Boom!
Yan struck again—this time with everything he had. It was a full-force, life-or-death ambush, the kind he had perfected through a millennium of brutality. He knew too well: if the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord managed to purge the Corrupted-Immortal curse lodged in his demonic qi, he might still turn the tables. If that happened, both he and Fang Han would be slaughtered without a trace.
The only reason the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord couldn't unleash world-shattering demonic arts right now was because Yan's first strike had driven the Corrupted-Immortal curse deep into his meridians.
"You dare injure me?!"
Even wounded and ambushed, the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord still deserved his title. He reacted instantly, slamming both palms upward to meet Yan's descending dragon claw head-on.
Palm and claw collided—
But Yan's "claw" vanished the moment they touched. It was empty air. The Demon Lord's strike blasted upward, punching a hole clean through the ceiling of Shadow Castle and into the sky beyond.
"Heh… your experience is lacking. You're still too green. That was the illusion—here's the real strike."
A massive dragon claw materialized out of nowhere from the Demon Lord's chest and slammed down.
This time, he couldn't defend. His demonic qi shattered with a single burst, and his body took the full brunt of the hit. Blood erupted from his lips as his chest caved in, nearly snapping him in half.
Only the monstrous durability of a Heaven Demon King—and the remnants of his qi—kept him from being torn apart instantly.
"Heaven Demon Dis—"
In midair, blood spraying, the Demon Lord tried to trigger the forbidden technique Heaven Demon Dissolution—a last-resort ability that could pulverize even Yan.
But Yan had already predicted it.
His claw reappeared above the Demon Lord's skull, striking downward. A full Corrupted-Immortal Array formed in an instant, slamming straight into the Demon Lord's mind. It swallowed his consciousness and dragged his entire being into the Yellow Springs Diagram, pinning him deep beneath the Yellow Springs River before he could resist.
Yan could now wield some of the Diagram's power.
And even a fraction of that power was overwhelming. The Yellow Springs Diagram was a Dao-tier treasure, and when paired with Yan's millennia of battle experience… the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord never stood a chance.
When Yellow Springs Emperor rose to become a Demon Emperor, Yan had followed him through countless life-and-death battles. Compared to that, the Demon Lord's so-called experience was a joke.
—Only the Nine-Yin Demon God himself could rival that level of ferocity.
Ooooooooh…!
Sensing its master's defeat, the Demon Blade Blood Sky shrieked. It tore free from Fang Han's grip, slicing the air as it attempted to flee toward the heavens.
"Well now! A treasure with its own intelligence? Even the Five-Prison King Cauldron isn't this lively. You think I'll let you run? Yellow Springs Earth-Net!"
Yan cackled as he spread his claws, releasing streams of Yellow Springs gang-qi that wove into a vast net, trapping the demon blade.
But Blood Sky went berserk. A surge of bloodlust exploded outward as it thrashed wildly, unafraid of the corrosive qi—like a primordial blood demon trying to devour the world.
"What an incredible blade… If I can claim it, it'll be perfect for me."
Fang Han had never seen a weapon with such terrifying killing intent. If the Demon Lord hadn't been ambushed, and had swung Blood Sky at its full potential… the consequences would've been unimaginable.
Yan had pinned the Demon Lord, but suppressing the blade was far harder.
Seeing Yan struggle, Fang Han immediately activated several major formations inside the King Cauldron. They coiled around the blade like chains.
Then he leapt directly into the Yellow Springs Earth-Net and engaged Blood Sky himself.
It was deliberate—he wanted to train through battle.
His fists condensed gang-qi, striking again and again, then shifting into grappling forms as he wrestled with the thrashing blade.
Blood Sky, suppressed by both the Earth-Net and the Cauldron's arrays, had its power drastically reduced. In this weakened state, it was roughly on par with Fang Han—allowing him to fight it head-on.
"Fang Han! Finish it!
The Demon Lord is suppressed but still struggling. We can't ruin this victory by carelessness!"
"On it!"
Fang Han unleashed every bit of qi he could muster. With the Cauldron's support and his own relentless assault, he finally ground down the demon blade's resistance. It was dragged deep into the Cauldron and bound tightly, awaiting refinement.
"So powerful even without a master… this blade is extraordinary," Fang Han murmured, exhilarated. The blood-soaked weapon suited him perfectly.
"Fang Han, congratulations on your breakthrough. Among the true disciples of Yuhua Sect—aside from the top five senior brothers and sisters—few can match you now. And after you refine Blood Sky… your name will shake the sect. A new prodigy rises."
Long Xuan emerged from the Cauldron.
"You—"
Fang Han smiled faintly, about to speak.
"Nope!" Long Xuan wagged a finger, grinning. "Don't ask me anything. I didn't see a thing. Nothing at all."
Her meaning was obvious: she wouldn't reveal any secrets.
"And of course, you'll get your share. The Demon Lord is a Demon God's son—his treasures and whatever he stored here are probably impressive. This Shadow Castle is clearly his personal palace. Let's search it thoroughly."
"Agreed. Let's loot the place!"
Long Xuan drew her Cold Python Sword and dashed off. In moments, she collected rare medicinal herbs from the gardens and stored them in the Cauldron.
She soon emptied the back warehouses as well—precious ores, refined materials… but no spirit tools or artifacts.
Fang Han wasn't surprised. True magic tools were rare and usually kept on one's person. As a Demon God's descendant and a Unity Realm powerhouse, the Demon Lord certainly had storage treasures.
"This bowl that held the Nine-Yang Holy Water… what kind of artifact is it?"
Fang Han picked it up and sent his spirit inside—discovering a small pond within.
"Yan absorbed this much Nine-Yang Holy Water? No wonder he recovered so fast… he jumped straight to the Heaven-Human realm."
Long Xuan examined it as well.
"This bowl holds an actual pond of Nine-Yang Holy Water! Even a major immortal sect wouldn't have this much. Too bad Yan drained all of it. If some remained, my Ten-Thousand-Waters Scripture could condense again."
"Keep the bowl—you can use it for storage."
She accepted it happily.
"This throne… feels suspicious. Our Demon Clan always hides valuables beneath thrones."
The demoness floated over, eyes narrowed.
"Oh?"
Intrigued, Fang Han extended Wood Emperor gang-qi, shaping it into a three-fingered hand—a mimicry of the Heaven-Gang Deadly Hand. One strike shattered the throne. A tug lifted the remains, revealing a shallow cavity.
There was treasure.
Inside sat a millstone-sized egg—white, covered in dense sealing runes that suppressed its vitality.
"What egg is this, Yan?"
"A spirit beast egg, most likely. The life force inside is huge. The Demon Lord probably fed on it to cultivate. Could be from some celestial beast—or from the outer starfields. I can't know them all. Just keep it. Hatch it someday."
"Alright. Into the Cauldron."
Fang Han swept it away.
"Let's go collect the Heaven Demon Army outside. With the Demon Lord suppressed, the demons in this Blood Lake Swamp are leaderless—easy prey."
Yan was practically drooling at the thought.
"Move!"
Fang Han wasn't about to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He shot upward.
He wasn't in a rush to refine Blood Sky. The more Heaven Demons he collected, the stronger the Cauldron became. If he gathered a million, he could refine not just the blade—but even the Seven-Leaf Demon Lord.
The three shot into the sky.
Outside, chaos reigned.
Heaven Demons swarmed in panic, frenzied like ants on a hot pan. With the Demon Lord captured and several Demon Kings fleeing, the army had fallen into total collapse.
Fang Han's heart soared.
This was a treasure vault lying wide open.
He unleashed the King Cauldron, spinning it across the sky. Everywhere it passed, Heaven Demons were sucked inside—entire swaths of sky were emptied.
Within moments, a hundred thousand demons were captured.
But that wasn't enough.
The World Tree fueled him endlessly, his qi burning limitless. The Cauldron's power surged higher and higher.
Soon it expanded into a black vortex dozens of acres wide. Within a hundred miles, no demon could escape.
120,000…
150,000…
180,000…
200,000…
The numbers climbed madly.
It was exhilarating—like pouring boiling water on ants in childhood… an entire swarm dying at once.
Just as Fang Han was reveling in the harvest—
BOOM!
The sky tore open.
The dark Returning-Void passage above exploded in a burst of golden radiance. A rain of sword-light plummeted downward—each beam brilliant as a miniature sun.
The power was so overwhelming that countless Heaven Demons instantly dissolved into nothing.
"Demon Marshal!
Did you really think you could escape?!"
Voices thundered across the heavens.
Countless swords descended like divine punishment.
Fang Han looked up—and his whole body shuddered.
"What a colossal formation…"