Of everyone who ventured to Panlong Star, Fang Han was unquestionably the greatest victor.
The Heavenly Dragon's remains, the mountain of Blood Dragon Crystals, the Dragon God Pill, eight supreme-grade artifacts—those alone would have been enough to shake the world. But he had also perfected the Great Devouring Art and subdued the Black Nether King.
A master at the Ninth Layer of divine abilities—one who had already manifested the Heaven and Earth Dharma Body—the Black Nether King held a status far higher than ordinary Golden Core "small giants." Having such a being under his command was an immense gain. And with the Abyssal Demon Talisman Fang Han planted into his primordial spirit, there was no chance of rebellion—if he dared, he would die instantly.
As for the war between the underground demon clans and the Great Xuan Empire, Fang Han simply remained uninvolved.
What did disappoint him a little was that Hua Tiandu had escaped the clash with the Longevity-realm Demon Emperor with only light wounds, instead of being crippled.
Hua Tiandu would certainly return to Yuhua Sect and begin gathering followers while suppressing Fang Han's faction and the Kalan Association. But with Fang Qingxue standing guard, Fang Han wasn't concerned. For now, he was perfectly content staying outside—seizing resources, cultivating relentlessly, forging alliances. Two hands working, both advancing.
"Prince Yi, I originally came out to deliver a message to Star Gate, but the delays have been… substantial. I must leave now. Three months from today, we meet at the Linglong Blessed Land to offer our gifts at the Immortal Linglong's birthday celebration. Use this time to consolidate your Unity-realm foundation."
The moment Fang Han finished speaking, his figure flickered and vanished, leaving only an echo behind.
"Truly moves like a ghost…" Prince Yi murmured with envy.
Just then, two streaks of sword-light—one black, one white—shot out of the sky and circled around him. The two blades hovered before him, both radiating the aura of supreme-grade treasures.
"One is the Ghost Serpent Sword, refined by the Ghost Emperor—strange, vicious, and unmatched in stealth. The other is the Mindspirit Sword, born from Song Weiyi's own bones. Two supreme-grade swords, one yin and one yang.
"The eight treasures I found in the Dragon Palace form a single set; separating them weakens their power. So I'm giving these two swords to you. With them, you can contend with most Golden Core experts."
Fang Han's voice drifted from the sword-light.
Prince Yi's eyes lit up.
"Ghost Serpent Sword! Mindspirit Sword! These are legendary weapons! Better than anything from the Dragon Palace for me. With these, I can rank among the top thirteen of the royal disciples!"
Far above, weaving leisurely through the clouds, Fang Han held a brilliant ruler-shaped treasure that hummed with dragon roars and tiger cries whenever he shook it.
It was one of the supreme-grade artifacts he had obtained from the Dragon Palace.
"This ruler is called the Dragon King Measure. When fully refined, it will become a Dao-tier artifact. For now, it's already extremely powerful. With even a drop of Heavenly Dragon blood on it, its might skyrockets. I've taken the Dragon God Pill—there's dragon blood in my veins now. Flicking just one drop during a fight would be enough to ambush a Golden Core cultivator."
He weighed the ruler thoughtfully.
He had also acquired the Heavenly Dragon Manual, a text on artifact- and pill-forging. Through it, he learned the true identity of the eight treasures he had collected—they formed a single ancient creation.
In the manual, it was written:
Among all dragonkind's weapons, the mightiest was a legendary artifact known as the Eight-Part Pagoda.
A pagoda-shaped construct that required eight separate treasures as its components—each refined into a Dao-tier artifact with its own powerful spirit. Afterward, one must forge the pagoda itself, also into a Dao-tier artifact. When all were assembled, billions of living beings needed to worship within it, offering their faith and will. Only then could the Eight-Part Pagoda be completed.
Once forged, the pagoda could suppress ten thousand worlds, annihilate demons and heretics, and rival the legendary tools of immortals.
But Fang Han was nowhere near capable of creating such a thing.
Neither was Sect Master Feng Baiyu.
Only beings like Taihuangtian, the Primordial Demon Sovereign, or that mysterious ancient existence could even attempt it—and even they would require centuries of cooperation.
It was a myth-level artifact.
"That ancient Heavenly Dragon really thought it could forge the Eight-Part Pagoda? No wonder it died so miserably," Fang Han muttered.
Suddenly, he came to a halt. With a flick of his sleeve, five figures in star-patterned robes flew out of the Yellow Springs Diagram. Dazed at first, they snapped awake as he exhaled a breath of pure immortal qi.
These were the five Star Gate disciples he'd captured back at the Demon-Sealing Ridge.
They had been tricked by the Fox Demoness Chunhu and then pulled into the Yellow Springs Diagram, where they remained asleep until now. Since Fang Han was going to Star Gate, he naturally revived them—and even healed their wounds.
"Who are you?!"
The moment they woke, they immediately raised their guard, summoning their flying swords.
"You looking to die?"
Starcloud—Star Gate's young prodigy—hopped out from the Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracers and waved his hand. A burst of starlight enveloped the five, locking them in place.
"Starcloud!"
"Young Sect Master!"
"Wait—your cultivation… you've reached the Fifth Layer of divine abilities?! The Heaven-Man Realm?! How did you break through so fast?"
They were visibly shaken.
"I know you belong to Seventh Senior Brother's faction." Starcloud yawned lazily. "But during my travels, I met my Big Brother Fang Han. My cultivation rose with his guidance. You fell for Chunhu's tricks and were about to die, but Fang Han saved you."
"Your big brother Fang Han? The Fang Han who killed the Ghost Emperor? The one who destroyed the Moon Pirates, defeated Meng Shaobai, and became the greatest talent of Yuhua Sect?!"
The five disciples looked at Fang Han—and all trembled.
"That's me," Fang Han said mildly.
To him, these disciples—three at the True Yuan Realm, two at basic divine ability level—were negligible. He could kill hundreds of them without effort.
The five immediately bowed.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Fang Han, for saving our lives!"
"You will not speak of this incident. Not a word about Chunhu either. Say only that you met me while traveling. Understand? She is now my maid. The secrets beneath Demon-Sealing Ridge are not for you to touch."
"Yes! We won't speak of anything!"
"No—nothing happened at all. We simply met Senior Brother Fang Han while traveling! That's all!"
"Good. Black Nether King—give them a small gift."
Fang Han himself had nothing suitable to give. His great treasures—the Dragon King Measure, the Dragon God Pill, the Eight-Part Pagoda components—could not be handed out. His old treasure trove was long sold off.
So he summoned the Black Nether King.
"Yes, my lord."
The Black Nether King stepped forward and handed each disciple a dark, eerie spike wrapped in ghostly mist.
"These are Soul-Piercing Thunder Spikes, refined from Shura bone. They contain Nether Lightning. They lock onto an enemy's qi once activated. If blocked, they explode instantly. Even a Heaven-Man master would be seriously injured if unprepared."
The five disciples paled.
"Black… Black Nether King? You're the millennia-old monster from the Nether Hall? The divine ability Ninth Layer master?"
"That's me. I now serve the Lord Fang Han. In time, he will unify my Yellow Springs Demon Sect and rise as a great overlord."
The five disciples nearly dropped the spikes in shock.
"This concerns you as well," Fang Han said, rising into the clouds. "I am Starcloud's elder brother. One day, he will be the Sect Master of Star Gate. Support him."
He soared forward.
"Come. To Star Gate."