After refining the three celestial lion life-treasures into tattoos and turning them into external incarnations, Fang Han's combat power had quintupled. It was as if three Taiyi disciples fought at his side, or as if he had turned most of Yao Dian, Xia You, and Yu Fen's essence into puppets—his strength multiplied severalfold.
But this was his trump card, a power that could not be exposed lightly. Revealing it would bring countless dangers.
Now, however, surrounded by hordes of Sky Demons and locked in battle with the Water-Gu Demon King, there was no fear of witnesses. Here, in the chaos of demonic armies, he could unleash everything. With the three celestial lions, he charged in and out of the demon tide, unafraid of the Water-Gu King descending upon him.
His sudden attack worked spectacularly.
The three massive, muscular lions—gleaming milky-white—burst out and roared at the heavens. The shockwaves shook the clouds, rattled the void, and seemed to startle the world awake. Countless demons within several miles were instantly obliterated by that roar—reduced to ashes without a trace.
Two of the lions were equivalent to masters at the Astral Qi Realm.
But the strongest, Yao Dian's natal lion, was comparable to a fourth-layer Divine Ability expert—the Yin-Yang Realm.
Once Astral Qi gained spirit and awareness, the transformation was profound. At its peak, it could even speak human words, like Fang Qingxue's twin Violet-Lightning Yin-Yang Serpents.
This step marked a qualitative leap—laying the foundation for the Heavenly Being Realm.
With these three lions forming spirit-infused qi arrays, Fang Han effectively wielded the strength of two Astral Qi masters, one Yin-Yang master, plus himself—and the lurking ambush of Yan. He didn't believe a Demon King with only a remnant soul could withstand that.
If the Water-Gu King still possessed a complete seventh-layer Golden Core, Fang Han would have fled far away. But that Golden Core had already been shattered.
"How did you cultivate the Taiyi Sect's Celestial Lion Qi—and three of them?!"
The Water-Gu King staggered, his demonic arts shattered by the roar. Cracks split across his body—caught off-guard, his depleted origin injured further.
"Celestial Lions—devour!"
Fang Han didn't bother answering. Two lions opened their jaws and inhaled fiercely. Thousands of Sky Demons screamed as they were sucked inside and consumed, their essence converted into pure spiritual power and deposited into the Yellow Springs Diagram.
Yan had no time to refine pills—its entire being was curled up, readying its ultimate strike.
The strongest lion—Yao Dian's—did not feast. Instead, with predatory intelligence, it lunged directly at the Water-Gu King, pinning him like prey and trying to tear him apart.
"Damn!"
The Water-Gu King's demonic energy exploded as he forcefully resisted. His strange, eerie eyes locked on Fang Han, gathering power. Even weakened, his strength still rivaled a Heavenly Being master. Fang Han's lions and qi had yet to fully suppress him.
"Water-Gu King! You're a dragon stranded in the shallows, a tiger fallen to the flatlands—a shedding phoenix no better than a chicken! Submit and cripple your own cultivation, and I'll spare you. Otherwise, this day next year will be your death anniversary!"
Fang Han roared as his qi transformed into the Heaven-Wood Divine Needle, shooting toward the Demon King's brow. Though demonic bodies ignored blades and needles, the Heaven-Wood Needle would sprout into a world-piercing divine tree upon contact—ripping a body apart from within.
"You think you can defeat this king? You caught me unprepared, but you underestimate me far too much."
The Demon King's pupils contracted, forming a warped forcefield that froze the Heaven-Wood Needle in midair.
Black, jagged ripples erupted from his body—sawtooth waves that sliced through the air. Fang Han instantly felt his entire body about to be torn into pieces. Even the celestial lion holding him down began losing coherence.
"This is bad! He's using the Great Severing Art! A peerless demonic technique—equal to the Great Collapse Art! If it cuts your mind, you'll be trapped forever!"
Yan's horrified shout rang through Fang Han's mind.
The Great Severing Art.
Even hearing the name made Fang Han's scalp prickle. A Demon King who had once refined a demonic Golden Core—even with only a remnant soul—was terrifying beyond belief.
"Celestial Lions—form the Qi Wall!"
Fang Han reacted instantly. The three lions dissolved into a massive wall of astral qi tens of zhang thick.
"Sever!"
The Water-Gu King unleashed the technique.
The Heaven-Wood Needle was the first to be shredded. Fang Han's mind reeled, blood pouring from his nose and mouth as his true qi was torn apart. Only the portion he had recoiled into the lion-qi and back into his body was spared destruction.
Even so, the damage was severe—months of recovery.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three deafening blasts—his lion barrier shattered and the lions reverted into tattoos, badly damaged.
The severing waves wrapped fang Han like a cage of death. One more cut and he'd be minced.
The Great Severing Art was truly terrifying.
"I want to see what tricks you have left," the Water-Gu King hissed, severing waves intensifying.
"Five-Prison King Cauldron!"
In the critical moment, Fang Han roared. From beneath the sea, the colossal cauldron shot upward like a cannon shell, swallowing him inside.
The severing waves crashed against the cauldron with explosive force—shattering its internal protective formations—but unable to break the cauldron itself.
Had the Demon King still possessed his Golden Core, even the cauldron would've been split apart.
"What happened?! Fang Han—your qi is scattered!" Long Xuan's alarmed voice echoed as the cauldron stabilized.
"The Water-Gu King broke his seal! He led tens of thousands of demons to kill everything! No time to explain—activate the cauldron! I'm going out again. We must kill or seal him now. If he recovers, none of us will live."
Fang Han shot back out of the cauldron. The Demon King's form was now faint, his aura drastically weakened—the Great Severing Art had drained him immensely.
Fang Han's wooden-emperor qi surged again, turning into a sweeping emerald radiance.
"Junior! You have the Five-Prison King Cauldron—fine! But don't think you can kill me. All Demon Kings possess the Demon Disintegration Technique! At worst, I'll perish with you!"
"Oh? There exists one thing in this world that perfectly restrains the Demon Disintegration Technique. You, of all beings, should know it."
Yan's quiet voice emerged from within the emerald light.
Fang Han had covered him intentionally so Long Xuan wouldn't see.
A burst of Yellow Springs true qi—Forget-Love Water—shot out and splashed onto the Water-Gu King.
Instantly, his demonic qi unraveled, preventing the disintegration technique from activating.
"This is… Yellow—!"
Before he could finish, Yan seized him and dragged him into the Yellow Springs Diagram.
"If he hadn't drained himself using the Great Severing Art, I couldn't have handled him. Now he's ours. Once I extract the cultivation method for the Great Severing Art and refine him into a top-grade Earth-rank pill— a Dharma Saint Relic—you'll gain an enormous boost. Even without his Golden Core, his essence remains extraordinarily potent. A great fortune!"
Yan retreated into the diagram to subdue the Demon King.
Ordinary Demon Kings' self-detonation techniques were terrifying—Hua Tiandu couldn't refine even the Great Power Virtue Demon King without Forget-Love Water.
But Fang Han possessed it.
Which meant the Water-Gu King's fate was sealed.