"Perfect. Just perfect. I finally step on a landmine. Where did such a monster come from?"
Fang Han stared at the river of mercury-like demonic energy surging across the sky. From its rolling currents emerged an enormous hand—vast enough to blot out the heavens. Power roared through it like a stampede of ten thousand warhorses. One glance told him this was no ordinary foe. This was probably the strongest demon king lurking in the entire Blood Marsh.
The moment that mercury hand clenched, space for fifty or sixty miles froze solid. The air itself compressed into something heavy as molten metal. Inside the Five-Prison King Cauldron, the Devouring and Soul-Eater arrays shuddered to a halt. Their suction was forcibly reversed, causing a violent backlash that sent Fang Han's insides trembling.
If not for his mastery over his own qi, he would've been crippled on the spot.
"If you slaughter Sky Demons at this scale, of course you'll attract their heavy-hitters! Normal Daoist disciples stick to the outskirts—hunt a few minor demons, practice some spells. But you? You're killing hundreds at a time and capturing thousands. Anyone would come looking for you."
Yan muttered darkly. It had known trouble was coming.
Trying to harvest eight million Sky Demons was no different than trying to exterminate the entire Blood Marsh. Not even a demon god would ignore that.
After all—this marsh was a major piece on the chessboard of the Demon Gods.
"Tearing Void—Cut the Heavens!"
Seeing the massive hand clamp downward, Fang Han knew the silver-robed demon was stronger than him—possibly by several realms. But he didn't know how much stronger. And he wanted to find out.
He poured every shred of qi through countless permutations, runes forming and re-forming in a blur, until they condensed into a storm of razor-thin, sawtooth patterns. Then they exploded outward—an ocean of invisible blades shredding the very air.
He wielded the "Great Cutting Technique" through his Wood Emperor Qi. He had once used this improvised version to kill two Divine Generals of the Protoss. Ever since then, he'd studied it relentlessly.
It wasn't the true Great Cutting Technique—he would need to reach the Heaven-Human Realm to cultivate space itself and wield its full might. But even this imitation surpassed most spells in sharpness. And with the King Cauldron shielding him, he could unleash his power without holding back for defense.
This—this was the advantage of possessing a divine treasure.
The threads of cutting force rained down like a storm of invisible circular saws.
They struck the descending demon hand.
Cracks blossomed across its mercury surface. Demonic qi scattered in violent plumes as the enormous hand recoiled in visible pain. Then, with a single flick—
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The rebound struck Fang Han like a collapsing mountain.
His own qi crashed backward into his organs.
"Good! Fang Han—the silver-robed one is powerful, but he hasn't formed a Demon Golden Core. That means we can still fight! If we can capture him alive, I'll splash him with Forget-Emotion Water so he can't self-destruct. A Demon Lord's detonation would even wound cultivators several realms above him."
Yan's voice sharpened with excitement—and mischief.
No sane Daoist ever tried to kill a Demon Lord outright. Demon Lords could employ the Sky-Demon Disintegration Art, turning themselves into living bombs.
But Forget-Emotion Water completely neutralized that technique.
Then—
PUFF.
Fang Han spat a mouthful of blood.
The backlash had torn through his organs. Even with the Vajra-strength of his Yama Body, the internal shock had injured him. Anyone else—even Long Xuan—would have been reduced to pulp.
"This guy is too strong!"
Fang Han's face tightened. He had wounded the demon's hand, but his own counterforce nearly crippled him.
"You sure he hasn't formed a Demon Golden Core?" he asked tightly.
Yan snorted. "If he had, your entire qi foundation would've been shattered. You'd need three to five years to recover—assuming you weren't killed instantly. This Demon Lord is at least Heaven-Human Realm—and those are rare. He has a terrifying background. Now quit talking and FIRE THE FORMATION!"
"As if I needed reminding!"
Forcing down the rolling pain in his body, Fang Han gathered his breath and plunged his mind into the cauldron's core. Thirteen major arrays ignited simultaneously.
Before entering the Blood Marsh, even with fifty thousand Sky Demons assisting, he could barely activate eight arrays.
Now—with nearly eighty thousand demons—he could drive fifteen.
Fifteen major arrays roared to life.
The entire cauldron buzzed like a rising storm. Waves of distortion rippled outward. Then—within a single blink—it vanished from where it hovered and reappeared right beside the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord.
Imagine a ten-ton iron cauldron the size of a house… traveling faster than sound… slamming into someone.
That was the force now bearing down on the demon lord.
"Hm? The Great Cutting Technique? Wood Emperor Qi?"
The Seven-Leaf Demon Lord's eyes narrowed. His earlier strike had been partially resisted—a surprise in itself. The moment he tasted Fang Han's qi, he immediately deduced Fang Han's cultivation.
The Great Cutting Technique was a secret of the highest order. Even he, son of the Nine-Yin Demon God, had never been allowed to learn it. Only Demon Lords who had formed their Golden Cores had that privilege.
How could a mere mortal cultivator know it?
A pity, he thought.
The backlash he'd delivered should've killed Fang Han instantly. And from what he sensed, Fang Han's organs had ruptured. His body should have been dead the moment its qi collapsed.
"Strange… how did a mere Qi-Refining cultivator gain the power of ten thousand galloping horses? What pill did he consume?"
He sneered. "Waste of treasure."
But then—
"Not good."
A shadow filled his vision. The giant cauldron flashed before him. He realized, too late, that Fang Han had survived—and counterattacked with lethal precision.
There was no room to dodge.
The cauldron smashed forward with unstoppable momentum.
This blow… could kill even him.
In that instant—on the edge of death—the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord's eyes ignited with a brilliant, terrifying light.