The gale roared past his ears in the sky. Unlike when he arrived, He Yiming’s confidence was now surging, an unprecedented, potent self-assurance radiating from him. Having verified the immense might of the Five Elements Ring, he believed he now possessed the ability to stand against even those veteran Pseudo-God Realm powerhouses.
If that weren't the case, how could Ma Yu and Ao Minxing, with their inherent arrogance, have been so polite to him?
After parting ways with Ma Yu, he walked straight toward a sand hut on the outskirts of the passage entrance.
This sand hut was not built by the Divine Dragon, but rather conjured by Liu Mu using divine power. Manifesting divine power in this manner was beyond the capability of Void God Realm experts. However, for those in the Pseudo-God Realm, it was merely a matter of consuming some time.
Naturally, the quality and construction speed of this sand hut could not compare to that of the Divine Dragon. Nevertheless, He Yiming was quite satisfied just to have a place to reside here.
Upon reaching the exterior of the sand hut, he found only Mou Zilong standing guard; the others were nowhere in sight.
Slightly startled, He Yiming immediately understood that the invading Death Creatures must have come in more than one wave. Liu Mu and the others must have gone out to intercept them, which was why they weren't here.
"Brother He, you've arrived," Mou Zilong sighed in immense relief. "Put your things away. It would be such a pity if any of them were lost."
He Yiming chuckled lightly, nodded, pushed open the simple sand door, and stepped inside.
Within the sand hut, the Divine Dao Puppet stood motionless in a corner. It exuded not a single trace of aura, yet He Yiming knew that if anyone dared to enter, they would surely be met with a fierce assault from the puppet.
At the center of the sand hut, piles of all manner of rare and precious treasures were stacked. The sheer volume of these items was considerable; even an expert of the Divine Dao would feel the urge to claim them all for themselves.
He Yiming shook his head slightly. With a flick of his wrist, the Five Elements Ring appeared in his hand.
Waving it gently in front of him, all the accumulated treasures entered the ring, leaving the ground completely bare.
When he forged the Divine Artifact, the Five Elements Ring, he had evacuated the entirety of the Five Elements World, stacking those items here under the watch of the Divine Dao Puppet. Now that he had reclaimed them, He Yiming felt half the burden lift from his mind.
He nodded in satisfaction, turned, and left. The Divine Dao Puppet remained rooted in place, as it would not move without explicit new instructions from He Yiming.
"Brother He, was it successful?" Mou Zilong inquired, his eyes faintly gleaming.
He Yiming smiled and nodded, unhesitatingly taking out the Five Elements Ring, which had now been refined into a Divine Artifact.
The artifact floated silently above He Yiming's head. Although the five-colored radiance was the same, the distinction between a true Divine Artifact and its imitation was quite stark.
Feeling the immense pressure that stirred his soul, Mou Zilong drew a deep breath, his gaze openly betraying a deep sense of envy.
After a long moment, Mou Zilong sighed with emotion, "Congratulations."
He Yiming tucked the Five Elements Ring away. "Old brother, I need to probe its nature. Only through constant familiarity can I unleash its maximum true power."
Mou Zilong repeatedly agreed. Although he had never wielded a Divine Artifact, having been privy to hearsay and observation as a Divine Dao expert, he understood a degree of what He Yiming meant, and thus wholeheartedly endorsed his words.
Returning alone to the sand hut, He Yiming’s expression immediately grew grave. He swept his gaze around, his spiritual consciousness spreading outward.
Since advancing to the Divine Dao, his spiritual consciousness had become potent enough to condense into an intentional form (Yi Nian Ti). Releasing it now provided an incredibly acute sense of his surroundings.
Faintly, he could perceive a powerful aura within this range. This aura seemed to have merged into every fiber of space, like a slumbering behemoth. It posed no immediate threat, yet He Yiming knew that the moment it erupted, it would surely deliver an unexpected shock to all.
His brow furrowed deeply, but He Yiming, showing no weakness, radiated his own aura outwards, firmly enveloping the entire sand hut.
He could naturally sense that the massive aura currently permeating the space was the result of the Divine Dragon's will spreading out.
However, the Dragon's mastery over its will had reached an incredible realm. Even He Yiming, without dedicated, meditative cultivation, would not have sensed this will’s presence.
Because this will had become one with this piece of space—the Divine Dragon was this space, and this space was the Divine Dragon.
Perhaps it was precisely this unbelievable capability that cemented the Divine Dragon's supreme status among these Divine Dao entities.
At this moment, He Yiming felt like a tiny mantis attempting to move the mountain pressing down upon this segment of space.
Though this effort appeared utterly disproportionate to his strength, He Yiming was certain that the Divine Dragon would not refuse his action.
Everyone required a space entirely their own, especially these Divine Dao powerhouses. When cultivating, they undoubtedly needed an environment free of disturbance. The only way to cultivate here was to push the Dragon's will out.
Despite its power, the Divine Dragon could not afford to offend so many Divine Dao experts simultaneously. Thus, He Yiming was confident that once someone projected their will in resistance, the Dragon’s omnipresent consciousness would inevitably retreat.
Indeed, the massive pressure gradually weakened, finally dissipating entirely.
A slight smile touched He Yiming’s lips. He certainly would not overreach; he stopped expanding his influence once he had expelled the opponent’s incomparably strong divine sense from the sand hut.
Then, with a flip of his wrist, he retrieved both the Five Elements Ring and the Black Tortoise Shell.
If the Black Tortoise Shell did not exist, He Yiming wouldn't have minded the Dragon’s will lingering. But with this item present, all his subsequent actions required meticulous care.
He Yiming gently raised his wrist, and the Five Elements Ring flew above his head, emitting its five-elemental radiance. This light did not merely circle within the sand hut; it subtly extended outward, enveloping the entire structure, much like his own consciousness.
This way, anyone looking in from outside would know he was cultivating the Five Elements technique and would refrain from disturbing him. Conversely, if anyone attempted to force entry, they would have to contend simultaneously with the dual resistance of his intent and the light of the Five Elements Ring. This buffer time would be sufficient for him to stow away the Black Tortoise Shell.
Having arranged all this, He Yiming projected his consciousness into the Black Tortoise Shell.
The Five Elements Ring contained the five supreme Inner Cores of Saint Beasts, which allowed it to coalesce a thread of the Divine Artifact's True Spirit (Zhu Po).
The fact that the Black Tortoise Shell had also successfully undergone tempering genuinely brought He Yiming unexpected joy. He clearly recalled that he had never infused any Saint Beast Inner Cores into the Black Tortoise Shell; so where had this item’s Divine Artifact True Spirit originated?
The moment his intentional body entered the shell, He Yiming sensed a vast, black space.
Within this space, apart from the color black, there were no other hues. Yet, situated within this environment, He Yiming’s intentional body felt no panic, fear, or any negative emotions; instead, he felt profound familiarity and closeness.
Suddenly, a point of light shone forth from the darkness.
In that single instant, the entire space was thoroughly illuminated.
He Yiming’s expression remained unchanged, but raging waves churned in his heart. Before him, he saw countless runes.
The myriad mysterious runes composing the tortoise shell had lit up in this dark space in this distinct manner.
The intentional body extended its hand and gently touched the illuminated runes. Instantly, floods of information surged into He Yiming's consciousness.
He experienced a peculiar sensation, as if he were merging with these runes. All the knowledge possessed by any specific rune could be utilized by him at that moment.
Innumerable rune combinations shifted like flowing water within his mind. Although He Yiming did not grasp the underlying principles of these runes, he possessed a strange intuition: he knew precisely what terrifying transformations would result if he manipulated the power of heaven and earth according to these rune variations.
What shocked He Yiming most was a set of rune combinations consisting of seven distinct forms.
This particular combination left a profound impression in his mind because the resulting effect, when these runes were assembled, was precisely the Seven-Colored Palace he had witnessed within the Northern Border Ice Palace.
The three different manifestations of water-elemental power—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—were all contained within this single rune set.
Of course, without his experience of the Seven-Colored Palace and his mastery over the three forms of water manipulation, He Yiming’s current comprehension could never have been so profound.
His spirit vibrated intensely, and slowly, his consciousness began to recede.
Gazing steadily ahead at the illuminated rune combinations in the endless darkness, He Yiming felt a surge of realization.
The Black Tortoise Shell also contained a True Spirit. However, this True Spirit was exceptionally strange, as it was not the soul of any specific spirit beast, but rather these specialized rune configurations.
On the back of the Black Tortoise Shell, those mysterious runes had somehow generated a nascent existence akin to a soul, which had then possessed the shell, becoming its True Spirit.
It was precisely because of this, however, that He Yiming understood why the Black Tortoise Shell and the Five Elements Ring could establish a degree of intersection.
Because this unique True Spirit had undergone changes within the Five Elements Ring and then returned to the Black Tortoise Shell, a certain degree of fusion had occurred between them, enabling mutual exchange, allowing them to carry each other's auras and powers.
He let out a deep sigh. He Yiming’s intentional body slowly dissolved, and the space within the Black Tortoise Shell gradually dimmed, reverting once more to complete darkness.