Beastmaster of the Ages

Just glancing at Xiaoxiao’s weapon made Tianming’s scalp tingle. ”Can you conquer the two devastating nightfiends and control it?” he doubtfully asked.

”Don’t worry. I have the Archaionfiend, so I’m not afraid of mere bestiae,” Xiaoxiao replied.

”Bestiae aren’t caeli,” Tianming said, pursing his lips.

”You don’t understand. Bestiae are actually a damaged and chaotic mix of vita, terra, and caelum. Devouring them is useless, but the Archaionfiend can easily suppress them. After all, it’s considered their ancestor,” Xiaoxiao explained.

”In other words, you’re the ebons’ natural enemy?” Tianming said.

”You could say that expert soul cultivators are their natural enemies. Feng and the Archaionfiend even more so. And as for myself… well, we’ll see how Wu You’s transformation goes!” Xiaoxiao said.

”That’s great. You’re worth the effort.” It would be great if the Archaionfiend became a mean killing machine.

Tianming was optimistic about Xiaoxiao’s future; he had spent a total of 1.9 million merit points for seven manna along with Xiaoxiao’s Skywreck Vortex. The rest of the points were used on Moran and Feiling. It didn’t matter how precious the items were, Dongshen Yue selected whatever suited them the most.

Moran also received a high-sanctuary-class cosmic artifact, which Tianming had bought at a bargain. It was unpopular among the Lin Clan and hadn’t been exchanged for tens of thousands of years. It was a dark green umbrella known as the Inkorchid Starshower. When open, the umbrella was filled with tiny stars and looked like a beautiful, dark galaxy. It could amplify and stabilize divine wonders, but had remained useless ever since the Lin Clan had acquired it from the Skydome Mundus. Thus, Tianming had bought it for a mere two hundred thousand merit points. The cosmic impulses, ores, herbs, and bestiae used to create it were all high-sanctuary-class.

Feiling’s wish finally came true. She received a dress known as the Cerulean Starocean, a high-sanctuary-class cosmic artifact that had a defense function like the Human Emperor’s Dragonhide. When worn, it looked like a blue galaxy enveloping her delicate curves. The expanse of white and the stars seemed to compete to reflect one another. Tianming couldn’t help but drool at the sight of her in it. Recalling that he had finally become an astral god and was on his way to Gladeus, where he could finally be free, he couldn’t bear it anymore. The magnificent dress was certainly expensive; he had basically sold off all his useless items before earning enough merit points to buy her the most beautiful dress in the entire Swordgod Lin Clan. Not only was it gorgeous, it was also practical and could be used for attacking. It could mean gaining an extra life at critical moments.

The cost of those three cosmic artifacts added up to nearly 1.2 million merit points. Tianming had spent a lot on his wife and “concubines.” Even Xiaoxiao was shocked by his generosity. After purchasing all of that, he was completely broke.

”Spending money is so much fun. It feels great!!” he said, despite the pain he felt inside. ”If merit points are useless on Gladeus, we’ll have to use the official currency of the astralscape of order. Glimmer phantasilver is the main currency in the Infinitum Mundus. One glimmer phantasilver is equal to one merit point.”

Glimmer phantasilver was a metal ore that could be changed into any shape and came in different values. Each glimmer phantasilver had the smallest natural formation formed by ordered divine patterns, making it a perfect currency. Most people referred to it as phantasilver. In fact, outsiders used phantasilver instead of merit points when shopping at the Prime Myriadsword Corporation. After all, merit points were rewards within each major clan.

Everything was in place and ready, and his lifebound beasts had also begun evolving. It was time to part with Ebonia.

”A man should have great ambitions and not be limited to one place, so don’t be sad. Young man, go bravely and explore!” Lin Xiao earnestly said.

”You sound so imposing, but why’re you crying?” Dongshen Yue mocked.

”Bullshit, sand got into my eyes,” Lin Xiao argued.

”I think you mean dog shit,” Dongshen Yue retorted.

”You stinky old woman! Are you trying to rebel?” Despite sounding tough, Lin Xiao waved his hands, clearly hoping his wife would leave him a shred of dignity in front of his grandson.

”Trash!” Dongshen Yue rolled her eyes, and went to help the girls with packing. Nagging and repeated advice were unavoidable parts of the process.

”My good disciple, you said you’re taking an astralship with you. What class is it?” Lin Xiaodao asked.

”Skypiercer...” Tianming replied.

”What’s the use of a skypiercer-class astralship? I’ll give you a deific-class astralship when we arrive and you can kill as you please,” Lin Xiaodao said.

”What can you do with a deific-class astralship? You’re so stingy,” Dongshen Yue sneered.

“Pretend I didn’t say anything,” Lin Xiaodao laughed.

Tianming decided to take the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb with him anyway. Now that he was finally an astral god, he wanted to see if he could fuse more formation cores so the tomb could reach its former glory.

”Who knows? The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb might eventually become an imperial-class astralship!” It was his most valuable treasure. After all, the tomb was also the solar core. As long as he continued activating the tomb’s formation cores, there would be no need for other astralships.

”Alright. We’ll board the Reaper in a while. I’ll stuff it in. Carrying a skypiercer-class astralship is no problem at all,” Lin Xiaodao said.

The Reaper was a giant gray sword; Tianming had already caught a glimpse of it.

It was said that Lin Xiaodao cultivated a deadly sword dao, and part of it originated from the Gladeus Ruins. Tianming wanted to learn from him.

”The spacetime sword arts of both reges mundi are advanced and profound, but they aren’t brutal enough. I need to be more ruthless.” That way, he would be better prepared to face the dangerous battlefield that awaited him on Gladeus.

Tianming then moved the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb to the Reaper. During the process, he realized that he should be able to fuse the third core. ”The tomb should expand once I integrate this formation core. I think it’s best to wait until we get there, though, just in case the tomb becomes too big for the Reaper to carry.” The Reaper was a combat astralship. It wasn’t very large and was definitely not meant for transportation.

They were ready to set off. Thousands of Lin disciples had also boarded the Reaper. Like Tianming, Lin Hongchen and the rest were headed for Gladeus for training. All that was left was to say their goodbyes.

”I don’t like the sadness of parting, so let me save you from it. Let’s go!”

Tianming had just retrieved ten billion Yin Chens and was about to spend his last few moments of warmth with his grandparents, when Lin Xiaodao started up the Reaper. With that, the giant gray sword soared into the sky toward the sea of stars.