"Mister Illusory Truth, your three pawns are gone. What now? Our plan to infiltrate Yuhua Sect is ruined. How are we supposed to answer to the higher ranks? And the pills and divine resources wasted on those three failures—those aren't small losses. We're still only God-Lords, far from evolving into God-Kings. We can't afford such setbacks."
Illusory Spirit God-Lord let out a cold, humorless laugh.
"Hmph. We leave. We regroup. Now I finally understand why the higher-ups are so wary of Yuhua Sect. They said the sect would become our clan's greatest obstacle in conquering the Grand Desolation Realm. I'd wager nine out of ten of that obstacle lies on that brat Fang Han. This time, we report everything about him."
Before Illusory Truth could respond, his expression twisted.
"No more talk—move! We've been discovered!"
The group of God-Lords immediately prepared to unleash their divine power to flee, but they were too late.
The swirling blizzard above suddenly tightened—ten times denser than before. Snow and wind condensed into a massive sphere, sealing them inside. A calm voice echoed through the white void:
"Several warriors of the Protoss traveled billions of miles from beyond the realm to visit my Yuhua Sect. And you want to leave so abruptly? If word got out, wouldn't people say we don't know how to treat our guests?"
"A Longevity Realm expert—God-Emperor level!" Illusory Truth cried out. "We're trapped!"
Behind the elder, Fang Han arrived, eyes bright. "Impressive," he thought. "The Heavenly Punishment Elder tracked them down using only the soul remnants of three worthless traitors. And these Protoss are vastly stronger than the two I killed last time. Their divine bodies alone could produce enough pills to fill a treasury!"
"Fang Han, kill them!" the Heavenly Punishment Elder's voice boomed directly into Fang Han's mind. "I'll block their mind-storm. God-Lords are equivalent to human cultivators at the fifth level of Divine Ability—the Heaven–Human Realm. God-Kings correspond to Golden Core and beyond. God-Emperors match Longevity Realm. Once a Protoss reaches the God-Lord stage, their divine power mutates—they can unleash Mind Storm. Not only is it destructive, but they can notify allies within thirty thousand miles in a blink. I'll sever their signal—you kill them now!"
Fang Han didn't hesitate.
The Heaven-Covering Demon Hand erupted, sweeping toward the group.
"Fang Han, you truly are the predicted obstacle to our race's conquest," Illusory Truth snarled. "You should've been destroyed before you could grow!"
His arms tore open with crackling energy—two eyes appeared in his palms, eerily similar to the eyes carved into the Six-Eyed God-Sealing Monoliths.
Those eye-palms unleashed razor-like beams of mind-light, sharper than Fang Han's Great Severing Technique. The beams hummed with a strange resonance, vibrating in sync with the world's natural energies.
"This is Mind Storm," the elder warned. "Do NOT underestimate it!"
Fang Han had planned to crush the God-Lords casually, but the sting that shot through his demonic hand when he caught the beams shocked him awake.
"So there is some bite to these insects." He sneered. "If you were God-Kings, maybe I'd need to be careful. But God-Lords? Die."
His left hand tore the mind-light apart. His sleeve flicked—and six stone monoliths shot into the air, forming the God-Sealing Array in an instant.
In the ancient days, the Six-Eyed God-Sealing Monoliths were created specifically to restrain the Protoss. Fang Han didn't know the specifics, but instinct told him: this was their bane.
He was right.
The moment the six monoliths appeared, the God-Lords shrieked in terror, their bodies twisting into their true forms—hideous beings encased in bone armor, antennae jutting from their skulls. Their bone plating was their skin; they resembled monstrous crabs more than humanoids.
But once the six eyes of the monoliths shone upon them, their bodies froze completely.
Normally, subduing six God-Lords would take effort.
Now?
It was almost too easy.
"Hahaha!" Fang Han couldn't help his laughter. The monoliths trembled, the six carved eyes blinking furiously—evidence of the Protoss' desperate struggle. If they had been God-Kings, the monoliths might not have held. But God-Lords? Well within range.
No time to waste.
Fang Han flashed forward, world-energy gathering in his palm. He struck the immobilized Protoss with the full force of the World Tree.
Woooooo… woooooo…
The God-Lords' eyes filled with horror.
World Tree roots burst through their divine bodies, siphoning their godforce as if drinking spring water.
Even Longevity Realm experts couldn't refine godforce.
Yet Fang Han's World Tree devoured it with ease.
The God-Lords shriveled rapidly.
"Fang Han, stop! Leave one alive for questioning!" the elder called out. "Elder Ruyi supports Hua Tiandu and is itching to find fault with you. If we don't bring back proof this time, he'll cause trouble again!"
The elder tried to peer deeper into Fang Han's body, trying to understand the strange power devouring the Protoss—but Fang Han's brow gleamed with a veil of azure light. Nothing could be seen.
The World Tree and the Green Emperor Wood Emperor Technique had fused completely. Unless someone forced their power directly into Fang Han's body, they would see nothing.
"Fine," Fang Han said. "I'll leave one."
He flicked his wrist—Illusory Truth was thrown out of the devouring range.
The other five Protoss shrank further, bones liquefying, divine bodies collapsing until nothing remained but five crystalline spheres—each a storage core containing their treasures, weapons, pills, and materials.
"Protoss treasure cores," Fang Han observed. "Their bodies are gone, but their internal void-space remains."
Five God-Lords' entire life savings.
A windfall he desperately needed.
Even better—
The remains absorbed by the World Tree condensed into five glowing fruits on the spiritual tree within his brow.
The World Tree had borne fruit.
Fang Han froze in astonishment.
"'Divine Ability Fruit,'" Yan muttered inside him. "In ancient times, mortals who ate such fruit could gain divine abilities. But… you absorbed a Protoss before. Why didn't a fruit appear then? Strange."
"Probably because the previous one was too weak," Fang Han said. "These were God-Lords—Heaven–Human Realm equivalents. Strong enough to produce this miraculous result."
He examined the fruit.
"If a mortal could really gain divine abilities from eating one… that would be absurd. Even Yin–Yang Longevity Pills and Nine-Orifice Golden Cores can't do that."
"Test it later," Yan said. "The World Tree has infinite mysteries. It's even said that devouring a God-Emperor once produced a Longevity Fruit at the crown of the tree. But that's likely a myth."
Fang Han snorted. "A single fruit granting Longevity Realm? Impossible. Even immortals can't do that."
"It's done," the Heavenly Punishment Elder said. "Their Mind Storm didn't escape. No reinforcements are coming."
He swept his sleeve, capturing Illusory Truth alive.
Then the two of them stepped down into the Mountain–River Arena.
"Fang Han's back!"
"And not punished at all?"
"How's that possible? Were those three really spies?"
"Or did the Heavenly Punishment Elder bend the rules to protect Fang Han's rise as the next sect master?"
"No way. He's famously impartial. Besides, Elder Jin Rilie already went to invite Elder Ruyi from Heavenly Palace. They'll settle this."
The arena buzzed with disbelief.
The Heavenly Punishment Elder raised his voice:
"Fang Man, Fang Lie, and Fang Rui were indeed infiltrators. Fang Han discovered this early and rooted out the threat. Together, we also eliminated the hidden Protoss outside. Fang Han rendered great service today. I will convene the Elder Council to discuss appropriate rewards."
A cold, venomous voice cut through the air.
"Heavenly Punishment, I always believed you upheld justice. Yet today, you show blatant favoritism…"
Elder Ruyi stepped into the Mountain–River Arena.
His arrival marked the beginning of a new storm.