Beastmaster of the Ages

A white-haired youth appeared beside the tall and graceful young woman.

He was visually striking, draped in a long black and gold robe, had flowing white hair, and eyes of black and gold that exuded terrifying divine power. Black lightning twined around his left arm while fiery, sword-shaped feathers crackled on his right arm. His left leg was teeming with flora, while his right was armored in dense dragon scales, with two dragon heads that seemed almost alive.

In his hands, he held a pair of black and gold swords, their blades engraved with mountains, rivers, the sun, moon, and stars.

“What’s happening? Did he grow several times stronger after defeating the valley lord?”

“That seems to be the case, but... why?”

The wonderians began murmuring among themselves.

“Some of you, go back and report the situation about Tian Jiu!” Zhoutian Shenhai ordered while frowning at Tianming.

“Sir Zhoutian, Myriadpath Valley is sealed and this person has taken control of the Myriadpath Celestial Formation!”

“Then use your xenogates to leave! I’ll kill him and retrieve the formation core. If something unexpected happens, we’ll just make our way back to the nearest leased land!” Zhoutian Shenhai commanded.

“Yes!”

“This brat is causing storms to block our escape. Move quickly!”

“Yes!”

The moment they realized that Tianming’s strength had increased, Zhoutian Shenhai began formulating meticulous plans to ensure their success. The earlier attack had stripped him of his arrogance and replaced it with cautious resolve.

Tianming overheard everything and turned his head to glance back, noticing Moran’s bruises and the bloodstains at the corners of her lips, but also her unwavering gaze.

“Are you okay?” A fierce glint flickered in his eyes.

“I’m fine.” Moran offered a serene smile and took a soft breath. The pain caused her brows to knit, but she endured it.

“This Zhoutian Shenhai is powerful. I’ll handle him. Sorry, but you’ll have to handle the rest. You must stop them from escaping through the xenoworld....” Tianming couldn’t summon reinforcements like Jiguang. This was a battlefield for super-zenith cultivators; anyone else who intervened would die. He had no choice but to rely on Moran.

She eagerly accepted his trust. In fact, the responsibility ignited a blazing battle spirit within her and her forty-nine sisters, their eyes burning with intensity.

“Got it!” she responded with a firm nod.

At that moment, both sides made their moves.

Zhoutian Shenhai targeted Tianming while most of the rest surrounded Moran. Three of them split off to explore escape routes.

Tianming directly charged at Zhoutian Shenhai, while Moran launched her attack. The pentaphase heaven wonders on her body extended to her ten pentaphase swords as she launched herself at the wonderians. Previously, Zhoutian Shenhai had been her greatest adversary; none of the others had been able to threaten her.

All of her injuries had been inflicted by Zhoutian Shenhai. Now, with that ten-meter-tall giant behind her, the other seventeen opponents were nothing more than prey in her cold, merciless eyes.

“Little Brother said we just need to stop them from leaving.”

“But that isn’t enough!”

“We must help more!”

“We must kill them and devour their wonders to grow stronger!”

“If we grow stronger, we can protect him better....”

Such was the sisters’ obsession. Their shared determination echoed within their unified form. Each echo resonated with Moran’s killing intent and resolve, reinforcing them.

“You’re absorbing too much power! Are you crazy?” Ji Ji shouted in astonishment from inside the Blissful Union.

“I’ll be fine.” Moran controlled her wonders with all her strength.

“What’s so great about this Li kid that you’d risk your life like this? I don’t see anything special about him!” Ji Ji grumbled. Only she knew how far Moran was pushing herself. Moran was fighting at her absolute limit, completely unconcerned about the toll it might take on her body.

The pentaphase heaven wonders expanded and enveloped the seventeen wonderians, suppressing them and denying them the chance to activate their xenogates. Then she shot forward like a comet with her ten swords! Sword light and wonders descended, bringing devastation everywhere they passed.

On Tianming’s side, in the final stages of the House Qitian and Yumo’s downfall, countless cultivators granted their faith to him, standing alongside him to repel the invaders. The immense and pure power of the people’s beliefs pushed his limits ever higher.

He shone like a blazing black-and-gold star, radiating a light that astonished Zhoutian Shenhai.

“This Lower Star Ruins is truly full of surprises. You’re a foundationeer, yet your power rivals that of an overflower!” Zhoutian Shenhai snarled.

“Overflower? Is that the final stage of an astral god as they progress toward becoming an astral giant?” Tianming asked in a low voice.

“Astral giant? You mean ‘cosmic god’, don’t you? Yes, doesn’t your Myriadpath Valley hold a cosmic god’s corpse?” Zhoutian Shenhai indifferently replied.

Cosmic god? The final piece of Tianming’s understanding of the path of life’s evolution fell into place.

Mortals cultivated their heavenly will and possessed a body of flesh and blood.

Gods were fledging divine beings, cultivating divine will and gaining a body composed of albi.

Astral gods were higher-level deities, cultivating orders and possessing astrons.

The next step was astral giants, also known as cosmic gods!

What kind of existence was that? The Source Progenitor, the corpse within the Blissful Union, and Huang Qi all answered Tianming. It wasn’t merely another step of cultivation, but a qualitative leap of a lifeform.

Could cosmic gods still be considered human? Their countless astrons were like stars themselves, and if they grew even larger, they would bear more similarities to the cosmos than humans.

Of course, Zhoutian Shenhai wasn’t yet a true cosmic god. Still, his ten-meter-tall frame was evidence that he was standing at the threshold of the final step.

Crossing through Ascension, Constellation, Solar, and the Stellaminoris, to become an astral god.... Then progress from Order, Cosmic Cartography, Foundation, to Overflow, to become a cosmic god!

Tianming set his sights on his ultimate goal. He, too, would become a cosmic god! As for what to do about making love after becoming so enormous... he’d deal with that later!

For now, the priority was clear: he had to kill Zhoutian Shenhai. Otherwise, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Zhoutian Shenhai analyzed Tianming as well. After a moment, he reached his conclusion. He must’ve been the one aiding Tian Jiu in slaughtering my fellow wonderians. He has to die or he’ll continue aiding Tian Jiu’s rise, leaving endless trouble for us!