At this moment, Fang Han had gained a profound understanding of the transformations within the Five Elements Land. With his current mastery, he could project his power directly into that world, hunting and killing powerful elemental beasts—Azure Dragons, White Tigers, Vermilion Birds, Black Tortoises, Coiling Serpents, Water Apes, Fire Apes, and more—without personally descending there. Compared to entering the Five Elements Land in the flesh, this method was far safer and far more reliable.
The deeper I refine the Buddhist arts, Fang Han thought with satisfaction, the more completely the Six-Syllable Mantra talisman becomes mine—and the closer the Five Elements Land comes to being my private garden.
More than that, he sensed that the talisman's wonders went far beyond this. If he continued refining it and eventually stepped into the Longevity Secret Realm, he might even be able to conceal the entire Five Elements Land itself. At that point, even if Taiyi Sect forcibly tore open space-time, they would be unable to locate it.
Feeling the vast, surging vitality within his body and mind, Fang Han sensed that the Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Aspect within his Golden Core—the ancient, many-armed, many-eyed demonic god—was growing ever clearer. He knew that breaking into the Ninth Layer of the Divine Ability Realm was not far away.
This path was far more efficient than directly refining the Wood Daoist. The immortal qi harvested daily by the Wood Daoist, combined with the power of sincere prayer and accumulated wish-force, flowed ceaselessly into Fang Han's body. His cultivation advanced at a terrifying pace—each day greater than the last.
If only I could convert a few more ancient giants, he thought greedily. If I could subdue Dragon Daoist as well, two such beings would ensure endless supplies of energy for the celestial demons.
Even now, Fang Han was still poor—painfully poor. He had millions of celestial demons to feed, including more than two thousand five hundred Demon Kings. Letting them starve was absolutely impossible.
Over countless transformations, the number of Demon Kings had already risen to two thousand five hundred.
Their consumption was staggering. Unless Dragon Daoist could be subdued as well, the situation would only worsen.
Despite possessing the Wood Daoist and the World Tree as sources of immortal qi—enough to sustain his own Golden Core and its ninety-three divine abilities—there was still no one supplying energy for the legions of celestial demons.
"Fang Han," came the unhelpful voice of the Samsara Holy King from within the Eightfold Pagoda, "the Black God Pills can only sustain the demons for one more month. What then?"
"I'll figure something out," Fang Han replied calmly. "Worst case, I still have nine hundred million Baiyang Pills. I'll withdraw them from the Great Xuan Empire. Feeding celestial demons with Baiyang Pills is inefficient, but at least they won't starve."
It was a last resort. From Prince Yi, Fang Han had received compensation worth five billion pills. Four billion had gone to purchasing four Nirvana Pills, another hundred million to Qiu Xiyu. What remained was nine hundred million.
Feeding demons with Baiyang Pills would weaken them rather than strengthen them. At minimum, they required Yuanying Pills—but where was Fang Han supposed to obtain those? Refining them himself would require far more energy than he possessed.
"I was counting on the Wood Daoist to refine pure yang qi for me," Yan grumbled, sounding miserable. "Now it's clearly impossible. Demand far exceeds supply. When will I ever recover my full strength?"
"As if," Fang Han replied coolly. "The Wheel of Reincarnation is your final formation. To manifest it again would require an astronomical amount of pure yang qi. Even if a hundred ancient giants refined qi for you day and night, it would still take a thousand years. What good is a single Wood Daoist?"
Fang Han understood perfectly well what it meant to restore an absolute-grade Dao Artifact. The Yellow Springs Diagram was the foremost demonic treasure of the Xuanhuang World—its restoration would never be easy.
Consider the Ancient Meteorite of the Stellar Sect, or the Sumeru Golden Mountain of Linglong Paradise. Any absolute-grade Dao Artifact was the product of tens of thousands of years of collective refinement.
The final formation of the Yellow Springs Diagram—the Wheel of Reincarnation—would likely remain incomplete even after Fang Han entered the Longevity Secret Realm. Unless he reached the level of Feng Baiyu and commanded an entire great sect, mobilizing numerous Longevity Realm experts, restoration would remain a distant dream.
"That's true," Yan admitted. "And the Wheel of Reincarnation was damaged in battle. Repairing it will require countless rare materials. At minimum, you'd need to reach the Third Layer of the Longevity Realm and comprehend spatial laws—only then could you tear through worlds to gather what's needed."
Yan knew his own limitations all too well.
"So what now?" Yan asked. "Do we return to the Feathered Immortal Sect, or go to the Great Xuan Empire to withdraw the nine hundred million Baiyang Pills? Prince Yi has emerged. If you keep cultivating, you'll miss the opportunity."
While speaking with Yan and the Starcloud Baby, Fang Han retrieved Prince Yi, who had been resting deep within the Yellow Springs River.
During the final three days of Linglong Immortal's sermons, Fang Han had drawn Starcloud Baby, Black Nether King, and Prince Yi into the Yellow Springs Diagram to prevent them from being ambushed the moment they left Linglong Paradise.
Prince Yi was now at the Sixth Layer of the Divine Ability Realm, the stage of Myriad Laws Returning to One, on the verge of forming a Golden Core. Having absorbed all of Ancestor Qingyang's power, his cultivation had skyrocketed. Immersed in the Yellow Springs River and aided by the Oblivion Water, he was condensing his core with remarkable ease.
Compared to Fang Han, forming a Golden Core was effortless for him—though its power would be hundreds, even thousands of times weaker.
"Fang Han," Prince Yi said, "this trip to Linglong Paradise brought you many gains. Unfortunately, my status was too low to be received by Linglong Immortal herself."
"Gains indeed," Fang Han replied lightly. "I'll return to the Great Xuan Empire to withdraw the Baiyang Pills, then head back to the Feathered Immortal Sect."
With a casual motion, Fang Han sent a stream of vitality into Prince Yi's body. Prince Yi immediately swelled with energy, his face flushed red. Only after a long moment did he fully refine it.
"What terrifying power," Prince Yi exclaimed. "I'm even more confident now about forming my Golden Core."
"You've been cleansed by the Yellow Springs River for so long, purged of impurities, and just received a trace of my Undying Body's vitality," Fang Han said with a laugh. "If you still fail, you might as well give up cultivating."
"Fang Han, many people are hunting you now," Prince Yi said seriously. "If you go to the Great Xuan Empire, you'll draw even more attention. Why not return to the Feathered Immortal Sect first? I can head back and have the Baiyang Pills delivered to you in ten days."
"No need," Fang Han replied. "I have other matters to attend to. I'll head back to the Feathered Immortal Sect now. Let's go—to the surface."
With a single movement, Fang Han surged upward. Earth, stone, even solid basalt dissolved into pure energy as he pierced through them, reaching the surface in an instant.
Night had fallen. Stars filled the sky with brilliant light. Fang Han had cultivated underground for over a month, completely stabilizing his realm. His spirit was at an unprecedented peak—so much so that he felt confident he could now defeat Dragon Daoist even at his full strength.
After all, the Eightfold Pagoda's power had more than doubled—thanks to the conversion of a single ancient giant, the Wood Daoist.
Yet during this same month, the food reserves of the celestial demons had grown critically low. The Black God Pills were nearly exhausted. Fang Han urgently needed new sources of sustenance. He harbored no illusions of encountering another God King of the Protoss.
Unless all eight hundred billion Protoss descended upon the Xuanhuang World.
At which point, he'd be the one fleeing for his life.
"Fang Han, I'm leaving," Prince Yi said as he rose into the air. "Wait until I return with a Golden Core and a far greater status."
With that, Prince Yi vanished into the distance.
"Fang Han," came the voice of the Samsara Holy King once more, "the Eightfold Pagoda now holds vast stores of wish-force. Will you use it to open your sixth sea of consciousness?"
"No," Fang Han replied after a pause. "During this month of contemplation, I realized something. The Panwu Great Strength Art I won from Wan Luo is incomplete. At most, it can open seven seas of consciousness. The true Panwu Art should return nine to one—opening nine seas."
"If you continue cultivating this incomplete art, not only will it never reach perfection, it will eventually hinder my advancement."
"What then?" Yan exclaimed. "Will you abandon it? If you do, four seas of consciousness will collapse. Your power will drop drastically."
"It doesn't matter," Fang Han said calmly. "I already have a plan to obtain the complete Panwu Great Strength Art. This past month, I've calculated everything. This time, I'll make Hua Tiandu lose both wife and spoils."
"I was going to return to the Feathered Immortal Sect—but now, I won't."
"Where are you going?" Yan asked, increasingly unable to read him.
"To find someone."
"Who?"
"Yan Shuiyi," Fang Han said, laughing loudly. "Taiyi Sect's foremost true disciple. Hua Tiandu's fiancée. She certainly possesses the complete Panwu Great Strength Art. For Hua Tiandu to earn Taiyi Sect's trust, he must hand over that art in full. And once I have it, I can open all nine seas of consciousness—without letting this divine ability become a future obstacle."
"If it were any other incomplete art, I could discard it. But this one governs the structure of the mind itself. It must be perfected."
Yan was stunned. "Seek Yan Shuiyi? Wouldn't she kill you on sight? And how would you even find her? What if she's within Taiyi Sect itself? That would be suicide—no one could protect you there."
Fang Han smiled faintly.
"In this world," he said, "money can buy anything. Doesn't the Six Paths Alliance specialize in selling information?"