By now, Yan Shuiyi already knew that Fang Han possessed a sapling of the World Tree.
With the World Tree sapling, the God race could be refined.
If the God race truly invaded the Xuanhuang Great World in the coming cataclysm, the benefits to be seized would be limitless.
Think about it—
A God Lord could be refined into a Divine Ability Fruit, allowing someone in the Body-Refining Realm to leap directly into the Mystic Realm.
A God King could yield a True God Seed, enough to cultivate half an Undying Body.
And a God Emperor—
a God Emperor could be refined into a Longevity Fruit.
Consume it, and one could step straight into the Longevity Secret Realm, becoming an ancient giant.
How staggering were the benefits contained in that alone?
Even Yan Shuiyi could not help but be tempted.
After dual cultivating with Fang Han, she had grasped some of the profound mysteries of the Black Emperor Water Sovereign Fist. If they were to continue cultivating together, the benefits would be endless. Deep in her heart, she had also developed a strong reliance on Fang Han.
Compared to Hua Tiandu, Fang Han's cultivation realm was temporarily lower—but his actual strength surpassed Hua Tiandu by an overwhelming margin.
Besides, she felt nothing for Hua Tiandu at all. Even if their engagement were fulfilled and they became Dao companions, she would never dual cultivate with him—she would not even allow him to touch her.
"I want to see whether a God Emperor of the God race, reduced to nothing but a head, can still escape the two of us!"
Countless thoughts flashed through Yan Shuiyi's mind, but her hands showed no mercy. Her Calamity Primordial Spirit surged upward, and within a thousand miles, dark clouds swallowed the heavens.
Within those clouds: volcanoes erupted, earthquakes shattered the land, thunder roared, floods raged, ghosts and gods wailed, and blood rained from the sky. Apocalyptic disasters converged into a single supreme art—
The Great Catastrophe Technique.
At this moment, Yan Shuiyi had completely become an ancient giant. Though she had not yet cultivated an Undying Body, there were no bottlenecks left—once she returned and accumulated enough vital energy, she would naturally succeed. Her current cultivation was far more terrifying than Daoist Long or Daoist Mu at their peak.
Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, the Great Catastrophe Technique ranked within the top ten. Though it could not rival supreme laws like Great Destiny, Great Causality, Great Aspiration, or Great Reincarnation, it stood shoulder to shoulder with the Five Emperors' Demon Arts and the Dao of True Void Yin-Yang—its power boundless.
Now, with Yan Shuiyi as an ancient giant, its might skyrocketed. Endless immortal-world energy poured into it, granting catastrophic momentum so violent that it seemed ready to tear the void itself apart.
"An ancient giant thinks it can deal with me?" Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor roared. "I am undying and indestructible! Even as a single head, I am not something you can contend with! Three Essences Return as One!"
His head, split into three pieces, each mouth bellowing in rage, fused back together in an instant, reforming into a complete skull—this was the true terror of an Undying Body. Even shattered, it could reconstruct itself.
Then all three mouths opened wide, spewing out thick, purple-gold flames—each stream as wide as a barrel and thousands of feet long—burning straight toward Yan Shuiyi's body. In a single strike, they pierced through the Great Catastrophe Technique.
"Heaven-Scorching Flames!"
"Azure Sea Divine Pearl!"
Yan Shuiyi's expression changed. She had not expected Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor, fighting like a cornered beast, to still possess such power. She was just about to activate the Azure Sea Divine Pearl—
when a shadow flashed before her.
A vast, unseen force descended from the void.
A hundred-zhang-tall primordial spirit—thousand-handed, thousand-eyed—reached out. One grasp seized the purple-gold inferno itself, as if capturing a raging fire dragon.
Fang Han had blocked the attack for her.
"You are my woman now," Fang Han said calmly. "I will not allow you to suffer even the slightest injury. Attack Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor without restraint—I will protect you at every moment. His Heaven-Scorching Flames are powerful, but with the World Tree and my Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi, I can refine them and strengthen myself. If you tried to dissolve them, you'd burn through vast reserves of vital energy—energy you'll need to cultivate your Undying Body."
With the thousand-foot flames in his grasp, Fang Han's many arms moved at once. With a violent tear, he split the flames into countless fire orbs, then activated the Great Devouring Technique, forcibly swallowing them all and feeding them into his Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi.
His Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form turned purple-gold, blazing brilliantly, before gradually dimming again. He had truly absorbed the Heaven-Scorching Flames.
A warmth spread through Yan Shuiyi's heart.
Though she had become an ancient giant, Fang Han's unyielding protection still gave her a deep sense of security.
Indeed, had she used the Azure Sea Divine Pearl to block Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor's desperate strike, she would have consumed considerable vital energy. Fang Han's method—devouring it outright and refining it with the World Tree—was far more efficient.
After refining the flames, the power of Fang Han's Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form surged once more. It suddenly expanded—its thousand arms stretching and extending, radiating Great Salvation Zen Light as they reached toward Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor's massive head, which was trapped within the Great Catastrophe Technique.
At this point, Fang Han's greatest power was no longer the Yellow Springs Diagram, nor the Eightfold Pagoda—
it was this Buddha–demon, thousand-handed, thousand-eyed Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form, his true primordial spirit.
This Dharma Form could lift mountains and seas, tear continents apart, sever rivers at will. If Hua Tiandu's Panwu Primordial Spirit were to clash head-on with it now, being crushed outright might be optimistic—losing badly was guaranteed.
Ninety-three divine abilities resided within it, several of them Great Daos of the Three Thousand Paths. How could it be ordinary?
"Fang Han," Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor snarled, "you merge Buddha and demon and possess the World Tree sapling—you are the greatest enemy of my God race. I will spare you today. When our eight hundred billion God armies descend, that will be your death day. Neither the Yellow Springs Emperor, Linglong Immortal Venerable, nor the myriad immortals of the heavens will be able to save you!"
Seeing the combined might of Fang Han and Yan Shuiyi, Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor realized he could gain nothing today.
One ancient giant, and one existence even more terrifying than an ancient giant, armed with a Buddha–demon Dharma Form. Reduced to a single head, he stood no chance—especially since Fang Han's World Tree countered him completely. Any attack would simply be devoured and turned into Fang Han's own strength.
It was absolute dominance.
If his body were still intact, sheer brute force alone would have crushed Fang Han.
With a furious roar, a compass suddenly shot out from above Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor's head—
the Hatred-Heaven Compass, a high-grade Dao artifact.
Space twisted violently, distorting Fang Han's primordial spirit.
Bang!
Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor's head trembled violently, breaking free from Fang Han's grasp and even shaking apart the Calamity Primordial Spirit as he attempted to escape.
A high-grade Dao artifact, wielded by an ancient giant, possessed boundless power.
"Trying to run? I've been waiting for this!"
Yan Shuiyi had long since accumulated enough immortal-world energy. She blasted it into the Azure Sea Divine Pearl, which instantly expanded with a crashing roar, transforming into a vast water world. Thick, viscous water-element energy wrapped around both Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor and the Hatred-Heaven Compass.
Everywhere became water. The compass's radiance vanished entirely.
Though both were high-grade Dao artifacts, the Hatred-Heaven Compass was far inferior. After all, it had been refined by Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor himself, while the Azure Sea Divine Pearl was forged by the ancient Water God. The difference in realms was enormous.
The Yellow Springs Diagram!
At the moment the Azure Sea Divine Pearl trapped the compass, the Yellow Springs Diagram answered Fang Han's call and flew into the water world as well. Abyssal demonic qi surged, and the Yellow Springs Sacred Water and the Azure Sea Divine Pearl nourished each other, unleashing their full power.
Under the suppression of two supreme artifacts, Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor crashed left and right like a fly trapped against a window—unable to escape no matter how he struggled.
"My good wife," Fang Han laughed, drawing his Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form back into his body and descending beside Yan Shuiyi with a thunderous shock through space. "To wield the Azure Sea Divine Pearl to such an extent—truly impressive. Cultivating into an ancient giant really does change everything."
Smiling, he wrapped an arm around Yan Shuiyi's slender waist and kissed her cheek, breathing in her fragrance, holding her soft, water-like body with open satisfaction.
Not long ago, this woman had wanted him dead. Now she was his.
Life was truly dreamlike.
If anything, he had Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor to thank as a matchmaker. Without the Great Curse Technique, how would Fang Han ever have tasted such sweetness?
"Wait—what's going on?" Yan nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight. "Yan Shuiyi and Fang Han… this close? Did Yan Shuiyi become an ancient giant, and Fang Han form a Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form? Did they just dual cultivate inside the Azure Sea Divine Pearl? Only through dual cultivation—through the full union of yin and yang, Water God spirit and Water Sovereign qi—could such breakthroughs happen!"
"After entering the Longevity Secret Realm," Yan Shuiyi said softly, a trace of shyness appearing on her face, though she did not stop Fang Han's advances, merely shifting slightly, "one's mana undergoes a qualitative transformation. One comprehends profound laws, and wielding high-grade Dao artifacts becomes as effortless as swimming with the current."
While enjoying Yan Shuiyi's softness, Fang Han did not pause his other actions. His free hand suddenly shot out, expanding thousands of times, forcefully activating his half-Undying Body and grabbing toward Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor and the Hatred-Heaven Compass trapped within the artifacts.
When Fang Han activated his physical body, a jade-like sheen shimmered across his skin—a trait bestowed by the Supreme Pure Jade Nectar Grand Restoration Pills. Once consumed, they left the body encased in a flexible yet indestructible jade light, impervious to treasures and divine lightning.
This grab seized Hatred-Heaven Divine Emperor by the crown.
Fang Han let out a thunderous roar: "World Tree—absorb!"
Instantly, countless roots burst forth from his palm, piercing straight into the purple-gold skull and greedily siphoning divine power.
"So much divine energy…"
In barely a blink, Fang Han saw something forming at the very top of the World Tree within his brow.
A sphere—like a fruit.
Yet it had not fully taken shape.
This fruit was utterly different from the Divine Ability Fruits formed from God Kings. Its outline resembled the phantom of an ancient god, gazing down upon all creation with disdain.
Yes—
Disdain for the world.
Arrogance above all things.
A single fruit, already exuding such an aura.