The very next day, the sky was still choked with yellow sand. Yet, encouraged by Liu Mu and the others, He Yiming flew once more toward the passage mouth.

Here, only the Divine Dragon stood guard, solitary. In the ancient oaths sworn by the Divine Path practitioners, all mighty figures had acknowledged the Divine Dragon's position of guardianship. No one other than it was permitted to approach within a hundred zhang of the passage casually. This was a covenant agreed upon by all of the Divine Path; even Ao Minxing dared not defy it.

It was precisely because of the Divine Dragon’s vigilance that, over the span of five hundred years, though the passage had opened five times, not a single person had managed to return.

Because no one could guarantee that, even if they succeeded in returning, they would still possess the courage to come back to this place.

He Yiming’s figure cut a long streak across the sky. His gaze swept the surroundings, particularly fixing on the faintly discernible passage.

In his heart, he held considerable admiration for the persistence of this old dragon. If not for its five-century vigil, perhaps some Divine Path expert would indeed have recklessly returned to the mortal realm. However, once that expert returned and discovered the scarcity of World and Heaven energy, who knew what feelings might overcome them then.

These complex thoughts spun in his mind, yet his pace did not slacken in the least as he swiftly arrived before the Divine Dragon.

Opening its massive eyes, the Dragon gave He Yiming a cursory glance, then spoke in a low, drawn-out voice: "Are you prepared?"

He Yiming immediately bowed deeply. "Esteemed Divine Dragon, this junior has made all necessary preparations."

At this moment, his demeanor was far better than it had been the day before; at the very least, his deference toward the Divine Dragon was much greater. After all, today was the day the Divine Dragon would assist him in forging a divine artifact, and He Yiming certainly knew how to conduct himself.

"Bring forth the Five Elements Ring and the Inner Cores," the Dragon commanded, its voice booming. "Input your Origin Force into them. I will assist you in gathering the World and Heaven energy and in activating the Sacred Beast souls contained within the Inner Cores."

He Yiming’s expression grew solemn. "Yes."

He had been prepared since yesterday, having meticulously organized everything within the Five Elements World before coming here. Aside from matters of extreme importance—such as the wooden box containing the World and Heaven Sacred Fruit and the green bottle holding the Ten Thousand Year Ice Liquid, which he had transferred to his personal spatial adornments—all other belongings had been entrusted to Liu Mu and the others for safekeeping.

Thus, when he retrieved the box holding the four peak Sacred Beast Inner Cores from the Five Elements World, only the divine artifact, the Nine Dragon Furnace, remained there.

"Esteemed Divine Dragon, this junior’s cultivation is meager. Forging this artifact this time might strain my capabilities beyond endurance. Therefore, this junior wishes to use the divine artifact Nine Dragon Furnace, allowing the nine Dragon Souls within to lend me some assistance," He Yiming stated sincerely.

The Divine Dragon did not suspect any foul play. "That is precisely right. Once you utilize the Nine Dragon Furnace, I too shall expend less effort."

He Yiming felt a wave of relief. His greatest fear was that the Divine Dragon would forbid him from using the Nine Dragon Furnace, which would render all his prior meticulous planning utterly useless. But for now, it seemed this Dragon held a degree of blind confidence in the Nine Dragon Furnace, agreeing without hesitation.

With a turn of his hand, the Nine Dragon Furnace, which he had previously been unable to command, obediently shrank and shimmered out of his Five Elements Space.

He placed this seemingly ordinary brazier on the ground and lightly patted it. Instantly, a dragon’s roar erupted from within the furnace, and an inexhaustible, colossal amount of World and Heaven energy surged violently into it. In mere moments, the Nine Dragon Furnace began to rapidly increase in size, growing by more than two zhang.

He Yiming felt the surging, uncontrollable World and Heaven energy surrounding him and sighed inwardly. If the external world possessed such robust energy, how could the Nine Dragon Furnace have lain dormant for so long?

A surge of Divine Power and Will flowed simultaneously into the Nine Dragon Furnace. He Yiming instantly connected with the consciousness of the Nine Dragons and clearly perceived something slowly churning within the sea of fire inside the furnace. A look of profound, almost bizarre strangeness flashed across his face, and he stealthily glanced toward the Divine Dragon.

Since the Divine Dragon had volunteered to absorb the World and Heaven energy for him, He Yiming naturally would not refuse. However, he suspected the process would not be particularly pleasant for the Dragon.

He lightly closed his eyes, and the Five Elements Force within his Dantian began to spin. This was the most refined Origin Force in existence; having been condensed by the Chaos Dantian, it formed a cycle of mutual generation and restraint among the five elements—precisely one of the necessary conditions for elevating the Five Elements Ring into a divine artifact.

He extended one palm flatly and gently pressed it upon the Five Elements Ring.

In that instant, the entire Five Elements Ring erupted in a dazzling radiance, shining with such brilliant, colorful light that the entire sky was enveloped in a cascade of five-hued splendor.

The disturbance here naturally could not be concealed from the nearby Divine Path experts. In the distance, Ao Minxing watched with a face ashen, his gaze filled with cold fury.

"Sect Master, has the Divine Dragon not always been friendly toward our Five Elements Ring? Why does it show such blatant favoritism toward He Yiming today?" Wei Jinshun inquired in a low voice.

After being defeated by He Yiming, his state of mind had actually calmed, devoid of the boastful arrogance he possessed upon his recent breakthrough.

Ao Minxing shook his head slightly. "The Divine Dragon is not human, after all. I cannot fathom what it is thinking."

Ao Borui hesitated before speaking, "Grand Ancestor, perhaps the Divine Dragon wishes to enhance our overall strength, which is why it acts this way."

Wei Jinshun sighed deeply, shaking his head. "It was this old man's carelessness; I underestimated He Yiming. Otherwise, the Divine Dragon might not have yielded to this whelp."

Ao Minxing waved a hand dismissively. "To forge a divine artifact from the Five Elements Ring—that is no easy feat. We shall wait and see if they can succeed."

Wei Jinshun and Ao Borui exchanged glances, though neither felt optimistic.

Given the immense power possessed by the Divine Dragon, if it had agreed to help He Yiming, it must have some degree of certainty of success. Watching one of their sect's ultimate treasures about to fall into the hands of an outsider caused them considerable distress.

However, only Ao Minxing’s face held a hint of mockery.

To forge a divine artifact required undergoing a specific, peculiar step.

In the era of the past Divine Path, the most elite Divine Path Artifact Masters would certainly have known this step. But now, five millennia had passed since any Divine Path experts emerged in the outside world, and no new divine artifacts had been born. Therefore, Ao Minxing did not believe they would know this crucial stage.

The Divine Dragon, though powerful, was, after all, merely a spiritual beast.

Spiritual beasts could indeed absorb World and Heaven energy far more efficiently than humans, but to suggest that a spiritual beast understood the art of artifact forging—that was stretching credibility too far. Thus, if these two were unaware of this secret, the possibility of successfully forging the artifact was infinitesimally small, practically nil.

Yet, these thoughts were not suitable for verbal expression, lest they immediately offend the Divine Dragon, which would surely be counterproductive.

At this time, the Five Elements Ring shone with intense light. He Yiming quickly moved it toward the mouth of the Nine Dragon Furnace.

Under He Yiming’s deliberate control, the Nine Dragon Furnace, though nowhere near as colossal as it was in the Five Elements World, was still significantly larger than the small brazier it had initially been. The open mouth was perfectly sized for the Five Elements Ring to be inserted.

With a gentle tap on the side of the furnace, roaring flames immediately billowed out from below. Vaguely, one could see nine slender fire dragons exhaling heat below, scorching the object.

He Yiming’s eyes sharpened, and with a flip of his wrist, the wooden box opened, revealing the four top-tier Sacred Beast Inner Cores of different attributes now held in his hands.

The Five Elements Ring already contained one wood-attribute top-tier Inner Core; adding these four now ensured all five elements were present, providing the possibility of promotion to a divine artifact.

The massive World and Heaven energy suddenly began to surge rapidly. The speed and sheer volume of this influx far exceeded the Nine Dragon Furnace’s capacity to draw in energy; it reached a terrifying level.

He Yiming’s expression flickered slightly. He knew the Divine Dragon had begun to absorb the World and Heaven energy, and its rate of absorption was clearly superior to his own.

To forge a divine artifact, the only path required inputting Origin Force into the divine weapon, condensing the souls of the World and Heaven spiritual beasts, and infusing an immense quantity of the most refined, purified World and Heaven energy.

These three components were indispensable. If any single link faltered, the entire endeavor would be completely ruined.

The rough shape of the Five Elements Ring would not be affected, but the five Sacred Beast Inner Cores of various attributes would vanish entirely, and the sliver of soul power they contained would be lost forever.

Therefore, He Yiming proceeded with extreme caution, daring not make the slightest careless move.

With another turn of his wrist, He Yiming was about to strike the four Inner Cores into the Nine Dragon Furnace. However, precisely at this moment, the Divine Dragon uttered, "Wait."

He Yiming’s movement froze, and he stopped immediately. "Esteemed Divine Dragon, what counsel do you offer?"

"If you drop them in like that, it is highly likely to fail."

He Yiming’s heart tightened. "Why is that?"

"To refine a divine artifact, the most crucial element is imbuing the artifact with a Divine Soul. This is true for the Nine Dragon Furnace, the Ice Ling Mirror, and the Five Elements Ring alike," the Dragon stated gravely. "Though the Inner Cores you hold have been preserved in the best possible manner, successfully activating the residual souls within them and transforming them into the primary Divine Soul of the artifact will be exceedingly difficult."

He Yiming pondered for a moment, then said sincerely, "Esteemed Divine Dragon, is there a method?"

"Blood," the Dragon said coldly. "You have studied the Blood Condensation Scripture; you should know that the blood of the powerful possesses the force to activate and connect with souls. If you input a suitable amount of blood, the probability of successfully activating the souls and forming the primary Divine Soul will significantly increase."

He Yiming was stunned speechless for a long moment. This was the first time he had ever heard such a theory. But upon considering that what he was forging was no common item, but a true divine artifact, he couldn't help but believe it to some extent.

He nodded heavily. "Thank you for your guidance."

He raised his hand, drew a line across his wrist, and an arrow of blood shot into the Nine Dragon Furnace. Then, he switched hands, drew another line, and an identical stream of blood shot into the fire.

The Divine Dragon paused slightly. "Your Divine Path blood requires only one infusion; shooting two streams is pure waste."

He Yiming chuckled lightly. "Good things come in pairs; a little extra offers better assurance."

The Divine Dragon snorted coldly and dropped the matter. However, it was entirely unaware that within the fire sea of the red-glowing Nine Dragon Furnace, beneath the floating Five Elements Ring, there was a turtle shell slowly rolling.

On the surface of this turtle shell, a trace of crimson blood was particularly conspicuous and terrifying.