Beastmaster of the Ages

In the interest of caution, Tianming had the Jins enter the eye of heaven first to talk to the other specters. Since there was no way he could command them himself, he had Zi Zhen do the ordering for him, but he still told them the details of his plans.

Even though Jin Lin kept complaining that Tianming was in charge of things, his great grandfather, Jin Xiao, intently listened. It was clear that he had devised the relationship between Tianming, Zi Zhen, and Moran based on their conversations.

”Alright, then you should wait outside for news from me,” Jin Xiao sternly said.

”Rest assured, Goddess, with my great grandfather on the scene, there’s nothing that can’t be accomplished,” Jin Lin said as he smacked his chest with pride. The moment he finished, his father grabbed him by the head and pulled him into the eye of heaven. As this particular eye was on the periphery, there weren’t many people around.

”Will it work out?” Zi Zhen asked.

”I’m not familiar with the aurumites, so it’s hard to say. Best be on our guard,” Tianming said. He looked at the eye and to the Taboo Ocean, seeing its intensifying storms. ”Putting Qingyu aside, the Soulfiend might not survive the Taboo Ocean collapsing in on itself.”

Things didn’t seem like they were going all that well, which was why he had the Jins hurry up their plans.

***

Within the eye of heaven were a few hundred aurumite specters who let the Jins into their midst. They were mostly overflowers, all of them glowing gold and with most standing taller than ten meters. It was really easy to tell who was stronger than whom.

While size was a definite sign of strength, what was undeniable was the number of astrons in overflowers. It was the strongest stage before one advanced to become a cosmic god, where cultivators became more and more like tiny universes unto themselves, with their astrons resembling stars more and more.

The hundreds of aurumites were all covered in hard, metallic muscles. Even a single one of their hairs was much stronger than many cosmic artifacts. All of them gathered together made for quite an impactful sight. Even a single one of them would be able to cause untold amounts of mayhem in Myriadpath Valley. And it was all thanks to the legacy of the heavenly favored!

The reason they didn’t want to leave the Ancient Oldgod Domain was that they would lose their greatest asset if they did.

Jin Xiao told the group everything he knew about Zi Zhen without hiding anything. All the aurumites heard him clearly, especially his point about her rapid subsequent breakthroughs. When he was done, he looked at the most eye-catching one of them all: a golden giant fifty meters in height.

The giant was bald and built like an enormous bear. His limbs were thick and powerful, covered in a golden sheen. His eyes looked like deep lakes of gold. His fingers seemed like pillars that could support the sky, adorned with long, golden talons. A single one of his hairs was made up of tens of thousands of overflower astrons; even among all of the golden giants, he seemed to shine the brightest.

Everyone silently turned and looked at him. Without a doubt, he was the current leader of the heavenly favored aurumites, Di Tang! If anyone from the astralscape of order saw the likes of him, they would believe that he was some kind of ancient divinity. Even a single stomp from him would be enough to level an entire city.

Di Tang had two brothers who were fourth-level overflowers, like Jin Xiao. From that, it was clear that the gap between the two top families of the aurumites was quite huge.

”What do you think, Di Tang?” Jin Xiao asked. While he was a bit older than Di Tang, he had made many contributions to the aurumites, so his reputation was still on par with the young leader’s.

”Someone who used to be near a cosmic god in power but fell from grace... breaking through six levels and subsequently having incredible efficiency at assimilating overflow fragments.... And you’re saying she’s an unprecedented specter with three eyes and nine irises?!” Di Tang’s eyes seemed wild.

”Big Brother, you might know the face, but not the heart! Who knows if that person’s really going to help us out?” Di Hai, one of the fourth-level overflowers, reminded him.

Di Tang waved him away and turned to Jin Xiao. ”Let her come in. I want to talk to this peak specter.”

Jin Xiao nodded. All he wanted was for a chance for them to talk. All Zi Zhen needed was to make a move; if Di Tang refused to even talk, then there was nothing Jin Xiao could do about it.

”Big Brother—” The other brother, Di Shan, furrowed his brow as if he was about to say something, but Di Tang stopped him. Jin Xiao had gone out to personally escort Tianming, Moran, and Zi Zhen in. The moment he left, all other specters began to grumble.

”Silence!” Di Tang ordered, forcing their mouths shut, though their faces were still filled with confusion and deep doubt. ”We’ll talk after we see them.”

Di Tang raised a brow as gold light flashed across his eyes. Soon, Jin Xiao returned with the other three. It went without saying that Tianming and Moran, two tiny human foundationeers, were treated like they didn’t exist at all. Nobody even bothered to look at them; all the aurumites were focused on Zi Zhen.

The girl stood at thirty-two meters tall, proof that she was a fourth-level overflower. Only Di Tang was able to overpower her. In terms of aura, she did seem weak compared to the aurumites. All of them were in the eye of heaven, and none of them were female specters.

Almost instantly, all the aurumites’ gazes turned like Jin Lin’s. Desire flashed through their minds in an instant. From that, one could see how much their kind was being suppressed. They were at their breaking point!

Their desire to conquer and dominate had nothing to do with Zi Zhen herself. Instead, it was a raw reaction at seeing a female specter from a prime bloodline who was also an overflower, an ideal mate!

Tianming felt like he had walked into a den of hundreds of golden beasts. Their breathing grew audibly rougher. ”Is she really that enticing?” He hadn’t noticed that point before she reached the Overflow stage; the aurumites had long been twisted by their oppressors.

The rude and uncouth looks angered Zi Zhen quite a bit. Tianming felt that she was about to explode and transform, then launch a killing spree!