Chapter 3638 - Raising Troops for a Thousand Days, Using Them in a Critical Moment

Tianming asked Zi Zhen to inquire about Jin Lin’s father’s cultivation level. It turned out he was a second-level overflower.

During the process of evolving from an astral god to a cosmic god, it was impossible for a cultivator to hide their cultivation level. Their height, physique, and the number of astrons were all clear indicators. They could expand, but couldn’t shrink, as they were already at their minimum size.

“Goddess, don’t worry. You’re the savior of the Ancient Oldgod Domain specters. I’ll talk to my father and propose making you the saintess of our race!” So saying, Jin Lin left.

Zi Zhen placed a Yin Chen on him and made it clear that it could eavesdrop.

If he ran away, Tianming had no means to catch him. After all, his Imperial Sword Prison wasn’t strong enough to control an overflower. Zi Zhen’s hexapath eyes were available, but Jin Lin’s strength was extraordinary.

Soon after, Yin Chen reported that Jin Lin had followed orders.

The aurumites had been hiding in a remote area of the Ancient Oldgod Domain. It seemed they had several hidden bases. The orderlies had been hunting them for years, but they were cautious. Like foxes with multiple dens, they had preserved a significant portion of their forces, forming a formidable specter army.

It was the end result of enduring humiliation and bearing responsibility. They had been stronger in the past, when they had access to order fragments and overflow fragments. Now, the former children of the heavens could only painstakingly cultivate step by step. Their potential hadn’t changed, but their growth took much longer.

Following Zi Zhen’s instructions, Jin Lin talked to his father.

His father stood twenty meters tall. He was a giant to Tianming, but he was tiny in the vast Ancient Oldgod Domain. With overflower strength, he could move freely.

Not long after, the aurumite, Jin Ding, came with Jin Lin to the eye of heaven. He was like a larger version of Jin Lin. He stood twenty meters tall, his body looking as if it had been forged from gold, and he sported a golden mustache. And compared to Jin Lin, he seemed far more composed.

“Father! This is my goddess! She’s a friend of the Nightfiend. The other two are her loyal servant and maid!” Jin Lin loudly exclaimed.

The golden specter’s torch-like eyes immediately turned cold.

Yin Chen had said that Jin Ding seemed interested in Zi Zhen earlier. But now, upon meeting her, he attacked without a word.

“Dad! What’re you doing?” Jin Lin was shocked. He hadn’t expected that his father, who had seemed cooperative, would act like that.

Caught off guard, Jin Lin hesitated, but Tianming was prepared. Zi Zhen, Ji Ji, and Moran were also ready.

Zi Zhen was now a super-zenith foundationeer, enhancing her physical combat power. However, she couldn’t unleash her full rage or activate any of her ninehall eyes as soon as a fight started, making her strength less than before.

Thus, the main pillar would be Moran!

“Go forth!” Tianming pushed the women forward, standing back to watch.

“You’re getting too comfortable,” Ying Huo sneered.

“Shut up. This is a classic case of raising my troops for a thousand days to use them in a critical moment.” Both Zi Zhen and Moran had waited for a chance for a long time. One had waited for him on the Sun, taking care of his grandparents. The other had waited in the Xenoabyss, tirelessly seeking order fragments for him.

Now was their moment to shine.

The battle violently erupted. Ji Ji gathered the power of the eye of heaven, enabling Moran to unleash her full might. Moran used thirty percent of her Mirage Gods for self defense and seventy percent for offense, utilizing her wonders to suppress the golden specter.

As for Zi Zhen, she took the vanguard, engaging in close combat.

“They’re a perfect match!”

With one delivering front-line damage and the other providing support, they formed an ideal pair.

Tianming was versatile, but Zi Zhen’s barbaric strength meant that if someone assisted her in restraining opponents, they could achieve a synergy where one plus one was greater than two.

"Who would’ve thought those two women fighting for favor would turn out to be the perfect team for each other?" Xian Xian mockingly said.

"Fighting for favor? Don’t speak nonsense," Tianming replied.

"Either way, you’re doomed!" Xian Xian gleefully said, enjoying his misfortune.

Tianming had no response for that.

Meanwhile, the battle on the other side was fierce and intense. The battlefield was so intense that Tianming couldn’t even intervene. Fortunately, the eye of heaven was vast, so the commotion didn’t spread.

“My son, will you not assist your father?!” Jin Ding roared as he was besieged.

“Never fear, I’m coming!” Jin Lin shouted and joined the fight... on Zi Zhen’s side.

“What the...?” Jin Ding was dumbfounded and bellowed, “You traitorous son, what’re you doing?”

“Father, you attacked my goddess, so I’ll attack you!” Jin Lin angrily declared.

“Forget it! Stop fighting!” Jin Ding, exasperated, called for a halt.

Everyone paused.

“What’s the deal? You said you’d cooperate, so why attack?” Jin Lin questioned.

“I had to check if you’d been fooled!” Jin Ding glared.

“Are you convinced now?” Jin Lin retorted.

After observing Zi Zhen’s prowess during the battle, Jin Ding finally recognized her terrifying strength and relented.

“Subordinate Jin Ding greets the goddess!” he solemnly declared.

“Do you have overflow fragments?” Zi Zhen bluntly asked. “My cultivation level has regressed. At my peak, I was close to becoming a cosmic god. I need many fragments to recover. Once restored, I can lead you to destroy the orderlies in this Ancient Oldgod Domain.”

“Your cultivation regressed? So the goddess actually used to be so strong?” Father and son were astonished.

“Please trust me. The woman imprisoned in the Taboo Ocean is my sister, and the Nightfiend is my brother. Our goal aligns with yours,” Tianming said.

“I believe the part about your sister, but don’t try to claim the Nightfiend as your brother. Only my goddess can call the Nightfiend her friend,” Jin Lin replied.

His father grit his teeth and pulled out three grade-one overflow fragments and one grade-two overflow fragment.

“Dammit, Dad! You had a grade-two overflow fragment and didn’t give it to me? I could’ve used that to break through!” Jin Lin exclaimed, stunned.

“Shut up. This was meant for your mother,” Jin Ding sighed.

“Was his mother also captured by the orderlies?” Zi Zhen felt a bit sympathetic toward them.

“All of our aurumite women have been enslaved and are imprisoned in the Order College. Not a single woman remains in our base!” Jin Ding mourned.

“Yes! My great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and wife were all taken by those scoundrels! None of the female overflower specters are left!” Jin Lin gritted his teeth.

Tianming had to admit it was indeed tragic. No wonder Jin Lin had been so excited when he first saw Zi Zhen. It had been over a thousand years! They were practically rusting away.

“The orderlies are truly disgusting,” Tianming said, speechless. They also wanted to take away Qingyu’s bloodline. His anger flared—what would have happened without the Soulfiend’s protection?

“Rest assured, with these overflow fragments, I won’t let you down!” Tianming grabbed all the overflow fragments.

“What quick hands!” Jin Ding was stunned.

“Hey, who are you anyway? Why’re you talking so much?” Jin Lin grumbled, clearly displeased.

But with a glare from Zi Zhen, he could only lower his head.

Tianming, Zi Zhen, and Moran walked to the side.

“One’s enough for me....” Zi Zhen hadn’t even finished speaking when Tianming handed all of them to her.

“What’s this for?” she asked, startled.

“Since I’ve chosen you, I’ll go all in. Take them all and focus on maximizing your combat strength,” Tianming said.

“Alright,” Zi Zhen nodded, touched.

“Besides, I heard he has a grandfather, and a great-grandfather, too! We can collect the full set!” Tianming’s eyes gleamed.

Moran and Zi Zhen were rendered speechless. He was planning to exploit them generation by generation!

After explaining the plan to Zi Zhen, she spoke with Jin Ding. Hearing her words, Jin Ding and his son exchanged looks.

“Alright, I’ll go get my father!” Jin Ding said.

“Bring great-grandfather, too!”

Jin Ding had no response to that.

Soon, four generations of the Jin family had gathered. From left to right, they were Jin Lin, Jin Ding, Jin Shang, and Jin Xiao. They were respectively, first-, second-, third-, and fourth-level overflowers, and their heights were ten, twenty, thirty, and forty meters!

“This is literally a set of the same figures of increasing scale....” Tianming looked up at them, his neck craning higher and higher.

“Great-grandfather, you’re still going strong!” Tianming gave a thumbs-up to the last specter. According to Jin Lin, his great-grandfather was the second most powerful figure of the aurumites in God Domain One. At 8,000 years old, he was still at peak combat strength.

The great-grandfather was the real decision-maker in their family. Facing him, both Tianming and Zi Zhen felt a bit pressured.

The elder said nothing upon arrival; instead, he personally tested Zi Zhen’s abilities.

“She isn’t a specter from the Ancient Oldgod Domain, but her bloodline....” His golden eyes narrowed.

“Great-grandfather, what’s your decision?” Jin Lin anxiously asked. “If we miss this opportunity, how much longer will we have to wait? Without external help, we’re no match for the wonderians and the orderlies!”

“Grandfather, trust Jin Lin!” Jin Ding added.

“Dad, believe in my grandson!” Jin Shang chimed in.

Jin Xiao glared at the three of them. Finally, he sighed, “Fine! For the terrifying pressure of this specter bloodline, our aurumite will take this gamble!”

After a thorough explanation, Tianming showed his sincerity and revealed his identity as the emperor of a Lower Star Ruin.

Upon hearing that, Jin Lin was elated. “See? My goddess has the emperor of a Lower Star Ruin as her servant. How amazing is she?”

Tianming considered asking Zi Zhen to punch him. But when Jin Lin’s grandfather and great-grandfather brought out their private stashes, he suddenly felt like he could be the bigger man and endure a bit more mockery!

“A grade-four overflow fragment? Dad, why didn’t you give it to me?” Jin Shang exclaimed in shock.

“It was meant for your mother!” Jin Xiao said.

“A grade-three overflow fragment? Dad, why didn’t you give it to me?” Jin Ding fumed.

“It was also meant for your mother....”

Jin Lin nearly spat out three liters of blood. “People in love really get dumber!”

In the end, one grade-four, one grade-three, one grade-two, and over a dozen grade-one overflow fragments all ended up with Zi Zhen.

Tianming told her to use them wisely, saving any leftovers for him. But since he no longer had balefire, he would likely have to return to the imperial capital to cultivate.

Given Zi Zhen’s current cultivation, directly using a grade-four overflow fragment would be wasteful. She started with the grade-one fragments to steadily advance through the Overflow stage, ensuring optimal absorption.

“This’ll likely take some time.” However, with the four-generation aurumite ’Four Heavenly Kings’ standing guard, there was an overwhelming sense of security.

“I wonder what the orderlies have done to the female specters.... Have these four warriors been cuckolded?” Tianming didn’t dare dwell on it. Regardless, he and the aurumites shared a common hatred for the orderlies.

While Zi Zhen began absorbing the overflow fragments, Tianming exited the eye of heaven to observe the outside. “The Taboo Ocean is rapidly shrinking! At this rate, we only have a few days!” His heart pounded. He could already see a group of orderlies heading toward the Taboo Ocean, seemingly aiming to surround it.

“They’re asking to die!” Tianming’s voice turned icy.

“Discovered wonderians,” Yin Chen suddenly reported.

“What?” Tianming asked.

“The wonderians... entered the... neighboring eye... of heaven.”

“How strong are they?”

“Three forty-meters... six thirty-meters...thirteen twenty-meters... fifty ten-meters!” Yin Chen replied.

Others might not understand, but Tianming grasped it immediately. Three fourth-level overflowers! The rest followed accordingly.

Tianming turned back to glance at Zi Zhen, who was in the middle of a breakthrough.

“Whether Little Fish can be strengthened again depends on Zi Zhen.”