The God-Sealing Art opened an entirely new frontier, and Fang Han naturally wanted to try cultivating it. He didn't expect instant success, but even a brief attempt could deepen his understanding of the vital energies within his organs, as well as the divine abilities he had already mastered. Perhaps it might even offer a hint—just a trace—toward breaking into the Seventh Layer of Divine Ability, the Golden Core Realm.
Ever since he forged his Natal Talisman, merging all fifty-five divine abilities into a single foundation, he had been unbeatable—killing freely, sweeping aside obstacles. And yet, despite all that raw dominance, his cultivation had hit a subtle bottleneck.
It felt as if an invisible wall stood in front of him, blocking the path. No matter what he did, he couldn't see through to the Golden Core realm that lay beyond.
He knew this was a low valley in his cultivation. To condense the Golden Core—an entirely new life-form of essence—would not be easy.
Breathing. Refining. Meditation. Prayer.
Mysterious God-Sealing qi drifted through the void and wrapped around the six hollow organs, merging with the energies they secreted. After circulating six full cycles, the qi settled.
Even after only a short cultivation session, Fang Han felt a distinct transformation: his internal organs had become noticeably tougher, and within them, a tiny formation had begun to emerge—still weak, only a sprout, but real. For it to grow strong, he would need decades of slow accumulation.
More astonishing was the sudden sense that the God-Sealing qi, merging with the Five-Element energies in his five viscera, was weaving all of his organs—five viscera and six bowels—into a faint, mysterious diagram. It pulsed with secrets of heaven and earth, connecting him to the world in a way he had never felt before.
His five viscera, six bowels, and mind seemed to link into twelve channels, transmitting a faint but continuous resonance.
It was blurry, but it was new—an entirely different level of awareness of his own body.
The human body was unfathomable. Even those who reached the Longevity Realm could not fully understand it. Only after reaching the second stage of Longevity—the Undying Body—could one truly integrate with the countless timespaces of the cosmos, imprinting a sliver of one's spirit into the void itself. Even if killed, that imprint would allow revival.
Fang Han was nowhere near that realm. But cultivating the God-Sealing Art gave him clarity, letting him see deeper into his own structure. The God-Sealing qi even seeped into his Natal Talisman, making it shine brighter than ever.
"This art is incredible," Fang Han murmured. "But to cultivate it even to a minor completion will take at least sixty years of hard practice. I'll save that for after I defeat Hua Tiandu. If I had time—just a few centuries of secluded cultivation—I'm certain I could reach the Longevity Realm…"
He felt a powerful urge to shut himself away in seclusion.
He envied those ancient masters who cared nothing about worldly affairs and cultivated in caves for a hundred or even a thousand years.
To cultivate—to transcend—was the only thing that mattered. Everything else, every feud, every rivalry, was dust.
But life gave him no such luxury.
In one month, he had to duel Meng Shaobai. Seven years later, he would face Hua Tiandu. And Taiyi Sect… who knew how they would move? Even if they were in the wrong and had no justification to act openly, the upcoming Immortal Gathering in three years would undoubtedly become a battlefield of schemes and ambushes.
Peaceful centuries of cultivation? Impossible.
Feeling a bit weary, Fang Han exhaled and flipped his hand, retrieving Zhao Xuanyi's Golden Core. He brushed a thread of newly refined God-Sealing qi onto the six God-Sealing Steles.
This time, the steles did not reject him.
Instead, all six grotesque eyes blinked—then gradually shifted, becoming subtly similar to Fang Han's own eyes. Wherever he looked, they looked.
When Fang Han glanced toward Yan, the six pupils projected Yan's form within them.
Yan shuddered violently. "Don't look at me! Those six eyes feel like they're pinning me in place—creepy! I swear I can't move. These steles are wicked."
Blood Night King grunted. "Exactly! When I fought those steles, the moment their eyes locked onto me, I was frozen. If the Heaven-Shrouding Hand hadn't dragged me out, I'd still be stuck there."
Yan trembled. "Each stele alone is an absolute-grade treasure. Refining them into a Dao Artifact? Nearly impossible."
The next days passed quietly.
Fang Han buried himself in cultivating new arts and deepening his comprehension. Yuhuamen itself was unnervingly still—like the hush before a storm. Seniors and true disciples didn't disturb him. Only Jialan and Long Xuan came by to request some Traceless Water.
Even Fang Qingxue was fully secluded within the Purple Lightning Peak.
Meng Shaobai's mountain, however, pulsed constantly with violent energy. Hua Tiandu's peak remained deathly silent—he still hadn't returned from Taiyi Sect.
More than ten days passed peacefully—too peacefully.
Fang Han had expected Taiyi Sect to come thundering in, demanding retribution. After all, he had killed Zhao Xuanyi and Song Weiyi—two of their renowned Golden Core disciples. And yet, nothing. Not a ripple.
Their silence was unsettling.
What he didn't know was that when he had traveled through the spacetime channel from the Five Elements Land back to the Xuanhuang World, a colossal hand had attempted to annihilate him—only to be stopped by the Ancient Demon Sovereign. Had he witnessed that clash, he would have immediately understood everything.
But he remained ignorant. And Taiyi Sect's inaction eased his mind, letting him focus on cultivating the Infinite Tome of Stars, the God-Sealing Art, and the Panwu Titan Arts. His comprehension of stellar power grew deeper by the night. Many disciples saw brilliant astral currents pouring down to Reincarnation Peak each evening—a spectacle visible from a thousand miles away.
Meanwhile, within Yuhuamen, multiple secret meetings had already been held.
Deep in the heart of Yuhuamen's Heavenly Palace, the sect master Feng Baiyu gathered several great elders and reclusive experts for yet another confidential council.
The meeting place was a sealed pocket dimension: walls closed in on all sides, and at the center lay an immense circular table forged entirely from condensed primordial qi. Feng Baiyu sat directly at the southern point, exuding an almost imperial presence.
Elders of the Heavenly Punishment, Heavenly Craft, Transmission Hall, and others—ninefold and tenfold Divine Ability experts—took their seats. Among them were two hidden titans, both newly entered into the Longevity Realm. Though only first-stage Longevity masters, they were terrifying beyond measure.
They were not the true Supreme Elders of the sect—those lived even deeper, in secret timespaces.
Even more rare: one of the Longevity experts was a woman.
Feng Baiyu spoke first.
"By now, you all know what Fang Han accomplished. He broke into the Five Elements Land, retrieved the control talisman, and can now enter and exit freely."
"We know," said the mysterious female elder calmly. Her face was delicate, looking barely eighteen or nineteen. Wrapped in a fur-lined mantle, she appeared frail—like a sheltered noble maiden. In the mortal world, she would've been mistaken for a sickly young heiress.
Yet she was a Longevity Realm sovereign, a peerless immortal.
Elder Tianxing addressed her:
"Immortal Jiang Rou, what is your view? Fang Han killed two Golden Core disciples from Taiyi Sect. Brutal, ruthless—something even we might not dare. Even if Taiyi Sect was in the wrong, they won't accept such a humiliation."
Her name was Jiang Rourou, once truly a wealthy young lady. After a life filled with tragedies and miracles, she had reached the peak of immortality. All Longevity experts were titled Immortal Lords or Immortal Venerables.
Feng Baiyu continued, voice calm:
"Taiyi Sect's Primordial Emperor of Taiyi personally intervened. He tried to erase Fang Han and the three Sword Sect masters as they traveled through the stars. But someone stopped him."
"What?"
Gasps echoed. Every elder stiffened.
"The Primordial Emperor?"
"That old monster?"
"He personally acted against a junior?"
The Primordial Emperor—Taihuangtian.
A figure from ten thousand years ago. A former sect master of Taiyi. A survivor of the ancient Immortal-Demon War. Someone whose power could crush stars between his fingers.
A living legend whose existence was closer to ascending to the Celestial Realm than to any cultivator alive.
That such a being would strike at Fang Han was unthinkable.
Jiang Rourou's voice trembled slightly.
"Who… could possibly have stopped him?"
Feng Baiyu exhaled.
"The Ancient Demon Sovereign sealed in the Five Elements Land. A being who commanded eight hundred and forty million demon kings and countless heavenly demons. Sealed long before our sect's founders were even born. Long before the ancient Buddhist dynasties fell."
The hall fell dead silent.
Feng Baiyu continued,
"In truth, Taihuangtian would not have acted over two Golden Core disciples. But the event in the Five Elements Land disrupted a major decision Taiyi Sect had planned. The Demon Sovereign used Fang Han to sabotage them. Because of that, Taihuangtian struck. But since the Demon Sovereign intervened… Taihuangtian is now wary."
"And that," he concluded,
"is why Taiyi Sect has not made a move."