Chapter 3244 - Red Sun
Ying Huo, Lan Huang, and the others no longer needed to conceal the stars in their eyes. The 9,999,999 stars were incredibly dazzling. Even though it wasn't clear exactly how many there were, the astral gods on the Sun and Ebonia could tell that it was far more than their lifebound beasts.
The number of astral gods connected to Tianming through the omnisentient threads had also increased. However, without the support of the trillions of people on the Sun, the mere hundreds of thousands of astral gods that were mostly orderans weren’t very effective.
A mundus’ astral gods couldn’t compare to Myriadpath Valley. Everyone in Myriadpath Valley aimed for the Foundation stage, and the vast majority were in it. In mundi, ninety-five percent of the astral gods were orderans. The difference in inheritance, nova source, bloodlines, and Myriadpath Sourcespring created a disparity that spanned countless generations.
Myriadpath Valley was excellent indeed, but only by returning to the Sun could Tianming feel the warmth of home.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, Godfather, Old Lin...." Tianming dismounted from Ying Huo and landed among the crowd.
Lin Xiao, Dongshen Yue, Wudi, Xiaodao, and others smiled.
"It’s good you're safe," Lin Xiao said, temporarily putting down his worries.
"You seem to have made some progress?" As a foundationeer, Xiaodao immediately noticed Tianming’s changes.
"Isn't it necessary? To be honest, you're no match for me now even if I don’t rely on omnisentient threads," Tianming cheerfully said.
"So arrogant? Want to spar?" Xiaodao felt his pride as a master had been challenged and he needed to regain some face.
"Of course, but there's something urgent now," Tianming said.
"Something urgent?" Xiaodao became serious.
Hearing Tianming mention something urgent, everyone gathered around. Wudi patted him on the shoulder and asked, "Son, did you get the Myriadpath Sourcespring? If there isn’t much, give some to my mother first. She isn’t in great shape and I'm afraid she won't be able to hold up much longer." The issue had him greatly worried. Li Jingyu was physically weak and old. Over the years, she had relied on resources and the Flameyellow Bloodsoul to regain her youth. But after encountering the red dust, her condition deteriorated, leading to severe mental confusion and a significant decline in her physical state.
Many elderly from the Flameyellow Continent were in similar situations. If the situation continued, they might not even be able to withstand the gravity pressure of the ether-class Sun.
"Do you have any, Feng'er?" Lin Xiao anxiously asked.
They all knew how difficult it was to obtain the Myriadpath Sourcespring and feared that Tianming was under too much pressure. However, the situation on the Sun and Ebonia was indeed urgent.
Tianming took a deep breath and said, "Yes!"
That one word relieved many people.
"That's good. The beginning is always the hardest. With a start, things will get better," Dongshen Yue said with emotion. She was worried because she had three daughters-in-law. Now, one was gone, one had left, and one had become a lunatic.
"Don't worry, Grandmother!" Tianming reassured her, then looked around and asked, "Where's Li Fan? Bring him to see me."
"Him?" Xiaodao hadn't completely trusted Li Fan, so although he hadn’t imprisoned him, he had still restricted his movements. Li Fan complained daily, but it was useless. The Infinitum Mundus was too fragile to take any risks.
"He's in the Gladean Ruins. I'll bring him here." Xiaodao left.
Tianming asked, "Godfather, how have things been here recently?"
"To be honest, the red dust has been rampant for more than ten years. Thanks to the astralguard formations, it hasn't spread to other worlds, but probably due to the long duration, it now feels like the whole world is filled with red dust and blood mist. Their numbers have grown to a staggering extent. Even our astral gods sometimes feel difficulty breathing," Wudi sighed. "The damn thing is untouchable and intangible, and it infinitely multiplies by parasitizing people."
Tianming looked into the distance. Indeed, he saw blood mist everywhere he looked. "How much red dust did it take to turn the entire Sun red?" He helplessly shook his head. It was simply toxic!
Wudi continued, "Also, when their numbers become large enough, they tend to become violent. There’s been cases recently where some mortals suddenly snapped out of their euphoric state and became violent, killing each other. There’s also been hardly any newborns on the Sun and Ebonia over the past decade." Even someone as carefree as him was now extremely worried, showing just how dire the situation had become.
As they were talking, Xiaodao quickly brought over the orange-haired, orange-eyed Li Fan. After more than a decade, he had finally managed to reform his body. However, he still looked much weaker than before and his face was pale.
Seeing Tianming, he jumped up, rushed to him, and asked through gritted teeth, "I heard you got the Myriadpath Sourcespring?"
"Yes." Tianming nodded.
Li Fan immediately shook his head, saying, "I don't believe it! Myriadpath Sourcespring is only given to those who rank in the top hundred on the Fortuna Ranking! That requires the combat power of at least a twelfth-level cosmic cartographer. When you entered Myriadpath Valley, you only had the strength of a seventh-level cosmic cartographer. It's only been a dozen years. It’d be impressive if you advanced one or two levels in that time."
"You refuse to believe it?" Tianming smiled and beckoned to Ying Huo, who was soaring in the sky. Ying Huo descended, raising dust everywhere, and its giant phoenix head lowered in front of Li Fan.
Li Fan saw the endless stars in its eyes. "Ah! So many!" Li Fan shivered, then looked at Tianming with an incredulous gaze, asking, "You aren’t a tainted beastmaster anymore? Have you really broken through so many levels?"
"Get used to it," Tianming scoffed.
"Alright!" Li Fan tried to calm himself. He knew Tianming was a freak, but had never expected him to reach such an extreme. After a while, he managed to regain some composure and said, "To be honest, the top hundred on the Fortuna Ranking only gets one bowl per year. You probably only have a bowl or two on you, right? It might be useful for you alone, but it's impossible to solve the red dust problem of two stars with so many people. Go back and spend a few hundred years on it. Deaths due to red dust are normal."
"Silence!" Tianming took out keg after keg of springwater to back up his words, neatly laying out ten kegs.