The sky churned with a mass of black cloud, the conflagration below scorching everything to ash, thick, sooty smoke choking the entire expanse, the very air thick with the acrid, bloody scent of intense fire.

Suddenly, a sound, seemingly echoing from the Ninth Heaven itself, erupted from a spot tens of feet away on one of the island’s shores.

“Roar…”

It was a roar brimming with oppressive might and raw power, the voice of a supremely high deity.

Time itself seemed to freeze in that instant; even the wildly churning smoke and the ubiquitous wind became utterly still.

This was no mere illusion; it was a palpable reality.

Dragon Might—the moment this power reappeared in the world, it instantly enveloped everything within the reach of sound under its terrifying dominion.

In the heavens, Zhuang Munan, suspended precariously between hesitation and decision, faltered. The divine light surrounding him immediately dimmed, and he began to plummet toward the ground like a meteor chasing the moon.

Directly above Bao Zhu, a miraculous, anti-flight domain had materialized. Every weapon utilizing divine light for propulsion instantly lost its function, save for Bao Zhu itself; that potent divine energy was utterly shattered by the even mightier Dragon Roar.

He Yiming’s gaze flickered; with a sweep of his wrist, a massive force slammed toward the utterly stunned Zhuang Munan.

Though the Grand Venerable of Five Qi managed to maintain a façade of composure, his heart was in utter turmoil. To have his flight-sustaining divine light shattered was unprecedented. That he managed to fall without flailing wildly was the height of his self-control.

However, upon sensing the force He Yiming propelled, the seasoned cultivator immediately used the impact to his advantage, slowing his descent until he settled gently onto the ground.

But in that moment, the look he cast upon Bao Zhu was laced with profound awe. The sheer power wielded by such a formidable Holy Beast was terrifying beyond measure.

Father and daughter Li, along with Hua Ruijin, had resigned themselves to certain death. Yet, when a flash of white light illuminated the scene, and He Yiming suddenly appeared astride the white horse, Lightning, a wild, almost ecstatic relief surged through them, the feeling of surviving a catastrophe.

This feeling had barely taken root before they were struck by two even more incredible sounds.

While the roar of the Outer Sea Monster was frightening, it remained within their capacity to endure. But the bellow emanating from little Bao Zhu, saturated with Dragon Might, was an inherited, supreme ability of the ancient dragons. That immense pressure seemed to bore directly into their cores, exploding within their viscera, leaving them reeling and barely able to stand.

This was the essence of Dragon Might: the closer one was to the epicenter of this power, the greater the shockwave endured.

Having been tempered by the molten lava deep within the cavern, Bao Zhu’s potency had also seen a massive upgrade; even ordinary Venerables could not withstand the full impact of its unleashed power.

“You should leave now,” He Yiming called out, his voice coalescing into a single beam that pierced through Bao Zhu’s roar to reach the ears of the three listeners.

His tone carried no urgency, as if he were merely mentioning a triviality. Yet, everyone felt an undeniable compulsion—that they must do as he instructed.

This tone, devoid of explicit command, achieved the effect of a direct order.

Because everyone present, including Zhuang Munan, knew that in this confrontation, caught between the opposing forces, there was absolutely no room for them to intervene.

Li Yajing shot He Yiming a complex look, finally turning away with the others to rendezvous with Zhuang Munan, retreating at their fastest possible pace until they were far removed from the conflict zone.

Subconsciously, they had already begun to regard He Yiming as a powerhouse at the peak of the Human Dao.

In truth, He Yiming had utilized the Wood-elemental Divine Power just then to project his voice; without it, no sound could possibly transmit through the fury of Bao Zhu’s Dragon Roar.

Bao Zhu’s roaring continued unabated, its destructive capability unparalleled.

Directly ahead of Bao Zhu, any remaining structures that had not yet collapsed instantly crumbled to dust. All manner of sea monsters that had advanced from the ocean were hurled backward by the sheer force, tumbling uncontrollably across the ground.

They spasmed their limbs, yet all their strength seemed siphoned away, leaving them incapable of righting themselves.

The sheer power of the sound waves even profoundly affected the raging inferno. In the span of a single breath, every flame seemed violently suppressed by some invisible force, flickering erratically.

The Outer Sea Holy Beast King, which bore the direct brunt of the sonic attack, convulsed violently, radiating a brilliant azure light across its surface, enveloping it like a massive protective shield.

The power it projected faltered, turning back upon itself, utterly crushed by the tremendous might unleashed by Bao Zhu.

The tide of battle instantly reversed. The powerful sonic energy relentlessly hammered against the monster’s energy barrier, and beneath Bao Zhu’s still-unending roar, this barrier looked like a tiny sailboat battered by a storm, seemingly moments away from being capsized by the overwhelming sound waves.

Under the oppressive weight of the Dragon Might, time seemed to stretch into abnormal slowness, especially in the fan-shaped area directly ahead of Bao Zhu, where everything appeared as if captured in slow motion, lending an uncanny, dreamlike disorientation to the scene.

Finally, Bao Zhu ceased its assault. It slowly closed its jaws, stuck out its tongue, and panted like a dog.

While that roar had been cathartic, for Bao Zhu, it had required every last vestige of its reserves, held back by nothing.

The moment Bao Zhu’s sound vanished, the sea monster’s protective energy shield dissipated instantly. A flicker of profound shock crossed its cold eyes. As a reigning powerhouse of the Outer Sea, it had not experienced anything remotely like this in many years.

He Yiming beckoned, drawing Bao Zhu into his embrace. He fixed a cold gaze on his opponent, then waved his hand, allowing the yellow Earth force, controlled by the Five Elements Ring, to spread limitlessly.

This power instantly coalesced in the air, forming a colossal, golden-yellow cloud mass, heavy as a mountain, which then bore down upon the enemy below.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal—this Earth-elemental Hand Seal technique was unleashed in this spectacular fashion.

The cloud, larger even than the sea monster, descended from the sky, carrying an unimaginable, furious momentum, intent on crushing the colossal behemoth beneath it.

The great sea monster’s look of shock intensified, and the azure light flared once more across its body.

This light had already been deployed once, in a desperate attempt to resist Bao Zhu’s roar, barely holding until Bao Zhu’s reserves were spent before dissolving. Now, mere seconds later, it was forced to summon this defensive power anew.

It happened like a clap of thunder from a clear sky…

With a resounding crash, the golden Earth Divine Power rained down, slamming the Outer Sea Holy Beast King beneath the weight of the mountain-like yellow cloud.

The sheer force compressed the very ground downward, creating a depression. The azure light guarding the monster, already tenuous after Bao Zhu’s onslaught, shattered under the relentless pressure of the Earth Divine Power, transmitting the full, crushing weight onto the beast’s body and driving it deep into the earth.

He Yiming let out a long breath. With a slight motion of the Five Elements Ring in his hand, the yellow cloud mass surged inward, returning to the Five Elements World.

Previously, after triggering the Earth Divine Power, He Yiming had zero control over it; all divine forces could be released but not recalled. But now, using the means provided by the Five Elements World, he had actually grasped a sliver of the true method to command Earth Divine Power—it could be unleashed at will, and a significant portion could also be recovered.

Of course, although He Yiming now housed three types of divine power within his body, the total quantity of these powers was small, and any deployment would inevitably result in depletion. Thus, He Yiming dared not use this ultimate power as recklessly as he used the Five Elements Force.

As the yellow cloud returned to the Five Elements World, He Yiming stood tall, chest out, his heart filled with pride.

The journey into the magma at the bottom of the cave had not been in vain. Facing a supreme Holy Beast at the pinnacle of the Human Dao, and without even involving White Horse Lightning, He Yiming and Bao Zhu had achieved an overwhelming advantage—a scenario utterly unimaginable just a few days prior.

Now, the area before him was marked by a perfectly flat crater, the enormous monster, easily ten-plus zhang long, having been physically hammered into the ground, becoming a part of the crater floor.

He Yiming’s gaze lifted slightly, and upon seeing this, a sharp sense of unease prickled his intuition.

The thought flashed through his mind, and immediately after, He Yiming watched as the Holy Beast King lifted its head from the earth, its eyes, chilling to the bone, shooting out icy, bone-penetrating coldness.

Then, its eight powerful legs coiled and suddenly propelled it upward, launching itself from the pit. Using its massive bulk as a weapon, it charged rapidly toward He Yiming.

In an instant, He Yiming understood the situation.

While the Earth Divine Power was incredibly potent, the ground beneath their feet was merely ordinary soil. Although it had driven the Holy Beast King down, the monster’s hide was too thick and its resilience too great to suffer a fatal injury from such an impact.

He sighed inwardly. If this same attack had occurred on ground composed of the most solid earth, this Holy Beast King, no matter its strength, would have been gravely wounded, certainly incapable of leaping about so vigorously.

White Horse Lightning’s eyes gleamed. This time, without waiting for He Yiming to act, its single horn erupted with fierce light, unleashing a concentrated, horn-shaped bolt of lightning that struck precisely onto the Holy Beast King’s body.

Ps: Five chapters today, requesting guaranteed monthly tickets and recommendation votes. Thank you...