"The world must have its reasons for allowing such creatures to exist," Fang Han said quietly. "Perhaps they exist to drive others to grow. Without the pressure of survival, the Dao itself would never have arisen. In the ancient age of primal chaos, mankind forged martial skills by fighting beasts—and divine arts by battling demons."
Yan chuckled darkly. "Enough philosophy. You've recovered your focus—let's move. The more fiends you slay, the stronger your spirit will become."
"Agreed. Let's go!"
Fang Han's confidence surged. With fierce speed he darted across the desolate landscape—vaulting over jagged stones, leaping across crevices tens of paces wide, bounding up cliffs in single bursts of strength. His muscles rippled with relentless energy; to him, the broken ground was no obstacle but a playground. The air of the barren star whipped past, filling him with a wild exhilaration.
"Hm? What's that wind ahead? I can feel massive air currents—could it be a tornado?"
As he sprinted forward, Fang Han's eyes sharpened, scanning every direction for mineral glints or lurking movement. Far ahead, the horizon dimmed—something vast was stirring.
"In the outer realms, windstorms can rip boulders weighing tons into the sky," Yan said lazily, then suddenly stiffened. "No—this isn't a storm. It's a horde of sky demons! Damn it—so many! Hide, quickly! If they catch you, they'll tear you apart!"
"Those shadows in the wind… demons?"
Fang Han's heart lurched. The gusts rushed closer, shrieking like tortured souls. His robe snapped like a banner; sand filled his lungs with every breath, laced with a cold, metallic stench. This was no mere storm—this was demonic qi.
"Dust-Repelling Talisman!"
A faint shimmer of watery light surrounded him. Instantly, the dust fell away, leaving a half-foot radius of calm air around his body. The talisman, once trivial, now proved priceless.
"Suppress your life force! Find a crevice and hide," Yan hissed. "There must be ten thousand demons out there! That's enough to overrun a small sect. Even I wouldn't survive being swarmed!"
Ten thousand. Enough to annihilate entire minor sects in a night.
Fang Han didn't hesitate. "Close pores. Still breath. Gather spirit. Hide the yuan qi."
Spotting a vast crack in the ground, he darted toward it—swift as an ape, silent as shadow—and slipped into the depths like smoke. Within moments, he vanished completely, as though the earth had swallowed him whole.
He crouched deep in the fissure, sealing every pore, every breath, until even a dog's nose would sense nothing. His consciousness folded inward, a bright sphere of clarity glowing in the sea of his mind.
Above, thunderous rumbling shook the earth—stones tumbled, echoing like war drums. Fang Han remained motionless as shards crashed down, shielded only by the concave pocket of rock that hid him. Any movement now, any leak of qi, would doom both him and Yan.
"This doesn't make sense," he thought. "The Demon Battlefield shouldn't have such a horde. Even inner disciples couldn't survive this. Has something… changed?"
Time crawled. At last, the howling wind ebbed. Fang Han waited a long while before stirring, then ascended like a serpent, slipping out onto the shattered surface. The landscape was devastated—mountains split, the ground scarred by storm and shadow.
Suddenly—voices. Whispered thoughts coiled through the air, not heard but felt.
"The great Sun Demon God breached Yuhua Gate's warding and sent the mighty King Da Weide within. We shall feast at last…"
"Ah, how I envy that night at Beiyang, when the kings drained a maiden cultivator of her essence—it was glorious…"
"I heard the Water Gu King was slain by a Yuhua disciple named Fang, her flesh refined into a pill. The Sun Demon comes for vengeance…"
"Wait—someone's here. Flesh and blood!"
"Delicious! Such strong life force! Forget the others—let's take this one and wear his skin!"
"More demons?" Fang Han's muscles tensed. A dozen shadows surged toward him, spinning like dark whirlwinds. Just as he prepared to strike, the winds condensed—into ten ethereal maidens clad in gauze, dancing with haunting grace. Their voices coiled like silk around his heart.
"Lonely traveler… come, ease our sorrow…"
Their murmurs trembled like honeyed wine, enough to melt iron resolve.
"Trying to shake my mind? Dream on!" Fang Han snarled.
He flung his palms upward, roaring, "Heaven and earth's spirit, sun and moon's essence!"
The shout thundered like a divine hammer. The sound waves rippled outward, splitting the air. In their wake, ten skeletal figures screamed—white bones wreathed in black mist, torn from their illusions. The dancing maidens vanished like shattered glass.
They had hidden their true forms above, waiting to dive into his mind once he attacked. A cunning feint—bait and ambush in one breath.
But Fang Han's sharpened spirit saw through it. His strike shattered their trap before it could close.
"Chittering vermin!"
He swung out the Seven Fiends Gourd. Smoke burst forth, swirling into countless demonic faces that lunged toward the sky. The white-bone demons shrieked as the mist wrapped around them, dragging them down into the gourd's hungry maw.
The Seven Fiends Gourd—a true bane of demons. Blades could not harm their formless qi, but the gourd devoured it whole.
The vessel quivered violently—Fang Han felt as if he were reeling in massive sharks, the pull immense, his muscles straining. With sheer will, he forced the last of the writhing demons inside.
"Only fourteen, and it nearly tore my arms off," he muttered, panting. "If there were a hundred…"
He tossed the gourd into the Yellow Springs Diagram.
Yan's laughter echoed. "Excellent! Fourteen demons refined into Bi Luo Elixirs already! I'll feed them to the flying night fiends—they'll molt soon. Fang Han, if you slay another three hundred sixty demons, refine their essence into pills, and feed them to your ten night fiends—they'll evolve into Shuras! Imagine—ten Shura guardians at your command!"
Within the Yellow Springs, the ten flying night fiends devoured their share, their scaly skin thickening, cocoons forming as they began their transformation.
"Ten Shuras…" Fang Han's eyes burned with fire. That kind of power would shake the heavens.