"Trap me? Impossible. If I don't shatter this Linglong Daluo Heaven soon, I will be in real danger. Must I use my final hand? Hmph. Fang Han… you truly are troublesome."
Wan Luo could no longer see Fang Han at all. The world around him had become a vast, layered maze—endless gray corridors twisting into infinity. Above him, nothing but gloomy haze. Beneath him, the same lifeless gray. And in every direction, shadowed passageways leading toward a bottomless abyss. No matter how he flew, no matter how much force he used, the maze didn't budge.
Whenever he attempted to break out—shattering sky or ground—the gray mist would ripple and a streak of blood-light would erupt outward, blocking his techniques. A bloody, spectral hand would then lunge for his Golden Core, utterly fearless of retaliation.
Even if he self-detonated his Golden Core, Fang Han wouldn't be harmed. At most, he'd collapse the maze and downgrade the Blood-Night King from a Dao-artifact back to a treasure. Fang Han himself remained untouched outside the labyrinth, using the demonic blade as a cage. Blowing himself up would only damage the blade—not Fang Han.
Then the real assault came.
Firelight seeped through the gray passageways, exploding toward him in violent waves. Within the flames roared coils of black storm winds, corroding and scorching his protective qi with sizzling pops.
"Golden Bell Barrier!"
Realizing the danger, Wan Luo vibrated his Golden Core. A brilliant beam shot upward, forming a massive ancient bell of shimmering gold that sealed him inside. A pure defensive art—unyielding, impenetrable, meant to block all malice and magic.
But the fire grew stronger.
Great vermilion birds and blazing phoenixes smashed into the bell, each impact blooming into storms of flame and thunder. In the midst of fire and wind flashed ribbons of scarlet blade-light—razor-sharp arcs that hacked into the bell's surface, knocking off sparks like molten steel.
Cracks formed.
With a final earth-shaking roar, the Golden Bell shattered.
Wan Luo reacted instantly. A treasured portal in his hand spun outward, releasing a flood of dense, swirling air currents that shielded him from wind, fire, and blade-light alike.
"Rōsheng Gate!"
Fang Han recognized it at once—the supreme treasure from Wan Luo's arsenal, an ultimate-grade treasure on par with the Five-Elements King Cauldron. He had once lent it to Ye Nantian, though the latter lacked the power to wield even a fraction of its strength.
Now Wan Luo unleashed it at full force.
"This time, Fang Han, witness true power!"
The Rōsheng Gate whirled faster and faster, its currents thickening into near-solid walls of force. The labyrinth shuddered under the pressure. Flames recoiled. Even Linglong Daluo Heaven showed signs of breaking.
Then Wan Luo made a decisive move.
He thrust his Golden Core—containing seventeen divine abilities—directly into the spinning gate.
The entire treasure expanded like a living fortress. Its aura surged to the brink of a Dao-artifact. A temporary, dangerous fusion—man and treasure combined, elevating the Rōsheng Gate's power beyond its natural limits.
Yan, observing until now, finally spoke:
"He's forcing his Golden Core into the treasure… temporarily pushing its power up to Dao-artifact level! Fang Han—quick! Feed wood to fire! Use your Wood Emperor Qi to empower your fire arts—burn him!"
Yan had been holding his strength in reserve. Wan Luo was too dangerous, too cunning—any sudden trump card could reverse the situation instantly. So Yan guarded the final line, waiting.
But now Wan Luo had gone all in.
"Borrow wood to fuel fire? Perfect. Let's show him the might of the Five Emperors Demon Arts."
Fang Han directed his Wood Emperor Qi outward—not as an attack, but as fuel.
It poured into the Great Sun Fire Disaster, Vermilion Bird Dance, Phoenix Cry, and Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi.
The transformation was instantaneous.
A roar swept through the heavens.
The vermilion birds and phoenixes expanded tenfold. The burning sun grew into a golden inferno that twisted space itself. Firestorms blazed across the sky, turning the world gold.
But the most terrifying change came from the Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi.
The Wood Emperor Qi ignited it like oil on dry tinder.
A towering flame-emperor took shape—followed by a second, the Fire Sovereign rising beside him. Both figures radiated dominion over all flame. Even the sun-fire of the Great Sun Fire Disaster bowed instinctively, orbiting them like ministers circling their emperor.
All around, the phoenixes and vermilion birds spiraled in reverence, as if welcoming two ancient rulers returning to take command of all fire under heaven.
Fang Han's Wood Emperor Qi burned rapidly… but the power of his fire arts surged exponentially.
"I command all fire…"
The Red Emperor's voice boomed like molten thunder.
Mountains of flame crushed downward.
Wan Luo, having just broken free from the collapsing labyrinth, was blindsided. The fire descended like a mountain range falling from the sky. Heat seared into his blood, threatening to ignite it from within.
Even the fire-based divine techniques inside his Golden Core trembled—Haotian True Flame, Cyan Flame Seven-Blade Light—recoiling in fear.
After Yin-Yang Realm, divine abilities gained sentience. And now that sentience buckled under the overwhelming authority of the fire-emperors. Wan Luo needed several times the usual strength just to keep them functioning.
This was the terror of the Five Emperors Demon Arts—innate suppression of all elemental laws.
Fang Han struck again.
Linglong Daluo Heaven reformed, trapping Wan Luo once more. Firestorms surged inward. Then Fang Han launched a chain of brutal assaults:
—Vajra Iron-Bone Handprint
—Crystal Lightning Claw
—Sky-Severing True Fist
—Crimson Blood Surge
—Pathbreaker Slash
—Nation-Forging Primordial Strike
Blow after blow, relentless, suffocating.
The demonic blade withdrew.
"The Blood-Night King—merge!"
The Blood-Night King fused into Fang Han's mind. Blood-light coated his body as he flickered erratically through space—employing Serpent-Sparrow Spirit Motion and True Form Mirage simultaneously.
Crack.
Rōsheng Gate's currents shattered. Cracks spiderwebbed across its structure.
Wan Luo's Golden Core was blasted free—sent tumbling through the air.
He was furious. Humiliated. Terrified.
"How… how does this brat have so many techniques? He even sacrificed his own Wood Emperor Qi! Damn him—no matter how many tricks he has, I'll crush him all the same!"
Grinding his teeth, he made a ruthless choice.
From his inner robe, a small treasure pouch burst open—a single pill flying out.
Mad Demon Life-Shortening Pill.
Wan Luo's hidden ace. He had delayed using it because it cost one hundred years of life—and could be taken only once in a lifetime. Even a Golden Core cultivator, with a thousand-year lifespan, loathed losing a century.
Just as the pill appeared—
A streak of blood-light flashed.
The Blood-Night King's blade aura cleaved through Rōsheng Gate yet again. Wan Luo roared, sending his Golden Core crashing forward to block Fang Han.
The Golden Core struck the blood-light and forced it back—but a massive dragon claw materialized from thin air.
It snatched the pill instantly.
Fang Han burst into wild laughter:
"Hahahaha! Wan Luo—I knew it! This is why you dared challenge me. You were counting on the Mad Demon Life-Shortening Pill! But now your final trump card is mine. What do you have left? Nothing! You've lost!"
In that moment, victory became absolute—unshakable.