Chapter 390

Chapter 390: Boiling

This time, things spiraled far beyond Zhang Yang’s expectations.

He had never imagined that the first saint would act so swiftly, severing his means of escape. Even less did he expect the most powerful saint of the Taixu Dynasty to arrive so quickly.

Weren’t saints said to remain secluded in the depths of the palace, quietly cultivating?

The key issue was that Jin Wudi’s terrifying strength completely eclipsed that of the previous saint.

He was so fast that Bing Yuyan didn’t even have time to activate the ancient teleportation array, let alone attempt escape.

Fortunately, as soon as Zhang Yang heard Jin Wudi’s roar, he knew something was terribly wrong. Without hesitation, he activated the Mother-and-Child Bead.

Two beads appeared in his palms, bursting into brilliant light under the enhancement of Nine Extremes True Essence. This was far beyond the simple mystery of the Mother Bead alone.

Buzz!

Within a thirty-meter radius, the superiority of Nine Extremes True Essence once again became evident.

With ordinary elemental energy, even if the two beads merged, the effective range would have been only ten meters, primarily enhancing suppression power. Though it was said to be capable of suppressing a saint, just how much suppression was possible remained uncertain.

The Moon-Returning Dragon had only vaguely claimed that suppression was possible.

But of course, saints were vastly different from one another.

When Zhang Yang used the Mother-and-Child Bead, it became clear: an ordinary person could be instantly suppressed to Opening the Sky Realm, Stage One, while even the number one assassin of the Western Desert had been reduced to Stage Two of the same realm. This showed that personal strength ultimately determined the extent of suppression.

Naturally, saints weren’t included in the usual assessments of genius, no one dared to measure them.

So how far a saint could be suppressed remained unknown.

Jin Wudi’s speed was so great that his voice still echoed in the air even as he arrived. Meanwhile, Zhang Yang reacting instantly, unleashed the full power of the Mother-and-Child Bead. At that very moment, the holy sword in Jin Wudi’s hand, resembling a blazing phoenix, was already just one meter away from Zhang Yang.

This was one of the strongest saints of the current age.

Zhang Yang immediately felt the terror such a figure possessed. Even with the suppression of the Mother-and-Child Bead and the amplification from Nine Extremes True Essence, Jin Wudi’s realm still only dropped to Stage Five of the Opening the Sky Realm.

In other words, he was still above Zhang Yang.

Astonishment.

That was Zhang Yang’s impression of Jin Wudi’s strength.

Fighting spirit.

That was his dominant emotion in that instant. His blood surged with the urge to battle.

Since achieving the Divine Gold Holy Body and advancing to Stage Three of the Opening the Sky Realm, he had yet to engage in a true life-and-death fight.

So, he struck.

A wild, unrestrained punch.

Consummate Slaughter Thunder Saint Power.

No holding back.

With his current cultivation, the Nine Extremes True Essence having been explosively tempered through his tribulation, allowed him to unleash his strongest blow with perfection.

The Divine Gold Holy Body ignited in full.

Holy light surged.

Divine radiance burst outward.

The brilliant Slaughter Sacred Thunder condensed upon Zhang Yang’s fist, radiating unstoppable might as he struck with all his strength.

Clang!

His punch landed directly against the Phoenix Flame Holy Sword.

The Sacred Thunder shattered on impact, and the searing sword light sliced across Zhang Yang’s fist, drawing a vivid line of blood. The sword’s edge was too sharp, especially in Jin Wudi’s hands.

But that was Zhang Yang.

Even with a gash torn across his hand, he refused to yield. The Phoenix Flame Holy Sword was knocked out of Jin Wudi’s grip by the sheer force of Zhang Yang’s punch. Jin Wudi trembled violently; the impact fractured bone from hand to shoulder to chest. He spat blood and stumbled backward.

“You dare… to hurt me?!”

The next moment, Zhang Yang went berserk.

He had been injured. And this time, it wasn’t just pain, it was shame. The bloodline world that had awakened within him flared with rage. The humiliation burned stronger than the thrill of previous wounds, and he could no longer control his emotions.

He grabbed the Phoenix Flame Holy Sword that had been sent flying.

And raised it high to strike.

“Go!”

Bing Yuyan remained far more composed. Her mind was focused on the ancient teleportation array. Jin Wudi’s speed had given her a deep psychological shock, it was the first time she had truly experienced the terror of a peak saint. Although fear had crept into her heart, watching Zhang Yang hold his own, wounding Jin Wudi and treating his injury as an insult, shattered her awe of the invincible sage.

Even so, she kept her composure.

She gripped Zhang Yang tightly.

Buzz!

Light flickered.

The two of them vanished once more.

Jin Wudi was losing his mind.

He was one of the three most unrivaled saints of the Western Desert.

He was the foremost sage of the Taixu Dynasty.

And yet, here in the heart of the Taixu Imperial Capital, he had been injured, and had his Phoenix Flame Holy Sword taken from him!

All of it had happened under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

What drove him to the brink of madness was that the one who injured him actually regarded the event as a personal disgrace, as though wounding Jin Wudi were shameful. The sheer insult made him so furious he nearly coughed up blood again.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

A frenzied Jin Wudi unleashed a violent, earth-shattering strike.

Crack!

Where the earlier saint had relied on the power of the palace’s holy forbidden laws to destroy a hundred meters of void, Jin Wudi used only his raw strength. Even without the effects of the Mother-and-Child Bead, a single punch from him caused a thousand meters of void to collapse, explode, and disintegrate entirely.

Even so, Zhang Yang and Bing Yuyan caught within that space, still vanished, slipping away at the final moment.

He was always just a step too late, mostly due to having lost the Phoenix Flame Holy Sword, sustaining injuries, and still being affected by the residual suppression of the Mother-and-Child Bead.

Boom!

Jin Wudi still leaped into the void, tearing it apart as he pursued them. He had every intention of tracking them down.

And so, the entire Taixu Imperial Capital boiled over.

Even those far from the scene and unaware of what had transpired felt the tremors. Panic swept the capital as the Taixu Palace erupted in flames, lighting the starless night sky as bright as day.

This was the result of the one hundred and nine fire seeds detonating simultaneously.

Though the palace’s defenses were formidable, and even with a saint intervening and the forbidden laws of holy power activating immediately, the fire seeds, empowered by Nine Extremes True Essence, produced effects beyond imagination.

The most critical issue was that, in certain areas, the holy forbidden laws within the palace resonated with the fire seeds. Rather than suppressing them, they actually amplified their power, causing chain explosions across the palace grounds.

In short, after the Taixu Dynasty had only just rebuilt its thousand-year-old palace, the newly constructed stronghold now suffered another catastrophic blow. Even if the flames were extinguished, the majority of the structure would be reduced to ashes.

“Star Flame Saint, you go too far!”

“Crimson Flame Dynasty, you’ve brought disaster upon yourselves!”

“If the Crimson Flame Dynasty doesn’t give us a proper explanation, annihilate them!”

Countless saints roared from within the palace.

Because of Jin Wudi’s shout during the confrontation, many believed the Star Flame Saint was responsible. However, the more discerning among them sensed something was off. Soon enough, news spread, identifying a young couple as the ones who had stolen the Phoenix Flame Holy Sword and escaped.

The capital plunged into even greater turmoil.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang and Bing Yuyan landed in a secluded mountain ravine.

Their ancient teleportation array had been destroyed.

As they arrived, a deep, bone-rattling beast roar echoed around them, charged with terrifying Great Boundless might.

This was the domain of a formidable beast.

Bing Yuyan immediately released her own Great Boundless aura, her presence dominating the air. The beast was silenced in an instant.

“Did you see where Jin Shengtian was?” Zhang Yang asked, his voice firm.

That was the reason he had caused all this destruction to begin with.

Bing Yuyan, ever steady and supportive, replied, “I saw him. He was standing at the entrance of a palace.”

“Then let’s go!” Zhang Yang declared without hesitation.

Bing Yuyan nearly called him insane, but held her tongue. Her blood was boiling just as fiercely as his. She, too, felt the madness rise in her chest.

Without another word, she activated the ancient teleportation array once more.

They would charge back into the Taixu Palace!