"These ancient temples are unbelievable… colossal, majestic—and somehow still intact after tens of thousands of years. What kind of empire could've built so many of them?"
Fang Han wandered deeper into the temple's grand hall, taking in its immensity.
The complex sprawled across what would be more than ten thousand acres. Its halls were vast, its pillars towering. Many portions had clearly suffered the erosion of endless storms and time—cracked stone, weathered carvings—no mortal structure could escape decay forever.
And yet… something was wrong.
Very wrong.
For a place abandoned for millennia, it should've been overrun with moss, vines, and the creatures of the jungle. In this kind of humid wilderness, a decade was enough for nature to swallow any ruins.
But here—
not a single vine.
Not a patch of moss.
Not a spiderweb.
Not even the tiniest insect dared cross the threshold.
Some mysterious, lingering force was repelling all life.
The moment Fang Han stepped into the main hall, he was struck by the strange, alien statues inside. Towering gods glared with bulging eyes, gazing down upon all beings. Others had their mouths wide open in a silent cosmic roar. Some even looked serene, bald, holding prayer beads, wearing bizarre robes that bared their chests.
These figures looked nothing like the deities of any Daoist or demonic sect.
More like… visitors from another world.
Fang Han didn't dare sweep the interior with his divine sense. Everything here felt too peculiar, too ancient. Better not disturb whatever slept within these stones. The material itself was unlike any earthly rock—harder than basalt or granite, glowing faintly gold, emitting a subtle fragrance.
Yan's voice echoed from within the talisman:
"That stone is called Sandal-Gold Spiritstone, a material from beyond this world. It doesn't exist in the Xuanhuang Great World. Temples built with it don't decay even after ten thousand years, and the fragrance keeps out all pests."
He paused, then added:
"Plenty of powerful cultivators once dreamed of moving these temples back to their sects. Not one succeeded. One Longevity-Realm expert even tried relocating one using a mountain-shifting divine art—failed, suffered calamity, and died. After that, everyone learned their lesson: don't touch what belongs to this place."
Fang Han immediately clasped his hands and addressed the silent air:
"I, Fang Han, have come only to seek the Five-Element Spiritual Roots to advance my cultivation. I carry no intention to damage even a single tile of this sacred temple. If I one day reach the Longevity Realm, I swear I will send people to restore your incense offerings and honor the gods of this place."
BOOM.
The ground shuddered violently.
As if the world itself had answered him.
Fang Han's expression tightened. He instantly pushed his Earth Emperor Qi downward to sense the tremor—but felt nothing.
Ever since absorbing the Nine-Heavens Breathing-Soil Crystal, he had become deeply attuned to the earth. If he ever perfected the Earth Emperor Dao, he could burrow through ground like a fish through water—no one, not even Ghost Emperor, could predict his movements.
But now… nothing. No cause. No explanation.
"Did my words… provoke a response from the temple?" he wondered.
"Maybe." Yan's voice was low. "Whatever dwells here isn't ordinary. You'd better honor your promise—divine punishment from these ruins is no joke."
Fang Han laughed.
"No problem. Once I reach Longevity, restoring incense here will be trivial. Actually… I feel like the temple accepts me now. Finding the Five-Element Roots should be possible. Once I complete the Five Emperor Divine Arts and step into the Unification Stage, my divine arts will merge into a single life-seal. One strike could rival a Golden Core expert."
And he wasn't exaggerating.
Fang Han already possessed more than thirty major divine arts.
Once he reached Unification and condensed a life-seal, its power would far surpass that of a Golden Core formed from only a dozen arts.
Like Jia Lan's—her core held only fifteen.
If Fang Han struck her with a seal formed from thirty-plus divine arts…
she'd lose.
Yan agreed:
"You're still forgetting the Star-Reaver's Golden Core in your possession. Once you refine it, your life-seal will be even stronger. That core contains twenty star-based divine arts—perfect for your cultivation of the Panwu Titan Force."
Fang Han grinned.
"In that case, why stop there? Why not refine the Ghost Emperor's Nine-Ghost Souls too? That old monster cultivated for three thousand years—his nine souls contain divine arts beyond imagination! If I refine them, my life-seal could exceed even Elder Gu Meng's Heaven-Earth Avatar!"
Yan immediately shot him down.
"Absolutely not. Golden Cores are one thing—but the Nine-Ghost Souls are an avatar formed from dozens of divine arts. You can't refine that with your current strength. You can only suppress it, not break it down."
Fang Han clicked his tongue.
"Fine. Then I'll refine the Star-Reaver's core first."
He sat, letting the Nebula Child and the Blood-Night King guard him, then drew out the Golden Core.
The Star-Reaver's Core shone gold from the outside, but within, countless miniature star formations swirled—twenty in total, each representing a unique divine art.
Even its Five-Element array was made of pure starlight.
With a sheath of Yellow Springs Holy Water, Fang Han extended his will—slowly, carefully.
Instantly—
a tide of starry insight flooded into his mind.
He had refined a core before—Huo Yun Fairy's—so he was familiar with the process. This time, it went even smoother.
"Break… and return to origin!"
His fingers transformed into seals as the core dissolved into pure formation-light. Twenty great star arrays rose above his head, with the Five-Star Convergence at the center.
The remaining fifteen:
Star-Sand ThunderforceHeaven-Hidden Star EscapeScorpio of the Star GodPrimordial Star-Aspect ArtStar-Dragon Devouring RayAstral Body RefinementStar-Gathering Spirit TechniqueExtinction Meteor ShowerStar-Forging Demon-CutterThousand-Shadow StarstrikeMyriad-Stars Sanctification ArtBig Dipper Hand SealSouthern Dipper Longevity QiStar-King DescentBook of Infinite Stars — an ultimate divine art that condensed the light of thousands of stars into a scripture.
Fang Han's excitement surged.
"All of them… mine!"
One by one, he absorbed the formations into his newly opened Second Sea of Consciousness.
Power detonated through him—
his cultivation surging like a tidal wave, rippling the air.
Even the Blood-Night King and Xingchan were forced several steps back.
When the light finally settled…
He had ascended to fifty-five divine arts.
Five from the Five Emperor Magic.
Panwu Titan Force.
Great Rending Art.
Twenty-eight from Huo Yun.
Twenty from the Star-Reaver.
Fifty-five in total—while still at the Heaven-Human Realm.
In the long history of cultivation, across countless prodigies and peerless geniuses…
Fang Han now stood among the very top.