Among the overseas cultivation world's infamous Forty Great Thieves, one name overshadowed all others—the First Thief, known only as The Sky-Forsaking Thief. A phantom in the mortal realm, a nightmare among cultivators, his methods were inscrutable and his power unparalleled. Rumor said he sought to break into the Longevity Realm and then found his own immortal sect. Fang Han had even learned from secret Yuhuamen intelligence that this thief might be backed… by the Protoss.
But no one knew his true name.
Even so, the moment that blue-green swordlight pierced space to assassinate him, Fang Han felt a spark of cold understanding—
The woman ranked first on the Longevity Candidate List—Brahma Qingying—had to be the Sky-Forsaking Thief.
Everyone in the top ten of the list belonged to a major sect.
Everyone—except rank one.
Who else could she be but the number-one thief?
And considering Fang Han had personally killed and refined the Golden Cores of "Moon-Piercing Thief" and "Star-Extinguishing Thief," ranked third and fourth, it would be stranger if the top thief didn't come for revenge.
Besides—he was no longer someone ordinary assassins could touch. He wielded ninety divine powers within his Golden Core. The World Tree poured endless celestial essence into him. A single wave of his hand could shatter mountains and sunder the sea. To threaten him now, one needed to be a monster ranked within the top ten.
The sword strike certainly qualified.
A ripping hiss tore through the heavens.
The blade came silently at first, as if drawn by a hunting eagle—perfect, merciless, and aimed at the weakest joint of his clash with Yan Shuiyi. Once it locked on, its sharpness detonated like a star being born. Murderous qi flooded the entire world.
A sword designed to kill gods.
Fang Han had no time to defend—
But something else did.
From behind the Gate of Hell, a colossal dragon claw burst forth.
House-sized, plated with brutal scales, radiating overwhelming pure yang force—the claw slammed into the incoming swordlight.
It was Yan.
Ever since absorbing the Ancient Heavenly Dragon's remains, Yan had forged a true body—muscle, bone, and magic refined through Ninefold Astral Wind and Crimson Emperor Flame. Even the Blood-Night King couldn't tear its body apart.
Now, sensing its master in danger, Yan emerged instantly.
Its dragon claw shifted through demonic mudras, each motion summoning soul-shattering soundwaves. Dragon roars intertwined with demonic chants, warping the surrounding air until it twisted, collapsed, then erupted outward.
After refining the Heavenly Dragon bones, Yan—wielding the Hell Gate, the Bridge of Forgetfulness, and the Yellow Springs Diagram—was strong enough to stand alongside the greatest Divine Ability tenth-realm experts.
If it ever mastered the Diagram's deepest formation, the legendary Wheel of Reincarnation, it could challenge the ancient giants of the Longevity Realm—and even contend with artifacts like the Human Emperor Brush and Heavenly Emperor Mirror.
Dragon claw and swordlight collided—
Light exploded.
Yan's claws bent and shifted through countless seals, trying to avoid being sliced apart.
But the swordlight flickered once—
And countless threads of lightning-sharp sword qi pierced Yan's scales.
Scales flew. Bones were exposed.
Yan's pupils contracted.
"Great Thunderclap Sword Art!"
Recognizing the technique, Yan roared. The Gate of Hell and the Bridge of Forgetfulness surged under its command—far more fluid, far more terrifying than Fang Han's use of them. After all, Yan was the master of the Yellow Springs Diagram.
Ancient stone bridges soaked in divine and demonic blood stretched across the sky. One Hell Gate after another opened, spewing world-shrouding demonic miasma until hundreds of miles of sky were consumed.
Yan vanished inside—
A dragon lost in the storm of eternity.
The swordlight abruptly contracted—
And transformed into a feminine silhouette.
A woman in azure.
A halo of clear radiance behind her.
Her face blurred, her aura sharp enough to tear space.
She lifted her sword.
And the world split apart.
Thunder—no, chaos lightning—burst from the cracks. Not the lightning of mortal storms, but embryonic worlds made of primal chaos, each rumbling like creation itself.
Yan stiffened.
"Great Chaos Lightning Art!"
It tried to flee.
Too late.
The chaos orbs detonated.
The sky turned primordial.
The Hell Gate's demonic fog was shredded.
The Bridge of Forgetfulness shook as though about to capsize in a cosmic tempest.
Yan's scales shattered. Flesh ripped open. Dragon bones gleamed white beneath the ruin. Only its ancient Heavenly Dragon skeleton—near indestructible—kept its body from exploding entirely.
Yan retreated in an instant, folding its formations inward. The Hell Gate, the bridge—everything vanished. Only the Yellow Springs Diagram remained, floating unharmed amidst the storm. No thunder, no chaos, no blade could mar its surface—an absolute-grade Dao artifact.
Yan had withdrawn.
But its desperate stand bought Fang Han a single, priceless breath.
"This day is turning disastrous… One Yan Shuiyi already gave me trouble. And now Brahma Qingying arrives as well? With the two of them together, even a Longevity giant might fall. I'd be an idiot to fight to the death."
Fang Han steadied his churning blood and chaotic mana. He snatched the Yellow Springs Diagram from the air and let his Golden Core illuminate the heavens. The Great Chaos Lightning streaming toward him shattered under the Golden Core's brilliance and dissolved into nothing.
He laughed loudly.
"So this is the honor you grant me—the top two of the Longevity Candidate List teaming up to kill a mere Golden Core cultivator? Do you think I'm a Longevity giant already?
If you want a fair one-on-one, I'll gladly indulge.
But today, I have a celebration to attend—for the Linglong Immortal Venerable. So forgive me… I won't be staying!"
His sleeve flared. His body rose like a divine dragon. In several blinding flashes, he broke through their encirclement.
Maybe he couldn't defeat them—
But escaping?
Even a Longevity giant would struggle to kill him now.
And he felt no shame. Two masters ganging up on one—why stay and die like a fool?
But Yan Shuiyi had prepared for this.
"Running?"
She flicked her hand.
A handkerchief-like artifact shot into the sky—then unfolded into a storm of smoke and cloud. The world dimmed under its shroud.
The Ten-Thousand-Mile Cloud Veil—an absolute-grade treasure.
Just as Fang Han burst forward—
The cloud barrier slammed down.
"Break!"
Fang Han grabbed the cloud wall in both hands and ripped it apart. The entire veil exploded back into a tattered handkerchief, the artifact's core shattered.
He had destroyed an absolute-grade treasure with a single pull.
His power now could injure even Dao artifacts. A treasure like the Five-Prisons King Cauldron would explode after one punch from him.
Yan Shuiyi didn't flinch at the loss.
She had sacrificed it for a momentary pause—an opening.
And she seized it.
From the Canghai Divine Pearl, tens of thousands of swordlights erupted.
Each one a complete sword—clear as autumn water, sharp as frost, forged from rare water-essence crystals and refined over countless cycles. In the same instant, a massive formation diagram flew out—lined with images of celestial maidens holding swords, each a different face, each radiating ethereal grace.
The swords merged into the diagram.
The maidens moved.
The formation came alive.
Swordlight sealed heaven and earth.
The Myriad-Ripple Celestial Sword Array.
Before Fang Han could retreat, the formation closed around him. Mist surged. Thousands of sword-fairies appeared, each unleashing terrifying sword qi.
Yan Shuiyi entered the array.
Brahma Qingying, silent from beginning to end, dissolved into clear radiance and stepped into the sword formation as well.
Two apex predators.
One cage.
And Fang Han trapped inside.