In an instant, based on the aura on the body of the "Nian Beast", Fang Han had already sensed exactly what direction the Lord of All Beasts was in within that Gate of Eternal Life.
These Immortal Kings were almost all sealed in the space entered from the threshold of the Gate of Eternal Life, and had not truly entered the interior of the Gate of Eternal Life. In terms of cultivation, it meant they had not yet "crossed the threshold to enter the inner chamber".
In the inner parts of the Gate of Eternal Life, further deep, even with the tether of the Great Destiny Technique, Fang Han and Fang Qingxue could not enter it, let alone see a single trace of divine objects or Ancient Characters.
According to reason, the Gate of Eternal Life must be covered everywhere with divine objects and Ancient Characters, but it was a pity they were hidden far too deeply.
In the legends, only after cultivating to become an Immortal King, and then successfully practicing the Great Destiny Technique, could one enter inside.
However, prior to many epochs ago, the Great Destiny Technique had never appeared. Only in this one epoch was it obtained by Fang Qingxue. But Fang Qingxue perished before cultivating to become an Immortal King.
"Heaven and Earth Dark and Yellow, Destiny reigns as King."
Fang Han and Fang Qingxue's true qi intertwined with each other, blooming with resplendent light. Tracing a wisp of aura, they entered the void on the surface of the Gate of Eternal Life. In an instant, they saw endless crystal wall systems condensed from the qi of eternal life, looking like a beehive. In the cells of that beehive, Fang Han and she both felt formidable auras sealed within.
Without a doubt, these were some Immortal Kings.
Strictly speaking, these crystal wall systems composed of eternal life qi were not the interior of the Gate of Eternal Life, but the threshold of the Gate of Eternal Life.
That was right, those Immortal Kings charged into the Gate of Eternal Life but didn't truly enter; they were sealed upon the threshold.
"Too strong! This Gate of Eternal Life is too strong; just the threshold is more massive than the myriad realms of the heavens. The beehive of crystal wall systems composed of eternal life qi is simply inexhaustible and without end. When will I truly be able to enter inside? To find the clone that belongs to me? What exactly was my previous life?"
A mass of Fang Han's divine intent was wrapped in destiny qi. Looking at the layers upon layers of crystal wall systems, indestructible, where even Immortal Kings could not shuttle through, he couldn't help being shocked. He had never felt the true meaning of the word 'great' until this moment.
"Hm? What is that?"
Suddenly, Fang Han seemed to see something. He felt that in one tiny world within the crystal wall systems, a person was actually sealed.
This person was blurry, just a shadow, completely indistinct no matter how he looked.
But Fang Han circulated his entire body's power to illuminate the void. Suddenly he saw that person's face flash and vanish.
In an instant, this face appeared in his mind, and he was thoroughly stunned. Countless memories surged out like a tide. The face of this person was actually the one who guided him onto the path of the immortal dao, "Bai Haichan"!
That was right, Fang Han actually saw "Bai Haichan" within the crystal wall systems of the Gate of Eternal Life. A mundane little figure in the secular world, but it was precisely this figure who gave him the Yellow Springs Diagram and simultaneously sealed the Yellow Springs Emperor's Nine Orifices Golden Pill inside his body, making him truly step onto the path of cultivation.
Then, Bai Haichan's corpse vanished.
And now, he actually appeared in the crystal wall systems of the Gate of Eternal Life.
What kind of karma, what kind of destiny was this?
"Fang Han, what exactly happened?" Fang Qingxue sensed the anomaly.
"I saw Bai Haichan. Back in the secular world, the one who asked me to kill you and guided me onto the path of cultivation, just what kind of person was he?" An intent of utter shock from Fang Han transmitted into Fang Qingxue's heart.
"I knew long ago that Bai Haichan was definitely not an ordinary person reincarnated. In the unseen world, he possessed an identity, and now this identity has finally come into play. What, should we go search for him?"
"No need, I can no longer feel his aura." Fang Han shook his head, "This karma must ultimately be settled. When soldiers come, generals block; when water comes, earth dams. I will just wait for his appearance at the final moment." At this very moment, Fang Han's heart settled down, almost carrying a flavor of seeing through everything clearly.
"Then shall we still go search for the Lord of All Beasts? Observe precisely what he intends to do?" Fang Qingxue saw Fang Han calm down, seemingly having made up his mind, and also nodded. The two burned Heavenly Lord origin once again, amplifying the destiny force.
"I have found the aura of the Lord of All Beasts!"
Suddenly, Fang Han's heart stirred. The souls of the two stopped within the crystal wall systems on the threshold of the Gate of Eternal Life. Having searched for her hundreds and thousands of times in dreams, they saw within a massive crystal wall system world, a colossal Nian Beast was locked.
This Nian Beast was incredibly ancient, possessing a primeval aura, seemingly having existed before the epoch even existed. Waves of ferocious and baleful auras transmitted out, bringing a feeling of suffocation to the souls of Fang Han and Fang Qingxue.
This was an Immortal King.
Only an Immortal King could possess such oppressive might.
However, at this very moment, this Nian Beast's entire body was covered in thick chains of order, thoroughly sealed down by the Gate of Eternal Life, fundamentally unable to move. But upon his body appeared a tiny human shadow. This shadow seemed to be the human figure of the Nian Beast, wearing a cloak enveloping his whole body. The tall body propped up the firmament, intending to break through the crystal wall systems and come out at any time or place.
"What a formidable aura…" Fang Qingxue suddenly said: "Fang Han, this is the Lord of All Beasts. Look at what he is doing?"
"He seems to have escaped his primordial spirit out, using his own physical body to execute some kind of secret art, wanting to directly shatter the crystal wall systems and escape. It's a pity this is also an extravagant hope!" Fang Han perceived something. As his divine eyes observed, the colossal Nian Beast body inside the crystal wall system was covered in streaks of runes with jumping flames. These flame runes took the shape of hearts, ruyis, lingzhis, and even swords, sabers, human figures, palaces… These were exactly the extremes of flames, ready to burn at any moment to directly burn the Nian Beast's massive Immortal King body completely clean.
"I understand!"
As Fang Han observed carefully, his face suddenly showed some shock, as if he had seen through the opponent's actions.
"A profound scheme, indeed a profound scheme! This Lord of All Beasts is vicious, so vicious. No wonder he wants to join forces with me and tempt me! He wants to borrow my destiny force to burn his massive Immortal King physical body in a split second, and then make his soul descend onto my body, snatch away my physical shell, dominate my soul, and thoroughly bring himself rebirth."
Hearing this voice, Fang Qingxue's body also shuddered for a moment!
"Indeed vicious. If he burns his physical body now, he fundamentally cannot break through the restraints of the Gate of Eternal Life. But adding the destiny force of you and me makes it different. His body is extremely colossal, his Immortal King divine body far more formidable than an ordinary Immortal King's. The entire Nian Beast burning at once, carrying that power for his soul to traverse and arrive at our bodies, he would immediately obliterate us. This is almost impossible to resist."
"That's right, he is truly willing to part with it. Once an Immortal King's body is abandoned, it cannot be regenerated. It equates to his cultivation dropping below Immortal King. Furthermore, executing it inside the Gate of Eternal Life is extremely dangerous; the slightest mishap will result in death. He is staking everything on a single throw this time to deal with me." Fang Han nodded: "He is gambling. He knows that by successfully possessing my body, he has the greatest possibility of gaining the recognition of the Gate of Eternal Life, and also the possibility of obtaining the Great Destiny Technique. Surpassing all Immortal Kings."
"This is also a kind of grand boldness and grand insidiousness. That Ancestral Holy King lacked such boldness. If he had executed it like this that day, I would undoubtedly have died."
"Fang Han, what do we do now then?" Fang Qingxue said: "Are you still going to agree to that Little Nian Beast? Even though we now know the conspiracy of the Lord of Nian Beasts, with his power, I'm afraid we might still be unable to resist."
"Agree, why wouldn't I agree?" Fang Han said: "I accepted the divine objects of the Little Nian Beast. If I refuse to agree and renege, then he might turn angry from shame and unite with Hua Tiandu to kill me. At that time, it would be extremely dangerous. It is better to beat him at his own game, hmph! This Lord of All Beasts wants to plot against me; I might not be unable to plot against him. You should know, when he burns his body, he brings a powerful force bombarding downward. If this force is absorbed by us, the entire Epoch Sect would effectively be sacrificing to a true Immortal King corpse, instead of the kind of skeletons Hua Tiandu uses. What level will your cultivation reach? Going neck and neck with me, or even surpassing me. My cultivation might also advance again. Large numbers of disciples in our Epoch Sect could all advance to become Heavenly Lords."
The body of the Lord of All Beasts was not a skeleton, but a sacrificial power of flesh and blood. This was unknown how many times greater than those Immortal King skeletons in the Immortal King Battlefield. Having flesh and blood versus having no flesh and blood were two completely different concepts.
"Right! This is a massive gamble! But we have no choice but to gamble. That Lord of All Beasts is traversing with his soul, which is also extremely formidable. If we absorb his power, converting it in passing, we can immediately seal his soul. The soul of an Immortal King, that kind of power… might even possibly allow you, Fang Han, to directly advance to Immortal King." Fang Qingxue said excitedly.
"This is indeed a temptation, but the soul of an Immortal King is absolutely not something we can contend with. I just executed the Thirty-Three Heavens Ultimate Artifact to calculate a bit. Once his soul descends, even if he doesn't succeed in possession, we are not his match; he would suppress me." Fang Han calculated on his fingers: "The only chance is, while he is performing the sacrifice, to launch a sudden surprise attack, using the Great Destiny Technique to trigger the wrath of the Gate of Eternal Life, severely injuring his soul. That way it will be completely foolproof. However, exactly how to do it still needs to be planned out properly."
In a split second, the two settled upon a perfect plan, discussing specific details.
Retracting their divine intents, the two continuously urged the force of destiny, unceasingly evolving, simulating, and practicing. A Grand Destiny Array slowly coalesced, permeating into every corner of the Meta Realm, turning the entire Meta Realm and Epoch City into a City of Destiny.
Just as the two were perfectly deducing, a voice suddenly descended: "Dao Brother Fang Han, I wonder if you are prepared or not? If you are, come to the Immortal King Battlefield, and we can begin."
It was the voice of the Nian Beast.