Troubled times descended, the smoke of beacons and the flames of war appearing everywhere in the Heaven Realm. It was exactly the time for heroes to step into the world, bracing the sky with a single hand.
Fang Han observed the lands of the Central Province. Wars waged unceasingly, an unknown number of ancient demons running rampant across various regions, and the Barbarian Race invading. Yet, he paid them no heed. Instead, with a single step, he strode straight into the Central Province ancient city, returning into the interior of the Yuhua Sect.
His strength was now at the peak of Immortals, the absolute top level. Even Xi Huang could be slain by him, the Heavenly Court's Spear of Judgment had to bow the wind, and Heavenly Monarchs were unable to kill him. Originally, as long as he brandished his might, his mana would be fully capable of shrouding the entirely of the Central Province's lands, executing and refining all the invading demon races within.
However, he did not do so. Instead, he sought out Emperor Yu for a discussion first. The invasions of these ancient demons, Barbarian Race, and otherworldly masters could be exactly used to temper the disciples of the Yuhua Sect, molding peerless geniuses out of the tragic slaughter.
The sharp edge of a treasured sword emerges from grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Now was precisely an excellent opportunity. Only within a cruel environment could a sect truly be reborn amidst blood and fire.
With a single glance, the entirety of the Central Province fell into his eyes.
An ordinary Golden Immortal would require several years of time to fly across the entire Central Province. But now, with Fang Han exerting his full mana, a strike of his large hand could practically cover the entire Central Province! The difference in strength involved could not even be described with ants and divine dragons.
For the current Fang Han, as long as he digested the residual Creation Divine Artifact fragments inside his body, bitterly cultivated for another period of time, and digested all of his fortuitous encounters, letting movement arise from stillness, he could infinitely touch that mysterious Heavenly Monarch realm.
His lifespan genuinely shared the same lifespan as heaven and earth, equal to the heavens. If he directly executed various methods of burning lifespan, the moment his lifespan began to burn, a stream of the unnoticed heaven and earth's essence would pierce through space to perfectly make up for the lifespan, albeit with some loss to the essence energy of his entire body.
"Soon! Soon! Sooner or later, there will be a day when I set foot upon the supreme absolute peak within this heaven and earth." Fang Han's mind surged like the sea. Sensing the power upon his body, he was now truly bordering on the absolute peak. Stepping into that Heavenly Monarch realm was no longer a distant hope, but merely a single step away.
Deep within the Yuhua Sect, inside the Hall of Judgment.
Emperor Yu the Patriarch Supreme, Emperor Bing, Emperor Yue, Emperor Mei, Emperor Bing, Emperor Zhu, Emperor Zhong, and Emperor Mo—the seven great Emperors—all sat erect upon thrones. On the rest of the thrones were the Saints of the Yuhua Sect, as well as Grand Supreme Elders at the Origin Immortal level.
Gathered in a hall, the Yuhua Sect was holding a meeting.
It had to be said that after undergoing a great purge, the strength of the Yuhua Sect had lost much of its quintessence. Now, with everyone sitting together in a meeting, it felt somewhat desolate.
Fortunately, in the Heavenly Court's genius battle this time, a large batch of the Yuhua Sect's Holy Sons obtained quite a few benefits. Every single one had ascended, adding fresh blood to the Yuhua Sect. However, for these fresh bloods to genuinely grow into Emperors, time was still needed.
Sun Shihua, Xu Muyun, Holy Son Daoxu, and Chen Yimei, who maintained a good relationship with Fang Han, had also grown into Saints. Including Chenxin who acquired the Sword of Alaya, he had cultivated to the realm of a Half-Saint, merely a step away from advancing to a Saint. The speed of their growth was jaw-dropping.
"To think that the Heaven Realm's true troubled times and great tribulation has descended…"
During the meeting, even "Emperor Mo," who had always been taciturn, could not help but speak: "At present, our Central Province has also encountered the attacks of the otherworldly realms, the Barbarian Race, the Protoss, as well as the Demon Realm, the beast tides, and the Sea Race. All sects and nations have already migrated into the Central Province ancient city, and the forbidden arrays of the entire ancient city are fully activated. However, the offensive outside is growing increasingly ferocious. I fear it will be breached at a point in the near future. Although our Yuhua Sect has forbidden arrays and remains safe and sound, if the entire ancient city is lost, the damages will be excessively severe."
"We have no choice, the Heaven Realm's entire hundred thousand great provinces have entered a state of emergent warfare. Even the Heavenly Court is besieged. Our Yuhua Sect is still faring somewhat better; the entire mountain gates of some great families are on the verge of being annihilated." Emperor Bing shook his head: "Over these two days, we have already received rescue talismans transmitted from many great families and great sects."
"Troubled times are truly not a good thing, alas…" Emperor Yue shook her head.
"Troubled times are a good thing…" Emperor Yu suddenly spoke up, "Troubled times are precisely convenient for our Yuhua Sect to rise to prominence… The factions of the Heaven Realm need to be redrawn. Our Yuhua Sect purged the Hua Family, suffering a loss of quintessence, which can perfectly be made up for in the midst of these troubled times!"
"Indeed, Senior Brother is correct, troubled times produce heroes. With our Yuhua Sect shedding the burden of the Hua Family, we can unite together even more tightly." A voice transmitted from far away beyond the Hall of Judgment. Following that, suspended in the air at the center of the entire hall, a tall, stalwart figure appeared.
This person held a scepter in his hand and wore a blood-stained garment, like a deity walking in the human world, a grand sage conveying morality and truth.
It was exactly Fang Han.
"Feng Yuan! You have returned! Was it not heard that you were exiled by the Spear of Judgment into the Heavenly Court's conquering army?" Xu Muyun and the others looked at Fang Han, instantly jumping in great shock, and stood up one by one.
"Junior Brother Fang Han, your strength! Your aura! You've advanced and reached the realm of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan!"
Emperor Yu swished his eyes open as well. His entire body shuddered, displaying an expression of astonishment. With his current strength matching the many ancient Emperors of the Heavenly Court, he naturally saw just how unfathomably profound, how abyss-like and ocean-like, and how invincible the aura upon Fang Han's body was.
"What? The realm of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan…"
The many Emperors all stood up. Staring at Fang Han's figure in the air, their eyeballs almost dropped out.
"You, you you you you…" The woman Emperor Yue looked at Fang Han, "Before participating in the Heavenly Court's genius battle, you were but a Saint. You were actually able to progress by leaps and bounds, reaching this kind of realm…"
"The realm of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan, that constitutes a Supreme Cult Master." Emperor Bing groaned: "Then doesn't our Yuhua Sect possess two experts of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan? In that case, our Yuhua Sect's strength has entirely surpassed its state prior to the purge of the Hua Family."
What was the concept of an expert of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan? It was equivalent to a sect-suppressing treasure. Because the lifespan of the Emperors in the sect was also limited, not endless, but an expert whose lifespan was shared with heaven and earth would not die, able to protect the sect eternally!
"Fang Han, if my guess is correct, your current strength has far exceeded the realm of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan, correct. Infinitely bordering upon a Heavenly Monarch. Did you have an immense fortuitous encounter within the Heavenly Court?" Emperor Yu stood up, examining Fang Han entirely up and down once again.
"Indeed. Within the Heavenly Court, I encountered a frame-up by the Spear of Judgment. But I won over the Spear of Vengeance, and right as the Heavenly Court was besieged, I stormed into the Heavenly Court treasury and consecutively executed the Taiyi Sect Patriarch, Zai Huang, Jun Cangsheng, Sheng Huang, Ning Huang, Huangfu Dadao…" Fang Han stood unmoving. With a wave of his large hand, instantly a scene of his battle and executions appeared in the air, deducing rapidly and vividly. This was him relying on supreme mana to operate the rules of time, reenacting the scene from back then.
Thoroughly shocked!
The crowd of the Yuhua Sect completely and thoroughly lost their own capacity for thought.
Fang Han's stature seemed to grow taller and taller, almost able to rival the sect-founding ancestor from back then, Hua Heavenly Monarch.
Even Emperor Yu spoke blankly: "Junior Brother, is this real, you actually executed the deadly nemesis of our Yuhua Sect, the Taiyi Sect Patriarch, and slew Sheng Huang, Ning Huang, and Huangfu Dadao… especially Huangfu Dadao, this person is a genius of the Huangfu Family, an invincible Cult Master."
"Even Xi Huang was nearly killed off!"
"Is… is this still a human? Jun Cangsheng was the reincarnation of a Heavenly Monarch, yet he was killed too!"
"Just, just what kind of person exactly is this? Feng Yuan? Fang Han?"
All the masters of the Yuhua Sect engaged in myriad discussions, their hearts beating violently. All the Grand Supreme Elders, Emperors, and Saints of the Yuhua Sect fell into a state of sheer madness.
"Enough!"
Emperor Yu suddenly stood up: "I shall go ahead and announce a secret now. Since Junior Brother Fang Han's identity has already been exposed anyway, I might as well just tell everyone. Feng Yuan, meaning Fang Han, is the Patriarch Supreme of our Yuhua Sect in the secular world. He has already given me the fragments of the Yuhua Ascension Sutra. His ascension arriving here and entering into our Yuhua Sect represents a heaven-bestowed talent."
"So it is like this, it's the Patriarch of our Yuhua Sect in the secular world. To be able to ascend and arrive in the Heaven Realm, truly formidable…"
"Now, our Yuhua Sect can genuinely flaunt our might…"
"Say, will Fang Han cultivate to reach the Heavenly Monarch realm?"
It was unknown who uttered this sentence, but instantly the entire Hall of Judgment of the Yuhua Sect fell into silence. That immensely weighty term, Heavenly Monarch, was enough to crush eternity.
The realm of Heaven and Earth Sharing the Same Lifespan did not count for much; many masters in Supreme Great Sects possessed this realm. But a Heavenly Monarch was different; it was the myth of the Heaven Realm. To produce one meant all disciples fundamentally gained an absolute backing.
Everyone gazed at Fang Han.
Silence, utter silence.
"Junior Brother, what realm do you say you've reached now?" Emperor Yu asked in an incomparably grave tone: "Is there any hope of impacting the Heavenly Monarch realm? After all, your strength was able to execute Huangfu Dadao! Defeat Xi Huang! The ancient Emperors of this realm have all gone into absolute seclusion to comprehend the Dao of Heavenly Monarchs. Some are even able to trigger the Heavenly Monarch great tribulation, yet sadly none dare trigger it. You are a rare prodigy within this epoch, holding a high possibility to step into the Heavenly Monarch realm. If you genuinely hold the confidence and opportunity, then we will support you with all our power. Only if you truly manage to impact and reach the Heavenly Monarch realm can our Yuhua Sect genuinely stand tall at the peak of this Heaven Realm…"
Emperor Yu had no choice but to be cautious.
Fang Han also understood the importance of the matter and could not help but invoke the power of his entire body to deduce. Only after quite a while did he slowly speak: "I indeed have hope of impacting the Dao of Heavenly Monarchs, but I still need a very long period of time to consolidate, to digest the Creation Divine Artifact fragments inside my body. At the same time, triggering that Heavenly Monarch great tribulation is no trivial matter. Whether I can survive it or not, the probability is also exceedingly minuscule…"