The Great Brahma Luminous Boat was more than just a vessel saturated with vast Pure Yang energy; its very materials were rare treasures of heaven and earth. This was unlike the Golden Light Fiery Mirror that Fang Han had received as his first-place reward on the Mountain and River Ranking—its structure had been mediocre, held together only by Pure Yang essence. Once Yan had consumed that essence, the mirror's shell had crumbled into ash.
But the Luminous Boat was different.
After its Pure Yang was drawn away, the sacred materials forming its hull would remain—more than enough to forge another peerless treasure. Even though Fang Han had spent two hundred and sixty million pills on it, it was still worth every bit.
Anyone else who acquired the boat would never be able to refine it into a Dao-artifact due to lacking the Buddhist methods required. Fang Han, however, had no intention of turning it into a Dao-artifact to begin with. All he needed was its Pure Yang energy to fuel Yan's advancement. Once Yan grew stronger, and once Yellow Springs Diagram regained more of its original might, no shortage of treasures would follow.
That diagram, after all, had once been an absolute Dao-artifact at its peak, crafted by the legendary Yellow Springs Emperor himself in preparation for merging it with the mythic Earth Emperor's Book—a fusion meant to create a celestial weapon.
Fang Han's thoughts burned with a single goal:
As soon as Yan advanced, he would finally be able to hunt down the three mysterious golden-core assassins.
Only then could he truly sleep in peace.
Yan coiled around the Luminous Boat and opened his jaws. A tidal surge of Pure Yang essence poured into him. His body ballooned like an overfilled skin bag, swelling to several times its previous size, as though it might burst at any moment.
A swollen… golden… dragon gourd.
Then Yan began his transformation.
"Nine Revolutions of the Yama King!
Tenfold Nether!
Yellow Springs Above and Below!
Wandering Ghosts, Broken Demons!"
His claws interlocked into an intricate hand seal. One after another, seals shifted—each brimming with primordial, creation-level profundity. The gestures held the authority of ancient heavens and the logic of primal chaos. Even among supreme arcane arts, this one was frighteningly profound.
He knew thirty-six divine powers in total, but had only passed five to Fang Han—the Five Emperors Demonic Arts. The rest, like this one, remained hidden until now.
As the seals changed, ethereal notes—like the fundamental tones of existence—began to resonate. Glimmering motes of rhythm circled Yan, forming array after array that channeled torrents of Pure Yang energy from the Luminous Boat into his body.
Despite swelling earlier, Yan's form now began to condense, the essence being compressed and shattered, then woven into every inch of his being. His brass-colored scales gleamed as tiny golden droplets seeped out—like sweat… or blood. They fell into the Yellow Springs River with crystalline chimes, sounding like pearls striking jade.
Those droplets sank deep—thousands of fathoms—into the riverbed, awakening an ancient formation hidden beneath. A low, mournful hum rose from the depths, as though a sealed hell-gate were stirring—countless demons whispering behind it, summoning storms of malignant power.
During this, Fang Han continued refining the Nine Heavens Breath Soil. His Earth Emperor qi thickened, his spleen turning into a miniature mountain that rooted itself into the vast land, immovable and eternal. The five imperial energies within him formed a subtle new circulation.
His body cracked and reshaped. Streams of five-colored qi burst from his pores, circling him and condensing into a solid outer shell—an enormous five-hued egg, more imposing than any ancient beast's cocoon. Even Nebula Baby mistook him for a primordial creature about to hatch.
Then:
"Five Emperors, Five Sovereigns—Heaven and Earth Supreme!"
The shell shattered. The swirling energies merged into an immense formation—the Five Emperors Great Seal, the manifestation of achieving "small mastery" in the Five Emperors Demonic Art. When perfected, the seals would conjure divine thunders and form the Chaos Grand Seal, a force capable of swallowing calamities like the Black Sun Wind Disaster or the Great Day Fire Tribulation.
Fang Han was eager to test it—but the storm inside the Yellow Springs Diagram pulled all attention.
"What's happening…?"
The Blood Night King emerged, his expression uneasy. As a Dao-artifact spirit, he could sense the earthquake within the diagram. Yan was undergoing a metamorphosis that could threaten even him.
"If that stupid dragon surpasses me, I'll never hear the end of it. I need to advance too… Damn it! Why is my progress so slow?"
Only devouring the essence of Longevity-realm beings or mountains of primordial blood jade would allow him to evolve. And if only he could seize the Blood Shadow Holy Sect's blood pool…
A flash of starlight burst out—Nebula Baby's Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet spirit appeared, face pale.
"Baby… this artifact is monstrous. The aura inside is atrocious—some ancient seal loosening. A presence that could corrupt heaven itself. If it were fully restored…"
"Don't be scared, Star-Zen," Nebula Baby chirped. "That's the Yellow Springs Emperor's imperial edict. It can open the Yellow Springs Treasury. It once slaughtered countless giants. In Fang Han's hands, it will change the world."
Star-Zen steadied himself, battle intent rising.
Across from him, Blood Night King's unease simmered—the two spirits shared a mutual, competitive tension.
"The Pure Yang in the Luminous Boat is almost endless," Star-Zen muttered. "No wonder its previous owners pumped so much into it yet failed to evolve it."
Because it could not become a Dao-artifact, people eventually sold it—never realizing it only needed someone like Yan.
Then—
Creeeeaaaak.
A deep, ancient sound rumbled from the depths of the diagram, like a cosmic door being pushed open after eons of silence.
Yan emerged at last.
He floated in the air, gleaming golden like a living idol, yellow mist swirling around him. Behind him loomed a gigantic gate, its interior filled with limitless, suffocating demonic qi—so dense it could swallow worlds, warp the heavens, and drown creation in darkness.
Yan threw his head back and laughed:
"Hahahahaha! My strength is finally enough—
THE ABYSSAL GATE OPENS!"