During this month, the old man visited almost every day. He was not skilled at conversation, his reserved nature closely mirroring that of Bai Lingba.

Although He Yiming had obtained a piece of Profound Iron from the old man's hand, he did not become overly attentive nor did he harbor any ill intentions. He continued to prepare grilled fish as usual, ensuring that the old man would never leave on an empty stomach when he came.

As for the white horse, it had gradually grown familiar with He Yiming and the others. Bao Zhu, in particular, could now ride atop its head, clinging tightly to its horn with its front hooves while circling the entire island.

Of course, since that day, catching fish by diving into the sea was no longer Bao Zhu's task. Every time the Unicorn White Horse arrived, it brought a pile of fish, making He Yiming feel slightly nauseous whenever he saw grilled fish these past few days. Yet, he simply could not fathom why the old man and the white horse were so fond of the grilled dish.

One day, He Yiming spent half the day submerged, quietly observing the lifestyles of the creatures beneath the sea. However, he vaguely felt that mastering the power of Water and condensing the Water Flower through this method was proving far too slow.

Flashes of that night's violent storm would occasionally surge through his mind.

Perhaps, only in such circumstances could true enlightenment be achieved.

His body twisted slightly, swimming upward as naturally as a large fish.

Reaching the surface, He Yiming casually sat down in a corner of the beach. He turned his head to look; for some reason, the old man had not come today. As He Yiming pondered the old man, his mind immediately turned to the strange armor he wore.

The method of using Formed Flowers to absorb the Qi of heaven and earth to condense armor onto the body—this technique had never been mentioned by anyone before, nor was it ever recorded in any book.

Indeed, for masters of the Innate Realm, there were various protective artifacts, such as the leather armor made from the Red Wolf King’s hide, which could defend against strikes of True Qi.

For Venerables, there were naturally corresponding defensive implements, like Gabriel’s great shield and its accompanying battle armor.

However, the quantity of battle armor and defensive gear at the Venerable level was exceedingly scarce. This was because the materials required to forge protective items capable of withstanding a Venerable’s attack were true supreme treasures of heaven and earth.

Among the Five Elements, Profound Iron was one such treasure, and among the pelts of spirit beasts, it had to be of the Saint Beast standard to refine armor of this caliber.

This illustrated the immense difficulty in forging defenses meant for Venerables.

Thus, when He Yiming witnessed the old man’s peculiar cultivation method, his heart was deeply stirred. Such marvelous armor could absolutely become one of his best means of protection.

After closing his eyes in deep contemplation for a long time, He Yiming felt a sense of insight.

He inhaled deeply, the True Qi within his body surging and churning without cease.

Opening his mouth, He Yiming expelled his breath in one go, and accompanying this exhalation were three Formed Flowers.

Although he had already condensed four Formed Flowers, in the context of the Five Elements, he only possessed three. These three Formed Flowers complemented each other with perfect tacit understanding and possessed the characteristic of mutual generation; the power condensed around them as the central core should not be inferior to that of four Formed Flowers.

As the three Formed Flowers appeared, they slowly began to circle above his head.

Fragments of the scene where the old man condensed his armor on that day kept flashing through He Yiming’s mind. Although he could not possibly know the old man’s exact method of using his power, after days of exploration, he had grasped some comprehension.

After circling for a considerable time, the Fire, Earth, and Metal Formed Flowers suddenly burst open.

They radiated different colors in the air, slowly merging together until they became a single Flower of Fusion possessing three colors.

Once this Flower of Fusion took shape, it instantly acted like an unfathomable black hole, beginning to devour the external True Qi on a massive scale.

Endless True Qi flooded toward it wildly, causing the surrounding atmosphere to become somewhat chaotic.

In the distance, the old man’s figure emerged from the woods. However, he did not sit next to Bai Lingba as he usually did, but instead fixed his gaze here.

And almost simultaneously, a white silhouette sped across the sea surface. This white shadow was incredibly fast; it had just appeared far off, and in an instant, it arrived at the island's coastline.

It was a Unicorn White Horse, entirely snow-white, and atop the horse's head rested a small white pig.

Their eyes were also focused on He Yiming, clearly drawn by his actions and the disturbance in the surrounding Qi of heaven and earth.

This was the first time He Yiming had formally mobilized the Qi of heaven and earth since arriving on the island. Seeing this scene, the old man and the white horse finally confirmed that He Yiming was a person possessing power equivalent to their own.

At this moment, He Yiming inhaled deeply, his entire focus fixed on the mixed flower above his head, ignoring everything else.

Because he trusted that with Bai Lingba present, no harm would ever come to him.

The mixed flower in the air greedily absorbed the Qi of heaven and earth from the outside world. When this power accumulated to a certain degree, it finally underwent a strange transformation.

The Flower of Fusion slowly descended from above He Yiming's head. When it touched his forehead, it began to flow down like liquid.

The Flower of Fusion seemed to become thinner and thinner, while He Yiming’s body became covered in armor shimmering with flowing light.

The old man’s eyes suddenly widened, and his mouth fell open in disbelief as he watched everything.

When the Flower of Fusion began to flow downward, the old man had already guessed He Yiming's intention. However, he never imagined that He Yiming could succeed on the very first attempt.

Ever since the old man conceived of this method—using Formed Flowers as the catalyst to absorb the Qi of heaven and earth externally to form armor—he had been exploring its variations. In the end, it took him a full twenty years just to see a rudimentary form, and another ten years passed before he finally grasped the crucial point and achieved success in one stroke.

But counting carefully, he had spent thirty years in research before finally mastering it.

Yet, He Yiming, in his very first attempt, had managed to form something recognizable. Although, in the old man’s eyes, the armor was uneven in thickness, with glaring flaws in protection at several key points, successfully condensing the Qi of heaven and earth into armor on the first try was simply too incredible.

"Crack..."

A light sound suddenly occurred, and the Formed Armor on He Yiming’s body inexplicably burst apart. A large amount of the Qi of heaven and earth spread outward in all directions, kicking up countless dust and scattered stones.

A wind abruptly materialized, this wind seeming to possess sentience as it swept away all the dust, blowing it until it vanished without a trace.

He Yiming stood still on the spot, his brow deeply furrowed, seemingly pondering the reason for the recent failure.

Attacking an enemy with the Flower of Fusion and transforming it into defensive armor covering one's body were entirely different concepts, and the difficulty level varied by a world of difference.

Attack is an innate human tendency; even street ruffians who have never learned martial arts will throw a punch or draw a knife.

But those who haven't learned martial arts are sorely lacking in defense; in fact, they often possess no defense at all.

The same applied when Venerables employed a new technique.

Striking an opponent with the Flower of Fusion—any Venerable could do that without instruction, the only difference lying in refinement versus crudeness. But wishing to use a Formed Flower to transform into defensive armor—that was not something every Venerable could accomplish.

As He Yiming pondered, he heard a familiar voice ring out: "Your force was uneven, your True Qi clashed, and it could not flow smoothly; that is why it burst apart."

Looking up in surprise, he realized the old man had stepped out of the woods.

He Yiming’s face flushed slightly, and he quickly said, "A few days ago, I witnessed you and the white horse sparring, and the method of using Formed Flowers as defensive armor was extremely novel and effective, so I borrowed a little from it. I hope you will forgive me."

The old man sighed softly. "The path of martial arts is filled with myriad changes; anyone has the right to learn from the strengths of others." He let out a dry laugh. "However, your level of innate talent is truly something this old man has never witnessed. In just a few short days, you could actually condense a set of Formed Armor. Truly..."

He shook his head, his expression on his face quite remarkable. He Yiming had seen such expressions before, and aside from a slight embarrassment, he didn't find anything particularly unusual about it.

The old man lifted his head to the sky, hesitating for a moment before finally saying, "I have studied this path meticulously for over thirty years. Young man, would you care to listen?"

He Yiming’s eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he replied, "I will listen with rapt attention."

The old man hid nothing, recounting his experiences and insights from those thirty-odd years one by one.

At first, He Yiming’s brow furrowed slightly; he was somewhat perplexed by the novel theories in this area. But slowly, as the old man explained, a brand-new system for applying True Qi gradually formed in his mind.

Transforming a Formed Flower into armor was definitely not as easy as it seemed. Without the old man's meticulous guidance, it would have taken He Yiming at least another decade to thoroughly research and understand it.

However, under the old man's completely unreserved explanation, He Yiming now had a clear understanding of some of the critical issues. With just more practice, he was certain he could successfully condense the Formed Armor.

The old man spoke for a long time, then asked He Yiming to voice any lingering questions. The two seemed to forget time, engaged in a fervent discussion.

Of course, it was primarily He Yiming asking questions while the old man provided answers.

They stopped simultaneously after an unknown duration. The old man stroked his beard and smiled, while He Yiming’s eyes faintly glowed; his mind was completely captivated by this strange battle technique.

The old man sighed softly. "You grasp things quickly. I have nothing left to teach you." He waved his hand. "Try it once more. Perhaps this time you will succeed."