It was clear now that Yu Tonghai's true purpose was to invite Jing Yi to join the Yu Huang Sect, though the actual goal was to secure the Six-Legged Saber-Chi for the sect's use.

"A great gift?" Teng Qingshan's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Yu Tonghai smiled, radiating confidence. "Brother Jing Yi must have heard of the 'Divine Armor.' You likely experienced its might when you fought the Iron Blind Man of Qinghu Island and Shen Gantu of She Ri Divine Mountain."

Teng Qingshan felt a stir in his heart.

Divine Armor?

Yu Tonghai continued, "Our Yu Huang Sect's Divine Armor is exceedingly rare. However, if Brother Jing Yi joins the Yu Huang Sect, even if it means other Supreme Elders in our sect go without a suit, we will ensure you possess one. With Divine Armor, battles between Void Realm experts become significantly safer."

"What exactly is Divine Armor?" Teng Qingshan suddenly asked.

Yu Tonghai paused, seemingly taken aback.

"Bro-Brother Jing Yi, you don't know?" Yu Tonghai appeared somewhat embarrassed.

Teng Qingshan nodded quite frankly. "Brother Yu, I belong to no faction and have never researched or investigated this Divine Armor. I truly don't know... I only know its defense is formidable."

"Oh." Yu Tonghai narrowed his eyes and nodded with a smile. "Brother Jing Yi, let me explain it this way. When a Void Realm expert achieves Great Completion, the next breakthrough leads to the Void Comprehension Realm. You must know this."

Teng Qingshan nodded.

"In the Void Comprehension Realm, one's body generates a 'Void,' where this void signifies the world itself. As the saying goes, taking the divine as the core, a void is born within the inner Mud Pill Palace. At that point, a Void Comprehension expert does not use the power of the Nine Provinces' heaven and earth. Instead, they use the power of their own world," Yu Tonghai chuckled.

Teng Qingshan felt a shift internally, engraving the words deeply in his memory.

His own world power?

Back in the underground water palace of Great Yan Mountain, the image left by Emperor Yu had mentioned that Void Comprehension experts generate a rudimentary 'World Heaven and Earth' within their bodies. The cultivation process for a Void Comprehension expert is the process of perfecting this 'World Heaven and Earth.' When one day, the 'World Heaven and Earth' within them can resist the oppression and expulsion of the Nine Provinces' landmass, the World Heaven and Earth will be perfected. That time marks the realm of the Ultimate Expert.

"Void Comprehension experts suffer the oppression of the Nine Provinces' landmass, yet they can wield their own world power," Yu Tonghai went on. "This world power possesses magical abilities. For instance, if one refines an armor piece over a long period—decades or even centuries—using this world power, that armor will become tens or hundreds of times harder than any mineral material found on the Nine Provinces."

Teng Qingshan secretly nodded in affirmation.

In fact, things like the stone carvings of the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting, the 'Immortal Jade Bi' left by Li Taibai, or the entire water palace left by Emperor Yu—these were all things they left casually, not having been meticulously refined. Yet, the carvings, the jade bi, and the water palace all possessed the ability to self-repair. And the Mountain Splitting Divine Axe, being Emperor Yu's personal weapon, was the epitome of hardness. Earlier, when Shen Gantu of She Ri Divine Mountain tried to kill him with the 'Void Breaking Arrow,' it was the face of the Mountain Splitting Divine Axe that squarely blocked it, yet the axe remained completely unharmed.

"The personal battle armor refined by Void Comprehension experts over decades or centuries using world power—that is the 'Divine Armor,'" Yu Tonghai explained. "The defensive power of this Divine Armor is astonishing. It is extremely difficult for an ordinary Void Realm expert to breach it, unless it is a relatively low-grade Divine Armor."

"Oh? A low-grade Divine Armor?" Teng Qingshan asked out of curiosity.

"Haha."

Yu Tonghai laughed heartily and enthusiastically. "Brother Jing Yi, the quality of Divine Armor is slightly related to its base material, but since it’s refined by a Void Comprehension expert, the armor material won't be poor to begin with. That factor isn't too significant. Second, it relates to the length of time the Divine Armor was refined. Refining it for a few decades versus two or three hundred years will naturally yield different results. Third, it relates to the strength of the Void Comprehension expert themselves. Strengths vary even among Void Comprehension experts—there are those newly entering the realm, and those at the peak, just a step away from the Ultimate Expert realm."

"For example, the Divine Armor left by the former King of the Northeast, 'Hong Tian' of Hongtian City—the Hong Tian Divine Armor—is counted among the very best Divine Armors," Yu Tonghai elaborated.

Teng Qingshan understood everything clearly now.

"Brother Yu, the Four Great Ultimate Experts must have also left behind Divine Armors, correct?" Teng Qingshan inquired.

Yu Tonghai frowned, feeling a slight displeasure internally. He thought, An Ultimate Expert's armor is something you are entitled to wear? Though annoyed, he still spoke, "Of course. The armor left by Ultimate Experts is not called Divine Armor; it's called 'Ultimate Divine Armor' or 'Ultimate Armor.' On the Nine Provinces, as far as I know, our Yu Huang Sect's founding ancestor, Emperor Yu, the Qinling Heavenly Emperor of the Ying Clan, and the Patriarch Shakyamuni of the Buddhist Sect should have left behind Ultimate Divine Armors. As for the Sword Immortal Li Taibai... Senior Li Taibai wandered without a fixed abode and has no successor. Over the years, we haven't heard of any Ultimate Divine Armor of his being passed down."

"Divine Armor is certainly a treasure, but what about the weapons of Void Comprehension experts?" Teng Qingshan asked. "A weapon refined by a Void Comprehension expert over a century using world power should also be a treasure, right?"

"What use are weapons?"

Yu Tonghai shook his head. "Swords, sabers, spears, staves—as long as they can channel the attack power of a Void Realm expert, that's enough. To a child, is there a difference between an ordinary iron saber and an iron saber forged from profound iron?"

Teng Qingshan simply smiled.

Weapons only needed to withstand the user's maximum exertion; even better materials couldn't increase attack power. This was why the weapons of Void Comprehension and Ultimate Experts hadn't sparked widespread competition across the world. Of course—they still held immense commemorative value.

Yu Tonghai and Teng Qingshan chatted for a long time, until Yu Tonghai could no longer hold back. "Brother Jing Yi, you have seen the sincerity of my Yu Huang Sect. Now, it is your turn to speak... Are you willing to join us? Rest assured, I know your wife is the Saintess of the Snow Lotus Sect of the Heavenly God Palace. Our Yu Huang Sect will not put you in a difficult position; we absolutely will not ask you to move against the Heavenly God Palace in the future."

"Brother Yu."

Teng Qingshan apologized, "The Yu Huang Sect is the most ancient sect in the Nine Provinces. If I wished to join a faction, I would likely choose yours. However, I am accustomed to a free and easy life, and for now, I truly do not wish to join any sect. I apologize for making Brother Yu's trip fruitless..."

Whoosh!

Yu Tonghai immediately stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Very well, Brother Jing Yi, no need to say more, I understand. Whenever you decide you wish to join the Yu Huang Sect, just come to Yu City."

"I certainly will," Teng Qingshan stood up as well.

Yu Tonghai promptly left the pavilion, transforming into a streak of green light and soaring toward the sky, quickly vanishing beyond the range of Teng Qingshan's domain.

...

High in the air, small eyes beneath Yu Tonghai’s bushy eyebrows flickered with cold light, and he cursed under his breath, "This Jing Yi really puts on airs. I was so polite, and he wouldn't give me any face, wasting so much of my breath talking for so long." With a flick of his sleeve, Yu Tonghai increased his speed and vanished toward the northwestern horizon.

"Inviting me to join the Yu Huang Sect?"

Teng Qingshan shook his head. How could he join another sect? These sects weren't places where one could simply join and then leave at will. Joining just to trick them out of a Divine Armor and then defecting? The Yu Huang Sect would probably go mad and hunt him across the entire world. They would use every means necessary against traitors. Of course, Teng Qingshan’s defection from the Guiyuan Sect back then was a different story; everyone understood the circumstances, and even many within the Guiyuan Sect still took pride in Teng Qingshan.

"Divine Armor..."

"If I truly had a set of Divine Armor, fighting a Void Realm expert..." Thinking of that scene made Teng Qingshan anticipate it greatly.

Unfortunately, Divine Armor was too scarce; even the most ancient Yu Huang Sect couldn't claim to outfit all their Void Realm experts with it.

Just then—

"Hmm? Tie Pan? 'Tie Pan' of Qinghu Island? He is the Island Master of Qinghu Island; how dare he come to my Yi City? Isn't he afraid I'll kill him?" Teng Qingshan felt puzzled. He clearly detected in his domain that outside Yi City, on the official road, Tie Pan was riding a high-quality warhorse alone toward the city gate.

...

Tie Pan's golden hair was quite famous. On the Nine Provinces, he was known as the 'Golden-Haired Lion,' Tie Pan. Yet, today, Tie Pan had cut his golden hair short, leaving only three inches. Moreover, he wore a hat that completely concealed any sign of his golden locks from a surface glance.

After entering Yi City, Tie Pan skillfully led his warhorse straight to the front of Teng Qingshan's residence.

"Who goes there," the mansion guard challenged.

"This is my calling card. Please relay it; I wish to meet Senior Jing Yi," Tie Pan said, taking a prepared card from his inner robe. A bank note was also tucked onto the card.

The guard's eyes lit up upon seeing the note. He accepted it with a smile. "Ah, wait a moment, I'll take your card inside. But... many people wish to see Senior Jing Yi. I can't guarantee Senior Jing Yi will see you," the guard said, adding a few extra words out of deference to the bank note.

Immediately, the guard exchanged a meaningful look with another guard nearby before rushing into the residence.

In the inner courtyard.

"Master, Master," Teng Shou ran in.

Teng Qingshan tossed his Reincarnation Spear aside, where it stuck into a nearby weapon rack.

"Master, do you know who has come?" Teng Shou asked, holding up a calling card with a smile.

"The Island Master of Qinghu Island, 'Tie Pan,' right?" Teng Qingshan walked over, smiling. Teng Shou paused upon hearing this. "I forgot Master can sense things thirty-four li around."

"Let him in. I'd like to see what the Island Master of Qinghu Island wants here," Teng Qingshan instructed.

"Yes, sir."

Teng Shou ran out.

Teng Qingshan walked over and sat beneath the pavilion, pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a leisurely sip. At this moment, Tie Pan appeared at the entrance of the inner courtyard. Tie Pan had removed his hat, and his short, cropped golden hair gave him a somewhat fierce appearance, but his gait was cautious; he dared not walk with the imposing stride he used on Qinghu Island.

"Tie Pan pays respects to Senior Jing Yi," Tie Pan stood outside the pavilion and bowed respectfully. Internally, Tie Pan was deeply anxious.

Teng Qingshan, holding his teacup, glanced over, his gaze suddenly turning cold. He spoke in a sharp tone, "Tie Pan, you have significant nerve, daring to come here alone. What, do you think I respect my status too much to kill you?"