A strange ripple swept across the space. A massive vortex abruptly materialized, centered on He Yiming.

The moment this vortex appeared, the surrounding black mist seemed to be drawn in by an immense force, swarming toward it endlessly.

This process occurred at lightning speed, yet it remained entirely within He Yiming's control.

After all, He Yiming had already grasped the deepest secrets of the Feng Shui Treasure Fan from Zhuguan Hao. He had even employed a similar technique using the Great Guan Dao, formed through his One Hundred and Eight Transformations. Therefore, when wielding the Feng Shui Treasure Fan, he naturally deployed it with practiced ease.

The surrounding vortex grew stronger and larger, and the luminous pearls on the Treasure Fan pendant shone ever brighter, as if the more Zhenqi He Yiming poured into it, the more potent its energy became.

However, after only a moment, He Yiming felt a sense of being drained.

He sighed inwardly, knowing this was due to his lack of Water element power.

To unleash the Feng Shui Treasure Fan's power to its absolute maximum required an equal and matching measure of Feng Shui power. Currently, He Yiming had condensed the Flower of Wind but had not yet condensed the Flower of Water, leaving him significantly deficient in Water-based energy.

He let out a soft breath and slowly drew back the Zhenqi contained within the Treasure Fan. As all the energy returned, the vortex surrounding him vanished without a trace.

After a moment of contemplation, He Yiming placed the Treasure Fan back into his ring space.

With his current abilities, he could not fully exploit the fan's true might. At the very least, he wouldn't be able to unleash its ultimate power until he condensed the Flower of Water.

Finally, He Yiming turned his gaze to the whip.

This whip was dazzlingly ornate in appearance. It measured just over a meter in length, and its body was not thick, only about the width of three fingers held together.

Had it not been for the scales covering it, He Yiming would have dismissed it outright. But these scales were truly captivating, possessing a mysterious allure that held one's gaze.

Picking up the whip, He Yiming likewise channeled his Zhenqi into it.

The moment his Zhenqi entered, it met with powerful resistance. Moreover, this resistance was bizarrely natured, resembling a spring coiled with immense latent power.

If one's power rushed in wildly, the Zhenqi inside would be compressed like a spring. But slowly, as the spring reached its limit, that compressed force would suddenly erupt. The ensuing explosive power would be ten, twenty, or even more times greater.

While such a divine weapon should not be destroyed by this force, before having absolute certainty, even He Yiming dared not try the most reckless approach.

If he accidentally destroyed this whip, he would have no means to cry over it.

After testing the power within the whip, He Yiming felt a mixture of shock and delight.

According to his experience, divine weapons were categorized into different tiers. If a weapon's internal Zhenqi could be subdued easily, its potential power would be quite limited.

Conversely, the more difficult a divine weapon was to control—the harder it was to expel its inherent Zhenqi—the greater the power it could unleash once successfully mastered.

Whether it was the Five Elements Rings he held, Jin Zhanyi’s Dragon Spear, the Feng Shui Treasure Fan before him, or this unknown whip, they all belonged to the latter category.

Divine weapons of this caliber were generally only able to manifest their greatest power in the hands of Venerables who cultivated power aligned with the weapon's element.

The thought of achieving such a haul during this venture into the Ghost Cry Ridge made He Yiming's heart pound with excitement.

Yet, his gaze toward the whip was tinged with a flicker of annoyance.

Did this item truly require him to spend months, slowly grinding down the internal Zhenqi bit by bit before it could be used?

A sudden inspiration struck him. He took out the Feng Shui Treasure Fan and gave it a gentle wave, releasing a wisp of Feng Shui energy.

This energy flexibly entered the whip, but instead of exerting any repressive force, it began to circulate slowly within.

Soon, a small vortex formed inside the whip.

The power of this vortex was not very strong; after all, it was generated by the power of the Feng Shui Treasure Fan. If it were too potent, it might provoke a violent rebound from the whip, which would be counterproductive.

However, although this vortex was weak, its suction power was not insignificant.

Every time the tiny vortex rotated once, it would siphon off a small portion of the whip's original Zhenqi. Although the amount extracted each time was minuscule, the cumulative effect over a long period would be considerable.

He Yiming sat there quietly for a full two hours. After these two hours passed, the energy within the whip was finally completely drained, leaving not a trace behind.

He Yiming picked up the Feng Shui Treasure Fan, feeling rather strange. He hadn't expected that his wildly imaginative idea would actually succeed.

This small vortex, though minute, served a great purpose—a truly useful and unorthodox Star-Absorbing Skill.

Putting the Feng Shui Treasure Fan away, He Yiming grasped the handle of the whip. The handle and the body seemed seamlessly integrated, as if born that way.

With a light snap, massive Zhenqi immediately surged into it.

"Hoo..."

The whip suddenly straightened, transforming into a perfectly straight and rigid spear shaft.

He Yiming’s eyes widened, immense waves surging in his heart. If he wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have seen this type of long whip before. If the scales were removed from the body and a spearhead was attached to the tip, this object would be nearly identical to the Dragon Spear that Jin Zhanyi prided himself on.

A thought flashed through his mind: could this whip also be crafted from the shed skin of a legendary Divine Dragon?

His thoughts racing, He Yiming poured more Zhenqi into it. The next moment, something even more astonishing occurred.

Under the infusion of vast Zhenqi, the whip actually thickened and lengthened...

Much like the Great Guan Dao formed by the One Hundred and Eight Transformations, this whip also possessed a similar trait.

Of course, this inflation and lengthening relied entirely on He Yiming’s Zhenqi as a foundation. Without the support of that immense energy, the item would instantly revert to its original state, a feature that placed it far below the One Hundred and Eight Transformations.

Waving it a few times, He Yiming even started treating it like a broadsword.

Moments later, he had grasped its capabilities. The whip's maximum length was almost comparable to the Great Guan Dao, extending from just over a meter to over four meters—a total increase of more than threefold, which was quite formidable.

When the whip expanded to its limit, each scale also seemed to enlarge, making it look even more ferocious and terrifying.

If this weapon were used in combat, it would surely intimidate opponents and restrict their movements.

After swinging it gently for a moment, another idea sparked in He Yiming's mind. His eyes darted, and the Zhenqi within his body shifted like flowing water, instantly transforming into a soft, water-like energy.

Instantly, the spear in his hand softened, becoming a true long whip.

He Yiming held his wrist steady, controlling the whip purely through the Zhenqi within his body. The long whip began to thrash and coil about wildly. Although He Yiming had never specifically trained in whip techniques, in the martial path, understanding one principle often illuminates a thousand others.

In He Yiming's hands, this long whip moved as fluidly as the monstrous Serpent Stone King of old, undulating through the black mist. Furthermore, when wielded as a whip, the weapon did not thicken, but its length extended even further, reaching nearly two zhang.

A weapon whose length could be adjusted freely—He Yiming had only witnessed this capability in the One Hundred and Eight Transformations before.

However, this showed that the world was vast and full of wonders; even the unique ability possessed by the One Hundred and Eight was not singular.

Traveling ten thousand miles surpasses reading ten thousand scrolls; this saying indeed held truth.

He hefted the long whip in his hand. Since Jin Zhanyi’s divine weapon was named the Dragon Spear, he decided to call this whip the Dragon Whip.

Still, both the Dragon Whip and the Feng Shui Treasure Fan were likely famous artifacts in the outside world. No matter how powerful they were, they could not be used openly—that was perhaps their only regret.

His ears twitched slightly as He Yiming heard faint footsteps. He stored everything into his ring space and hung the silver ring around his neck. At that moment, his mind grew intensely vigilant.

His trials with the two super divine weapons had severely disturbed the elemental energies and the black mist. It would not be surprising if this commotion attracted the covetous attention of certain individuals.

Listening closely, however, after a moment, a look of profound relief spread across He Yiming’s face, and he called out loudly, "Brother Bai, you’ve returned."

A figure emerged from the black mist—it was Bai Lingba, who had gone and now returned.

His face, carved as if from marble, remained expressionless as always; the world's joys and sorrows had left no mark upon it.

He Yiming glanced at him and was momentarily startled.

To his surprise, Bai Lingba was completely unburdened; he was not carrying that lazy pet pig draped over him as usual. He glanced behind Bai Lingba, but He Yiming also saw no trace of the pig.

His brow furrowed, and a bad premonition surfaced in his heart.

"Brother Bai, where is Piggy?"

Bai Lingba slowly shook his head. "Piggy is missing."

He Yiming shot to his feet. "Missing? You couldn't find him?"

"No," Bai Lingba stated calmly.

He Yiming's expression immediately turned grim. He was intimately aware of Bai Lingba's abilities, especially in this environment. If even Bai Lingba could not locate Piggy, then perhaps no one else could find the little fellow.