The cave was steeped in absolute silence, devoid even of the faintest sound, so quiet that the act of breathing was barely perceptible.

Yet, the brilliant radiance intensified, growing more dazzling by the moment, bathing the entire cavern in a luminous sheen, dreamlike and ethereal.

At the very heart of the light sat He Yiming, cross-legged. From the Five Elements Ring in his grasp, delicate, fine threads of light emerged, resembling colorful filaments, linking the Five Elements Ring to the Black Tortoise Shell.

Immense power flowed between these two formidable divine weapons, channeled through the Five Elements Ring, showing a clear tendency toward fusion.

He Yiming’s heart swelled with astonishment. Just when he had considered giving up, this sudden development reignited a powerful surge of hope within him.

If relying solely on his own strength, He Yiming would sooner die than succeed in fully luminous-transforming such an ultra-tier divine weapon as the Black Tortoise Shell.

But by using the Five Elements Ring as a conduit, releasing the might of the Five Elements World, and allowing it to merge gradually with the Black Tortoise Shell, the situation became drastically different.

Within the Five Elements World, even the foremost fire-element divine artifact, the Nine Dragon Furnace, could find a resting place; what other divine weapon could it not accommodate?

The runes at the very center of the Five Elements World exerted their powerful, subtle influence, sending beams of light that completely enveloped the Black Tortoise Shell. Meanwhile, the Five Elements Power emanating from He Yiming’s true body was identical to that of the Five Elements World. The moment the Black Tortoise Shell entered the Five Elements World in this manner, it was tantamount to He Yiming having successfully achieved its luminous transformation.

Slowly, miraculous patterns of light shifted and transformed here. The stubborn Black Tortoise Shell finally dissolved into a pure sphere of luminescence, integrating itself into the Five Elements World.

At that precise instant, He Yiming gave a slight flick of his wrist, and the Five Elements Ring vanished, becoming perfectly complementary to his Five Elements Physique. Countless runes flared to life anew. At the center of the Five Elements World, the location of those runes was now occupied by the Black Tortoise Shell, which had expanded into a massive structure comparable in size to the Nine Dragon Furnace.

When He Yiming’s consciousness gauged the sheer size of the Black Tortoise Shell within, his mind was filled with awe.

The ability to alter one’s physical volume was a unique power reserved only for those of the Divine Dao.

Although the Black Tortoise Shell was not changing size in the external world, but merely becoming a behemoth within the Five Elements World, this fact alone left He Yiming incredulous.

In a flash of thought, He Yiming extended his hand, and a shimmer of light materialized upon it. Instantly, the Black Tortoise Shell transferred out of the Five Elements World and appeared in his palm.

In his hand, the shell retained the size of an average human torso, not the unimaginable giant it was within the Five Elements World.

After observing it silently for a long moment, He Yiming’s expression became quite serious.

Having successfully luminous-transformed the Black Tortoise Shell by harnessing the power of the Five Elements World, He Yiming gained a fresh understanding of the potent life force contained within this artifact.

Its sheer power was indeed greater than any divine weapon he had previously encountered, perhaps even surpassing a single Lei Zhenzi. However, when compared to the Nine Dragon Furnace, the gap was still substantial.

Yet, He Yiming had a faint premonition that the Black Tortoise Shell had not yet truly unleashed its full potential.

In this current world, perhaps due to the severe scarcity of primordial spiritual energy, even the ancestral fire dragons within the Nine Dragon Furnace could only achieve so much.

Bao Zhu’s small eyes immediately shone brightly upon seeing the Black Tortoise Shell again, and it promptly lunged forward, attempting to embrace the object.

Even though it understood this divine weapon had now become He Yiming’s luminous-transformed armament, to Bao Zhu, this distinction seemed irrelevant.

The Black Tortoise Shell stood upright, spinning leisurely on the ground, as Bao Zhu lightly stamped its hind legs, thoroughly enjoying itself.

He Yiming shook his head and closed his eyes once more, his consciousness sinking into the Five Elements World.

At the very center of this world, there had originally been an intricate pattern of esoteric runes, formed by the condensation of the Five Elements Power. But during the luminous transformation of the Black Tortoise Shell, these patterns vanished completely, as if absorbed into the vast, bottomless vortex of the shell, leaving no trace behind.

However, He Yiming felt no distress over this. Since the Black Tortoise Shell itself had become his luminous-transformed divine weapon, the mysteries held within those runes were certainly not beyond his spiritual investigation.

He held an unwavering conviction that he would eventually decipher the profound secrets of every rune inscribed upon it.

A powerful surge of intent suddenly transmitted from the Nine Dragon Furnace, causing a complex mix of surprise and delight to ripple through He Yiming.

He had just exhausted every means possible to establish contact with the grand consciousness of the Nine Fire Dragons, only to be met with their stony silence. Now, they were reaching out proactively again. This sudden shift made the intentions of these ancestral-level dragons utterly inscrutable to He Yiming.

After making brief contact with that great consciousness, He Yiming’s brow lifted slightly, a flash of joy crossing his face, which then gave way to a moment of stunned bewilderment that bordered on exasperation.

This mental transmission conveyed two pieces of information to him. The first detailed the proper method for utilizing the Black Tortoise Shell.

Those Fire Dragons had forged countless divine artifacts over the ages; thus, their mastery of artifact refinement far surpassed He Yiming’s capabilities. The Black Tortoise Shell was fortunate to have passed through their hands to achieve its current refinement level despite the contemporary lack of ambient world energy.

The second piece of information left He Yiming utterly speechless.

After crafting the Black Tortoise Shell, the Fire Dragons felt unfulfilled and requested that He Yiming provide another Divine Beast carapace so they could indulge in the thrill of creation once more.

If He Yiming possessed such a treasure, he would gladly comply. The problem was that Divine Beast carapaces were exceedingly rare, not just in this era where the Divine Dao had vanished, but even during the millennia when the Divine Dao flourished, they remained objects of chance encounter.

Shaking his head, He Yiming dismissed the Fire Dragons’ demand, recognizing it as a matter of fate. However, with Bao Zhu by his side, his probability of fulfilling such a request was certainly higher than for anyone else.

He reached out and gently pulled Bao Zhu off the Black Tortoise Shell. With a slight tremor of his wrist, the multicolored light retracted, and the Five Elements Ring obediently settled back into his Dantian. Simultaneously, the Black Tortoise Shell dissolved into specks of light, vanishing into the void, leaving the entire room suffused with a gentle, strange hue.

He Yiming let out a soft command. True Qi churned turbulently around him, and the countless motes of light ceaselessly attached themselves, condensing upon his body in an instant to form an extraordinarily unique suit of armor.

This was the application method taught by one of the Fire Dragons: after luminous-transforming the Black Tortoise Shell, it could be manifested over the body at will.

It had to be admitted that, compared to a human, a Black Tortoise essentially possessed one head, four legs, and merely an added tail at the bottom.

Consequently, when this Black Tortoise Shell Armor settled upon him, it felt much like donning an oversized vest—not inherently uncomfortable.

The only issue was that this 'vest' was far too large, hanging loosely on his frame, seemingly ready to slip off at any moment.

He Yiming instinctively drew in his limbs slightly, easily fitting into the large opening, and with a slight tilt of his head, he could even tuck his head inside the shell-vest.

Although the Black Tortoise Shell Armor was not the full-body protection He Yiming had initially imagined, this seemed less important now.

With a flicker of thought, the Aurora Sword materialized in the air. He Yiming tapped it lightly, and the Aurora Sword plunged downward like a projectile.

Clang…

A crisp sound echoed in the cave. The Aurora Sword scraped across the Black Tortoise Armor, managing only to strike a brief spark without leaving the slightest scratch.

However, this result was well within He Yiming’s expectations; if the Aurora Sword could mark it, then the Black Tortoise Armor and the Nine Fire Dragons would be nothing more than refuse.

What truly filled He Yiming with a mixture of shock and joy was that his body registered absolutely no impact force whatsoever.

The force of the Aurora Sword’s strike was immense, yet every bit of it was absorbed by the Black Tortoise Shell, none of it transferring to He Yiming.

This defensive capability was far superior to even the divine-grade artifact shields.

He Yiming’s eyes faintly glowed. After a moment of hesitation, he tapped the sword again, releasing a thin wisp of exotic light from the Aurora Sword. It shot out like lightning and pierced the Black Tortoise Shell.

Without a sound, this beam of light was instantly reflected back, and He Yiming again felt no sensation of impact force.

This armor could effortlessly repel the attack of the North Sea Aurora, famed for its ability to pierce anything. Its defensive power was truly unprecedented in He Yiming’s experience.

Taking a deep breath, He Yiming forcibly suppressed the surging emotion within his chest and focused his spirit entirely upon the armor.

Slowly, a marvelous change began to occur. The Black Tortoise Armor started to shrink and contract, finally conforming tightly to He Yiming’s body, as if perfectly tailored, without a single imperfection.

This armor, truly, could alter its size at will…

He Yiming’s complexion grew slightly flushed; he knew, beyond a doubt, that he had stumbled upon a peerless treasure this time.

A Divine Artifact—this Black Tortoise Shell possessed the potential to ascend to the rank of a Divine Artifact.

Of course, like the Five Elements Ring he already possessed, achieving the rank of a true Divine Artifact would be an undertaking fraught with unimaginable difficulty, one where no one could claim absolute certainty.

After a long while, he settled his mind, tirelessly controlling and training the Black Tortoise Shell, determined to master this powerful defensive divine weapon in the shortest time possible.

A full day later, He Yiming pushed open the cave door. His expression remained placid; even Li Jiangfeng, who had been waiting specifically for him, could not discern his thoughts.

Yet, anyone choosing to enter seclusion at this juncture implicitly understood that some momentous event had transpired regarding him. But no matter how much speculation and exchange occurred among the others, they could never have imagined that He Yiming had managed to luminous-transform a third divine weapon—and that this weapon was a top-tier defensive pseudo-divine artifact at that.

The next day, the group boarded a ship and sailed out toward the depths of the boundless ocean…

ps: Truly unlucky day today, asking for monthly votes…