Beastmaster of the Ages

Somewhere within the Ninelives Cave, Tianming nestled within the roots of the Ninelives Ancestral Tree, wrapped in a cocoon hundreds of layers thick.

On his left leg, countless black strands had sprouted, wrapping around the roots and connecting with them. It looked like leg hair, but they were actually the black roots of the Radix World Tree....

These thin black root tendrils had undergone an unimaginable transformation.

Firstly, they had become middlekin astrons, making the black roots eerily shimmer with faint starlight.

Secondly, the tendrils now resembled octopus tentacles, each covered in small black suction cups in the form of black holes. Though not large individually, there was a mind-boggling number of them on each root. According to Xian Xian, after being a lifelong carnivore, it had finally grown a mouth after becoming a cosmic god.

These mouths of the Radix World Tree were called Radix Black Holes. Compared to the flowers on its body, the Radix Black Holes were Xian Xian’s true essence.

With these black tendrils and their Radix Black Holes, Xian Xian could now devour even cosmic god-level wildbeasts. Before this, it couldn’t even digest such creatures.

”Keep in mind, Xian Xian loves fighting infinite beastmasters....” Without combat, how would it feast?

“That deva guy named Zhan Xiao has a fivefold hell-ring, but that little girl You You actually has a sevenfold hell-ring! That talent rivals a 70-crest beast!” The natural talent of these cosmic god geniuses was only getting stronger.

Luckily, Ying Huo and the others had already become cosmic gods. Their very essence had transformed. While technically they were ”tenth-level overflower” cosmic gods, their combat strength could easily crush any cosmic beast of equal level, no matter the talent. Even a 90-crest beast wouldn’t stand a chance against Ying Huo and the others if it were a tenth-level overflower too.

Only from this perspective could one truly grasp how terrifying Primordial Chaos Beasts were!

In the end, the freaks of the Eightpart Pantheons were leagues above the Lower Star Ruins. Even so, when it came to talent, they still couldn’t hold a candle to Tianming. Unfortunately, nobody would believe that.

To others, Tianming’s current cultivation was already beyond logical explanation. He couldn’t be measured by any known cultivation system, and no one could figure out what he really was.

“Too bad my overflow fragments are completely useless now. If I want to keep growing rapidly, I have to completely take over God Domain One. But even if I succeed, it’ll only sustain me till I’m a cosmic god. From there on, my progress will have to follow natural rules....” Even so, nothing could diminish Tianming’s hunger for the Cosmic God stage.

He felt that he was just one crucial step away.

“The next step is the minor zenith. And that might trigger a transformation in Yin Chen and help it ascend. Hopefully, by then, it won’t be restricted by cosmic sense anymore....” Currently, Yin Chen was still suppressed by cosmic sense, making movement difficult.

Fortunately, after Xian Xian became a cosmic god, it immediately had a great opportunity to show off. It used its tendrils to awaken (or threaten) the Ninelives Ancestral Tree to use its vine roots to save the gang.

And they didn’t even know!

“Xian Xian, can you get any more info from the Ninelives Ancestral Tree?” Tianming asked.

“It’s a kind of Ancestral World plant that grew from absorbing flameyellow void essence. Kind of like a wildbeast, it’s huge but stupid. I’ll keep trying to communicate,” Xian Xian replied, acting all old and wise.

“And after communication? What’s the benefit?” Tianming asked.

“Don’t worry. Just give me time. Soon all the ninelives fruits might be yours!” Xian Xian smugly crossed its arms.

“Drop the ‘might be’ and that’ll be perfect,” Tianming sighed.

“Dream on.” Xian Xian sneered. “Sure, I’ve become a cosmic god, but compared to this Ninelives Ancestral Tree, which spans both upper and lower ruins, I’m still tiny. Its mind is like a giant lazy pig, mostly asleep. Right now, all I can do is poke it.”

“All right, then keep poking!” Tianming lazily stretched. Xian Xian had already withdrawn from his left leg and embedded itself into the cave wall.

“They’re safe and heading my way?” Tianming asked Yin Chen.

“That’s right!” Yin Chen replied. “But they... don’t know... you are... their savior.”

“That’s fine.... They’ll find... out eventually,” Tianming said.

“....You’re copying... my way... of speaking?!”Yin Chen snapped, embarrassed and annoyed.

Tianming teased it a bit while waiting for Jiang Lincheng and the others to get close before turning to Xian Xian and saying, “Stop poking for now. The ashuras, Sin Pantheon, and devas have encountered each other. I want to see if there’s a chance to mess with them.”

All of Tianming’s lifebound beasts perked up with excitement.

Xian Xian returned to Tianming’s left leg. Limbs were the foundation of melee. Both attack and movement relied on them. Now that his limbs and other body parts, like his organs and torso were cosmic god quality, he was almost indistinguishable from a true cosmic god, except for his head and a few unique areas.

His combat strength skyrocketed again.

“The strongest quasi cosmic god in history!”

Wearing his purple mist mask, he strode forward, just as a group of people approached, expressions grim and frustrated.

“Datou, Xiaobai.” Tianming waved at them. “What a coincidence. We meet again!”

“Lin Feng?” Jiang Datou’s mood visibly lifted when he saw him. He rushed over and gave Tianming a tight hug, patting him on the shoulder. “You okay?”