Chapter 1983 - Isolated and Surrounded

While Tianming’s power was a stark contrast with the baleful aura all around them, there were also similarities. Most of his power came from the so-called ‘lower lifeforms’ that those at the peak of power tended to ignore. Nobody cared about the deaths of mundane mortals, but they were the most numerous ones. If someone were able to unite all of their wills and speak on their behalf, they would become a truly mighty presence.

Countless faces seemed to flash across the surfaces of the decapath era godswords and Tianming's Grand-Orient Sword; even Ying Huo's feathers, Lan Huang's scales, Xian Xian's leaves, and Yin Chen's bodies contained the will of the people of the sun that manifested as their faces. Empress Ying came to understand that she wasn't just facing the joint assault of Tianming, his beasts, and his totems, but the entire sun was fighting against her!

"No matter how many casualties Skywolf suffers, that won’t change the fact that you were the ones who invaded with the intent of wiping us out and taking our nova source!" As long as that fact stood, Empress Ying wasn't deserving of any sympathy at all. "And now you'll learn from all of us that your plans were never anything but a pipe dream!"

In essence, Tianming shared the same will as the sun emperor. The only difference was the degree of payback they were willing to deal. Tianming felt like he was going to burst with all that power coursing through him. He wasn't able to keep performing probing attacks any longer. The rage of the people caused him to unleash a wrathful power, paving the way for the road to righteous rule.

"Die!"

The Grand-Orient Sword struck, followed by many others, executing eight different moves from the Ninedragon Tribulation. Eight different sword dragons manifested at the same time then fused together into one, the strike part of the decapath era godswords' formation and fueled by boundless Omnisentient power. It was a perfect, full-force strike that blended perfectly with the power of his totems!

It was now beyond doubt that the move had been passed down from the days of the Flameyellow Imperial Star, a legacy of antiquity. It was exceedingly compatible with Tianming and the descendants of the Flameyellow Divinities. The people's wills seemed to swing the sword of annihilation together with him. At that point, his lifebound beasts played a crucial role as they held back the empress, preventing her from utilizing her speed advantage. While defeating her was a decent possibility, killing her outright to relinquish her control of the ship would be exponentially more difficult.

The vines and roots that had been snapped before once more weaved through the bones in the hall and wrapped around the empress. Her physical form was far too tough—it was almost as hard as the best divine ores—so the plant appendages weren't able to dig their way into it. But when the Bloodrain Swords fell and the Demise Greenloti exploded, forming green and red mists, it managed to muddy Empress Ying's movements.

At the same time, Yin Chen's tens of millions of bodies turned into silver spiders that spun a boundless net using its Infinite Silverthreads. When its many bodies worked together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Empress Ying immediately felt disgust toward the plant and insects. The two seven-star divine beasts were the biggest hindrances to her. Not to mention, their elder siblings attacked her as well! Lan Huang, still feeling the humiliation of being sent flying, fell down like a meteor with its body rolled up into a ball. It looked no different from a spiky sea urchin that hurtled toward Empress Ying alongside the prime wonder. And the nine-layered tower was even heavier than Lan Huang, thanks to Tianming’s Omnisentient power. The two huge masses posed much more of a threat to the empress than Xian Xian and Yin Chen.

Her expression shifted as she used her starvorian ability to turn her entire body into metal. Her hair stood up like sharp needles, and with a sharp turn, she tore apart Xian Xian's vines and roots. Then she lifted her tombstone shield and slammed it toward the Prime Mountain and Lan Huang! An explosive light came bursting from her body as a firestorm brewed in the surroundings once more.

While she should have been able to overcome Lan Huang with brute force, it didn't help that she was being ganged up upon. All of Tianming's lifebound beasts had attacked at the same time, with Ying Huo and Meow Meow the biggest threats. They were right behind her, and the moment Lan Huang crashed down upon her, the black and white lightning near her left flank formed three thunderous halls.

The tidal wave of lightning came crashing down toward her, and from within it, the Aeternal Infernal Phoenix came slashing out, having turned into a huge sun. The combined energies of flames and lightning were only the icing on the cake. Ying Huo's sword wings flashed as it used the Ninedragon Tribulation with seven fusion strikes, one fewer than Tianming. Ying Huo was able to use both battle arts and abilities, essentially making it not that different from specters in the way they fought.

As she was being assaulted from all sides, there was still Tianming and his totem swords to deal with. Tianming had mostly perfected the art of ganging up on people by now, given that he was usually the one with the most fighting units on his side. In fact, his Fiendsky Arm could also be counted as half a specter.

The nonstop pressure caused Empress Ying to react with a fluster, especially at the eight-strike-fusion attack Tianming had unleashed. The wrath and will of fifty billion people washed her over, causing her to feel like she was about to lose her life. She no longer cared about recruiting him and did a few things in quick succession. First, she ignored Lan Huang and the Prime Mountain, choosing instead to toss her tombstone shield up in the sky and cause it to expand to ten times its size. It had become a metallic island above her head. Then she unleashed her abilities, manifesting thousands of flaming tornadoes in all directions before turning to face Tianming and his totems.