After Fang Han finished subduing the Great Chaos Thunder Sword, he gained an additional, profoundly mysterious divine art—Great Chaos Thunder Method.
Its depth and subtlety surpassed even the Great Severing Technique and the Great Devouring Technique. It was clearly another branch of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
Fang Han now understood that the Great Chaos Thunder Method was a derivative of the Great Chaos Technique itself. Among the Three Thousand Daos, the Great Chaos Technique ranked extraordinarily high—on par with, if not superior to, the Great Yin-Yang Technique and the Great Five Elements Technique.
The Thunder Method was to the Great Chaos Technique what the Black Emperor Water Sovereign Fist or the Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi were to their respective supreme arts.
Other branches—Great Chaos Qi Art, Great Chaos Primordial Essence, Great Chaos Vortex, and so on—when cultivated together, would eventually form the true Great Chaos Technique, capable of shaping creation itself and evolving primordial chaos.
My strength has skyrocketed, Fang Han thought with exhilaration.
Once I return to the sect, I can truly dominate all others. As long as a peerless giant hasn't formed an Undying Body—heh—they're no match for me.
He turned to check on Yan Shuiyi.
Fan Qingying was still sealed within the Azure Sea Pearl, now fully refined into a mass of azure radiance. Yet her terrifying divine consciousness continued to pulse within it, while her physical body remained hidden deep inside, completely unmoving—as if executing some unfathomable art.
Suddenly, Yan Shuiyi recalled the Azure Sea Pearl and stood up.
"Fang Han," she said slowly, "Fan Qingying's Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Body is unbelievably resilient. What she cultivates is the Great Chaos Technique—it's extremely difficult to refine. And… I can't bring myself to kill her. I've been trying to persuade her, but she refuses to submit."
She paused, then continued.
"I'll take her back to the Taiyi Sect and place her into the Eternal God Furnace, our immortal artifact. With its power, I may be able to change her will and turn her into my ally. I could even use it to restore her eyes—and perhaps help her break through into the Longevity Realm herself. With her as my aide, I'd have a hidden trump card within the Taiyi Sect."
Yan Shuiyi's gaze sharpened.
"I've just become a peerless giant and will soon be appointed Vice Sect Master. That grants me a single chance to enter the Eternal God Furnace. Through that opportunity, I'll gain tremendous benefits."
Fan Qingying was ranked first on the Longevity Candidate List—the one most likely to step into the Longevity Realm.
Fang Han nodded repeatedly. "That's a good plan. But what exactly is the Eternal God Furnace like? I've never seen an immortal artifact before. The Taixuan Immortal Estate has the Mysterious Female Gate, but I never truly came into contact with it."
"The Eternal God Furnace can't be described in words," Yan Shuiyi replied. "Unless you see it with your own eyes, you'll never understand. One day, I'll secretly bring you inside. The eternal aura within it can strengthen cultivation immensely."
She had clearly begun thinking entirely in Fang Han's interests.
As she spoke, she took a jade scripture from the Azure Sea Pearl and handed it to him.
"This is the core inheritance of the Taiyi Sect—the complete cultivation methods of the Great Calamity Technique, including the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. Hmph. The Yuhua Sect refused to teach you the Great Yin-Yang Technique and gave it to Hua Tiandu instead. How could he possibly compare to you?"
Her eyes flashed.
"The Great Calamity Technique ranks even higher than the Great Yin-Yang Technique. Once you reach the Longevity Realm and reconstruct your divine abilities, you can cultivate it. The more Great Daos you master, the stronger your mana becomes—and the deeper your comprehension of the Dao. That's how one truly approaches immortality."
For Fang Han's sake, Yan Shuiyi had effectively betrayed her own sect by handing over its supreme inheritance.
"However," she added, "I haven't obtained the deepest mysteries of the Great Calamity Technique yet. Once I advance further in the Longevity Realm, I'll gain access to them—and I'll secretly teach you then."
Fang Han accepted the jade scripture. One glance was enough; everything was engraved into his mind. With a casual grasp, the jade book dissolved into his body.
He was genuinely moved.
"My good wife… you treat me this well?" he said softly. "Your husband here has a few Three Thousand Dao techniques of his own."
As he spoke, he transmitted the cultivation methods of the Great Severing Technique, Great Devouring Technique, Great Salvation Technique, and even the Five Emperor Great Demonic Arts to her.
The Great Calamity Technique and the Great Five Elements Technique were supreme arts of equal standing. If Yan Shuiyi was willing to risk her life for him, he couldn't possibly hold back.
If it were discovered that she had passed on the Great Calamity Technique, the Taiyi Sect would kill her without hesitation. That was an absolute taboo.
Sharing the Great Five Elements Technique, however, carried no such risk.
"Fang Han… I won't betray you," Yan Shuiyi said quietly.
Deeply moved by the Great Five Elements Technique, she stepped forward and kissed him. Soon, the two were entwined once more.
"Slow down," Fang Han laughed, lifting her into the air. "We don't want an audience."
He flew out, opened his mouth, and used the Great Devouring Technique to swallow the Yellow Springs Diagram entirely, sealing it off. Only then did he begin stripping away Yan Shuiyi's robes.
Inside the diagram, Yan's furious curses erupted once again.
"So this is how you treat brothers after getting a woman! You even gave away the Great Five Elements Technique!
…Still, trading it for the Great Calamity Technique isn't a loss. And if you truly gain access to the Eternal God Furnace one day… that furnace defeated me even at my peak. If it weren't for that, the Yellow Springs Emperor would've wiped out the Taiyi Sect long ago."
"Good wife," Fang Han said wickedly, pressing her beneath him, "I've only experienced eighteen of your Thirty-Six Mystic Dual Cultivation Arts. Since we're parting today, I plan to try all of them."
"Fang Han—you're shameless!" Yan Shuiyi's cheeks flushed crimson, her expression irresistibly seductive. She suddenly lowered her head, her voice muffled.
"This one is called… Reverse Swallowing the River…"
Beneath the open sky, amid a sea of flowers, the two indulged without restraint. Yin and yang intertwined, mana flowed freely between them, and neither wished for the night to ever end.
At dawn, the rising sun bathed the flower fields—and their jade-like bodies—in pure light. Fang Han held Yan Shuiyi quietly, stroking her water-soft skin, reluctant to let go.
Truthfully, dual cultivation with her was intoxicating beyond words.
But after this night, she would leave.
"Fang Han," Yan Shuiyi suddenly asked as she lay in his arms, "after me… will you have other women? Linglong Immortal's emotional tribulation is tied to you. And your relationship with Fang Qingxue—the reincarnation of the Lightning Empress—seems… ambiguous."
"Linglong Immortal stands far above the clouds," Fang Han replied calmly. "Right now, I'm nothing more than a nobody in the Divine Ability Realm. To her, I'm just a piece on the board. As for Fang Qingxue—she's cold and emotionless. At most, we're bound by interests. Nothing more."
"And what about me?" Yan Shuiyi asked softly. "Weren't you partly trying to use me to strike at Hua Tiandu?"
Fang Han fell silent for a moment, then said firmly,
"I once wanted you to defeat Hua Tiandu. But not anymore. One day, when I'm strong enough, I'll walk openly into the Taiyi Sect—and take you away in full view of the world."
With a flick of his finger, a blade of sword qi shot into the sky, slicing a cloud in half.
"Fang Han… I'm leaving."
Yan Shuiyi kissed his forehead deeply, then rose into the air, transforming into a stream of water that vanished into the heavens.
"I'll wait for the day you come for me."
Fang Han reached out—but grasped only emptiness.
For the first time in a long while, a trace of melancholy stirred in his heart.
"Ha! Fang Han, you're something else," Yan cackled as he emerged. "Winning over Yan Shuiyi like that—you've practically cut off one of the Taiyi Sect's arms. You're already better than the Yellow Springs Emperor in this regard. He once suffered dearly because of a woman…"
"The Yellow Springs Emperor?" Fang Han asked in surprise. "At that level, wouldn't he have severed all emotions? How could he suffer because of a woman?"
"Emotion is the most elusive thing of all," Yan replied. "More terrifying than heart demons. It entangles karma across countless lifetimes. Even Linglong Immortal has an emotional tribulation. The Yellow Springs Emperor was no exception. But that's a story for later—when you become a peerless giant."
Fang Han exhaled and steadied himself.
"Enough of that. I killed five Divine Kings. How many treasures and Black Divine Pills did I get? How long can they feed the Heavenly Demons?"
"Not many treasures," Wood Daoist answered from the Eightfold Pagoda. "Just a few hundred pieces—already smelted into the pagoda itself. There are tens of billions of Black Divine Pills, but they'll only sustain the Heavenly Demons for about two and a half months. If only we'd captured Hatred Heaven Divine Emperor—his divine domain would've been overflowing with them."
"A pity," Fang Han said. "Even robbing a Divine Emperor wasn't enough. Still, this harvest was worth it. The Great Chaos Thunder Sword alone makes it worthwhile."
He rose into the air and flew toward the Yuhua Sect.
At peak condition, he feared no ambush. In fact, he almost hoped to encounter Long Daoist again—so he could subdue and convert him as well.
With his current strength, even a peak Long Daoist would fall and join Wood Daoist as forced labor.
There's also the Dragonwood Star, Fang Han mused.
A full sect, hundreds of thousands of disciples, endless treasures… tempting. But it's too far—at least a month's travel.
He narrowed his eyes.
First, I'll return to Yuhua Sect and deal with Hua Tiandu once and for all. No more delays.
Yan Shuiyi is mine now. Once Hua Tiandu is dead, she can follow me openly and without restraint.