The old man had a massive belly. Although Bai Lingba had grilled a hundred and eight of them, the elder accepted and devoured everything offered.

Seeing the elder's robust appetite stirred a pang of hunger in He Yiming as well, but considering the man hadn't eaten cooked food in forty years, even He Yiming, despite his thick skin, couldn't bring himself to ask for a share.

Although the pigs had caught the fish, the seasonings were his contribution, and Bai Lingba was doing all the grilling. Yet, He Yiming held the elder in high esteem, so when the old man's request was merely for a few insignificant grilled fish, He Yiming was quite happy to grant his wish.

A full hour and a half later, the elder finally burped contentedly and wiped his mouth with satisfaction.

For an ordinary person, suddenly consuming so many grilled fish after forty years without cooked food would, at best, lead to a stomach upset and severe diarrhea—eating as much as one could excrete.

But this elder was no ordinary person; he was a figure who had attained the Venerable realm, his cultivation penetrating the profound and reaching the sacred. His very organs and viscera had been tempered to be as hard as diamond through the incessant washing and impact of true energy.

A mere handful of grilled fish could not possibly cause him any harm. However, once fully satisfied, a flicker of awkwardness crossed the elder's face.

After decades of life on the deserted island, apart from the white horse there, he hadn't encountered another person.

Now, after eating so many of their grilled fish, all his memories of wandering the mortal world rushed back, causing his face to flush slightly.

Of course, this reaction stemmed from his immediate recognition that neither He Yiming, nor Bai Lingba, nor even the little pig that caught the fish were ordinary individuals. This understanding informed his expression. If He Yiming and the others had been mere mortals, the elder would never have cared about such a minor breach of etiquette.

Food eaten by common folk was inconsequential. But losing composure in front of masters of the same caliber was profoundly embarrassing.

Neither He Yiming nor Bai Lingba glanced toward the elder; they acted as if they hadn't noticed his current embarrassment, which brought an unexpected warmth to the old man's previously cold heart.

Only Baozhu, with its small eyes wide open, glared furiously at the elder. All the fish it had painstakingly caught had been eaten by the old man, with not a single one left for it. Naturally, this bred deep resentment. But without He Yiming or Bai Lingba speaking up, it could do nothing.

The elder hesitated for a moment, then his eyes suddenly brightened, and he swiftly stood up, dashing away towards where he resided as quickly as flying.

Baozhu trotted to He Yiming’s feet, nudging him with its snout and snorting loudly.

Its movements seemed like a complaint: Look at that old fellow, full now, and just walking away, ignoring that I, Baozhu, worked hard to catch those fish.

He Yiming smiled and gently rubbed its little head, saying, "Baozhu, if you hadn't eaten grilled fish for forty years, you would certainly be worse off than him."

Baozhu snorted again and nudged Bai Lingba’s side.

Having been with him for so long, although they couldn't understand its words, they could guess the meaning behind its actions.

Baozhu was likely saying that being with Bai Lingba meant there would never be a shortage of grilled fish.

Seeing the little creature's almost farcical performance, He Yiming could no longer hold back and burst into loud laughter. However, moments later, He Yiming cut his laughter short, his gaze fixed in one direction.

A figure flashed through the jungle—the elder had returned.

He approached He Yiming and extended a hand. In his grasp was a massive block of iron. He then carefully placed the iron block before He Yiming.

As he performed this action, a deep sense of reluctance showed in his eyes. Yet, this elder was not ordinary; once a decision was made, no matter the inner struggle, he would never regret it.

After casting one last deep look at the iron block, the elder turned and left, vanishing instantly from He Yiming’s sight.

He Yiming stood with his mouth agape, utterly bewildered by the elder’s actions.

Why did the old man return just to give him this iron block? Was he trying to trade this object for the grilled fish he had just consumed?

Before He Yiming could make sense of the exchange, Baozhu let out two snorts, then unceremoniously lunged onto the iron block, hugging it tightly with its front hooves, just as it had clung to Bai Lingba’s body when they first met, refusing to let go.

He Yiming's heart tightened. He knew Baozhu's nature intimately. Seeing this action, he immediately understood: this iron block must be extraordinary, definitely not some commonplace item easily found outside.

He gently pinched the back of Baozhu’s neck and pulled it up. But the little creature held onto the iron block fiercely with its front hooves, staring pitifully at He Yiming with its small eyes, which instantly sparked a strange sense of guilt in He Yiming’s heart.

It felt as if snatching this iron block from Baozhu’s grip would be an unforgivable act.

He Yiming’s eyes darted, and he opened the storage space of his silver ring. After searching for a moment, he took out the shortest segment of a Dragon-Snake horn.

Tossing the Dragon-Snake horn back and forth in his hand, He Yiming didn't even spare a glance at Baozhu.

After a while, He Yiming felt something tugging at his trouser leg. He looked down to see Baozhu holding the iron block high, pressing it against his leg, while its small eyes were fixed intently on the Dragon-Snake horn in He Yiming’s hand.

He Yiming smiled slightly, and in a manner akin to coaxing a child, he placed the Dragon-Snake horn onto Baozhu’s hooves, taking the iron block in return.

Turning back, he happened to meet Bai Lingba’s gaze, eyes like polished gems.

For some inexplicable reason, He Yiming felt that within those eyes, which seemed devoid of any emotion, a sudden trace of gentle color had appeared.

But when he looked again intently, those eyes were back to normal, showing no difference from usual.

He Yiming shook his head, thoroughly perplexed. Perhaps he had misjudged. How could Bai Lingba possess human emotions?

Having traded the iron block for a piece of Dragon-Snake horn obtained from the Dragon-Snake lair via Baozhu, He Yiming weighed it in his hand and felt a slight shock.

The weight of the iron block far exceeded his imagination. It felt less like a fist-sized piece of iron and more like a giant iron stone the size of a table.

Frowning in thought, he sifted through the contents of the Record of Rare Treasures of the World in his mind.

After a long moment, He Yiming’s expression changed slightly. Among the categories of rare mineral ores, he seemed to recall a description matching this item.

It was said that within certain massive iron mines in the East and West, ores with extremely high iron content could form. These ores weighed far more than common iron ore, and if a latent expert of the Fire element continually refined them, over time, their purity would increase until they became what was known as Profound Iron—the King of Irons.

Profound Iron was one of the best materials for forging divine weapons related to the Metal element. If even a finger-sized piece of Profound Iron were incorporated into a divine weapon, its hardness would increase significantly. If the entire divine weapon were forged from Profound Iron...

This possibility was infinitesimally small because the raw materials capable of being refined into Profound Iron were becoming increasingly scarce on the continent. More crucially, refining iron ore required a latent Fire expert to apply their true energy day and night, which inevitably hindered their own progress in cultivation.

Thus, unless it was a super-sect, no one would possess large quantities of Profound Iron. Even in truly large sects, it was unlikely they would waste so much Profound Iron to forge a single weapon.

He Yiming cycled through several thoughts instantly, even recalling the look of painful sacrifice on the elder’s face when he presented the Profound Iron.

However, the fact that the elder offered this item meant one thing: while this Profound Iron was precious, in his eyes, it was far less valued than how the people of the continent regarded it.

In a daze, He Yiming remembered that peculiar indentation in the mountain. At the center of that strange island, no matter how powerful the man or the horse exerted themselves, they could not shatter the nearby mountain walls.

Nodding slightly, and looking at the Profound Iron in his hand, He Yiming now understood that on this nameless island, there must be abundant ore capable of refining Profound Iron, and the elder, staying on the island for forty years, must have refined a considerable amount.

With his Venerable strength, his speed of refining Profound Iron would certainly be countless times faster than that of an ordinary latent Fire expert. Over forty years, the accumulated quantity of Profound Iron must be quite substantial.

Otherwise, no matter how much better Bai Lingba's cooking was, the elder would never have given such a valuable gift.

After pondering for a long time, He Yiming tossed the Profound Iron to Bai Lingba, saying, "Brother Bai, this thing is quite hard. If you think it’s useful, feel free to eat some."

Bai Lingba caught it casually, his eyes instantly brightening, with light like a small sun rotating over the iron block for a moment. Finally, he extended one hand.

This hand glittered under the sunlight, and the next moment, it transformed into the blade head of a great broadsword.

With a fierce strike, he immediately sliced off one-third of the iron block.

He put the one-third into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Thud..."

A strange sound echoed from not far away. He Yiming and Baozhu were startled, turning to look. Both were dumbfounded, somewhat at a loss.

Not far behind them, a creature entirely snow-white with a horn on its head was staring at Bai Lingba with wide, terrified eyes.

Its mouth was agape, giving it a vacant expression.

And beneath its head, a lively, wriggling fish was struggling for its life on the ground.