His gaze swept forward. Seeing the world drenched in crimson, He Yiming’s surging enthusiasm began to wane. He managed a wry smile. "Brother Ma, you jest. After your combined Wind-Fire Strike, how many Death Creatures could possibly remain? These few stragglers are hardly worth mentioning."

Ma Yu’s expression immediately sobered. "Brother He, if this were just the last few decades, the combined might of our three Wind-Fire Ultimate Skills could certainly incinerate a massive horde, sending them retreating in fear. But that is certainly not the case now."

He Yiming’s brow furrowed slightly, his expression gradually growing grave. For in his ears, he could already detect the faint, rhythmic sound of flapping wings.

This sound came from the far side of the massive fire, beyond the flames that were steadily diminishing. Instead of lessening, the noise generated by the monsters was intensifying, trending toward a crescendo.

Ma Yu and his wife exchanged a knowing glance. "Brother He, be cautious," they warned.

The two of them, along with the White Tiger, began to retreat backward, leaving this vast expanse entirely to He Yiming.

Touching the bridge of his nose, He Yiming had a vague inkling. Ma Yu and the others must have known that the Divine Dragon had helped him forge the divine artifact, the Five Elements Ring. Thus, their half-step withdrawal suggested a test of some sort.

After all, although he had managed to defeat Wei Jinshun, a Pseudo-God Realm expert, in a one-on-one confrontation, he possessed no truly outstanding achievements when facing these hordes of monsters.

And the time he and Mou Zilong spent within the monster's lair had not been publicized, as neither wished Ma Yu and the others to suspect they had been eavesdropping on their conversations.

Therefore, Ma Yu was likely using this method to gauge his true capabilities.

Shaking his head slightly, He Yiming drew a deep breath. He slightly raised his wrist, and a soft, multicolored radiance slowly began to coalesce in his palm.

The flames ahead were weakening further. The Wind-Fire Strike possessed immense destructive power, but it lacked staying power. After burning through a significant portion of the monsters, it finally lost its supporting force and was completely exhausted.

He Yiming arched his eyebrows subtly. He was certain that had he not appeared, Ma Yu would certainly have had follow-up measures ready. But now, Ma Yu and the others were likely waiting in the rear, observing his performance.

He lifted his head, recalling the Dragon’s words.

If they were to leave this place, his enemies would surely make their move. That was certainly not a favorable prospect for him.

Perhaps only by demonstrating a power here that commanded the awe of everyone present could he minimize the potential for future crises.

With a gentle wave of his wrist, a vast amount of divine power surged into the divine artifact. Within the Five Elements World, immense power began to cycle.

He Yiming’s face grew solemn. When he decided to fight Wei Jinshun, he already harbored the intention to establish his dominance. After speaking with the Divine Dragon, this notion solidified even further.

This location was his best stage for performance. He intended to let everyone know that he was not some soft persimmon to be easily manipulated; anyone wishing to threaten his life must be prepared to face the full force of his retaliatory wrath at any moment.

The firelight finally began to dim. Although it had not completely extinguished, and isolated flames still burned stubbornly, He Yiming could now clearly see. Across the dying fire, the seemingly endless Death Creatures—their numbers appeared even greater than before—stretched to fill every inch of observable space.

Any person witnessing such a terrifying scene would feel an innate chill creep into their bones. Even He Yiming was no exception.

While there were no Golden Death Creatures among this mass, those capable of contending with a Divine Dao expert, the sheer magnitude of the horde was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Taking a deep breath, He Yiming finally understood why Liu Mu and the others had worn such expressions of dread when mentioning the once-a-century arrival of these Death Creatures.

It was only by standing in their midst that he could truly grasp the immense pressure, a pressure far beyond human imagination.

"Buzz... buzz..."

The sound of massive wings beating and the scraping sound of things rolling across the ground suddenly grew distinct. These monsters were finally moving. They stepped over the shrinking flames and surged forward once more.

He Yiming’s heart, after a period of intense agitation, began to slowly settle.

He raised his hand high. In his grasp, the divine artifact, the Five Elements Ring, emitted a dazzling, incomparable halo of light.

In the blink of an eye, one ring separated from the Five Elements Ring—a Flower of the Great Five Elements Reincarnation. As it began to spin, its power seemed modest, but once detached from the Ring, it immediately transformed into a colossal vortex. It spun violently, and with every rotation, it generated infinite streams of Five Elements energy. This energy acted like a beacon, fiercely drawing in the surrounding Heaven and Earth power.

He Yiming’s brow twitched slightly. He suddenly realized that this potent suction force bore a similarity to the techniques employed by the Divine Dragon. On closer inspection, there was even a possibility they stemmed from the same fundamental cultivation method.

However, the thought vanished as quickly as it arose.

What he controlled was the genuine Flower of the Great Five Elements Reincarnation, the might unleashed by a true Innate Five Elements Body. While its current power might not yet match the profound divine energy cultivated by Ao Minxing over millennia, its quality was undoubtedly superior to any acquired later.

That Divine Dragon, powerful as it was, remained a divine beast. Its cultivation path differed fundamentally from that of humans; though similarities existed, they could not possibly employ the exact same technique.

The massive influx of Heaven and Earth power, drawn by the swirling light of the Five Elements Ring, finally passed the barrier of fire and entered the first wave of Death Creatures that broke through the blockade.

"Explode..."

A cold syllable escaped He Yiming’s lips.

The next instant, the wheel, having already amassed countless layers of Heaven and Earth power, violently ruptured. Endless energy cascaded outward in all directions, acting like a colossal shockwave. Centered on that single point, everything within a hundred-zhang radius became its target.

The scene flashed with blinding light, which then immediately faded.

Within that perimeter, everything was gone—the frenzied, flying Death Creatures, the remnants of the flames, even the sand and soil of the ground had vanished without a trace, leaving nothing visible.

The sky and earth were choked with those terrifying Death Creatures, yet this one area was utterly barren, as if someone had taken a gigantic griddle cake and bitten a massive, gaping chunk from its edge.

In the distance, Ma Yu’s expression flickered. He let out a bitter smile, his gaze toward He Yiming filled with a strange mix of resignation and awe.

He too could effortlessly unleash power of such magnitude. But he was a seasoned Pseudo-God Realm expert, not a newly ascended one like Wei Jinshun; he had cultivated for hundreds of years. Therefore, he could state with pride that he could achieve this level of devastation without straining himself.

Yet, watching He Yiming raise the Five Elements Ring, Ma Yu understood: this attack by He Yiming had been achieved with almost casual ease.

No earth-shattering momentum, no lengthy preparation—just a simple, offhand gesture. The might released by He Yiming’s Five Elements Ring was in no way inferior to his own.

The colossal swarm of Death Creatures paused for a fleeting moment, but instead of retreating, they surged forward with even greater ferocity. Even without the Golden Creatures leading the charge, their momentum showed no sign of weakening; rather, it intensified.

When quantitative change reaches its absolute peak, it must result in a qualitative transformation. The number of these monsters had now reached that critical threshold.

He Yiming, however, seemed oblivious. He let out a cold snort, his wrist weaving slightly, sending out one smaller Five Elements Reincarnation after another from the divine artifact.

These Reincarnations were not immense in size, but upon leaving the Five Elements Ring, they began ravenously absorbing the Heaven and Earth power. When they reached the monster mass, they detonated without hesitation.

Instantly, a series of invisible voids appeared in the sky and on the ground—areas that the Five Elements Reincarnations had swept through. Each explosion created a pocket of emptiness, as if someone were taking a large cloth and scrubbing off isolated patches of dirt from a dirty tabletop.

However, the sheer number of Death Creatures was overwhelming. After recovering from the momentary shockwave of an explosion, more monsters immediately rushed in to fill the void.

In the span of a few moments, a bizarre spectacle unfolded before Ma Yu and the others.

Great white rings of light would erupt repeatedly, vaporizing everything within their circumference, only for more monsters to flood in, be annihilated, and then flood in again...

One or two Five Elements Reincarnations had no discernible effect on the vast horde, but when this process repeated hundreds, even thousands of times, the countless dead creatures finally began to take serious notice of this terrifying human.

Golden figures appeared in the horde for the first time, but this time their numbers were unprecedentedly large—there were a full twenty Golden Creatures.

He Yiming knew precisely the capability of these monsters.

Mou Zilong, a powerful expert of the Divine Dao realm, would have had only one option—to flee—if confronted by more than three of them simultaneously. Only a Pseudo-God Realm expert could withstand a siege by twenty or more Golden Creatures without fear.

At this moment, He Yiming’s eyes narrowed. The Five Elements Ring hovering above his head paused, just slightly, for the first time.

Facing these Golden Creatures, even He Yiming dared not show the slightest relaxation.

The Golden Creatures moved far faster than their peers. Flapping their wings, they closed the distance to He Yiming in just a few flashes.

However, at that very instant, a beam of purple, ethereal light suddenly shot forth from the Five Elements Ring...