In a room that was not excessively spacious, He Yiming settled down, engrossed in a thick martial arts manual.

Flashes of dawning comprehension crossed his face from time to time; his entire focus had sunk deep into the pages of this scripture.

This manual contained at most about half of the original text’s content, detailing only the various application techniques and mutual transitions between the Fire, Earth, and Metal elemental disciplines. Naturally, it also included the precise methods for locating the three supporting points on a Divine Weapon when achieving the Apex Stance, along with a detailed explanation of how to vaporize the weapon.

Moreover, what he held was far more than just the aforementioned material; it contained annotations that were almost three times the length of the original text.

These annotations were the accumulated insights and experiences Yu Wuchang had gathered after more than two centuries of cultivation.

The value of this single compendium of derived wisdom was immeasurable.

After perusing this manual, He Yiming fully understood why Jin Zhanyi had been so confident in guaranteeing that assistance could be found through Yu Wuchang.

This veteran Apex Stance expert cultivated the Fire, Earth, and Metal elements from the Five Elements techniques. He had long achieved the Apex Stance and had failed several times in his attempts to ascend to the Venerable realm.

However, precisely because of his repeated setbacks in reaching the Venerable realm, he possessed an unimaginably rich depth of experience at the Apex Stance level. This depth could be glimpsed, even if only partially, through the handwritten copy before him.

To attain the Apex Stance, one must first locate the three points that serve as the bedrock within a Divine Weapon.

Achieving this step was by no means a simple feat.

If the Divine Weapon in question were ordinary, the difficulty would be relatively minor.

But on certain special Divine Weapons of immense power, achieving even a single point was exceedingly arduous, often impossible without auxiliary, specialized methods.

Take, for instance, the Dragon Spear held by Jin Zhanyi; without a specific set of cultivation methods left behind by a previous Venerable, Jin Zhanyi would never have been able to locate its three balance points.

Yet, the Five Elements Sect was, after all, once the foremost sect in the world.

When cultivating the inherited Five Elements Power, there existed a unique training method that helped disciples more easily pinpoint these three locations, allowing them to advance to the Apex Stance far more smoothly than disciples of other sects.

This method proved to have astonishing efficacy even when dealing with those specialized Divine Weapons.

This unique technique was called Nurturing.

The greatest characteristic of Nurturing was time.

In cultivating the inherited Five Elements Reincarnation technique, one could use specific skills to continuously infuse one’s strongest elemental true Qi into the Divine Weapon daily. Once this was done over a long period, a personal brand would form within the Divine Weapon, and after advancing to the Three Flowers stage, one could more easily identify the point best suited for that particular elemental true Qi.

Once one point was confirmed, other means existed to locate the positions of the other two most suitable points.

Once the three points were determined, nurturing the Divine Weapon became significantly easier. As long as sufficient strength was present, the Apex Stance could be achieved sooner or later.

However, while the greatest advantage of employing this special Nurturing method was time, its greatest disadvantage was also time.

The Five Elements Reincarnation, being an inherited path, required a minimum of over ten years of familiarization before there was any hope of achieving the Apex Stance.

This was because only through continuous, daily proximity could one truly become intimately familiar with the weapon in hand. And only through unbroken daily cultivation with true Qi could one further progress, infusing this inherited Five Elements Power into the weapon.

He Yiming reviewed the description in detail and felt utterly speechless.

Although the inherited Five Elements techniques held immense power and possessed quite mature application skills, they also came with extremely strict limitations in certain aspects.

In reality, this prerequisite was hardly an issue for true disciples of the Five Elements Sect.

Within the sect, disciples possessing Three Flowers aptitude were permitted to enter the Armory to select their corresponding Divine Weapons upon condensing their second Flower.

Condensing the third visible Flower was often the most difficult obstacle; successfully achieving it within twenty or thirty years was already considered quite fortunate.

By the time such a disciple possessed Three Flowers strength, they would have long possessed their Divine Weapon for more than ten years.

Thus, this prerequisite posed virtually no problem for the average Five Elements Sect disciple. At least, throughout history, no one had ever failed to reach the Apex Stance because of this restriction.

But for He Yiming, this presented a colossal problem.

After thoroughly examining the description of the Nurturing technique, He Yiming’s heart stirred. He was almost certain that given ten years, the problem plaguing him could be perfectly resolved as he wished.

Touching beneath his arm, He Yiming couldn't help but offer a bitter, wry smile. He had obtained the Five Elements Ring far too recently; even with his unique talent for cultivating all Five Elements, he could not easily achieve absolute control.

The reason he couldn't find the three points necessary for absolute balance within the Five Elements Ring was precisely because he was not familiar enough with this Divine Weapon. Had it been any other Divine Weapon, he could have unreservedly used overwhelming true Qi to assert dominance and thoroughly control the weapon.

But when dealing with a Divine Weapon as uniquely specialized as the Five Elements Ring, doing so would drastically diminish the weapon’s might.

For such a unique Divine Weapon, employing the cultivation and tempering method recorded by the Five Elements Sect was undoubtedly the optimal choice.

Nurturing it daily with true Qi, first locating one point, then using the specialized technique to find the other two, and controlling the Five Elements Reincarnation with absolutely balanced elemental forces—this was the most correct approach.

Gently placing the manual down, He Yiming let out a sigh heavy with regret.

Ten years. The mere thought of this timeframe filled his heart with a bitter taste.

For others, achieving the Apex Stance in ten years would already be exceptional, but He Yiming was clearly different.

Were it not for the twenty-year pact with the Deep Mountain Totem, He Yiming would have calmly accepted this outcome.

He was young, after all; a mere decade was nothing to a Three Flowers expert like him. But now, the twenty-year pact hung over him like the Sword of Damocles.

If he used ten years to advance to the Apex Stance, how many more years would be required to vaporize the Divine Weapon and achieve the Pinnacle of Summiting?

Twenty years seemed long, but in the pursuit of martial arts, it passed in the blink of an eye. Having learned this lesson, even He Yiming couldn't guarantee he could advance from Apex Stance to Venerable within ten years.

After all, the further one cultivated, the lower the probability of a breakthrough. Although everyone was certain he would become a Venerable, dragging it out for ten or twenty years seemed par for the course.

At this moment, he faintly regretted that his head had been clouded by rapid advancement, leading him to agree to the twenty-year pact.

A sudden, wild thought struck him: if he asked someone to intercede and change the twenty-year agreement to thirty or even forty years, would the Totem Clan agree...

Shaking his head, He Yiming cast the absurd notion aside, knowing instantly that the Totem Clan would absolutely never consent.

However, if he failed to achieve the Venerable realm after twenty years, venturing to the Totem Clan would be tantamount to walking into his own demise.

He let out a long sigh and carefully closed the manual.

He had read everything inside; it was truly of immense help to him. Not only had the secret technique for nurturing weapons provided him with tremendous enlightenment, but Yu Wuchang’s unique insights into the application of these three elements were also invaluable. These contents, once he dedicated time to practice, he could fully assimilate.

Exchanging the reading rights for a single Jia Huang Pill had been exceptionally worthwhile for him.

Silently reciting several noteworthy passages from the book in his mind, He Yiming ensured he had fully grasped their essence, ready to master them through future practice.

He casually retrieved the Five Elements Ring. Since he had decided to adopt this method, there was no time like the present to begin.

Among the Fire, Earth, and Metal powers, the one He Yiming most enjoyed wielding was undoubtedly the Metal element.

The Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting, once unleashed, gave a feeling of pure exhilaration; it was unquestionably his favorite ultimate technique.

In contrast, using the Fire Control Art to guide the Nine Dragon Furnace or employing the Heaven Overturning Seal yielded results clearly superior to the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting.

However, the Metal power was entirely his own, whereas the other two relied noticeably on external aid.

After a moment of consideration, He Yiming finally decided that since he could not choose one over the others, he would advance on all fronts simultaneously.

Mighty true Qi poured into the Five Elements Ring. Initially, it was the sharp, piercing power of the Metal element, under whose baptism the Five Elements Ring shimmered with a brilliant sheen. Fortunately, under his perfect control, the Ring did not begin to spin; otherwise, the unleashed Metal energy would have been enough to shatter the entire room.

A moment later, He Yiming retracted the Metal power. His hands moved swiftly, and a faint, ethereal fire glowed in his palms. Once this potent Fire Control Art was executed, the Five Elements Ring turned a deep crimson, appearing suddenly like a brazier, radiating waves of searing heat.

The Fire element was sustained for the duration of one cup of tea before He Yiming drew it back.

Subsequently, the powerful Earth energy flowed into the Five Elements Ring.

Following the technique described in the manual, He Yiming used the Earth power to slowly permeate the Ring, as if tenderly warming an unborn infant.

After about another cup of tea’s duration, He Yiming slowly began to retract the Earth power.

However, precisely at that moment, his Dantian stirred violently once more. A surge of potent energy rushed upward against the natural flow, passing through his meridians and instantly entering the Five Elements Ring.