The light, like a blazing red sun, illuminated the golden monster's body. A mournful howl tore from its maw as its entire form shuddered violently, desperately trying to flee the enveloping aura of brilliant light.

Yet, no matter where it fled, the awesome power of heaven and earth, channeled through Hydrokinetic divine force, awaited it nearby.

This was the optimal method He Yiming had discovered after numerous engagements.

While the Five Elements Divine Forces were immensely powerful and highly effective against lower-tiered Death Beings, they proved far less effective than utilizing the single-elemental Water Divine Force when attempting to restrain a golden-ranked monster of this caliber.

Thus, like a creature hopelessly mired in deep mud, the monster struggled for nearly fifteen minutes before its thrashing finally ceased, and all movement stopped. Every layer of its defenses was consumed bit by bit by the searing power of the light, its very shell began to burn, slowly dissolving into a pile of ash before He Yiming’s eyes.

He Yiming was inwardly astonished by the sheer power of the golden monster.

Under the deluge of his Light Power, ordinary Death Beings were typically purified in an instant, yet this golden monster had persisted for over a quarter of an hour. Such formidable resilience deeply moved He Yiming.

However, he was unaware that if the other Divine Path experts in this world knew He Yiming had successfully slain a golden monster in just fifteen minutes, they would undoubtedly offer high praise, perhaps even regarding him as an expert of a higher tier.

He blew a gentle breath, and the ashes suspended in mid-air instantly vanished. But within the residual light, a single object remained: about a foot long, perfectly cylindrical, tapering to a sharp point, and emitting a golden luminescence.

He Yiming frowned slightly, immediately recognizing it as the monster's terrifying oral apparatus.

After a moment of hesitation, He Yiming summoned the object, depositing it into his Five Elements World.

Having completed this task, he drew a deep breath. Before encountering these golden monsters, he had been brimming with confidence, believing that no matter how many Death Beings arrived, they would perish under his Light Power.

But battling the golden monster had revealed the true horror these things possessed. Though he seemed to have killed one with relative ease, without the Light Power—the nemesis of Death Beings—and the assistance of his Divine Path Puppet, he would never have managed such a smooth victory.

The mere thought of the terrifying numbers of these creatures made He Yiming's scalp prickle.

Still, he reasoned, the numbers of these top-tier golden monsters could not possibly compare to the endless swarms of ordinary monsters on the ground. If there were truly that many golden horrors, even if the Divine Dragons and other human Divine Path experts and Divine Beasts were a hundred times stronger, they would never hold that passage.

He paused, then lightly flicked his wrist, and the Five Elements Ring appeared in his hand.

He had originally intended to spend more time familiarizing himself with this Divine Path body, mastering its divine might before forging the Divine Path Five Elements Rings. Now, however, it seemed he had to advance that step sooner.

With a slight sweep of his sleeve, He Yiming retraced his steps, the Divine Path Puppet following silently behind him.

However, when He Yiming returned to his starting point and waited a full hour, the Divine Path expert had still not returned. A strange restlessness crept into his heart. Could that expert have failed?

Yet, these veteran human Divine Paths and Divine Beasts had been fighting the Death Beings here for five hundred years; failure seemed almost impossible for them.

Moments later, just as He Yiming considered leaving, a powerful surge of life aura sped toward him from a distance, like an arrow in flight.

He Yiming smiled faintly. He immediately recognized it as the human Divine Path expert who had been fighting two golden monsters simultaneously.

Under normal flight conditions, one would never project their aura so openly. But now, the person clearly did not want any misunderstanding, intentionally revealing their presence.

He Yiming pondered briefly, then deliberately released his own concealed aura. However, compared to the other's unrestrained display, He Yiming was far more cautious. After all, he was a newly advanced Divine Path expert, and maintaining a low profile before these veterans was the wisest course.

Once he managed to refine the Five Elements Ring and the Black Tortoise Shell into Divine Artifacts, he would likely possess sufficient standing to contend with these veterans.

"Hahaha! Five hundred years exactly. Just a few old fossils like us staying put here. I truly thought no newcomers would ever enter again, yet today I run into one!" A booming voice resonated from afar. The speaker had clearly slowed his pace, eager to avoid any offense.

He Yiming let out a dry chuckle. He surmised that after five centuries of seeing only familiar faces, these veterans had grown bored, hence their surprisingly enthusiastic reception upon learning a new Divine Path had arrived.

He flashed his powerful aura briefly before withdrawing it, showing appropriate deference to the approaching expert.

"He Yiming of the Tianchi lineage pays respects to the senior."

"No need for 'senior,'" the voice laughed heartily. "We are all of the Divine Path; why be so formal?"

Though the approaching figure had deliberately modulated his speed, after a few exchanges, he flew out of the endless sandstorm.

The man was a burly middle-aged fellow with an imposing, full beard. His eyes were like bronze bells; even a casual glare could likely frighten half the soul out of an ordinary person.

However, his attire was quite unexpected: his upper body was bare, and his lower half was covered only by a simple wrap of black beast hide around his vital areas. By all appearances, he was nothing short of a savage.

Although He Yiming knew he shouldn't display suspicion, he had not yet achieved the detachment of those old foxes who remain unruffled even when Mount Tai collapses before them. For a moment, he was stunned into silence, forgetting how to speak.

A flicker of annoyance crossed the man's eyes, but it vanished quickly, replaced by an interested appraisal of He Yiming.

After a long moment, He Yiming finally snapped out of his shock. His face flushed slightly as he looked at the beast hide wrapped around the man's waist. It looked strangely familiar. A thought struck him, and he realized those hides must have been stripped from the Death Beings.

He coughed lightly. "May I ask, Brother, your name...?"

The man waved a hand. "This old man is Mou Zilong. I entered this place over five hundred years ago. Young brother must have just arrived."

He Yiming nodded repeatedly, thinking, Isn't that obvious?

Mou Zilong’s gaze sharpened as he focused on the Divine Path Puppet beside He Yiming. "Brother He, who is this?"

In truth, Mou Zilong had been startled when he first saw the pair, especially the puppet, whose aura was so bizarre and inscrutable that even he found it difficult to grasp. However, his life experience far surpassed He Yiming's, so he betrayed no expression.

He Yiming did not conceal the truth. "Brother Mou, this is my puppet. Forgive my impropriety."

"A puppet?" Mou Zilong's eyes gleamed faintly. He scrutinized it for a long moment. "Brother He, as far as I know, the art of puppetry is prevalent only in the Western World. But even there, I’ve never heard of a puppet reaching the Divine Path realm."

He Yiming smiled slightly. "Brother Mou, this puppet certainly possesses Divine Path might, but it is not of the West. It was refined by an expert from the East."

Mou Zilong's expression shifted. "The East harbors such a master? One capable of refining a Void God realm puppet... could it be..." He paused, then said slowly, "Could it be that a Pseudo-God realm expert has appeared in the outside world again?"

He Yiming gave a wry smile. Given the current situation outside, let alone a Pseudo-God, it would be impossible for even a Void God realm expert to emerge.

He sighed softly. "The one who refined this puppet was at the peak of the Human Path."

Mou Zilong's face took on a comical expression, clearly conveying that he was skeptical, leaning far more toward disbelief.

He Yiming shrugged. There was no way to explain this matter without revealing the secret of the Divine Path Sarira, so no one would believe him regardless.

Mou Zilong finally shifted his gaze from the Divine Path Puppet. His throat worked visibly. "Brother He, did you bring any food with you on this trip?"

He Yiming paused, then subconsciously nodded.

Fierce light flashed in Mou Zilong's eyes. "Brother He, if you don't mind, share a little." He coughed a few times. "And if you have any spare clothes, please lend me a few pieces."

He Yiming blinked twice, finally understanding one thing: Divine Path members could absorb the power of heaven and earth to sustain themselves; abstinence from food had become an almost instinctual ability for them, which allowed them to survive in this environment for so long.

However, any food and clothing they carried in could not withstand five hundred years of use. It was no wonder they had devolved into a savage-like state.

He flipped his hand, unhesitatingly retrieving a set of clothes and some provisions from the Five Elements Space.

Mou Zilong let out several loud laughs, conveying an indescribable sense of relief. If this had been five hundred years ago, he wouldn't have spared these items a glance. But seeing them now filled his entire chest with emotion.

Five hundred years—he was finally seeing artifacts of the human world again.

With a quick, lightning-fast movement, he pulled on the long robe. Although the robe was still slightly small, it was infinitely better than what he had been wearing.

He snatched the food from He Yiming's hand and devoured it in a few quick bites. The speed and manner of his eating astonished He Yiming.

In mere moments, Mou Zilong finished. He straightened his posture, and a powerful aura immediately spread around him.

At that moment, he finally possessed the unique majesty of a Divine Path expert.

Ps: Many thanks to all brothers for your support. Four chapters today. Tomorrow and the day after are Saturday and Sunday, so White Crane will rest for two days and deliver three chapters. Sigh... Still soliciting Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Votes. Thank you.