Chapter 2258 - Pentaphase Ocean
The Oldgod Domain was enormous. With the Mundus Enforcers’ restriction, the disciples were basically located in the upper part of the Oldgod Domain. Going deeper, if they were to encounter nova wildbeasts above mid-sanctuary-class, even those at the top of the ranking would be finished. The Mundus Enforcers wouldn’t be able to hold up against ether-class nova wildbeasts, either; after all, this was their world.
That was another reason that there were already hundreds of thousands of nova wildbeasts gathered at Tianming’s current destination, which far exceeded the number of disciples participating in the ranking. Fortunately, most of the nova wildbeasts were below deific-class, otherwise every last disciple would be dead. Some Yin Chens had left the upper part of the Oldgod Domain and spread toward the middle. The living conditions there were extremely harsh, with terrifying divine hazards everywhere. Yin Chen would easily melt there, so it was impossible to go any deeper. It would be very uncomfortable if it were to enter certain areas in the upper part, much less the middle and lower parts and beyond. Make one wrong move and its bodies would melt.
The Pentaphase Ocean was one of the more difficult areas for Yin Chen to infiltrate. It was a vast underground space filled with liquid, about half the size of the Infinitum Swordsea. The divine hazards on the fringe were at least grade-four or -five, while those deeper in were grade-eight, or even nine. They were important resources for forging weapons and cultivating the sword body, but the Oldgod Domain was unclaimed land that was attached to the Infinitum Stele, which was the reason the divine hazards hadn’t been extracted. The fire, sand, wood, cold waves, and dark stones would be a significant source of wealth if they ever were.
The Lin Clan owned a large number of ore veins and divine hazard seas, which were the core materials for forging the weapons they sold. Of course, the biggest resource in all of Ebonia was controlled by the rulers of the world down under, the ebons. If the Lin Clan could unite with them, they would be able to obtain raw materials at a more reasonable price and expand the Myriadsword Emporium throughout the Infinitum Mundus. Therefore, the Lin Clan wasn’t just taking a stance for survival; there were intricacies to their cooperation.
However, that was beyond Tianming’s concern. He was headed to the Pentaphase Ocean just for that ring finger.
"Yin Chen says there’s about a hundred manna. The lowest of them are three-aperture manna, and the highest are six-aperture. They’re all precious treasures! And at least a thousand ebon disciples are flocking there, while I’m still far away. By the time I arrive, there won’t be any manna left." It was a helpless situation. Tianming was still the same. Not only was he going to face a large number of opponents, but many of them were astral gods and much stronger than him.
"That finger and ring are the most important!" Yin Chen had said that there was a ring on the finger that’d turned into rock. That black ring, shaped like the Oldgod Rings, was almost ten meters in diameter.
"The mystery of that green giant must lie in that ring. The manna might be just a distraction." Tianming didn’t really care about the manna, because he wasn’t an orderan yet and his lifebound beasts wouldn’t be able to use them for the time being. All he had to do was perform well in the Oldgod Domain; after all, the Swordgod Lin Clan had their fair share of manna as well. Lin Lingxiao, who’d won fifth place on the minor ranking and caused a sensation in the Lin Clan, had been rewarded five hundred thousand merit points for his achievement. The cheapest cosmic artifact was worth about fifty thousand points, so five hundred thousand merit points could be exchanged for ten weapons with cosmic impulses. That would be striking it rich!
"If only I could get that big ring...." Tianming wanted it so much.
Following the route indicated by Yin Chen, he tried to travel as fast as possible, even going so far as to ride Meow Meow to move faster
"The Oldgod Ring." Tianming looked at the ring on his right hand, then removed it and placed it in his spatial ring.
"Are you crazy? It can’t block a fatal attack for you if you aren’t wearing it." On top of his shoulder, Xian Xian’s spiritform seemed concerned.
"The Oldgod Ring is dangerous. Although Sister Le failed to draw any attention when she shattered the finger, I might be targeted if I were to take this one. I have too many secrets, so it's better to be careful. I'll take it out and wear it when I’m ready to show off," Tianming said.
"Hmph! Shameless!"
After removing his Oldgod Ring, people outside wouldn’t be able to see him. If Tianming were killed, he would have to bear the full consequences. Of course, he would still be seen if he appeared in someone else’s point of view, but Yin Chen allowed Tianming to foresee both fortune and misfortune, so he wasn’t worried about encountering an expert and losing his life.
"Let’s go!"
......
Tianming took the shortest route to his destination, traveling at lightning speed, but even so, it took him almost a day to reach the Pentaphase Ocean. Yin Chen had already informed him about the number of people in the surrounding area. More than two thousand people, a quarter of the remaining participants in the ranking competition, had entered the Pentaphase Ocean and were looking for the center of the beast horde.
"Yin Chen’s the only one that has a view of the big picture and can easily find the center of this beast vortex. Everyone else has to enter and fight hundreds of thousands of nova wildbeasts to reach the core. So although I’m late to the party, I still have the advantage. Yin Chen has given me a route that bypasses the nova wildbeasts and leads straight to the center!"
Nobody had reached the center yet, because it was extremely difficult to find the key location within the horde. They were unable to see the wood for the trees—it was impossible to see the real situation once they were in the Pentaphase Ocean.
Tianming looked around. The entire ocean was filled with divine hazards. Fierce, violent, and blazing, it was a hell made of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The most frightening part was the turbulence in the water that was caused by the horde. Countless divine hazards of flames, ice, and golden sand collided and combined to form destructive waves that swept across the entire region. Shockwaves from the divine hazards clashed with the roars of the wildbeasts, creating a thunderous noise. It was like the entire world was shaking. Anyone who entered the Pentaphase Ocean would lose their way in the sea of violent divine hazards, let alone when fighting the wildbeasts within.
"I still have a chance!" Tianming continued moving.
"Time to change mounts!"
"Meow?" Meow Meow was going to enter the ocean filled with divine hazards for Tianming, but upon hearing that, it happily slid to its knees and fell asleep within three breaths.
Tianming switched to Lan Huang’s back. Although it was huge, its thick skin and flesh could resist the divine hazards. Rotating its kui seas, Lan Huang moved through the liquid divine hazards that formed the ocean at an astonishing speed.
In the vast Pentaphase Ocean, hundreds of thousands of nova wildbeasts ran amok. In comparison, Lan Huang really wasn’t all that big so Tianming’s presence elicited no response.
Tianming comfortably sat atop Lan Huang’s head. Its Mountainsea World separated the divine hazards, split the waves apart, and sank deep into the ocean.
"Fifth, tell me where to go!" Tianming said. He had to admit that his lifebound beasts were all precious, each of them more remarkable than the last.
The pink-haired Ji Ji, who was perched on Tianming's shoulder, disdainfully said, "I’m not afraid of divine hazards. They’re just a variant of nova source, so I could swallow up this entire sea if it weren’t for Little Li’s low cultivation level."
"You're just bragging,” said a blossoming Xian Xian.
"Get lost!" Ji Ji looked at Tianming and complained, "You should’ve just smashed my egg. I don't want to be her little sister."
"Just accept it, stupid sis. I’ll protect you, hehe!" Xian Xian made an ugly face at Ji Ji.
"Hmph!" Ji Ji rolled her eyes. It couldn’t be bothered talking to Xian Xian.
It was obvious that they weren’t sisters at all in their previous life; perhaps they were competitors. But in this life, Xian Xian had been born first, so Ji Ji had become the younger sister. It was very upset.
"White lotus phony!" Ji Ji pouted.
"Green tea bitch," Xian Xian laughed.
"Are you looking for a fight?"
"Come on, stupid sis."
The two spiritforms wrestled atop Tianming's head, turning his hair into a messy bird’s nest.
"That’s not so bad!" Although they were at loggerheads, they would still play together once they were done fighting. That kind of relationship wasn’t at all like Yin Chen and Sixth’s, who were mortal enemies. In fact, Tianming knew that the immortal Yin Chen only had one weakness: its soul. In the dream, it seemed Sixth was its natural enemy.
Yin Chen guided Lan Huang.
"Charge!" Filled with excitement, Lan Huang roared as it bypassed the wildbeasts, raging through the ocean toward their destination while others spent an entire day but still failed to get there.
"Lan Huang is huge and one of the older ones. He might look like a big brother, but he’s actually the happiest and most innocent...."
All it did was play. How could it be unhappy? Even now, Lan Huang was happily laughing as it competed with the others to see who could reach their destination first. After dodging a few wildbeasts, Lan Huang seemed to be having fun. Yin Chen didn't intend to steer them away from certain heliacal- and skypiercer-class beasts, so Lan Huang collided with them head on, knocking them out of the way.