Tianming was actually trying to make a breakthrough! Even though he hadn't managed to refine his Ancient Deepstar Godbody, nor had he gotten Omnisentient Will, he had been using the lifesteal ability of his Aeonic Grandbane to siphon off life tribulation force for himself. The many beastmasters and lifebound beasts he had slain had given him lots of it, causing his life springs to swell to the point of forming samsara rings.
"It should've taken more time than this, but thanks to the sudden influx of Omnisentient Will...." He could feel his Imperial Will swelling far beyond his Ancient Deepstar Godbody at a staggering rate. Using the eyes that were granted to him as part of the Primordial God-Emperor's legacy, he saw the Omnisentient Will gathering into white mist from all across Nether Battlefield. It was the wish of all sentient life, and powerful enough that even the formation around the battlefield couldn't stop it from seeping in. The Grand-Orient Sword in his sea of consciousness was constantly being strengthened.
"This Omnisentient Will is different from the one from the Divine Capital. Back then, it was feelings of faith and worship. Here, it's filled with hope and entrustment." The disciples of the Archaion Sect had entrusted their hopes and dreams to him. They watched through the Skyeye Formations with reddened eyes and heavy breaths, holding their strongest desires and wills in their hearts. That instant, their survival was intertwined with those of the forty-odd Archaion disciples in the battlefield, Tianming's especially!
He had done so much, and had borne most of the burden. Too many disciples were hoping that he would lead the rest to survival. It wasn't just about the lives of the disciples, but the pride of the first divine realm, Archaion. This was their turf!
"Live on!"
"Don't lose, don't die!"
The strong wishes blossomed in their hearts and gathered to form Omnisentient Will. The combined wishes of more than three hundred thousand people from sky saints and beyond was nothing to scoff at. The Omnisentient Will entered Tianming's sea of consciousness through his eyes, greatly swelling his Imperial Will and life tribulation force.
"It's time to transcend death and return to the world of the living! Form the second samsara rings on your lifesprings and step into the second-level life phase!" he hollered at his lifebound beasts within the lifebound space. They immediately engaged in symbiotic cultivation with him.
Tianming knew that he was being far too passive given the current situation. The disciples of the four temporarily allied sects could do nothing but struggle and had suffered quite a few casualties as their opponents' attacks intensified. The onslaught of all those peak geniuses was hard to resist. Tianming had taken the brunt of the assault by holding Jiang Wuxin back, but if this went on, Xuanyuan Yucheng, Beigong Qianyu, Beigong Mengmeng, Zhao Tianxing, Lin Xixi, and the rest would no doubt die. Such a tragic result would only cause Triflair and the other sects even more fear. Being forced into a corner, they might even join the side of Nonahall and Feiling's life would be forfeit.
I can't lose, I can't die! he yelled desperately in his mind. He had never craved power more than he did now. With him and his beasts having more than enough life tribulation force to form samsara rings, they no longer needed to absorb any surrounding spiritual energy.
The formation of the rings was unbelievably rapid. If it weren’t for the unique nature of his Aeonic Grandbane, there was no way he could make a mid-battle breakthrough at all. His opponent naturally wouldn't give him enough time to absorb spiritual energy to form his samsara rings. Breaking through mid battle was incredibly risky, as the slightest delay in his movements could cost him his life. Yet it only took one moment when Jiang Wuxin was taken aback as he felt the death tribulation force in Tianming recede to allow life tribulation force to take its place. His death-god-like presence was replaced with the renewed vigor of life, restoring luster to his skin, eyes, and hair.
"I've achieved the second-level life phase!" Now, his gaze was as bright as ever. His beasts had transcended death with him, forming samsara rings that greatly boosted their power. His little feat had completely floored everyone across the continent who was watching. Nobody knew how in the world he had managed to absorb enough spiritual energy to form new samsara rings.
Behold, my Aeonic Grandbane! With his life force returned, he began aging in reverse. He clearly felt his life force and lifespan return explosively as his flesh, bones, organs, face, and even his hair began turning younger just like when his mother, Wei Jing, had turned young again after overcoming her Lifesbane.
"Isn't my body around the age of sixteen or seventeen now? I'm even younger than Ling'er!" He touched his face and found it to be baby’s-bottom smooth. He was a youth once more!
"Additionally...." There was no way Aeonic Grandbane would be that simple. Something even more mystical than entering his death phase had happened: the ten ancient characters that had entered his deathsprings reappeared and transferred over to his lifesprings. The lifesprings that took in his Aeonic Grandbane had undergone a change completely different from his deathsprings': the samsara rings expanded!
Tianming clearly saw the two samsara rings on each of his lifesprings expand to double their size, greatly boosting his life tribulation force far beyond those of his peers. His combined life and tribulation force was equal to that of a fourth-level death samsaran. "In other words, I can steal life force during my death phase to speed up my breakthroughs. I can speed past the tribulations of the death phase! Even though I can't steal life tribulation force during my life phase, my tribulation rings will be expanded, granting me even more of it! If this cycle repeats itself...."
All those changes had occurred in the shortest of instants. Jiang Wuxin quickly snapped out of his stupor, only to face a much more terrifying and younger Tianming. Now, he seemed like a piece of polished jade.
At the same time, his lifebound beasts appeared once more, now much younger, as Tianming was—Ying Huo and Meow Meow in particular. As for Xian Xian, she was a tree that thrived on life force! In the life phase, its powers reached their peak. It was now taller and wider than ever, and its vines and leaves spanned the entire battlefield.
"Lan Huang, Xian Xian, go help the others out!" Tianming said as he turned to face Jiang Wuxin.