Chapter 1759: Silently Breaking into a Smile

Its wings flapped violently, summoning a gale from nowhere that swept over the corpses of those black-clad men. The bodies instantly turned to ash and drifted down, while the black-clad men vanished without a trace.

Zhao Yang stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to believe what had just happened.

The crow beat its wings again and soared into mid-air.

Suddenly, the entire mountain range trembled. The underground lake, previously relatively calm, erupted into towering waves, splashing water three feet high. The mud at the lake bottom shook violently, as if about to collapse.

Zhao Yang's expression shifted slightly; he knew something massive was about to burst from the earth!

"Peng peng peng!" A series of huge explosions roared from the ground. Zhao Yang turned his head and saw several cracks splitting the earth. Scalding hot streams spurted from the fissures, igniting the surrounding grass and trees, which were quickly swallowed by flames.

At the same time, massive figures emerged from the cracks.

These figures stood twenty zhang tall, each resembling a tank. Although Zhao Yang had expected this, seeing these terrifying monsters with his own eyes still sent a chill of dread and despair through him.

After emerging from the depths, these terrifying leviathans raised their heads and roared at the sky. Their roars thundered like muffled thunder, shaking loose stones from the surrounding mountains.

Then, they strode heavily toward Zhao Yang.

Along their path, all vegetation withered and shriveled. Wherever they stepped, not a blade of grass remained.

Zhao Yang was filled with shock; he had no doubt that if these giant beasts stepped on him, he would die instantly.

He turned to look at the crow and saw it was not threatened by the giant beasts. Its wings spread wide, blocking the path before Zhao Yang.

A giant crocodile lunged at it first, extending two thick, powerful arms to grab the crow.

The crow let out a sharp, piercing cry, and a burst of green flame suddenly erupted from its beak. The flame formed a barrier that blocked the crocodile.

Seizing the opportunity, the crow fled to the other side. The crocodile's claws struck the flame, immediately billowing thick green smoke. The crocodile's claws instantly melted away, revealing white, skeletal bones beneath.

The crocodile let out an angry roar and snapped its jaws at the crow. Its mouth was enormous; with a single inhalation, it swallowed the crow whole.

But it soon realized it was wrong. The crow's body had directly burrowed into the crocodile's belly, and its beak had shattered the crocodile's stomach lining, drilling into its intestines.

Streams of green flame continuously erupted from its mouth, scorching the crocodile's intestines until they were charred black. The crocodile writhed in agony, struggling to tear the crow out from within its own body.

But the crow's beak was extremely sharp; it quickly bit through the crocodile's neck.

Blood dripped from the neck. The crocodile's breath grew weaker and weaker, and its body constantly shrank.

Finally, the crocodile dissolved into a pool of blood, splashing across the ground. Standing on the crocodile's remains, the crow let out a long, deafening cry.

The crow's form also swelled significantly, its entire body shimmering with emerald-green flames.

Seeing this, Zhao Yang hurried to the crow's side and gently stroked its smooth feathers.

The crow lowered its head and affectionately nuzzled Zhao Yang. Zhao Yang gently stroked the crow's back, comforting it. He thought silently: Could it truly be a divine bird?

Not far away, the massive stone had completely shattered, revealing a blue crystal core. The core emitted a pale blue glow, looking extremely beautiful.

Zhao Yang's heart stirred; he reached out, picked up the crystal core, and stored it in his storage ring.

The crow glanced at him, then flapped its wings, soared into the air, and flew toward the mountain peak.

Zhao Yang gazed at the colossal statue before him, his heart filled with awe.

The statue stood a hundred meters tall, entirely silver-white, and exquisitely lifelike. Countless tiny scales covered its body, shimmering with a faint Jin Guang.

And atop its head stood a massive horn, piercing the clouds like a sharp sword.

Zhao Yang could confirm this statue was definitely a legacy from before the Age of Desolation. Standing beneath the statue, he felt incredibly insignificant.

At the same time, an aura of antiquity and vastness emanated from the statue, making Zhao Yang unable to help but feel reverence.

He took a deep breath, then retrieved the blue crystal core from his storage ring.

The moment the core appeared, it emitted a powerful fluctuation of energy.

The statue's body trembled slightly, then let out a long sigh.

Then, a glint of divine light appeared in its eyes, as if it had come to life.

"Young man, you have finally arrived!" An ancient, weathered voice suddenly echoed in Zhao Yang's mind.

Zhao Yang was startled and quickly looked left and right, finding no other people nearby.

His shock deepened; he did not know where this voice was coming from.

"I am speaking to you," the ancient, weathered voice sounded again. "You need not look; I am inside your body."

Zhao Yang was stunned and immediately inspected his own body internally, finding nothing unusual.

"Where are you?" he asked tentatively.

"I am in your dantian sea of qi," the voice replied. "Now, quickly sit cross-legged, circulate your mental technique, and release me."

Zhao Yang did not understand what was happening, but it seemed this was the only way to communicate with this mysterious existence.

He immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating qi within his body. At his dantian, a vortex of qi spun continuously.

As the mental technique circulated, the vortex gradually grew larger. Then, an ancient rune flew out from the vortex.

The rune emitted a powerful aura, as if containing immense power. It slowly floated above Zhao Yang's head and continued to grow larger.

Finally, the rune transformed into a massive, ancient phantom.

This phantom wore a black feathered robe and had a pair of huge black wings on its back. Its deep eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything, discerning all the world's secrets.

"Finally out!" It let out a long breath, then looked down at Zhao Yang. "Next, I must merge with you immediately; otherwise, my power will dissipate too severely."

Before the words had fully faded, it transformed into a streak of black light and drilled into Zhao Yang's forehead.

Immediately, Zhao Yang felt his body as if being torn apart by a powerful force; intense pain spread throughout his entire being. His body trembled uncontrollably, and sweat instantly covered him completely.

At this moment, he felt power constantly surging from his dantian, swarming toward every part of his body. The moment these powers appeared, they tempered his meridians, bones, and all his acupoints countless times.

This pain was even more severe than the previous time! Zhao Yang rolled on the ground, screaming loudly, his voice sounding utterly ghastly.

But at this moment, he could do nothing; he could only let that power temper him continuously.

Gradually, he felt his body as if it had been remolded. Previously blocked meridians, bones, and acupoints had been opened countless times. And that powerful energy had all merged into his body.

His body also underwent tremendous changes; his muscles became more solid, and his frame grew taller.

His meridians seemed to have widened, and his entire body was filled with a warm sensation.

Immediately, a loud explosion sounded within his body. A surge of powerful force erupted from his dantian, instantly coursing through every part of his frame.

That force was incomparably mighty, as if capable of shattering everything. Zhao Yang felt his strength increase dramatically in an instant; even facing a martial artist at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, he was confident he could fight!