After another thousand years of cultivation, the numerous figures within the Eight部浮屠 had once again made massive improvements. Star Cloud Baby reached the peak of the Undying Realm, likely to break through to the Cave Heaven Realm at any moment.
The others—Jialan, Long Xuan, the Demoness, Fairy Crane, the Black Underworld King, and several giants of the Jialan Society—also saw extreme progression in their cultivation. Among the ten giants of the Undying Realm, Daoist Wood and Daoist Dragon were the first to reach the Cave Heaven Realm.
The Supreme Elders "Five Swords Gentleman" and "Green Faced Venerable" were both elevated to the peak of the Cave Heaven Realm, achieving the Great Perfectness of spatial laws. Now, within the Eight部浮屠, the number of Heavenly Demons totaled 1.8 billion! The number of Heavenly Demon Kings had reached one million! There were also a full thirty thousand Golden Core level Heavenly Demons! However, there was still not a single Demon God.
Yet with so many Heavenly Demons and Demon Kings, the willpower generated from their prayers became unimaginable. During their constant chanting of scriptures, the texts condensed into physical substance, converging into a vast torrent. If Fang Han did not intentionally suppress it, that torrent of scriptures would form a heavenly river of scriptural Buddha light across the sky and stars.
If Fang Han went to save souls and tossed this Eight部浮屠 into a country, every living creature in that country—even the pigs, dogs, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks—would be converted.
Although his power of aspiration was not as formidable as玲珑 Immortal Venerable's back then, if used to cultivate the Great Aspiration Technique, he could reap extreme benefits. Unfortunately, he did not possess the cultivation method for the Great Aspiration Technique.
"Fellow Daoist Fang Han, the crafting project of these Thirty-Three Heavens Supreme Treasures is truly too colossal. Although we are every one of us master artifact craters, having deeply studied the Heavenly Dragon Secret Manual and now practicing the Great Treasure Forging Technique, there are still some areas we do not understand. Moreover, breaking through the deeper layers of the Key of the Desolate God when you cultivate to the Heaven Position Realm is necessary, as there are surely numerous magical treasures and materials left behind by Panwu Immortal Venerable inside."
Daoist Wood looked at the Thirty-Three Heavens Supreme Treasures in the sky and shook his head. After four thousand years of crafting by numerous experts, there was still little effect. Though the power had increased somewhat and the formations were further perfected, essentially, no fundamental change had occurred.
"It does not matter, just craft them slowly. I am currently not lacking in magical treasures. The Yellow Springs Diagram, the Black Emperor Tide Banner, and the Flame Emperor Fire Dragon Cauldron are all Peerless Dao Artifacts." Fang Han said, "Wait until my cultivation is deep. Then I will try to merge two sets of magical treasures into one, turning them into a Thirty-Three Heavens Pagoda. The union of Buddhism and Daoism. For now, let us return to the Yuhua Sect in the Xuanhuang Great World."
With a casual thought, Fang Han's eyes pierced through the void, seeing all the way to the distant Xuanhuang Great World.
With his current strength, a casual grab could tear the void; a casual movement allowed him to execute interstellar jumps. His Great Shifting Technique had reached an inconceivable level, capable of jumping directly from the Limitless Great World to the Xuanhuang Great World—a jump across an entire Great World.
With this kind of strength, going anywhere was a very easy matter.
Reaching the "one trillion" mark in magical power almost meant having the ability to shake destiny with one's own sheer strength.
However, just as Fang Han made this jump, countless starfields and spacetimes flashing beside him, hundreds of billions of miles sweeping past him, suddenly, a strong light blocked his path. Accompanying this light were actually nine giant pitch-black bronze cauldrons suspended in the air.
The nine giant bronze cauldrons were carved with mountains, rivers, and the altars of earth and grain. The nine pieces weren't solitary but interconnected, placed together. They looked like a "cauldron mountain."
Nine cauldrons blocking the way!
"Altars of Earth and Grain Cauldrons! Peerless Dao Artifact!" Fang Han's body immediately halted, materializing in real space. Looking at the nine giant cauldrons in the sky, his face twitched slightly as he recognized the origin of this magical treasure: "Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable, gracing us with your presence. Might I ask what business you have, to block my path?"
The comer was actually a giant of commerce, the final great leader of the Nine Cauldrons Pavilion, the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable.
"Hahahaha, Little Friend Fang Han is extraordinary indeed. In just a few short years, you've actually cultivated to such a realm. It truly leaves me astounded. Even the玲珑 Immortal Venerable of the past, in terms of cultivation speed, is likely not your equal."
Just then, above those nine giant cauldrons, a middle-aged man appeared. This middle-aged man wore a long black robe and stood with his hands behind his back. His beard, also pitch black, drifted down to his chest. He was exceedingly elegant, possessing the magnanimity of swallowing the starry sky. One look at this person gave off an approachable and amicable feeling. He was a merchant, not a peerless cultivator given to killing and fighting.
However, Fang Han did not underestimate this man.
This person did business all over the starry skies; the Nine Cauldrons Pavilion had businesses and treasure-selling grand assemblies everywhere. Even the Taiyi Sect would not easily offend this person, proving that his true formidable nature was not on the surface.
"Did the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable come to block me? Seeing that I obtained the treasures of the Heaven Martial Treasury, have you come to take a share?" Fang Han looked at the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable and asked faintly.
"Little friend misunderstands. My Nine Cauldrons Pavilion never engages in murder and robbery. In doing business, reputation is paramount. If we engaged in murder and robbery and word got out, wouldn't our entire reputation be ruined? My Nine Cauldrons Pavilion has operated for tens of thousands of years; our earned reputation was not easy to get. The reason I came to find little friend this time is merely to do a stroke of business with you. I wanted to prevent the Six Paths Scatterer and the Heavenly Dao Dharma King from beating me to it. The treasures in the Heaven Martial Treasury, the Key of the Desolate God, the countless Pure Yang Origin Force Pills, these are indeed enviable. My Nine Cauldrons Pavilion lacks Pure Yang Pills for trading with others, and would like to exchange with little friend for some. What do you think?"
With a wave of the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable's hand, those nine giant cauldrons in the sky vanished without a trace.
"Oh? Doing business indeed requires massive amounts of Pure Yang Pills. Unfortunately, the Pure Yang Pill is a good thing; cultivation relies on it, driving magical treasures relies on it, and even healing and recovering magical power rely on it. No one is willing to take them out. I also need them to drive the Yellow Springs Diagram and my Three Thousand Great Daos, so I'm afraid I cannot produce them." Fang Han naturally declined flatly. The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable blocking his way to do business and asking for Pure Yang Pills surely meant it was no small amount. Although he had many Pure Yang Pills, he was not willing to exchange them. In the past, he had always lived on a tight budget. Now that he finally had enough Pure Yang Pills to squander, he naturally didn't want to trade them away.
"Nothing is absolute in this world. However, when my Nine Cauldrons Pavilion does things, we always offer enough benefits to make it impossible for someone to refuse. Little Friend Fang Han, perhaps you might accompany me to a place."
"What place?" Fang Han asked. "I am currently rushing to cultivate, and may have to disappoint the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable's kind intentions." He naturally did not want to accompany the Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable elsewhere; if he encountered danger, it would be too late for regrets.
"Could it be that little friend is afraid of encountering danger?" The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable shook his head: "The Yuhua Sect has now achieved great fame among the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Great World, as well as those of several star domains. This time, the Taiyi Sect laid out a total killing array in the Heaven Martial Treasury, yet without the slightest warning, they let the entire sect's people escape. Everyone knows now that the strength of the Yuhua Sect is actually unfathomably deep. As for Hua Tiandu, who led the Yuhua Sect to a dead end, he has been expelled from the sect by the Yuhua Sect's Supreme Headmaster Feng Baiyu, with the announcement made to the world. And you, Little Friend Fang Han, are the acting headmaster of the Yuhua Sect. Feng Baiyu is about to abdicate and let you sit on the grand seat."
"The Nine Cauldrons Pavilion's information is quite swift!"
Fang Han was secretly surprised in his heart.
"That is nothing. The Six Paths Alliance claims to have swift information, but actually, my Nine Cauldrons Pavilion is not bad either. It's just that my Nine Cauldrons Pavilion is famous for buying and selling pills." The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable said, "Under the great prestige of the Yuhua Sect, no one would dare act adversely against little friend."
"Is that so?" Fang Han said. "The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable wishes to exchange for enough Pure Yang Pills; I wonder what you have that can move me? Why not state it now? Just in case I went with the Immortal Venerable and ended up unsatisfied, making a wasted trip would not be good."
"About this?" The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable pondered for a moment, "I naturally have sufficient bargaining chips. However, telling you now is fine too. Your Yellow Springs Diagram was forged by the Yellow Springs Great Emperor. It specifically targets the Earth Emperor Book; however, the Earth Emperor Book is in Su Xiuyi's hands. This person, Su Xiuyi, is the reincarnation of an ancient evil god, deep and coldly gloomy. Thinking of obtaining the Earth Emperor Book from his hands is simply impossible. Especially in the Xuanhuang Great World, the Earth Emperor Book is able to borrow the power of the world to burst forth with the majesty to suppress the heavens. Yet, this time he is to duel Ying Xiantian. He will surely take damage. You can seize the opportunity to snatch his Earth Emperor Book and fuse it into your Yellow Springs Diagram. At that time, it could transform into an Immortal Artifact."
"Everyone knows about this matter, is that not a given chip?" Fang Han still smiled.
"But, I know that to collect the Earth Emperor Book, you must obtain the Artifact Spirit of the Earth Emperor Book, otherwise all is illusory. Because Su Xiuyi, at the final moment, seeing the situation going bad, will deploy the Great Reincarnation Technique to completely combine himself with the Earth Emperor Book, merging the two into one, and then integrating into the world power of the Xuanhuang Great World. By then, although his whole person cannot escape the Xuanhuang Great World, within the Xuanhuang Great World, almost no one would be able to defeat him."
The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable spoke eloquently, narrating Su Xiuyi's secret: "And my greatest bargaining chip. Is that I know where the reincarnated Artifact Spirit of the Earth Emperor Book is."
"What? You know where the Artifact Spirit of the Earth Emperor Book reincarnated?" Fang Han finally changed expression upon hearing the end: "If that is so, it is indeed a massive bargaining chip! You have the qualifications to make a deal with me. But empty words are unprovable, I will still not believe it."
"Naturally, I will make little friend believe." The Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable said: "Moreover, I also know that you possess a Supreme Treasure forged by the Limitless Great World's Ji Dao Great Emperor, retrieved from the Heaven Martial Treasury. This Supreme Treasure is called the Common Life Great Seal; however, the Artifact Spirit has also gone to reincarnate. I possess a secret method, which is the Great Tracking Technique among the Three Thousand Great Daos. Upon deployment, based on the Artifact Spirit's true body, I can find his original body. That Common Life Great Seal holds immense power; it was also once an Immortal Artifact, but encountered a calamity."