"This time, sieging and killing the Dragon Race absolute peak Golden Immortal Ao Shizun, if successful, then I can truly advance to a peerless Golden Immortal. Moreover, if I manage to get my hands on even a tiny bit of this Ao Shizun's corpse or whatever, and refine it into the Eight Sections Pagoda… then the advancement of the Eight Sections Pagoda won't need any other materials anymore."
Fang Han set off following the crowd, but in his heart, he was secretly considering.
For a supreme treasure like the Eight Sections Pagoda, to advance, it requires a massive amount of materials, an outrageously large amount. The Primordial Pills needed to purchase the materials are not the slightest bit less than what is needed to advance to a peerless Golden Immortal.
However, if there was a corpse or remains of a Dragon Race peerless Golden Immortal, that would be better than all materials combined.
Being able to kill that Ao Shizun and fully integrate him into the Eight Sections Pagoda, this supreme treasure would very likely take a direct leap to become a true mid-grade immortal artifact, saving countless years of cultivation effort.
A Golden Immortal of the Dragon Race is a supremely high existence rare in heaven and earth.
"Fang Han, you absolutely must not let your guard down. A Golden Immortal of the Dragon Race is not like a human. Logically speaking, I also belong to half a dragon body, being a dragon vein." Yan suddenly felt a rush of worry: "A Golden Immortal of the Dragon Race is no small matter. Although it is said that the Eight Sections Pagoda will produce a restraining ability against any of the Dragon Race, precisely because of this, you will also be targeted by that Golden Immortal. As the greatest enemy, you will have to bear unparalleled attacks and pressure. This might just be the reason why that Venerable Juexing dragged you along."
"Furthermore, a Golden Immortal of the Dragon Race is fundamentally completely different from other dragons; it is an invincible existence similar to an Ancestral Dragon. Commanding the winds and clouds, summoning the wind and rain, the Eight Sections Pagoda's restraint on it might not be as great as imagined, and conversely, its attraction to him is like a fly seeing fresh blood. If a supreme powerhouse of the Dragon Race obtains the Eight Sections Pagoda, they can truly possess the ability to command all dragons. This Eight Sections Pagoda carries an even greater possibility of allowing it to break through the bottleneck and reach a higher realm."
"It's not that I haven't considered these things." Fang Han nodded: "I have just closely calculated using the Zhou Tian Instrument. Although this time is dangerous, there is also a great opportunity to advance to peerless Golden Immortal in a single stroke. Moreover, I suspect that this Dragon Race Golden Immortal is very likely one of the ones who laid down the great array to kill me and that Heavenly Realm major figure back in the secular world. If that is the case, on that day, a total of three old dragons all ascended to the Heavenly Realm."
"Are you saying there are three old dragons who are peerless Golden Immortals?"
Yan was jolted. He now remembered that when Fang Han and Fang Qingxue were chased and killed by the Heavenly Realm major figure and entered the Dragon World, Heavenly Consort Umo and the three old antique living fossils of the Dragon World joined hands to lay down a great killing array, obliterating that Heavenly Realm major figure's avatar, but the three Golden Immortal living fossils of the Dragon World also couldn't help but ascend.
If this was the case, then it was three old dragons at the living fossil level.
"Fang Han, this is too dangerous. If it is three old dragons at the living fossil level, then this whole group of people is all going to die. You won't be able to protect yourself either. Being in the Heavenly Realm is not like being in the secular world. Golden Immortals in the secular world simply cannot exert their power, but in the Heavenly Realm, a Golden Immortal can unleash a hundred percent of their full battle power. They can even use certain secret arts to increase their battle power. We simply shouldn't go. This is a certain-death situation."
"Hmph! That's fine too. With my current cultivation, having successfully trained the Wings of Freedom, since I know there is a possibility of three old dragons, I can make preparations in advance and be on guard at all times. Even if I encounter danger, I can retreat unscathed. Naturally, I won't deploy the Eight Sections Pagoda first."
Fang Han secretly calculated, having long since raised his vigilance to the maximum level.
Rumble!
The teleportation array stopped operating and finally descended.
"We have arrived."
Venerable Juexing licked his lips. From the space came waves of unusually scorching aura, akin to melting gold and shimmering fire. It seemed like stepping into a furnace.
When Fang Han emerged from the teleportation array, he saw a boundless desert again; the yellow sand underfoot stretched all the way to the horizon. Tall sand dunes and sand mountains towered into the clouds.
The great sun in the sky was extremely fierce. Intense rays of light pierced down stream by stream, making one's skin feel as if it was about to melt.
The temperature here simply exceeded the temperature of most pill refining furnaces.
"We have arrived at Shazhou." Walking out from the desolate ancient teleportation array, the white-haired Venerable Yu said: "This Shazhou is vast and expansive. Even if we Golden Immortals tear open the void to fly, it would still take dozens of Heavenly Realm years to cross. If an ordinary Profound Immortal flew in it, within a few days, they would be refined and melted by the True Fire of the Great Sun."
"So comfortable!"
In the desert, with shimmering fire and melting gold, the True Fire of the Great Sun burned the space until it distorted, but Fang Han felt extremely comfortable. The high-temperature True Fire from all around entered his body and was all absorbed by the Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi of the Great Five Elements Art, then began to change, tempering his physical form and evolving traces of the Fire of Creation.
"Fang Han! This desert!"
Yan suddenly said: "What manifested in your Zhou Tian Instrument, a fragment of the Divine Artifact of Creation taller than a person, seems to be right in this desert."
"That's right, I noticed it too. But this desert is a major province called Shazhou, never heard of it. For this major desert province, even if peerless Golden Immortals tear open the void to cross it, does it really require dozens of Heavenly Realm years?" Fang Han shook his head: "Furthermore, within Shazhou, there are many ancient ruins layered upon each other. Perhaps within a single grain of sand, countless divine kingdoms are contained. Looking for treasures inside is nothing more than searching for a needle in a haystack. Of course, I still need to operate the Zhou Tian Instrument to its maximum. If I truly discover a fragment of the Divine Artifact of Creation, I will strike it rich."
"Venerable Lin, are you sure that Dragon Race Golden Immortal Ao Shizun is in this desert?"
The three twin Golden Immortal women asked. Looking at this desert and its aura that resembled shimmering fire and melting gold, they also frowned slightly.
Through his conversation just now, Fang Han had also asked clearly about these three twin Golden Immortal women; they were distinctly named "Luan Xiao", "Ying Xiao", and "Que Xiao". The three Xiao Venerables.
The three female Golden Immortals maintained synchronization at all times. Obviously, once they struck, it would be a simultaneous kill, erupting like thunder. No one could dodge it. Fang Han also felt secretly shocked, knowing that the Hongqi Tower had profound foundations, simply not inferior to a kingly paramount sect like the Yuhua Sect. He genuinely wondered if they had some major backing.
In Shang Ziluo's memory, the knowledge about the Hongqi Tower was also very sparse.
After all, he was a massive nobody.
"That's right, he should be in Shazhou. Because Shazhou has harsh environments, yet its terrain is complex and vast, with rarely any human traces. Even if a peerless Golden Immortal enters Shazhou, they must prepare enough Primordial Pills to replenish their bodies, otherwise, they will be buried inside." Venerable Lin nodded; "Moreover, there are many ancient ruins in Shazhou. After that old dragon entered, it is extremely easy for him to hide. He is also looking for a certain treasure."
The leaders among this group of Golden Immortals were the four great Venerables: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhen". The magical power of each of these four great Venerables was unfathomable, containing the profound mysteries of inverting the sun and moon, and subverting yin and yang.
"Shazhou is so large; I don't know where that old dragon is hiding?" Fang Han said.
"No matter, we have the Dragon Seeking Needle. As long as there is a trace of Ao Shizun's aura, it can find him. Even if he hides in the depths of thousands of billions of millions of trillions of kingdoms, he can be dragged out!" Venerable Dou took out a compass. A needle resembling a dragon scale upon it spun ceaselessly, finally pointing straight at Fang Han motionlessly, flashing with red light.
All the peerless Golden Immortal experts let out a smile. Venerable Dou sprayed a mouthful of source qi onto it, "Sinful creature, go search for Ao Shizun's aura!"
Only then did the needle start spinning anew, finally swinging ceaselessly towards a few directions.
"Let's go!"
Everyone flew up, distancing themselves from the ancient teleportation array, and flew towards the depths of the desert.
Fang Han looked at the sand dunes beneath him. Some were even bigger and longer than Mang Mountain. Deep inside the sand dunes, he even sensed some tyrannical auras lurking, seemingly resembling giant desert beasts or the like.
During the flight, he suddenly circulated his magical power and viciously grabbed downward towards a "small" sand dune about seven or eight million miles in circumference. Reaching ten thousand miles deep into the desert, he unexpectedly pulled up a massive snake a thousand miles long. The aura on this great snake was comparable to a peak Profound Immortal; it was just a bit away from weaving together Great Luo laws.
"This is a Sand Viper. Its cultivation has actually reached the peak Profound Immortal level. It seems it has devoured quite a few spirit veins and spirit springs beneath the desert. What a pity no one guided it, otherwise, cultivating to a half-step Golden Immortal wouldn't be impossible either."
Venerable Juexing said: "Taking it out to guard a cave dwelling would be very good."
Fang Han casually tossed it away, letting this Sand Viper drill back into the sand without collecting it, "Heaven possesses the virtue of caring for living things, forget it." At the same time, he operated his Cave Heaven Eye to observe. He saw that deep within the desert, millions of miles, even tens of millions, or hundreds of millions of miles down, many spirit veins flowed. However, the vast majority were eighth or ninth-tier spirit veins, mixed and impure, which could allow some Heavenly Immortals and Divine Immortals to cultivate. For half-step Golden Immortal almighty beings, they were already useless; instead, one would have to painstakingly waste energy to purify them.
Woo woo woo woo woo!
Right at this moment, suddenly in the distance of the desert, the great sun of the Heavenly Realm darkened. A vast, heaven-and-earth-scorning gale swept over; countless grains of sand were swept up into the air, roaring like wind demons. Countless spaces were cut into fragmented crystals. In an instant, Fang Han felt a sensation of the earth shaking and mountains trembling.
"Careful, this is a Sand Cloud Storm. Even if a half-step Golden Immortal encounters it, they will be trapped to death within it." Venerable Juexing moved, exerting his magical power to descend onto a sand dune, striving hard to stabilize his body.
Fang Han also descended, only feeling that every step was a struggle. All around was a storm carrying sand; each grain of sand was more ferocious than an immortal's flying sword, even able to shatter Great Luo laws. This was the natural power of the wild tides of heaven and earth.
It took a full two hours for the storm to pass; the veins of the mountains, rivers, and earth had already changed.
Crunch!
Fang Han took a step forward, and his foot unexpectedly stepped on a weathered skeleton. A faint golden luster flickered on the skeleton, and upon it, there were some scattered Great Luo laws interweaving.
"Oh? This is the corpse of a half-step Golden Immortal almighty being. Obviously, he also died in the desert." Venerable Juexing grabbed with his hand, scraping off the scattered Great Luo laws upon it, and then turned the skeleton to ashes: "In Shazhou, the climate is harsh. Unles one cultivates to Golden Immortal, every step is a struggle."
"There is news of that Dragon Race Ao Shizun."
Suddenly, "Venerable Lin" said.
The Dragon Seeking Needle on the compass began to spin madly.