The Lifeless Sword Sect—an ancient lineage that was neither righteous nor evil, both and neither. Its sword arts were said to be unmatched across the heavens, built on a single principle: cut off the last sliver of life between heaven and earth. A true defiance of the cosmic order.
Every practitioner of the Lifeless Sword Dao was a once-in-an-era prodigy, capable of sweeping the world with a single strike, destroying anything that stood in their path. But the technique was so heaven-defying that almost no one could cultivate it. Thus the sect had always been a single-line inheritance—one successor per generation.
Which meant Meng Shaobai was, at once:
the sect master,
the sole disciple,
the elder,
and even the grand elder.
A one-man sect.
And that didn't conflict with him being Yu Hua Sect's true disciple as well.
If he ever reached the Longevity Realm, he would be a legitimate contender for the next sect master's throne—potentially rivaling Hua Tiandu himself.
The position of Yu Hua Sect's master was no trivial matter.
Meng Shaobai testing his sword on Fang Han today wasn't about killing him. It was a preliminary probe, a way to plant a seed of defeat in Fang Han's heart—because he had sensed that Fang Han, too, was a potential future contender for the sect master's seat.
Among the true disciples of Yu Hua Sect:
Hua Tiandu was the undisputed first.
Meng Shaobai was rising rapidly.
Fang Qingxue watched like a silent tiger.
Fang Han—though still the "small one"—was growing at terrifying speed.
The current sect master, Feng Baiyu, would eventually retreat in a few centuries to pursue the Dao of immortality. When that time came, Hua Tiandu, Meng Shaobai, Fang Qingxue, Fang Han, and even Nan Wanluo, Bei Yaoguang, Xi Jialan, and Dong Lingxiao might all reach the Longevity Realm.
The fight for the future throne would be brutal.
Meng Shaobai's goal today was simple: defeat Fang Han, not kill him. Sect law would punish him severely if Fang Han died. Instead, he used one of the most destructive Lifeless Sword techniques—
Void-Rending Kill.
All his power and Divine Abilities compressed into a single force field—a domain of certain defeat. Space collapsed inward. Air vanished. Fang Han's qi, spells, Divine Abilities—even the Blood Night King—were all dragged toward the sword tip.
In short, the sword intended to pull Fang Han entirely into its blade.
Such a bizarre, terrifying technique—Fang Han had never even heard of it.
"Linglong Heaven Array!"
He didn't hesitate. The moment the sword locked onto him, Fang Han activated the spatial-shifting Divine Ability. Thanks to his second sea of consciousness, his response speed had doubled. In a flash, void-panels unfolded around him like a massive cosmic chessboard. With a single shimmering step, he slipped out of Meng Shaobai's killing field.
"Trying to run? Hmph."
Meng Shaobai's figure dissolved into sword-light, vanishing completely. What surged toward Fang Han was a dreamlike cascade of sword illusions—half real, half false—unfolding into sword arrays, sword tombs, sword forests, sword pools…
A world made of swords.
Dream-Slaying Kill.
Another signature nightmare of the Lifeless Sword Dao. Once caught, the victim could no longer distinguish reality from illusion until the sword-light claimed their life.
Fang Han's mind turned still as water.
His organs roared with spinning energies; the Five Emperor Great Demon Technique activated for the first time.
Green, red, white, black, and yellow qi spiraled, cycling through the five elements. Spiritual fire blazed, exploding through his consciousness.
A surge of vast power shattered the dreamscape.
And he saw it—the sword tip already three inches from his throat.
Cold enough to freeze his soul.
"Blood Night King!"
Blood-light erupted between the blade and his neck, halting the strike. Fang Han's body flickered sideways, slipping into another bank of cloud—just barely outside Meng Shaobai's killing aura.
Swish—
No sooner had he landed than the cloud in front of him twisted—Meng Shaobai burst from it like a comet hunting prey, his sword stabbing downward.
Of all the opponents Fang Han had faced, none were as troublesome.
No fancy spells.
No overwhelming treasures.
Just swordsmanship beyond comprehension.
He couldn't hit Meng Shaobai.
He couldn't trap him.
All he could do was evade, evade, evade.
"If only I'd had time to refine that Nine-Heavens Earth-Essence Crystal… If my Yellow Emperor Earth Dao had reached even a small accomplishment, I could counterattack!"
Without his second sea of consciousness, Fang Han would've lost instantly. Even now, he could only defend—never strike back.
"Future Constellation!"
As Meng Shaobai's sword descended again, Nebula Baby's "Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet" pulsed with starlight. A towering astral deity materialized—vast, robed in constellations, crowned with stars. Its presence eclipsed even the Blood Night King.
With a single flash, it punched forward—
Bang!
The fist slammed into the sword tip, knocking it aside.
Meng Shaobai vanished once more.
The Blood Night King flew out, joining the astral deity in pursuit. Together, they unleashed a murderous blade-light deep into the clouds.
Slash!
Meng Shaobai's figure appeared—his concealment finally torn apart.
Two Dao-Artifact spirits had forced him into visibility.
Both the Blood Night King and the Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet were Dao Artifacts refined by Longevity Realm experts, infused with their blood essence. Combined, they were enough to reveal even Meng Shaobai.
"Now!"
Fang Han sent all twenty-eight Divine Abilities surging forward.
Meng Shaobai laughed.
"Two Dao Artifact spirits—truly extraordinary. Fang Han, we'll end things here today. When the Mountain-River Rankings competition comes, we'll fight again."
He vanished mid-sentence. Fang Han's spells struck empty sky.
With Meng Shaobai gone, Fang Han's spirit lightened instantly. The invisible pressure that had wrapped around him evaporated.
"He's indeed terrifying," the astral deity from the five-star bracelet said. "If this had dragged on, the outcome would've turned ugly."
"But he couldn't control the situation much longer either," Fang Han replied. The short exchange had been razor-thin—one misstep and he would've suffered humiliation.
Being defeated by Meng Shaobai would have been unbearable.
Nebula Baby tapped the bracelet, and the deity dissolved back into it.
"So what now?"
"We find a place to stay in Taibai City," Fang Han said. "I need to refine the Bright Light Ship we bought at the auction—and absorb the Nine-Heavens Earth-Essence Crystal to form a new Divine Ability. Meng Shaobai isn't an issue. But you," he looked at Nebula Baby, "will help me kill a few people later."
"No problem," Nebula Baby said. "Our Starry Sky Gate has property here. You can cultivate without interruptions."
"Then let's go."
They flew into the distance and soon reached a shining tower—its surface embedded with crystals forming a massive array. Starlight cascaded down from the heavens, funneled directly into the tower.
Ordinary cultivators couldn't even enter this place.
But Nebula Baby flashed the Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet. The tower parted, and they stepped into the hall atop it—calm and bright, filled with endless astral force.
Perfect for cultivating the Panwu Titan Art.
"This is the Hao-Star Tower," Nebula Baby explained. "We've built several across the Great Xuan Empire. They're part of our sect's holdings. Of course, we pay taxes to the imperial family—mostly in pills—which are then offered to Taiyi Sect."
"Naturally. Otherwise Taiyi Sect would never allow you to build such towers."
Fang Han sat cross-legged and took out the Nine-Heavens Earth-Essence Crystal.
He wrapped it in the Earth Emperor Astral Qi.
Crack… crack…
Under the earthen aura, the crystal dissolved, releasing pure earth-element essence into Fang Han's qi. Gradually, his Earth Emperor aura took shape—like a coiling dragon or a slithering serpent, its scales beginning to show.
"Eh? Yan—why haven't you devoured the Bright Light Ship yet?" Fang Han asked, sensing Yan's cultivation.
Yan coiled around the ship, swallowing its pure yang essence.
"I only want the pure yang energy. But the ship's materials are extremely precious—more valuable than the Five-Hell King Cauldron's metal. If I ate it all, I'd have to, well… spit it back out. I can't digest it. Not like the Golden Fiery Mirror you gave me before—that one melted entirely into my cultivation."
Yan waved a claw.
"The ship's leftover materials might one day help you upgrade your Five-Hell King Cauldron into a Dao Artifact."