Beastmaster of the Ages

There were too many! Despite their long expedition, they had never seen treasures on such a scale. Previously, just one golden ninelives fruit had been enough to excite them. Now, seeing so many at once left them momentarily dazed.

The problem was, these devas had discovered the place first and were already harvesting. How could they possibly let them go?

”These people can call reinforcements at any moment! Exterminate them all!” A deep, heavy roar came from the depths of the tree hollow. A completely pale cosmic god, who looked so emaciated that he looked terminally ill, stepped out. Though clearly a cosmic god, his body was dim and dull, as if many pale white worms slithered inside him, shrouded in a deep aura of death.

”Zhan Xiao!” Jiang Lincheng recognized him. This man was from the upper echelons of the Ninefold Hellstar. His parents held an extremely high status. Zhan Xiao himself was also a genius ranked on the Ten Desolate Cosmic Genii Ranking, He ranked twenty-fifth, below the Skyfiendling, but above Yushen An.

The Ten Desolate Cosmic Genii Ranking wasn’t a power ranking, but a ranking of talent. If two people dueled, their ages would be equalized. Being ranked twenty-fifth meant his bloodline talent was extremely high and probably in the top three on the Ninefold Hellstar.

Upon seeing Zhan Xiao, Jiang Lincheng gritted his teeth and immediately decided to retreat. Perhaps he might have risked it if they weren’t being pursued from behind, but staying now would be suicide.

”Go!” Jiang Lincheng shouted. The kunlan primalwingers, who had just entered, immediately began decisively retreating.

If Jiang Yulian had still been there, she likely would’ve vetoed Jiang Lincheng’s decision again, leading to another argument. No one would know who to listen to, and if they froze there, they’d all be dead.

”Who is it?” Just as they were retreating, a very young-sounding girl’s voice came from deep within the tree hollow.

Jiang Lincheng frowned and looked over, seeing a graceful figure in the shadows. His first impression was of extremely pale skin and a great figure. Unlike her fellow devas, she felt lively, with a stunningly beautiful face and noble aura.

”You You?!” Jiang Lincheng’s heart trembled, filled with a sense of dread. He hurriedly shouted, ”Everyone, go now!”

”You You?” Jiang Xiaobai recalled the name and muttered, ”Third on the Ten Desolate Cosmic Genii Ranking? A freak who’s only a little over a hundred years old, but already a fourth-level cosmic god?”

In the Upper Star Ruin, a hundred-year-old was basically an infant! Even if her body had developed, she was still a baby, and even younger than Tianming.

”I heard she was born a cosmic god....” That was the highest possible talent in the Ten Desolate Starforges.

”Who are they, Brother Zhan Xiao?” the girl asked softly, still sounding naïve and innocent.

”The walking dead!” Zhan Xiao’s face turned cold. He charged toward Jiang Lincheng and the others while roaring, ”Kill them at all costs!”

These ninelives fruits’ formations were difficult to handle, and he estimated it would take time. If word of this spread, more and more people would come. Even if they were all from the Eightpart Pantheons, the final share would be much smaller.

”Yes!” The devas from the Ninefold Hellstar didn’t hesitate. Each of them launched brutal, deadly attacks that lit up the entire tree hollow.

Zhan Xiao belonged to the same subspecies of deva as Xing Baizhan from the Middlekin Star Ruin. Though his original form looked frail, once transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form, his body expanded dramatically. This humanoid star brought a gray vortex of death ki as he swept toward Jiang Lincheng!

On his chest was a fivefold hell-ring! A fivefold hell-ring could summon ghosts from the fifth level of hell, which were all equal to cosmic gods. This was the key difference between Zhan Xiao and his fellow devas like Zhan Tianfeng from fortuna-class worlds.

Once the fivefold hell-ring was activated, a chilling wave of death from hell surged forth. Shrill howls and ghostly wails echoed as a massive, green demon with snakes for hair crawled out of Zhan Xiao’s chest. Its green eyes dripped green slime, and with its fangs and claws, it looked utterly repulsive.

Jiang Lincheng’s scalp went numb at the sight of the greenvoid ghoul. This was one of the three divine races of the Eightpart Pantheons.

The primalwingers unfurled their primalwings. Though they were human, they were faster than devas.

Behind Jiang Lincheng, a pair of massive primalwings spread out. These wings were formed of fifty violet roses, each of which was made of countless purple electric serpents. These dazzling and magnificent wings were the embodiment of beauty, stunningly beautiful compared to the Sin Pantheon.

Jiang Lincheng was actually quite handsome. With these violetrose electrowings adorning him, he looked like a god descending to the mortal realm. It wasn’t a surprise Jiang Yulian had been attracted to him. There had definitely been a superficial part of it.

But now, being handsome didn’t matter.

For the ferocious devas and Sin Pantheon, seeing such a beautiful form would only fill them with more aggression.

Even though Jiang Lincheng retreated quickly, Zhan Xiao pounced straight at him, and his gray death vortex had already swallowed everyone!

”Go first, I’ll cover the rear!” Jiang Lincheng growled, and his violetrose electrowings flapped. Jiang Datou and the others were tossed backward, while he himself charged toward Zhan Xiao, unleashing a storm of lightning in the shape of violet roses upon Zhan Xiao and the devas!

A sudden battle encounter broke out right there.

”Brother Cheng, no!” Jiang Datou looked back and his eyes turned red.

”Don’t hesitate, I can get away!” Jiang Lincheng was a primalwinger and specialised in agility.

”Understood!” There was no melodrama; Jiang Datou and the others seized the opportunity to withdraw from the tree hollow.

However, many of the devas bypassed the battle between Jiang Lincheng and Zhan Xiao and continued chasing them relentlessly.

Jiang Lincheng fought as he retreated. ”The ashuras and Sin Pantheon are almost here too!”

What now? At that critical, dangerous moment, countless vines of the Ninelives Ancestral Tree suddenly came alive. They writhed and whipped around, suddenly entangling all of the devas. Even Zhan Xiao’s body was bound tightly by countless formation-wrapped vines.

”What’s going on?” Everyone froze in shock. Had the Ninelives Ancestral Tree just saved them?

”Go!” Jiang Lincheng roared. He flapped his primalwings and led the primalwingers completely out of the tree hollow, picking a direction to escape.

And only after they had left, did Zhan Xiao and the rest of the devas finally tear the vines apart.

”The Ninelives Ancestral Tree... can move?” Their gazes turned cold as they looked toward the deeper region of the tree hollow, their gazes becoming strangely intense.