The revelation shocked him—someone like Su Xiuyi existed, and he even wielded a book-type artifact called the Ledger of Life and Death. If it were merely any ancient text, that would be one thing… but if it truly was the Earth Emperor's Book, then Fang Han had only one possible countermeasure: seizing the Human Emperor's Pen. But now wasn't the time to dwell on unreachable possibilities.
From the Black Nether King, Fang Han had finally learned the current state of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, and plans began forming in his mind.
"From this moment on, you answer to me," Fang Han said. "Will your master, Palace Lord Ba Liming, cause trouble for us?"
"My master is formidable, but compared to Taihuangtian? The gap between them is immeasurable. Even he failed to kill our sect master. My master won't come rushing here blindly," the Black Nether King replied respectfully.
"So you even know Taihuangtian tried to kill me? Let me guess—Second Prince told you?" Fang Han snorted. Of course the Second Prince would have such information; even Prince Yi knew.
"Nothing escapes your deduction, Sect Master. I even know you carry a talisman leading to the Five Elements Realm—a treasure any immortal sect would kill for," the Black Nether King said.
"That's enough. From today onward, you stay at my side. Stop getting tangled with that Second Prince." Fang Han waved dismissively. "Now we're leaving this Panlong Star. Back to the ancient teleportation array."
"What? But Panlong Star should still have many treasures—maybe even dragon eggs. Shouldn't we look?" Prince Yi hesitated. He had spent a fortune recently and clearly didn't want to miss another chance at wealth.
"Even if treasures remain, greed will get us killed. Hua Tiandu is already watching us—he won't rest until one of us dies. Leaving is the safest move," Fang Han said. "Finding treasure won't matter if we can't keep it."
"…Fine. At least we got the Dragon God Pills, eight supreme artifacts, and hundreds of Blackwater King Serpents. That's more than enough."
Prince Yi could only accept the decision. His own strength had skyrocketed this trip—he had even cultivated his life-bound talisman. His ranking among the imperial princes would likely rise again.
He glanced longingly toward the distant Yellow Springs River, where hundreds of massive Blackwater King Serpents rolled through the holy waters. Each one could sell for millions of spirit coins; a few of the strongest could fetch tens of millions. They weren't ordinary beasts—they were demon cultivators who had mastered divine abilities.
Fang Han withdrew everyone into the Yellow Springs Diagram, then activated his life-bound talisman and burrowed upward. With fifty-six divine abilities fused into the talisman—especially the terrifying Devouring Magic—the earth around him melted or was consumed outright, converted into magical qi while the remnants turned to dust.
With the Devouring Magic, his tunneling speed multiplied many times over.
Moments later, he burst out of the ground and concealed all aura, shooting toward the teleportation array. In open air, he was even faster. The Devouring Magic swallowed oncoming air, eliminating drag entirely. To an outside observer, he became a flicker—and at the point where he vanished, a black vortex appeared, sucking in wind, rocks, soil, even towering trees before collapsing into nothingness, leaving only drifting ash.
The greatest obstacle to flight was air resistance. At several hundred times the speed of sound, the pressure was enormous. Even with clever use of circulating qi to counteract resistance, it wasn't perfect.
But with Devouring Magic removing the air itself, he was essentially flying in a vacuum—his speed terrifyingly fast, beyond the full speed of many Dao-grade artifacts. At this velocity, using his body as a weapon, he could kill four Golden Core experts standing a thousand miles apart in four different directions before they even blinked.
His divine abilities—Vajra Iron-Bone Handprint, Black Sun Storm—were almost unnecessary. They simply couldn't match the raw speed of his physical attacks. His body and talisman were now his deadliest weapons; all other powers only served to assist in delivering instant kills.
If anything, what Fang Han wanted most now was to encounter the gods—especially groups of God-Lords. He wanted to tear through them, slaughter a hundred in a breath, convert them all into divine fruits, and evolve further.
"In ancient times, when the gods invaded the Xuanhuang World, they marched with armies of hundreds of millions, even billions. Why is it so hard for me to find even one now?" Fang Han muttered.
The teleportation array leading off Panlong Star finally appeared ahead.
But suddenly—space trembled. A vast pressure descended from all directions, wrapping around the array and sealing it entirely.
Then—above the array—an enormous cauldron manifested, radiating devastating Dao-grade power.
The Great Desolate Furnace.
Hua Tiandu's prized upper-grade Dao artifact.
Upper-grade—far above Fang Han's Yellow Springs Diagram. And it wasn't just any artifact; it was an alchemical furnace. Among all magical tools, furnaces were king. Forging one required unimaginable power and time.
Hua Tiandu had unleashed it to seal the entire teleportation array.
If Fang Han had flown straight into it, Hua Tiandu would have refined him alive without question.
The trap was vicious, surgical—pure Hua Tiandu.
Fortunately, Fang Han could halt instantly in mid-air now. He stopped cold, preparing to use the Five Elements Talisman.
But then—
A surge of black demonic qi erupted from the teleportation array below. It tried to break through but slammed into the Great Desolate Furnace.
"What is that?"
The demonic qi swelled violently, its dignity provoked. Its power multiplied a thousandfold in a heartbeat—enough to shake the mighty furnace itself.
"A Longevity-Realm demon master! A true ancient giant—stronger than Elder Tianxing ever was." Fang Han's heart tightened.
If Hua Tiandu had been in the Longevity Realm, he could have controlled the furnace fully and dominated an entire region. But at his current level, he couldn't draw out its full terrifying strength; even so, lesser ancient giants still couldn't kill him.
Boom!
The demonic qi smashed the furnace aside.
Then—like a breached dam—endless Shura demons surged from the teleportation array. The sky darkened as dense waves of winged demons poured out like swarming locusts. Within them were many Great Shura, equivalent to human divine-ability experts.
The demons from the underworld beneath Xuanhuang had broken through.
And the power that had blasted the furnace?
A Demon Emperor—a Longevity-Realm monarch of the Earth Demon race.
Earth Demons were no weaker than humans; their hidden power was unimaginable. The three ruling Demon Emperors of the underworld were each on par with the heads of the Ten Immortal Gates, and there were many more hidden Demon Emperors acting as supreme elders.
"So that's what happened. The teleportation array is underground. The Great Xuan Empire must have stationed their elder council to guard it. But the Earth Demons still forced their way through. Could the elders have been wiped out? Impossible—the empire has Longevity experts too…"
Fang Han pieced together the situation instantly.
The Great Xuan Empire discovered the teleportation array. The Earth Demons discovered it too.
War broke out underground—and the demons won.
"This is perfect. I need to see more."
Shura demons swarmed everywhere, but to Fang Han they were nothing but appetizers. He spotted Hua Tiandu battling the demonic qi alongside the Great Desolate Furnace—distracted and vulnerable.
A perfect opportunity.
Fang Han shrank his body and dove straight into the teleportation array.
Space twisted—and he left Panlong Star behind, returning to the deep underground of the Xuanhuang World.
But the moment he emerged, he was surrounded—
By an army of Earth Demons even more vast than the swarm behind him.