Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2288 - Double Breakthrough

Right after Tianming entered another bee room, he sent Yin Chen spreading throughout the battlefield. It was incredibly important for him to know the levels and statuses of the two people within this room. Time was of the essence! The other two didn't notice him at all, due to how emotionally tense the whole situation was.

"No matter how strong they are, they're definitely weaker than Yi Taoyao." Based on that alone, he had his lifebound beasts to protect him while his caelum entered the realms of the thumb and index finger with the Sky Plundering Hand. "Yi Taoyao may have gotten the middle finger, but her caelum might not be able to enter it!"

He found himself in another sea of green stars facing that same female giant. He looked at the thumb of the star-headed goddess. Even though it was the third time he had met her, he was still filled with awe. He found that he actually liked coming to this place even though all he got from it was a really quick breakthrough and nothing else too special.

The astral giant's hundred-meter-long thumb pressed against Tianming's forehead, giving his divine wills another huge boost. He experienced the aided growth that Xiaoxiao normally had. It felt like he was being lifted into the air with no firm ground to stand on. While he had a lot of energy at his disposal, it seemed there was no proper outlet for it. His Imperial and Lifesbane Wills grew rapidly without having the chance to properly consolidate. It was like he had gained fat rather than actual muscle.

"I still have to train to change that fat into muscle in the future. Only then can I build a firm foundation for the level I'm at." He didn't have a chance to do that now, when what he needed to do was survive. At the very least, the growth of his divine wills was still real and took place at breakneck speed. After being filled up, his caelum left the world of the thumb and wasn't able to return there any longer.

"My divine wills grew, so I should be able to make a breakthrough. However, there's no nova source here. I wonder if I can absorb primeval source and convert it into astralforce to expand my minor stellar charts.... Ling'er also made huge progress inside the Kunlan Realm, so the energy inside ancestral worlds can probably be used like that as well!"

Tianming immediately engaged in symbiotic cultivation with Ying Huo and the rest to raise their capacity and stores of astralforce. Before that, he turned and looked at the battlefield. The two green lights were still there, fighting. Neither of them seemed to overwhelm the other too much, so they were probably around the same level in power.

"Shuntian Bohan... and his... little sister..." Yin Chen confirmed when it got close enough.

"Shuntian Bohan? Him again? What shitty luck this is. Is he fighting his own sister to the death?"

"I don't... think they're... biological siblings..." Whether they were or not didn't really matter, however. Most people had probably gone mad for the sake of turning their heads back to normal.

"Since they're so engrossed in fighting and haven't seen me yet, I'll keep going!" Barely any time had passed for him as his divine wills were growing inside the thumb. The more important part was actually converting primeval source into astralforce.

"Huh? Looks like primeval source is indeed easier to absorb and convert than nova source. It seems even denser in energy compared to the nova source at the Infinitum Swordsea." That was no doubt good news. Primeval source was an energy that was much closer to the original form of energy than nova source was. It was far more malleable and easily converted into different astralforces for his different lifebound beasts, which was perfect, as Tianming's divine wills weren't that stable after the huge boost they just received.

"It'd be easier for me to fail if I absorbed Ebonian nova source and try to convert it into astralforce as I am now." The conversion of primeval source into astralforce and the deployment of his minor stellar charts went incredibly well. Tianming and his lifebound beasts absorbed the energy at a staggering rate, quickly reaching full capacity. They were a cut above the others, and even had orders. The only thing they lacked compared to astral gods was pure power. When their capacity for holding and using power grew, they would become even more threatening.

"Seventh level!" Tianming finally reached his desired level after quite a bit of rushing. "I wasn't Shuntian Bohan's match at the sixth level, but I should be able to at least stay alive now, right?"

He no longer had to panic after this. After all the stumbling around in the Oldgod Domain, he could finally stand his ground. "I have to overcome this obstacle."

With his level raised, his minor stellar charts deployed even wider. He took a deep breath to stabilize his level. Yin Chen told him that the fight was still ongoing, but Shuntian Bohan already had the edge and would kill his opponent not long after. "How ruthless."

Tianming stretched his body and turned his attention to his index finger. "Since I still have time, let's use this one as well! I'm already taking a shortcut anyway." He was feeling a little addicted to cultivating like Xiaoxiao. Who would turn down the chance to grow stronger at death's door? Astral gods were so powerful that he would be utterly crushed if he didn't fight with his life on the line.

He had Yin Chen keep monitoring the situation while his caelum entered the index finger's world. The astral goddess appeared for a fourth time, tapping her index finger on Tianming's face. This time around, she squatted down in front of him and he didn't dare to look. A gentle female voice rang out by his ear and said, "There's still one more."

"Huh?" When Tianming opened his eyes, the goddess disappeared. His divine wills once more experienced huge growth, but he felt even more hollow than before.

"She speaks?" The giantess was becoming even more mysterious in his mind. Her fingers had completely changed Tianming's journey in the Oldgod Domain, allowing him to break through four whole levels with barely any effort. Without them, there was no way his ranking would rise. The sudden bursts of growth had caused his sword and tower-shaped divine wills to be reinforced many times over without any obvious defects or problems.

His caelum left the index finger. "Phew..." He took a deep breath, feeling a little faint from the aided growth. Tianming had a small inkling of why Xiaoxiao felt like she was dying every time she made a breakthrough. "This poison isn't something I should consume often. I’d better work harder in the future to detoxify myself."

He shook his head to clear his mind. Yin Chen and Ying Huo had something new to report to him.

"Shuntian Bohan killed his little sister and his head turned back to normal. He still hasn't discovered you thanks to the joy he now feels."

Right after Ying Huo said that, Yin Chen added, "Oh no! His head... turned back... into a... bee’s bee's!"

Tianming figured it was due to his presence inside the room. "He'll no doubt discover me in no time at all! I have to make another breakthrough, quick!"

Primeval source truly was incredibly gentle, which was a great fit for his current state. Had he still been in the Oldgod Domain, he probably wouldn't have dared to use the 'poison' to make two breakthroughs back-to-back.

"Come!" He engaged in symbiotic cultivation once more. Ji Ji didn't have to go through the same process, but it was unable to keep up as it was temporarily unable to absorb any primeval source. Thus, her spiritform remained outside.

The primeval source in the surroundings flooded into Tianming’s body like a vortex, saturating his albi. The powerful control of his two divine wills allowed the astralforce in his albi to continue to grow in capacity. Making two breakthroughs in a row was absolute insanity. If he succeeded, Tianming would reach the eighth level of the Stellaminoris stage, bringing him incredibly close to the level of astral gods.

However, he still needed enough time to fully stabilize his level and deploy his minor stellar charts. Thankfully, that was a process that could be paused at any time. Whether he would be able to make a proper breakthrough or not, he would nevertheless continue until the last moment when Shuntian Bohan came for him.

The pink-haired spiritform looked at him, seemingly bored. It had its hands behind its back as it watched the green light in the distance approach. It didn't take long before Shuntian Bohan's heavy hammer was visible to Tianming. Shuntian Bohan's feminine appearance looked even eerier with a bee’s head, not that Tianming looked much better. He had seen Tianming twice before, so even with the different head, he still recognized him.

"Lin Feng?" His compound eyes flashed green with doubt as he looked Tianming up and down. "Why’re you here? You weren't in the room with me and Boling at the start."

"I was the one that brought him here," Ji Ji said with a serious tone, casting her pink gaze on him.

"Who are you?" Shuntian Bohan had never seen Ji Ji's spiritform before. From his doubtful expression, it was clear that he probably hadn't studied the information about Tianming's lifebound beasts.

Ji Ji was the smartest among all of them. Hearing only a single question from Shuntian Bohan was enough for it to draw the conclusion that he didn't know who it was, which made him easy to fool. Ji Ji smirked with hands behind its back and said, "This is my territory. I was the one who pulled you two in, yet you ask who I am?"

"Huh?" Shuntian Bohan took a few steps backwards, looking at Ji Ji with fear. "Senior... may I please ask why you did such a thing?"