Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming went to the Myriadpath Sourcespring to withdraw ten years’ worth of springwater while the envious eminents looked on.

”Thankfully he only has a five-times multiplier now....”

”Only? Five times is still a lot!”

”Not even core disciples of the Three Exalted Houses have as much springwater as him!”

”Well, Qitian Muchen, the son of the valley lord, might.”

”No matter how impressive he is, as someone who isn’t truly one of the Three Exalted Houses, the only way he can get springwater is from the Fortuna Ranking. His five-times multiplier will only last another century. After that, the amount he’ll get with a two- or three-times multiplier won’t be that much.”

”That’s true....”

The eminents kept talking about Tianming long after he left.

”Speaking of the valley lord’s son, he’s a thousand years old this year, right?”

”Yeah. His growth seems stable and he’s set to become an eminent before the age of two thousand, then rise to the top of the Maniverse Ranking.”

”I heard he might become a tenth-level foundationeer before two thousand years old and reach the minor zenith by two and a half thousand. Maybe even the major zenith!”

”House Qitian’s future seems bright. The next valley lord might be one of them, too.”

”That seems to be the case.”

At that moment, someone suddenly thought of Tianming. ”Could Pathkeeper Li become Qitian Muchen’s competitor?”

Everyone turned and looked at the speaker.

”It doesn’t sound likely. First, he’s an outsider. If he really threatens House Qitian, the valley lord will deal with him. Second, he’s a full nine hundred years younger than Qitian Muchen and hasn’t reached the Foundation stage yet. He’s only capable of fighting second-level foundationeers and far from able to compare with Qitian Muchen. By the time he leaves the Fortuna Ranking, Qitian Muchen might’ve risen to the top of the ranking.”

”That’s true. House Suishen is only counting on Pathkeeper Li to apply pressure to House Yumo.”

”Let’s hope they don’t let things go too far.”

”They probably won’t. I heard that since Li Tianming rose to the top of the Fortuna Ranking and got married, he hasn’t done anything outrageous. Maybe House Suishen’s managed to teach him his proper place.”

”That’s right. It’s best for someone bearing a foreign surname to not act out of line.”

”Myriadpath Valley’s also facing a lot of challenges right now. House Yumo ran into some trouble with that mysterious foe of theirs. They might end up heavily losing from this.”

The eminents who had nothing to do but guard the Myriadpath Sourcespring were incredibly bored and couldn’t wait for their shift to end so they could go to the Yin-Yang World to take a look.

***

Tianming returned to the Xenoabyss using the Myriadpath Celestial Formation. He headed straight to Zi Zhen instead of randomly picking a spot for his breakthrough. He would have her and Chen Tianyong watch over him.

He had also spent half a month sending Yin Chens out and making sure his hiding spot would be completely deserted and monitored by the little bugs.

”Did the mask work well?” Zi Zhen asked in a whisper with her head lowered.

”It’s pretty useful. I was slaughtering people left and right in the Yin-Yang World and nobody could tell it was me. Thanks to your mask, I managed to get much more baleflame than I otherwise would’ve,” Tianming happily said.

”That’s great,” Zi Zhen said with relief.

”Stand a bit farther away. There’s quite a lot of Yin-Yang Baleflame this time and it can affect the mind. If I lose control because of it, I might eat you up,” Tianming joked.

Zi Zhen nodded and went to Chen Tianyong’s side. The minotaur was absolutely stumped that Tianming could already defeat him without help. He felt nothing toward Tianming but awe and loyalty.

Tianming found the deepest part of the underground cavern and took out the crucible he used as a vessel. Then he tightly closed himself in it and took a deep breath. ”I’ll let out the springwater first, since its purification properties can push back against the frenzy of baleflame.”

He had made sure to seal the crucible, as he was worried that the baleflame would drive him wild. Assimilating baleflame was a violent process; without mixing in some springwater, it was an incredibly difficult feat. Not to mention, he was using an entire twenty kegs of it!

First, the fragrant smell of springwater filled the crucible as the liquid sloshed around him. He felt incredibly comfortable in that sea of pleasant dreams. But the moment the Yin-Yang Baleflame was released, the ambience of the entire crucible changed. The monochrome flame burned at Tianming’s astrons, constantly agitating the evil impulses in his mind!

But he had experienced it before and immediately dove into the springwater, preventing the baleflame from directly seeping into his body. He had to let the baleflame touch springwater to decrease its ’toxicity’ and let them mix together to form a hot bath. Despite emitting smoke from his entire body, it was quite a comfortable experience.

”There’s thirty kegs’ worth of springwater and baleflame in total, and all of it’s being used just to advance to the Foundation stage! I doubt anybody else in Myriadpath Valley would even consider doing this.” If anyone found out about it, they would probably go insane with rage.

”Not to mention, there’s also a grade-nine order fragment.” Tianming took out the box and opened it. A complicated object with nine facets was inside, constantly transforming and dazzling anyone who laid eyes on it.

”How odd! What’s the nature of the world truly like to be able to produce things like the sea of order and order fragments?” He didn’t hesitate for another moment and put the fragment into his mouth.

”This should be the last order fragment I use. Similarly, it should also be my last expedited breakthrough. I’ll have to grind away for my future growth in the Grand Myriadpath Ruins.” Springwater and baleflame didn’t directly affect the speed of breaking through. Instead, they transformed each astron in the body to raise one’s innate talent. Only by combining them with order fragments would they have the added effect of growing orders.

The highest-grade order fragment in Antiquitas Mortis was grade nine. Even cultivators of the empire had nothing but their own efforts to rely on and couldn’t have rapid breakthroughs like Tianming. In both Myriadpath Valley and Antiquitas Mortis, people were pushing against the limits of cultivation in the Foundation stage.

The reason that Myriadpath Valley was willing to let Tianming grow was that they believed he would slow down to a normal rate once he became a foundationeer, regardless of how rapidly he grew before that. He would have to take one step at a time, just like everyone else.

However, nobody but Eminent Jiguang knew that he would become as strong as the elites of Myriadpath Valley simply by becoming a foundationeer! ”I bet they’d panic if they knew.”

Tianming’s cultivation in the Foundation stage would be his toughest challenge yet. As such, his current breakthrough was incredibly important, hence his willingness to gamble away a grade-nine order fragment and thirty kegs of springwater and baleflame.

”Only by becoming a foundationeer will I be taken seriously by the Three Exalted Houses!” He wouldn’t let himself be treated like a toy any longer. After swallowing the order fragment, he began absorbing the ’hot spring’ through his astrons.

”Let’s soar!” That was how he felt in that precise moment as his orders grew and body transformed. Every single Order-Relic-like astron had been forged three times over with a total of fifty kegs of springwater and baleflame. They fundamentally changed, causing Tianming’s talent and astral organs to grow into the perfect embryo of a universal body. All his astrons glowed with brilliant starlight.

All eight streams of his orders gradually elevated themselves with the help of the order fragment. While it wasn’t fast, the hot spring’s nourishment ensured that the rate was at least constant.