Tribulation elders from the five divine realms were standing guard vigilantly at the entrance of the Kilostar Domain. Their respective lifebound beasts seemed to completely seal off the entire area. There were five factions there altogether, with Nonahall having the most people at around four hundred of their elites.
The sect masters among them had already entered the domain, while two of the ghoul kings remained outside. One of them was among those who were watching the Number One Summit live: Ghoul King You Ying.
The cultivators there seldom spoke, all having plans of their own. However, a sudden explosion unceremoniously broke the silence. A sea of blood had suddenly appeared near where the elites of the Quadform Sea Sect were gathered and it continued spreading throughout, swallowing the entrance of Kilostar Domain.
"It's the power of a tribulation pattern tome!"
"Who did this?!"
Almost in an instant, the wave of blood came washing over. Quadform’s lifebound beasts hurriedly fired their abilities at it in an attempt to reduce the wave to dust. In the end, the sea of blood was reduced to countless individual droplets that showered down without causing any harm.
"Hehe..." many of them chuckled.
"Nobody asked them to rush into the domain before we arrived."
"That's right," said a voice from the entrance of the domain. The others turned to look and saw a man in red entering it.
"Dugu Jin!" someone cried as he vanished through the entrance. The sea of blood was a misdirection for him to slip in all along!
"As expected of one of the top three elites in Archaion. It's said that he's even stronger than Xuanyuan Dao," said a ghoul king dressed in orange.
"His power is indeed formidable, but the question is, what are his intentions?" You Ying said with a worried look.
"Yeah. Where does his allegiance lie? Didn’t he orchestrate both of Xuanyuan Xi's assassination attempts?"
"Let's not overthink it and strengthen our defenses so that nobody else can slip in like that again."
"Our reinforcements will be arriving soon, right?"
"Yeah. It should take at most two more hours for us to finish setting up a defensive formation here."
......
Outside the Archaion Sect, Ouyang Jianwang glared passionately at Xuanyuan Dao, who was within the Nine Dragon Formation, and said, "I want to go to the Kilostar Domain!"
"Of all the people that can afford to take that risk, you alone are not one of them," Xuanyuan Dao said.
"On what basis?!"
"You’re the guardian of Heaven Cauldron, and you have to defend the founding ancestor's body. Your key is something you must defend with your life and you can't afford to let it fall into the hands of others."
"But my brother was captured! How can I rest easy!? Sect Master, I can't afford to idle while my Brother Yi is in their hands!" he pleaded in a hoarse voice.
"So you think the rest of us are just sitting idly by? Tianming was forced to enter the Kilostar Domain. Now, he no longer has any value to the enemy. They're already wary of his growth, so they'll no doubt try to get rid of him there. Even so, what do you suggest we do? I'm the house king of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan. I have to prioritize Archaion as a whole. Even if I wanted to play the hero and charge in suicidally, what would happen to the others here if I were to leave? What about Her Eminence? Do you think I’ll be able to relax by leaving Fang Taiqing and Jian Wuyi here?"
"So does that mean there's nothing we can do at all?"
"We just have to play our roles. You should stick by your own role beside Heaven Cauldron and defend it. It's your life's mission. You don't have to worry about anything else." He turned and returned to Soulburn Hall.
"Then what is your life's mission?!" Ouyang Jianwang asked.
"Dying for Archaion!"
......
Within the Kilostar Domain, Tianming had lost count of how many spatial tears had passed him by. The stars around him felt like they were embracing him. Each of them were distinct from one another. There were stars that brightly burned thanks to the countless active volcanoes spewing out lava nonstop, as well as those that seemed blue and frosty thanks to the layers of spiky ice that dotted their surfaces, making them look like blue sea urchins. There were some that shone bright like gold and were covered in blades, and some that looked like balls of lightning whose thunderous booms could be heard from a distance. Even the smallest of them seemed to have ten times the area of Taiji Peak Lake, while the larger ones were about fifty times as big. Tianming had never imagined the Kilostar Domain would contain such sights.
"To think that such a wondrous place exists in this world...." It really looked like there were thousands of stars all around him! From here, he could look down to see the sights of the Flameyellow Continent from on high. It was a view so beautiful that even the best of poets would struggle to commit its sheer beauty to words.
"The mortal world is a beautiful place. Those that live in hell must be struggling to imagine how beautiful it truly is." It reminded him of Ye Lingfeng somehow. He recalled that when he had brought him out of Infernal Soul Purgatory, even the most insignificant blade of grass, ant, or flower would make him stare with wonder. "I wonder how Feng and Qingyu are doing back at the Divine Capital? It's a shame that I was immediately wrapped up in this huge conspiracy right after coming to the Nine Divine Realms. I almost lost my life back there, too. I guess those two will have to wait even longer before they see me again. Looks like I failed my promise to her as her elder brother!"
He missed them. Thankfully, he had Ying Huo, Meow Meow, Lan Huang, and Xian Xian by his side. Those four seemed completely oblivious to their perilous situation and were still playing around within his lifebound space. The little grey egg, on the other hand, remained hidden in the corner, looking coldly at its brothers and sisters with its two black spots that seemed like eyes.
"I'll pick you then." Tianming came to a star that was covered in volcanoes, carefully evading the net-like spatial tears as he descended to its surface. When some lava passed him by, he noticed it was covered in saintly heavenly patterns. It seemed to be a saintly spirit hazard. But with his Ancient Deepstar Godbody, he wouldn't have to worry about it and directly submerged himself into the lava. "Let's pray that they don't spot me here!"
He sank deeper and deeper. His tough body, coupled with Ying Huo's Infernal Armor, gave him the courage he needed to sink down. "Damn, this is hotter than I thought. My body's tougher than many seniors, and coupled with my Aeternal Infernal Physique, I doubt many will be able to find me here."
It was finally time to play the waiting game.
"Stop idling about and hand me my ultimate tribulation manna!" Ying Huo said impatiently. It was overjoyed at all the lava around it as it excitedly flapped its wings.