"Brother Fang Han, how long have we been inside this Five Elements Land?" Nebula Baby chopped his palm outward, exploding a massive floating jellyfish in the distance. As Fang Han absorbed the Gui-Water essence pouring from its corpse, Nebula quickly asked again.
The jellyfish was the size of a house, its monstrous face twisted with malice. Every tentacle was as tough as a treasured artifact and capable of firing razor-sharp water bolts. Worse, every pulse of its body triggered a barrage of water-element thunder that crashed down like a tidal storm.
A terrifying water-type beast—stronger than most experts who had perfected water-element Qi. Even Dragon Xuan would've been overwhelmed. In the deep sea, such creatures were apex rulers, rarely encountered even once in a lifetime.
"It's been ten days," Fang Han replied. "Ten days of nothing but killing. At this pace, the Five Emperors Demon Divine Ability will soon be perfected. But what's strange is—throughout the entire ten days, we haven't met a single Heavenly Demon King. According to that mountain warning, this place should be crawling with them."
It bothered him.
If even one Heavenly Demon King had appeared during these ten days, it would've been a nightmare. Their schemes were unpredictable, and their final self-detonation was a devastating threat. Even with methods to restrain them, too many exploding at once could damage even Dao artifacts.
"I feel it too," Yan agreed. "We've wandered for ten days and still haven't figured out the true nature of this place. One thing is clear, though—if we want to leave, we must go deeper. Hovering on the outskirts will trap us forever."
"I wonder what beasts lie ahead…" Fang Han murmured. "If we go deeper… fire-element sacred creatures like Vermilion Birds or Golden Crows… water-element ones like Black Tortoises… they might appear."
Expectation flickered in his gaze.
If the Five Elements Land truly produced such sacred beings, absorbing them could push his Five Emperors Art into absolute completion.
"What a murderous aura!"
A deep roar suddenly trembled across the horizon.
Roar…
It wasn't loud, but it drilled into the chest like a spike. Even Fang Han felt a sharp sting in his lungs—while Nebula Baby coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Fang Han snapped to attention, immediately channeling Wood Emperor Qi and Water Emperor Qi through his fingers into Nebula's body. The combined water-and-wood essence healed wounds like a miracle. By now, Fang Han wielded the Five Emperors Art with growing mastery—it was his life-bound divine ability, with limitless potential.
What could make a roar like that? How powerful must it be?
Even his own heart tightened. A terrifying presence was approaching—one that felt as strong as a Golden Core master, perhaps even stronger.
In ten days of slaughter, nothing like this had ever appeared. Out in the world, a beast of this caliber could found its own sect and challenge the five great demon branches.
A streak of platinum light gleamed on the horizon.
Fang Han saw it clearly—a tiger, its entire body shimmering with metallic white-gold. Its fur rippled in the wind like blades, each step condensing the earth beneath its paws.
"A White Tiger…"
He recognized it instantly—this was no ordinary beast, but a gold-element sacred manifestation, a divine creature born from pure Geng-Metal Qi.
"A White Tiger… Fang Han! Do you understand what this means?" Yan gasped. "This creature is born only when unimaginable amounts of refined metal essence merge under perfect celestial conditions. Even the Three Great Sword Sects—with all their mines and formations—cannot force such a creature to appear! For this Five Elements Land to produce one… what sort of world is this place?"
In the entire Xuanhuang World, even the richest mines cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years couldn't birth such a being. A White Tiger made the Mountain God Pearl seem trivial by comparison.
"You're impressive," a voice suddenly spoke.
The White Tiger—spoke.
Its tone was ancient, heavy, filled with a strange pull that compelled one to listen.
"In ten days here, you've taken no injury. You show no fatigue. Your Qi remains inexhaustible. I'm curious… just how many spirit crystals do you carry? Though… a youth came before you. His talent was even greater. His realm higher."
It meant Meng Shaobai.
Fang Han gave a faint, mocking smile. "Your body contains too much Geng-Metal. If I kill you, my metal-element art will likely reach full perfection."
The tiger shook its head.
"Young one, you are far from killing me. I've existed here for countless ages. Many humans and devils have entered—few ever leave. And none have killed me. You, however… your slaughter woke me from my slumber. Your flesh, your Qi, your artifacts… all interest me. Devouring you and refining your Dao artifacts may free me from this metal-root bondage and let me leave this place. That last youth escaped me. But you… I will not let you escape."
Its eyes gleamed. "Strike first. I'll grant you that much. Otherwise, you won't get the chance."
"Such arrogance!"
Fang Han instantly understood—this creature's strength rivaled or surpassed Golden Core experts. Stronger than Wan Luo or the three bandit kings. Its inherent power almost matched his own.
Still—no fear stirred in him.
He unleashed the Heaven-Covering Demon Hand—a vast torrent of black infernal flame crashing down toward the tiger's head like a mountain.
Golden Core experts struck by it would be crippled unless they self-destructed their cores. This White Tiger, though powerful, had no core—no final explosion.
Whoosh!
Blurry afterimages rippled through the air. The tiger vanished the moment the hand descended—its speed eclipsing the instant-kill sword arts.
A razor claw struck from above, its nails sharp as flying swords, murderous intent sweeping downward like the No-Life Sword Dao.
"So fast!"
But Fang Han had faced Meng Shaobai before. His reflexes and power had multiplied since then. Blood Night King flew out, cleaving upward, while the Heaven-Covering Demon Hand snapped sideways—an inspired counter Fang Han had created specifically to break the No-Life Sword Dao.
Clang!
The trap worked.
His demon hand struck the White Tiger head-on. Pain shot through Fang Han's arm—but the tiger's white-gold fur ignited with black fire, its form melting slightly before it flashed away dozens of miles, blasting golden radiance to suppress the flames. Shock flickered in its eyes—the human had read its trajectory.
"Trap him!"
Fang Han commanded through divine sense.
Yan, Blood Night King, and Star Zenith responded immediately. Fang Han poured vast celestial Qi into the three Dao artifacts, fueling their full battle arrays.
They shot forward—three glimmers of destructive brilliance—surrounding the White Tiger.
They had once surrounded the Ghost Emperor himself. Their coordination was flawless. Though the tiger's body was tougher than most absolute-grade treasures—even more dense than the Blood Sky Demon Blade—the sudden encirclement forced it into a rare moment of surprise.
"So I underestimated you."
The White Tiger suddenly stood upright. Its white-gold body rippled like molten metal—and transformed into a broad-shouldered, towering middle-aged man. Sword-light erupted from his eyes, stabbing at each Dao artifact.
He swung his hand—and hundreds of sword rays spiraled upward, weaving themselves into a dense sword formation that pressed back against the encirclement.
"It won't be that easy!"
Fang Han's demon hand surged again—towering, mountain-sized, flames roaring. At the same time, he vanished into the shadow of the hand, hidden within the storm of black fire.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hundreds of the tiger's swords shattered under the demon hand. The tiger roared, spitting a torrent of white-gold Qi—sticky, luminous, as heavy as liquid mercury—blocking the crushing palm.
"You've fallen for it."
Fang Han materialized behind him.
His hand blazed with five colors—Five Emperors Divine Lights swirling into a single massive seal. He slammed it onto the White Tiger's back and instantly retreated.
Crack…
The Five Emperors Grand Seal latched onto the tiger—its internal circulation beginning to drain its metallic essence.
The White Tiger roared in agony as its white-gold Qi gushed outward uncontrollably, sucked into the devouring seal carved into its flesh.