"There is clearly no one here, it is a patch of void, and the front is also completely empty. Could it be that the Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu is really here?"
"There is indeed no one, but Feng Yuan's cultivation is unfathomable, and his comprehension of the Dao of Space greatly surpasses ours. It seems the Little Rain Empress is indeed hiding here."
"What place is this? We have also participated in the Blood Trial thousands of times, approaching ten thousand times, yet entering the Archaic Ruins we have never discovered this place. Could this be a new domain opened by the Heavenly Court?"
"Exactly right, it is a new domain opened by the Heavenly Court. Those fierce beasts like the Hell Bats and Ancient Magic Heart Apes all escaped from the void of this domain. We must be highly careful."
As Fang Han halted in the air and called out, the Holy Sons behind him also caught up, speaking one after another while looking at the situation before them.
"Feng Yuan of the Yuhua Sect has come to pay respects to Miss Xia Zhiqiu, the Little Rain Empress."
Fang Han voiced out again. The space ahead remained completely empty, without even an echo.
After calling out a few times in succession with no movement seen, doubt appeared in the eyes of many Holy Sons. Fang Han's gaze turned thoroughly cold: "My purpose for coming this time is to ally with Miss Xia Zhiqiu concerning the matter of killing the Little Stone Emperor Song Tengfei. Perhaps Miss wants to test my Dao arts to decide whether to join hands with me or not. Then I will let you see. It is likely that this void illusion of yours, a method of mixing the false with the genuine, cannot stump me either."
While speaking, Fang Han's five fingers formed a hook and he made a tearing motion forward.
From between his five fingers, hook-shaped sword light shot fiercely out, directly piercing into the air. Then, everyone astonishingly saw that the patch of space was directly torn open by Fang Han. Large chunks of spatial crystals disintegrated and collapsed, falling down profusely. Behind the spatial crystals, a new heaven and earth was revealed.
Within that new heaven and earth sat a woman cross-legged. Her brow was noble, with phoenix eyes, unspeakably distinguished.
Suddenly, this seated woman opened her eyes, piercing directly toward Fang Han. Two divine lights turned into long rivers, like dragons of yin and yang, beginning to strangle.
Fang Han gave a hearty laugh and took a large stride forward. Before those two divine lights could shoot right in front of him, they successively collapsed and exploded, fundamentally unable to cause him any harm at all.
"En?" The woman stood up. Behind her slender, graceful body was a world of raindrops, featuring misty drizzles, lingering autumn rain, violent summer rain, and icy winter rain. At any moment, she seemed ready to enter the world of rainwater, melting into nature, changing to become untraceable.
"It is the Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu, the reincarnation of the ancient Rain Empress."
"It is her, the supreme Holy Daughter of the Supreme Nine Purities Heaven. Rumor has it that the Supreme Nine Purities Heaven inherited the orthodox lineage of the Supreme Heavenly Monarch, and the Supreme Heavenly Monarch was a disciple of the Immortal King of Origin. The previous incarnation of this Little Rain Empress, the Rain Empress, was a proud disciple of the Supreme Heavenly Monarch, possessing inconceivable might."
"Senior Brother Feng Yuan is not beneath her in the slightest."
"Did you notice, Senior Brother Feng Yuan first used peerless Dao arts to deduce her location, then found his way here, and then broke open her restriction magic in one fell swoop. These methods are clearly above hers."
"Rumor has it that the Rain Empress was a good friend of the Lightning Mother Heavenly Monarch, and was one of the Sovereign Emperors with the most hope of cultivating to the Heavenly Monarch level. Unfortunately, she fell later on. Reincarnating and starting over this time, she might reach the height of her previous life. Yet even she was caught by Feng Yuan via minute clues. It can be seen that Senior Brother Feng Yuan's origins are absolutely not simple either. Could it be he is the reincarnation of a Heavenly Monarch?"
Many Holy Sons thought to themselves secretly, but did not dare to speak it out loud.
"Yuhua Sect, Feng Yuan?"
The woman was forced by Fang Han to speak: "I did not expect that you could actually deduce my hiding place, and even broke the illusory realm of grand emptiness of truth and falsehood I arranged outside. Your strength is indeed formidable. Among the Holy Sons of the Yuhua Sect, when did a figure like you emerge?"
"I am the reincarnated Painting Saint, Sun Shihua, paying respects to Miss Xia."
Sun Shihua immediately stepped forward, saluting Xia Zhiqiu: "This Feng Yuan is an outstanding disciple of our Yuhua Sect. He was cultivating in seclusion, and upon coming out this time, he astonished the heavens, sweeping across the world. He came specifically to subdue the Little Stone Emperor Song Tengfei. Just now he deduced that Miss exchanged blows with Song Tengfei and seemed to have suffered a tiny loss, thus he came to see if there is anything he could do to help Miss, wishing to join hands with Miss to kill the Little Stone Emperor."
"Reincarnated Painting Saint? Sun Shihua? Your person does possess some reputation, I have heard of you." Xia Zhiqiu looked at some of the Holy Sons of the Yuhua Sect, "Demon Wings? Everyone captured and sealed a million Hell Bats, turning them into Demon Wings. Your overall strength sharply increased, is this your masterpiece?"
She swept her gaze past the disciples of the Yuhua Sect, then past the numerous Holy Sons of the Yanshen Marquis Gate and the Tongling Daoist Sect, and finally fixed her gaze on Fang Han's body.
At present, Fang Han's figure was tall, towering, and burly, yet every detail was highly delicate, soft, flashing with luster, and flawlessly precise. His whole person seemed like a divine statue sculpted by the Ancestral Holy King of the God Race using a nameless giant axe and the peerless Great Immortal Art of the Work of Spirits and Gods.
This bearing akin to a divine statue made people only able to look up to him, leaving no emotion of underestimation in their hearts upon first glance.
His large hands contained a terrifying and violent power, and his shoulders carried the air of propping up the vault of heaven.
Xia Zhiqiu's gaze gradually grew solemn, "Feng Yuan, you deduced my battle with the Little Stone Emperor just now?"
"That is correct." Fang Han said: "The Little Stone Emperor's final strike actually launched out the geographical map of the Heavenly Court's hundred thousand provinces. Concentrating stone energy, its might involved a mysterious power. I originally wanted to go up and kill him alone, but seeing this move executed, I feared mutual destruction which would let others take advantage. Therefore, I came to find you to kill this person together, which would make it ninety percent certain, without the slightest flaw."
"This move of his was obtained through memory inheritance from ancient times. Evolved from stone energy, swallowing ten thousand provinces with its aura, it is very hard to resist." Xia Zhiqiu said: "However, you wanting to cooperate with me to kill the Little Stone Emperor, on what basis can I believe you? Could it be you are not trying to borrow my hands to use me? Furthermore, it was not easy for me to find the Little Stone Emperor's location this time, yet I failed to plot against him. Now he is highly alert, he will definitely execute secret arts, not hesitating to consume lifespan to cover up his tracks, before advancing to become an Origin Immortal. Once he advances, you roughly know how formidable he is."
"Our Yuhua Sect allying with the Supreme Nine Purities Heaven, both being large sects, there will be no deceit. Furthermore, when I, Feng Yuan, say one it is one, when I say two it is two. Once agreed, I will not use you. Also, with your status as the Little Rain Empress and your wisdom, who could possibly use you? As for the whereabouts of the Little Stone Emperor, no matter how deeply he hides, I can deduce it out." Fang Han said with a smile.
"Fine, since that is the case, we will temporarily form an alliance. This alliance starts now, and after killing the Little Stone Emperor, it will automatically dissolve. Also, there is something I must clarify now. Upon killing the Little Stone Emperor, I want his main body husk, the King Grade Immortal Weapon God Consolidating Stele. Everything else can entirely belong to you." Xia Zhiqiu said coldly.
"Acceptable, the transaction is established." Fang Han was highly straightforward: "Anyway, in slaying the Little Stone Emperor, I seek nothing, merely removing a powerful enemy for my Yuhua Sect. Any of his divine abilities, I do not take to heart. I myself am the strongest."
"Brother Feng Yuan, you just reached an agreement with her like this? This woman is so greedy, actually wanting the God Consolidating Stele. Does she not know that the most powerful and most noble part of the Little Stone Emperor is precisely this husk of a King Grade Immortal Weapon? Could it be that if the Little Stone Emperor is slain, the stone stele will truly be given to her? That would be too much of a pity."
Sun Shihua immediately transmitted a divine thought to Fang Han: "We slew Emperor Ning's son Zhao Fenghua. In the future, Emperor Ning will definitely come seeking trouble. If you advance to become an Origin Immortal, and then refine this King Grade Immortal Weapon the God Consolidating Stele, your assurance of escaping with your life will be vastly greater. It absolutely cannot be given to this woman."
"This woman is very hard to handle." Fang Han transmitted a divine thought back: "First agree to her conditions, do not engage in meaningless verbal disputes here and waste time. When slaying the Little Stone Emperor, each will rely on their own abilities. Moreover, this woman will not believe my promise either, she will definitely have her own calculations."
"Brother Feng is clean and decisive, I, as a brother, admire it." Up until now, Sun Shihua thoroughly admired Fang Han. His actions never dragged their feet, his style was crisp.
The Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu stood quietly. Hearing Fang Han's reply, she simply nodded, then spoke: "Since an alliance is formed, then please begin deducing the Little Stone Emperor's hiding place anew. We absolutely cannot delay any further, otherwise when he completes cultivating into an Origin Immortal, we will never be able to subdue him again."
"No problem."
Fang Han nodded. Stepping into the air, astral energy permeated. From his mouth, he sprayed out a stream of sword light, drawing randomly in the air, weaving out a picture. Blazing Primordial Energy burned in the void, rolling heat waves everywhere.
Following that, a faintly discernible void long river appeared within the flames, in which many images changed like viewing flowers from horseback.
"What Dao art is this? How does it…?"
Seeing Fang Han execute this Dao art right in the air to begin deduction, the Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu's eyes registered a movement. She started watching casually, but gradually, her mind seemed to stir, as if recalling something: "This Dao art gives a highly familiar feeling, could it be? But it's not quite like it, just somewhat identical, essentially… it actually contains some mysteries of destiny hidden within. How come seeing this Dao art of his, I thought of the Little Destiny Technique that terrified the heavens and earth back then, making many Heavenly Monarchs flee at the mere mention of it?"
While deducing, Fang Han deliberately blended some of the mysteries of the Little Destiny Technique into the operation of his Dao of the Epoch, specifically to see the reaction of the Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu. He harbored profound intentions.
Rumor had it that in her previous life as the Rain Empress, the Little Rain Empress Xia Zhiqiu was a good friend of the Lightning Mother Heavenly Monarch, so she was definitely familiar with the Little Destiny Technique. Arousing this woman's curiosity would give him an advantage when slaying the Little Stone Emperor Song Tengfei later.
Furthermore, Fang Han could also rely on this move to open this woman's psychological defenses and obtain some ancient secrets regarding the Lightning Mother Heavenly Monarch from it.