It was the same room. Bao Zhu slept soundly nearby, even in its slumber, curling its four hooves around the Nine Dragons Furnace protectively.

Though its name contained the character for "pig," and its four hooves resembled those of a swine, they possessed the ability to bend freely, almost bonelessly. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to truly embrace the Nine Dragons Furnace.

Furthermore, whenever it wished, a slight suction could emanate from its hooves. While this suction wasn't strong, it was more than enough to suspend its small body onto whatever it favored.

For instance, when He Yiming lifted the Nine Dragons Furnace just now, the sleeping Bao Zhu seemed to crack open an eye. Discovering it was He Yiming, it immediately paid him no mind and resumed sleeping. Yet, its body remained suspended on the Furnace, showing no sign of falling.

He Yiming shook his head, placing the little creature and the Nine Dragons Furnace onto the **. He found a brand-new, thin blanket and tucked it around the beast.

This wasn't borne of great kindness; it was simply a matter of keeping the Nine Dragons Furnace as close as possible.

After all, it was a Divine Artifact, a peerless treasure. He dared not show the slightest negligence.

Subsequently, he moved a chair and sat quietly by the bedside.

Jin Zhanyi's words, though simple, were all the more profound because of their simplicity. At He Yiming’s current cultivation level, he could clearly grasp the underlying principles.

But the issue was that knowing is easier than doing. If it were truly that simple, the experts at the Three Flowers Realm in this world would have long since easily achieved the tripod stance, rather than remaining stagnant for decades on end.

He reached under his armpit and gently retrieved the Five Elements Ring.

His hands slowly caressed the Five Elements Ring, absorbing the characteristics of this simulated Divine Artifact. The cyclical flow of the Five Elements, their endless generation, was absolutely unique; even the combined efforts of the Qilian Twin Devils hadn't reached such a perfect state of unity.

After a moment of hesitation, He Yiming opened his mouth, and three visible flowers of different colors erupted forth.

The Flower of Fire, the Flower of Earth, the Flower of Metal.

These three Flowers of the Five Elements spun merrily in the air, releasing immense tri-elemental power within the small space.

However, under He Yiming's deliberate control, the power of these three flowers did not expand limitlessly; instead, the energy was slowly transferred into the Five Elements Ring.

Since entering the Lingxiao Treasure Palace, He Yiming had not utilized this simulated Divine Artifact again.

Especially when confronting the Qilian Twin Devils, he had heeded Jin Zhanyi’s advice and hadn't even brought it onto the battlefield.

Now, as He Yiming channeled the true essence from the three Five Elements Flowers into it, he immediately sensed the immense power within the Five Elements Ring slowly beginning to convert.

He sighed inwardly. Recalling the feeling he had while near the Nine Dragons Furnace the previous night, his heart was filled with a wave of emotion.

The difference between a simulated Divine Artifact and a true Divine Artifact was truly worlds apart; there was simply no comparison to be made.

Yet, when attempting to achieve the tripod convergence now, the only tool he had was the simulated Divine Artifact, the Five Elements Ring.

Although he possessed a true Divine Artifact in his possession, asking him to use the Nine Dragons Furnace as the Divine Weapon for his convergence was something he wouldn't dare do even if his life were on the line.

The sole outcome of a snake swallowing an elephant was death by explosion; there was absolutely no second possibility.

He Yiming was clear enough on this point.

Slowly, he cast aside the distracting thoughts. He Yiming focused his spirit, and through the connection of true essence, he seemed to become those three Five Elements Flowers dancing in the air.

The three forces seemed to transform into his three streams of consciousness, entering the Five Elements Ring in that manner.

At this moment, He Yiming suddenly realized that his understanding of the Five Elements Ring had reached a new level. As the three streams of differing elemental forces surged within the Ring, He Yiming gained fresh insights into this divine weapon.

He seemed to have entered a new space. Before his eyes flickered the light of fire; there was the solid earth; there was the boundless ocean; there were the dense forests; and there was the sharp, unyielding power of Metal.

Of course, the space here could not compare to the scene from the previous night.

If the space within the Nine Dragons Furnace was a genuine space, then the space within the Five Elements Ring was merely a phantom, and a very unreal one at that.

However, reaching this stage already left He Yiming deeply shaken.

This Five Elements Ring was not meant for use by masters of the Divine Path; it was merely a simulated Divine Artifact. But it was well-known that spatial power was a domain only achievable by experts of the Divine Path. Since this Five Elements Ring was not crafted by a Divine Path master, it should not possess an independent space.

Yet, in reality, after his three elemental forces entered the Ring, he sensed the faint beginnings of spatial structure.

His brow furrowed deeply. Could it be that the master who forged the Five Elements Ring truly possessed boundless power, capable of creating even spatial force?

He Yiming's expression fluctuated unpredictably. After a brief moment, his heart finally sank completely into the Five Elements Ring.

He wanted to truly experience the full might of this simulated Divine Artifact.

In a trance, he entered a world of continuous rotation—the world of the Five Elements Ring. Within it, the power of the Five Elements spun like a flywheel. Every rotation generated new power; between the Five Elements, life nurtured life, unendingly.

However, among the Five Elements, besides mutual generation, there was also the power of mutual restraint.

After every cycle, as new power arose, an equal measure of old power would necessarily dissipate.

In this process, the Five Elements Ring formed a cycle of exquisite perfection, neither adding nor subtracting a single measure.

Unless external force intervened, this world was a completely independent, self-sustaining entity. Unless the core structure collapsed, nothing would ever change.

Faintly, a spark of realization dawned in He Yiming's heart.

Perhaps even the forger never anticipated this evolution.

Inside the Five Elements Ring, there was indeed a unique space. But the power of this space was not bestowed by its creator; rather, it naturally arose from the continuous circulation of the Five Elements.

The world He Yiming inhabited was founded upon the power of the Five Elements.

Although countless other forces existed in this world—such as Wind, Thunder, Ice, and Mist...

The power of the Five Elements was undeniably the most fundamental. As long as all Five Elements were present, this world could sustain itself and continue to develop.

And within the Five Elements Ring, a microscopic space of Five Elements circulation had undoubtedly formed.

The foundation of this space was the Five Elements Ring itself. As long as the power of the Five Elements flowed ceaselessly, this space would never disappear.

He Yiming’s expression slowly shifted. He suddenly considered a very possible outcome.

Once he successfully used the Five Elements Ring for convergence and supplemented the Water and Wood energies, would the space within the Ring become available for him to command? Could he control a dedicated space solely belonging to him through the Five Elements Ring?

The moment this thought struck, even He Yiming felt a surge of thrilling anticipation.

A space of one's own—that was truly the ultimate divine ability reserved only for legendary experts of the Divine Path.

Though He Yiming already possessed a silver ring, how could a space usable by anyone compare to a space exclusively his own?

He let out a soft sigh, suppressing this wild fancy.

The idea was good, but achieving it would not be easy.

It required not only the Three Flowers Convergence but also the condensation of the Water and Wood Flowers, which could not be accomplished overnight. Therefore, dwelling on it was pointless.

He gathered his focus. The three elemental energies lingered within the Five Elements Ring, attempting to find three fundamental anchor points, as Jin Zhanyi had described.

However, moments later, He Yiming was astonished to find that the three elemental energies he had input were being assimilated by the innate Five Elements power within the Ring.

Initially, the surging powers of Fire, Earth, and Metal overwhelmed the Water and Wood energies, suppressing them completely.

But after just a moment, the world within the Five Elements Ring began its automatic adjustment.

All forces transformed rapidly. The energies of Fire, Earth, and Metal weakened slightly with every turn, while the energies of Water and Wood gradually grew stronger.

When He Yiming snapped back from his reverie in the Five Elements space, he abruptly realized that the power of the Five Elements had achieved a perfect, natural balance.

At this, He Yiming, unable to suppress a wry smile, reluctantly withdrew from the world of the Five Elements Ring.

Opening his eyes, He Yiming held the Five Elements Ring, genuinely speechless.

Using the three constituent energies of the Five Elements to establish three stable nodes within the Ring seemed like an impossible task.

Unless the cyclical flow of the Five Elements could be stopped entirely, as long as the flow persisted, his three energies would only be diluted across the ceaseless circulation, reverting back to a flawless cycle.

He lightly flicked the Five Elements Ring twice, producing a crisp, pleasant sound, like the striking of a warning bell in his mind.

He woke up with a start. If the Five Elements cycle within the Ring stopped, would the Ring still be the simulated Divine Artifact?

It was likely that this simulated Divine Artifact would lose most of its power, degrading into a mere superior divine weapon. As for the nascent spatial structure gradually forming inside, it would surely collapse with a roar. And after such a disruption, reforming that space would likely prove impossible.

Contemplating these drawbacks, He Yiming immediately abandoned the foolish notion of halting the internal circulation of the Five Elements.

But he had been counting on merging his true essence with the Five Elements Ring. Now, it seemed this wish would be exceedingly difficult to realize.

How, then, could his three streams of true essence form stable anchor points within the holistic circulation of the Five Elements essence?

This was truly a problem...