A vast surge, even more potent than before, flooded into He Yiming's body—the divine power of Fire. Yet, unlike the previous instance, He Yiming was exceptionally calm now, his eyes devoid of any trace of madness.

At this moment, He Yiming’s heart was as still as water. He allowed the formidable fire energy to continually pour into his Dantian, even as it caused a subtle ache along his meridians, yet He Yiming remained unshakenly composed.

As expected, after the massive influx of Fire Divine Power, the previously balanced state was abruptly shattered. Not only did the divine powers of Wood and Earth separate from the Fire Divine Power, but the remaining energies also began to slowly unleash their might, gradually coalescing together.

In essence, none of these powers were inherently superior or inferior; they were all manifestations of potent Divine Power imbued with a spark of sentience. However, precisely because of this sentience, they acted autonomously to some degree, much like living organisms in nature, instinctively choosing a path of evolution best suited for their continued existence.

All the forces began to converge toward the center of the Dantian. Both the three weapons radiating the light of Divine Arms, and the various attributes of Divine Power, were slowly drawn together under the intense pressure of the external Fire Divine Power.

The only entity completely unaffected within this sphere was the still weak and powerless Condensing Blood Man. This entity, embedded with the Divine Path Sarira, had remained inert since retreating into the Dantian, never moving even slightly.

Apart from ceaselessly absorbing energy from the Chaos Dantian to replenish its own depletion, it offered no other contribution. Even as all other powers began to mobilize, it showed no reaction whatsoever.

However, He Yiming held no resentment, for the bizarre aura emanating from the Condensing Blood Man indicated that its body remained incredibly frail, far from the unbelievable strength it possessed when first materialized. He Yiming’s divine sense swept over the Condensing Blood Man, and he immediately abandoned focus on it, channeling all his concentration into the Divine Arms and Divine Powers within his Dantian.

This attempt was arguably the greatest challenge of his life so far, allowing for absolutely no room for error. He Yiming’s mind ceaselessly cycled through the contents of the ancient manuals he had studied, every description of cultivation through the Nine Heavens and that vague path of advancement flashing through his consciousness.

While the exact standard for ascending to the Ninth Heaven was elusive due to differences in individual constitution, cultivation techniques, and so forth, reviewing the legacies left by predecessors offered He Yiming some measure of guidance. His will projected into the Dantian, instantly establishing contact with all the Divine Arms and Powers.

The Divine Arms were manageable; even the Five Elements Ring and the Black Tortoise Shell yielded to his command. This was the advantage of achieving the Illumination of Divine Arms: the ability to control every fragment of power within these potent artifacts at will.

However, this complete obedience only occurred when controlling a single Divine Arm. Attempting to fuse the Illumination of Divine Arms from different artifacts was an endeavor of extreme difficulty.

Each Divine Arm was a potent weapon possessing its own unique capabilities. Like the Divine Powers, they possessed their own dignity, and persuading them to surrender that dignity was an immense challenge.

Furthermore, the more powerful the Divine Arm, the truer this was. By comparison, the Aurora Sword, possessing the essence of the North Sea Aurora, was the easiest to manipulate, but the Five Elements Ring and the Black Tortoise Shell presented significant hurdles.

Even in the face of true Divine Power, the radiance of these two Divine Arms showed no inclination toward merging. He Yiming hesitated, positioning the Five Elements Ring directly beneath the center of the Dantian.

As his natal Divine Arm and his most crucial artifact—one possessing the potential of a Divine Artifact—using the Five Elements Ring as the foundation for the fusion was undoubtedly the best choice. Under He Yiming’s deliberate manipulation, he continuously absorbed the powerful external Fire Energy, maintaining his Dantian under constant, overwhelming pressure.

It was within this unique crucible of immense duress that the possibility arose for these Divine Arms and Powers of disparate attributes to merge as one. Once the Five Elements Ring settled firmly in place within the Dantian, it immediately emitted a multi-colored radiance, spinning rapidly.

The potent energies of the Five Elements World surged violently, eager to challenge the external pressure. He Yiming quickly exerted his will to suppress the power of the Five Elements Ring to the absolute minimum.

What a joke—if the forces of the Five Elements World were fully unleashed in the Dantian, even his Chaos Dantian might not withstand the impact and confrontation of these two immense powers without shattering. The Aurora Sword and the Black Tortoise Shell were simultaneously moved above the multi-colored light of the Five Elements Ring.

This was He Yiming’s experiment: he intended to embed these two streams of tremendous power within the Five Elements World. However, He Yiming’s greatest fear materialized.

The Aurora Sword began to writhe like a sentient serpent. As this Divine Arm struggled, He Yiming felt a terrifying sense of lost control.

He immediately intensified his mental control, focusing every ounce of his energy on the Aurora Sword, leaving no surplus capacity to manage the far more formidable Black Tortoise Shell. Moments later, through He Yiming's strenuous efforts, the Aurora Sword transformed from an excessively recalcitrant child into a docile infant, successfully positioned atop the Five Elements Ring.

The flickering, five-colored radiance immediately enveloped the Aurora Sword. As the Illumination of Divine Arms from both artifacts met, there was a subtle, almost tangible sense of opposition.

He Yiming secretly groaned. If managing just one Aurora Sword proved this difficult, what about the Black Tortoise Shell?

A flicker of thought alerted him to the location of the Black Tortoise Shell, and suddenly, his eyes widened in a mixture of shock and elation. The Black Tortoise Shell had already successfully entered the light of the Five Elements!

These two supremely powerful Divine Arms had exhibited absolutely no conflict; the illumination emanating from them mingled together like water and oil, fusing intimately and seamlessly. He Yiming was ecstatic.

He instantly recalled that when he achieved the Illumination of the Black Tortoise Shell, the mysterious runes within the Five Elements Ring had aided him in his ultimate success. This demonstrated that the relationship between the Five Elements Ring and the Black Tortoise Shell was indeed extraordinary.

Unexpectedly, the obstacle that he had anticipated to be the greatest hurdle had been overcome smoothly and without incident, so easily it was almost unbelievable. He Yiming’s confidence soared.

His divine sense extended outward once more. The Earth Divine Power, Wood Divine Power, and a portion of Fire Divine Power deliberately isolated by him moved toward the radiance of the Five Elements Ring, as if responding to a command.

Substituting Divine Power for the Illumination of Divine Arms—this method was utterly unprecedented. Moreover, across the entire world, He Yiming was likely the only person possessing the unique conditions to attempt such a feat.

For aside from mastering the power of origin and possessing the Chaos Dantian, no one else could have successfully absorbed Divine Power before achieving the Illumination of all six Divine Arms. It wasn't just a matter of being unable to sense this power; even if one could sense it, without the refinement of the body through six Divine Arms to exhaust every latent human potential, the mortal frame simply could not bear the immense pressure of Divine Power.

To truly absorb that energy, which did not belong to the human Dao realm, would result only in the body exploding and perishing. Thus, despite the boundless wisdom of countless predecessors, none could possibly conceive that Divine Power could substitute for the Illumination of Divine Arms.

The three distinct streams of Divine Power entered the light barrier of the Five Elements. If it were any other Divine Arm, it would be impossible for it to integrate with these three Divine Powers of differing attributes, but the Five Elements Ring was different.

This artifact, possessing the potential of a Divine Artifact and having been guided repeatedly by the three major Divine Powers, accepted these three streams of power with utter ease. Instantly, beneath the Dantian, myriad lights erupted.

Yet, what comforted He Yiming was that, apart from the Aurora Sword, the Illumination of the other Divine Arms and the Divine Powers cooperated with profound understanding, as if they did not object to their energies blending. Since this method was conceived, countless top-tier Great Venerables of the Five Energies had become stalled at this final barrier.

If those individuals knew He Yiming's current situation, they would surely be driven mad with envy. His heart gave one powerful beat before immediately returning to stillness; He Yiming re-entered a state of absolute, unruffled calm.

Subsequently, the powers of Light and Darkness, which had been orbiting above the Dantian, finally moved. They began to circle the Five Elements Ring and all the energies contained within.

They acted like ropes, binding all the powers tightly together, constricting them ever more, ever more… This was the most critical step, the true reason why Great Venerables sought to absorb Divine Power. They needed to leverage the immense might of the Divine Power to bind all forces together, compressing them until complete integration was achieved.

If successful, one would not only ascend in a single leap to the pinnacle of the Human Dao realm but also permanently retain this formidable Divine Power. He Yiming’s breathing hitched slightly.

The fusion of Light and Darkness indeed generated a far greater power. But only power of this magnitude held the potential to merge all energies, including the three streams of Divine Power, into a single entity.

Time ticked by. When the powers of Light and Darkness had almost fused into a single entity within the Chaos, the entire space within the Five Elements Ring completely vanished.

A colossal surge of power suddenly compressed into a single point within He Yiming’s body. All his true Qi instantaneously compressed toward the Dantian.

Almost simultaneously, the Heavenly Dao forces surrounding him churned wildly, flooding into his body at an unprecedented speed, filling every empty meridian. He Yiming opened his eyes; his heart was filled with joy so intense it felt like an explosion.

He threw his head back and let out a roar, like rolling heavenly thunder, that detonated throughout the entire Glazed Cave… Ps: Five chapters today, requesting monthly tickets, thank you…