The moment Fang Han spoke, a chill spread across the pill chamber. No one expected him to turn so suddenly—one breath calm, the next ice-cold. Wu Li and Master Xuan-Iron shot upright, staring at him in disbelief.
Their plan had been simple: use the Five-Element Spirit Root to squeeze Fang Han hard. He desperately needed it, and with barely a year left before his life-and-death battle with Hua Tiandu, time was more precious to him than spirit stones. Surely he would pay anything—pills, Forgetting-Love Water, secret arts—then obediently march with them into the deadly Savage God Temple as cannon fodder while they reaped all the benefits.
But instead of bargaining or pleading, Fang Han flipped the table—faster than turning a page. His killing aura rolled out like the wrath of a sovereign betrayed by his ministers.
His cold stare swept over them, and for a heartbeat, Xuan-Iron and the others felt as if they had committed treason.
"I agreed to refine Nascent Soul Pills out of goodwill—to befriend fellow disciples. Had you come sincerely, I wouldn't have begrudged you anything, nor coveted your treasures. But you—trying to deceive me, to take advantage of me?" Fang Han's voice sharpened. "Do you really think I'm someone you can toy with?"
From the moment Xuan-Iron opened his mouth, Fang Han had seen right through their scheme.
"Y-You—!"
Xuan-Iron finally recovered, his face turning the color of iron. He jabbed a finger at Fang Han. "We came to share the whereabouts of the Five-Element Spirit Root out of kindness. Yet you twist our intentions and insult us? What is your aim?"
"My aim is simple." Fang Han's tone cooled to frost. "You want to trade? Fine. I can give you a large number of Nascent Soul Pills—even Forgetting-Love Water. You tell me the location of the Spirit Root. Everything else—off the table."
"Now I don't feel like telling you anything."
Xuan-Iron's expression twisted into a dark sneer. "If we can't come to an agreement, then so be it. Think we wanted to harm you? Hah! Settle your duel with Hua Tiandu a year from now—I won't tell you a thing. Good day!"
He turned to leave.
"You think you can deceive me and walk away?" Fang Han shrugged lightly. "It's not that easy."
He knew his generosity had made some regard him as a walking treasure vault. Refining Nascent Soul Pills for the sect might have been goodwill—but to people like Xuan-Iron, it made him look like a fat sheep.
Fine.
Then today, he would establish authority.
The moment Fang Han barred their exit, killing intent erupted from Xuan-Iron. Wu Li's killing intent surged even hotter; he laughed sharply.
"Hahaha! Fang Han, your arrogance is astounding. Because you gained a few lucky opportunities, you think you can look down on the true disciples of Yuhua Sect? You haven't even formed a Golden Core! We came with good intentions, and you treat us like dirt. Very well—I'll see exactly what your so-called 'powers' amount to!"
"You?" Fang Han studied him as if examining a stubborn insect. "I've already captured the Six Real Persons of Taiyi Gate. Are you stronger than they were?"
"Them?" Wu Li barked. "That useless bunch of pampered brats? They were raised in luxury, soft and spoiled. I grew up slaying demons, fighting in the wild, walking the line between life and death! My cultivation was forged in blood and storms. And you—relying on two lucky treasures—beat a few soft-bellied nobles and think you've ascended to immortality?"
Xuan-Iron's voice rang with pride.
"Very well," Fang Han said. "Let's settle this on the Heavenly Execution Platform. You're at the sixth realm of Divine Ability—Unity Stage. I've only recently reached the fifth, not even assembled the full Five Elements. Surely defeating me will be trivial for you."
His smile sharpened.
"If you win, you can walk away. If you lose, you tell me the exact location of the Spirit Root. I lose—I'll give you three thousand Nascent Soul Pills and three thousand drops of Forgetting-Love Water. Do you dare?"
Xuan-Iron flicked his iron-woven battle robe.
"An elder refined your Blood-Sky Demon Blade into a Dao-artifact just a month ago, and now you think you can challenge me? Since you're so eager to throw three thousand Nascent Soul Pills at my feet, I'll gladly accept. Hmph! See you on the Execution Platform."
In a flicker, Xuan-Iron vanished from Fang Han's pill chamber.
Wu Li and the others gave cold snorts and flew out after him.
"Fang Han, you're challenging them on the Execution Platform to make an example, aren't you?"
Jialan paused her work. "Those people think you're weak and naive, trying to exploit your urgency for cultivation. They deserved this."
"Senior Sister, do you know where the Spirit Root is?" Fang Han asked immediately.
Jialan shook her head. "If I knew, I would've told you long ago. But there is one disciple—Meng Shaobai. A prodigy. He once acquired the Five-Element Spirit Root. He's been traveling for years; he's probably formed his Golden Core by now. Xuan-Iron once tried to curry favor with him—that's how he found out the location."
"So even among our hundred true disciples, there are such hidden figures?" Fang Han muttered. "I'll have to meet him someday. For now—I'm heading to the Platform. Will you all come watch?"
"Of course," Jialan replied. "We haven't seen true disciples battle in ages. Once the warning bell strikes, every true disciple will rush over."
"Good. The more witnesses, the better."
Fang Han rose. Azure energy roared beneath his feet, lifting him skyward toward the Heavenly Execution Platform above Yuhua Palace.
By the time he arrived, Xuan-Iron, Wu Li, and three Heaven-Human realm disciples were already waiting. They looked at him only to sneer.
"What's this? The five of you plan to gang up on me?" Fang Han's roar shook the mountains, sending echoes rolling through the peaks.
Across the sect, lights flared. Disciples shot into the sky, sensing a duel between true disciples on the Execution Platform—a rare spectacle. Especially among those at Fang Han's level—Heaven-Human cultivators rarely wasted time fighting each other; they were too busy chasing materials, cultivating arts, or battling the heavens themselves.
Now they flocked from all directions, surrounding Yuhua Palace, staring at the two sides facing off atop the towering platform.
"That's Fang Han—he's been making waves lately."
"They say he can refine Nascent Soul Pills. The recipe's one thing, but the materials? How does he refine them in such quantity? Is the Five-Prison King Cauldron really that miraculous?"
"A year ago he was an outer disciple in Body-Refining stage. Now he's at Divine Ability Fifth Stage? That's insane."
"He spent eighteen days in the Taiyuan Immortal Mansion. One day outside is one year inside—so eighteen years of cultivation."
"Even so! He's far beyond ordinary. But Xuan-Iron? He's been at Unity Stage for years—rumor is he's on the cusp of forming a Golden Core. Fang Han may not be his match."
"And don't forget—Fang Han just had his Blood-Sky Blade refined into a Dao-artifact. The blood-qi eruption shook the whole sect."
"Look—Lingxiao and Wanluo have arrived!"
Among the whispers, two of the Five Great True Disciples—Wanluo of the South and Lingxiao of the East—descended to watch.
"Will Hua Tiandu come?"
"He's at Taiyi Sect."
On the platform, Wu Li stepped forward.
"Come together? Ridiculous. Let me test your so-called power."
He snatched at the air. A surge of razor-sharp sword-energy condensed in his hand, forming an ancient sword engraved with strange patterns—metal yet not metal, iron yet not iron.
The moment it appeared, fierce demonic roars echoed from it—like a thousand monsters snarling behind the blade.
A top-quality treasure.
"The Roaring Shadow Sword," Fang Han laughed. "A fine treasure. But no match for mine. You'd better come together—save me the trouble."
Five streaks of blood-light exploded from his palm—lightning-fast, crimson as fresh paint—the blade qi of the Blood-Sky Demon Blade.
He attacked all five at once.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Five streaks of sword-light met the five blood-blades.
All five disciples were blasted backward.
They had managed to block it—barely. Each of them wielded treasures of high grade, and Xuan-Iron's sword, the Great Hidden Heavenly Dragon Sword, was even a top-tier treasure, humming with draconic power.
"Courting death!"
Xuan-Iron stepped forward. His Heavenly Dragon Sword spun, blocking the crimson light—and then—
The sword vanished.
In the next instant, it reappeared—already slashing toward Fang Han's neck.
Instant-Slaughter Sword Art.
He wasn't holding back anymore.