Beastmaster of the Ages

Facing those giants, Yun Tianque turned to the eight-eared old man which seemed to be about the same stature as himself. Compared to the other wargodeans, he was half their size and looked weak and slender. Yun Tianque immediately bowed. "This junior greets the Tumulus Pill God."

"No need for formalities, Sect Master. We're equal in status," the old man kindly said.

"That won't do. The Tumulus Pill God is a senior and deserves respect and worship," Yun Tianque said.

Lan Sha smiled as well, satisfied with his humility. Only by knowing one's place could cooperation go smoothly. "Brother Yun, the Blueblood Starocean and the wargodeans are old friends."

Yun Tianque kept his smile up, but he internally thought, you're merely a branch family of the celestial orderians. If it weren't for common interests, nobody would consider you friends. "The two of you are important figures of the Myriad Solar Sects. I've heard much about your impressive achievements."

"You're too kind." The Tumulus Pill God looked at the imperial star ranking and waved to Yun Tianque. "Sect Master Yun, we wargodeans like to go straight to the point, so I'll tell you what I think without reservation."

"Please do, Tumulus Pill God!" Yun Tianque said.

"I want the Divine Worldeater Cauldron. As the Azuresoul Palace is on your Azurecloud Continent, I might need your help with that. As payment, I'll help your sect stop the rise of the Azuresoul Palace."

"Tumulus Pill God, being able to serve the wargodeans is my honor and pleasure. There's nothing we won't do for you!"

"It's nice that you're so decisive about this, Sect Master. If that item shows up on the Azuresoul Continent, I'll need you to handle matters concerning it as well."

"Consider it done," Yun Tianque said.

"Sect Master Yun truly is an example for us all. How decisive and quick-witted you are," Lan Sha said with a chuckle.

"Brother Lan, do you need my humble aid with something as well?"

"I wouldn't call it aid... but I do need your cooperation. My elder brother said that we'll be taking the Lifesteal Silverdragon and Dragonblood Desecration too," Lan Sha said.

Yun Tianque understood their intentions. The Lifesteal Silverdragon was something Blueblood Starocean wanted for themselves, for they were most proficient with chain weapons. As for the Dragonblood Desecration, they most likely wanted to use it to curry favor with the celestial orderians, among whom dwelled an offshoot of Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. That weapon was part of their legacy.

The Blueblood Starocean has always been affiliated with the celestial orderians. They might as well be considered part of them. With the wargodeans allying with them, that can only mean that they've received secret support from the celestial orderians to rise up among the Myriad Solar Sects as well. Even so, the Azuresoul Palace's rise leaves me no choice. He could clearly see all the undercurrents, but this was a path he had to walk.

The celestial orderians and wargodeans both had a subcauldron of the Divine Worldeater Cauldron, which only cemented the connection between them. The Tumulus Pill God was the controller of their subcauldron. There was no demerit to them allying close with the celestial orderians.

Don't they know who the real hegemons of the sun are? Yun Tianque smiled coldly. The ancient emperors across aeons of the sun's history definitely weren't, nor was the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect that had weakened over hundreds of millennia.

......

The skyward eyes were back in the Voidsky Realm, broadcasting the disciples leaving the tomb as it sank into the ground. At least eight of the ten billion participants were still in the Voidsky Realm. Samsarans, ascendants, and constelliers had their own respective competitions within, with the constelliers competing for the top treasures, the ascendants going for the average ones, and the samsarans picking up the scraps in the tomb before they were ejected outside.

"What will the Sky Palace do next?"

"How will the imperial star ranking change again?"

Those were the main concerns of everyone, participants and audience included.

"If nobody joins the Sky Palace, troops from many factions will be deployed to kill those Azuresoul Palace disciples."

"There's no way they'll make it back in one piece unless they discard the treasures."

"Looks like universal manna and divine pills are the best after all. They're gone after they're used, unlike divine artifacts—the Divine Worldeater Cauldron especially!"

There were far more places to hide outside the tomb. Those that didn't want to be eliminated quickly faded into hiding. The Voidsky Skirmish returned to how it used to be, but encounters were far and few between like the very start.

......

Tianming hadn't been ejected by the tomb; instead, the drum on his hand allowed him to control the shifting pathways, which he used to find a way out. Once they left the tomb, it was completely sealed. "I'll come back to activate you."

He wasn't the least bit sentimental about it. He hid the drum and dragon sticks and had Lan Huang pave the way by digging up a pathway through the mud. The first thing Tianming had done after coming out was find a stream of lava. With this being the center of the Voidsky Realm, the nova source there was most unstable and bountiful. There were a lot of huge, tough wildbeasts around.

"Come out, glutton. Time to eat." Tianming's efficiency at dispatching the wildbeasts rose significantly with the Lifesteal Silverdragon in his possession. He had even nicely cut them up.

"Hmph, stupid Little Li!" Xian Xian hated being called a glutton, but it didn't bother with Tianming now that food was served. It was going insane after enduring not eating for so long to heal from its injuries. "Nom nom nom nom! I'm so hungry I could die!"

Its roots savored the food. "Whoa!" Xian Xian was so happy it was in tears.

After this lesson, Tianming switched out for an even bigger spatial ring. It was a grade-three divine artifact called the Omnistorage, which he used to store Xian Xian's food supply. He couldn't bear seeing it starve again. After an entire day of eating, Xian Xian was finally sated and could fight again.

"I feel great!" Its spiritform rubbed its belly as it laid on a pile of eggs within the lifebound space. There was no empty ground to lie on, as the eggs filled nearly every inch of it. Those silver eggs were as tough as divine artifacts and couldn't be stomped flat at all. These days, they wildly bumped around at their dissatisfaction of being unable to hatch. They were bound to be unruly children.

"Alright, stop complaining. Once I join the Sky Palace, I'll start researching your hatching conditions." Tianming stood amidst a firestorm, looking at the Skyward Stele. Sounds of battle and conversation could still be heard from afar; the eight billion remaining participants were still competing. Even so, finding anyone in such a vast area wasn't easy, which made raising points hard.

Tianming still led in first place by more than two hundred thousand points. His position was unshakable. "Looks like I'll be first for sure if this goes on. The Sky Palace should be within reach, right?"