He Yiming looked around in astonishment. Despite the dazzling, overwhelming light just moments ago, He Yiming possessed eyes of remarkable acuity. Though he couldn't pierce the core of that radiance, he could discern that the light was not truly expanding outward.
This meant the colossal dragon was not ferrying them away through distant flight enveloped in the splendor of divine weaponry. Instead, it had utilized legendary spatial power to transport Bing Xiaotian and the other seven peak Human Dao experts to an unknown domain.
The only thing that surprised him was being left behind. He understood that the dragon deliberately concealed its true intentions by isolating him, clearly having private matters to discuss.
He bowed deeply to the Divine Dragon, exhibiting impeccable courtesy. Faced with such overwhelming disparity in strength, He Yiming saw no issue in expressing his reverence through meticulous etiquette.
“Respected Lord Divine Dragon, do you have further instructions for me?”
“Heh heh, I kept you back to inquire about and settle a few matters,” the Dragon stated slowly.
He Yiming’s expression shifted subtly; he cursed inwardly, though he dared not betray a flicker of it on his face.
After the majority had departed, the Dragon’s voice had returned to a normal human volume. This implied it could speak like an ordinary person but chose to theatrically roar like a sacred beast every time, assaulting everyone with powerful sonic waves.
Seemingly sensing his thoughts, the Dragon snorted. “If you cannot even withstand my sonic attacks, then you lack the qualification to remain.”
He Yiming’s heart tightened, and he quickly replied in a deep voice, “Yes.”
“Enough preamble. Let’s get to the main point. Your physique is quite peculiar; it seems you have cultivated many different types of profound arts—the Five Elements of the East, Light and Shadow of the West. Just how many have you mastered?” The Dragon paused, then added, “You also possess a crude Five Elements Ring on your hand. Hmm, there seems to be something else intricate within it.”
He Yiming sighed inwardly. Given the immense gap in power, none of his secrets could truly be hidden from this being. Fortunately, while it was a Sacred Beast, it was not an omnipotent deity, so some things remained beyond its sight. At the very least, it could not discern the Nine Dragon Furnace concealed within the Five Elements Ring.
“Lord Divine Dragon, I have studied both the Great Eastern Five Elements Reincarnation and the Western Convergence of Light and Shadow.” His statement was exceedingly polite, yet cleverly omitted mention of the Five Elements Ring.
“You have mastered both the Flower of the Great Five Elements Reincarnation and the Convergence of Light and Shadow?” the Dragon asked in disbelief.
Upon receiving this answer, even it forgot the anomaly concerning the Five Elements Ring.
He Yiming replied soberly, “I have achieved minor mastery.”
The Dragon fell silent for a long moment, seemingly contemplating something. A faint chill traced its way down He Yiming’s spine. He suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation of being utterly seen through and analyzed. Instinctively, he knew the Dragon was scrutinizing him from the air.
After a stretch of time, the feeling finally receded.
The Dragon’s voice sounded again: “Your innate talent is indeed formidable. In the future, you even hold the potential to advance to the True God Realm.”
He Yiming’s face abruptly changed, his eyes flashing with a spark of intense excitement.
The Divine Path Realm itself was stratified by grades.
After the soul departs and divine power sculpts the body, one can utilize the power of Will and Spirit to manipulate the forces of Heaven and Earth at will, unleashing their majesty—this is the most common level, the Void God Realm.
The vast majority of Divine Path experts, upon reaching this stage, found further advancement impossible for the rest of their lives.
Only a select few doted upon by fate could take another step forward. Upon reaching the Pseudo-God Realm, one could solidify the ethereal, forming one’s own Divine Path Field.
Within this field, the Pseudo-God reigns supreme; they can unleash their greatest power in an amplified manner. Until their Divine Path Field is shattered, they remain in an invincible state.
But the pinnacle of the Divine Path is the legendary True God Realm.
Yet, descriptions of this boundary are exceedingly rare, for ancient records show that since humanity first began groping toward cultivation methods in the Antiquity Era, only two experts ever attained it: the Light and Shadow Saint Child who founded the Western Heaven and Hell, and the Five Elements Ancestor who created the Eastern Realm of Life and Death.
These two left behind unparalleled achievements and mighty reputations in the East and West, absolute powerhouses who were unrivaled in their era—they were the true True Gods.
The Dragon’s assessment of the others was quite measured: it assumed that in this new place, they would certainly advance to the ordinary Divine Path, perhaps with a few reaching the Pseudo-God Realm, but not many.
However, when evaluating He Yiming, the Dragon directly invoked the True God Realm. This was a seismic shock to anyone hearing it.
He Yiming’s heart pounded violently. When he heard the Dragon suggest he might potentially reach the True God Realm, controlling his emotion was equally difficult.
Any cultivator hearing that they might one day stand alongside those two figures—beings spoken of in legendary terms even within the Divine Path—would struggle to believe it.
The Dragon chuckled, “You merely possess the possibility of advancing to the True God Realm. Whether you succeed depends entirely on your own efforts.”
He Yiming’s focus sharpened, and he quickly quelled the slight frenzy gripping his mind.
Shifting his gaze, he spoke loudly, “Lord Divine Dragon, did you not say there were former Divine Path predecessors and Sacred Beasts here? Why are you the only one present?”
The Dragon sighed helplessly. Fortunately, its voice had reverted to normal here, otherwise He Yiming would have endured another powerful sonic blast.
“My companions have long since dispersed across this world, hunting the scattered Death Creatures. They will return here once their reinforcements arrive in large numbers,” the Dragon’s tone carried a distinct arrogance. “With me guarding this place now, it is more than sufficient.”
He Yiming opened his mouth. He had a creeping suspicion that the other Divine Path experts hadn't left to hunt Death Creatures, but perhaps to avoid this terrifying behemoth.
After all, in the presence of this supremely powerful Dragon, even a Divine Path expert might feel intensely oppressed.
“Six months, half a year at most, their reinforcements will arrive. Now, you should go cultivate as well. I expect you to reach the Divine Path within three months. Then, in six months, you and that strange Blood Condensation Man behind you should equate to two Void Gods.”
He Yiming looked back in surprise. The Divine Path Blood Condensation Man stood exactly as before, motionless. While this puppet was potent, it seemed incapable of matching a true Divine Path expert, didn’t it?
The Dragon chuckled. “Do not underestimate your Blood Condensation Man. He is powerful; you simply have not yet learned how to unleash his true might.”
He Yiming lowered his head and bowed respectfully, intending to humbly ask how to make the puppet stronger.
However, before he could speak, the Dragon extended its massive claw. “I am sending you away now. Prepare yourself; do not die prematurely.”
He Yiming suppressed a wry smile. This Dragon was utterly domineering, but he knew that when beneath another’s roof, one must yield. He replied in a deep voice, “Yes.”
The massive claw swept once. He Yiming and the Divine Path Blood Condensation Man were instantly enveloped in a tremendous force. Moments later, light flashed, and they vanished from the spot.
High in the air, the Dragon’s immense body began to shake violently. Slowly, its form started shrinking rapidly. In barely fifteen minutes, it had reduced to a mere Divine Dragon fifteen zhang long.
While a size of fifteen zhang could hardly be called ‘small,’ compared to its nearly boundless previous form, the difference was indescribable.
If He Yiming and the others had witnessed this, they would likely have cursed heartily.
This Dragon clearly possessed the divine ability of free transformation, yet when meeting them, it had inflated its body to the maximum size, startling everyone.
Having completed its transformation, the Dragon returned to the sand surface, tilting its head, its eyes flashing with an eerie light.
At this moment, it no longer appeared as a terrifying Sacred Beast, but rather an elder imbued with profound wisdom and calculation.
It seemed to muse aloud, “Why did he come out too? Did someone truly enter that cavern… The Flower of the Great Five Elements Reincarnation and the Convergence of Light and Shadow, heh, quite an interesting child. What a pity; if not for this damned passage, I would not miss this opportunity.”
After a long silence, a voice filled with sentiment echoed again: “Five thousand years. Five millennia have actually passed. That decision back then was far too reckless. Can he… block this passage?”
A gust of wind blew, lifting the sand on the ground in sheets. In moments, the area was veiled in a cloud of dust.
He Yiming and the others were unaware that this phenomenon of swirling sand was the world’s true countenance. The moment they opened the ice island and entered this place, all the sand mist vanished instantly. Only now, as the Dragon retracted its might, did the sand begin to rage anew.
Before long, everything became indistinguishable from the distant horizon as the encroaching sand fog grew larger under the buffeting wind. Yet, within this fog, there was a circle spanning nearly a li, a mirror-like surface undisturbed by a single grain of sand falling upon it.
Some mysterious power seemed to guard this spot.
This was the place where He Yiming and the others appeared, and where the Qilin Beast and others departed.
This was the sole passage to the Northern Sea Ice Island, the place guarded by the Divine Dragon and all the Divine Path experts with a unified heart.
The faint, glimmering light was dazzling amidst the thickening sea of sand, like a single lamp lit in an endless night, drawing every moving creature toward it.
A dragon, perhaps ten zhang long, coiled beside it, guarding the expanse of land with the careful protection one reserves for their offspring.