Having sensed these two distinctly different attributes of power had opened his horizons, yet simultaneously stirred an irresistible, restless impulse within him.

Taking a deep breath, He Yiming recalculated everything in his mind. Once certain everything was correct, he extended a single finger.

Slowly, a faint trace of crimson appeared upon that fingertip.

It was a wisp of his own blood, but the moment it manifested, it did not form a bead, but instead transformed directly into a blood needle.

A sudden thought sparked in He Yiming’s mind. Two extremely subtle strands of power separated from his Dantian and entered the tiny drop of blood. These two strands were the Ice elemental power and the petrifying paralysis power. Though minimal, they were more than sufficient for a surprise strike.

With a flick of his finger, the blood needle flew out silently.

Without a sound, it drifted forward along the ambient currents of the air.

This blood needle was impossibly light, light to a degree He Yiming hadn't conceived of even before refining it.

His expression was grave as he watched the needle intently, unblinking. As it approached the table ahead, stopping just a hand's length away, the needle’s speed suddenly accelerated, as if some hidden force had erupted behind it, driving it deep into the wood of the table.

He Yiming’s eyes lit up. This was merely a sudden whim, yet it had actually succeeded.

Measured purely by destructive force, this single blood needle paled in comparison to the explosive blood masses wielded by Hao Xue—it was insignificant.

But Hao Xue’s blood masses were too obvious; any expert of the same rank, upon seeing the horrifying crimson mass and sensing the potent power contained within, would naturally choose to evade. Unless one encountered a Venerable-level master, it would be hard to find a fool among peers willing to clash head-on with it.

Conversely, He Yiming’s self-conceived Blood Needle was undoubtedly the superior method for a sneak attack.

Not only was it utterly weightless and slow as it approached the opponent, making it impossible to guard against, but it also concealed both the Ice and Paralysis attributes within. A double assault like this, even a Venerable caught entirely off guard would likely find themselves in a thoroughly awkward predicament.

Yet, He Yiming shook his head. Due to the limitations of his current abilities, this blood needle could not be deployed on a massive scale during actual combat. Furthermore, the inherent power within it could not compare to the explosive blood clusters Hao Xue spat out. Therefore, in a formal engagement, it possessed no real utility.

Sighing with regret, He Yiming abandoned the idea of further refinement for the moment.

Releasing countless blood needles was currently an impossibility. If he could so easily steal Hao Xue’s ultimate technique, then that technique wouldn't have remained the exclusive martial inheritance of the Hao family for thousands of years.

He gathered his focus again, his expression thoughtful. Slowly, he spread his hand, and a peculiar ray of light flashed across his palm before vanishing. Subsequently, his hand seemed to exhibit a subtle distortion.

Although his hand appeared physically present, where it connected to his arm, there was an uncanny sensation, as if He Yiming had submerged his hand in spring water, while observers watched under the harsh sunlight. The distortions caused by the water's ripple seemed to trick the eye, making the junction between his hand and arm appear strangely misplaced.

However, witnessing this phenomenon filled He Yiming’s heart with elation.

This power was truly miraculous; it could actually manipulate the power of light to achieve such a marvelous refraction effect.

The only drawback was that this ability seemed intrinsically linked to ambient light. The stronger the light source, the stronger this ability became, and the more pronounced the resulting distortion.

He Yiming glanced at the sky; dawn was still some time away. What troubled him more was that even when daylight came, he couldn't simply walk out and openly practice this technique.

If Hao Xue and the other two saw him practicing the Distortion Art and the Blood Coagulation Art, whether he could leave the city unscathed would become highly questionable.

He estimated that those three young masters from the inland families would discard all restraint and resort to any means necessary to detain him.

Though he did not fear them, he preferred not to invite unnecessary trouble.

He sprang up from his resting place, intending to practice a set of boxing forms to smooth over the slight feeling of disappointment. Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of something.

In this room, there was high-grade sandalwood prepared specifically for incense. This wasn't some coarse product, but a superior grade crafted by the inland families, possessing a fragrance purer and more refined than even that found atop Tianchi Mountain.

He Yiming wasn't surprised by the scent itself; rather, his gaze locked onto the wisps of smoke curling upwards, which seemed to stir some deep thought, causing his expression to shift between shadow and light.

Finally, he lifted his head, his gaze alight with resolute determination.

He lit a candle, and its faint glow instantly permeated the room, offering a small illumination.

He Yiming opened his mouth, and a Golden Flower emerged.

This Golden Flower immediately began a strange metamorphosis. It did not transform into the Five Elements Ring, nor did it become a shining golden dragon, nor did it replicate the figure one-hundred-and-eight; instead, it molded itself into a tangible, fully formed human shape.

Of course, compared to a normal human, this figure was exceedingly short. Moreover, it was utterly inert, like a genuine sculpture, completely motionless.

He Yiming took a deep breath, concentrating all his mental energy once more.

Vast quantities of Mist power surged forth from his body. His Dantian acted as an automatic converter, allowing him to access any True Qi he had previously cultivated.

In a short time, the humanoid sculpture was enveloped in layer upon layer of dense fog. Just then, a sudden, sharp flash erupted from above this mass of fog.

When this power was released in such a bizarre manner, the fog mass wavered a few times and then vanished entirely.

Even with He Yiming’s sharp vision, he could find no flaw in it.

Furthermore, no matter how rapidly his ears flickered—as if seizing up—he could not capture a single sound emanating from that spot. This was the answer that satisfied him most deeply.

The Cloud and Mist Art he specialized in was inherently the finest power for concealment. However, in certain situations, this power could still be somewhat conspicuous.

But when combined with the newly mastered power of Light, everything achieved absolute perfection.

The interplay of these three forces managed to completely bend and redirect light itself.

Now, apart from He Yiming, no one could possibly suspect that in the empty space beside the table, there lay a Golden Flower shrouded in mist.

Even more subtle was the fact that while this strand of Golden Flower was under He Yiming’s control, there seemed to be no direct connection between them—a subtlety that bordered on the miraculous and the unbelievable.

For a moment, He Yiming was engulfed in an ecstasy of joy. He moved rapidly throughout the room, occasionally opening the door to run briefly in the courtyard.

Half an hour later, He Yiming finally made a discovery.

The maximum distance his physical body could maintain from the mist-shrouded Golden Flower was absolutely no more than thirty zhang. Once he surpassed the twenty-zhang mark, He Yiming already felt he was losing control. At nearly thirty zhang, he faintly sensed the Golden Flower threatening to explode at any moment, which terrified him into rushing back to firmly anchor it.

He Yiming felt boundless fascination for this new capability.

Following this, he not only summoned the Golden Flower but also expelled the Earth Flower, the Fire Flower, and the Wind Flower.

Although the departure of all four tangible flowers left him feeling slightly exhausted, he immediately concealed the other three without pause.

Having accomplished this, his heart swelled with pride.

Turning the Golden Flower into a humanoid form had merely been a beautiful, private wish—a hope that the Golden Flower might one day grow into a second Hundred-and-Eight.

Though this wish was destined to remain unfulfilled, offering himself some solace was pleasant.

Now, these four concealed tangible flowers were like four bombs awaiting his command. He had a distinct feeling that if Jin Zhanyi stood right at the center of this formation, and all four tangible flowers detonated simultaneously, even he would surely meet his end.

Yet, achieving all this was far from simple.

Closing his eyes, he began reabsorbing external energy, slowly making up for the loss of True Qi within his body.

Four tangible flowers—even for He Yiming, the exertion was immense.

Half an hour later, He Yiming drew a long breath, and his spirit instantly recovered, vibrant and full of life.

Feeling the massive True Qi flowing within him, He Yiming strode a few steps with satisfied complacency, his heart filled with joy. He vaguely sensed that this technique held potential for even greater development, though precisely how to utilize it would require his future slow exploration.

Suddenly, He Yiming stopped, his ears twitching slightly. He smiled and said, "Brother Jin, please come in."

The unlocked door was immediately pushed open, and Jin Zhanyi entered with a smile on his face.

He Yiming chuckled, "Brother Jin, visiting so late—do you have some instruction for me?"

Jin Zhanyi laughed heartily, stepping forward several paces, intending to sit in the chair beside the table.