Beastmaster of the Ages

They returned to the Myriadpath Celestial Formation in what felt like an instant. Tianming had a grade-nine order fragment, ten kegs of springwater, and twenty kegs of baleflame with him, all of which he needed to advance to the Foundation stage. However, he didn’t dare to use them in front of Eminent Jiguang as he had no way to explain how he got the other sixteen kegs of baleflame.

After they returned, Eminent Jiguang said, ”You’re really careful. Even though you have more than ten kegs, including the springwater and baleflame I gave you, you still don’t dare to carelessly attempt a breakthrough.”

”The Foundation stage is far too important, so I want to prepare a bit more,” Tianming said. In actuality, he just didn’t dare to break through with her steering the ship. Eminent Jiguang had thought that he’d used ten years’ worth of springwater to break through and was under the impression that he had less than ten kegs of springwater remaining.

”How about this? I’ll look for more baleflame for you when I go back to the Yin-Yang World. A few more kegs should help,” she said.

”It’s fine, Auntie. What I have, along with some more insights and pondering, should be enough,” Tianming said.

”That’s true....” She gave it some thought. ”You’re already over a hundred years old, so you won’t be getting as many resources as before. You have to get used to living like a normal person. Work hard to advance to the Foundation stage and get used to it!”

”I’ll be fine,” he confidently replied.

Every time Eminent Jiguang returned, she busied herself with his affairs. This time around, she hadn’t even gone back to Suishen Cave. And now that she had finished the transaction, she was about to hurry off to settle her other affairs only for her transmission stone to light up.

”Yaoyao?” Eminent Jiguang took out the transmission stone and saw Suishen Yao’s worried look. ”Auntie, you’re finally back. Something big just happened, have you heard?”

”What happened?” Eminent Jiguang and Tianming were just as taken aback.

Suishen Yao said, ”I heard that some kind of murderous fiend has shown up in the Yin-Yang World. Maybe there’s more than one. They only kill cultivators of House Yumo, and tens of them have died to their hand so far! The news is spreading like wildfire!”

Eminent Jiguang doubtfully shook her head. ”It can’t be. There’s nobody in the Yin-Yang World but people from Myriadpath Valley. If there was a group of murderers, why haven’t I run into them? Not to mention, with how chaotic it is in there, it could just be us killing our own. Maybe it’s someone from Myriadpath Valley.”

”It can’t be. The news was reported by the son of the valley lord, Qitian Muchen, in the first place. It was bad enough that House Yumo lost a ton of eminents during the incident a decade ago, and now Qitian Muchen personally witnessed a figure shrouded in purple mist killing Reverend Wulian of House Yumo. The eminent beside Qitian Muchen tried giving chase, but failed. I also heard that the figure could be some kind of native of the Yin-Yang World!” Suishen Yao spoke faster and faster and relayed a huge bunch of information all at once.

”A native? Impossible.... Myriadpath Valley’s sent expeditions into the Yin-Yang World for tens of millions of years. So where would natives show up from all of a sudden?” Eminent Jiguang still found it hard to believe, but Qitian Muchen was someone from her generation and she knew he wouldn’t come up with nonsense. She turned to Tianming and asked, ”Is there really a rumor in Myriadpath Valley about a mysterious killer—or group of killers—shrouded in purple mist?”

Tianming snickered in his mind, but he couldn’t exactly tell her that it was him. He feigned puzzlement and said, ”Well, there is indeed such a rumor, but it sounds a bit far-fetched.”

When Suishen Yao heard his voice from the other end, she snapped, ”Auntie, is that crooked Li Tianming right beside you?”

”Well, that’s him,” Eminent Jiguang said.

”Damn it! He ignored my transmission stone calls for ten years! I couldn’t find him in the Grand Myriadpath Ruins, either! Where’s he been?!”

”Hey, don’t accuse me without proof! I was training in seclusion in the upper ruins! Didn’t I tell you that? Don’t look for me while I’m in seclusion for no good reason.”

”That’s nonsense!”

Seeing a fight about to break out, Eminent Jiguang couldn’t stand it any longer. ”Alright, don’t start flirting while I’m still here. I’ll send Tianming back to spoil you, alright?”

”That’s more like it!” Suishen Yao angrily snapped. Fortunately, she was a bit too simpleminded to figure out what was really going on.

”Yaoyao, what’d your dad and grandpa say about the rumor?”

”My dad hasn’t returned yet. Grandpa said the figure might not be someone from Myriadpath Valley. Perhaps they’re the same being as the one who killed the eminents of House Yumo, or at least from the same group. Everyone thinks the Yin-Yang World is incredibly dangerous right now so I wanted to ask you to stop going there.” She gave her aunt a coy look. ”Auntie, I’m worried about you. You’re the most important person ever to me. I can’t afford to lose you.”

”Hey, don’t jinx it for me!” Eminent Jiguang didn’t know how to react to that. ”If it’s really related to the incident a decade ago, why didn’t the valley lord summon everyone back using the Lumistar Formation?”

”Maybe they want to wait until they can be certain first. Perhaps he doesn’t consider it a grave enough threat because that thing only targets the Yumos. It won’t be too late to summon them back when something really serious happens,” Suishen Yao said. There was no way that the valley lord, the ruler of the Million Mundi, would get them to retreat without a very good reason. The Yin-Yang World was his territory, and he wouldn’t be intimidated into pulling back just because of some minor scare.

”What’s House Yumo saying about it?”

”They heard about it and some of their reverends and eminents went in to fight the culprit to the death. Perhaps they’re also trying to notify the others in there so they can mount a coordinated effort.”

”Alright. That sounds like how they would approach it.” There was nothing in the astralscape of order that could scare House Yumo. They were a house that even dared to challenge the leader of House Qitian, one of the fiercest factions to exist.

”Auntie, are you going to go back in?” Suishen Yao worriedly asked.

”I must,” Eminent Jiguang said.

”Why?”

”Yaoyao, if natives really exist in the Yin-Yang World, it shows that our understanding of that place is severely lacking. There might be many more secrets to discover. Wouldn’t that raise the chances that she’s still alive, even with half a subsoul remaining? Maybe we can find her once we find the natives.”

”She....” Suishen Yao fell silent at the mention of her mother.

”Tianming, take care of Yaoyao. Now that we have a clue, I have to make the best use of my time and probably won’t come back that often. Stay safe,” Eminent Jiguang said.

”You, too,” Tianming said.

”Also....” She stretched out her fingers and lightly clawed his head. ”I know you’re skilled, but don’t go to the Yin-Yang World. That place is even more dangerous than before. I believe the fiend in that purple mist really exists.”

”I’m sure it exists,” Tianming said with a smirk.

Eminent Jiguang reminded him to care for Suishen Yao once more and to develop their relationship as husband and wife, then immediately returned to the Yin-Yang World.

Tianming’s transmission stone lit up. ”Come back and spoil me!”

”Spoil you my ass!” Tianming snapped his transmission stone in half and ran. He was in a rush to break through to the Foundation stage!