Chapter 1004
"Xiaoxiao, although we agreed to stop killing to refine caeli, these sealed caeli can’t return to the universe. They’re energy bodies without a master, memories of the third person, like a book. They aren’t vitae that can be reused, alright?”
The Archaionfiend was extremely humble. Though it was afraid of the Bloodrose Curse, it didn’t want to remain weak. It was a fact that Lin Xiaoxiao could eventually grow stronger with its memories. However, it wasn’t used to its current fragile state.
“Hurry up, Xiaoxiao. There’s waste with every second that passes. How about this? You can stop refining the caeli. I’ll consume them first and seal them all up. You can ask around about the nature of caelum. It’s the part of the soul that is the farthest from living beings. Just a part of the universe. If you discover I’m lying, I’ll spit them back out and let them dissipate," the Archaionfiend droned on.
“Alright then. Save them first. If you dare act on them, I’ll give you a taste of the Bloodrose Curse for two hours every day from here on out," said Lin Xiaoxiao.
“Why don’t you understand that my intentions are good? I’m under your control. These caeli are effective for you. If it weren't for you, I would’ve already had countless breakthroughs," said the Archaionfiend.
It didn’t require caeli because its divine will was strong enough. It was Lin Xiaoxiao's divine will keeping them stuck at this cultivation level.
“I don’t have enough information about this. Save them first,” Lin Xiaoxiao replied.
“Alright!”
Lin Xiaoxiao had nothing to fear because of the constraints of symbiotic cultivation. As long as she was weak, the Archaionfiend had no way of becoming strong. They would always be in sync.
It wasn't until that moment that Lin Xiaoxiao released the Archaionfiend. Flapping its black wings, the Archaionfiend fluttered in the sky and swallowed countless caeli that were about to dissipate.
“Let me tell you something. These people forcibly keep caeli in the world for the sake of their offspring’s strength, which is tantamount to imprisoning the energy of the universe. This is an act against the heavens! In fact, Archaionfiends were born to cleanse the cosmos. Everyone thinks we’re evil, but what we represent is the justice of heaven and earth! We allow these energies to return to the universe!" the Archaionfiend said with great confidence.
"Then why can’t you just allow caeli to dissipate and return to the universe? Why do you have to consume it?" Lin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes.
“What do you know? Don’t we deserve to be paid for working for the universe? Anyway, no one can escape death and no one can truly live forever. Sooner or later, our ‘wages’ will be returned to the universe," the Archaionfiend said righteously.
Lin Xiaoxiao couldn’t be bothered to continue this meaningless discussion. She looked down at Huiyue City, the powerhouses inside its walls giving her palpitations.
“Hurry up then. Those powerhouses below are all heading up. It looks like they’re in a rush to take back these caeli. There’s quite a number of them,” said Lin Xiaoxiao.
Upon hearing this, the anxious Archaionfiend quickly swallowed the caeli. At this point, it was impossible to swallow a million, but a hundred thousand wasn’t an issue.
The Archaionfiend did as it said, sealing the caeli in its abdomen so they wouldn’t dissipate. There were many divine moonrace powerhouses headed up.
“Let’s go!”
With the formation in place, they couldn't enter the city and were forced to hide in the distance.
……
Back at the Huiyue Clan, Tianming stared at the ongoing battle in the distance. Members of the Huiyue Clan were in the same situation as he was before. They ran out, desperately avoiding the slaughter. All the powerhouses of the clan had been dispatched to encircle the killer. Totems filled the battlefield and dust pervaded the sky. It was impossible to see Bodhi.
"He’s lasted until now, which means the Huiyue Clan won’t be able to stop him if he wants to leave. The only reason he stayed is to kill more, since he’s come all this way. Once he’s killed enough, no one can stop him. He’ll do his best to look for me and Huiye Shi.”
Thus, Tianming was facing a certain degree of danger this time. Fortunately, the radiance hall was far away from the battlefield. Tianming was familiar enough with the Huiyue residence and could figure out the location of the hall just by looking at a map. As he approached the area, he found that most of the people had fled. There wasn’t a single person in sight.
“This is great. Even heaven is on my side.”
He was worried others might be watching when he formed his totems, which would cause unnecessary trouble. Intuition told Tianming that he couldn't follow in Qingyu's footsteps.
“So no matter how many totems I form today, I can never use more than five in public.”
Radiance hall wasn’t as large as the divine moon hall. At the moment, it was empty. Opening the doors, Tianming walked in. In front of him was a vast hall, hundreds of meters tall, without any furnishings. Speaking and walking would both echo.
After closing the doors, he set his sights on the center of the hall, where a colorful light beam extended to the sky, illuminating a circle. This circle was small, only about three meters in diameter. Tianming approached it, his steps determined and quick. As he stood near the circle and looked up, he saw a hole in the roof through which the stars in the sky were visible. At this moment, there was a colorful crystal-like stone suspended above the hall; it was the divine moon radiance.
Apparently, this was a special divine artifact that originated from Orderia and could assist in the formation of totems. The formation of all totems in the Divine Moon Realm was attributable to the divine moon radiance, which could usually be found in the Divine Moon Skycity.
Tianming currently stood within the glow of the divine moon radiance. He didn't feel any changes in his body; after all, the divine moon radiance shone on the terra. He still ended up rolling up his sleeves to reveal the ten bane-rings on his arms. The words on his dark arm were difficult to detect.
"The first step in forming totems is to allow the terra to manifest itself under the divine moon radiance and look upon one’s own terra!"
Tianming was now very familiar with the three parts of the soul. However, he had only seen the vita in his sea of consciousness. The caelum hovered above, swaying erratically, and the terra was beside the body. Both had never appeared before.
“The three parts of the soul? It’s amazing. Trisoul Prime? Does it have anything to do with the Prime Tower?”
Tianming found it interesting.
Now that there wasn’t anyone around to disturb him, Tianming concentrated on seeking his terra. At the same time, he felt the ten bane-rings on his arm going through subtle changes under the divine moon radiance. The black words were twisting, as if they had come to life.
“Compared to Godfather’s lifesbane, the Aeonic Grandbane seems understated and deeply hidden. What secrets could they hold?”
He was eager to find out as time passed.
Soon, the ten bane-rings started to sound.
“The energy cores in my body are the albi, but it’s said that after the development of totems, these bane-rings will become the energy cores of my totems. Although the bane-rings appear small, there’s in fact a vast space within each one. As I cultivate, I can raise the totems at the same time. I’ll require more stellunar sources."
Totems were almost parasitic, which was fundamentally different from a lifebound beast. They couldn’t be separated from the body, possessed neither the adaptability nor the mind of a lifebound beast, and resembled weapons.
Tianming sensed the effect the divine moon radiance had on his vita. He grew dizzy as the colorful light dazzled his eyes. Staring at it for some time caused hallucinations.
“The terra....” Tianming had been searching for its figure.
After an indefinite amount of time, a vague figure gradually appeared before his eyes.
“The number of bane-rings constitute the number of totems formed and how many the terra would have to split into."
Would all this splitting weaken his terra? Tianming wasn’t certain, but he knew that the bane race were brilliant to have transformed their terra into battle entities. His eyes focused upon the figure staring back at him as it gradually solidified.
It was an ethereal form of himself.
It looked exactly like Tianming, with white hair, black and gold eyes, and a smile on its face, as if they were reunited after a long time apart. Unsurprisingly, his body was covered with bane text, just like his vita, which meant the Aeonic Grandbane already had an effect on both parts of the soul. His caelum undoubtedly had bane text as well.
“So this is my terra. Will it split into ten?”
Tianming felt that his terra was already linked to his bane-rings as he underwent a transformation under the divine moon radiance. Tianming awaited the split.
Right then, something unexpected happened. The soul servant that had been quietly lurking in his body broke away and formed a blurry figure before his eyes, standing next to his terra. At the same time, the eight remaining red dots on his chest that had been transformed from soul servants detached from his body. All nine of them joined his terra.
Tianming counted. "One plus nine makes ten, right?" he said blankly.
“What else could it be? A harem of three thousand beauties? What a loser! You barely have any women, but you’ve got a whole bunch of bros. They’ll fuck you to death sooner or later!” Ying Huo rolled its eyes.
“A bunch of bros?”
Tianming thought that it was too soon to say. Who knew what changes his terra and the nine soul servants would undergo.