The two He Yiming figures in the sky gave a slight shudder. The materialized intent-body of He Yiming simply merged seamlessly back into his true form.
Slowly, He Yiming raised his head, infinite radiance shimmering in his eyes.
He drew a deep breath, stretching his limbs to their fullest extent, feeling a strange sensation akin to a newborn baby familiarizing itself with its new body.
It was different; truly different now.
His heart hammered fiercely against his ribs, for he could clearly sense that the self he was now was profoundly altered from the self he had been moments before.
The true essence (Zhenqi) within him hadn't necessarily grown much stronger in quantity, but upon the reintegration of his consciousness, he discovered the greatest surprise of the moment.
The surging, turbulent Zhenqi within his body had transformed. It was as if he had undergone a complete systemic overhaul; all ordinary Zhenqi had vanished entirely, replaced by an equivalent volume of divine power.
When he forged his body with divine might, the divine energy drawn from the power of Heaven and Earth had also tempered his physical form, converting every trace of Zhenqi into divine power—a force deployable only by those of the Divine Path.
At this moment, he finally understood: Divine Body Forging was not merely an opportunity for the intent-body to gain near-physical substance; it was a crucible that refined and elevated the physical body itself.
This was the true Divine Body Forging, vastly superior to the minor exertions he’d managed atop the main peak of the Heavenly Pool in the Northwest. Yet, this elevation was necessary; how else could a human body support a Divine Path intent-body? If the physical form itself hadn't been enhanced, the inevitable outcome would have been a catastrophic explosion.
His body was saturated with formidable divine power, a strength whose magnitude he had already experienced—it was far beyond anything comparable to the ordinary Zhenqi of the Human Realm.
His heart swelled with an intense, absolute confidence. At this moment, even if that giant dragon were present, he felt certain he could stand against it. Of course, the outcome of such a battle remained uncertain.
Moments later, He Yiming’s heart gradually settled. Though he had successfully ascended to the Divine Path, he was acutely aware of the peril surrounding him. If he couldn't quickly familiarize himself with this newly enhanced body, death might still await him.
After all, the Divine Dragon had warned that among these deathly creatures, there existed beings potent enough to rival those of the Divine Path.
Though he hadn't encountered them yet, in half a year, he might face those terrifying entities head-on.
His surging emotions slowly subsided. He Yiming extended a hand and released a mere speck of divine power. As he felt this potent force intertwine with the ambient power of the world, a flicker of astonishment crossed his face.
This sensation of being wholly imbued with divine power was radically different from manipulating mere Zhenqi. It felt as though he were in direct contact with the divine energy latent within the very fabric of the world.
With a gentle wave, the divine power under his control instantly merged and bonded with the external energy of the same affinity. As he gestured, this external force was drawn along. What truly stunned him, however, was that by mobilizing the divine power within the world's energy, he inadvertently drew the world's energy itself into motion.
With a tremendous crash, the massive power of Heaven and Earth slammed downward in the direction he pointed. This immense worldly force instantly coalesced around his speck of divine power, striking the repulsive, grotesque death creatures below with the force of a cannonball, mercilessly and repeatedly.
He Yiming stared at the scene, dumbfounded, his face etched with disbelief.
In that moment, he had merely sought to test how much power he could unleash now that his body was filled entirely with divine energy. He had never imagined that a simple wave of his hand could summon the very might of the cosmos.
He waved his hand again, dispensing another minute trace of divine power.
Likewise, after attracting sufficient external divine power of the matching affinity, it once again agitated a massive volume of Heaven and Earth's energy, which erupted instantaneously. In that single instant, a swath of emptiness was torn through the dense, re-forming mass of black monsters below.
He Yiming gazed at his hands as if they belonged to a stranger, perhaps even a monster.
The praises etched in ancient texts regarding those of the Divine Path flashed through his mind.
Splitting the heavens, overturning seas, every gesture—divine might.
Only now did he truly grasp that this was not hyperbole; it was fact. True divinity possessed such staggering power. When one’s entire being was saturated with divine energy, even deploying a mere fraction of it could resonate with the equivalent divine power hidden within the world’s fabric.
And once that spark of divine power moved, the surrounding cosmic energy moved with it, exploding with even greater ferocity when the divine power unleashed its full measure.
This was the secret of the Divine Path: the mechanism by which a mere gesture could summon cosmic might.
Below the Divine Path, all are but ants...
He Yiming had never felt the resonance of this phrase so profoundly as he did at this instant.
His gaze turned cold, fixing upon the endless hordes of monsters below. Once they had filled him with dread, but now, in his eyes, they seemed like mere buffoons, lacking even the merit to warrant his full attention.
Upon ascending to the Divine Path, his commanded power had increased by hundreds of times. When his intent-body existed alone, he could draw upon the world’s energy at incredible speed, unleashing cosmic might hundreds of times within a few breaths.
At that time, he believed the pure intent-body was invincible. But only after the intent-body returned to the physical form and he tasted the direct method of using internal power to summon external cosmic might did he realize that the power wielded through the physical body was faster, more convenient, and exponentially stronger.
He scoffed coldly. Deep within his Dantian, energy churned violently, and a wave of Light Divine Power surged forth from his body.
Having sampled the Eastern Five Elements divine powers, he now held anticipation for the Western powers of Light and Darkness.
These death creatures were clearly entities of darkness; using dark power would certainly destroy them, but the cost-benefit ratio seemed unfavorable. Thus, He Yiming easily decided to employ the Light power, which inherently countered dark creatures.
His sleeve shimmered—this was not the blended power of Light and Dark, but purely the Light Divine Power.
After he had previously merged Light and Dark energies, the two forces had become inseparable, a single entity. However, this issue had been resolved naturally once He Yiming successfully ascended to the Divine Path.
Within his Dantian, Light and Dark powers now occupied distinct domains. While they still intermingled at their core boundary, everywhere else, the two forces remained segregated, like rivers that never cross.
Consequently, whether he wished to use Light or Dark power independently, or to employ their combined might, there was no longer any impediment.
As was the case now, he was utilizing pure Light power.
He swept his sleeve forward elegantly, and that expanse of light instantly left his body.
This time, the amount of Light Divine Power He Yiming mobilized was substantial, far surpassing the minor sparks he’d used before.
The moment the Light Divine Power departed, the surrounding cosmic energy instantly churned into infinite waves and tidal surges.
Like colossal breakers suddenly rising on a placid sea, the massive energy of the world rolled forward. The entire expanse of sand exploded in a blinding white radiance, sweeping over the horde of monsters like a rising tide.
The white light washed over the ground once, and the entire sandy expanse appeared as if it had been scoured clean. Not a single monster remained visible.
He Yiming’s eyes widened. While he had anticipated much from the power of Light, he never expected it to reach such horrifying efficacy.
A vast clearing suddenly appeared on the ground. The primary effect of the massive infusion of Light Divine Power was purification. Those terrifying creatures, embodying the darkest energies, were purged under the might of the Light.
At this point, He Yiming realized that when facing these monsters, deploying Light power undoubtedly inflicted the greatest possible damage.
A cold smile touched his lips. Below the Divine Path, all are ants. If these creatures offered no new evolutionary strains, no matter their numbers, they posed no threat to him now.
“Screeeech…”
A piercing sound echoed again. Then, those death creatures, fearless and showing no reduction in numbers despite their massive losses, abruptly turned and began burrowing beneath the sand.
He Yiming blinked a couple of times. Before he could process what was happening, only bare yellow sand remained on the ground; everything else had vanished.
His brow lifted slightly. He finally understood—these monsters had fled...
However, a distinctly peculiar notion surfaced in He Yiming's mind.
These things actually fled?
After witnessing their fanatical, reckless charge, no one would have believed they would turn tail before total annihilation. Therefore, when they genuinely burrowed away, He Yiming found the event strange and incredible.
A moment later, immense clouds of sand began to rise from the ground again. The deep craters slowly started to fill as the grains shifted. While complete erasure would take time, within a day, this area would likely return to normal.
He Yiming looked down. Except for a few depressions, nothing else was amiss. The monsters from moments ago seemed never to have existed, not even a shard of their remains left behind.
Their retreat was absolute, which was chilling in its own right.
Yet, gazing out over the boundless sea of sand from the sky, He Yiming knew that the strength of these beasts could not be so simple. Perhaps only when the half-year mark mentioned by the Divine Dragon arrived would he finally encounter his true adversaries.