The nine small fire dragons, under He Yiming's control, worked diligently, yet it was clear they were significantly outmatched in power. While their command over the flames was now comparable to those released from imitation divine artifacts, they still fell short of being able to melt the orifices as required.

By He Yiming's estimation, if the nine small fire dragons were allowed to unleash their full power, it might take them a year of concerted effort to incinerate the tail ends of the orifices and then reshape them according to his will.

However, this pace was clearly unacceptable to He Yiming.

His gaze shifted, and his attention immediately fell upon the nine great fire dragons lying dormant, as if in hibernation, within the sea of fire.

The Nine Dragon Furnace was an inherently divine artifact, and the nine fire dragons within were formed from the souls of divine beast dragons, possessing a might far beyond the imagination of the nine small fire dragons. If not for this, they wouldn't have been able to refine a divine weapon like the Black Tortoise Shell.

Therefore, He Yiming held unwavering confidence in them.

Though the golden monster's orifices were tough, how could they compare to the Divine Beast Black Tortoise? A combined effort of nine dragons could even deal with a divine artifact; a mere single orifice was hardly a challenge.

Under the direction of his will, the orifice moved to hover above the central sea of fire. He Yiming released his consciousness, and at that moment, he perfectly transmitted the shape of the Thunderbolt Spear—which he had observed from the outside—to the nine fire dragons.

The sea of fire suddenly stirred, and a colossal dragon head flashed into existence from a pocket of space. Upon emerging, it made no gesture to greet He Yiming; instead, it opened its maw, and a stream of supremely pure and potent fire-elemental energy instantly surged toward the tail end of the orifice.

He Yiming watched with considerable tension. While he trusted these great fire dragons, whose existence spanned untold ages, he still felt a degree of apprehension until success was achieved.

"Crack..."

As if something had been split by fierce fire, the tail end of the orifice fractured the very instant the flames made contact.

Fortunately, He Yiming inside the Nine Dragon Furnace at this moment was merely a sliver of consciousness. Had he condensed his will into a full form inside the furnace, his jaw would surely have dropped in astonishment.

Such a hard, dense orifice became incredibly vulnerable under the divine majesty of the fire dragons.

These monsters possessed extreme resistance to ordinary fire energy; among the Five Elements, common fire power struggled to incinerate them. But once the divine power of the Fire Element was unleashed, the results were vastly different.

He finally began to understand why that divine dragon had claimed that a body of the Five Elements combined with the Nine Dragon Furnace could annihilate this place. After witnessing what just occurred, he realized that these nine fire dragons were certainly among the mortal weaknesses of these Death Creatures.

The orifice instantly melted and sealed. However, precisely at the center of the sealed tail end, there remained an exceedingly tiny aperture—this hole was designated for infusing the power of Light.

Of course, He Yiming had merely copied this design exactly from that Thunderbolt Spear; expecting him to engineer such a divine weapon, which functioned like a single-use hidden projectile, would have been impossible.

Withdrawing his consciousness, the now-forged orifice departed the center of the sea of fire, wrapped in his intent as it left the boundaries of the Five Elements World.

He Yiming opened his eyes. With a flip of his wrist, he held the orifice in his hand. With his other hand, he gently pressed upon the aperture at the orifice's tail end, and a massive surge of Divine Light Power immediately began to pour forth, attempting to enter.

His brow furrowed slightly. He could clearly sense that while the orifice could withstand the infusion of Light Power, the process was exceptionally slow, as if some opposing power system within was obstructing the Divine Light Power.

This was the power of Darkness, yet it was hidden in the deepest core of the golden orifice, impossible to completely exorcise even by the Light Power capable of purifying all things.

A flash of surprise crossed his face. He Yiming was finally moved.

This golden orifice actually contained a trace of combined Light and Dark power. It was precisely because the exterior of the dark energy was overlaid with a layer of golden-yellow protection resembling Light Power that this outcome occurred.

He Yiming’s brows knitted tightly. These monsters were far too bizarre; within the coldest aura of darkness, there was actually a trace of the power of Light concealed. Fortunately, this residual force only served to protect this orifice and could not be utilized in their offensive methods, yet it was enough to cause He Yiming profound shock.

The attribute of the divine power within his body instantly shifted. The colossal Divine Light Power now carried a faint layer of dark energy.

The combined Light and Dark power, at this moment, flowed ceaselessly into the orifice.

Once He Yiming's power transformed into a Light-Dark combination, it entered the orifice with effortless ease, encountering no further resistance.

In mere breaths, the color of the orifice subtly began to change; within the dense golden-yellow, there appeared a faint, unusual hue.

A slight smile touched his lips. He Yiming could easily sense that he had forged a Thunderbolt Spear.

Shaking his head slightly, he mused that the Divine Dao expert responsible for forging this item and the Divine Dao cultivator responsible for infusing the Light Power both demanding a full tenth as payment was truly avaricious.

The five-colored light flickered briefly, then vanished abruptly.

Mu Zilong had already cast the corpses of the monsters on the ground out into the outer sands, where the sweeping desert winds would soon cause them to sink and disappear. But he himself was now pacing anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan, watching the sphere encircled by the five-colored light with deep concern.

He had vaguely guessed that He Yiming's sudden action was likely an attempt to forge a Thunderbolt Spear using the golden orifice. Yet, in their current environment, this was hardly an ideal place for artifact refinement.

However, his worry did not last long, as the five-colored light dissipated in less than half an hour.

Mu Zilong let out a long breath. "Brother He, you were too reckless." He gestured around him. "This place is fraught with peril; Death Creatures could arrive at any moment. You here..." His voice abruptly cut off as his bell-like eyes fixed intently on the completed Thunderbolt Spear in He Yiming's hand.

He Yiming offered a wry smile and handed the Thunderbolt Spear over. "Brother Mu, I was merely delighted by the sight of a challenge and delayed a moment; please forgive me."

Mu Zilong subconsciously took the newly forged Thunderbolt Spear. He turned it over and over for a long time, his expression quite strange.

"This Thunderbolt Spear seems different from mine," Mu Zilong said slowly after a moment.

He Yiming nodded slightly. "The artifact forged and the person forging it are different. Even if the technique is nearly identical, there will naturally be some subtle distinctions."

In truth, as he spoke those words, He Yiming held something back.

In terms of forging technique and overall effect, the difference was minimal, but the infusion of Light Power involved a colossal divergence.

One used pure Light Power, while the other utilized a blend of Light and Dark. This difference was reflected not only in the speed of power sealing but also in minute variations in external appearance.

Mu Zilong pondered for a moment, then sighed heavily. "Brother He, although I cannot know the true might of the item you've forged, one thing I can affirm: your mastery of the forging art is now second to none."

He Yiming's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Why do you say that, Brother Mu?"

Mu Zilong chuckled, taking out his own Thunderbolt Spear and weighing one in each hand. "Do you know how long it takes our master smiths to forge a suitable Thunderbolt Spear?"

He Yiming considered, then shook his head. He had been able to melt and seal the tail of the golden orifice almost instantly by relying on the power of the Nine Dragon Furnace, not his own forging strength, so he couldn't gauge the standard of others.

Mu Zilong grew serious. "To forge one Thunderbolt Spear requires at least a quarter of an hour, and infusing the Light Power similarly demands at least another quarter of an hour. But you, my young brother, took less than a quarter of an hour for both forging and infusion combined. If they knew, hehe, I'd love to see their expressions then."

Only then did He Yiming realize that the time he took was surprisingly short, which caused Mu Zilong such astonishment.

However, to forge this item, he had deployed the Nine Dragon Furnace and used the Light-Dark combined power. If he couldn't even cut the time in half, he would be too ashamed to show his face.

Shaking his head slightly, He Yiming suggested, "Brother Mu, let's go test the power of this thing."

Mu Zilong nodded repeatedly. Even if He Yiming's forging time was cut by nearly half, if the resulting power was insufficient, it would be a complete waste.

Tossing the forged Thunderbolt Spear back to He Yiming, Mu Zilong was about to move when He Yiming waved a hand. "Brother Mu, I possess a Divine Dao treasure that offers some ability to conceal movement. Shall we try it out?"

Mu Zilong was overjoyed. With such a fine item, their chances of entering this area and achieving gains increased dramatically.

He Yiming searched the Five Elements World and soon retrieved a circular object.

It was a set of Divine Dao treasures composed of two jade plates, upon which two strange eyeballs rotated slowly, causing a chilling sensation.

A look of wonder flashed in Mu Zilong's eyes. In his memory, he seemed to recall hearing about such an item, but after so many years, he couldn't recall the specifics instantly.

He Yiming gave a light wave of his hand, and a strange ripple swept through the space. When this ripple dissipated, the forms of the three of them had completely vanished.