Water roared within Fang Han's body. The Black Emperor Water Sovereign Qi surged like waterfalls crashing from a ten-thousand-foot cliff, like rivers in flood, overflowing with multiplying force.
At this rate, he suspected this divine ability would soon reach full perfection—powerful enough to evolve true Gui-Water Thunder.
If this keeps up, I may burn out before the technique does…
After slaughtering the elite Gui-water monster fish that had erupted from beneath the earth, Fang Han finally caught a breath. Without the World Tree pouring endless essence into him, even with fifty-five great divine abilities he would've been exhausted to death by the swarm.
"Meng Shaobai must've come through this Five Elements Realm too. His five-element essence must've reached a similar level of completion here. No wonder his swordsmanship is so terrifying—survive this place once, and stepping into sainthood is only natural."
Even Yan sounded overwhelmed by wave after wave of monsters.
"We have three Dao artifacts and limitless energy coming in, and we're this tired. Meng Shaobai walked out of here alive? That's… genuinely frightening." The Blood Night King shuddered. Even as a Dao artifact, being besieged by endless enemies meant its spirit could fall dormant.
Fang Han sat in silence, recovering his strength. His mana was infinite, but his flesh wasn't. His whole body ached. He immediately used the body-regulating method within the Panwu Titan Art, circulating mana through every meridian and muscle—like a master massaging away exhaustion.
The Panwu Art held countless secrets. In life-and-death combat, those small techniques mattered.
It was said that in ancient times, Panwu Immortal Venerable's disciples fought the Outer Demons for a full month without fatigue. A terrifying legend.
"More monsters incoming!"
Nebula Baby's shout snapped Fang Han awake. From the horizon came a rising chorus of shrieks—shadowy figures, towering six or seven times the height of a man, rushing in like a tide.
Wood giants.
Thousands of them. A colossal army.
They bounded forward, leaping like giant predatory birds, landing with earth-shaking thuds. They wielded wooden axes, spears, sabers, forks—their emerald eyes gleaming with feral violence as they lunged toward Fang Han like flies to blood.
A massive giant arrived first, thrusting a wooden spear through a storm of afterimages. A killing intent infused with pure wood-element Qi locked Fang Han in place.
"So this round is wood-element monsters? Pity my Green Emperor Wood Sovereign Art is already perfected… Still, harvesting more wood essence will only make it stronger."
He struck.
Heaven-Covering Demon Hand shredded the spear shadows, grabbed the giant, and crushed it into powder—raw wood essence flooding into him.
Within moments, hundreds more fell under his demon hand and the Blood Sky Demon Blade. Nebula Baby joined in, collecting wood essence and condensing each into a turquoise bead.
Nebula's divine power, Future Star Matrix, was one of Celestial Star Sect's supreme arts. He had reached the Astral Qi stage long ago but hadn't broken through to Yin-Yang. Yet in the pressure of battle, something within him seemed to loosen.
The wood giants were monstrously strong and shockingly skilled. Fang Han memorized dozens of rare spear and blade techniques they used—arts that could become ancestral treasures for any mortal clan.
"How can creatures born from wood essence wield such refined martial arts?"
Before he could ponder further, Yan finally acted.
"Abyss Gate—Devour the Mortal Realm!"
The Yellow Springs Map unfurled in the sky. Abyss Gate opened, spilling world-drowning demonic energy. Every thread of that mist that touched a wood giant killed it instantly and pulled it inside.
Tens of thousands surged forward; nearly ten thousand were swallowed in a single breath.
Against Fang Han and Yan, this wooden legion never stood a chance.
"Invaders! You dare slaughter my soldiers? Die!"
The tide of giants abruptly parted. A tiny wooden figure stepped forward—human-sized, wearing a wooden crown, wielding a glowing cyan blade etched with runes. His aura surged endlessly; his voice carried intellect and authority.
A Wood King.
"Kill first. Talk later."
Fang Han didn't waste time. Heaven-Covering Demon Hand swept toward him. The Wood King's essence was richer than the treasured Qinglong Puyang Wood auctioned at the Treasure Gathering. Fang Han intended to capture him whole.
"Courting death! Wood God—Execution Blade!"
The Wood King erupted with azure Astral Qi. His blade flashed with blinding crystalline light as he twisted aside at impossible speed, leaping above Fang Han and chopping downward.
Fang Han froze for a heartbeat—this creature's power was comparable to some Yin-Yang stage elites of the Taiyi Sect. Even Heaven-realm experts might not handle him bare-handed.
But fate had placed him before Fang Han.
The Blood Night King surged forward—one slash cleaving the Wood King's blade, the next cleaving his body in half.
The King wailed. A torrent of wood essence flooded into Fang Han.
Fang Han exhaled sharply—roaring skyward.
A Wood Emperor, a Green Sovereign avatar, shot upward and exploded into a sprawling canopy of jade-green clouds. Lightning crackled inside—dense clusters of Yi-Wood Divine Thunder falling like hailstones.
Fist-sized, crystal-bright, each irregular bolt shattered on contact with earth or flesh.
Explosions rocked the land. Wood giants were obliterated by the thousands, their essence rising and merging with the storm. More divine thunder rained down.
At last, the Five Emperors Demon Divine Ability showed its true power. No longer weak. No longer incomplete.
Nebula Baby stared, speechless, as Fang Han drowned the world in green thunder.
When the slaughter ended, a vast sea of Wood Sovereign Qi blanketed fifty miles of sky, thick as clouds before a storm—overflowing with both annihilation and life-giving vigor.
"Your Green Emperor Wood Sovereign now rivals your Great Solar Fire Calamity and Black Sun Wind Disaster," Yan murmured. "And every realm you advance… it'll grow even stronger."
"Unfortunately, the other four still lag behind. We need more five-element monsters. Much more. This Five Emperors Art… it's too addictive."
Energized, fatigue washed away by the Panwu Titan Art, Fang Han surged forward in excitement.
"Let's move. We'll sweep through the entire Five Elements Realm—we'll see what else is hiding in here!"
He shot ahead, Nebula Baby cheering after him.
They flew deeper and deeper, far from the mountain carved with the seven "Danger" sigils.
Barely a thousand miles further, a heavy earthy stench rose. Fang Han tensed—another wave of earth-element monsters.
Sure enough, the ground writhed—and countless Teng-Snakes burst upward.
Perfect.
Heaven-Covering Hand, Blood Blade, and the hailstorm of Yi-Wood Divine Thunder unleashed. Wood overcomes earth; the synergy was devastating.
Thunder rained. Earth serpents died by the thousands, their essence drawn into the Yellow Emperor Earth Sovereign technique.
They pushed onward—deeper, always deeper—slaughtering any five-element creature in their path: fire crows, gold bees, wood men, water fish, Teng-snakes, copper-iron beasts, giant earth golems, fire sprites, floating water jellies…
The farther they went, the stronger the monsters became, and the harder the battles grew.
But the more stifling the pressure, the more ferociously the Five Emperors Demon Art expanded—power swelling toward critical saturation.
Except for the Green Emperor Wood Sovereign, none of the other four had yet evolved divine thunder. The accumulation required was massive.
Any other five-element technique would've perfected a hundred times over by now.
But the Five Emperors Art… was an endless beast. No amount of elemental essence was ever enough.
An infinite hunger.