Beastmaster of the Ages

”Thank you, Auntie!” Tianming hurriedly said.

”No need to thank me. Just remember to be filial in the future so I can enjoy my old age in peace. If you and Yaoyao have children, Auntie will help you raise them so that you young people can have fun,” Eminent Jiguang joked.

She knew that everyone would eventually grow old. She didn’t plan on having children herself, so she was sure to be lonely in the future. As she grew older, she also began to grow fond of children.

”Auntie, you’re joking. As long as I’m around, you’ll stay forever youthful and never age,” Tianming assured.

”You really have a glib tongue.” Eminent Jiguang gently smiled, then returned to Myriadpath Valley with Tianming. They proceeded to the Heavensource Starriver, where she picked out a fairly-priced manna that would be suitable for the antiquitean imperials.

”I suspect Princess Ying will want to use this manna herself. I only saw about 8.5 million stars in her eyes last time,” Eminent Jiguang remarked. She was indeed more meticulous; Tianming himself would have just randomly picked a manna and called it a day.

Manna with 900 apertures were rare in the river; most of them were held by Houses Yumo and Qitian. Those were private collections that couldn’t even be exchanged for merit points.

After obtaining the manna, the old and young pair headed toward the Myriadpath Celestial Formation.

”Greetings, Eminent Jiguang! Greetings, Pathkeeper Li!” People they encountered along the way hurriedly greeted them.

After the Yin-Yang World had opened, Myriadpath Valley had become quieter, and with Tianming’s low profile, people’s excitement had cooled down.

”Pathkeeper Li isn’t advancing as fiercely as before, it seems his cultivation’s hit a bottleneck.”

”The Foundation stage is indeed a big hurdle for him. Let’s see how many years it takes him to overcome it.”

”I still have confidence in him. I bet he’ll break into the top hundred of the Maniverse Ranking when he graduates from the Fortuna Ranking!”

”You’re that optimistic? Let’s see when he enters the Foundation stage first!”

”Speaking of which, it seems like Pathkeeper Li is spending more time with Eminent Jiguang lately. What about the Little Demon King?”

”Are you dumb? Will they report to you when they dual cultivate in the Suishen Cave?”

”True!”

Soon after, Tianming and Eminent Jiguang returned to the Xenoabyss. Just like before, Tianming waited near the stareye while Eminent Jiguang went alone to the antiquiteans. Tianming sat and awaited news.

About half a month later, Eminent Jiguang sent word. ”The deal’s done.”

The negotiation had taken longer this time, indicating that Princess Ying had hesitated but ultimately couldn’t resist the allure of the manna. It was a mutually beneficial exchange, after all.

Soon after, Eminent Jiguang returned and handed the grade-eight order fragment to Tianming. The eight-sided order fragment was so dizzying that he felt lightheaded just looking at it. He felt like the world was spinning, which indicated that its value was far greater than the grade-seven order fragment. It was a priceless item in Antiquitas Mortis.

With what Eminent Jiguang had given him, Tianming now had eight kegs of baleflame and five of springwater, totaling thirteen kegs, which was more than last time. Ebonia and the Sun hadn’t even used as much springwater themselves.

”How about it? Do you want to try breaking through? Is five kegs of springwater and two kegs of baleflame too little?” Eminent Jiguang asked.

”It might be a bit short, so let’s try next time. No rush. Now that I have the order fragment, I’ll wait three more years until I have ten kegs total of springwater and baleflame,” Tianming replied.

”Okay. When the time comes, if I’m not around, look for the eminents I mentioned before and have them protect you in the Xenoabyss while you break through. Got it?” Eminent Jiguang instructed.

”Orders received!” Tianming saluted.

”You silly child....” Eminent Jiguang was amused by him.

Tianming had no actual intention of waiting two more years; he simply didn’t want Eminent Jiguang to see that he had another six kegs of baleflame. Once Eminent Jiguang entered the Yin-Yang World, he planned to return to the Xenoabyss and break through.

Eminent Jiguang insisted on escorting Tianming back to the Suishen Cave, reminding him not to run around a few more times before finally leaving with peace of mind.

Tianming felt like he had gained another mother.

Eminent Jiguang would never expect that, as soon as she left, he would immediately leave the Suishen Cave. He first went to exchange for five kegs of springwater before returning to the Myriadpath Celestial Formation.

He knew that House Yumo still harbored ill will toward him. However, the death of the twenty eminents and the opening of the Yin-Yang World had significantly distracted them. Now, no one had the spare energy to deal with the ’low-profile’ Li Tianming.

Using the Myriadpath Celestial Formation, Tianming returned once more to the Xenoabyss. Some saints and disciples were near the Antiquitas Mortis stareye, but they were of low cultivation and he easily evaded their notice with the Fiveway Blitzrun.

All the Yin Chens in Antiquitas Mortis awakened, allowing him to quickly select a spot for his breakthrough. He also had a container for springwater and baleflame that could replace the Soulblend Formation. It was an ether-class cauldron-shaped cosmic artifact that had excellent sealing properties.

Tianming entered the depths of the earth, where he set down the large cauldron and completely sealed himself inside.

”Five kegs of springwater, eight kegs of baleflame!” He’d heard that springwater and baleflame had complementary effects and that their efficacy was even better when absorbed together.

Thus, he boldly released the five kegs of springwater and eight kegs of baleflame. The fragrance of the springwater and the stench of the baleflame immediately mingled inside the cauldron, where he could only describe the sensation as painful, yet pleasurable.

Tianming didn’t hesitate and took out the grade-eight order fragment, popping it into his mouth. The order fragment was a mysterious object, but no matter how complex its mysteries were, it would immediately turn into liquid and flow through his body, entering his orders.

At the same time, he repeated his old trick. The cauldron he was in shrank, forcing the mixture of springwater and baleflame to flood into his body. Before entering his body, the springwater and baleflame even began merging. It was often said that water and fire were incompatible, but the two substances fused very smoothly. They gradually turned into a liquid flame that wasn’t hot at all, but rather like a warm spring that entered Tianming’s body through the gaps between his astrons.

”Feels fantastic. The springwater alone was a bit cold, but now it feels like I’m soaking in a hot spring!”