"Looks like you won't learn until it's too late!" Wen Renqian said.

"Where did you get all that confidence from? Li Tianming alone? The Nonahall Ghost Sect had me attack this place and didn't send any further orders. I shall do as they say and continue conquering your lands. If they want to attack your Taiji Peak Lake, that's their business. All I want is to expand my territory here. This place used to belong to the Biritual Divine Realm anyway, Fuling City included!" Qin Fengyang said.

"Do you think you're the boss of the Yinyang Demon Sect? Someone's getting arrogant!" Wen Renqian mocked. Her words hit a sore spot of his. Though Li Caiwei had wanted to hold back the war efforts, Qin Fengyang believed that the Nonahall Ghost Sect would focus their efforts on Taiji Peak Lake because of their recent heavy loss. In the end, the Yinyang Demon Sect wouldn't get any more territory with their help, so they would just take it for themselves. There's no way they would return the lands they had already conquered either.

"Die!" He charged toward Wen Renqian with his blade in hand.

"Divine Marshal!" Wen Renqian was the only beauty among the nine divine marshals of the realm, and her subordinates were all nervous about her safety. At that moment, a white-haired, black-robed figure descended from the sky.

"Imperial Son!"

"He's finally here! Victory is ours!"

Fuling City erupted into a grand cheer as the light of hope shone upon them. Almost immediately, the light from the Trifold Trueflame Formation glowed much brighter, something that took Qin Fengyang aback. For them to claim victory just because of his arrival, Tianming was being treated like the god of Archaion! However, Qin Fengyang didn't waste too much time mulling over it and charged straight for Tianming.

"You want to take me on? Do you think I'm a push—" Before he could finish, Tianming equipped the Dragonhide and came striking down with his Grand-Orient Sword using the Ninesky Beastsoul Formation. The immense power of the strike caused shockwaves to spread across the city. "That's too fast!"

In fact, Tianming wasn't the one going fast; Feiling was slowing down time, instead. Qin Fengyang hurried to parry the move. When the blades clashed, the power of the nine fearsome formation beasts came flooding through with so much force that it snapped Qin Fengyang's warblade in half. What remained of the force sent Qin Fengyang slamming to the ground, causing it to crack and give way beneath his feet until he was forced to his knees!

"Uugggghhh!" Before the solar master could collect himself, Tianming sent him flying with a kick to the face. It was a pathetic display indeed. Even though Qin Fengyang was only an eleventh-level life phase samsaran, he was still a sect master and the second strongest fighter of the Yinyang Demon Sect. Yet he had been forced to kneel and sent flying after a single exchange, utterly shocking everyone present. However, those from Archaion were long used to the ridiculous feats of their imperial son and they cheered loudly. The morale of the Biritual troops tanked almost immediately.

"It's said that he can kill a million people at once!"

"Run!"

The enemy troops were already running before Tianming even had a chance to use Vitasteal. He had practically saved Fuling City from their dire situation in an instant.

"Imperial Son!" Wen Renqian greeted this 'kid' respectfully.

"Once they retreat far enough, start evacuating the city. I’ll go to the other fallen city to rescue their captives," Tianming instructed.

"Understood."

As for Qin Fengyang, he had left with his subordinates after suffering that disadvantageous bout. He had bet that Tianming would remain at Taiji Peak Lake and wasn't as powerful as the rumors had suggested, but the bet had come back to bite him in the ass. Given his personality, running was the first thing he did.

The moment Tianming showed up at the city, the enemy troops had begun their retreat. That meant that they would probably abandon the other fallen cities as well. His arrival had caused their morale to instantly vanish, thanks to the rumors of him being able to kill enemies by the millions. Right now, almost every cultivator of the Flameyellow Continent considered him a threat.

"Since it won't take much time, I should check if those two old geezers have left." Right as Tianming was about to leave, he turned back and saw a pink-eyed girl flying toward him from the horizon with a sensual smile. "Are you a pervert? Dress your age, old hag!"

"How I dress is my business, boy." Li Caiwei rolled her eyes.

"Are you here to hunt me down again to quench your lewd thirst for my young body, like last time? I'd advise against it. You saw how badly Qin Fengyang lost, right?"

"I saw it myself, so spare the boasting. Come to think of it, you've been carrying out one ridiculous feat after another since leaving the Kilostar Domain. What a monster. I'm completely convinced of your power," she said.

"Then what are you here for?"

"Nothing, really. I suppose our next orders from Nonahall will come soon, so we'll be meeting again at Taiji Peak Lake. There’ll be many others there that I'm sure you'd like to kill, so I doubt I'll be first on the list."

"Well, actually, there's something I feel compelled to inform you about. Do with this information what you will: it's best that you don't get your troops or subordinates to die in vain when the time comes."

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

Tianming told her about the communication ritual he had witnessed.

"It's that damned grey star again!" Li Caiwei immediately furrowed her brows after hearing about it.

"It appears that you have doubts about the grey star as well."

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you about it! You're the enemy!"

"Suit yourself. I don't need you to warn me about it either." Tianming turned to look at the sky. It was a secret he would have to investigate himself.

Right after that, a messenger came to Li Caiwei. Glancing at Tianming, he said, "Sect Master, there's an important matter you need to hear."

"It's fine, let him hear it," Li Caiwei said with a smile.

"The orders from Nonahall are that you bring every samsaran we have to Taiji Peak Lake. The elites of the five sects will gather for a joint attack against the sect."

"Oh, alright." Smiling, she turned to Tianming and asked, "Afraid now?"

"You're still smiling like that even though you're about to get sold out? You're counting the coins they got paid for selling you like an oblivious fool, too." Tianming smirked and turned to leave. "My advice to you is to stay at the rear instead of the front. Don't let your people be the first to be vaporized by the Ninefold Formation. We have hundreds of millions of people powering it."

"You little—" Before she could even finish the cuss, Tianming was already gone. "Well, he sure can run fast."

She squinted in thought for a moment. "A communication ritual, eh? There's definitely something up. Now I won't take the vanguard position no matter what!"

......

There were only three people within the Nineghoul Skypalace at Specter Mountains, namely Di Zang, Po Suo, and Zi Xiao. The former two had just returned and Zi Xiao was there to receive them.

"Where's Jian Wuxin?" Di Zang asked.

"He has the perfect Regal Specter Bloodline. After consuming seven million lifebound beasts, he can equal my power using his physical strength alone," Zi Xiao said excitedly. Though, he seemed a little troubled when he continued, "If it weren’t for the misfortune that came to Si Ling and the other four, we would've had around thirty million lifebound beasts to feed to him by now. Jiang Wuxin and the corpse puppets would be enough, and we wouldn't even have to count on Jian Wuyi."

"Well, they have their own elites, after all. All the costs we've incurred are within expectations," Po Suo said.

"That's true. It's almost as if Li Tianming himself is a miracle," Zi Xiao said.

"Zi Xiao, head to the ten cities near Specter Mountains and seal them. Have all the beastmasters chased out of their cities and get them to leave their lifebound beasts behind," Di Zang ordered.

"But, this...."

"Let Jiang Wuxin feed on them until he reaches his limit. That way, he'll only be matched by those on the level of the gods."

"But they're all citizens of our divine realm..."

"They're just beasts. Livestock. They're all the same, whether they be from our realm or others'," Di Zang said with a smile.

"Zi Xiao, Third and the rest are gone. You're the only one left who has the luxury of evolving to become a higher lifeform," Po Suo reminded.

"Understood!" Zi Xiao said emotionally. "I'll carry out the task immediately! There should be at least fifty million lifebound beasts in the ten cities!"

"On your way, then."

By the time Zi Xiao left, the sun was setting. Po Suo and Di Zang watched the setting sun from the entrance of the Nineghoul Skypalace.

"Old mate, is it about time to loosen our grip on the death phase?" Di Zang asked.

"If we do, we'll recover our full power but only have a month of life left before the death phase claims us," Po Suo said.

"It's fine. That’s enough time for us to fulfill our final mission. How many years have we feared even lifting a single finger ourselves, all while waiting for this day?" he said with a smile.

"Far too long. The time we have in the life and death phases is the cruelest of laws of the world. It's too terrifying. It's too bad that we no longer have any hope of ascending in our lifetime," she said as tears streamed down her eyes.

"It's fine. History will remember us. We’ll be the heroes that saved the glorious specter race! Our descendants will remember us, now and forever!"

"While death may one day tear us apart, we’ll stand and fight as one until then!" They held each other's hands tightly as they basked in the setting sunlight, allowing their flesh and bone to crack and shift.

Meanwhile, Tianming was on his way to the five-colored star once more.