The old man’s gaze drifted toward the distance. A moment later, he drew it back, looking at He Yiming again with a trace of deep emotion.

“This cultivation technique is entirely my own creation,” the old man’s voice boomed, resonant and powerful. “I pass it on to you merely because I do not wish for this technique to vanish with me; that is all.” He Yiming was momentarily stunned.

He had never imagined this would be the reason for the old man’s decision to impart his cultivation method. The old man’s voice continued, “The technique you practice truly surprises me.

Such miraculous tangible armor—even I have never conceived of such a thing.” He rubbed his hands together, then suddenly proposed, “I wish to spar a round with you, honored guest. What do you think?” He Yiming’s eyes lit up.

He had just been contemplating whom to spar with for actual combat practice, and here one was, presenting himself immediately. Letting out a hearty laugh, He Yiming announced loudly, “Since you possess such elegant interest, I shall naturally oblige.” The old man nodded sharply and turned to leave.

His strides were immense; one step carried him a distance of ten feet, from the moment his toes left the ground to the moment the toes of his other foot touched down. Thus, even without employing any special movement technique, his progress was as swift as a whirlwind.

He Yiming felt a stir of astonishment and followed closely behind. Before long, they arrived at a very familiar location.

It was the hollow nestled at the very center of the island. It seemed that in the old man’s mind, this was the only suitable location on the entire island for a duel.

Once the old man entered the hollow, his imposing aura underwent an immediate transformation. A chilling glare settled in his eyes, and the way he looked at He Yiming became intensely sharp.

He Yiming stood with his feet spread in a horse stance, outwardly appearing entirely unguarded. However, the old man noticed that the flow speed of the swirling vortexes, grey-black in color, upon He Yiming’s body was gradually quickening.

Furthermore, a faint mist had begun to rise around him, a mist deeply tinged with the same grey-black hue—clearly an extension of the vortex energy. Although the old man still couldn't recall the origin of these grey-black vortexes, as a mighty Venerable, he possessed an intuition that these things would prove exceedingly difficult to handle.

The old man let out a sharp cry and, similarly, exhaled three tangible flowers from his mouth. These three tangible flowers rapidly burst open above his head, then flowed like water, completely enveloping his body.

This process was identical to He Yiming’s creation of tangible armor, but in terms of sheer speed, the difference was incomparable. When He Yiming manifested his tangible flowers to cover his body, he had done so with utmost caution, afraid of any lapse.

But the old man’s movements appeared entirely effortless and spontaneous; the process of covering himself in armor was as natural and fluid as breathing. Upon witnessing this, He Yiming secretly praised the display.

He resolved then and there that whenever he had free time, he would practice this combat technique extensively, striving to reach the level of mastery displayed by the old man before him. The armor covering the old man’s body also shone with brilliant light, but this was merely the external manifestation of the three elemental forces, far less fearsome and terrifying than what He Yiming displayed.

Sparks flashed in his eyes, and the old man cried out, “Be careful.” He took a step forward, launching a single punch straight ahead. He Yiming raised his arm, positioning his forearm horizontally across his chest.

There was no enmity between him and the old man. This spar was over half for testing the might of this wondrous armor, so He Yiming cooperated fully, using his forearm armor to block, intending to gauge its defensive capabilities.

The old man’s punch landed squarely on He Yiming’s forearm, and a powerful stream of true qi blasted inward like a prairie fire. He Yiming was inwardly startled.

The old man’s strength was indeed unfathomable; the power and might of his punch surpassed He Yiming’s wildest expectations. The forearm armor held for only a single breath before shattering with a loud crack.

He Yiming gave a wry smile to himself. After all, he had only just condensed this form of armor; both the speed of its condensation and its intrinsic strength were far inferior to the old man’s.

The armor worn by the old man could withstand the electrical energy discharged by the One-Horned White Horse, whereas the armor He Yiming condensed was clearly leagues behind. However, the old man, on the other hand, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The insights he had painstakingly explored for over thirty years, though taught to He Yiming without reservation, were not easily mastered fully. Although He Yiming’s armor appeared striking, the moment the true clash occurred, its inherent weaknesses were laid bare.

He Yiming’s overall control over the armor still contained significant flaws, and rectifying these defects would surely take more than a day or two. But at that instant, something happened that left both of them dumbfounded.

The grey-black vortexes that had been swirling around the armor, after sustaining the heavy blow, reacted as if their tails had been stepped on, erupting suddenly. They split in two: one half surged wildly into the broken area of the forearm armor, while the other half coiled around the old man’s fist.

They followed one after another, like immense grey-black tendrils, wrapping themselves around the old man’s fist. The old man roared in alarm and fury.

He suddenly felt a sinister and venomous Yin Sha Qi ignoring the armor’s barrier and ceaselessly pouring into his body. Upon contact with this Yin Sha Qi, the old man’s expression drastically changed, and he finally remembered where he had previously encountered this grey-black coloring.

Yet, no matter what, he could not believe that someone could bring this Yin Sha Qi out of Ghost Crying Ridge, one of the places universally acknowledged as the most terrifying locales in the world. Knowing the terror of this power, however, the old man dared not delay even a moment.

He shouted sharply, and the armor on his body suddenly burst apart inch by inch, especially on his arm where the grey-black substance had entwined; fierce flames erupted there, as if all the tangible armor had instantly become fuel for the blaze, causing it to burn violently. Simultaneously, the old man’s figure retreated rapidly, putting dozens of feet between them in an instant.

This entire sequence of events unfolded in the blink of an eye. From the moment he sensed the Yin Sha Qi, the old man’s reaction was fiercely swift, unparalleled, fully demonstrating the might of a Venerable.

Yet, in contrast, He Yiming seemed utterly frozen in place. He stood still, as if he had suddenly turned into a wooden statue, no longer moving in the slightest.

However, within his body, powerful true qi surged mightily, and the grey-black Yin Sha Qi churned and boiled incessantly, causing the density of the grey-black color around him to intensify further. The vortexes that had originally clung to the armor seemed stimulated by some force, spreading outward and spinning with increasing ferocity.

The old man watched all this, slack-jawed, his heart filled with fluctuating astonishment. But at this moment, even if granted a thousand times his usual courage, he would not dare approach to touch this Yin Sha Qi lightly.

He could only stand still, his expression fluctuating between shadow and light, inwardly lamenting his situation. Had imparting the technique he so meticulously studied inadvertently triggered some unforeseen, dangerous transformation in him?

At this time, He Yiming felt neither joy nor sorrow, as his entire focus was consumed by the bizarre transformation occurring in the armor surrounding him. After the tangible armor on his forearm shattered, the augmenting armor seemed to suffer a sympathetic impact, looking as if it would soon crumble and disintegrate piece by piece.

But just then, the Yin Sha Qi surged inward. This Yin Sha Qi possessed a strange adhesiveness, like powerful glue, instantly filling every corner of the armor.

Under this sudden viscosity, the armor, on the verge of breaking apart, miraculously fused together again. However, the newly fused armor was different from before.

Among the three different attribute forces within the armor, a new, strange attribute had been added: the Yin Sha Qi. This energy was sinister and cold, but at this moment, it had gained absolute dominance.

He Yiming silently perceived all this, and he realized with a surge of surprise and joy that: The tangible armor was no longer consuming his true qi. Once the Yin Sha Qi merged with the armor, it began to constantly absorb the external energy of heaven and earth.

Moreover, the speed of absorption was far faster than initially. All the absorbed energy of heaven and earth was channeled into the tangible armor.

With such powerful supplementary reserves, the rupture on the forearm wriggled rapidly, and in just the span of a breath, it was entirely mended. He Yiming slowly raised his hand, examining the spot that had been damaged moments before.

The armor there was now flawless, as if the damage inflicted by that punch had never occurred. Not only that, but the inexhaustible flow of powerful external energy from heaven and earth poured into it, making the armor seem even sturdier.

He Yiming suddenly felt a peculiar sensation: as long as the Yin Sha Qi continued to exert its characteristic of doubling the absorption of heaven and earth energy, he could maintain this state indefinitely. At this moment, he felt as if he had transformed into a serpent or dragon, manipulating the Yin Sha Qi to achieve the purpose of absorbing the energies of the cosmos.

If this were the case, he would be like a porcupine covered entirely in quills; if fighting an opponent, unless they used a weapon, this battle would effectively be over. He quietly raised his head and looked forward.

The old man was staring at the entire spectacle, wide-eyed and speechless, until his gaze met He Yiming’s. Only then did he nod as if waking from a dream, though his eyes still held a look of bewilderment and disbelief.

PS: That’s all for today with three chapters. Tomorrow and the day after, it will definitely be five chapters ^_^