Beastmaster of the AgesBeastmaster of the Ages
Tianming forgot about the outside world and focused on the caeli in the Grand Myriadpath Ruins. The attention he paid them was sincere. Once more, the countless caeli within the lower ruins came to surround him, making him the center of a star system.
Other disciples could only watch and wonder what in the world was going on. From the very start, Tianming had been scanning the caeli of eighth-level foundationeers. Time flowed without him noticing as he went from one to the next. He had experienced really unique life and death experiences and his thirst for cultivation was like that of a person in a desert.
When he finally decided to count the time that’d passed, it had been five years. He had spent all that time immersed in caeli without even caring that his spot in the Fortuna Ranking was falling. No matter how hard he worked, however, he was doing so alone. Caeli observation was the most boring and dry part of cultivation.
"Five years passed like an instant!" Tianming lazily stretched within the ruins. His body felt like it had just been defrosted, snapping as he stretched. His injuries had completely recovered.
"After focusing on training for so long, my orders have also grown quite a bit." The key to that was Tianming's Trisoul Prime, which greatly helped his understanding.
Any other normal person wouldn't be able to keep using order fragments to repeatedly reforge the foundation of their cultivation. He had the highest efficiency when it came to absorbing the benefits of order fragments. Not to mention, five years of his observation was akin to a hundred for others. They only ever got caeli of fifth-level foundationeers, but he got eighth-level ones!
"If only I could go to the mid and upper ruins. Then again, it'd be great if I could safely go to the Suishen Ancestral Hall, too."
It felt great that nobody was getting in his way as he left the Grand Myriadpath Ruins, finally having taken care of his cultivation checklist for the moment. He had a few other things to do now that his orders had stabilized.
First, he had to return to Ebonia to make up for losing nine billion Yin Chens. Then he had to try his luck again at the Xenoabyss to get more order fragments. Third, he had to raise his rank once more after five years of inactivity.
He looked at his myriadpath ring and was quite surprised to see thirteen thousand merit points. The ten-times multiplier was truly amazing. Others in his rank would only get thirteen hundred in five years.
"I don't lack any battle arts or techniques right now. I should save more of it up and spend it on some ordered manna with seven hundred apertures for Ying Huo and the others to try evolving again." As he rose in rank, he would get merit points faster.
Tianming hadn't paid any attention to the outside world during those five years. Yin Chen informed him that House Huang had basically remained silent for all that time, as if they were fermenting their killing intent and waiting for the perfect moment.
The hundred-odd madwomen of Fallengrace Peak were using all their connections to search for the killer of Lan Yun and their senior sister. However, they didn't even think to look in Tianming's direction, or they would have come to question him long ago.
Fallengrace Peak was currently led by their second sister. She didn't seem to care about the deaths of Lan Yun and their senior sister; all she seemed to want to do was to show onlookers what they would do to those who dared cause trouble for them. It was a warning against provocation, and as such, their investigation was more procedural and it didn't matter whether they really got results.
"If I'm not unlucky enough to fall into their sights, I should be fine." Tianming didn't have any real friends in Myriadpath Valley, apart from Uncle Hei and Jian Qinghe. People were quite shocked to see him emerge after five years.
"I heard that Suishen Zhao made amazing progress. I wonder if Li Tianming has been overcome."
"Probably not. He still has an advantage over Suishen Zhao for now, unless the latter manages to break through to the eighth level."
"There's only another five years before the promised time for their rematch. We'll wait and see!"
Most cultivators firmly believed that Suishen Zhao would overcome Tianming with much to spare.
Tianming merely smirked. "Overcoming me?" With Lan Yun gone, he could spread his wings and fly! He immediately went to the Myriadpath Celestial Formation and headed to the Skydome Mundus.
"You're getting more and more handsome," Fengqing Youmeng said, biting her lip.
"What do you want?" Tianming cautiously asked.
"I want you!" she said, her face blushing.
Tianming was slightly flustered, but ignored her and had her lead him back to Ebonia. He met up with Xiaodao and Wudi, ascertained that they were safe and unbothered, and breathed a sigh of relief. Xiaodao had also obtained some new ordered manna.
"Are there any leads on the Xenoabyss side?" Wudi asked.
Tianming helplessly shook his head.
Wudi patted him on the shoulder. "Time will tell."
There was nothing he could do unless he grew more powerful. Tianming noticed that his omnisentient power was completely gone this time around. The red dust infection had reached critical mass on the Sun and Ebonia. He was starting to feel that time was running out.
"I have to get into the top hundred on the Fortuna Ranking soon to get springwater from the Myriadpath Sourcespring!" To reach the top hundred, he needed to be as powerful as Huang Daosheng, the Little Lion King. To actually get springwater, he would probably need to be as strong as one of the top three, like Suishen Yao.
The path ahead was still quite long. Even Suishen Yao and her ultimate totems needed four hundred years of effort to achieve what she had. Tianming wasn't even eighty.
As for Moran, he didn't plan to visit her. He had already committed a mistake he couldn't take back and would be all the more careful when it came to such affairs in the future.
Once Yin Chen had its fill of divine ore veins, Tianming immediately returned to the Myriadpath Celestial Formation. However, he didn't go back to Myriadpath Valley and warped to the Xenoabyss right away. The Yin Chens that had been left in the capital woke up and began working.
Chen Tianyong and Zi Zhen had Yin Chens with them at all times, so they always knew when Tianming arrived.
"It's been five years. I was thinking it was about time for you to come again," Chen Tianyong said, smiling.
Tianming was led by Yin Chen to an incredibly hidden and derelict hiding spot under the capital. With the city being so big, it was incredibly difficult to track people down. Otherwise, Zi Zhen wouldn't have survived for so long.
He passed through many illusory mists before he saw a purple-haired girl standing at the entrance of the cave, waiting for him. Next to her was a gigantic, burly minotaur.
"Did you break through?" Tianming asked Zi Zhen right away.
"I'm at the third level," she said. She was a third-level foundationeer at under five hundred years of age.
"If you go to Myriadpath Valley, you'd no doubt rank first on the Fortuna Ranking," Tianming said, impressed at the innate talent of the sacredfiend skyghoul bloodline. She had achieved such a result in a barren place like the Xenoabyss, no less.
"I don't really understand how it works there," Zi Zhen said. She felt a little lonely, being bound to the Xenoabyss and unable to visit the bustling Myriadpath Valley. Fortunately, Chen Tianyong was there with her, or she wouldn't even have anyone to talk to.
"The geniuses of the Three Exalted Houses there can fight opponents two levels above. What about you?" Tianming asked, pulling her into the cave by her hand.
Chen Tianyong saw it and shook his head with a smile. "I'll be on the lookout outside!"
There were enough Yin Chens in the perimeter, so that wasn't necessary at all. However, that allowed the two to be alone in the cave... under the prying eyes of the lifebound beasts.
Zi Zhen didn't let go of his hand. "I don't think I can do that. Fighting one level above mine is probably the most I can do, but that's against opponents in the Xenoabyss. I might not be able to go higher against geniuses in Myriadpath Valley."
"I doubt that. Aren't you a sacredfiend skyghoul? You must be stronger than the specters of House Yumo," Tianming said.
"I lack something to be considered a full-fledged sacredfiend."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure. I just know that I lack something really important."
"If you don't even know what it is, it won't be easy to find."
"On the contrary, I know where it is."
"Huh? Where is it?"
Zi Zhen stretched out her other hand and pointed at the purple sash she had given him. "I have some scrambled memories that tell me it can be found at a place called Yumo Cave."
Tianming knew where that was, of course. He had been to Suishen Cave, so Yumo Cave was no doubt something similar. "Are you saying that this sash can point me to the thing you need?"
"Yes. If you're close enough, it should react." She looked up at Tianming. "If...." She pursed her lips and stopped herself.
"Tell me!" Tianming insisted.
"If... if you can find that for me... then I can fully assimilate my bloodline. People won't be able to extract it from me any longer."
"Got it!" In other words, it was absolutely necessary for her. Not only would her talent soar with a complete assimilation, she would no longer be a target. Even Mister Taihe craved her bloodline, so the same no doubt applied to the skyghouls of Myriadpath Valley as well.