The Divine Dragon swayed its tail once more. It spoke, "He Yiming, I have taken what I came for. I shall depart now. Take care, and may we meet again if fate allows."

As soon as its voice faded, the Dragon’s colossal form shimmered and vanished in an instant.

Far in the distance, a flicker of light briefly appeared, as if the Divine Dragon had materialized for a moment, before once again dissolving into the void.

He Yiming stood stunned for a long moment. A sudden realization struck him, and his consciousness immediately plunged into the Five Elements World.

While others might not have understood the Dragon's parting words, He Yiming certainly did. Back in the Land of Death, the Dragon had accompanied him to the Monster Nest that was constantly aflame. After three days and nights of relentless burning, He Yiming had finally refined the entire nest, leaving behind only a single core.

He had stored this core within his Five Elements World. However, ever since the Dragon’s return, they had been constantly fending off attacks from Death creatures, and he never found an opportunity to present the item to the Dragon before finally leaving the Land of Death.

But when He Yiming explored the Five Elements World with his thoughts, he couldn't locate the core at all.

He had no idea what means the Divine Dragon had employed to extract the core from the internal dimension of the Five Elements Ring, a divine artifact.

Thinking of this, He Yiming drew a sharp, cool breath. This was the internal world of the divine artifact, the Five Elements Ring. If the Divine Dragon could so easily enter and exit this space, its power was truly terrifying.

Immediately, he recalled the overwhelming might of Heaven and Earth that the Dragon had borrowed the Five Elements Ring to unleash in the Land of Death, and clarity dawned upon him.

The Divine Dragon had indeed utilized that method to manifest the power of Heaven and Earth, from which he had benefited immensely. Yet, at that very moment, it had also taken the opportunity to pilfer the core.

Only when his spiritual projection merged completely with the artifact’s primordial spirit, fully open to the Divine Dragon, and while he was immersed in comprehending the nature of power, could the Dragon have achieved this so stealthily.

Shaking his head slightly, He Yiming genuinely could not fathom the Dragon's intentions. He and the Dragon already had an understanding; the core belonged to the Dragon. Yet, instead of openly requesting it, the creature had resorted to furtive, unannounced taking. This bizarre conduct left He Yiming deeply suspicious.

Suddenly, a highly peculiar thought surfaced in his mind. He Yiming’s gaze shifted slightly, and his consciousness swept across the Five Elements World once more. This time, his focus was not on the mysterious core, but on the treasures stored within the Five Elements World.

For a Divine Dao expert wielding a divine artifact, the safest place to keep possessions was never a spatial accessory, but the internal space belonging to their artifact.

Every divine artifact possessed an internal dimension, though each one differed. Like the sea of flames inside the Nine Dragon Furnace, the runic dark space within the Black Tortoise Shell, or the Five Elements space of the Five Elements Ring.

Compared to the Nine Dragon Furnace, where storing anything for an extended period was nearly impossible, the Five Elements space presented no such issue. Thus, once the artifact was successfully forged, He Yiming had transferred all his worldly possessions into this Five Elements World.

Now, he was checking to see if anything was missing.

The mental inventory was swift. Moments later, He Yiming’s expression turned grim, for he had finally discovered that one item was indeed gone from his collection of treasures—and it was a crucial supreme treasure at that.

He suddenly raised his head, his mouth agape, staring in the direction the Divine Dragon had vanished. He ground his teeth and cursed inwardly without restraint.

However, since matters had reached this point, he understood one thing: the likelihood of recovering the item from that Divine Dragon was vanishingly small.

"Yiming, what is wrong?" Yuan Lixun asked, startled.

He Yiming managed a wry smile, looking both on the verge of tears and laughter. "Nothing much. I encountered a bandit who robbed me of a few things."

"What things? I’ll help you snatch them back!" Bao Zhu, who had largely recovered its original appearance, leaped up and perched on He Yiming, clamoring loudly.

He Yiming’s eyes lit up. "Bao Zhu, you can talk now?"

"I am such an intelligent divine beast, of course I can speak," Bao Zhu replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

However, everyone present knew that the ability to change size freely and speak fluently must be related to the Divine Dragon's inheritance. Otherwise, given Bao Zhu's temperament, it would have boasted the moment it achieved its breakthrough, rather than waiting until now to reveal its newfound skill like presenting a treasure.

Smiling faintly, He Yiming said, "Wonderful! Bao Zhu truly deserves the title of the greatest divine beast under heaven. I need your help retrieving what the bandit took."

Little Bao Zhu stood upright on He Yiming's arm, raising its tiny forelegs high with an air of haughtiness. "Tell me, which bandit, and where?"

He Yiming pointed a finger in the direction the Divine Dragon had disappeared. "That Divine Dragon. He stole my treasure. Go and retrieve it."

Little Bao Zhu immediately froze. Its body slowly crouched down, its small eyes darting around nervously. Finally, it gathered strength with its hind legs and leaped onto the head of the white steed, Lightning. "I’m tired, I need to sleep." With that, it settled down quite decisively on Lightning’s neck, its entire body stiff as if glued in place, never moving again.

Everyone present couldn't help but smile faintly. Although Bao Zhu had also become a divine beast, expecting it to contend with the Divine Dragon was a contest between entirely different leagues—a futile endeavor.

Liu Mu shook his head. "Yiming, did the Divine Dragon really take your treasure?"

He Yiming gave a bitter laugh. "Forget it. That fellow did offer some guidance on my martial cultivation. Consider it payment."

In truth, he was far from reconciled, but he clearly understood the disparity in strength between them, so he wisely chose a passable excuse.

Perhaps when he became powerful enough in the future to kick the Divine Dragon around like a ball, he would seek justice. But for now, he had to swallow his grievance—a bitter pill he couldn't speak of.

Liu Mu pondered for a moment. "Actually, it’s good that you think that way. Didn't the Divine Dragon unleash the Heaven and Earth Annihilation technique for your sake in the end? What insights did you gain from it?"

He Yiming’s expression immediately became serious. Regardless of his assessment of the Dragon's character, he was utterly convinced of the power it commanded.

"The Divine Dragon's Heaven and Earth Annihilation is the ultimate power derived from the five elements of Heaven and Earth. It is a..." He Yiming paused in deep thought for a long time before finally speaking slowly, "It is a Grand Domain of the Five Elements."

Liu Mu nodded slowly, his face showing deep satisfaction. "You sensed it. Very good." He sighed deeply. "Five hundred years ago, when we Divine Dao experts entered that place, we encountered the massive floating object you mentioned. To destroy it, the five Pseudo-God Realm experts and several divine beasts of that era charged forward fearlessly. Although they all perished, they managed to force the object to retreat ten thousand miles and inflict severe injuries. Afterward, the Divine Dragon unleashed Heaven and Earth Annihilation—the combined might of the five elements in that Grand Domain shook the heavens and earth, completely destroying the object and turning it into the Monster Nest."

Sharp glints flashed in He Yiming’s eyes. According to Liu Mu’s account, the Divine Dragon had taken a huge advantage to destroy the structure. Yet, from what He Yiming had witnessed personally, the Dragon’s strength was unfathomable; it seemed capable of destroying it even on its own.

A subtle thought arose in his mind: Was the Divine Dragon concealing its true strength, or had it achieved a further breakthrough in these five hundred years?

Liu Mu raised his hand and gently patted his shoulder. "It was precisely by comprehending that Grand Domain of the Five Elements from back then that the few of us were able to break past our limits and become the new generation of Pseudo-God Realm experts." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "Without that insight from back then, even with continuous tempering in the Asura Path, we might not have ultimately broken through our limits to achieve the Pseudo-God Realm."

He Yiming was slightly taken aback, and a sense of balance slowly settled within him.

Although the Heaven and Earth Annihilation technique the Divine Dragon unleashed at the end certainly served the purpose of venting its anger, as Liu Mu stated, it was fundamentally an opportunity for him alone to gain enlightenment.

It was because of this enlightenment that He Yiming discovered the life force nurtured within the power. Furthermore, he grasped the critical element needed to advance to the Pseudo-God Realm.

One must remember, the cultivation technique he practiced was the Flower of the Great Five Elements Reincarnation. With the strength of Liu Mu and the others, it was impossible for them to manifest a Grand Domain of that caliber for him to comprehend. Therefore, this favor he owed was absolutely immense.

The Divine Dragon had bestowed such a great favor, yet it had taken away a significantly important treasure. He Yiming truly didn't know whether he should feel gratitude or resentment.

Liu Mu said solemnly, "Yiming, I intend to return to the main peak of the Heavenly Pool to take a look. Will you come back with us?"

He Yiming paused briefly, then shook his head repeatedly. "Ancestor Master, I still wish to linger here for a while longer to fully immerse myself in this comprehension. You should return first."

A look of admiration flashed in Liu Mu’s eyes. He Yiming, already a Divine Dao expert at such a young age, still maintained such diligence toward martial cultivation; this truly brought great comfort to his old heart.

Nodding toward Di Shitian, the two Divine Dao experts of the Heavenly Pool lineage pierced the air and departed.

Following this foray into the ice island and their subsequent emergence, the Heavenly Pool lineage was undoubtedly among the biggest winners.

He Yiming’s gaze settled on Mou Zilong. He smiled. "Brother Mou, where do you plan to go next?"

Mou Zilong hesitated for a moment. "This old man has no sect or affiliation. I originally intended to keep company with Ma Yu, but he left with that damned shrew. Such a weak-willed fellow..."

He Yiming was left speechless, offering a wry smile. Of course, the couple wanted to stay together.

Shaking his head, He Yiming suggested, "Old Brother, since that is the case, why don't you stay at my place for a while?"

Mou Zilong laughed heartily. "Sure thing! Let me see just what kind of beautiful scenery is capable of nurturing a freak like you."

He Yiming shook his head slightly, though Mou Zilong wasn't entirely wrong; without that miraculous encounter in the lake, he wouldn't have achieved what he had today.

He looked up and suddenly shouted loudly, "Brother Bai, everyone has left. We are all familiar with each other here now; you can come out."

His long voice carried far, echoing across the ice surface.

However, after a long while, there was still no movement, not even a hint of response.

P.S.: The update frequency is indeed not what it used to be, but White Crane is trying his best. Writing this much within five hours every day is the limit; I even had to find help for the revisions. Sigh... For the sake of the one hundred and eight, brothers, please cast your monthly tickets and recommendation votes! Thank you!