Killing Xiao Buye meant forming an irreconcilable blood feud with Xiao Shi, the inner disciple of Yuhua Sect. The hatred of a slain father and the humiliation of a stolen wife—such enmity could never be forgiven.
Yet Fang Han understood that even if he hadn't killed Xiao Buye, the man already bore a grudge. After all, his son had been beaten half to death by Fang Han himself. It was inevitable that the island master of Nocturne Isle would seek revenge; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared intercept him so brazenly.
By reason alone, a small-time rogue cultivator should never have opposed a disciple of one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects. Even if not deferential, he should at least have shown restraint. Fang Han thus concluded that Xiao Buye had long made up his mind to deal with him—and likely had support from the shadows.
And that, Fang Han mused, suited many people just fine.
Within the sect, there were plenty who wished him ill—senior disciples like Dong Lingxiao and Nan Wanluo among them. Though they were bound by sect rules and couldn't act against him directly, hiring rogue cultivators to do the dirty work was another matter.
Xiao Buye could claim revenge for his son while secretly taking rewards from others. A perfect excuse.
Seeing the man's cunning, Fang Han decided not to wait. Better to strike first and eliminate the threat altogether—cleanly, decisively, leaving no roots behind.
"Father!"
Xiao Shi's face flushed crimson as he watched Fang Han kill his father before his eyes. His fury and grief boiled over, but he was powerless. Fang Han's barrier of true qi trapped him like a fly in amber.
With a strangled cry, Xiao Shi spat a mouthful of blood and fainted dead away. Elder Cang Baizi caught him midair with a flick of his sleeve, preventing him from plunging into the raging sea below.
The currents of the Demon Gorge were fierce enough to crush even lesser Spirit Transformation experts to pieces.
"Retreat!"
The death of the Nocturne Isle Master sent the other four island lords into a panic. They scrambled back, none daring to raise a hand. Fang Han didn't pursue them. He merely withdrew his aura, his expression cold as ice, and turned toward Cang Baizi.
"Fang Han, you fiend!" Cang Baizi spat. "You slaughter innocents, killing even the kin of Yuhua Sect disciples! You've lost your heart to the demonic path—admit it!"
He'd hung back earlier, hoping to gauge Fang Han's strength. But the sheer swiftness and ferocity of the man's strike had stunned him; he hadn't even had a chance to intervene.
"Whether I walk the demonic path isn't for you to decide," Fang Han said flatly. "Only Elder Tianxing has that authority. You? You're nothing. I was going to seal your cultivation, but since killing Xiao Buye vented my anger, I'll let you crawl away. Now get lost."
He truly felt lighter after killing the island master. To seal Cang Baizi would break sect law and complicate things later—hardly worth the trouble.
"Fang Han, don't be so arrogant!"
Fang Qingwei shrank back slightly. She had seen Fang Han's ruthlessness, how he killed without hesitation. Even with her Ruyi Gourd in hand, she didn't feel confident against him.
Moments ago, her golden mist of wish-power had been torn apart by his true qi as if it were paper. That alone told her enough about their gap in power.
"If you had my level of strength, you'd have the right to be arrogant too," Fang Han said coolly. His gaze shifted to the gourd in her hands. "That gourd—wasn't it my Seven Fiends Gourd that Hua Tiandu stole? So he gifted it to you? Do you want to see what the Seven Fiends Sword Array inside it can really do?"
Fang Qingwei's hand twitched as if to activate the gourd, but she restrained herself. Her eyes hardened. "When my sister leaves seclusion, I'll tell her everything that's happened here. I hope you'll have a proper explanation ready by then."
She turned away sharply.
At that moment, Long Xuan stepped forward, her tone edged with mockery. "Cang Baizi, you twisted right and wrong for your own credit. I've recorded everything that happened with a Watermark Talisman. Once we return, I'll deliver it to Elder Tianxing and let him decide who's guilty."
A sliver of crystal gleamed between her fingers, shimmering with faint images—the battle, the dialogue, and Fang Han's duel against the two island lords. The details were blurred, but the truth was unmistakable.
Cang Baizi's face darkened. He gave a sharp gesture. "We're leaving!"
With a roar of wind, he shot into the sky, followed quickly by the others. Even Fang Qingwei and Ye Nantian didn't look back.
Once they were gone, Long Xuan exhaled softly. "You may have overstepped this time, Fang Han. Killing Xiao Buye might bring trouble."
"Trouble?" Fang Han raised a brow. "From who?"
"Not Xiao Buye himself—he's nothing. But his wife used to be from Linglong Blessed Land. She was a martial grandmaster in the mortal world before joining the immortal ranks. Linglong only accepts female disciples, so Xiao Buye remained outside and cultivated as a rogue, aided by her elixirs. That's how he reached the Spirit Transformation stage—and how his son entered Yuhua Sect. His wife, now a true disciple of Linglong, won't take his death lightly."
Fang Han chuckled. "So I've offended yet another true disciple. Add her to the list. I'm not losing sleep over it. What matters now is refining this Five Hells King Cauldron. Once I master it, I'll have another weapon that shakes the heavens."
Long Xuan's eyes gleamed. "The cauldron truly is extraordinary. With it, even my future pill-making will depend on your help, Fang Han."
"Then let's go," Fang Han said, gathering the treasures within the shattered Jueming Palace—piles of gold, jewels, and spirit stones—and tossing them into the cauldron. "No sense wasting spoils."
The Five Hells King Cauldron was as large as a house; it swallowed the riches with ease.
Then, with a swirl of qi, Fang Han and Long Xuan soared into the sky, the massive cauldron trailing behind like a black comet.
Moments after they vanished, the air in the gorge shimmered. Figures in purple-gold robes emerged from invisibility—disciples of the Taiyi Sect.
"I didn't expect things to unfold like this," murmured the leader, Senior Brother Zhang, his eyes dark as storm clouds.
"Do we just let him take the cauldron?" another hissed. "The Five Hells King Cauldron—wasn't that once the treasure of the Five Hells Demon King eight centuries ago? A top-grade artifact, maybe even on the verge of becoming a Dao artifact!"
Senior Brother Zhang's eyes blazed. "We can't let it fall into Yuhua Sect's hands. But Fang Han's power—unbelievable. A second-realm cultivator shouldn't have that kind of strength. Two thousand horse-power at least! We can't take him head-on."
He raised a golden talisman between two fingers.
"This requires backup."
With a flash, the talisman ignited, shooting a golden streak into the clouds—Taiyi Sect's One-Word Piercing Cloud Arrow, a summons no ally could ignore.
As the flare vanished, Zhang motioned for silence. The group cloaked themselves in concealment once more and slipped into pursuit, shadows trailing the storm.