A deathly silence descended upon the entire venue... Even Ai Wenbin and Li Mingxuan atop the high platform showed a flicker of emotion at this moment.

To turn a hand over and create clouds, to turn it back and summon rain—it was nothing more than this. It felt as if an instant had passed, yet it could have been a thousand years; no one knew who uttered the first cheer, and then a wave of fervent acclamation swept through every corner of the main peak.

Although they couldn't comprehend how He Yiming’s hand, no bigger than it was, could smash the entire Fox Bear spirit beast and Xiong Wudi into the ground, this did not stop them from cheering. Suddenly, a figure shot up from the crater.

Although his clothes were somewhat tattered, judging by his movements, he seemed to have sustained no serious injury, or perhaps, no injury at all. Then, the ground trembled faintly, and the massive Fox Bear spirit beast slowly began to rise.

The crowd’s cheers gradually subsided as they perceived that the Fox Bear spirit beast’s movements were far slower than before. Beneath that earth-shattering strike, it was clearly quite wounded.

Moreover, its four limbs were bent at extremely grotesque angles. Any person with a discerning eye could see that all four of its limbs were completely broken.

He Yiming’s single flip of his hand had forcefully shattered its two front claws; as for why its hind legs were also broken, one only needed to look at Xiong Wuji, who stood almost unscathed behind it, to imagine the reason. This Fox Bear spirit beast had chosen to have all four limbs snapped rather than transmit the force onto Xiong Wuji.

At this moment, anyone who could grasp the subtlety of this act felt a surge of profound emotion. Though the Totem Clan was their formidable enemy, the bond between the Totem Clan and their spirit beasts was truly one of sharing life and death.

Xiong Wudi flashed forward, standing before the Fox Bear spirit beast, and swiftly pulled out a semi-transparent stone vial from his person. Within this vial, there was a single drop of brilliant crimson **.

Even through the glass of the vial, keen eyes could vaguely discern that this drop of ** seemed to be flowing at an exceedingly slow pace. This manner of movement was not governed by Xiong Wudi’s swaying, but followed a fixed, unique trajectory of its own slow circulation.

A feeling seemed to settle in everyone’s hearts, as if this single drop of ** were itself a unique form of life. The well-informed Ai Wenbin and Li Mingxuan both changed expressions.

They exchanged a glance, finally abandoning the thought of making a move to snatch it. However, anything that could move them to such an extent, and inspire the desire to seize it, must have unimaginable value.

Xiong Wudi opened the lid of the stone vial and poured the crimson ** inside directly into the Fox Bear spirit beast’s mouth without the slightest reservation. He completed all this with lightning speed, only then letting out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, He Yiming stood not far in front of him, quietly observing his own hands. He paid no heed to the devastating results he had wrought, nor the thunderous cheers echoing from all around.

He appeared still steeped in a world entirely his own, as if that phantom-like, heaven-overturning palm strike had nothing to do with him. Xiong Wudi hesitated; he seemed to want to strike back in retaliation, but the moment he recalled the sheer power of that previous palm strike, his courage faltered.

Without the aid of the Fox Bear spirit beast, he lacked the nerve to directly confront He Yiming. This starkly contrasted with the audacity he had displayed earlier, when he and the beast ascended the mountain alone, speaking confidently before the two Summit Venerables.

He Yiming’s inhuman palm strike had not only injured the giant bear but had also shattered Xiong Wudi’s mettle. “Sssshhh…” A strange sound emanated from behind Xiong Wudi.

To everyone’s astonished and disbelieving gaze, the Fox Bear spirit beast, with its four broken limbs, staggered to its feet. It shook its thick appendages; each tremor seemed painfully strenuous, as if enduring immense agony.

Yet, with every subsequent shake, its limbs began to heal rapidly. In mere moments, when it raised its head again and let out a roar filled with fury, the injuries on its body had completely vanished in a remarkably mysterious fashion.

“Kirin Blood…” Ai Wenbin murmured, “It is indeed Kirin Blood. I never thought the legendary Kirin truly existed.” “Not necessarily existent,” Li Mingxuan replied grimly beside him.

“Since the divine path vanished, the legendary divine beasts have also disappeared without a trace.” Ai Wenbin frowned. “What else, aside from Kirin Blood, could possess such miraculous efficacy?” Li Mingxuan chuckled, “Which divine beast blood doesn't possess similar effects?” “They are the deep mountain Totem Clan; they carry the Kirin bloodline,” Ai Wenbin said testily, then his eyes shifted.

“I understand now. This is the divine Kirin blood they stored previously.” Li Mingxuan nodded slightly.

“That must be it. But the fact that this little fellow also possesses divine blood indicates the Totem Clan held high hopes for him.” While the two spoke, they condensed their voices into a single, unbroken line; even Yuan Lixun and Jin Zhanyi standing beside them could not hear it.

However, the attention of these two was not on them, but fixed on every movement below. When the Fox Bear spirit beast fully recovered and stood upright, emitting a long howl filled with humiliation and rage, He Yiming finally raised his head.

As he lifted his head, the peculiar aura surrounding him instantly dissipated without a trace. He seemed to have finally emerged from that mystical state of unity between man and heaven.

Stepping out of that state was like descending from the clouds to the valleys, like transforming from a sage to a commoner; the awe-inspiring momentum that enveloped him vanished entirely. However, the image of invincibility he projected just moments before had left too deep an impression; even though the powerful aura had receded, no one dared to look down upon him in the slightest.

Even Yang Hao and Zhou Datian regarded him with a trace of reverence, as if they had mentally placed him on the same tier as the two top Summit Venerables, Ai Wenbin and Li Mingxuan. Looking at the enraged Fox Bear spirit beast and Xiong Wudi, who was tightly gripping one of the beast's arms, He Yiming suddenly offered a gentle smile and said sincerely, “Thank you.” The grimacing Fox Bear spirit beast froze instantly.

Its intelligence was no less than that of humans; aside from speech, its thoughts and actions were almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person. That He Yiming would thank it seemed even more surprising to the beast than the previous Heaven-Overturning Seal.

Xiong Wudi was clearly utterly bewildered. He asked suspiciously, “What are you thanking us for?” “If not for your esteemed presence, this humble one would not have been able to condense this third tangible flower.” With that, He Yiming placed his hands behind his back, opened his mouth, and exhaled a light breath.

As this breath escaped, the power of heaven and earth immediately began to condense violently toward this spot. When He Yiming finished exhaling, a yellow Earth Flower had appeared before him.

The Houtian practitioners below clicked their tongues in amazement. Most assumed He Yiming was merely trifling around, but only a small fraction’s eyes turned red with intense excitement.

The high platform, conversely, became unnaturally silent. Half a year ago, He Yiming fought Zhou Datian at the foot of the mountain, defeating the Three-Flower expert Zhou Datian with the power of his Wind and Fire twin flowers, thus becoming the undisputed foremost figure beneath the Venerables of Tianchi Mountain.

Even Ai Wenbin, who thought most highly of He Yiming, had once stated that it would be remarkable if he managed to condense his third tangible flower within ten years. Yet now, in just half a year, in the setting of this grand competition involving ten thousand people, he had achieved another sudden enlightenment—not only easily defeating the Totem Clan’s combined human-beast power but finally condensing the third Earth Flower.

Those who were deeply familiar with He Yiming’s history calculated inwardly: if he could defeat a Three-Flower expert when possessing only twin flowers, how terrifying would his power be when all three flowers gathered? As if to meet their unspoken wishes, He Yiming hesitated for a moment before breathing out again.

The Wind and Fire flowers jetted from his mouth and began to whirl around the Earth Flower. A moment later, He Yiming gave a soft cry, and the twin Wind and Fire flowers burst forth with a crisp popping sound, shattering.

Subsequently, a massive influx of foreign energies poured into the Earth Flower, and slowly, the earthy yellow flower began to glow vividly. It shifted from earthy yellow to golden yellow, becoming brighter and brighter, until it finally resembled a golden flower forged entirely of pure gold.

When Xiong Wudi and the Fox Bear spirit beast exerted their full power, the Earth force they manifested was also golden yellow. But that golden hue was far less brilliant than the one displayed now.

If the two were compared, one was solid, refined gold; the other could only be described as scattered nuggets of gold. Furthermore, as the Earth Flower of such color manifested, a powerful, suppressive binding force descended from the air.

This force was not merely top-down but converged from all directions. Centering on the golden-yellow Earth Flower, a formidable confinement circle was formed, causing even Xiong Wudi and the Fox Bear spirit beast to tremble slightly.

In the eyes of both man and beast, there was a trace of bewilderment and fear. This peculiar sensation seemed to be something only felt in the presence of an Earth-element Venerable.

Could it be that the He Yiming before them had already reached the level of a Venerable? Yet, from any angle, he did not appear to be a true Venerable who had successfully achieved Summit Consolidation.

Still, looking at the slowly rotating Earth Flower radiating immense power before He Yiming, a single thought arose simultaneously in everyone’s mind. This strange, golden-yellow Earth Flower was likely the most powerful single-element flower in history.