The air currents in the sky danced wildly. It seethed, bathed in crimson light and steaming heat, a chaotic swirl of terrestrial and celestial power.

Even a God-level expert would find flight exceedingly difficult in an environment pushed to such an extreme degree of harshness. But for He Yiming at this moment, it presented no difficulty whatsoever.

This was because he was practically a colossal radiator, a massive heat source. That strange and potent fire energy allowed him to track the movement of every surrounding air current with perfect clarity. He ascended to the height of a thousand zhang almost without effort.

Looking down from this altitude, all scenery had shrunk to insignificance. Even that inconceivably huge monster lair seemed far less terrifying now.

If this were before, reaching this height would have been the absolute limit of He Yiming’s ascent. While God-level experts could manipulate the powers of heaven and earth to fly, the higher they ascended, the greater the pressure exerted upon them. For an expert at the Void God Realm, reaching this altitude was already the ultimate boundary.

Yet, He Yiming had no intention of stopping here. The immensely powerful, scorching currents surrounding him instilled a profound confidence; he even harbored a desire to conquer the sky itself.

Of course, the more pressing reason was that He Yiming had failed to spot any trace of the Divine Dragon or that massive floating object in the vast expanse of crimson void. No matter how far he strained his gaze, he could discern no evidence of a battle between these two behemoths in the distance.

This left only one possibility for their destination: the heavens above.

The aura around him surged once more, and He Yiming pressed onward, climbing higher.

In this boundless altitude, he had no idea how far he had ascended. Within his consciousness, only a single imperative existed: upward, upward, and ever upward…

He would not stop until he located both the Divine Dragon and the floating object.

However, when He Yiming reached a certain height, his ascent halted abruptly. He discovered he was no longer in control.

The intensely scorching fire energy that enveloped him had thinned to the point of near disappearance. The sheer winds (gangfeng) in the upper atmosphere lashed toward him like unbelievably powerful blades of metal. In almost the blink of an eye, he was enduring staggering, almost unimaginable blows—a force that seemed to surpass his absolute limit of endurance.

He tilted his head back and perceived a sensation of heat that was equally intense. This was a warmth emanating from a source distinctly different from the fire energy below.

Vaguely, He Yiming sensed that the intensity of this heat source might actually surpass the power of the fire below. If this were the source of that heat, it could probably have liquefied and dissolved the monster lair instantly, rather than requiring the Nine Fire Dragons to burn it down slowly over such a long period.

With a soft sigh, He Yiming’s senses cleared.

He abandoned the plan to ascend further, knowing that climbing any higher might well cost him his life. The sheer power of the upper heavens was clearly not something He Yiming, currently only at the Void God Realm, could challenge.

Perhaps only when he advanced to the Pseudo-God Realm, or even the legendary True God Realm, would he be able to conquer the entire sky as that Divine Dragon did, reaching wherever he wished to go.

He abruptly turned his body and plummeted downward like a shooting star chasing the moon.

As he fell, the intense heat surrounding him gradually returned. Before the sprawling monster lair on the ground was completely incinerated, He Yiming was protected by an unparalleled scorching domain that instantly killed any monster daring to encroach.

The pity was that this power was not inherently his own; thus, the moment the Nine Dragon Furnace and the Five Elements Ring ceased their operation, the maximized power he commanded would vanish completely.

Naturally, if He Yiming moved too far from the range of the great fires on the ground—as he had during his ascent—the powerful scorching domain would naturally dissipate.

The further he descended, the slower his body moved. Powerful currents were constantly billowing up from below, and unafraid of the heat, he bobbed and floated among them, experiencing a sensation almost intoxicatingly ethereal.

Examining the scene closely, within the area engulfed by countless fires, no life remained. Even the potent Death Creatures had been annihilated by this conflagration. Yet, just beyond the perimeter of the inferno, even more densely packed Death Creatures lay waiting.

Having learned their lesson countless times, they now rested silently, making no attempt to rush into the blazing fire. Given their strength, they were utterly helpless against this magnitude of flame.

Innumerable compound eyes focused on the high altitude. Even with He Yiming’s exceptional courage, a chilling dread washed over him. Despite the sweltering environment, these monsters radiated faint, chilling auras. Their compound eyes were especially repulsive. To be stared at by tens of thousands, or even far more, of these multifaceted eyes could easily drive a person to mental collapse.

He snorted coldly. He Yiming was currently in a state of supreme, unstoppable invincibility. The combined might of the Five Elements Ring and the Nine Dragon Furnace granted him ample power and assurance.

At this moment, apart from the Divine Dragon and that mysterious floating object, He Yiming feared absolutely no one else.

He waved his hand gently, and a beam of scorching light shot out, landing just beyond the edge of the massive blaze.

With a resounding boom, a massive crater appeared in the sandy ground, ringed by deep scorch marks. An immense force erupted within this vicinity—a pure shockwave of fire energy. Within a diameter of five zhang, all Death Creatures were instantly killed. Those closest to the center were completely vaporized, leaving no trace. The monsters on the outer edges were likewise flash-seared to death by the intense heat, their very bodies splitting open.

A faint smile touched He Yiming’s lips as he continuously swept his wrist.

For him now, the divine fire energy seemed inexhaustible. At least, until the Nine Fire Dragons completely cleansed and refined the monster lair, he had no need to worry about his power depleting.

He Yiming flew along the periphery of the sea of fire, his hands moving constantly, creating one massive pit after another on the ground. Each fiery attack claimed dozens, even hundreds, of Death Creatures. These creatures had indeed attempted to attack him, especially the Golden Creatures and the Mutated Creatures, which refused to be mere targets.

But no matter how brave they were, or how mutated they became, the instant they crossed into He Yiming’s scorching domain, they dissolved into ash. This was the disparity in power level and echelon. Against this peak fire energy, all their tricks and strength were utterly useless against him.

After three full days and nights, He Yiming had lost count of how many Death Creatures he had slain. He only knew that when he grew tired, he would rest above the sea of fire—it was absolutely the safest place in the world. Even if the Divine Dragon and that mystical floating object returned, facing such intense heat, they would likely retreat hastily.

Once rested and reinvigorated, he would resume flying along the perimeter of the fire sea, continuously unleashing fire energy from his hands. Though the power he wielded personally was limited, ceaselessly weakening the Death Creatures was something every God-level being strove to achieve.

The number of monsters, though immense, had significantly decreased under He Yiming's relentless assault. They went from being an endless, dense mass to being visible only sporadically. While the remaining number was still terrifying, they no longer seemed utterly invincible. Moreover, the best result was that He Yiming had eliminated the majority of the Golden and Mutated Creatures. These two types had become especially frenzied after the lair was burned; any slight provocation or targeted attention would send them charging recklessly into the scorching domain, where they were instantly vaporized.

This sight made He Yiming marvel. The intelligence of these creatures seemed to have dropped several notches. He wondered what caused this, perhaps it was deeply connected to the monster lair itself.

After three days and nights of scorching and refinement, the colossal lair finally vanished. At the initial rate, this monumental feat would have taken several months, but as the flames intensified and the area being burned increased, with fire blazing in every tunnel, the overall time was drastically reduced.

In the final moments, although the surrounding temperature hadn't dropped much, He Yiming clearly saw that when the Nine Dragons’ burning concluded and all the lair tunnels were gone, only a single black sphere remained, about one zhang in diameter. No matter how hard the Nine Dragons tried, this object showed no sign of melting.

He Yiming knew this was the core that the Divine Dragon had spoken of—the very thing it was determined to obtain. While He Yiming strongly desired to claim it for himself, he understood that unless the Divine Dragon never returned, this wish was likely unattainable.

With a wave of his hand, the vast fire energy spread out. The nine giant Fire Dragons, though somewhat reluctant, finally abandoned the unmelting black sphere and re-entered the Nine Dragon Furnace. For them, displaying their divine might once more after millennia of dormancy, despite a few minor lingering desires, left them quite satisfied. This strong sense of fulfillment flowed into He Yiming’s heart through their shared mental link, bringing him great relief.

He waved his hand again, drawing the black sphere into his Five Elements World. He Yiming soared upward, piercing through the encirclement of the Death Creatures before they could fully react, and sped toward the entrance of the passage.