Within the Kilostar Domain, a group of around two thousand people were advancing from the center of the domain. They were the people from the three sects of Nonahall, Quadform, and Heptastar, respectively. Nonahall had fourteen hundred alone, while the other two sects each had around three hundred. They were currently in search of the twenty-odd tribulation elders that were supposed to be on the surrounding stars.
The eighth-level death phase tribulation elders had informed them to stop their treasure hunt and head toward the black hole star. As they were afraid of running into Tianming, they didn't dare travel in small groups and chose to move together. The two thousand odd people truly stood out, and all of them were talking about how Tianming had killed Ye Bodhi and taken the hundred thousand tribulation artifacts. The discussions raged on, with many tribulation elders of rather advanced age huffing angrily at Tianming. Most of them had their heads down and grimaces on their faces. Among the second-origin tribulation elders who were at the eighth-level death phase, two were from Nonahall, one was from Quadform, and another was from Heptastar.
"Currently, the status quo in the Kilostar Domain has completely flipped. If that fellow was able to kill Ye Bodhi, he could easily sneak onto a star and kill whoever he wants," said Xiang Jinxin from Nonahall.
"He's only one person too, so he can escape much more easily," said another Nonahall elder, a middle-aged man called Lou Feiyu.
"Not to mention, those of us above the eighth-level death phase have our cultivations suppressed. I doubt anyone would be able to stop him even if they were stronger," said Long Qunqun, a beautiful middle-aged woman sporting a luscious figure.
"If it was our sect master or the ghoul kings, we'd still stand a chance. It's a shame that the brat is too adept at running," said Changsun Wusheng from Heptastar.
The four of them were in charge of leading the two thousand plus cultivators to meet up with Xue Yi at the black hole star.
"How could a single brat force us into a corner like that? We have no choice but to travel with no less than a thousand people. Even a few hundred seems too small. How embarrassing. Let's hope the ghoul kings get rid of him as soon as possible.”
"Soon. Don't worry, the Kilostar Domain is our main priority, and we're only dealing with a single annoying fly. I doubt the five ghoul kings and four sect masters won't be able to deal with him."
"If only our group of two thousand can run into him. Just spitting at him at the same time will be enough to drown him."
The group had at least three thousand or more lifebound beasts, so they were essentially an army of five thousand, and all of them were at least at the sixth-level life phase or higher. Were they outside, they would no doubt have been considered a top-tier army and invading the other divine realms would be no problem for them. Just like that, they continued on their way, cursing and complaining in the process.
All of a sudden, a huge wave rose on a water star they were passing through. A gigantic, two-headed dragon came barging out and rammed into the two thousand tribulation elders. The dragon looked a little like a tortoise and had nine sword-shaped kui mountains on its back. Its head, claws, and tail were incredibly huge and powerful, and there were a thousand stellar rings around its body that further added to the threat its two pairs of glowing eyes projected. Its appearance completely shocked the two thousand elders.
It was none other than the Primordial Terraqua Dragon, Lan Huang! Riding on one of the gigantic brown dragon heads was a white-haired youth clad in black. In his arms was a sleeping cat that had all four legs facing the sky. Perched on the youth's head was a fiery-red bird with its wings spread wide open as it shouted, "Old fogies, listen up! You are now surrounded by yours truly! If you know what's better for yourself, remove your pants and be ready for inspection!"
Those words sent a silent chill throughout the ranks. Everyone turned their heads to the little phoenix and the youth.
"That's Li Tianming." Everyone recognized him, however they never would have expected that they would run into him like that. In fact, Tianming was even the one who made the approach!
The little phoenix continued, "You worthless goons, did you hear me? I paved this road, I planted these trees, and you have to pass my toll if you want to cross! The price is your balls! What? The women among you have no balls? It's alright, I'll let you pass! This gentlechicken here is kind to the ladies!"
Tianming gave it a slap when it was done.
"Damn it, I misspoke! You're all old crones anyway! You shan't pass either!" Ying Huo hurriedly corrected.
With that, it was clear what Tianming's intentions were.
"Are you trying to stop all two thousand tribulation elders yourself?" Long Qunqun asked with disbelief.
"What? Surprised?" Tianming asked.
"Not really. You indeed are impressive. For a junior like you to be able to force our five divine realms to stop our treasure hunt out of fear is impressive, even if we take into account the sealing formation. However, you should understand that the fact we were able to live this long means we aren't pushovers. With two thousand of us, we'll easily be able to crush you," Lou Feiyu said.
"You aren't even pushovers to me. You're dead people walking." Then, the fifteen-tribulation-patterned Archfiend appeared in his hand. He gave it a large swipe, causing the bloody chain of eyeballs to stretch to two kilometers long. All of a sudden, countless cries rang out. The others turned to look and saw Archfiend pierced through the bodies of a dozen tribulation elders, skewering them all together. As the chain hadn't hit their vitals, they were still alive and suffering from the pain.
"You're courting death!"
In an instant, the two thousand elders exploded with rage. Not even the ghoul kings would dare challenge all of them at once in Kilostar Domain.
"Come down to the star if you want to kill me! You won't get another chance!" Tianming then rode Lan Huang back onto the oceanic star. The others couldn't stop Tianming from dragging the tribulation elders he had skewered along with him. They descended to the star, still impaled by the chain and screaming in agony.
"Come down, you trash!" Tianming cried, looking at them from the surface of the ocean. His robes flapped from the strong winds as he glared domineeringly at them. The sheer gall of a young man in his twenties showing that kind of attitude to those a few centuries his senior was unprecedented. "Cowards, you aren't even brave enough to hunt me down after I showed myself? What did you do in your centuries of life? Clean up dog shit?!"
Tianming's mockery and disdainful expression were on point, and it completely inflamed the group. They were all glaring at him with bloodlust. Never before had elders like them been treated like this by someone younger with such impunity.
"Everyone, stop! It might be a trap!" Lou Feiyu yelled.
"What kind of trap can there be? He's alone! Even if Dugu Jin is with him, all of us can kill him without a doubt!"
"Fucking hell, how can there be a brat like him?! Does he think we're easy to mess with? I’ve never been so angry in all my life. If you don't go, I'll go! If I die, it's just my shit luck!"
"If we don't dare to attack with two thousand people on our side, can we still proudly claim to be from the Nonahall Divine Realm?! Were you guys raised as cowards?!"
There was no excuse for such a big force like them to retreat now, and the individual elders all had their own plans. If a force of their number wouldn't have to fear five or six ghoul kings, since their cultivations were also suppressed to their level, why should they fear a suicidal brat? The moment any of them attacked, the rest would surely follow suit. The leaders would no longer have any control.
"Seal off that star! We will swarm that brat to kill him if we have to!"
"I've killed more people in my life than he's met in his. How could I run away now?!"
"If you're afraid of death, leave and inform the ghoul kings about this! Fuck it, I'm going!"
The elders were all filled with resentment following the death of Ye Bodhi and the loss of all those treasures, not to mention Tianming humiliating them by taking some of their comrades down the star to torture. His provocations also hadn't helped; they were all people of reasonably high standing and wouldn't allow themselves to be slighted without consequence.