"With you leading the charge, Senior Sister, I won't disappoint."
With Fang Qingxue here, Fang Han naturally intended to use this opportunity to challenge Taiyi Sect's overreaching arrogance and carve his own name into the heavens.
He already knew that Qingxue suspected him of possessing the Yellow Springs Diagram—and there was no chance she would let that matter rest forever. But now was absolutely not the time for internal conflict. Anyone with a functioning brain could see that.
That didn't mean Fang Han relaxed.
He needed a way to muddy the water—something that could keep Fang Qingxue too busy to corner him about the Yellow Springs Diagram later. Because once this battle ended, he doubted he could block her interrogation—much less overpower her.
Her earlier strike had shattered the combined formation of six Tianren-realm masters as if swatting dust.
Her strength wasn't simply greater than a Golden Core—it redefined that level.
Even with the Blood Firmament Devil Blade, the Five-Prisons King Cauldron, twenty-thousand heavenly demons, five-thousand furious horses worth of qi, and the hidden trump card of the tattered Yellow Springs Diagram… even then, he was nowhere near able to contend with her complete, intact ancient artifact—the Immortal Lightning Talisman.
Unless he reached the Tianren Realm, completed the five elemental imperial arts, fused his Five-Elements World Technique, and pushed his artifacts to their absolute limit, he wouldn't stand a chance.
As for Yan recovering his former might?
Fang Han believed he would reach seven or eight levels of supernatural power long before Yan regained strength.
He swallowed an entire basin of Nine-Yang Sacred Water just to return to the Tianren Realm… who knows how many pure-yang treasures he'll need for further recovery?
So Fang Han kept thinking:
If only Qingxue becomes embroiled in the fight against Taiyi Sect. Better yet, if she gets injured… that would buy me time.
His mind raced while his qi surged.
"Yan," he asked silently, "if we had to fight Fang Qingxue right now, what are our odds?"
"Not good," Yan replied gravely. "The Immortal Lightning Talisman is a Dao artifact equal to me—perhaps older. If I were at my peak, I wouldn't fear it. But killing us now wouldn't be easy for her. Even if we can't beat her, she can't easily pin us down."
"So we can run…"
Fang Han's heart settled slightly.
A year ago she could have killed me with one finger. Now? I can at least escape. That alone changes everything.
While his thoughts churned, the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent.
Even Demon Commander and Zhao Xuanyi, after exchanging two devastating blows, pulled back simultaneously.
The disciples of every sect whispered among themselves—Fang Qingxue's presence wasn't just intimidating, it overshadowed even the notorious Demon Commander.
"Fang Qingxue," snarled Elder Fu Shou, "why do you interfere while we are executing a demon? Have you fallen into devilry yourself? You represent Yuhua Sect—think carefully before helping a fiend like the Demon Commander! Unless you want the Heavenly Dao Killing Order turned on you again?"
He'd only just dispersed the lingering lightning energy from her attack earlier. Rage twisted his face.
"Think twice, Fang Qingxue," another elder spat. "Do not become a sinner of the Immortal Dao."
"When," Fang Qingxue asked innocently, "did I help the Demon Commander?"
She folded her arms.
"I struck only to rescue Fang Han—my sect's true disciple. When did I ever shield a demonic fiend? Demon Commander and Zhao Xuanyi are over there—did my lightning touch them even once?
"But you—why did Taiyi Sect attack a Yuhua disciple? Even if Fang Han committed a crime, the judgment belongs to our Sect Master and Execution Elder. What right do you have to pass sentence? Do you now claim leadership over all ten Immortal Sects? Will you start appointing and removing the sect masters of others as you please?"
The accusation hit like a bell toll.
Even Taiyi elders faltered.
Fu Shou's mouth opened and closed—he had no rebuttal.
Zhao Xuanyi—one of Taiyi's Golden Core elites—finally stepped forward.
"You slander us," he declared. "Are you trying to sow discord among the Immortal Sects? Fang Han aided the Demon Commander. If we hadn't acted, countless would have died. We intended only to subdue him and return him to Yuhua Sect for judgment."
His high status gave weight to every word—and instantly, murmurs rose among other disciples.
"Senior Brother Zhao speaks truth."
"Fang Han did disrupt the battle. And the Fang family has ties to the Demon Commander…"
Before they could finish, a voice exploded across the sky:
"Zhao Xuanyi—you talk nonsense!"
Gasps spread.
Everyone turned.
Fang Han stood there—eyes blazing, expression feral.
Even the Demon Commander barked out a laugh.
"Well said!"
Fang Han unleashed a rapid-fire tirade:
"You saw me kill the Seven-Leaf Devil Sovereign and got jealous. You covet my Blood Firmament Blade and the Five-Prisons Cauldron—so you accuse me of consorting with demons?
"That's Taiyi Sect's usual trick.
"And don't pretend you've no ambitions. You've been propping up Hua Tiandu in Yuhua Sect, planning to let him seize power once he reaches the Life-Extending Realm. Haven't you been pushing to create an 'Immortal Enforcement Alliance'—a watchdog force over all sects? Who doesn't know your wolf-like ambitions?
"You want to divide karma, rewrite heavenly law, and impose YOUR so-called merit system on all of us?
We cultivate for freedom—yet you'd shackle the entire Immortal Dao!
"Today you accuse me of demonhood. Tomorrow anyone who gains an artifact or fortuitous encounter will be hunted by you. Tell me—who among you thinks they'll escape Taiyi Sect's greed?!"
His words struck like flung daggers—fast, sharp, relentless.
And many disciples lowered their heads, silent.
"You court death."
Zhao Xuanyi finally snapped.
He raised his hand.
A cyclone—a black storm the size of a house—materialized instantly and crashed down upon Fang Han.
"Golden Core power…"
Fang Han barely recognized the thought before the world vanished.
Darkness swallowed him.
Wind howled like ghosts tearing at his soul.
The gale pierced every pore like needles, trying to grind him into dust.
His organs twisted. His skull buzzed. His consciousness flickered.
He tried to lift his qi—
—nothing responded.
If not for the World Tree inside his brow suddenly unfurling its roots, plugging his pores, and drinking in the storm's fury, he would have been obliterated on the spot.
The pain eased just enough for him to circulate his wooden-element qi.
A burst of explosions rippled outward from him—
—but the storm still wrapped him like a grinding millstone.
From outside, everyone saw Fang Han swallowed by a swirling black cyclone, spinning helplessly in midair.
"Yan!" Fang Han roared inwardly. "What is this technique? Without the World Tree I'd already be dead!"
Yan didn't answer—because lightning answered first.
A single step.
A single gesture.
A bolt of primordial thunder speared downward and shattered the storm completely.
Fang Qingxue's figure emerged from the light—expression unreadable—before she turned her cold gaze on Zhao Xuanyi.
"Impressive," she said softly. "Taiyi Sect's Black-Sun Wind Calamity, one of your twelve supreme 'Three Disasters, Nine Tribulations,' used against a disciple of my Yuhua Sect."
Her voice sharpened.
"So show me. Use all of them. Let me see if you've mastered anything beyond one borrowed trick."
Yan finally spoke in Fang Han's mind:
"The Three Disasters, Nine Tribulations—the twelve supreme arts of Taiyi Sect. What he used was the Black-Sun Wind Calamity. There are also the Great-Sun Fire Calamity and the Doomsday Heavenly Disaster—each comparable to major demonic forbidden spells. We Yellow Springs Sect tried to steal them for millennia and failed."
Yan added, almost chuckling:
"But the fact that you survived the Black-Sun Wind Calamity at all… means your name is going to shake the world."