Nine collapsing pockets of space burst apart as they blocked the tidal force of the sea-splitting punch. Then came nine layers of force, each equal to the stampede of one hundred million raging warhorses. As the pressure surged toward her, Elder Autumn Drizzle of the Heavenly Punishment Hall felt her expression tighten. Even she had not expected Fang Han's sudden strike to be this ferocious.
After cultivating half an Undying Body, Fang Han's power had surged again—and his speed soared with it. Compared to the time he slew the Seven Divine Kings, he was now almost twice as strong. This was the first time he unleashed his full might after that breakthrough; the chance to test himself was exhilarating beyond measure.
Autumn Drizzle's body trembled, spinning like a living gyroscope. The air around her shredded in all directions as she rotated tens of thousands of times in an instant. The turbulence inside the Heavenly Punishment Hall twisted upward into spiraling pillars—each one morphing into a living wind dragon.
Not illusions, not vague outlines—true dragons of storm and wind.
If Fang Han's fists carried faint shapes of draconic claws but had yet to condense into true heavenly dragons, Autumn Drizzle's power was the real thing: pure, complete, and majestic. This was the essence of a Longevity-class ancient powerhouse.
"Great Sumeru Mountain King Fist!"
Still spinning, she stepped forward with a strange rhythm, her palms transforming into draconic claws as she struck out nine times in succession. Each palm formed a massive golden Sumeru mountain, and atop each mountain, a towering Buddha of radiant gold stood faintly visible—far more formidable than Fang Han's Blood Light Buddha. This was a Buddha who seemed capable of ruling the entire Buddhist Realm.
The Great Sumeru Mountain King Fist was a pure Buddhist killing art—suppression, domination, destruction.
Nine explosive collisions rang out like thunderclaps. The entire Hall shuddered violently. Columns cracked, chairs split apart, even the dragon-carved throne fractured. The marble floor caved in like shattered ice. Waves of turbulent force crashed into the depths of space itself, dissolving into clumps of primordial chaos.
Fang Han's body was hurled back to the edge of the hall, slamming into the wall before he finally stopped. Every thread of his mana had been blown apart. All five of his spiritual seas were empty—every drop of power consumed in the clash of ten punches. Yet even drained, he was no longer someone a mere Golden Core expert could kill.
Only those ranked in the top ten of the Longevity Candidate List could truly slay him and seize his treasures.
And even then, he could always tear open space and escape to the Five Elements Land.
He sat down abruptly, gasping for breath. Calling upon the World Tree, he drew in torrents of Immortal World essence and slowly restored mana.
Across from him, even Autumn Drizzle's face paled slightly. A woman on the cusp of breaking through from Longevity's first realm—Myriad Life—to the second realm, the Undying Body, she had not expected his strike to be so alarming.
Yet she had not truly been injured. She still had power to spare—enough to kill him if she wished.
"Fang Han, why didn't you use the Yellow Springs Diagram? Your raw strength is impressive, but your realm is far too low. Your mana can't sustain prolonged battle. Only at the tenth level of divine abilities—Defying Fate—can you properly contend with me. Without the Yellow Springs Diagram, you stand no chance."
She was genuinely puzzled.
She did not know that Fang Han was using the Diagram and the Eightfold Pagoda to suppress the Sun-Moon Fine Wheel—leaving him no power to control it elsewhere. But once the Wheel was subdued, his strength would skyrocket.
"I wanted to test my own body's strength—to see how far I am from a true Longevity giant. Turns out, the gap is still wide." Fang Han inhaled, letting the Immortal essence refill him. After a dozen breaths, he regained a sliver of mana, and rose with renewed vigor. "The Yellow Springs Diagram is tied up suppressing a treasure."
"You're only at Golden Core. Raise your realm and expand your spiritual seas." Autumn Drizzle lifted her hand, sending a current of pristine Immortal essence directly into Fang Han's body.
At once, Fang Han sensed something and activated the Green Emperor's Wood Emperor Technique, shrinking the World Tree in his brow into an infinitesimal speck hidden deep within his spiritual sea.
The Immortal essence swept through him, found nothing unusual, and eventually settled into his five spiritual seas as mana.
Autumn Drizzle's expression didn't change, but she had indeed tried to use this opportunity to probe Fang Han's secrets—finding nothing only deepened her surprise.
Such pure Immortal essence… Longevity experts truly refined it differently. Compared to the World Tree's energy, this was far more concentrated.
Within half an hour under her assistance, Fang Han had fully recovered. The clash had taught him deeply: the threat posed by Longevity-class beings was unimaginable. From now on, he would never again be reckless just because he possessed a few powerful tricks.
"I was thinking of making a move against that Dragon Daoist or Wood Daoist… Now it seems I'll have to revise my plans. Until the Sun-Moon Fine Wheel is completely subdued, I can't take any risks. One of them can't kill me—two absolutely can. I need the Great Universal Salvation Light, refine the Five Elements Land Talisman, merge Blood Night King with the Azure Blood Water Sword, strengthen the Eightfold Pagoda… and then subdue the Sun-Moon Fine Wheel. When all four treasures—Yellow Springs Diagram, Eightfold Pagoda, Sun-Moon Wheel, and the Five Elements Land—are fully in my hand… and after I survive the Wind-Fire Tribulation and expand my spiritual seas… perhaps then I can even scheme against a Longevity expert."
His path grew clearer.
The Great Universal Salvation Light would empower the Five Elements Talisman. On his own it would take centuries—but with Linglong Immortal Venerable's direct transmission, attainment was immediate.
And Autumn Drizzle's earlier "Great Sumeru Mountain King Fist"… Fang Han's heart was already itching to learn it.
The Zorma Ancient Divine Qi as well—another supreme technique. The more the better.
"Fang Han, after receiving the Palm-Sovereign's three supreme divine arts, your future is essentially decided—provided nothing unexpected happens. They were always meant for you." Autumn Drizzle warned, "But these three arts devour mana like a bottomless abyss. Even with them, your explosive strength will remain at a hundred million warhorses—no higher. Only your mana consumption will worsen. For your current realm, they are a burden… but one that increases your chance of achieving Longevity."
"I know. But I'm not passing up three supreme techniques." Fang Han smiled. "I'll raise my realm as fast as I can."
Below Longevity, no matter how many divine arts one learned, one's explosive limit could never exceed the threshold of one hundred million warhorses. More arts simply meant more mana consumption—but also accumulated foundation for one's future Dao.
Suddenly, a deep, ancient horn resounded across Sumeru Mountain—its vibrations slipping through space itself, audible to all, unstoppable.
"The Heaven-Earth Conch. The Palm-Sovereign has arrived on the Nine-Petaled Lotus Platform. The birthday banquet has begun. All who come must present their tributes to earn the Palm-Sovereign's favor. Afterward will be the youth duels. Those who stand out will receive the inheritance of the three supreme divine arts. Go on. I must patrol the mountain."
Fang Han nodded. "I'm going. My gift is ready—the Golden Core of Taiyi Sect's Song Weiyi."
A crystal box appeared in his palm, containing a Golden Core holding twenty-seven divine abilities—worth over ten billion, and bearing immense symbolic weight.
He stepped forward, his body rising into a blazing arc of light that shot toward the summit of Sumeru Mountain.
When he had gone, Autumn Drizzle silently sat down. After a long moment, a quiet sigh escaped her lips. For someone on the verge of breaking into the Undying Body, the shift in her mood was startling.
"Threads of Calamity and Love… Palm-Sovereign, you actually tied your Threads of Ten-Thousand Calamities around that boy's fingertip. Is he truly the one destined for your final tribulation—the emotional tribulation before you tear open the gate of the Immortal Realm and ascend? But he is still merely Golden Core. Who knows when he will reach Longevity? And even if he does, what could he possibly do? Your realms are worlds apart. I had thought your calamity lay with Feng Baiyu… after all, he obtained the Heavenly Emperor Mirror."
She murmured to herself, troubled.
But her words made one thing unmistakably clear:
Linglong Immortal Venerable's final tribulation—the emotional tribulation before ascension—was fated to be tied to Fang Han.
The thread wrapped around Fang Han's finger had not been a strand of hair.
It was a Thread of Ten-Thousand Calamities—a binding of fate.
Once tied, one would suffer myriad tribulations of the heart.
A bond that could lead to salvation—
—or doom one to never escape the cycle of calamity.
Threads of calamity, threads of love.
Once entwined, none may walk away unscathed.
Understood — I'll continue the translation exactly in the same style and continuity as before: English only, fast-paced, dramatic, polished for Western fantasy readers, culturally localized, and consistent with the earlier chapters you've already received.