Fang Han also did not expect that the first sentence the Human Emperor Brush asked the Heart Demon Old Man would be about Linglong Immortal Venerable. Reasonably speaking, he should have at least inquired about that contested treasure, the "Wish Fruit."
"Human Emperor Brush, your discerning eyes truly burn like torches, seeing through to the key figure in this God Race tribulation with a single glance. Although there are many experts in the Xuanhuang Great World, there is only one person capable of becoming the central pillar; it is not you, nor is it that lad beside you, let alone the Taiyi Sect, but rather Linglong Immortal Venerable from the Linglong Blessed Land."
After blanking out for a moment, the Heart Demon Old Man looked at the Human Emperor Brush, nodded, and a trace of admiration flickered in his eyes.
"What is her cultivation currently like?" The Human Emperor Brush's fingers flicked rhythmically, seemingly deducing or sealing something off.
"Her current cultivation, I can only describe it with four words: completely unfathomably deep. When snatching the Limitless Sarira from the Primordial Limitless Diagram, I could still somewhat catch traces of her movements, but now, she has truly harmonized with the Great Dao, comprehending the profound mysteries of the Great Luo and the true essence of unrestrained freedom." As the Heart Demon Old Man spoke, his tone expressed an extremely high reverence for Linglong Immortal Venerable, yet it was also impossible to tell exactly what level of cultivation Linglong Immortal Venerable currently held. Was she a Heavenly Immortal, a Spirit Immortal? Or even higher?
"Yes, she is the person who obtained the legacy of the Hongmeng Daoist. In this tribulation, to deal with the God Emperors among the God Race, she remains the core pillar. What is detestable is that the people of the Taiyi Sect are actually holding things back. It seems that to pacify the outside, we must first settle the inside. Like this, let us go meet Linglong Immortal Venerable together, and first slaughter the Heavenly Immortal envoy of the Taiyi Sect right on the spot." The Human Emperor Brush suddenly proposed an earth-shattering opinion!
"Slaughter the Heavenly Immortal envoy of the Taiyi Sect!"
The Heart Demon Old Man's eyebrows wrinkled slightly, "Our strength should be sufficient. However, the Immortal Realm side…"
"The Immortal Realm? What about the Immortal Realm? The Immortal Realm has the rules of the Immortal Realm; the more powerful the existence, the harder it is for them to descend. They can only project their intent." The Human Emperor Brush sneered: "Otherwise, the Immortal Realm would have long ago exterminated the Dragon Race and the Buddhist sects, and even inflicted heavy damage upon the God Race. Would they allow these three great forces to develop to such an extent?"
"Whether or not we slaughter the Heavenly Immortal envoy is a separate matter. However, Human Emperor Brush, since you are willing to join forces, that is the best possible outcome. Our power in this tribulation is considered weak; divided we fall, united we stand. Precisely now that I have snatched the Wish Fruit, I can condense my cultivation. As for Linglong Immortal Venerable, she once entered the Hongmeng Secret Cache. Although she cannot enter it again now, if she has the Wish Fruit, relying on the acknowledgment of the Xuanhuang Great World's origin during this tribulation, there is still hope for her to enter it again." The Heart Demon Old Man said: "Since this is the case, without further ado, let us set off immediately."
"Two Seniors. Please wait a moment."
Seeing that the Human Emperor Brush and the Heart Demon Old Man were about to leave, Fang Han immediately stepped forward and said.
"Hm?" The Human Emperor Brush stopped his steps.
"The Huangquan Treasure House, many figures here are searching for it. What if it is found by them. Wouldn't all our painstaking efforts be utterly destroyed? Two Seniors, you might as well accompany me and let us open the Huangquan Treasure House first." Fang Han said.
"The time for the Huangquan Treasure House to emerge into the world has not arrived yet. That Su Xiuyi obtained a fortuitous encounter and also had the help of an extraordinary person. He actually devoured the reincarnated body of the Earth Emperor Scroll's artifact spirit, and now he has begun to fuse with the Earth Emperor Scroll, hiding the entire Huangquan Demonic Sect." The Heart Demon Old Man said: "I cannot find a single trace pointing to him either."
"What? He devoured the reincarnated body of the Earth Emperor Scroll's artifact spirit?" Fang Han was startled; this was no trivial matter.
The Earth Emperor Scroll's artifact spirit was a major reliance for restraining Su Xiuyi. He had also intended to search for it once; Nine Cauldrons Immortal Venerable stated he knew its whereabouts, but that turned out to be a deception later.
"Behind Su Xiuyi, there is a massive force supporting him. You must be careful." The Heart Demon Old Man said: "However, your cultivation should have surpassed his. Even if he uses the Earth Emperor Scroll now, he is not your match. But, he is growing rapidly. During this tribulation, if he can endure, the benefits he receives should be maximized, because the Earth Emperor Scroll inherently is the origin Qi of the Xuanhuang Great World, and he has attained greater acknowledgment from the origin. Of course, you do not need to worry either. You are an unparalleled genius, and now you are only one step away from passing the Immortal Realm lightning punishment to become a False Immortal. But your Immortal Realm lightning punishment will be unimaginably severe. You yourself should start preparing now and accumulate power, lest you turn to flying ash and be utterly annihilated during the tribulation."
"Fang Han, you must not let your guard down." The Human Emperor Brush said: "The inner world within your body has already fused with the fragments of the artifact of fortune. Once you undergo the lightning tribulation, this trace of aura is highly likely to spread to the Immortal Realm, attracting the spying intents of some powerful existences. For instance, the phantoms of King Grade Dao Tools like the Spear of Revenge and the Sword of the Lost might come to slaugher you once again."
"What?" Fang Han was startled: "So this means my lightning tribulation will be the most perilous one."
"You could say that." The Heart Demon Old Man said: "You are a cultivation prodigy. Looking through the long river of history, I cannot find many geniuses whose cultivation speed outpaces yours. Chiyuan Demon Venerable is also full of praise for you, and he entrusted me to hand an item over to you."
While speaking, the Heart Demon Old Man waved his hand, and the wailing sounds of hundreds of millions of celestial demons appeared within a demonic sphere. Fang Han looked and saw there were exactly four hundred and eighty million celestial demons inside.
Among them, there were countless demon kings and demon gods.
Especially since these celestial demons were different from ordinary ones; between their brows, there was a pitch-black, ancient, axe-shaped phantom, seemingly acting as a mark.
"Fang Han, these four hundred and eighty million celestial demons, do not look down on them. They are all Ancient Celestial Demons, the first generation of celestial demons manufactured by the God Race. Their power is the mightiest, serving as true machines of slaughter, plunder, and parasitism." The Heart Demon Old Man seemingly held some admiration and reluctance to part with the celestial demons inside this demonic sphere. But what kind of figure was he? Even for the most precious supreme treasure, he would still uphold his promise.
"Ancient Celestial Demons?" The Human Emperor Brush looked at these axe-shaped marks between their brows and could not help but nod: "Indeed they are Ancient Celestial Demons, only Ancient Celestial Demons possess the imprint of that artifact of fortune. These Ancient Celestial Demons possess inconceivable abilities. Whoever can rear a batch of them wields a deterrent force against any demon head. For Chiyuan Demon Venerable to actually give these Ancient Celestial Demons to you shows his favor towards you."
"Chiyuan Demon Venerable also praises young friend Fang Han endlessly." The Heart Demon Old Man smiled: "Human Emperor Brush, is your favor towards him not even greater? It seems you have recognized his potential and are plotting great matters once ascending to the Immortal Realm?"
"Indeed, our thoughts are exactly the same. The Immortal Realm is our ultimate battlefield." The Human Emperor Brush watched Fang Han collect the Ancient Celestial Demons into the Eight Divisions Stupa, crossing them over once more. Entwined in golden radiance, a smile emerged on his face: "Good, the Immortal Dao Convention will be held in a few more days. When that time comes, the Taiyi Sect will carry out a purge, and we will also make major moves. You should return to the Yuhua Sect first to prepare."
"Yes, Seniors." Fang Han replied while secretly crossing over the four hundred and eighty million Ancient Celestial Demons. "By the way, Senior Heart Demon, will Senior Chiyuan also join forces with you all this time?"
"One of his demonic techniques has not been cultivated to success yet. Once successfully cultivated, he can sweep across the human realm. But I think it should be soon, and he will appear during this tribulation." The Heart Demon Old Man's emerald green eyes flickered like ghost fire. "This tribulation, although dangerous, also offers numerous benefits. But speaking of coincidence, whether it is Linglong Immortal Venerable, the Human Emperor Brush, Chiyuan Demon Venerable, or myself, we are all able to unite solely because of you, this lad."
"Therefore, he is a person with great destiny." With a shift of his body, the Human Emperor Brush vanished into the underworld earth. The Heart Demon Old Man vanished simultaneously, leaving only a trace of words behind: "Fang Han, we cannot guard you. You must grow on your own. In the future, I hope you will be able to surpass us."
"I definitely will!" Fang Han said secretly.
"The power of these celestial demons is truly tyrannical!" The numerous figures crossing over the Ancient Celestial Demons inside the Eight Divisions Stupa all exclaimed in admiration, particularly Daoist Mu. They only saw that within the many spaces of the Eight Divisions Stupa, with every slight movement of an Ancient Celestial Demon, the axe mark between its brows would begin to vibrate. Shrouded completely in patches of pitch-black bone armor, the ancient war god aura of battle and slaughter manifested from the bodies of these Ancient Celestial Demons.
Ancient Celestial Demons, the first generation war machines of the God Race, manufactured personally by the Progenitor Holy King, possessing boundless might and innate tyranny.
Even the most ordinary Ancient Celestial Demon was more powerful than many demon kings. With slight crossing over, the pitch-black glow all over the bodies of these Ancient Celestial Demons turned into a dark gold color, akin to the Guardian Wisdom Kings in Buddhism.
Powerful willpower entwined itself outwards.
"By the way, Fang Han, during our very first time going to the Five Elements Land, the celestial demons slaughtered by those Taiyi Sect Golden Core disciples, Song Weiyi and Zhao Xuanyi, were not these kinds of Ancient Celestial Demons. If they had been these Ancient Celestial Demons, those Golden Core disciples would have died long ago." Yan suddenly said.
"Perhaps they were ordinary celestial demons. Senior Chiyuan Demon Venerable is hailed as the commander of four hundred and eighty million celestial demons, and they must certainly be Ancient Celestial Demons, while some of the other mundane celestial demons were not counted among them." Probing secretly, Fang Han discovered that among these Ancient Celestial Demons, there were three hundred and sixty thousand existences reaching the demon king level.
Demon kings at or above the Golden Core level numbered sixty thousand.
And there were eight hundred demon gods in the Longevity Realm. Among them, one demon god was actually a powerhouse in the Primordial Chaos Realm. This ancient celestial demon had ferocious bone spikes growing on top of its head, stood a thousand zhang tall, looking neither entirely human nor completely beast. It was actually even more powerful than True Lord Withered Glory, and even somewhat approached the Blissful Monk who cultivated the "Good and Evil Two Hearts Grand Buddha Dharma."
As for the rest, there was a total of two World King Realm demon gods.
The others were Heavenly Position Realm demon gods, Creation Realm demon gods, and far more Undying Body and Ten Thousand-Year Realm demon gods.
These demon gods were unimaginably more powerful than ordinary demon gods, being archaic with excessively long lifespans and extremely exuberant vitality. After Fang Han crossed them over, the Ancient Celestial Demons chanted Sanskrit in unison, Buddha light radiated out, and the willpower formed dragons, all sedimenting deep within the Eight Divisions Stupa, serving as the power for future elevation.
"These four hundred and eighty million Ancient Celestial Demons are vastly more powerful than the four billion celestial demons I originally had, and the willpower they generate is also significantly greater." Fang Han said secretly in his heart, "At the very least, they are equivalent to ten billion ordinary celestial demons."
"Now, do I continue searching for Su Xiuyi, or return to the Yuhua Sect?" While pondering and adjusting his power, he walked solitarily amidst the Ancient Underworld Earth.