The primal energy of the Savage Mountain was instantaneously compressed to a single focal point, which was precisely where Zhang Yang's Ice Sword collided with Park Tian'en's narrow blade.
The sheer immensity of the natural energy contained within the entire Savage Mountain, now condensed into this one spot, generated a pressure so vast that no one dared contemplate it.
Even a Great Perfection master encountering this would only collapse into unconsciousness on the spot; survival would be impossible. Simultaneously, this location became a blind spot for the entirety of Huaxia; the powerful experts who had fixed their gazes here could discern neither what transpired nor the ultimate outcome!
Wuying, Lightning, and Chasing Wind all fell unconscious at nearly the same instant, while the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast they had successfully managed to entangle needed to exert its full strength simply to resist this pressure, leaving it no opportunity to devour Wuying and the others.
The sky above the Savage Mountain churned with thick, dark clouds. As the mountain's original proprietors, the two parrots had long since retreated into their cave, relying on the esoteric escape techniques left by their master to withstand the immense force. However, they could no longer discern the progress of the battle between Zhang Yang and Park Tian'en at the foot of the mountain.
The earth trembled and the mountains shook, the colossal roar audible for a thousand li. The villagers who had inhabited the vicinity of the Savage Mountain for generations also succumbed to unconsciousness without realizing what was happening. Zhang Yang, lacking sufficient power, could not control this surge of natural energy, while Park Tian'en had no intention of controlling it whatsoever.
After all, this territory belonged to Huaxia; regardless of the level of devastation wrought here, it was none of Park Tian'en's concern.
A cold sneer curved Park Tian'en's lips. His blade and Zhang Yang's sword had been locked for barely the blink of an eye, yet in that fleeting moment—less than a second—the Ice Sword in Zhang Yang's hand began to shatter, and his narrow blade moved forward with inexorable force toward Zhang Yang.
Tsssk, tsssk.
The earth-shattering roar outside seemed muffled, isolated from the two combatants. Conversely, the sound of the Ice Sword fracturing was piercingly clear.
In this single breath, the victor was decided!
"Zhang Yang, you lose!"
Park Tian'en's eyes were locked on Zhang Yang, the evident scorn radiating from them an unmistakable declaration of his triumph. The Ice Sword was destroyed, his narrow blade remained unscathed, and the massive influx of natural energy drawn in now overwhelmingly favored Zhang Yang. Even a Fifth Level expert could not withstand such a concentrated torrent of primal force.
If this strike landed, Zhang Yang was certain to perish here.
Facing the impending blow, Zhang Yang remained impassive. The Ice Sword in his hand had completely disintegrated, scattering into countless fragments of energy between them, evenly distributed around the narrow blade.
The narrow blade was about to descend; Zhang Yang’s life hung by a thread!
A fervor nearly erupted from Park Tian'en's eyes. At this moment, nothing occupied his mind save the annihilation of Zhang Yang.
Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed in Zhang Yang’s eyes. He had deliberately placed himself in such peril only to await this exact moment!
Assessing their power levels, although Zhang Yang was currently potent, his remaining spiritual energy was pitifully low. Park Tian'en, however, benefited from abundant spiritual reserves and his prolonged tenure at the Fifth Level, granting him vast experience.
To defeat him, Zhang Yang could only risk such a gamble!
From the outset, Zhang Yang had never expected to defeat the spiritually rich Park Tian'en using his slender Ice Sword. His singular objective was this: to gather every iota of the Savage Mountain's primal energy here!
For two Fifth Level experts—one seasoned, the other newly ascended via the Nine-Tier Heavenly Tribulation—to clash with full force made draining the entire mountain’s energy far from difficult!
Park Tian'en was too cautious about his life. Thus, even against a vastly weakened Zhang Yang, he struck with his utmost power, leaving no room for error—and this was precisely what Zhang Yang desired!
Nearing absolute victory, Park Tian'en finally forgot one crucial detail: his physical body was not that of a true Fifth Level master!
Boom!
The shattered fragments of the Ice Sword, previously scattered near the narrow blade and seemingly inconsequential, detonated at this very instant, igniting the entirety of the focused primal energy accompanying the blade’s thrust toward Zhang Yang!
Four ounces moving a thousand pounds!
Zhang Yang’s command over the primal energy was in no way inferior to Park Tian'en’s; no, at this moment, his comprehension and application of that energy far surpassed Park Tian'en’s!
The scattered shards of the Ice Sword were themselves primal energy consolidated by Zhang Yang, meaning this energy was inherently closest to him and completely under his control!
They were like countless time bombs buried within a powder keg. Individually insignificant and possessing negligible destructive force, but when detonated simultaneously, they were enough to trigger a chain reaction across the entire arsenal of explosives, ultimately igniting the whole magazine!
Park Tian'en’s narrow blade was nearly touching Zhang Yang’s forehead; the few strands of hair above Zhang Yang’s brow were almost brushing against the blade’s edge, yet the momentum abruptly halted!
It was not that Park Tian'en did not wish to cleave down, but that he was physically incapable of doing so!
Park Tian'en finally grasped Zhang Yang’s scheme. Zhang Yang had pushed the application of primal energy to its absolute limit, aiming straightforwardly at Park Tian'en’s sole vulnerability! Park Tian'en had ascended to the Fifth Level relying on the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, possessing the strength of a Fifth Level master but lacking the commensurate powerful physique. Faced with this erupting, volatile primal energy, he desired to kill Zhang Yang but found himself utterly impotent!
His fragile physique meant Park Tian'en could not endure this volcanic eruption of primal energy with the same composure as Zhang Yang. Not only could he not advance now, but he was being forced backward by the very energy!
All the primal energy of the Savage Mountain, concentrated at one point and unleashed by Zhang Yang’s control like a volcano, erupted into a dazzling azure arc of lightning!
Park Tian'en spun around and fled, almost in sheer panic. He dared not let this arc of lightning even graze him; touching even a sliver meant certain annihilation, as his current body offered no defense against it.
But for Zhang Yang, this arc of lightning was no worse than undergoing half a bolt of tribulation lightning. It was half because its duration was too brief, lacking the necessary buildup and charge.
Zhang Yang knew well that having already survived the Nine-Tier Heavenly Tribulation, his body was tempered steel. This lightning strike was practically negligible to him. More importantly, not only could this half-bolt of lightning not harm him, but it would actually supplement his spiritual energy slightly.
The entirety of the Savage Mountain's primal energy, transformed into tribulation lightning, essentially coalesced into a trace amount of pure spiritual energy. Park Tian'en, lacking the robust body to withstand any contact, allowed this spiritual essence to flow entirely into Zhang Yang.
A seemingly inevitable defeat instantly reversed!
Zhang Yang closed his eyes to receive the tribulation lightning, completely relaxing his body, refusing to waste even a hint of the spiritual energy it provided. Nearly all of it poured into his frame, filling the emptiness of his Dantian.
In contrast, Park Tian'en was far more wretched. Even if he managed to evade the arc of lightning, he could not escape the massive explosive force accompanying it. Contact with the lightning meant instant demise, but absorbing the full concussive force would, at best, leave him severely wounded.
Park Tian'en never believed that a heavily injured self could still contend with Zhang Yang. The low intelligence of the Fifth Level Three-Eyed Demonic Beast was a weakness Zhang Yang had precisely accounted for; the fact that a dignified Fifth Level spirit beast was entangled by three mere Fourth Level ones demonstrated this gap perfectly.
Abandoning any hope in the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, Park Tian'en’s expression darkened. The vial containing the Water of Rootlessness strapped to his body suddenly shattered. A cloud of high-temperature, turbid white mist instantly vaporized.
As he braced for the massive shockwave, Park Tian'en inhaled sharply, and the mist instantly permeated his clothing, clinging tightly to his skin before rapidly spreading across his entire body.
Zhang Yang kept his eyes shut, fully absorbing the entire arc of lightning, entirely unaware of the change occurring in Park Tian'en.
The energy dissipated, the Savage Mountain ceased its violent shaking, and the earth returned to tranquility.
The Savage Mountain was left eerily silent, the surrounding primal energy rushing back like a tide, though it would take time to fill the immense void created.
Zhang Yang sat cross-legged on the ground, appearing completely unharmed.
A streak of black blood seeped from the corner of Park Tian'en's mouth. Having deployed the Water of Rootlessness in time, he had successfully avoided the lingering shockwave of the arc lightning, but injury was sustained nonetheless.
It seemed that Zhang Yang... had won!
High above Yinlong Mountain, the faint outline of a massive dragon paused overhead, frozen in stunned silence for a long moment.
Beneath the Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain, the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python coiled tightly within its cavern, only retracting its tongue after a considerable period of stillness.
Who could have believed this outcome?
Zhang Yang needed time to integrate the spiritual energy flooding into his system, and Park Tian'en also required time to fully absorb the Water of Rootlessness, temporarily granting his body the formidable resilience of a Fifth Level master.
The two stood opposed, yet neither could initiate another offensive.
Zhang Yang was too powerful, too terrifying.
Park Tian'en clenched his jaw. Having fought him directly, he finally understood Zhang Yang's monstrous nature. If Zhang Yang were allowed to fully recover his strength and continue to grow in the coming years, who could ever stand against him?
Today, he must be slain here!
"Roar..." The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast felt the pressure vanish and immediately cried out happily, flashing toward Park Tian'en and Zhang Yang as soon as they separated.
"You're not dead yet!"
Zhang Yang opened his eyes, genuinely surprised that Park Tian'en had survived the aftershock explosion of the arc lightning.
He knew the full extent of that lightning's power; unless one possessed the body of a true Fifth Level master, even a Great Perfection expert would be instantly annihilated upon contact. For Park Tian'en, despite possessing Fifth Level strength, his physical form should never have allowed him to pass with only such minor injuries.
Zhang Yang could sense that Park Tian'en’s body was rapidly being strengthened, and he frowned involuntarily.
"Go kill him!"
Park Tian'en grinned, issuing his command to the nearby Three-Eyed Demonic Beast!
What if he lost the direct confrontation? As long as Zhang Yang was ultimately killed, it constituted a victory!
Although Park Tian'en lost the exchange with Zhang Yang, he still held the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast as his trump card. He lacked the immediate opportunity to slay Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang lacked the strength to resist the Demonic Beast! (To be continued.) No Popup Novel Website