Streams of peculiar energy gathered from all directions, swirling around his hands. The immense power of heaven and earth within that radius pulsed, undergoing intense and extreme transformations.

Around He Yiming’s palms, clusters of white mist began to materialize. Initially faint, almost invisible, these mists soon expanded, thickening rapidly until they obscured whatever lay within their density.

One blink, a second blink…

By the fifth blink, the area surrounding the hand He Yiming held outstretched was completely shrouded by thick vapor, concealing his palm entirely.

A flicker of excitement danced in He Yiming’s eyes. He had performed a similar feat on the main peak of Tianchi Mountain, but the environment here was vastly different—in fact, incomparable. While gathering mist there had been easy, doing so on this starlit night increased the difficulty a thousandfold.

Drawing a deep breath, He Yiming waved his hand, and the surrounding mist instantly dissipated without a trace.

He Yiming gazed silently at his palm, replaying everything that had just occurred. Vaguely, he sensed an enlightenment dawning. Though this understanding was insufficient to manifest the Cloud Mist Flower, it was undeniable that his comprehension of mist and fog had undergone a sea change.

Glancing around, he felt profound satisfaction with his performance. Although he had utilized the power of mist and fog, due to the unique nature of these two forces, he had not alerted anyone, including Jin Zhanyi and Zhang Zhongjin residing in the adjacent building within the same courtyard.

If nothing else, this level of mastery over mist alone was enough to be considered astonishing.

Of course, among all power systems, perhaps only these two forces could achieve such a degree of concealment. Moreover, it was only through their precise intermingling that such incredible utility could be realized. If only one force were used, or any other elemental power substituted, the inevitable result would be an immediate, drastic upheaval in the surrounding vital energy—a disturbance no expert at the Xiantian realm could ever conceal.

With a shift in thought, a thread of the same energy rose around him. As this energy intensified, the previous scene manifested again; however, this time, it enveloped not just a hand, but his entire person.

Then, applying slight pressure with his feet, he shot forward like a nimble fox.

Without disturbing anyone, he instantly slipped out of the General’s Estate and was outside the city walls within mere breaths. During this transit, his body was cloaked in a faint, ethereal mist that seemed alive. Drifting through the brightly moonlit night, it imparted a hazy, almost spectral quality. Never mind that He Yiming’s movement was as swift as lightning and utterly unseen; even if someone had accidentally glimpsed him, they would have dismissed it as nothing more than a passing cloud of vapor.

Soon, he arrived at a small copse of woods nearly ten li away. The growth here was not dense, but it was the only patch of woodland He Yiming had noted since arriving with the convoy.

Once inside the woods, He Yiming’s boldness surged. He released his control over the power, allowing the potent, strange energy to radiate from his body, swiftly integrating with the ambient Heaven and Earth energy.

The power of cloud and fog manifested with seemingly endless vigor, its efficacy far exceeding He Yiming’s expectations. Not only that, but he could distinctly sense that this small forest seemed to react to his power with intense pleasure. A seemingly impossible notion surfaced in his mind: he felt as if he could converse with the trees in the grove...

Shaking his head, he cast that utterly impossible thought aside. Man is man, tree is tree—two entirely distinct forms of life; how could communication or dialogue occur? Nevertheless, under the influence of the Heaven and Earth energy, it seemed a form of energetic exchange was possible between man and tree.

Moments later, both inside and outside the copse, the world became a dominion of mist. No matter how bright the stellar canopy above, the fog remained so dense that one could not see one's hand before one’s face. He Yiming stood at the heart of this vaporous realm, his spirit swelling with pride.

The might of cloud and fog surpassed his wildest imagination. While these two forces were sorely lacking in direct offensive capabilities—vastly inferior to the power of the Five Elements—they possessed an innate, unparalleled genius for coalescing vital energy to form large-scale concealment. This too was a realm the Five Elements could not touch.

At this juncture, He Yiming’s perspective on the capabilities of different power systems shifted dramatically. The apex of each force manifested in fundamentally different ways. True mastery required maximizing strengths while mitigating weaknesses, pushing a specific energy system to its absolute limit. Since cloud and fog could not deliver the decisive blow in fierce combat, where lay their true advantage?

This question circled in He Yiming’s mind for a long time until his eyes suddenly brightened. He opened the spatial dimension of his silver ring and retrieved the technique manual on illusionary arts he had acquired from Sima Yin.

This manual detailed countless Five Elements Evasion Techniques. Naturally, these were not the supreme powers possessed only by Five Elements Venerables, such as techniques for tunneling through earth or walking on fire, but merely methods to create visual obstruction using the Five Elements energy. Though the five elements differed, proper application could yield unexpectedly potent results. Logically, these Five Elements illusions were far inferior to the miraculous effects achieved by truly mastering the Five Elements Flower. While they often worked wonders against lower-tier experts, capable even of rendering the user invisible, they became utterly useless—mere chicken ribs—against Venerable-level powerhouses.

Yet, as He Yiming reopened the manual and executed the techniques once more, an entirely different effect bloomed. Although he used the same methods, he was not employing the Five Elements, but illusions based on the power of cloud and fog. Since cloud and fog were distinct from the Five Elements, applying these evasions should have been mismatched.

But under He Yiming’s command, these techniques seemed to spring to life, executed with vivid realism. The inherent nature of cloud and fog was concealment and obscuration, but when He Yiming infused them with the structure of illusionary skills, the power morphed into a capacity for transformation. While this ability still fell short of the realm of shaping the intangible into the tangible, He Yiming believed that with proper application, it could serve as the crucial finishing touch. Furthermore, he sensed that when illusionary skills coupled with cloud and fog power, an even greater effect emerged: a bolstering of offensive feints. Though the resulting strikes were insubstantial, the mere adoption of the stance, amplified by the powerful illusionary effects, could sow deep doubt in an opponent, hindering their maximum resistance.

Within the dense fog of the woods, a figure moved with practiced agility. Despite the bizarre, sightless environment, this silhouette navigated as if the entire forest were laid bare before him; no matter how quickly he moved, he avoided every branch. Simultaneously, within the thick vapor, dazzling flashes of golden light erupted intermittently, exuding scorching heat, followed by the sound of titanic waves crashing... It seemed as if countless ages of transformation were unfolding within the fog-shrouded grove.

A traveling merchant caravan approached from afar. They too were heading from the Northwest, aiming for Great Shen. Having missed their intended stopping point for the day and fearing highwaymen, they pressed on into the night. Upon reaching this area, they witnessed the unbelievable phenomena occurring within the small forest. Although the caravan included post-natal experts skilled in inner force cultivation, any human beholding such miraculous changes induced by Heaven and Earth energy would feel their hearts freeze with terror. Especially the sudden, enveloping fog, and the spectral, phantom shapes emitting from within it, were enough to drive any sane person mad.

After pausing for a few stunned moments several li from the woods, the merchants let out a unified cry and bolted toward the nearby city. From that day forward, the small copse earned a notorious reputation, whispered about everywhere. Not only did travelers dare not approach, but even the arrogant, unchecked horse bandits avoided entering the area.

When the merchants collapsed in panicked flight, He Yiming was jolted back from his profound state. He glanced at the sky. Though he hadn't finished his practice, he had no choice but to cease his cultivation. He recalled his scattered vital energy and left the copse.

However, the moment he departed, he was struck by a startling discovery: the small forest remained entirely enveloped by the unending mist. The cloud and fog energy, drawn in by his true qi, had not dissipated upon the withdrawal of his cultivation; it still permeated the entire grove. He Yiming gasped in astonishment, muttering sounds of wonder. Some outcomes, no matter how thoroughly one theorizes beforehand, cannot be truly determined until put into practice. Practice alone grants the ultimate authority.

He Yiming shook his head. He had no idea how to dispel the fog now blanketing the area, so he left it be. Yet, upon returning to his lodgings, he suddenly recalled the strange mists that perpetually shrouded the main peak of Tianchi. A sharp intake of breath followed: were those mists naturally occurring, or had they, too, been attracted there by some force?