His proposal was certainly tempting, yet deploying it during the decisive battle—who knew if it would succeed? If executed flawlessly, it would be a universal triumph; but if abandoned midway, he would become a complete laughingstock.
Seeing He Yiming remain silent, Jin Zhanyi gently shook his head. “Brother He, you have cultivated in isolation for so long. Have you made any progress?”
He Yiming shook his head mournfully. “Difficult.”
That single word seemed to encompass all the bitter hardships of martial cultivation, and perhaps it resonated with a chord in Jin Zhanyi’s own heart, for the same expression crossed his features.
“Martial Dao cultivation is like rowing upstream; if one cannot secure continuous breakthroughs, they are bound to regress, eventually losing everything,” Jin Zhanyi’s voice was solid as a mountain. “Brother He, you and I are not the sort born to enjoy ease. Only in the most intense combat can true breakthroughs be achieved. My proposal seems perilous, but only by such means can we maximize our potential and leap over this most crucial hurdle.”
He Yiming opened his mouth to reply, but ultimately no sound escaped.
Jin Zhanyi sighed deeply. “Brother He, you are an outstanding cultivator on the Martial Dao; you must surely understand the sorrow of being unable to take that final step across the threshold.”
He Yiming blinked, glancing at him.
This ‘final step across the threshold’ that Jin Zhanyi spoke of was something he deeply comprehended.
When one tier of cultivation reaches its absolute limit, a specific sensation of imminent breakthrough arises. This feeling grips the cultivator’s heart, imbuing them with infinite hope. However, actually passing through that barrier becomes an almost impossible fantasy.
In every realm, vast numbers of practitioners become trapped precisely at that final step.
They stagnate at the peak of a certain tier, unable to advance smoothly no matter how hard they try.
After his fortuitous encounter at the bottom of the lake, He Yiming had swept past obstacles one after another, causing this sensation to become distant. Even when facing true barriers, he could usually surmount them within a few months.
But others were not so fortunate. Even Jin Zhanyi, heralded by the Great Shen Dynasty as one of the fastest cultivators in history, lingered before the barrier, perpetually unable to take that final step.
Jin Zhanyi continued, “While engaging the Qilian Twin Devils carries a degree of danger, it is also simultaneously one of our greatest opportunities. If we wish to break through here, it must be by shattering their strongest strike. If we lack the confidence to achieve even that, we have no business entering the fray.”
His words were filled with sincerity, and his gaze was perfectly clear. His assessment was piercingly accurate.
He Yiming finally exhaled a breath. “Since Brother Jin has proposed this, this humble junior will comply.”
Joy instantly flooded Jin Zhanyi’s eyes, undisguised. He clapped He Yiming heavily on the shoulder. “I knew Brother He would agree! May this battle grant you success in condensing the Flower of Gold and achieving the Summit sooner.”
He Yiming smiled faintly. “Thank you for your kind words.” Then, he looked at Jin Zhanyi with a half-smile. “Brother Jin seems quite expectant about this battle yourself. Perhaps you place your hopes for reaching the Summit upon it?”
Jin Zhanyi chuckled wryly, offering no verbal reply, but his silence confirmed the assumption.
After a long pause, Jin Zhanyi departed with a flourish, leaving He Yiming immersed in thought.
His constitution was entirely different from ordinary men; even someone like Jin Zhanyi, having reached He Yiming’s current stage, could not claim certainty in condensing the Flower of Gold. Yet, He Yiming had never harbored such anxiety.
Though he had failed countless times, he possessed an innate feeling that every attempt added another piece of leverage to his mastery over the power of Gold.
He vaguely sensed that his inability to break through stemmed from not yet reaching the absolute pinnacle of this current tier.
If given more time to practice, moving systematically from the first move through to the twenty-third, the cyclical practice would inevitably lead to a natural culmination.
However, this methodical approach demanded a significant expenditure of time.
Perhaps a year, perhaps two, or even longer—such placid cultivation was ill-suited for He Yiming, bound by the twenty-year covenant.
He turned to look in the direction Jin Zhanyi had gone, his fists slowly clenching. Since Jin Zhanyi was willing to play this game with him, what harm was there in taking a risk? After all, possessing the Earth-Drilling Technique placed him in an invincible position; he certainly wouldn't die on the stage.
Slowly, the surging emotions subsided. He Yiming placed the sphere, its high temperature having dissipated, back onto the table.
Jin Zhanyi had noticed the sphere in He Yiming’s hand but asked nothing, as he could not see through it nor could he ever guess its true purpose.
Applying slight force, driven by powerful True Qi of Gold, the sphere slowly warped, eventually reshaping itself into the form of a book.
Once transformed, the object shimmered with a crystalline, faint radiance. When the light faded, the Mixed Secret Manual reappeared before him.
He Yiming took the manual into his hands, a sudden thread of confusion weaving through his mind.
Gently tapping the manual, he suddenly asked, “Brother Bai, where does the space within this manual originate, and how does it differ from the outside world?”
A faint, low voice echoed from the manual in his hands. “The Divine Dao Books all contain the power of space. However, the method of utilizing this spatial power is extremely ingenious, which is why I can only replicate it perfectly, but not improve or innovate upon it.”
A sharp glint flashed in He Yiming’s eyes as his other hand moved to his chest, where a Silver Ring of Space was strapped.
Although the space within the silver ring differed from that within the Divine Dao Book—one capable of storing objects, the other seeming purely a spiritual space—the two undeniably shared a common foundation: they both employed spatial power.
Vaguely, He Yiming seemed to grasp something.
He asked in a deep voice, “Bai Lingba, is mastery over spatial power exclusive to those of the Divine Dao?”
“Too little data to confirm,” Bai Lingba replied promptly.
He Yiming frowned deeply, shaking his head slightly. He half-closed his eyes, meticulously recalling every minute detail from that miraculous realm.
Although He Yiming knew perfectly well that the seemingly endless space described in the Divine Dao Book was illusory—merely a projection of his own mental imaginings—the crucial point was the intense sense of tangible reality that the space imparted.
Recalling his training there, it felt no different from the outside world; such a holy ground for cultivation was enough to make countless people drool.
With a shift in thought, he remembered Bai Lingba once saying the first owner of the cave abode was a Divine Dao practitioner. That venerable figure had appeared exceptionally weary after creating the Divine Dao Book, testifying to its preciousness; even someone of the Divine Dao could not forge one easily.
He channeled a thread of True Qi of Gold into it, and He Yiming re-entered that boundless space.
He slowly executed the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting within this space, each move deliberate and meticulous. Through ceaseless practice, his comprehension of this combat technique deepened. Yet, every time he reached the twenty-third move, that constricted, almost-there sensation would surge back, forcing him to abandon any thought of attempting the twenty-fourth.
This feeling of inadequacy caused him distress, but only distress—not a loss of confidence.
On the contrary, his assurance grew stronger, for he discovered that with repeated practice, his imposing aura intensified. Perhaps when his aura reached its zenith, the twenty-fourth move would finally manifest as desired.
Suddenly, a warning signal pierced his mind. He Yiming’s spirit sharpened. He vaguely felt this was not caused by someone approaching his location. He surveyed his surroundings, his expression shifting slightly; within this infinite space, for reasons unknown, minute fissures had appeared.
The cracks were not large, but they gave him an intense conviction that this was the repulsive force of space itself. To remain longer, he feared, would cause this space to collapse permanently.
He Yiming dared not delay and immediately retreated from the realm.
His gaze fell upon the manual. The somewhat metallic-hued book also bore a faint, obscure fissure. However, since this object was ultimately transformed by Bai Lingba, it began to automatically repair itself the moment He Yiming exited that state.
In a brief moment, the book returned to its original condition. Aside from the searing, burning sensation transmitted through his hand, everything appeared normal.
Frowning slightly, He Yiming inquired, “Brother Bai, why is the manual hot? Is the collapse of the internal space related to this?”
“The spiritual space within the manual was not intended for your use in cultivation. If you had used the original manual for training, it would have been ruined long ago.” Bai Lingba’s voice sounded, and although the tone remained flat, He Yiming seemed to detect a hint of complaint within it.
He Yiming suddenly realized the cause: he had practiced for too long.
But this revelation also clarified something else: why the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, despite possessing the Divine Dao Book, did not use its spiritual space for training.
It was because prolonged cultivation caused immense damage to such a space.
If one merely sought to grasp the underlying power system, it caused no harm, but if one treated the spiritual space as an external training ground, the end result would inevitably be the manual’s destruction.
Once this logic clicked into place, He Yiming’s admiration for Bai Lingba’s capabilities soared.
This entity could not only perfectly replicate the Divine Dao Book but also possessed vastly superior protective capabilities for training within a spiritual space.
This non-human entity truly possessed powers far beyond human comprehension.
He walked to the window and pushed it open gently, inhaling the cool air deeply. In his heart, a sudden, sharp anticipation for the approaching decisive battle bloomed.