The sky, choked with swirling yellow sand, seemed incapable of revealing anything in the distance. Even gazing out with all one’s might revealed only a boundless vista of yellow earth stretching before them.
Vision here appeared severely constrained, a condition that afflicted even those as powerful as the Divine Path practitioners.
However, in this place, the propagation of sound suffered no impediment whatsoever. Thus, when the Divine Dragon before He Yiming enlarged its massive frame and unleashed a roar—a deafening sound, absolutely the loudest he had ever heard in his life—it traveled far, and under the aegis of some peculiar force, formed a visible ripple in the air that perpetually vanished from his sight.
He Yiming gaped, never having imagined that such a miraculous cultivation technique existed in this world.
In his perception, the sound wave traveled an immense distance, yet even at the furthest extent of his sensory reach, the dragon’s bellow showed no sign of attenuation.
His expression shifted several times in rapid succession; even He Yiming could not determine if it was merely his imagination.
Sound inevitably diminishes the farther it travels. Yet, this Divine Dragon’s thunderous shout seemed to defy that principle. During its propagation, the sound not only failed to weaken but appeared to constantly attract some marvelous, inexhaustible power, as if it could never fade.
It was a sound destined never to cease, so long as the force sustaining it remained.
“Brother He, the Divine Dragon holds your capabilities in very high regard,” Mou Zilong exclaimed, a mix of astonishment and joy in his voice. “It is expending its Origin Power just to summon everyone back prematurely, hehe…” He winked at He Yiming. “Don’t worry, neither the Five Elements Sect nor Ma Yu would dare lay a finger on you again.”
Mou Zilong’s voice was thick with elation, though when he spoke the final sentence, his tone dropped to barely a whisper.
He Yiming felt a stirring within, realizing that this howling sound was indeed far from simple. It seemed the Divine Dragon employed some extraordinary method to stimulate its Origin Power to produce such a sound. For ordinary individuals, this was akin to unlocking their potential, yielding immense power for a short time, but invariably leading to a period of agonizing weakness afterward.
“Brother Mou, how far can the Divine Dragon’s voice travel?” He Yiming asked in a deep voice.
Though the sound was undeniably bizarre, He Yiming could not believe it truly spanned the entire world.
Mou Zilong hesitated. “I don’t know for certain. But over these past few centuries, the Divine Dragon has issued three such urgent summons. Each time, all of us received the call and rushed back as quickly as possible. As for the exact reach, I couldn’t say.”
He Yiming nodded slowly, feeling an extreme degree of awe towards the colossal Divine Dragon.
He looked up and watched as the dragon’s body rapidly shrank. In mere moments, it had reduced to a sleek form only seven or eight zhang long.
While this length was still immense by human standards, it was incomparable to the mountain-like bulk it possessed moments before.
However, upon closer inspection, He Yiming noticed that following the furious roar, the dragon’s spirit was noticeably depleted. Its terrifying, enormous eyes were now tightly closed, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy surged wildly, pouring rapidly into its body.
The behemoth had clearly expended vast energy and was now absorbing the elemental forces with utmost urgency to compensate for the recent cost.
“Brother Mou, what realm has the Divine Dragon achieved?” He Yiming abruptly inquired.
He suddenly realized that he could not fathom the depth of the dragon’s power.
Since advancing to the Divine Path, He Yiming’s eyesight and sensory abilities had far surpassed their previous capabilities. Even when encountering Ma Yu and Ao Minxing, although he knew he was no match for them, he could sense the formidable strength they possessed.
Yet, when He Yiming focused his consciousness upon the Divine Dragon’s body, it had absolutely no effect.
It was like staring at the expanse of the starry heavens; for a human, it was impossible to gauge the sky’s true breadth, just as He Yiming could not penetrate the Divine Dragon’s actual cultivation level.
Mou Zilong’s expression turned serious. “The Divine Dragon’s cultivation is profound beyond measure. We surmise it has reached the very peak of the Quasi-Divine Realm. If it is possible…” He paused, glancing toward the closed-eyed, meditative dragon, lowering his voice, “perhaps the very first True God Realm expert among the Divine Beasts is about to appear.”
Only then did He Yiming grasp how incredibly arduous the ascent to the True God Realm was. Aside from the two True God experts who had once existed among humans, not a single Divine Beast had ever achieved that rank.
He sighed softly, realizing why legends told of the former Five Elements Ancestor being able to slay five Divine Beasts sequentially, as easily as slaughtering pigs and cows. It seemed that besides the merit of the divine artifact, the Five Elements Ring, his own mastery of the True God Realm was the ultimate foundation of his power.
After murmuring a few more sentences, both men fell silent and began cultivating.
The time He Yiming had just spent was characterized by relentless slaughter and combat, elevating his application and control over his abilities to an extremely refined level.
Although the cultivation method of the Asura Path was bloody and severely tested human nerves, there was no denying its irreplaceable role in enhancing martial arts proficiency.
Now, as he settled into complete stillness, slowly grasping and synthesizing the experience accumulated over months, he was astonished to find his own realm thoroughly consolidated.
A peculiar smile touched his lips. Ancient records indicated that powerful figures in the Divine Path era would enter seclusion after advancing to that level to solidify their attainment, a process typically requiring two to three years.
But in this current environment of ceaseless fighting, he had managed to stabilize his realm in only four months and had leaped a considerable distance forward within the Virtual God Realm, arguably reaching the threshold of minor attainment in the Virtual God stage.
Recalling the experiences of those four months, however, left him with an utterly bitter aftertaste.
If given the choice, he would much rather spend several years slowly consolidating his cultivation outside than engage in mortal combat against those endless monsters here.
Suddenly, a strange fluctuation of energy echoed through the sky.
He Yiming was no stranger to this energy fluctuation; the potent Heaven and Earth force stirred once more, as if the world itself rejoiced.
Mou Zilong whistled in amazement. “Brother He, among this batch who entered at the peak of the Human Path, there are truly lucky ones. Someone has successfully advanced to the Divine Path again.”
He Yiming smiled faintly. “They have been at the peak of the Human Path for hundreds of years. If our world hadn’t suffered from the scarcity of Heaven and Earth energy, they likely would have advanced to the Divine Path long ago.” He glanced calmly toward the Divine Dragon. “The Divine Dragon once said that those who can advance to the peak of the Human Path in a place so deficient in elemental energy would essentially be Divine Path powerhouses in the ancient Divine Path era.”
Mou Zilong contemplated this seriously and nodded slightly. “You speak correctly. However, the person advancing this time should really thank the Divine Dragon.”
He Yiming was briefly startled. “Why?”
“The Divine Dragon’s furious roar contained the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth—the purest Origin Power. Those above the Divine Path might not feel much, but those below, especially the peak experts of the Human Path, would have the strongest resonance with it. This resonance is undoubtedly one of the necessary catalysts and opportunities for advancing to the Divine Path.”
A sharp glint flashed in He Yiming’s eyes. The dragon’s roar possessing this ability was truly unexpected. If the Divine Dragon could be persuaded to roar a few more times with abandon, perhaps Di Shitian and the others could indeed all break through to the Divine Path.
But looking at the dragon’s current spirit-drained appearance, the cost of that one roar was clearly enormous; it was unlikely others would have the chance to benefit further.
In the distance, a powerful aura rapidly approached.
He Yiming and Mou Zilong exchanged glances, instantly knowing that a Divine Path expert had returned from afar.
※※※※
In the borderlands where deathly creatures roamed, Liu Changju and Ji Mofan Shu were surrounded by shimmering light; their Divine Weapons blazed brilliantly, mercilessly slaying every monster that dared approach.
After this period of intense fighting and coordination, they had long abandoned the pretense of dignity befitting peak Human Path experts.
In this unbelievable location, Ninth Heaven masters were not revered peaks of power, but trash unworthy of survival.
They cast aside all dignity, sustaining numerous injuries, facing imminent peril countless times. They even encountered a terrifying golden monster; if the three of them had not cooperated to flee, and if that monster had not shown a distinct reluctance to stray far from the central area, the three of them might have been left there forever.
However, the high-intensity combat brought enormous rewards; over four months, they had all clearly felt a massive surge in their strength. They knew they had touched the very edge of the Divine Path.
Just moments ago, a strange dragon roar had sounded from the distance. Within this sound seemed to be contained a bizarre power that caused them to momentarily lose focus. Subsequently, violent fluctuations of Heaven and Earth energy began to emanate from the Qilin Saint Lord who was traveling with them.
This development filled the two of them with intense jealousy alongside their joy.
Yet, they were keenly aware that in this cursed place, jealousy was a luxury one could not afford. Facing the relentless torrent of monsters surging toward them like madmen, they held their ground and struck them down without retreat.
Because above their heads was the Qilin Saint Lord—one who absolutely could not be disturbed.
He was their hope, the very essence of their continued survival.
In that moment, they would not yield an inch.