Beastmaster of the Ages

"Tianming, are you aware of what that grey star is?" Fang Taiqing asked.

"Nope. However, I do know how it came about...." He described everything that had happened back in the domain."So a blood-colored formation was keeping this star sealed. After Ghoul King Xue Yi saw the formation appear, he actually gave up on hunting you down? But not only did you kill his daughter, you also had all that treasure...." Fang Taiqing really couldn't figure out why.

"Regardless, we can at least be sure that the manifestation of this grey star is beneficial to the Nonahall Divine Realm," Beigong Linlan said. Though she was Jian Wuyi's wife, the two didn't talk much.

"There's also some sort of formation on the surface of the grey star that prevents us from entering. I guess we have no choice but to go back for now, and check if there are others who know about it," Fang Taiqing said. The group had already explored the grey star before they found Tianming, and knew something about it already. "By the way, Tianming, did you say that Dugu Jin was the one who found the blood-colored formation?"

Fang Taiqing had competed with Dugu Jin for a long time before finally becoming the sect master of the Heaven Branch, but he'd had help from the Sterling House of Fang. When it came to their actual power, they were close to equals.

"That's right. Do you know anything about it, Sect Master? I have a feeling he knew what he was doing. He probably knows something about the grey star as well. The Hexapath Swordfiend, on the other hand, tried to stop him in the beginning."

"There's still too many questions about this we need clarified. Dugu Jin has always been a solitary man. Very few people truly understand him," Fang Taiqing said.

During their excursion, they had left their sects rather short handed. Now that their tracks had been revealed and they had their hands on all that treasure, Fang Taiqing wanted to make sure they returned as soon as they could, lest the enemy take advantage of their absence. Since the Kilostar Domain was already gone, there was no longer any need to worry about outsiders going in to pilfer it.

"Sect Master, I want to take a longer look at this. Please give me some time," Tianming said.

"What's he going to do?" the others asked.

Tianming explained the matter of the black hole stars to them. "The things I've gotten so far are all left by the founding ancestor. Maybe there's another secret waiting for us at the last black hole star."

"Great Emperor Xuanyuan...." They all looked each other in the eye.

"Very well. See if you can still find the black hole star," Fang Taiqing said after discussing it with them. "Make sure that all of us move stealthily. Let's try our best to avoid encountering them."

Even though Xue Yi was dead, the enemy still had three ghoul kings and three sect masters, among whom You Ying stood out. There were also tens of thousands of tribulation elders. Even with thirty of the three sects' most powerful elites, they might not stand a good chance against all those odds.

Tianming summoned the Dragonhide. "Hope it can lead me to the black hole star like before."

They traveled along the surface of the star without making any noise. Tianming stuck close to the surface and watched as the roiling grey mist beneath him formed giant clumps that seemed to swim beneath the surface of the star. Subtle red glows flashed here and there in the mist, making for a rather eerie sight.

"Those red lights can't be pairs of eyes, can they?!" Tianming suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Roughly an hour later, one of the third-origin elders from the Fang house suddenly said, "Tianming, is this the black hole star you were talking about?"

She was a gentle and mature woman of considerable beauty who often lingered by Fang Taiqing's side, called Fang Yuqing.

"That's right!" Tianming's eyes shone as he went over to look. As expected, there was a black hole star on the surface of the grey star, still revolving. "To think that it hasn't been swallowed up...."

He noticed that the Dragonhide didn't react to it at all, so it was probably one that he had visited before. "Let's continue looking."

They continued along, all the while trying to avoid those from the other five divine realms, who also seemed to be exploring the grey star. As Tianming and the rest were all peak elites, they were quickly able to cover a lot of ground. Soon after, they had located five black hole stars, all of which merely revolved on the surface. By the time they found the sixth, the Dragonhide finally reacted to it. This was the one!

"This is also on the surface of the formation," Fang Taiqing said.

Tianming noticed that all the black hole stars seemed to be embedded in the surface of the grey star. All nine of them were probably integrated into the surface to some degree. The grey star's formation seemed really thick, but it resembled a translucent wall. The nine black hole stars, on the other hand, were embedded deep enough that Tianming would probably have to go through part of the formation to enter it.

"Since your arm could tear through the Pentadragon Seal Formation, can it do the same to this one? You don't even have to go all the way in. A third of the way is probably enough," Fang Taiqing said.

"Let me try." Tianming recalled that he was attacked by the blood dragons when he tried to do the same to the blood-colored formation. He landed on the formation's surface. If I can tear through this and enter, I'll finally find out what the grey star's deal is.

He stretched his left hand out like usual. It bumped firmly against the formation like it hit a thick wall. It's hard....

He furrowed his brow. This was easily the hardest formation he had come across so far.

The blood-colored formation from before wasn't hard, but I couldn't enter it because I was attacked. However, my black arm seems to be unable to make this one budge in the slightest!

He had even managed to break through the Hexapath Sword God's formations, yet the grey star's seemed beyond him. There was probably only one person stronger than the Hexapath Sword God in history, and it was likely to be Great Emperor Xuanyuan. So he was probably the one behind this formation and that blood-colored one as well.

Tianming sullenly returned to them. He was sure he wouldn't be able to go through the ninth black hole star until he could somehow go through that formation.

"Did it fail?" Fang Taiqing asked.

"Yes."

"Do you think you'll stand a chance in the future?"

"It is a possibility."

"Alright. Then we'll come again when you're more confident about it. The black hole stars are embedded here, and I doubt others will be able to get to them either."

Meanwhile, Tianming thought, Dad said that I wouldn't be considered a true member of the Skyplunderer Clan without the Archaionfiend Eye. If I can remove it from Archfiend, I might be able to give it a try.

That was something he would think about trying after returning to the sect. He looked back at the ninth black hole before leaving with the rest. His chest still pulsed with pain where he had been punctured. Thankfully, the light from the Prime Tower was helping him recover. Meow Meow had only suffered a cracked bone, so it wasn't a huge issue. What was more troublesome was Ying Huo's severed wing.

Xuanyuan Yu, who had some experience with healing, said that she could try healing Ying Huo. She happened to have tribulation herbs that promoted regeneration, so she applied them to Ying Huo without hesitation. After reconnecting the wing, and with an extra boost from Prime Tower, it seemed to be recovering rather well.

"Don't move it about for the time being. It'll recover better that way," she said.

"Thank you, pretty lady!" Ying Huo said.

"You little rascal." She rolled her eyes.

Ying Huo returned to Tianming's side and snickered as he whispered, "Bro, I have a proposition for you."

"What is it?"

"You gun for Muxue, and I'll go for her mother. Then, you can call me Father-in-law. That way, you'd become my Son-in-law of the Ancients."

"You... shameless! You're such scum I really can't stand you."

"'Twas but a joke to liven the atmosphere! You're a tough one, eh? But seriously though... If you really give your last ultimate tribulation manna to Muxue, she might just fall in love with you and—"

"All I want to do is to see Ling'er now. I bet she's worried sick." Living through impossible odds like this made him realize how much more he had to cherish the time he spent with her. She's been able to do nothing but worry for my safety the whole time. She must feel horrible. I have to give her a pleasant surprise.

Right then, he suddenly saw a bright light coming from the Flameyellow Continent beneath them as a large five-colored column burst out towards their location.

"Run!"

Fang Taiqing pulled Tianming away from the column of light. When it passed them, it made their ears ring.

"What in the world was that?!"

"That seemed to have come from Archaion. Was that Taiji Peak Lake?"

"It could be!"

Tianming and the rest immediately looked out and saw the column of light crash against the grey star before it spread all over, dyeing the star many colors in a few short moments.

"Did the star change color?"

"No, only the translucent formation on the surface was affected."

The column of light was still there, stretching all the way from the continent to the grey star.

"What kind of power is this?" Tianming was shocked to marvel at it. "How did the formation change after contact with the light? Did it grow stronger or weaker? Was it destroyed?"

"We have to go back and take a look!"

Since they hadn't gone far, they decided to return to the grey star. They soon noticed that they could no longer see the grey mist on the star; instead, their surroundings were filled with nothing but those five colors.