Tianming really had to thank Feng Qingyu; the opening of Prime Tower's second level had a great deal to do with the Hexafirmament Eradicator’s rampage. When he came to that level, he was greeted by a completely white landscape. There wasn't the slightest bit of impurity; the white seemed to be the fusion of all colors imaginable.
"This is…."
Tianming's gaze fell on the very center of the level. At the same spot on the first level was where the Purple Tower and Soul Tower had been. The two 'towers within the tower' were able to make his soul and saint palace practically unbreakable, so he was really looking forward to what he would find here. A greenish white tower appeared before his eyes. The green of the tower was the only speck of color he could see on the entire second level. It looked like a lone leaf in a desolate world of eternal quiet, the only sign of life in the void.
"Greenspark Tower…." Tianming identified its name as he mulled on it. It appeared to be another tower after all, but there was only one rather than two. For now, he still wasn't aware of what functions it had, but he had a vague feeling it had something to do with the Prime Tower's healing ability.
The Prime Tower had always been able to heal his lifebound beasts when it was within his lifebound space. No matter how badly injured they were, they would recover completely. This time especially, Ying Huo's wing had already recovered seven-tenths of the way after it was reconnected, and that power probably came from the Greenspark Tower.
Tianming stretched his hand out to touch it. What he didn't expect was that the tower would instantly turn into a greenish white liquid and enter his body like a snake with a life of its own.
"Eh?" The first thought that came to his mind was how comforting it felt. The liquid felt like a flow of warmth that permeated every corner of his being. Currently, his body was undergoing a fundamental metamorphosis, as if he was being converted into a completely different lifeform. Unlike the Soul Tower and Purple Tower, the green liquid spread out through Tianming's body in four paths and flooded into his lifebound space.
"What in the world is this?" Ying Huo said as it avoided the stream. But when it saw Meow Meow, Lan Huang and Xian Xian basking in the liquid, it no longer avoided it.
"The Greenspark Tower?" Its little eyes observed its body and eventually fell on its broken wing. The liquid seemed to be nourishing his wound, connecting his flesh and bone at a rapid pace. "My chicken wing!"
"What's wrong?"
"I think it's recovered! That was hellishly quick!" It gave it a few hard swings. "It feels like it was never broken in the first place!"
Tianming looked closer and could see a vague image of the green tower near Ying Huo's feathers. The tower had infused itself into his flesh, forming a kind of formless protection around its body, feathers, and even innards. The same ethereal image was seen around the other three's bodies. He could even see the mirage of the tower hovering above himself.
"That means the Greenspark Tower's protection extends to lifebound beasts as well. But unlike the Purple Tower and Soul Tower, it has completely fused with me and become a part of my body. As for its use…."
Tianming took out the Grand-Orient Sword and made a cut in his palm, causing blood to gush out. Almost immediately, a flow of green and white sealed the wound at a speed visible to the naked eye, removing all traces of the wound.
"The Greenspark Tower is the main source of Prime Tower's healing abilities… Even the wounds in my chest have fully healed," he said as he looked at his body with a satisfied gaze. "The Prime Tower is also the Undying Tower. Apart from the protection offered by the Purple Tower and Soul Tower, I now have the regenerative abilities of the Greenspark Tower! With it, as long as I’m not killed in an instant and torn to shreds, I'll quickly be able to recover! I wonder if I'll die if my heart gets pierced or if I'll be able to reattach my head after decapitation…."
Those were things he could only experience during actual combat. However, he had a feeling that the Greenspark Tower was far more powerful than the Purple Tower and Soul Towers combined. Not to mention, it wasn't just him; even his lifebound beasts had the regenerative abilities of Greenspark Tower. They were all unkillable, in a sense.
"No matter what, our combat endurance definitely increased, Lan Huang in particular. It was always rather good at taking hits, and now it'll be able to quickly recover from them too!"
Tianming left the tower and summoned Lan Huang.
"What's wrong, Boss?" Lan Huang squeezed its legs together and looked at Tianming pitifully with its two heads.
"What? Sword practice, of course!" Tianming slashed at it with the Grand-Orient Sword.
"Nooo! Traitor! Evil!" it cried, greatly disorienting Tianming. However, the blade still made a three-meter-long wound on Lan Huang's foreleg that was thirty centimeters deep. He watched as a large amount of liquid emerged from the wound and sealed it up entirely.
"Huh? It no longer hurts." Lan Huang gave it a few licks and could feel no wound there at all.
"Amazing." Tianming stopped trying it out. Since he wasn't sure if he could survive being impaled through the heart, he wouldn't go out of his way to try it. However, he could still be sure that the Greenspark Tower had greatly increased the survival chances of him and his beasts.
"It looks like the Grand-Orient Sword and Prime Tower are far better treasures compared to the Human Emperor’s Dragonhide and Kilostar Photondragon." They were a perfect combination of attack and defense.
……
Dark, oppressive clouds floated above Tianming City. In the twilight, Tianming saw Xuanyuan Muxue at one of the defensive walls. She was sitting beneath it and her hair was rather messy, and there were traces of blood on her. Though she had switched out for a new set of armor, it seemed rather worn down.
"How many did you kill, Muxue?" Tianming asked.
"Eighteen? Or was it nineteen? I forget." She looked up and squeezed him a smile.
"Not bad. Are you tired?"
"A little. I'm fine."
"What about your brother and the rest?"
"They're fine for now. The corpse puppets were quickly defeated, so we weren't really in any deep trouble. But who can say the same next time?"
"That's right."
There was no saying if the youths would survive the next clash.
"I heard the four ghoul kings of Nonahall are on their way here. They'll have an army of at least five million with them, right?" she asked.
"That's right. We're in deep trouble now. Do you regret coming here yet?"
"No. I just hope I can kill more before I fall. Otherwise, I'll die with lingering regrets."
"You can do it," he said after some thought. He couldn't come up with any other words of encouragement, as not even he could be sure of what the future held.
Right as he was leaving, she asked, "Hey, should I return Frosty Mercurius to you?"
Tianming turned to her and shook his head. "Promise me you'll use it if you survive this ordeal."
"Alright!"
……
After a peaceful night, day broke. Tianming had cultivated throughout the night as Feiling, in her acquired godchild form, leaned against him to catch a few hours of sleep.
"Ling'er, the Human Branch sect master seems to be coming," he said as he gently ruffled her hair.
"Okay." She rubbed her eyes and quickly entered Tianming's body. There was no way she could let herself be found here.
Tianming stood up and left his plain-looking accommodation, only to be greeted by a huge crowd.
"The imperial son is out!"
Almost immediately, thousands of gazes fell on him. Even though Jian Wuyi was there, Tianming was no doubt the more reassuring presence to them. He saw thirteen third-origin tribulation elders behind Jian Wuyi. Coupled with Chen Cangshu and Dao Yuanyi, there were now fifteen third-origin tribulation elders at Tianming City. Not to mention, Jian Wuyi had brought another thousand second-origin elders from seventh- to ninth-level to join them, as well as ten thousand fourth- to sixth-level first-origin elders as part of the reinforcements sent by the sect. As for elders of lower rank, they were too weak to be allowed to come. Only those of the fourth-level death phase and above could be considered true elites on the Flameyellow Continent. These reinforcements were a huge commitment by the sect, and they would be devastated if they lost them all.
"Imperial Son!" Jian Wuyi greeted.
"Sect Master Jian." Tianming came forward.
"When you first came to the sect, I had to spend a period of time protecting you. I never would've imagined that you'd be fighting by my side here at Tianming City."
"The world is an unpredictable place."
"I heard that you have a method you can use to neutralize the ghoul kings' corpse puppets."
"I do, in fact."
"Is there a limit to it?"
"As long as I have enough time, I can take care of any number of them."
If they couldn't hold Tianming City, not even Xian Xian would be able to do anything. The timing was absolutely crucial.
"Will do. I’m confident to hear that, we still stand a chance of winning with it. There's no doubt we'll be able to deal another heavy blow to Nonahall and keep them outside our southern border!"
