The "Demonic Sacrifice Art" was one of the darker methods of the demonic path—
a brutal technique that wounded the body to ignite every last shred of potential.
But to a cultivator, the body was the foundation of the Dao.
Lose a limb, and your chances at advancing—perhaps forever—collapsed with it.
If Fang Han sacrificed an arm, he would never form his golden core within the next sixty years. His life force would be crippled beyond repair.
But the Black Nether King?
He had no choice.
Either he maimed himself… or he died.
So he chose survival.
His right arm burst apart in a storm of blood and demonic shadows, merging into his heaven-and-earth manifestation—the colossal Shadowed Primordial Soul. In an instant, its power surged tenfold. The jet-black claws of the manifestation tore through Hua Tiandu's Panwu Divine Sword, forcing it back, and simultaneously resisted the swallowing force of the Great Wilderness Furnace.
The manifestation merged back into the king's body, and he exploded upward in a streak of black light. He ripped through the Dragon Palace cavern and shot into the sky.
"Hua Tiandu! You forced me to mutilate myself!"
His roar echoed across the heavens.
"I will grind your bones to dust for this!"
And with that, the Black Nether King vanished—free once more, fleeing into the endless sky.
Hua Tiandu's projection emerged from underground just in time to see his prey disappear. His brows sank into a deep frown. He had gained nothing—none of the Dragon Palace's treasures, none of the heavenly dragon bones, none of the priceless resources.
All of it—gone.
"The Dragon Palace may not have held supreme Dao treasures… but the value was still immense. And that dragon skeleton would've accelerated my breakthrough to the Longevity Realm." Hua Tiandu's voice chilled.
He flicked a breath of essence into the Great Wilderness Furnace.
"Furnace—collect the Dragon Palace."
The massive palace trembled violently. The entire structure—tempered from metal essence and water essence—began to shrink. Inch by inch, room by room, the entire Dragon Palace collapsed inward… then was swallowed whole by the furnace in a single clang of sealing.
A palace the size of a city—stuffed into a Dao Artifact.
That was the power of a high-grade Dao Artifact.
Even the Yellow Springs Diagram, in its current incomplete state, could only compare to a mid-grade one.
Hua Tiandu didn't chase the Black Nether King. He turned, ascended, and scanned the distant horizon. After a moment, he sensed something—and shot off like a beam of light.
Far below, the lake crashed downward again. Water flooded the cavern, the ground collapsed, and storms of wind and mist swept across the hundred-mile region. When everything finally stilled, the once-hidden Dragon Palace grounds were nothing but muddy ruin.
Prince Zhan and Prince Yi hovered in the distance, faces pale.
"Fourth Brother… Hua Tiandu collected the entire Dragon Palace."
"We didn't even get the leftovers…"
Their despair deepened as they stared at the transformed landscape. Not even the strongest of Golden Core experts could reshape land on this scale.
"Let's go," Prince Yi finally said. "This planet was the nest of a Primordial Heavenly Dragon. If there's one Dragon Palace, there may be more. Even a dragon egg would be worth the trip."
The two princes shot away into the distance.
Boom!
Far across the wilderness, ancient trees snapped apart as the earth cracked open. A silhouette burst out—Fang Han, finally free of Hua Tiandu's trap and empowered by the newly mastered Great Devouring Technique.
"Hua Tiandu," Fang Han murmured, "no matter how many divine abilities you cultivate, you'll never see through me. You handed me fortune on a silver platter… and even gifted me another transcendent ability."
His divine sense swept his inner world.
His Life Talisman shone with fifty-six divine abilities circulating in endless cycles. The newly forged Great Devouring Array hung like a vast, demonic maw—devouring ambient energy in a steady stream.
"Wonder if I can swallow Meng Shaobai whole now…" he muttered, half-joking, half-serious.
At that moment, Yan's strained voice echoed from within the Yellow Springs Diagram:
"Fang Han, I'm merging with the heavenly dragon bones. I'm close to forming a true body. But until the fusion completes, I can't use a shred of power. You'll have to take command of the Yellow Springs Diagram."
Fang Han immediately projected his consciousness inward.
On the rolling, storm-dark Yellow Springs River, a bone dragon thousands of meters long coiled around the Blood Dragon Crystal mountain, roaring thunderously. The pure yang energy in the dragon bones surged violently—but without life essence, the skeleton couldn't form flesh.
"Let me help."
Fang Han opened his mouth and released a cloud of Qing Emperor Wood Essence. Jade-green mist fell as gentle rain across the bone dragon. Wherever the droplets landed, faint strands of flesh and vitality began to stir.
"Yes… good! With the Qing Emperor's Wood Qi, I can form a wood-body… but I refuse to become a green dragon!"
Yan roared as torrents of Yellow Springs Holy Water poured over the bones. Something ancient and mysterious was happening within that dragon skeleton.
Fang Han withdrew his awareness, then waved his hand.
"Prince Yi, come out."
He pulled the prince from the diagram. Star-Baby floated out from the Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet as well, with the fox-spirit girl trailing behind him, whispering conspiratorially.
Prince Yi let out a long breath.
"That was… stealing from a tiger's mouth. Fang Han, I underestimated you. To snatch treasures from under Hua Tiandu's nose…"
Fang Han cut him off with a smile.
"My harvest is immense. Dragon bones, a Blood Dragon Crystal mountain… and this."
He lifted a small emerald gourd and opened it. Inside were nine jade-green pills, each wrapped in glowing talisman cloth, each emanating a strong pulse of dragon breath.
Prince Yi's eyes widened.
"Dragon God Pills! Primordial Heavenly Dragon elixirs used to cleanse the bodies of young dragons. Each one is invaluable—on par with Yin-Yang Longevity Pills or the Nine-Aperture Golden Core. These are heavenly-rank pills!"
Yan's voice echoed again, and a booklet flew out from the dragon's skeletal maw.
"This is one of the ninety-nine Heavenly Dragon Manuals—specifically the Crafting Codex. It doesn't teach divine abilities, but records the forging methods of many of the dragon race's greatest treasures."
Fang Han skimmed it with his divine sense.
His eyes lit up.
"The Sky-Rending Halberd… the King-Warrior Axe. So those two supreme-grade weapons I found were only half-finished."
Indeed—among the treasures he collected from the Dragon Palace, the most fearsome were a massive halberd and a giant steel wheel-axe. According to the manual, if refined for another thousand years, both would ascend into Dao Artifacts.
The other treasures—a coral rosary, a bronze bell, a measuring rod, a thunder drum—were also listed in the manual. Half-finished, but already terrifying.
Refining them fully was impossible for him now. Only someone at the level of the ancient Five-Element Demon Ancestor could spend thousands of years perfecting such artifacts.
For now, improving his cultivation was the only true path.
The fox-girl stared at the pile of treasure with longing, but didn't dare speak. Instead, she eyed Star-Baby… who snatched a Dragon God Pill and tauntingly waved it at her.
"You want it?"
"Give it to me…" she said sweetly. "I'll give you something fun…"
Star-Baby grinned wickedly—and swallowed the pill whole.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"You little—!"
She stomped her foot, furious.
The pill's power surged. Star-Baby's body expanded, scales sprouted, his fingers turned into razor claws, and dragon breath surged from his mouth.
He looked like a newly hatched dragon.
"…Ugly," he muttered. A stream of starlight washed over him, melting the scales away and returning him to baby form—though his life force was visibly stronger.
Just then—
Fang Han's expression sharpened.
A streak of black light shot across the sky toward him.
"The Black Nether King?"
The air shuddered.
Something was coming.