On this surging, tempestuous sea, a sound, not overly loud, suddenly cut through the air. Yet, to He Yiming's ears, it resonated with astonishing clarity.

His expression shifted subtly. Turning his head, a flicker of surprised uncertainty immediately crossed his eyes.

The Ancestor of the Yu family, who moments before had hung suspended in mid-air, capable of inducing tremendous fluctuations in the world's energy with every movement, and who had split the island in two, churning the ocean into a furious storm—this formidable figure was now plummeting like a meteor.

Watching the Blood Condensation figure fall abruptly into the churning sea, He Yiming could no longer maintain his composure. His body flickered, and he lunged instantly toward that spot, simultaneously establishing a psychic link with the Blood Condensation figure in his mind.

Though this mental connection possessed no true intelligence, through it, He Yiming could clearly grasp the physical condition of the Blood Condensation figure.

As he reached the sea surface, he immediately understood the general situation. However, understanding the cause brought a wave of complicated feelings—a mix of frustration and amusement—to his heart.

The Ancestor of the Yu family's recent strike had indeed reached the standard of the Divine Path; it was not merely a subtle manipulation of divine power, but a raw might that genuinely achieved the realm of a former Divine Path master.

To command the heavens and shape the earth, to cause mountains to crumble and seas to roar—this was the true, terrifying power of the legendary Divine Path beings, far beyond the imagination of the current peak Human Path experts of the Ninth Heaven.

Although legends universally praised the Divine Path to the heavens, in the era when the Divine Path vanished, no one had truly witnessed their actual strength. Franklin’s two Ninth Heaven experts already possessed a degree of divine power, which is why they believed they could withstand the Ancestor of the Yu family’s attack by combining their light and dark forces.

But they had utterly failed to anticipate that the genuine might of the Divine Path would be so earth-shattering.

Had they known this beforehand, they would never have harbored the foolish hope of resisting when the Ancestor of the Yu family began absorbing the world's energy; they would have fled immediately.

Yet, through the mental exchange, He Yiming grasped another critical fact: this world, truly, was no place suitable for Divine Path cultivators to thrive.

The reason the Divine Path was called Divine was because their prowess exceeded the limits of the Human Path, reaching a state only gods could conceive of.

The casual strike from the Ancestor of the Yu family looked simple, but it involved instantaneously absorbing all the natural energy within a radius of hundreds of li around him before unleashing that single, colossal burst of power.

Though this strike was unparalleled, shattering the Light-Dark Union—an amalgamation that three peak Human Path experts combined could not breach—like dry straw, it resulted in one Ninth Heaven expert escaping via mysterious spatial power, while the other was maimed permanently.

However, after unleashing that attack, the pressure inflicted upon the surrounding environment was immense; the world’s energy within a hundred li radius was entirely exhausted in that instant. While energy from further afield inexorably flowed in to replenish the void, restoring the previous equilibrium would take at least a day or two.

And the Ancestor of the Yu family was, after all, merely a puppet, not a true human.

The Divine Relic controlling the Ancestor of the Yu family flew not by the light of a divine weapon, but by manipulating the world’s energy through its Divine Path abilities.

This was precisely why He Yiming and the others could not detect the divine weapon’s light emanating from the Ancestor of the Yu family.

But once the surrounding ambient energy was instantaneously depleted, the Ancestor of the Yu family could no longer command the missing world energy, nor could it sustain its own flight.

If this were a normal human, under such circumstances, they would naturally switch to flying with their divine weapon's light. But for a puppet, especially for a Divine Path Blood Condensation figure that had just newly occupied the Ancestor of the Yu family's body, such instantaneous tactical adjustment was asking too much.

Consequently, the puppet body of the Ancestor of the Yu family inevitably plunged into the seabed.

Once he fully understood the reason, even He Yiming couldn't help but offer a bitter, wry smile.

Standing on the sea surface, He Yiming drew a deep breath, sensing the changes in the surrounding environment.

Though it was still the same boundless ocean and the same shattered island, in He Yiming’s perception, the ambient energy here was virtually drained dry.

After a pause, his expression shifted slightly; he had reached a conclusion. In this environment, a person could cultivate at most to the peak of the tenth layer of Inner Strength. Any further advancement, the leap to Innate realm, would be utterly impossible.

This revealed the frightening degree to which the world's energy here had thinned.

That earth-shattering strike carried such a colossal cost—the immediate consumption of all world energy within a hundred li. And this was merely a casual blow from a Divine Path being. If they had fought with unrestrained ferocity, like the prolonged battles between peak Human Path experts, one could only imagine the catastrophic changes that would have ensued.

A thought struck him, and He Yiming finally understood why the nine fire dragons within the legendary Nine Dragon Furnace were unwilling to fully manifest. Under the current state of world energy, there was simply no opportunity for them to appear.

With a wave of his wrist, the Five Elements Ring instantly materialized. Gazing at this replica artifact glimmering with five colors, He Yiming's heart filled with a profound bitterness.

He had learned the method to elevate this artifact from the Caveman. He had been full of confidence in this plan.

As long as he could find a location rich in world energy, he could attempt to upgrade this replica into a true Divine Artifact.

While this was a nearly impossible task in the ordinary world, He Yiming had planned to target locations like the peak of Ghost Cry Ridge, the summit of Heavenly Pool’s main peak, the volcano of the Glazed Cave, or even the First Grotto-Heaven of the Blessed Lands—all places known for the densest concentration of world energy.

Once He Yiming gathered the power of the Five Qi Divine Force, he intended to try and elevate this replica artifact to the Divine Artifact realm.

If successful, he would truly control a Divine Artifact, rather than having to placate the Nine Dragon Furnace like appeasing an overbearing master.

However, this beautiful aspiration was entirely shattered today after witnessing the strike from the Ancestor of the Yu family.

A casual attack from a Divine Path being instantly vaporized all the world energy within a hundred li. While this speed and quantity allowed Divine Path beings to unleash power unimaginable to the Human Path realm, it was also a force this current world could no longer sustain.

The disappearance of the Divine Path, He Yiming realized, was inextricably linked to the lack of sufficient world energy.

Helplessly retrieving the Five Elements Ring into his body, He Yiming shook his head, casting aside those impractical notions completely.

Although he didn't know precisely how much world energy was required to upgrade a Divine Artifact, one thing was certain: the amount needed would absolutely exceed today's consumption by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times.

Such an expenditure of world energy—forget ordinary places, even within the First Grotto-Heaven, it would likely be impossible.

Perhaps, if he traveled to the Ten Thousand Tree Valley within the Blessed Lands and completely drained the life force from that ancient tree that had lived for untold millennia, there might be a slim chance of upgrading the Five Elements Ring to the Divine Artifact realm.

But the moment he recalled that great tree's power, capable of resisting the Nine Dragon Furnace, He Yiming consciously dismissed the thought.

The peak Ninth Heaven experts of the Human Path were indeed powerful, but when faced with these ancient monsters who had surpassed human limitations, it was best to remain humble.

The surface of the sea split open, and the Ancestor of the Yu family flew up again from the water. This time, however, he was not manipulating external world energy but utilizing his inherent divine radiance for flight.

He Yiming sighed deeply and said, "From now on, stay by my side. Without my command, do not act rashly."

The Ancestor of the Yu family nodded coldly. He didn't even move his eyeballs. Still, for a puppet to achieve this level of response was enough to satisfy He Yiming greatly.

With this puppet beside him, He Yiming was like a tiger with wings; he even had the confidence to look down upon peak Human Path experts.

But alas, this master could only unleash that single strike. After it, he purely reverted to a decorative piece, unable to even guarantee his original peak Human Path strength.

Through the mental exchange, He Yiming finally understood one crucial point.

The greatest strengths and weaknesses of the Divine Relic were equally pronounced. In an area abundant with world energy, it could be utilized as a true Divine Path expert. But once the energy was depleted, it became nothing more than a puppet capable only of taking hits. In this regard, it was far inferior even to the original Blood Condensation figure.

Because the Divine Relic had grown accustomed to utilizing Divine Path power, it was utterly incapable of using ordinary Human Path power—a realization that left He Yiming utterly stunned and disbelieving.

Of course, no matter what, this puppet body still possessed considerable self-preservation capability. Although it was clumsy in employing powers below the Divine Path, its physical structure itself was at the Ninth Heaven level, perhaps even surpassing it. Even a peak Human Path expert would likely find it impossible to kill him.

Glancing around, the violently agitated waves finally began to subside slowly.

Though the power of the Divine Path was immense, in the face of Nature, it seemed capable of bringing only a momentary upheaval to this sea region, unable to sustain that change long-term.

He moved forward and, moments later, arrived upon the desolate island where the massive fires had been extinguished by the sea spray.

There, a shriveled corpse lay. In the chest and abdomen of this body was a massive, bloody cavity through which one could see that the internal organs appeared to have been completely pulverized.

This, He Yiming realized with a chilling dread, was Garfield's true cause of death.

Under such injuries, even a true Divine Path expert could not survive, let alone a peak Human Path expert of the Ninth Heaven.

Yet, at this very moment, as He Yiming approached the corpse, he was horrified to see a plume of black smoke rise from the body, beginning to coalesce before him...

Ps: Five updates today, requesting monthly passes and recommendation tickets...