Beastmaster of the Ages

The redbrush ghoul caused a new mark to appear.... With how huge the gray coffin is, I'm guessing I'll need to fill up its surface before Eighth will have enough energy to achieve its hatching condition. That felt more like how it should be. Apart from Bai Ye, who had gathered its own energy to achieve its hatching condition, other lifebound beasts required enough specific resources to gain enough energy to go through all the stages of cultivation and reach parity with Tianming's.

Ying Huo, naturally, was the exception and had hatched when Tianming had no cultivation at all, having had it ruined after losing Midas. The fiery chick had a foundation fortress with eleven floors, just like Tianming's, having built up every single block from the start all the way to the minor zenith of the Foundation stage.

"Eighth probably needs quite a lot of energy from killing devas to catch up. I wonder if Wargod Haven would have enough 'resources' for me," Tianming said, a cold light flashing across his eyes.

By the time Eighth calmed down, Zhantian Le's astral god physique and divine soul had sustained heavy injuries. Tianming took away all her imperial-class cosmic artifacts and had Moran keep her suppressed as they escorted her into the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

"Long Qian," Tianming called as he emerged from the Soulshaker Bell.

"We’ve safely moved everyone over," Long Qian said. The only other two people remaining in the Feng Capital Ghoul were Tianming and Moran.

"Alright." He breathed a sigh of relief. The nine million weren't just batteries for his power. They were comrades who were in this together—real, living, breathing people whom he had to convince to borrow energy from.

"Let's go back!" Tianming, Long Qian, and Moran reentered the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb through its tail.

"Li Tianming, you’re nothing compared to the Midsky Tristars! With all those burdensome slaves with you, you won't be able to find anywhere to rest in peace!" Zhantian Le yelled from within the Soulshaker Bell.

"First, they aren’t burdens! Second, I have a place where I can rest all I want! Third, we have a bright future ahead of us. It's too bad you won't live to see it!" By the time he was done speaking, he had entered the largest hall in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. There were a total of fifteen million slaves and fifteen million lifebound beasts there. The nine million plus that had just joined them still felt uncertain about everything that was happening, as if they were merely dreaming. Nothing they were seeing could possibly happen in their reality.

Then the Soulshaker Bell fell to the ground. The nine million heard Zhantian Le's cries and backed away in fear, their faces paling. It was an instinctual sense of terror that came from the depths of their mind. Far too many had died in the hands of Zhantian Le on the way there; the gigantic specter was nothing short of a harbinger of death to the slaves she had escorted.

Tianming didn't say another word, but simply opened the bell before everyone else. Instantly, Zhantian Le whipped up a gray storm and charged toward the ones who had just been emancipated! "Even if I die, I'll drag you slaves to hell with me!"