"Let's move."
Fang Han exhaled a stream of verdant mist; it wrapped around Prince Yi in a single flash—then both of them vanished, dissolving into the forest as if they had never existed. Not even a ripple of aura remained.
"What?"
The Thirteenth Prince—War Prince—had been watching Fang Han and Prince Yi closely. Seeing Fang Han disappear without a trace, he felt a sting of dread.
"Fourth Brother, that 'Death Scholar' has frightening techniques. I couldn't even sense how he left. If he helps Twenty-Fourth Brother get his hands on powerful treasures, he'll become a real threat."
"Let him."
The Fourth Prince, Prince Yi, smiled faintly.
"This place—Panlong Star—is an ancient nest of Heavenly Dragons. The Dragonfolk once ruled here. Treasures will be everywhere. But no one is taking anything without a fight. We princes won't slaughter each other yet. We'll let the experts we hired clash first… then pick the spoils."
A shimmer of invisible sword-light fanned out around the Fourth Prince, wrapping both him and the Thirteenth Prince before they faded into the currents of air like ghosts.
The Invisible Sword Escape—undetectable.
Inside the teleportation array, Hua Tiandu and the First Prince, Prince Feng, still had not stepped out.
"Mr. Hua, this world is a Dragon lair. You studied the data I gave you—can you find treasures hidden by the ancient Heavenly Dragons?"
Hua Tiandu stood with his hands behind his back, gaze drifting, calculating.
"Your brothers brought quite a crowd," Hua Tiandu said. "Especially your Second Brother—he even brought the Black Nether King of the Yellow Springs Demonic Sect. Those demonic sects leaning on your royal family will cause trouble for the Empire someday. And that Death Scholar—wherever he crawled out from—I'll kill him while I'm here. Kill them all, really. Their treasures will be useful."
Prince Feng's face lit up.
"Then I must thank you, Mr. Hua! Those men—scattered cultivators, demonic sect members—they're perfect targets. Kill them and fewer princes will be left to oppose me. But… could you also help me remove the Fourth Prince?"
"That I won't touch."
Hua Tiandu's tone was cold.
"Intervening in your internal royal struggles violates the rules. Kill your own brother yourself. I'll handle the others. First, the Black Nether King. Against me he cannot run—only self-detonation might cause trouble. After that, I'll kill the Death Scholar. Then the retainers of the Third, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Princes. Within six hours, all dead. Afterward, we slowly search for treasure."
In the next instant, Hua Tiandu and Prince Feng vanished.
"This star has too many spirit herbs!"
Fang Han had already flown thousands of miles, merging into the endless forest with the Green Emperor Wood Sovereign Technique, instantly sensing countless rare herbs—many of which didn't even exist in the Great Xuan Realm. Ten-Colored Dragon Ganoderma, a holy medicine capable of granting a hundred years of lifespan when refined into pills—it darted into the earth or blended into trees, impossible for most experts to detect, let alone capture.
But Fang Han swept dozens of such treasures into his sleeves like picking fruit. Prince Yi watched with hungry eyes—though he managed to gather a few herbs himself.
"This is a Dragon nest," Yan explained in his mind.
"Any herb touched by dragon breath will awaken spirit. If a Heavenly Dragon shed blood on a mountain, the rocks could transform into Blood Dragon Crystal. With it, you can forge top-tier flying swords or heavenly-grade pills. If the Blood Night King eats Blood Dragon Crystal, he'll gain Dragon Force—one Dragon's strength equals tens of millions of galloping horses."
"These herbs are nothing. We want real treasure."
"You're right," Fang Han said. "Let me sense it."
He tossed all the herbs to Prince Yi, then activated the Five Emperors Demon Sense, sweeping a thousand-mile radius in a blink. Any strong spiritual fluctuation immediately fell into his awareness.
There—
A massive presence churned in the southwest, like a mountain breathing.
He shot through the air like lightning.
Ahead lay a massive lake hundreds of miles wide. In its center rose a solitary mountain—blood-red like crystalized gore. The lake itself drooled with an ominous, predatory aura.
Several royal youths had already arrived above the lake.
"Blood Dragon Crystal! That entire mountain was formed when an ancient Heavenly Dragon shed its skin here! Refining the blood inside will extend lifespan by a thousand years and vastly boost cultivation!"
"A Blood Dragon Crystal mountain!"
"We can't claim this alone. Break it apart and split it evenly!"
They surged forward—
—but the lake exploded.
Tidal waves and black clouds surged upward as hundreds of colossal shadows burst from the water. Water pillars pierced the sky. In the storm clouds, enormous black serpents coiled and writhed.
"Blackwater King Serpents! Ancient primordial beasts! And so many?!"
Fang Han's pupils shrank. These serpents were nothing like the ones he had seen at sea. Those were barely divine-ability level. These—every single one radiated power ten times stronger.
And in the depth of the clouds… a few of them emitted faint dragon might.
Every one of these serpents was a treasure—skin, blood, meat, all priceless. But these ones—bathed in dragon aura—were beyond priceless.
The royal youths were less enthusiastic. Surrounded by hundreds of monstrous serpents spewing black clouds, they panicked and fled.
Several of the closest serpents opened their jaws with thunderous roars—soundwaves booming—before spraying thousands of crystalline droplets that transformed into flying swords, each blade vibrating with ancient musical notes.
"The Eight Dragon Tones? How can Blackwater King Serpents use dragon techniques? And divine abilities—actual divine abilities? Who taught them?" Fang Han was shocked.
Demonic beasts could gain power through instinct, but without guidance or scripture, they would never refine true qi, comprehend yin-yang, or break through the heaven-man barrier. It was impossible.
But here—these serpents had clearly refined water-element divine abilities to the Fourth Layer—Yin-Yang Seal.
That no longer made them beasts.
They were demonic cultivators—and terrifying ones.
Yan spoke excitedly:
"What's impossible? This is a Heavenly Dragon world. They're using true-water yin talisman sword-qi—a Taikoo Heavenly Dragon art. These serpents must be descendants of dragon-reared beasts. There must be Heavenly Dragon scriptures or treasure nearby!"
"Heavenly Dragon scriptures…" Fang Han's heart pounded.
The Eight Dragon Tones alone could compete with Heaven-Demon Kings while still in mortal flesh.
Before he could act, the fleeing royal youths were pierced mid-air by the storm of sword-qi, shredded into blood rain. Even their artifacts were sliced apart.
They were minor princes—first and second-layer divine ability cultivators—completely incapable of resisting.
Fang Han couldn't save them in time.
"Monstrous beasts!"
A shout split the clouds.
Two streaks of light—one gold, one black—shot toward the lake, their auras so strong the serpents shuddered.
A Golden Core expert, and beside him—
A Ninth-Layer Divine Ability master.
Fang Han recognized them instantly.
The Second Prince.
And the terrifying elite at his side—
The Black Nether King of the Yellow Springs Demonic Sect.