Although Lou Feiyu and the others seethed with anger, they grit their teeth and fled. Those above had mostly escaped, and a third of those below remained sober, frightened out of their wits. Under the stimulation of blood, those people behaved like deranged demons, each more terrifying than the other. 

Tianming didn't have to attack them; they were fighting each other! Not even the sober ones could escape, especially those from Heptastar and Quadform. They were lower in number and besieged by the Nonahall Ghost Sect. They would have long perished if the Nonahall elders weren’t busy killing each other.  

One by one, the beastmasters and their lifebound beasts were crushed. About two hundred people guilty of serious crimes were beheaded on the spot. 

“Compared to Ye Bodhi, these people are just small fries that won’t contribute a lot of good karma. It looks like progressing with good karma is just a temporary plan. I still need to settle down and keep improving. After all, there aren’t many fish larger than Ye Bodhi in the Flameyellow Continent.”  

Sometimes, a person’s strength wasn’t necessarily proportional to the extent of evil he had committed, and the ghoul kings might not have sinned as much as Ye Bodhi. Therefore, Tianming didn’t think he could go for a lifetime relying on good karma. 

Steadily improving himself was the true path of the beastmaster of the ages.

In a violent slaughter that lasted for an hour, there were at least four hundred tribulation elders who were crippled by Tianming himself.

His lifebound beasts had also crippled quite a few. Due to his control, they didn’t kill as many. Most of them were first severely injured by fighting amongst themselves, then had their saint palaces destroyed by Tianming. 

At the end of the battle, only five hundred of the two thousand tribulation elders who were originally passing through managed to escape. More than three hundred of them had died in battle, and a thousand were crippled. Right now, they were still beating each other up in the sea. 

Even the clearheaded ones were frightened out of their wits at such a tragic sight. Anyone clueless about the situation might assume that they had been attacked by thousands. Even if word of this got out, no one would believe that Tianming had singlehandedly dealt with them. 

Those who were sober stared at the bloodstained white-haired man on the Radix World Tree, trembling and at a loss for words. Despite Tianming’s young age, all they felt was fear. 

“Is he really the reincarnation of the Great Emperor Xuanyuan?” 

“His methods are terrifying....”

“We’ve lost.” 

“I have a feeling that the Kilostar Domain, which we believed was already ours, will be dominated by this young man.” 

“How is he a sitting duck?! Clearly, we didn’t know any better and rushed headfirst into the dragon’s lair!” 

One wouldn’t be able to understand their despair unless they had experienced this unbelievable battle and the effects of the Evernight Curse. Perhaps more farcical was the fact that there were still others climbing over, still clamoring for a fight despite their shattered saint palaces. 

“How dare you mess with my wife!” 

“When the hell did that happen? Zhao, my thing hasn’t worked in the last twenty years!” 

“What? My apologies. I’ve got the wrong man!” 

Such an absurd situation had actually taken place.  Although they were still alive, these men were filled with sorrow.

“We’re finished.” 

“It’s better to die than to live like this.” 

“I’m leaving. You can keep playing!” 

Several of them actually committed suicide. Tianming couldn’t be bothered with what choices they made in the end. All that mattered was, he had won! 

“With more than fifteen hundred of you gone, more people of Archaion will survive.” 

That was the point of this desperate battle.

Tianming’s lifebound beasts returned to his lifebound space so they could quickly heal, and he didn’t stick around to wait for the arrival of reinforcements. There was no way he could fight tens of thousands of people. 

None of them dared to chase after him. They could only watch him leave with pain, sorrow, and fear in their eyes. 

Tianming was well aware there were many spies from the four sects inside the Kilostar Domain. The news that he had slain Ye Bodhi and seized a hundred thousand tribulation artifacts would cause a sensation in the continent. They would be even more shocked to learn that he had crippled more than fifteen hundred tribulation elders on his own. 

"Just remember, this isn’t the end. I want the five divine realms to foam at the mouth at the mention of my name!” 

……

Tianming recuperated on a star of flame. In Tianming’s lifebound space, the light from the Prime Tower was currently healing him and his four lifebound beasts. Among them, Lan Huang was the most badly injured. Fortunately, though, it hadn’t suffered any internal injuries thanks to its thick skin. As soon as its condition improved a little, Lan Huang was alive and kicking once more, clamoring to come out to play. 

“I feel awful.” Exiting his lifebound space, Xian Xian’s spiritform lay on Tianming’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” asked Tianming.

“My leaves and vines have been damaged, and the injuries can only be healed by eating meat. Unfortunately, there’s no meat. I’m so hungry I’m about to faint." Xian Xian pouted, its breath so weak it seemed to be dying. 

“In that case....” Tianming felt a headache coming on.

In order to store the tribulation manna, he had thrown out all the meat. But now, Xian Xian had been injured and couldn’t heal.

“Rest for now. I’ll think of something.” 

“Hurry up then, Half-Old-Man. I’m about to faint from hunger.” Xian Xian rubbed its eyes pitifully.

“Don’t call me that,” said Tianming.

“Alright, Little Plum.” Xian Xian turned its tears into laughter.

“Who taught you that?” asked Tianming.

“Chicken— I came up with it!” Xian Xian replied.

“Dammit, not you again, you bloody chicken!” 

Tianming pulled Ying Huo out of his lifebound space.

“You can actually feed Xian Xian some of these lifebound beasts.” Ying Huo said in all seriousness.

“No way,” said Tianming.

“Since we’ve killed them, all that’s left is their corpses. They no longer exist. If you don't eat them, they’ll rot sooner or later. It’s all the same," said Ying Huo. 

“You’re right. There’s no rule against eating lifebound beasts. It’s just a rule I came up with. We must have our own principles and necessary restraints,” Tianming replied. 

“I don’t understand.” Ying Huo seemed confused.

“We have many uncontrollable aspects. Having certain restrictions in place is good for us,” said Tianming.

“I get it. I just feel sorry for Xian Xian,” said Ying Huo.

There were too many unknowns regarding the Primordial Chaos Beasts.

No one could know what the future held. Therefore, they had to define their principles from the beginning, and perhaps that way, they would be able to escape when trouble struck. 

“It's alright. We can discuss what to do in the future," Tianming said with a smile.