Beastmaster of the Ages

”Celebrated as heroes and praised for generations to come?” Suishen Xiyue listened, her face still cold as ice.

”Yes! This matter’s gone too far. Please give him a chance!” the old patriarch sincerely said.

”Fine.” This sentence from Suishen Xiyue reignited hope in the old patriarch’s heart. Unfortunately, the woman before him immediately changed her tone, coldly sneering, ”Didn’t you just say he should kowtow to me? He killed me once, so ten kowtows shouldn’t be too much to ask.”

”Don’t push your luck!” Suishen Ranxing growled in a low voice as his face twisted. Kneeling was humiliating enough, but kowtowing?

”I’ll do it on his behalf!” The old patriarch immediately said.

”Why do I need you? I want him to kowtow!” Suishen Xiyue pointed at Suishen Ranxing.

”Ranxing....” The old patriarch glared at him, his eyes communicating the words ”the greater good”. With Suishen Jiguang and Suishen Xiyue’s current strength, it gave House Suishen five major-zenith foundationeers in one house. The old patriarch would make his son swallow his pride if it could unite their house!

As for his life, the old patriarch wasn’t too concerned. He wouldn’t let his son be attacked. But how could House Suishen fall into internal strife when House Qitian and Yumo hadn’t even done anything yet?

The old patriarch gave him a hard slap on the back.

Eminent Ranxing tightly clenched his teeth. At that moment, even he had to bow to reality, utter humiliation filling him as he kowtowed to Suishen Xiyue in submission!

Ten loud kowtows resounded. Anyone who witnessed this scene would have been shocked beyond belief. After all, Eminent Ranxing was the head of one of the Three Exalted Houses and represented the dignity of a clan that had existed for tens of millions of years.

After the ten kowtows were finished, the old patriarch quickly said, ”Girl, my son was seduced by a witch. Now that he knows his mistake and has changed, I hope you can forgive him this once for the sake of your children and the house. I can assure you that, from now on, he’ll treat you well and spend his life making up for it!”

Suishen Xiyue’s only response was to laugh, shrugging as she said, ”Really? If I killed you once then swore to treat you well, would you believe me? Can hearts remain unbroken?”

At this, Suishen Xiyue coldly looked at Suishen Ranxing and said, ”I, Suishen Xiyue, am an upright person, unlike you, who’s deceitful and vile. I know that even if I fought you to the death today, there’s a ninety percent chance I wouldn’t be able to kill you. At best, we’d both perish, and that would only drag my children into it.”

She glanced toward the depths of Myriadpath Valley. It had been a hundred years since she last returned and she hadn’t even seen her children yet, so how could she decide her life and death here first?

”Suishen Ranxing!” Suishen Xiyue looked at him with utter disgust and said, ”A gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge! Today, I can suppress the urge to perish with you. But I promise you, once our house survives this crisis, I’ll fight you to the death and settle the hatred I’ve carried for a hundred years!”

Finally, she looked at the old patriarch. ”Also, please don’t dream that we can reconcile. Our relationship as husband and wife was over the moment he schemed against me a hundred years ago. Only a life and death grudge exists now.”

The old patriarch deeply sighed with an expression full of helplessness.

”I’m only kneeling to you because I’m bound by the greater good. What could you do to me if House Suishen was safe?” Suishen Ranxing clearly had no real intention of reconciliation. His eyes were filled with anger and murderous intent.

”That’s for the best!” Suishen Xiyue would only have felt disgust if the man had tried to rekindle their old love.

”Sister, let’s go home.” Suishen Cave was also home for Suishen Xiyue. It didn’t belong to the old patriarch’s family alone—her own family was still there. How could she destroy the future of House Suishen, her people, and home in a moment of recklessness? The house would have suffered a devastating blow if it lost the four people on the Myriadpath Celestial Formation.

Finally, the old patriarch could barely breathe a sigh of relief. The overall situation of House Suishen had been stabilized. They even had an advantage now, with five major-zenith foundationeers.

He quickly said, ”Xiyue, Jiguang... don’t announce or display that you two have reached the major zenith just yet. If conflict erupts in Myriadpath Valley, we can use it as a trump card at the critical moment.”

”You’re really good at scheming, you already have plans for us!” Suishen Xiyue sneered.

The old patriarch was embarrassed to the point he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. He still remembered that, after the marriage, Suishen Xiyue had once respected him as her father-in-law, but now times had changed. The younger generation had become the pillars of the family, and he, in his old age, had less and less influence.

Many things were beyond his control, especially the conflicts and hatreds between his children.

His awkwardness didn’t escape Eminent Jiguang’s eyes. As his youngest daughter, she could clearly see her father’s inner struggles. He truly hoped for his children to be united, but from the very beginning, his emotions as a young man—along with some unfair treatment—had set his children on a path of enmity.

There was no turning back now.

Dad, you think the rift between my sister-in-law and second brother is the whole problem. But you don’t know that I also want Hongtian’s head.... Suishen Jiguang couldn’t let go of her own hatred. But she wasn’t in as much of a hurry as her sister-in-law. In their delicate situation, openly trying to kill someone would most likely lead to failure. She had her own way of getting revenge.

So, before leaving, she asked the old patriarch, ”Father, is Eldest Brother in the Suishen Cave?”

”He is. Why do you ask?” the old patriarch inquired.

”He has loose lips. Since we’re hiding our strength, don’t let him find out.” Suishen Jiguang pursed her lips. Her eyes were cold, though she hid it well.

”Yes, I understand!” The old patriarch nodded.

The two women exchanged a glance. They both harbored hatred and discontent. Their opponents were two other peak major-zenith cultivators, and they had no real advantage in a head-on fight.

But they had the advantage of working together, and the targets of their vengeance were at each other’s throats. Therefore, they needed the right opportunity to leverage their combined strength.

”Let’s go home....” Their eyes no longer lingered on the old patriarch or Suishen Ranxing. The two women, one in red and the other in pink, flew back to Myriadpath Valley.

”You animal! Look at the mess you caused!” The old patriarch was furious, glaring at Suishen Ranxing with such intensity that his face turned purple. It wasn’t clear whether he was cursing his son or himself.

After venting his anger, he feared Suishen Xiyue’s fiery temper would cause chaos in Myriadpath Valley, so he quickly followed her.

Suishen Ranxing was left alone and his eyes burned with deep rage, like a star on fire. Kneeling, kowtowing.... He had never imagined such humiliation would happen to him, and right in front of Suishen Xiyue to boot!

Suishen Ranxing had a controlling personality, but he had met Suishen Xiyue, someone who wouldn’t bow to him. The two had clashed for two thousand years, but Suishen Xiyue had still trusted him a hundred years ago. However, he had already changed back then. Everything that had happened today only added fuel to his inner hatred.

He began darkly laughing.

”What a vile woman, to dare climb over me. Suishen Xiyue, Suishen Jiguang, you two are women, only good at seeking pleasure beneath men. Wouldn’t it be better to live honestly as a man’s accessory? Why cause trouble? Do you really think you can achieve something great by recklessly inserting yourselves into the major changes happening in Myriadpath Valley?

”You couldn’t even hide your strength. If I made a move, you two would be the first to die!” His gaze locked on to the striking woman in the red dress. She was like a queen of flames, burning fiercely in the starry sky. Her beauty was intense and overwhelming, far different from the demure and obedient Yumo Lianqing.

In the past, he had grown tired of his wife’s oppressive kind of beauty and chosen Yumo Lianqing, who was willing to bow and crawl for him. But now, seeing his former wife suppress him once more, the long-dormant desire for conquest fiercely burned within him.

Even the sweetest woman could grow tiresome, and a hundred years was more than long enough. Now the domineering, fiery woman in front of him exuded an allure fit for the queen of the world. Her long hair reaching her waist, her slender waist, her swaying hips, and her long, shapely legs....

Such a woman looked more like a queen capable of ruling the world.

Suishen Ranxing’s ambition had always been to become the valley lord of Myriadpath Valley and the emperor of the astralscape of order.

”A hundred years ago, you were just at the minor zenith, yet you opposed me at every turn! I merely favored another woman and you had to turn me into the shame of the entire house, humiliating me! And now you’ve returned at the major zenith, still as arrogant and overbearing in front of me as before....

”Good! I never truly conquered you before, but this time I’ll see how long you can hold out before me! In this life, you can only submit to me after having been my woman!” He clenched his fists. He felt that things had become much more interesting.

***

Two Suishen goddesses had returned unharmed to the Suishen Cave. The news had already spread, so all the Suishen clan members were at the entrance waiting for them.

The Three Exalted Houses were the most noble bloodlines of the astralscape. And among them, House Suishen was famed for their beauty. The members of that clan weren’t just incredibly attractive, but also carried a distinct charm and grace.

Among them, Suishen Yao represented the pinnacle of youthful beauty: ethereal, lively, pure, and exuding a fairy-like aura. As for the two goddesses who had returned, one was fiery and passionate like flames, and the other was elegant and serene like the icy moon. Each was a perfect embodiment of beauty in the Million Mundi.

When the two of them passed through the gates of the Suishen Cave, the entire cave shook with thunderous cheers and exclamations. Their ’tragic deaths’ in the Yin-Yang World had been two of the greatest regrets for House Suishen, but now both regrets were being rectified at once.

Naturally, the entire house celebrated; not only for the clan, but also for the goddesses themselves.

It was the scene Suishen Xiyue had truly longed to see. Her scarlet eyes swept over her clan and her homeland, and not even she could stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks.

”Mom! Mom!”

In her daze, two children threw themselves into her arms, their tears soaking her clothes. Suishen Yao, in particular, cried as if the sky had fallen. She was tightly clutching her mother, afraid it was just a dream.

”Yaoyao, Little Zhao....” Suishen Xiyue hugged her children, gently stroking their heads as her tears uncontrollably flowed. Suishen Zhao, especially, had been so small when she’d left. But now he had grown up in the blink of an eye.

No one could imagine the joy of their reunion after such a long separation.

Only Suishen Xiyue knew how many moments of despair and struggle she had endured in her heart. Fortunately, the storm had finally passed.

That scene alone was enough to bring tears to the eyes of House Suishen’s members, making tears fall like rain.

”Welcome back, Eminent Xiyue!”

”Welcome back, Eminent Jiguang!”

”Double the happiness calls for twice the celebration!”

Thousands of clansmen cheered. They didn’t know the full details. If they did, they would have understood the great love and hatred Suishen Xiyue held in her heart.

She had survived a brush with death to reunite with her children. She held them tight, afraid that if she woke up from this dream, her children would vanish.

Suishen Jiguang, who had witnessed everything, knew how Suishen Yao and Suishen Zhao had grown up and the harsh environment Suishen Xiyue had endured over the past century. Her heart was deeply moved. She stood silently beside her sister-in-law with a face wet with tears.

The entire cave was filled with joy and laughter. Suishen Ranxing dared not appear, as he didn’t want to fake a smile.

Once upon a time, Suishen Xiyue had struggled to find a reason to keep living. But now, with her two children who depended on her, her familiar homeland, and her house linked by blood, she had found her place and purpose during the welcoming ceremony. She also knew where her power needed to be used.

Her heart remained unsettled for a long time. It wasn’t until quite some time had passed that she finally let go of her children. But even then, she tightly held their hands, one on each side. She exchanged a glance with her sister-in-law, both women’s eyes filled with determination.

Their clan had its villains and its love-and-hate relationships, but it also had the people they loved and the bloodline they wanted to protect, as well as the glory of their ancestors.

”Let’s go home.” The simple words were more difficult than ascending to the heavens for Suishen Xiyue.