The body felt as if it were being held aloft by some unseen force, lifting him into the air. The sensation was profoundly strange and deeply unsettling. Yet, He Yiming offered no struggle; instead, he quietly sought to comprehend the nature of this peculiar power.
The power of Space—this was undoubtedly the exclusive domain of those at the Divine Dao realm. Furthermore, this wasn't the internalized spatial force found within Divine Artifacts; this was authentic spatial manipulation wielded directly by the Divine Dragon.
He Yiming extended his consciousness outward, but it could not penetrate the miraculous energy enveloping him.
However, he clearly sensed the intense vibrational frequency of this power. Slowly, a look of understanding dawned on He Yiming’s face; he was beginning to grasp it. Spatial power was intrinsically linked to the Power of Heaven and Earth. One might even call this a veiled manifestation of the might of Heaven and Earth.
Had He Yiming not already mastered the might of Heaven and Earth through the union of Light and Dark power, he certainly would not have perceived this subtle shift in energy.
The might of Heaven and Earth was a technique employed by Divine Dao experts after absorbing countless streams of celestial power, compressing it intensely, and then releasing it. This spatial power, however, felt astonishingly similar in principle. The Divine Dragon, having absorbed vast quantities of Heaven and Earth power, utilized some specialized method to layer and condense this energy repeatedly before unleashing it abruptly. The degree of compression achieved here, however, vastly surpassed any limit He Yiming himself could reach.
Perhaps it was precisely because the level of compression reached a certain critical threshold that the effect of manipulating space could manifest.
Just as He Yiming became completely absorbed in contemplating this power, the energy began to dissipate gradually, melting away like snow under a blazing sun.
He paused for a moment, then understood. He must have arrived at a designated location approved by the Divine Dragon, causing the spatial power to exhaust itself upon arrival.
He let out a deep sigh. Although a touch reluctant, there was nothing he could do to halt the dissipation of this energy.
His vision suddenly brightened, and he saw the sun—that orb in the high heavens, like a wheel of fire.
However, before him stretched a dense curtain of sandy mist. The particles of sand, whipped up by the wind, instantly swirled into the air, darting toward his eyes, nostrils, ears, and even the folds of his robes.
Frowning slightly, He Yiming circulated his true qi, and a peculiar, phantom flower manifested above his head.
The moment this flower appeared, the surrounding wind abruptly ceased. It seemed that any wind within a certain radius of He Yiming became docile, ceasing to stir the sand on the ground.
With a soft rustling sound, countless sand grains in the immediate vicinity dropped from the air. Having lost the force of the wind, they could no longer remain suspended. Of course, the finer particles, those almost like dust, still floated in the air, lending the entire atmosphere a flavor of desolation and despair.
He Yiming’s expression darkened slowly. Gazing as far as his eyes could reach, he saw only himself and the Divine Dao Blood Condensation figure. Beyond them, there was no other trace of life.
Even in the deserts of the Northwest, amidst the endless yellow sands, it was never a dead land; various forms of life stubbornly persisted there. But here, there was no breath of life, not even the slightest hint.
He Yiming raised his head, his gaze gradually firming.
No matter what, he absolutely could not allow those things, the harbingers of death, to reach his world.
This was his present thought, and it had been the thought of every Divine Dao expert and Divine Beast who had entered this place in ages past.
Only by witnessing these devastated deadlands firsthand could one truly comprehend the Dragon’s meaning.
They had no retreat left…
His ears twitched slightly. From beneath the earth, a faint scratching sound reached He Yiming.
Though the sound was light, in this dead land where nothing existed save the sigh of the wind, it resonated with startling clarity.
A chilling, icy aura, more terrifying even than that emanating from the Dragon Snake, flooded He Yiming’s consciousness.
In his entire life, the most powerful sense of cold he had ever encountered was undoubtedly the Yin Sha Qi of Ghost Wail Ridge. Yet, now, He Yiming realized there were always greater heights to scale and stronger beings to face. Compared to this current chilling essence, the Dragon Snake’s Yin Sha Qi felt almost affectionate and lovable.
The power of Death, the power of absolute extinction.
This was an aura a hundred times more venomous than the darkest forces he knew. For an ordinary cultivator to be assailed by such an intense coldness, death on the spot would not be an unlikely outcome.
It was no fluke that these creatures could so easily annihilate a continent, or perhaps even an entire world.
“Roar…”
The sand and soil above twisted, and a monstrous creature resembling an ape burst from the ground, lunging toward He Yiming.
It was a Death Creature he had glimpsed in the aerial projection. It possessed the body and nimble movements of an ape, but its head was that of a colossal fly, its compound eyes glittering with cold, crimson light. Its long proboscis extended outward, aiming directly for He Yiming’s neck.
With a cold snort, He Yiming shifted his body, evading the strike with speed greater than the creature’s own. He waved a hand lightly, then paused, a flicker of bitter amusement crossing his face.
The ferocious creature wheeled around and lunged again, relentlessly attacking.
Shaking his head, He Yiming reached out, flipped his hand, and retrieved a waterskin from the Five Elements World. He removed the stopper, tilted his wrist, and the water within began to flow out in a steady stream.
A strange ripple of energy vibrated around him. The water pouring from the skin immediately transformed into mist, evolving from nothingness to substance, from faint to dense, successfully coalescing into another He Yiming in the blink of an eye.
This He Yiming was an exact duplicate of himself—the Cloud Mist Clone he had mastered within the Seven-Colored Palace.
He had never tested this clone in combat since learning the technique, and this was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity. Moreover, engaging the Death Creature with the clone would allow him to gauge the true strength of this monster.
The clone materialized instantly and moved to intercept the creature.
The creature’s hard, slender proboscis instantly pierced the Cloud Mist Clone’s body. The monster’s mouthparts worked furiously, attempting to absorb its target. But alas, no matter how hard it sucked, there was nothing there but air.
The Cloud Mist Clone struck out with a punch, aiming for the creature’s compound eye.
This creature possessed considerable intelligence; it raised an arm to block the blow directed at its multifaceted eye. But then, something equally outside its expectations occurred.
The clone’s punch seemed to disperse upon contact with the creature's arm, only to re-coalesce immediately afterward, striking the compound eye solidly.
“Crack…”
Sounding like an egg being crushed, the creature’s terrifying compound eye was shattered by the impact of that single punch.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak…”
The monster emitted a rapid, high-pitched shriek, akin to that of a rat, which instantly carried far into the distance. What truly astonished He Yiming was a peculiar characteristic of this cry: its speed of propagation underground was in no way slower than its speed above ground.
In mere moments, countless similar sharp, piercing cries echoed back from the distance.
He Yiming smiled coldly. The Cloud Mist Clone raised its other fist and brought it down heavily upon the creature’s second compound eye. The monstrous thing dared not block again and retreated to flee, but as it moved, it discovered the Cloud Mist Clone was virtually glued to its body, impossible to shake off.
“Smash…”
Another punch landed squarely on the remaining eye. Within this blow, a faint red light flickered, entering the monster’s body through the wound.
The next instant, the entire creature turned a blood red, then exploded violently.
The Cloud Mist Clone had injected a thread of red light from the Seven-Colored Radiance into the monster’s core. Although the might contained within this sliver of red light was not immense, it was far more than a small, ordinary Death Creature could withstand, resulting in immediate, explosive death.
The Cloud Mist Clone swiftly returned to He Yiming’s side. He scratched his scalp, thoroughly satisfied with the capabilities of his avatar.
Bing Xiaotian and the others were unaware that when he mastered the Dao of Cloud Mist, he had simultaneously grasped the Dao of Ice. Naturally, because he did not possess the Deep Cold Physique, he was similarly rejected by the Divine Artifact, the Ice Mirror.
However, after mastering the three states of Water power separately, he had also managed to secretly learn the Seven-Colored Radiance from within the Seven-Colored Palace.
Although the Seven-Colored Radiance manifested in different forms, they were all applications of water-elemental power. Given He Yiming’s current mastery, controlling them with ease was no great marvel.
The base power of the Cloud Mist Clone itself was not overwhelming; its primary function was confusion and escape. But the Cloud Mist Clone imbued with the might of the Seven-Colored Radiance became truly terrifying. Given sufficient support from Divine Water Power and the Power of Heaven and Earth, its might could even rival that of a Divine Dao Blood Condensation expert.
Of course, nothing was truly perfect.
The sole drawback of the Cloud Mist Clone was the lack of essential moisture in this environment. Had He Yiming not carried a sufficient water source himself, condensing the clone would have been impossible.
The rustling sound grew louder. The Death Creatures, summoned by the shrieks, finally began to appear in swarms.
Creatures carved from the same mold burst from underground and charged in from the distant horizon. They formed a terrifying army, surging toward He Yiming, the Cloud Mist Clone, and the Divine Dao Blood Condensation figure with wave-like speed.
P.S.: Last two days for voting! If any comrades still have monthly tickets, please offer your support! wipes brow
I went out today for some entertainment as a companion. I just returned home. I won't be online today, my apologies. Bai He needs to quickly draft tomorrow morning’s two chapters, or they definitely won’t be released on time. My apologies! My apologies!