"What did you just say? Say it again."
Yan Shuiyi spoke lightly, as though she truly needed to confirm that she'd heard Fang Han correctly.
"You heard me," Fang Han said. "You want our conflict wiped clean? That's tempting—Taixia Sect is a colossal force, and I never wanted to become its enemy. But you say it's 'one stroke erased,' and I simply don't believe that. I killed two of your sect's Golden Core giants. Even if a Demon Emperor killed them, Taixia Sect wouldn't let it go easily."
He wasn't being difficult—everything he said was cold logic.
"You're right not to believe," Yan Shuiyi replied softly. "To be honest, I cannot stop the other elders from seeking revenge on you. Your mind is deep, and your schemes are many. I'm curious—what brilliant solution have you devised?"
"It's simple." A cunning light flickered in Fang Han's eyes. "You break off your engagement with Hua Tiandu. Then you announce that you're engaged to me. That's all. It doesn't matter that it's only a façade—I don't expect to actually dual-cultivate with you. But once the news spreads, it signals that all enmity between Taixia Sect and me is resolved. We cultivators don't care about worldly titles or formalities. We care about cultivation—about the path to longevity. Everything else is dust. So? Agree to these two conditions, and not only will I trade with you, I'll gift you some Forget-Love Water as a betrothal token. I'll even give you the Blood Sky Demon Blade. A sword and a blade—yours to wield in perfect harmony. And Forget-Love Water… even those at the Longevity Realm require it to temper their immortal souls. With it, your breakthrough may come instantly."
His voice was like a devil whispering temptation into a mortal's ear.
"And when you and I both step into the Longevity Realm," he added, "we can open the Yellow Springs Treasury together using the Yellow Springs Diagram. Its treasures are vast beyond imagination. You and I share them equally."
His conditions were simple:
First—Yan Shuiyi breaks her engagement with Hua Tiandu.
Second—she enters a symbolic engagement with Fang Han.
Absurd, yes—but Fang Han wasn't joking. He understood perfectly: to someone like Yan Shuiyi, everything was weighed by benefit, by cultivation value. She would sacrifice anything—titles, relationships, even sect obligations—if it helped her reach the Longevity Realm. And neither Hua Tiandu nor Fang Han could ever truly dual-cultivate with her. She was the reincarnation of a Water God's divine spirit—far beyond mortal touch.
Fang Han pushed further—Forget-Love Water, the Blood Sky Demon Blade, even the legendary Yellow Springs Treasury. Enough to tempt anyone.
He was betting everything on breaking Hua Tiandu's spirit.
"Forget-Love Water," he continued, "is one of the universe's rarest true waters. Even the Water God couldn't fully master it. If you obtain it, I'd wager you step directly into the Longevity Realm."
He watched her closely, studying every nuance of her expression.
Yan Shuiyi merely smiled, her gaze calm as still water. "I tried to tempt you with the Jadeblood Softwater Sword, and you countered by tempting me with the Blood Sky Demon Blade, Forget-Love Water, and the Yellow Springs Treasury itself. I admit—the Forget-Love Water is indeed a treasure without equal. In cultivation, emotion is the greatest tribulation. That water… could cleanse even divine souls. With it, I might truly break through to the Longevity Realm immediately."
"Exactly," Fang Han leaned forward, voice low and persuasive. "So tell me—do you agree? Here, in the Astral Wind Layer, you could complete your breakthrough."
"I naturally…" she began.
Fang Han's heartbeat quickened.
"…will not agree," she finished calmly.
"What?" Fang Han's expression chilled, then slowly eased as he exhaled. "If I withdraw the second condition—if I only require you to break off the engagement with Hua Tiandu—and I still give you the Blood Sky Demon Blade, the Forget-Love Water, and access to the Yellow Springs Treasury—is that acceptable?"
This was a huge retreat on his part.
Yan Shuiyi had no affection for Hua Tiandu, and little for Taixia Sect itself. Fang Han thought this should be irresistible.
She smiled again—serene, unshakable. "They say Fang Han holds thousands of schemes in his heart, and that a single stray thought births a hundred plots. I did not believe it—until now. Anyone else would be moved by these offers. But you've misunderstood one thing."
Her gaze sharpened—not with hostility, but with absolute resolve.
"We cultivators carve our paths with our own hands. We split open the void and forge a road where none exists. I refuse to borrow the slightest external aid—not even Forget-Love Water. Even if you gifted it unconditionally, I would not accept it. If external treasures were enough, Taixia Sect's vaults would have pushed me into the Longevity Realm long ago."
Fang Han swallowed.
This woman's mental fortitude… terrifying.
No matter how he sweetened the deal, she didn't waver—not even by a hair.
A heart immune to seduction.
A mind untouched by schemes.
An unbreakable Dao.
A terrible opponent.
"It seems you won't agree to anything," Fang Han said finally. "Then I have no choice but to gift Song Weiyi's Golden Core to Linglong Immortal Venerable."
"So you're forcing my hand?" Yan Shuiyi sighed softly. "I truly did not want to fight. Especially with someone like you—whose cultivation is deep and whose mind is labyrinthine. If I fail to kill you, the consequences are endless. Even if I kill you, I'll pay a price. Avoiding conflict would be best."
"Enough talk. Let me see the true power of your Canghai Divine Pearl—your second nascent soul! Bridge of Forgetfulness, Abyssal Gate—open!"
Fang Han's voice shook the winds.
If cunning failed, then only raw, eternal strength remained.
Within the semi-illusory world created by the Canghai Divine Pearl—a Dao-artifact nearly equal to the Immortal Lightning Talisman—Yan Shuiyi's second nascent soul merged seamlessly with its spirit, forming a nearly invincible incarnation.
But Fang Han… now commanded true might.
Ever since Yan—the ancient dragon—was reborn using the Primordial Heavenly Dragon's remains, he wielded pure yang power in terrifying abundance. When he activated the Bridge of Forgetfulness, the Yellow Springs Diagram surged to its full potential.
Behind him, the Abyssal Gate opened—black light flooding outward, demonic qi surging like a collapsing world. Ancient runes and blood-stained carvings flickered across the stone bridge beneath his feet.
With one strike—
The entire illusionary world shattered.
Fang Han stood tall atop the Bridge of Forgetfulness, robes billowing, one hand rising as though it alone could blot out the heavens. Power rippled off him in waves that folded the wind itself.
His fingers extended.
A vortex of terrifying force formed in his palm—devouring everything.
The Astral Wind Layer collapsed for miles around. Even the Canghai Divine Pearl's manifested realm began to compress toward the vortex.
He had activated—
The Great Devouring Art.
His strongest ability—born from the Kunpeng egg, fed by dragon essence and celestial qi.
He was going to devour the Canghai Divine Pearl itself.
Even if he couldn't kill Yan Shuiyi outright, he intended to give her a wound she would never forget.