanding and eventual evolution into the Earth Celestial Power.

Thus, Zhang Yang contemplated meticulously, even using other holy power martial arts techniques and his divine martial techniques to gain further insight.

In the end, he formulated a plan.

He aimed to merge the strengths of all the divine martial techniques and the essence of the holy power techniques provided by the Cold Moon Dynasty to compensate for the flaws in the Earth Holy Power. Regardless of whether it would hinder the final evolution into Earth Celestial Power, he intended to craft a unique Earth Holy Power, one that even if vastly different from the original Earth Celestial Power, could ultimately surpass it.

That was his own interpretation.

He increasingly relied on his inner understanding rather than blindly following the paths laid down by others.

With his extraordinary comprehension and the changes brought about by his awakened bloodline, he spent three days and three nights discovering a general direction. But if he wanted to perfect it, more time would be needed.

Originally, he had intended to complete everything in one go, but he was interrupted by the moon-returning dragon.

This prince of the Cold Moon Dynasty could no longer contain his excitement. Alongside Yue Buqun, Liu Yuewu, Gu Jianyun, Chi Ying Tian, and others, he had spent three days and nights busily receiving news from the outside. Unable to hold back any longer, he returned to the Cold Moon Dynasty bearing thanks.

Still, Zhang Yang remained in seclusion.

Then he learned that the most beautiful woman in the Western Desert had been waiting for him outside for three days and three nights, staring at him with clear, unwavering eyes, as if to say that not seeking out Zhang Yang was itself a crime. And that belief had ultimately brought her here.

Of course, she had not come merely to disturb him, she brought with her astonishing news, enough to make Zhang Yang set everything else aside.