Deep within the vast grasslands, a whirlpool of murderous battle-intent churned like a storm. It carried echoes from ancient battlefields—despair, agony, frenzy, the last roars of millions. These emotions, compressed into a single suffocating mass, were enough to rupture the mind of any expert below the profound realms of cultivation.
At the center of this storm sat Fang Han, wholly absorbed in opening his Second Sea of Consciousness. Seven gourds, each carved with a skull emblem, orbited him like grim satellites, their ferocious killing aura pouring into him in violent surges.
These were no ordinary vessels. Inside them, Ling Gongzi and his men had spent nine full years harvesting battle-essence from countless war zones—slaughter refined into pure, lethal energy. Their original purpose was to be fused into the Blood-Night King Blade, an artifact that required the notorious "Blood-Night Patriarch" to finalize. An undertaking of that scale should have been priceless.
Yet Fang Han had acquired them for a fraction of their worth—an absurd stroke of fortune—and now they provided the exact fuel he needed for the second stage of the Panwu Titan Arts.
"From the mysteries of shadow and light…
Heaven holds yin and yang, earth holds purity and turbidity, humans hold male and female…
No lone yin can endure, no lone yang can create…
Let the primal essence of heaven and earth open the second mind… let the purple palace awaken once more…"
As Fang Han absorbed the slaughter-essence from each gourd, clusters of War-Soul Relics formed one after another within his consciousness.
First seventy-two small ones—
Then thirty-six larger ones.
Seventy-two Earth Fiends.
Thirty-six Heavenly Stars.
By the time the final drop of killing aura merged into him, his mind glowed like a constellation. One hundred and eight relics gleamed like living stars, each pulsing with suffocating power.
Following the Celestial Star Array, Fang Han began arranging them in his mind—forming a miniature starfield. The final step was the most difficult:
to resonate with the true stars beyond the world.
If he could attune to the thirty-six Heavenly Stars and seventy-two Earth Fiends in the cosmic firmament, he would achieve true heaven-human resonance, letting the boundless power of real starlight meld with the killing-intent of the relics—opening the Second Sea of Consciousness.
This step could take days or weeks. For some with poor talent, it might never happen in their lifetime.
But Fang Han had no such weakness.
He had already reached the Heaven-Human Realm, had even defeated a Golden Core master. Among cultivators, he was already a name all would remember. Any technique—given enough focus—was something he could break through.
As his mind stretched toward the stars, trying to touch the distant Heavenly Fiends and Earth Fiends beyond the void…
Across the grasslands, three shadows hunted through the skies.
They were the top assassins of the Overseas Forty Bandits—murderers whose names were whispered with dread. Ling Gongzi had personally hired them.
And Fang Han was right below them, hidden only by his Mirage Sea Technique, calmly cultivating while three Golden Core killers swept the skies.
Meanwhile, high above the clouds, within the floating citadel of the Feathered Immortal Palace, the senior elders of Yuhua Sect were in intense deliberation.
Thousands of feet above the world, surrounded by drifting clouds, the grand palace shimmered like a suspended kingdom. Inside, towering figures had gathered:
Elder Tianxing of the Longevity Realm,
Elder Tiangong,
Elder Chuanggong,
the Medicine King Elder,
the Sword-Vault Elder,
the Star-Seer Elder…
Dozens of Golden Core-level elders stood assembled.
This was the heart of the sect.
And something monumental was unfolding.
Ever since Fang Han delivered his message to Sect Master Feng Baiyu, the upper council had been meeting in secret every day. The revelation of the Divine Race was too explosive—no one who heard even a fragment could remain calm.
"Fellow elders," Elder Tianxing began solemnly, "the Sect Master is deep within the Endless Time Domain, refining the Heavenly Emperor Mirror with the Supreme Elders. He hopes to elevate it to immortal-grade before the calamity descends. This incoming catastrophe will be the greatest crisis the Profound Yellow World has ever seen. If mismanaged, our sect may be wiped from existence. But if we seize the opportunity—Yuhua may rise above Taixuan Sect and rule the world."
His words sent ripples through the hall.
A star-robed elder stroked his beard. "Even great disasters have a starting point. And no invader, not even the Divine Race, can strike all major powers at once—Immortal Dao's Ten Sects, Demon Dao's Seven Lines, Monster Dao's Five Tribes, the subterranean demons… They must pick a first target. We must anticipate it."
This elder was the Star-Seer, master of stellar divination, the man who kept the floating palace aloft by channeling celestial force.
Elder Tianxing nodded. "The Sect Master believes the invasion will begin overseas. The region is chaotic, filled with countless rogue cultivators. The Divine Race will likely gain a foothold by supporting a hidden faction—growing quietly, boiling the frog slowly."
"That explains why Fang Qingxue established the Thunder-Emperor Palace overseas…" an elder murmured.
"Exactly," Elder Chuanggong said. "Many sensed something was wrong overseas. Why else would the Grand Emperor of Innate Dao send Demon Marshal to eliminate the Forty Bandits?"
"Do the bandits have ties to the Divine Race?" the Sword-Vault Elder growled, killing intent flaring. "If so, I'll kill every last one."
"Not so easy," Tiangong Elder replied. "Six of them are Golden Core. Their leader, Abandoning Heaven Bandit, is nearly at the Longevity Realm. If the Divine Race promised to help him ascend, he'd gladly serve them. We can't strike openly—the entire world would notice. But sending disciples? That's subtle. Fang Qingxue's Thunder-Emperor Palace is a lure. One bandit at a time—they'll fall."
The Sword-Vault Elder snorted. "Even our disciples may not handle them."
"If Fang Qingxue reaches Golden Core… if Fang Han finds the Five-Element Spirit Roots… if he reaches Unity Realm and forms his Golden Core… then the two of them, armed with Dao-Artifacts and tied by blood, will be unstoppable," Tianxing Elder said.
The elders nodded gravely.
"One month ago, Fang Han defeated Wan Luo on the Execution Platform," an elder recalled. "A Heaven-Human realm youth defeating a Golden Core master… even in ancient history, such genius is exceedingly rare."
"Indeed. If the Yellow Springs Diagram recovers… he may even surpass Hua Tiandu," another elder said. "A second Linglong."
Linglong—the legendary Immortal Sovereign of the Linglong Immortal Realm. A peerless existence feared even by Taixuan Sect.
"Fang Han has potential," the Sword-Vault Elder agreed. "And he knows kindness and enmity clearly—he treats allies well and enemies worse. A straightforward temperament—rare, but not unpleasant. Once the Yellow Springs Diagram recovers… I'd like to witness its true demonic power."
"That will require Fang Han to reach the Longevity Realm," the Star-Seer Elder said calmly. "A realm beyond miracles. One step into it is one step into eternity. Even we, after a thousand years of cultivation, stand little chance."
The elders fell silent.
Even Hua Tiandu, with his supreme inheritance and multiple Dao-Artifacts, was stuck at the precipice.
"Let's see whether Fang Han can find the Five-Element Spirit Roots," the Chuanggong Elder concluded. "The Barbarian God Temple hides ancient curses even we dare not delve into. But for Fang Han, it's both a trial and a chance. His fate will be decided there."
And at that very moment…
Fang Han reached toward the stars—
while death closed in around him from above.