"What kind of backing? I'm not afraid of demon gods or Hua Tiandu—why would I fear him? What is he, the disciple of an immortal?"
Fang Han froze, but didn't strike. Yan never warned him without reason. As tempting as the Jade-Blood Soul-Extinguishing Sword was, it wasn't worth derailing his true mission—the search for the Five Element Roots. If this really provoked disaster, the loss would be immeasurable.
But just as he hesitated, the young man in the emerald robe clenched his teeth and pulled out a jade-green peach-shaped thunder bomb.
A Great Yin Thunder.
He crushed it midair.
BOOM!
The explosion sounded as if a million pounds of gunpowder detonated underwater—air roared, space trembled, the shockwave blasting apart Fang Han's Black Sun Wind Disaster. The Jade-Blood Soul-Extinguishing Sword darted out like a serpent, slipping past the Blood Night King's grasp and carrying its master away. In the blink of an eye, they vanished.
"You wait! I'll make you pay!"
The young man's voice echoed from afar. "You stole the battlefield qi I spent years collecting—YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!"
Fang Han snorted coldly and prepared to chase him down.
But Yan stopped him.
"Do not pursue. That sword was forged millennia ago by the Jade-Blood Devil Elder—one of the Bloodshadow Demonic Sect's Supreme Elders. He is vicious beyond reason, and his vengeance is endless. Anyone who offends him will be hunted to the ends of the earth. Even his juniors are not spared."
Yan continued, voice grave:
"The Demon God you angered has a bottom line—he will chase Feng Baiyu before he bothers with you. True ancient giants still have a shred of dignity. But the Jade-Blood Devil Elder? He is the exception. If you kill this young man, he will camp outside Yuhua Mountain every day. The moment you leave the sect, he'll appear to kill you. His tricks are endless—he knows countless demonic arts of detection, tracking, and distant sensing. Once he smells your qi, he can cross ten thousand miles instantly. Even the Yellow Springs Emperor tried many times to eliminate him and failed."
Fang Han inhaled sharply.
If a Longevity giant shadowed him day and night, waiting for him to leave the mountain just to kill him… what future cultivation was even possible?
Even the Demon God didn't harass juniors like that. This old demon was a different breed entirely.
"Good thing I disguised myself—no one knows who I am. Let's get out of here and see how much battlefield qi those gourds contain."
He dismissed the Celestial Lion Qi and flew for over an hour before landing in a remote patch of grassland, regaining his true appearance.
His current power was enough to defeat Wan Luo, a Golden Core-stage cultivator.
But compared to Longevity giants, he was still a child.
Even late-stage Divine Ability cultivators—Wind-Fire Tribulation or Heaven-Earth Dharma Aspect—were likely beyond his reach. Though he possessed the Blood Night King, the gap in realm was too vast.
He was only in the Heaven-Man Realm, not even at its peak, lacking two of the Five Element refinements. Once he reached the Golden Core Realm, things would change—but he still had a long way to go.
He dragged out the seven black-robed bodies the Celestial Lion had swallowed. They were indeed Bloodshadow Demonic Sect disciples—one of the Seven Great Demon Branches, powerful and wealthy, rivaling the Yuhua Sect. Fang Han erased their memories with Forgetting Water, then stripped them of their skull-embroidered robes and their seven gourds.
Seven robes.
Seven lower-grade magic treasures.
Proof of the Bloodshadow Sect's terrifying wealth.
Fang Han accepted them all. He didn't need the garments, but on the markets of the Daqian Empire, they would sell instantly. Three things always sold well: pills, flying swords, and robes—core essentials for training disciples.
But the gourds—the gourds were what mattered.
They resembled Seven-Shade Gourds, of extraordinary quality, though lacking offensive abilities. Their sole function was absorption. Each contained a powerful array—similar to the devouring formation within the Five Prison King Cauldron.
When shaken, they emitted the sounds of armies clashing, war drums thundering—an illusion of a primordial battlefield.
"How much killing qi does it take to condense this?"
Fang Han poured his divine sight into one gourd. Inside was a complete phantom world—countless soldiers battling endlessly. Each gourd's stored battlefield qi was ten times—no, a hundred times—stronger than the war-soul relic he had formed earlier.
Who knew how many wars it took to collect all this?
"Perfect timing. I need 108 War-Soul Relics to open my Second Mind-Sea. That would take years—maybe a decade. But with these gourds? Problem solved!" Fang Han's voice trembled with excitement.
The seven gourds contained more than enough qi for the 108 relics.
He could open his Second Mind-Sea immediately.
Luck like this was heaven-sent.
"When fortune comes, the world conspires to aid you…"
Fang Han sat cross-legged, cast Sea Mirage Qi Form, and concealed his presence from all but Golden Core experts.
Hidden within the autumn grasslands, protected by Yan, he upended the gourds and began absorbing their battlefield qi.
Meanwhile, far away on the plains—
"That bastard! Damn him! DAMN HIM!"
The young man in the emerald robe—Ling Gongzi—was raging. Sword qi whipped out of him, carving ten miles of land into tatters.
"I spent nine years collecting those seven gourds of battlefield qi! I triggered wars, manipulated armies—ALL FOR THIS! I was going to return and have Father refine my sword into a Dao Artifact! Now everything is ruined! WHO IS HE?!"
He trembled with hysteria before suddenly calming.
"…Seems I'll need killers."
He pulled out a pitch-black talisman and ignited it. Smoke surged upward and vanished into the void.
Two hours later, the clouds twisted. Three figures descended silently, faces masked, bodies tall and lean. Their presence alone was suffocating—each of them emanated Golden Core-level pressure.
Three Divine Ability Seventh Realm—Golden Core experts.
Killers.
One spoke, voice low:
"Ling Gongzi, if you summon all three of us, the target must be extraordinary. You know our price—each mission requires one superior-grade treasure."
Ling Gongzi sneered.
"You are ranked second, third, and fourth among the Forty Sea Pirates. Wan Gui Immortal Island tried to exterminate you many times—failed every time. Even disciples of the Taiyi Sect couldn't kill you. Do you think I cannot pay your price?"
The three nodded slightly.
Forty Sea Pirates—fearsome overlords of the ocean. Fang Han had once killed the 38th-ranked pirate. But these three were within the top five. The gap was like heaven and earth.
One masked killer said softly,
"Your father, the Jade-Blood Devil Elder—we trust his reputation. Tell us the target. Show us the face. Tell us the realm."
Ling Gongzi waved his hand. Fang Han's disguised image appeared.
"He should be in the Heaven-Man Realm."
The killers saw it at once.
"Not his real appearance."
Ling Gongzi smirked and produced a jade vial.
"But this is his qi. No disguise fools scent. Track it, kill him, and bring back the seven gourds."
"No problem."
They took the vial, shook it once, and disappeared into thin air.