Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming turned around. In the purple mist behind him stood a graceful figure. Her purple hair fluttered in the wind and her deep purple eyes were like gemstones. A hint of frost adorned her pretty face.

She was Zi Zhen.

As the ’skyghoul sacredfiend’, her temperament had become increasingly peculiar. Even in her current ‘womanly’ form, she exuded an intimidating, chilly aura. It wasn’t until she looked at Tianming for a while that the coldness around her slightly dissipated. It made him feel a bit more comfortable, but she still wasn’t easy to approach.

However, he didn’t dare to tease her as he used to.

Zi Zhen’s cultivation is getting more profound. She gives me such a strong sense of oppression. I wonder what level she’s reached now? Tianming currently didn’t have the blessing of the omnisentient threads, and his realm was still at the eleventh astral phase. His confidence was indeed a bit weaker. If he were on the Sun, he would probably feel more secure.

”Long time no see... is everything okay?” Tianming greeted her with a smile.

Zi Zhen didn’t answer his question. Instead, she took out a spatial ring and tossed it to him. Her expression was indifferent as she said, ”A gift for you.”

”What’s this?” They hadn’t seen each other for so long, and she had given him a gift right away. What a polite thing to do. He gave her a suspicious look, then opened the spatial ring and looked inside. His eyes widened.

”One, two... five faces!” What he saw were five intersecting hexagons, forming a complex and profound order fragment. It was intricate, carrying its own mysteries, like a miniature sea of order. Just a glance made his mind dizzy.

”A grade-five order fragment?” Tianming never dreamed that she would suddenly give him such a precious gift. It was precious to the point where he was a bit hesitant to accept it; after all, there was no gain without effort.

Last time, for a grade-four order fragment, he had exposed his identity to the Shrine Master, affecting everyone in the Ninth District. The high-level figures of Antiquitas Mortis were still searching for his whereabouts. And the value of that grade-four order fragment was billions of soulstones.

A grade-five order fragment, it was said, could only be possessed by high-level figures in Antiquitas Mortis. Most of the time, they were priceless and the offspring of the higher echelons were all eager to get one.

”Where’d you get a treasure like this?” he asked in shock.

”Just take it, don’t ask too much,” Zi Zhen indifferently said. She was quite overbearing!

”The thing is, you’ve already fulfilled all the conditions I set when I helped you overcome your xeno fatigue,” Tianming said.

”Are you saying you don’t want it? Then give it back to me.” Zi Zhen extended her hand. Her slender fingers looked somewhat pale in the purple mist.

”No, no, no! Of course I want it. Hehe.” Tianming scratched his head and paused, then said, ”It’s just a bit embarrassing.”

”With skin as thick as yours, you can still feel embarrassed?” Zi Zhen seriously and curiously asked.

”Hey! Don’t talk nonsense,” Tianming scolded her with a glare, hurriedly putting away the order fragment. ”Alright, I’ll accept the gift. From now on, I owe you. Anytime you need anything, whether it’s to alleviate loneliness or share your troubles, you can find me.”

”I don’t need it.” Zi Zhen pursed her lips and was silent for a moment, then took a few steps back. She looked at Tianming and said, ”You gave me rebirth, which is priceless. I have nothing to do now, so I’ll find order fragments for you. You can come in and take a look when you have time. If I gain something, I’ll find you.”

She was so nice that it left Tianming somewhat speechless.

”Really, no conditions?” Tianming asked.

Zi Zhen shook her head and said, ”Go do your things. Farewell.” After saying that, she decisively turned around, quickly disappearing into the purple mist.

”Safety first, hey!” Tianming shouted at her retreating figure. Zi Zhen didn’t respond, but she should have heard it.

”This is great.” He was still immersed in the unexpected joy.

”You’ve become a little sugar baby, raised by an overbearing demon queen.” Ying Huo’s eyes shone.

”Why’re you so excited?” Tianming asked speechlessly.

”No reason... I just want to see the good show of two old witches fighting for one little man,” Ying Huo chuckled.

”Get lost.”

Tianming tugged his interdimensional line and returned to the Sun, then moved back to the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

First, he inquired about the situation on Ebonia. The beast wall around Ebonopolis had suffered some losses, but there were too many wildbeasts. Even with the bombardment of the astralships, they constantly needed to return for recharging. Completely breaking through the beast wall and sharply reducing the number of wildbeasts on Ebonia would still take quite some time.

At present, the situation was completely controlled by Yi Daiyan. All the civilian cities, peak clans, and regal clans—including the sanctlighters and others—firmly stood on her side, upholding the justice of the Infinitum Bodhimanda.

”I have time, I can try absorbing this order fragment!” Tianming settled down. His recent period of bitter cultivation had stabilized his eight orders. However, trying a new and higher-grade order fragment so quickly would still be a bit too soon.

”Whatever, the Myriadpath Valley and Intrepidus powerhouses are about to arrive. As their primary target, my personal strength is crucial. Even if it’s a bit false, as long as I can fight, it’s good enough! On the Sun, there’s someone even more fake than me!” Thinking that there was still Wudi, Tianming decided to go for it.

Ying Huo and the rest only had one order, so they grew much faster than Tianming. At the moment, he was at the bottom, but once his orders grew, with the symbiotic cultivation system, they could quickly enter the new level, the twelfth astral phase.

It was the last level of the Order stage. Perfecting the Order stage would make a dark stellar chart appear, which would transition toward a cosmic chart and open up a new stage for astral god lifeforms and make them even more unkillable.

Without cosmic charts, no matter how strong Tianming was, his vitality and endurance were still inferior to cosmic cartographers.

In the secret chamber of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, he took a deep breath and swallowed the order fragment. Once it fragment entered the body, it immediately turned into a formless liquid that spread toward his heptastar organs. Another part of it flowed through his entire body, entering the ancestral order given by Ji Ji.

His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, had the five great orders of infernal, radix, genesis, primordial, and immortal. His brain had lifesbane order, while his seventh heptastar organ had imperial order.

”It is said that the effect of a grade-five order fragment is even better than ten grade-four order fragments combined. The previous grade-four order fragment made my level grow. This time should be the same.” The growth of his eight mighty orders, even by just one level, was extremely time consuming. Tianming couldn’t imagine how slow his growth would be without order fragments, even though he had the Aeonic Grandbane.

“Having many orders has its benefits, but when it comes to growing it, that’s their drawback.” He was still in the eleventh astral phase and far from Xiaodao and Yi Daiyan in level. However, his actual power on the Sun was already nearly hegemonic.

The order fragment’s power entered Tianming’s orders. The process was painless and much more relaxed than when he had eaten spiritual items to cultivate in the past. Order fragments truly were the best drugs; as long as they were taken in moderation, ascending would be easy.

”All of you, give me a boost!” If he hadn’t recently consolidated his orders, the substantial growth this time would probably have made them like a castle built on sand. Fortunately, this time, he was lucky. His eight orders had strong self-stabilization capabilities and wouldn’t easily collapse as long as his will remained firm.

That was especially true for his imperial order!