"Good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
Fang Han's eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of Heaven-grade pills do you have that can replenish primordial energy—enough to help me condense my Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form? Let's hear it. I'm very interested."
By now, Fang Han was all but certain that behind Fan Qingying stood the God Clan. As for Yan Shuiyi, she was likely being kept in the dark—though it was also possible that the Taiyi Sect had long since arranged matters and was simply playing along. Either way, if he could trace the God Clan through Yan Shuiyi and Fan Qingying, it would mean limitless wealth.
At the moment, Fang Han was short on exactly one thing: resources.
Treasures were never enough. Pills were never enough. Especially now—millions of celestial demons and over two thousand demon kings were consuming resources at a terrifying rate. In barely over a month, they would run out of sustenance and begin to starve.
"Heaven-grade superior pills: Supreme Clear Jade Elixir Grand Restoration Pills. Nine of them."
Yan Shuiyi smiled faintly. "How about that? Each pill contains more primordial energy than the Yin-Yang Longevity Pills of the Yuhua Sect. They were refined using our Taiyi Sect's immortal artifact—the Eternal Divine Furnace. Swallow one, and you gain a thousand years of lifespan."
She paused deliberately.
"Of course, only the first pill extends your life. Subsequent ones won't add years—but the primordial energy remains just as potent. Nine pills are more than enough for you to condense your Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form. Well? Do you want them?"
She produced a crystal gourd, transparent and flawless, forged from void crystal stone. Spatial power rippled faintly from it. Inside floated nine pills, each shrouded in layers of pure, ethereal qi. Their color was jade-green, as though liquid were flowing within.
Supreme Clear Jade Elixir Grand Restoration Pills.
"So the Taiyi Sect's supreme artifact is called the Eternal Divine Furnace," Fang Han thought, his heart tightening. He had long heard of these pills—Taiyi's most precious elixirs. Even Golden Core disciples rarely received a single one. Each pill alone was worth a thousand years of life.
After the first, lifespan gains ceased—but the immense primordial energy could still nourish flesh, soul, and sea of consciousness, pushing a Golden Core to transform into a Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form.
Staring at the crystal gourd, Fang Han felt a powerful urge to seize it outright.
But in front of Yan Shuiyi, he maintained his composure. He was planning something far larger.
"The value of these nine pills exceeds even Nirvana Pills," Fang Han said calmly. "They're priceless—unavailable even at Jiuding Pavilion. Not even Jiuding Immortal Venerable, with his Nine Cauldrons of the State, can compare to your Eternal Divine Furnace. Still… how exactly do you intend to give them to me?"
He smiled faintly.
"Why not hand over a few first—as a deposit for helping you cultivate a half-immortal body?"
"Not a chance."
Yan Shuiyi flicked her wrist and put the gourd away, clearly enjoying teasing him.
"But," she continued casually, "I can give you some news from the Yuhua Sect. Hua Tiandu is currently cultivating in a secret dimension. One month inside equals a single day outside. Feng Baiyu personally transmitted to him the Void Yin-Yang Dao from the Yuhua Ascension Scripture—the Great Yin-Yang Technique, one of the Three Thousand Great Daos."
"And Meng Shaobai has also received extensive instruction. Both of them are advancing at terrifying speed. If you don't condense your Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form soon, once Hua Tiandu emerges, he'll kill you without hesitation."
"That's… worth noting," Fang Han said thoughtfully. "So you're suggesting I return now and challenge Hua Tiandu?"
"The sect wouldn't allow it," Yan Shuiyi replied coolly. "Can't you see Feng Baiyu's intent? Only sect masters are permitted to cultivate the Void Yin-Yang Dao. Anyone else who steals it is hunted down without mercy. Hua Tiandu is already the designated next sect master."
She looked at Fang Han with thinly veiled provocation.
"To Yuhua, you're just a tool—meant to open the Yellow Springs Treasure Vault someday. Rejecting Linglong Immortal Venerable's invitation at her birthday banquet was a colossal mistake."
"I rely on neither Linglong Paradise nor the Yuhua Sect," Fang Han said coldly. "I rely on myself. Have you noticed? To this day, I haven't cultivated a single Yuhua technique. I trust no sect, no authority."
He rose to his feet.
"Enough. We leave now—to find your 'close friend' Fan Qingying. But from this moment on, you follow my instructions. No exceptions. I help you cultivate a half-immortal body; you give me the nine Supreme Clear Jade Elixir Pills."
"And what does Fan Qingying have to do with that?" Yan Shuiyi asked.
"You want me to explain?" Fang Han smiled. "Four pills as a deposit."
Yan Shuiyi snorted.
"I'll wait. But if you're playing me, I have ten thousand ways to ruin you. Don't forget—you're still under a Heavenly Dao Pursuit Order."
"Then it's settled. Let's go."
As he spoke, Fang Han's aura shifted. In an instant, he reverted to the demeanor of the Ula Prince.
"Move."
Yan Shuiyi followed—curious to see what Fang Han was truly plotting.
"Just like this?" Fang Han suddenly asked. "Yan Shuiyi, you agreed to follow my lead."
His hand shot out—straight toward hers.
"What are you doing?" Yan Shuiyi sneered, instantly releasing waves of watery qi. Her Ancient Vast Sea Palm surged forth, trying to shake him off.
"Testing your strength," Fang Han replied casually.
His fingers glowed as layers of divine power unfurled, dissolving her attack. After crossing the Wind-Fire Tribulation and opening nine seas of consciousness, his mana now completely suppressed hers.
Yan Shuiyi changed techniques instantly, arcs of motion tracing elegant curves as she counterattacked. But Fang Han's hand suddenly dissolved into pure primordial energy. Within it, a phantom Mount Sumeru rose and crashed down.
Great Sumeru Mountain King Fist.
Yan Shuiyi's expression changed. Light exploded above her head as she prepared to summon the Canghai Divine Pearl—
"Wood Daoist, assist me."
The Wood Daoist, hidden within the Eightfold Floating Pagoda, responded instantly.
Boom!
Fang Han's power surged beyond a hundred million galloping horses, shattering all resistance. He seized Yan Shuiyi's hand firmly.
"So soft."
The moment he grasped her, a strange warmth traveled from his palm through his entire body. Only then did Fang Han truly understand the saying that women were made of water. Yan Shuiyi wasn't merely like water—she was water.
"I can suppress you completely," Fang Han transmitted mentally. "Don't waste your strength. I just want the Six Paths Alliance—and Hua Tiandu—to see this."
Yan Shuiyi stopped resisting. Her voice was low, half-laughing, half-sighing.
"Fang Han… this is the first time in my life a man has touched me like this. You've incurred a tremendous karmic bond. Do you understand that?"
"What kind of karmic bond?" Fang Han asked casually.
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her along, tearing through space. They exited the Void Garden, appeared within the Six Paths Alliance, then vanished through a portal—gone in an instant.
"This… this means Yan Shuiyi is really involved with that Ula Prince!"
Peach Blossom Fairy stared in shock. Beside her, a water mirror recorded the entire scene—the Ula Prince flying away hand-in-hand with Yan Shuiyi.
"Otherwise, she would never have allowed it," another expert murmured. "They were clearly intimate in the Void Garden."
Several figures appeared—Golden Core cultivators, Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Forms, even experts at the Tenth Realm of Divine Powers.
"This Ula Prince—who exactly is he?" someone asked. "Isn't Yan Shuiyi betrothed to Hua Tiandu?"
"A betrothal is just politics," another replied coldly. "Hua Tiandu is clinging to Taiyi Sect influence. Yan Shuiyi would never let him touch her."
"But this Ula Prince… to gain her favor so openly…"
"Don't underestimate him," Peach Blossom Fairy said quietly. "He's unfathomably deep."
"Regardless," the Six Paths Alliance master smiled thinly, "this information alone is worth a fortune."