Deep underground, endless magma churned and roared. Savage flames flooded every direction, stirring Fang Han's Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi, making it itch to burst free and devour the inferno to refine itself.
Earthfire was a crucial type of flame. Many cultivators preferred to temper artifacts with it; some even cast their treasures directly into molten magma, letting them endure a thousand years of refinement—much like tempering artifacts in the Nine Heavens' astral winds.
If one could delve deep into the earth and search within magma, it was possible to discover countless artifacts left behind by ancient experts.
But treasure-hunting in magma was far more difficult than braving the astral winds. Few could even descend underground, fewer still could reach the magma layer, and those who dared search within molten rock were rarer than phoenix feathers. Without an immortal body and a powerful protective treasure, even a Longevity Realm expert could not last long in magma.
Now, Daoist Hentian, the five God Kings, Fan Qingying, Yan Shuiyi, and "Prince Wula" had all arrived at the magma layer. Even they felt an unbearable heat—as if they had truly stepped into a sea of hellfire.
Only now did they understand what purgatory truly meant.
Yet what stunned them was not the flames.
Suspended within the endless molten sea lay a colossal crystalline mountain, vast beyond measure, gleaming with translucent brilliance. It lay horizontally within the magma, absorbing all surrounding fire-aspect energy, as though tempering something within itself.
Fang Han had already seen the form of the Human Emperor's Brush before—mountain-sized, a single stroke deciding life and death, its might boundless. Seeing it again no longer shocked him.
What he had feared was that the Human Emperor's Brush might have left, ruining his plans. But now it was clear: the brush remained here, guarding something.
Fang Han never doubted its power. Once an immortal artifact, later degraded to a supreme Dao Artifact, it still retained traces of immortal might. Among supreme Dao Artifacts, it was peerless—especially since its artifact spirit was intact.
Unlike Feng Baiyu's Heavenly Emperor Mirror, whose spirit had vanished, leaving only the shell. Though still a supreme Dao Artifact, its power was vastly diminished.
The difference was obvious—just think of the Yellow Springs Diagram without Yan.
"What… what is that?" Yan Shuiyi gasped. Her gaze shifted from the crystalline mountain to Fang Han, disbelief flooding her eyes. "That crystal mountain—could it be Heavenly Crystal? The most precious substance in the cosmos? Even a thumb-sized piece can sell for a fortune! A mountain of it—how much would that be worth? Enough to buy an entire sect?!"
"Heavenly Crystal Stone!"
Even Fan Qingying trembled.
"What staggering wealth!" the five God Kings exclaimed excitedly. "We didn't even find Fang Han, yet we've discovered such a massive Heavenly Crystal!"
"Careful!" Daoist Hentian's face suddenly twisted in terror, as though he had seen a demon. "That artifact—that artifact! It's the Human Emperor's Brush! In ancient times, it slaughtered countless experts of my race. One stroke—life or death decreed! To think it's here… My race has searched the Xuanhuang Great World in secret for countless years, and now our wish is fulfilled in a single moment!"
His eyes burned with madness. "Fang Han no longer matters. Obtaining the Human Emperor's Brush is everything! Hentian Compass—appear! Help me subdue it! Once I do, my status within my race will rise beyond measure!"
Under his overwhelming divine sense, a massive compass materialized above his head.
Its surface was covered in sun, moon, stars—like a condensed star map.
An upper-grade Dao Artifact—the Hentian Compass!
Such treasures were extraordinarily rare. Even ancient giants needed thousands of years to refine one. In the hands of a Longevity Realm powerhouse, it could fully unleash its might—shaking heaven and earth, overturning sun and moon.
The moment the Hentian Compass appeared, everything within a thousand-li radius of magma was suppressed. Space transformed instantly, as if the world itself had been replaced. Dense constellations filled the void; meteors streaked through space, radiating blinding heat before vanishing in an instant.
The mystery and vastness of the cosmic starfield unfolded before them.
In the blink of an eye, it felt as though they had been transported from a hellish magma sea tens of thousands of zhang underground into the boundless universe.
Space stretched infinitely.
Power twisted without limit.
Yet Fang Han knew the truth—they were still deep within the molten underworld. The Hentian Compass had simply seized this region of space and transformed it.
The might of an upper-grade Dao Artifact…
Even Fang Han couldn't help but marvel.
"That's nothing," Yan roared in his mind. "Your strength just isn't there yet! If you had an immortal body, I'd be far stronger than that compass. One sweep of the Naihe Bridge would pierce straight through its spatial domain. Yan Shuiyi's Vast Ocean Divine Pearl, the Demon Commander's End-of-Law Eye, Fang Qingxue's Indestructible Lightning Talisman, Fan Qingying's Great Chaos Thunder Sword—even the War God Whip—each surpasses the Hentian Compass in quality! Power! You need the power of an ancient giant to truly wield Dao Artifacts!"
"Fang Han!" Yan Shuiyi suddenly drew closer, her body tense. "This danger… what terrifying thing are you planning to use against the God Race?"
At this moment, she fully realized the truth.
Daoist Hentian was a member of the God Race—
The sworn enemy of all living beings across the heavens.
Instinctively, Yan Shuiyi and Fang Han clasped hands once more. Their mana merged seamlessly—water spirits, Water Sovereign Qi, flowing and interweaving, surging like an endless tide.
Bathed in Fang Han's Black Emperor Water Sovereign Qi, Yan Shuiyi felt so comfortable she nearly moaned. Since refining the Forgetful Emotion Water, her entire water essence had been cleansed, leaving her on the brink of breakthrough. Now, merged with Fang Han's power, a fragment of her water god true spirit—cultivated over countless lifetimes—felt as though it were about to awaken.
Fang Han felt the same exhilaration. Yan Shuiyi's vast, profound water-element energy poured into him, making his golden core shine ever more brilliantly. The shadow of the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Demon God upon it grew purer and more defined.
This union wasn't born of romance, but necessity. Facing imminent life-and-death danger, neither resisted. Their powers circulated freely through one another, each gaining intimate understanding of the other's cultivation, mana nature, and physical constitution.
Yan Shuiyi was shocked by the sheer force surging within Fang Han—wave after terrifying wave.
Fang Han, in turn, felt her body like water itself—infinitely adaptable, softness taken to the extreme.
Fan Qingying noticed their intertwined hands and fused auras, a strange look flickering across her face. She didn't understand why Yan Shuiyi had grown so close to this barbarian prince—but there was no time to dwell on it.
She spat out a stream of pure primordial qi, spraying it onto the Great Chaos Thunder Sword. The upper-grade Dao Artifact soared, transforming into a towering Chaos Ancient God. Coldly gazing downward, it formed seals—millions of hand signs in an instant—then thunder crashed as an ocean of Chaos Divine Lightning slammed down, striking the Human Emperor's Brush in coordination with the Hentian Compass.
Boom!
Boom—boom—boom!
A boundless torrent of power smashed into the supreme Dao Artifact. The crystalline mountain trembled violently.
Daoist Hentian spun the compass. Space warped repeatedly; the star-map domain suddenly compressed, attempting to drag the Human Emperor's Brush into its core.
"Who dares disturb my slumber?"
"Who makes me feel the Great Tribulation arriving ahead of time?"
"Who seeks to seize the peerless treasure—the brush that governs life and death across the heavens?"
The Human Emperor's Brush shook as it awakened. Though struck by the Great Chaos Thunder Sword, it suffered no damage at all. From within erupted a vast aura and overwhelming divine will—so powerful that it shattered the starry space formed by the Hentian Compass, cracking it apart everywhere.
"Fang Han—what do we do?!" Yan Shuiyi asked urgently, now instinctively treating him as her anchor.
Even as Taiyi Sect's top true disciple, today's events were far beyond her capacity to bear.
The God Race.
The Human Emperor's Brush.
These were matters even Taiyi Sect's headmaster could not shoulder alone.
A single God Race member was enough to involve the entire Xuanhuang Great World—and countless cultivators across the starry cosmos.
So that's it…
In an instant, Yan Shuiyi understood Fang Han's plan completely.
Using the Human Emperor's Brush to kill a God Emperor—reaping the rewards. What a gamble. Wealth and danger hand in hand. No wonder he's risen so explosively. Ruthless. Brilliant. And I've become one of his pieces.
But if this succeeds… the benefits I gain will be immeasurable.
Their hands tightened. Mana condensed into a solid defense. The Vast Ocean Divine Pearl spun, forming a complete water world around them.
"Hate the heavens without mercy! Hate the earth without end!
The world of Zhou Tian—
With my lifespan as the price,
The Three Thousand Great Dao—
Great Sealing Art!"
Daoist Hentian roared.
Seeing the Human Emperor's Brush fully awaken—its mere divine will shattering his spatial domain—he could no longer hesitate. He spat out a massive mouthful of blood.
That blood was neither black nor white, but a chaotic hue—each drop carrying the aura of destruction and domination over the heavens and myriad worlds.
He had unleashed the Great Sealing Art.