"Fang Han, oh Fang Han, no matter how sly as a ghost or cunning as a fox you are, you still cannot outsmart an experienced hunter. My, Taihuang Tian's, cultivation has already spanned over a hundred thousand years. The storms I have witnessed are innumerable. Everything about you falls within my calculations. Did you think I was unaware of the affairs you conducted outside? Then you heavily underestimated me."
With the grand momentum in his grasp, Taihuang Tian's Daoist robes fluttered loudly. Like an ancient sovereign, he stood in the void, his gaze like lightning piercing the firmament. With a casual twist, the laws of the Heavenly Dao operated according to his heart's desires.
"In the Great Cultivation World and the numerous great worlds, there are friends of mine. My intelligence spans the universe. However, today so many fellow Daoists have come to make trouble for you and want to kill you, strictly because you brought this upon yourself through your own sins; you cannot live. While outside, you burned, killed, and plundered, thinking you could roam free and unfettered. But you have committed too many killings, and ultimately one day, retribution will find you. These are all karmic debts you brought upon yourself."
"Fang Han, what else do you have to say now? You have made the entire world your enemy." Taihe Tian yelled.
"There is no way out. All your killings will receive retribution today." Taixu Tian let out a gloomy sneer: "We absolutely will not underestimate you, Fang Han. Although you are a minor figure, to have grown to this stage today, we are not fools. We also know that you have immense fate shielding you, able to turn misfortune into blessings no matter what, and obtaining massive benefits. However, what our Taiyi Sect upbears is the fate of the Immortal Realm. How can a puny individual like you contend?"
"Fang Han, you are quite a character. If our Taiyi Sect had a disciple like you, you would probably accomplish something in the Immortal Realm in the future. Unfortunately, those whose Dao differ cannot make plans together." Taihun Tian stared fixedly at Fang Han, as if looking at a dead fish, yet laced with a trace of a sigh, "Today, we have been laying out this setup for a very, very long time. In this game of chess, you have lost."
In this game of chess, you have lost!
When the Supreme Headmaster of the Taiyi Sect, Taihun Tian, uttered these words, it was tantamount to a final verdict—Fang Han was definitely going to die.
During this Immortal Dao Assembly held by the Taiyi Sect, no one had expected that the Taiyi Sect's Taihuang Tian would actually manage to invite so many figures, all of whom harbored deep-seated hatred and grudges against Fang Han.
Of course, the main reason was still that Fang Han had made too many enemies. He actually dared to exterminate the sons of many major figures, provoking a collective attack against himself.
Naturally, without killing the sons of those major figures, Fang Han's cultivation wouldn't have reached its current stage. It can be said that everything has its cause and effect; every peck and every drink are bound within it.
"Jian Shiwu, Jian Wudi, Jian Shisan, and the entire Tongtian Sword Sect from top to bottom, it is not too late to pull back your horse at the edge of the cliff now. Now I, Taihuang Tian, in my capacity as the highest supreme elder of the Taiyi Sect and a Heavenly Immortal, make you a promise. If you announce right now your withdrawal from the Creation Gate and draw a clear line with Fang Han, all past matters will be forgiven and forgotten. You will still remain one of the Ten Great Sects of the Immortal Dao, and the disciples of my Taiyi Sect from top to bottom will absolutely not make things difficult for you in the slightest. If not, then today, I fear the entire orthodox lineage of the Tongtian Sword Sect is going to vanish."
Seeing that many of Fang Han's enemies were itching to make a move, wanting to deal the killing blow immediately and triggering a chaotic fray, Taihuang Tian at once shocked his whole body, releasing his aura to seize control of the entire arena. He had lain dormant without revealing his hand; others had always believed his cultivation to be that of a True Immortal, yet unexpectedly he had cultivated to become a Heavenly Immortal. This sudden burst of power controlled the entire scene. Many who were itching to strike at Fang Han also halted, waiting to see how Taihuang Tian would act.
"What should we do?"
Taihuang Tian's psychological offensive this time was indeed formidable. Immediately, the people of the Tongtian Sword Sect began to waver. There was no help for it; the current situation was indeed perilous, besieged on all sides. A slight misstep in taking sides would result in the extermination of the sect, a matter of life and death, and tens of thousands of years of inheritance destroyed in a single day.
Right away, many elders, supreme elders, including true inherited disciples, had already mentally wavered.
"Taihuang Tian, what kind of people do you take our Tongtian Sword Sect for?" Jian Shiwu suddenly spoke up, "What our Tongtian Sword Sect cultivates is the ancient Sword Dao. Righteous and unyielding spirit serves as our standard. Our Dao may perish, our bodies may fade, but our righteous and unyielding spirit cannot be broken! All disciples and elders of the Tongtian Sword Sect, heed my command! We have already united with the Creation Gate, so we will carry it through to the end, walking down this path into the dark. Even if it is a dead end, we will not look back. My Tongtian Sword Sect is absolutely not a bunch of capricious, petty men. Sword intent piercing the heavens!"
"Sword intent piercing the heavens!"
"Sword intent piercing the heavens!"
All the disciples of the Tongtian Sword Sect, suddenly roused to boiling blood by the words of Sect Master Jian Shiwu, roared together in unison. Their aura, like a sword, pressed upwards into the firmament.
The will of everyone in the entire Tongtian Sword Sect condensed into a whole, like a precious sword cleaving the sky. This aura even infected the people of the other sects. Never had such cohesiveness manifested in a single sect before.
"This is the true conceptual realm of the Sword Dao. To think the Tongtian Sword Sect could actually attain it. If the Tongtian Sword Sect is not exterminated this time, their overall strength will ascend to another level, truly surpassing our Cauldron Sword Sect and Sun Moon Sword Sect. This is cohesiveness. This is the quintessence of the Sword Dao. If the Tongtian Sword Sect withdrew from the Creation Gate and drew a clear line with Fang Han, that Sword Dao spirit would be entirely destroyed, and the sect would exist in name only. From then on, they would not be able to hold their heads up among the Immortal Dao. But this gamble is betting the lives of the entire sect upon it."
The experts and sect masters of the Sun Moon Sword Sect and Cauldron Sword Sect all sighed in secret, their hearts filled with all sorts of feelings, unable to contain themselves. However, they still held back from sticking their necks out. Under these circumstances, sticking their necks out meant certain death, and the entire sect would be annihilated. They could only quietly observe from the sidelines, playing safe to protect themselves.
"Good! Good! Good! Sword intent piercing the heavens!" Seeing Jian Shiwu state his position, Fang Han suddenly let out a long howl at the heavens: "The Tongtian Sword Sect does not betray my Fang Han, and my Fang Han will absolutely not betray the Tongtian Sword Sect. As long as I slaughter my way out this time and escape with my life, I will definitely make the Tongtian Sword Sect stand at the pinnacle amongst hundreds of millions of sword cultivation sects, becoming the one and only of all swords, the foremost of Heaven and Earth Sword Immortals. Once these words are spoken, the ghosts and gods of Heaven and Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and the masses of stars, can all stand as witness."
"Hmph! Such a boastful tone. Whether you live or die today is a question, yet you actually dare to make the Tongtian Sword Sect become the foremost of hundreds of millions of sword cultivation sects? Truly shamelessly boasting, blowing your own trumpet right at death's door. I'll just see if you can break your way out after all."
Void Immortal "Qi True Monarch"'s eyes flickered, and grabbing forward, he prepared to strike instantly.
"Qi True Monarch, your son is still in my hands. Do you not care about his life or death?"
Fang Han suddenly said.
"Hmph! What does the death of a single son mean? I have tens of thousands of sons. Even if Qi Minghao is from the Great Yi Sect, but Fang Han, I obtained the condensation method of your precious item, gathered materials, and it has already formed into a prototype. Once the precious item advances, I myself will also reach the True Immortal realm. I might even advance by leaps and bounds all the way to enter the Heavenly Immortal rank. When that time comes, the Great Yi Sect will have to revere me. What's more, my current status within the Great Yi Sect is already tremendously high. Therefore, go ahead and kill Qi Minghao. It has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
Qi True Monarch's eyes flickered, speaking toughly, but there was still a hint of reluctance to act lest he damage his own interests.
"Ha, Qi True Monarch, you speak tough, but you are still reluctant to part with your son." The merchant chamber master of the Heaven and Earth Guild, Qi True King, laughed: "My legitimate son, Qi Shaowei, was painstakingly fostered by me for many years. I have wasted who knows how much heart's blood on him to get him to the World King Realm. However, today, no one can use my son's life to threaten me. We cultivators live long lives. With ample benefits, anything can be fostered anew. Fang Han, therefore you'd better not say a word either."
"So to say, this time, you are all bent on putting me to death? Regardless of the cost?" Fang Han stood firm, majestic and awe-inspiring. Amidst adversity, he still talked and laughed merrily, making others feel a powerful confidence. Even many rogue cultivators seeing his poise were convinced.
"Do you know, even if you encircle and kill me at any cost, how many of you will have to die? Perhaps, even Void Immortals will fall. Every single one of you, even including you, Taihuang Tian, faces the danger of falling. Do you know that? I, Fang Han, stand right here and let you come to kill, but you also have to weigh it for yourselves: do you have the courage to burn your boats and fight a bloody battle to the very end!"
"A bloody battle to the very end!"
Feng Baiyu stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across, his aura actually not weaker than Fang Han's: "After this battle, who knows how many will be left of the Immortal Dao in the Xuanhuang Great World."
"Shamelessly boasting! Not a single one of us will die. Just with your puny Yuhua Sect, Qunxing Sect, and Tongtian Sword Sect, you want the fish to die and the net to break? Such a pity, my Taiyi Sect has laid an inescapable net today. No matter how big your fish is, our net will not break." Taihuang Tian laughed. In his laughter, there was matchless confidence. Suddenly, a grand banner flew out from his body. This grand banner was embroidered with the form of the Disaster Heavenly Monarch. Furthermore, surrounding the Disaster Heavenly Monarch were thousands upon thousands of tiny figures; all of them were immortals, praying around the Disaster Heavenly Monarch.
As soon as this grand banner appeared, an intense aura of Immortal Dao laws began to warp all rules. Almost everyone present felt that their spatial, temporal, Creation, Heaven Position, World, Chaos Cave, and even Void Immortal laws, were extensively suppressed and restrained, making it difficult to even release them.
This grand banner had completely transcended the scope of supreme Dao artifacts. It even exceeded ancient supreme Dao artifacts that had passed the lightning tribulation. It already possessed genuine Immortal Dao laws, otherwise it would not be able to warp the various rules.
"Immortal Dao laws, an immortal artifact?"
Fang Han was profoundly shocked in his heart. He did not expect that besides the Eternal Divine Furnace, the Yuhua Sect actually possessed another immortal artifact. In that case, he truly could not even make the fish die and the net break.
"No, Fang Han, it's not an immortal artifact either. This is a semi-immortal artifact, its Immortal Dao laws are incomplete. It falls far short of a true immortal artifact. It's not even a low-grade immortal artifact." Feng Baiyu immediately transmitted a divine sense over: "This ancient grand banner is called the Apocalyptic Doom Battle Banner. It is a protective treasure from a very ancient era of the Taiyi Sect, and was a supreme Dao artifact. Now that it has unexpectedly advanced to a semi-immortal artifact, it is quite formidable too."
"Disciples of all sects, heed my command at once, enter the magic treasure and take your positions! Prepare to slaughter our way out of the encirclement."
Without a second thought, Fang Han used powerful vital energy and divine senses to directly protect all the disciples of the Yuhua Sect, Qunxing Sect, and Tongtian Sword Sect inside.
Right at this moment, Taihuang Tian's voice passed down: "Fellow Daoists, attack together and obliterate the devil."
That Apocalyptic Doom Battle Banner shrouded downward, warping all rules.