The vertical eye on the Demon Marshal's brow was, astonishingly, a high-grade Dao Artifact.
What did that mean?
A high-grade Dao Artifact possessed boundless power. At its core lay profound mysteries of space and time. It could store worlds within itself, suppress the five elements and the ten directions—and if wielded by someone strong enough to unleash its full might, it could even be used to refine stars themselves.
However, to truly exert the full power of a high-grade Dao Artifact, one had to reach at least the second level of the Longevity Secret Realm, the Immortal Body stage—or even higher.
Qiu Xiyu had once said that if one accumulated enough foundation, then at the instant of stepping into the Longevity Secret Realm, merging with the spirit of a high-grade Dao Artifact could allow a direct breakthrough into the Immortal Body stage. In other words, a high-grade Dao Artifact truly required an Immortal Body to be fully wielded.
Yan Shuiyi, Fan Qingying, and Hua Tiandu all possessed high-grade Dao Artifacts—the Azure Sea Divine Pearl, the Great Chaos Thunder Sword, and the Great Desolate Ancient Furnace—but even they could only unleash, at most, thirty percent of their power.
Fang Qingxue, despite holding the high-grade Dao Artifact Indestructible Lightning Talisman, could barely draw out ten percent of its might.
Fang Han himself possessed the Yellow Springs Diagram. Before the restoration of the Samsara Disk, it too counted as a high-grade Dao Artifact—but even then, he could only use around thirty percent of its power.
A single mid-grade Dao Artifact was already the dream of Longevity Realm ancient giants.
A high-grade Dao Artifact was on an entirely different level.
Such treasures were not something ordinary Longevity Realm experts could refine. At the very least, one needed to reach someone like Feng Baiyu's level, join forces with several beings of equal standing, set up massive formations, expend unimaginable heavenly materials, encounter countless rare chances, then retreat into death-seclusion for a thousand years—burning lifespan and comprehending the Heavenly Dao—only to possibly succeed.
If a cultivator in the Divine Ability Realm possessed a high-grade Dao Artifact, even Longevity Realm ancient giants would find it impossible to kill them. It was the ultimate protective talisman.
Fang Han had never expected the Demon Marshal to possess such a treasure.
And not just any treasure—but such a bizarre one: a vertical eye embedded in his brow.
"Fang Han, be careful," Yan's warning echoed urgently in his mind. "This high-grade Dao Artifact is called the Eye of the End of Law. It is refined from a supreme demonic art of the Devil Path. It is a legendary artifact—even the Yellow Springs Emperor once refined one."
"Back then, the Yellow Springs Emperor spent three thousand years in the depths of a mysterious spacetime, within the Graveyard of the End, to forge it. His Eye of the End of Law was a peerless Dao Artifact—far stronger than the Demon Marshal's."
"That peerless eye still rests within the Yellow Springs Treasury as a formation core. That's why the treasury has never been opened. Even the Demon Marshal's version, merely a high-grade Dao Artifact, required the blood essence of at least nine demonic gods who had reached the Myriad Lifespan Mirror, condensed into an embryonic demon eye. The Innate Demon Sect must have poured everything into refining it. Its power is terrifying—I can sense an extremely strong artifact spirit within."
As the Demon Marshal examined Fang Han with the Eye of the End of Law, Yan immediately reacted, unleashing Abī Hell Qi to wrap Fang Han completely in billowing black smoke. Only then was the probing gaze slightly obstructed.
Yan was already exerting all his strength suppressing the Sun–Moon Essence Wheels. All he could do now was channel some Abī Hell Qi. The Gate of Abī formation couldn't be activated at all—let alone the Bridge of Naihe.
"It's a pity," Yan added. "If I could take one more step and restore the Yellow Springs Diagram to manifest the Samsara Disk, I could completely counter the Eye of the End of Law— suppress it outright. The Yellow Springs Emperor once intended me as the key to opening the Yellow Springs Treasury. One of my functions was to use the Samsara Disk to absorb the Eye of the End of Law."
All this information flooded into Fang Han's mind in an instant.
At the same time, Fang Han was desperately suppressing the Wind-and-Fire Tribulation raging within his golden core. If not for this sudden tribulation, he wouldn't have feared a high-grade Dao Artifact at all.
But now—
He couldn't use any of his treasures. His true strength could barely reach thirty percent—perhaps even less.
Facing the Demon Marshal under such conditions was extraordinarily difficult.
"Abī Hell Qi?" The Demon Marshal laughed loudly as he observed the black smoke enveloping Fang Han. "Fang Han, Abī Hell Qi alone can't deal with my Eye of the End of Law."
"It's said the Yellow Springs Diagram contains three great formations—the Gate of Abī, the Bridge of Naihe, and the Samsara Disk. If you could deploy all three, my Eye of the End of Law would be completely useless— countered by you."
"But my father, the Innate Emperor, used Innate Divine Calculation to foresee this moment. He predicted that this would be the most difficult period of your life."
"All your treasures are unusable. The Wind-and-Fire Tribulation is imminent. You can't even bring out thirty percent of your strength. How do you plan to fight me?"
"Innate calculation?" Fang Han replied coldly. "It may calculate the past accurately, because the past is fixed. But calculating the future—even immortals cannot do that. The future contains infinite variables. Who can calculate it all?"
"Your father miscalculated. Completely."
"This moment is not the weakest point of my life—it is the moment when my body is undergoing its most complete transformation, when I am at my strongest."
As he spoke, Fang Han moved. Wrapped in Abī Hell Qi, he chopped a palm toward the Demon Marshal.
"Then I won't hold back," the Demon Marshal replied calmly.
His fingers danced, forming seal after seal. White rainbows shot out in all directions, piercing space, then suddenly converged—forming a White Bone Prison that instantly trapped Fang Han inside.
Because Fang Han had to suppress the Wind-and-Fire Tribulation, his speed had slowed. The Demon Marshal's Innate White Bone Divine Art manifested as a bone cage, sealing Fang Han within.
"This Innate White Bone Divine Art really is formidable," Fang Han thought.
The moment he was trapped, his body transformed repeatedly. The Great Severing Technique erupted, slicing wildly—instantly shredding the White Bone Prison into fragments. He burst free, leaping upward like a ferocious tiger springing from a ravine, smashing down toward the Demon Marshal.
The Great Severing Technique was unleashed at full power. Black lines danced like dragons and serpents, slicing space apart into shattered fragments.
"The Eye of the End of Law—shatter all techniques!"
The vertical eye shot out a beam of gray, deathly light, filled with annihilating intent—like a withered star drifting toward final extinction.
As soon as that gray light touched the Great Severing Technique, the black cutting lines disintegrated one by one, collapsing completely. The Eye of the End of Law erased them utterly.
At this moment, its tyrannical power was fully revealed.
"Great Collapse!"
With the Great Severing Technique destroyed, the Demon Marshal pointed again. The space around Fang Han collapsed violently—shattering, crumbling, fragmenting like a mirror smashed to pieces.
Fang Han finally experienced the terror of a technique on par with the Great Severing Technique.
But he wasn't panicked.
His body suddenly disintegrated, transforming into countless talisman-forms that wrapped tightly around his head.
With half an Immortal Body, his physical form was terrifyingly resilient. As long as his head remained intact, he could fully recover. His best defense now was to convert everything below the head into primordial energy to protect it.
The Great Collapse Technique detonated against him. After the thunderous explosion faded, Fang Han's body reassembled—unharmed, save for some loss of energy.
"An Immortal Body is truly terrifying," the Demon Marshal muttered. "End-of-Law Divine Rays!"
The Eye of the End of Law spun rapidly, firing countless rays of light like a rainstorm, piercing toward Fang Han.
Chi—chi—chi—!
His body was instantly riddled with holes. Several rays even shot straight toward his head.
The Demon Marshal knew it clearly—his own cultivation alone could not overcome Fang Han's half Immortal Body. His Great Collapse Technique was far from the level of ancient demonic gods annihilating worlds.
To kill Fang Han, he had to rely on the high-grade Dao Artifact—the Eye of the End of Law.
This is bad! Fang Han's heart clenched.
Being pierced through the body didn't matter—he could recover instantly. But if his head were pierced, it would be the end.
At that instant, Fang Han's mastery showed itself. Without relying on any treasure, his body twisted and folded around his head, weaving through the dense rays like falling celestial petals—pure, untouched, unstained.
"Innate White Bone Primordial Spirit—Manifest!"
Seeing this, the Demon Marshal roared. His body shook violently as countless white rainbows surged out, condensing into a towering White Bone Demonic Form—bleached, jagged, monstrous.
With one grab, bone-light flooded the space. With each step, thousands of bone lotuses bloomed. The massive demonic hand reached straight for Fang Han.
He knew Fang Han could no longer use his golden core. The only thing Fang Han could rely on now was the brute force of his half Immortal Body.
Roar—roar—!
The Innate White Bone Primordial Spirit locked onto Fang Han's position with precision. One claw slammed down, colliding head-on with Fang Han and knocking him off balance.
"Now!" the Demon Marshal seized the opening.
The Eye of the End of Law spun violently. All rays condensed into a single beam that pierced through layer after layer of Fang Han's immortal energy defenses—
And struck his head.
Puchi!
The Eye of the End of Law was too powerful. Fang Han's head, though incredibly tough, could not withstand it. The beam was about to bore straight through his skull.
At that critical moment, Fang Han had no choice.
Golden light flashed between his brows.
His natal golden core shot out from his forehead, colliding head-on with the beam.
The beam was extinguished instantly.
But at that very instant—
The golden core trembled violently.
The Wind-and-Fire Tribulation could no longer be suppressed.
Boom!
The Wind-and-Fire Tribulation was fully unleashed.
Fang Han's own heart demons and calamity descended at last.
Woooo—woooo—
Endless demonic winds roared out from the depths of his golden core, while raging, twisted flames burst forth, wrapping around his flesh.
The tribulation had truly arrived.