Beastmaster of the Ages

After ascending into the sky, Mo Shen turned back and said, ”Yanri Huang, I’ll give the eight hundred million hostages to Long Xing and swear a heavenly oath with him that the Starfall Pantheon will no longer persecute him and the slave race for the next hundred years to get our young back. Since you like to scheme and plot so much, do it on your own. I won’t be part of it!” He immediately attempted to fly away.

”Wait a second!” Yanri Huang said, his expression changing. If it really turned out that way, their plan to corner Long Xing and Tianming would be completely ruined. They would be the sole beneficiaries of how things turned out. If Starmoon Haven couldn’t get their own affairs in order, why would those from Wargod and Wondersky Havens bother helping? He grit his teeth and admitted it. ”It was my fault this time around! I’ll get Fentian He to stop.”

”You’re admitting it so easily?” Mo Shen’s expression was still cold.

”I made a mistake. I’m admitting it!”

”Sounds like you’re someone who can effortlessly shift in and out of being a crook.” The Starfall Pantheon would actually benefit if Yanri Huang admitted his fault. Mo Shen naturally didn’t want to end his persecution of Tianming and Long Xing. The humiliation from the incident at the divine tomb still loomed over them. If Fentian He could stop and return everything to how it used to be, the fault would also take the Sundown Pantheon down a peg. They would have a harder time moving forward with the transgression hovering over them. ”Get him to stop right now.”

”Alright.” Yanri Shuang reached out to Fentian He with his transmission stone. Initially, he was reluctant to stop, but upon hearing that the Starfall Pantheon was going to make a heavenly oath, he could no longer do anything about it. If the Starfall Pantheon quit working with them, they couldn’t be sure that they would be able to deal with Tianming and Long Xing.

”I’ll send those slaves back to Wondersky Haven,” Fentian He said, crestfallen.

”There’s no need. Bring them to Starmoon Haven and put them in our custody,” Mo Shen said.

”Alright!” Fentian He said.

”Treating us like fools, eh? Hehehe....” Mo Shen still sounded cold. Even though not much seemed to have changed, a rift had formed between the two pantheons.

Fentian He did as he was told while Mo Shen waited at Yanri Mound. After around two hours, a flash of starlight illuminated the area near Yanri Mound.

”Long Xing?” Mo Shen and Yanri Huang exchanged glances.

”You should stay here. Let me check on it,” Yanri Huang said as he flew out of the golden palace.

The moment he did, a gigantic face of black and gold appeared, formed from nova source storms created by a cosmic god. The face looked at Yanri Huang and said, ”Yanri Huang, I plan to offer the Sundown Pantheon a deal!”

”What deal?” Yanri Huang looked at him oddly. It wasn’t Long Xing’s actual body, just a projection to send his message.

”Fentian He brought seven hundred million of my kin to the Middlekin Star Ruin, right?” Long Xing asked.

Yanri Huang bubbled with rage. The fact that Long Xing knew about it proved that his daughter had completely fallen. Naturally, Long Xing was aware that that would be revealed, but there was no preventing it. Yanri Shuang was of too little use to them now, and whether or not she was exposed wasn’t of much consequence. In fact, not controlling her anymore could free up two of Bai Ye’s infant souls.

”So what if that’s the case?” Yanri Huang angrily glared at the black and gold face.

”Let’s make a deal!”

”What kind of deal?”

”Give us the 1.5 billion kin you hold hostage in exchange for the hundred Starfall Pantheon geniuses.”

”Weren’t you against that deal last time?”

”I have some conditions this time around!” As the face spoke, the nova source around it rumbled.

”Alright, let’s hear it!”

”The deal must be guaranteed by a heavenly oath. The extra condition to be included in this oath shall stipulate that you won’t touch any of our people in the Midsky Tristars. I’ve already written up the detailed agreement for you to discuss with the Starfall Pantheon.” As Long Xing spoke, a thousand golden words appeared in the sky, detailing the conditions of their transaction. As heavenly retribution would be involved, the wording had been selected with extreme caution so as not to give the cosmic gods of the Midsky Tristars any loopholes to exploit.

After Yanri Huang read it, he pondered in silence for a moment, then said, ”Wait here while I talk it out with them.” He returned to the golden hall.

”He doesn’t know that we’ve already resolved our issues,” Mo Shen said, having heard the conversation.

”That’s right. What do you think?” Yanri Huang said.

”We’ll take the trade! After it’s done, there’ll be nothing holding us back,” Mo Shen said, his voice deep and gaze cold.

”But a hundred years is too long!” Yanri Huang said.

”That’s something we can negotiate,” Mo Shen said after some consideration. ”Try your best to pull it down to ten years. If we take too long, things might irreversibly change.”

Yanri Huang gave it some serious thought. ”Alright, fine! Let’s try negotiating. Since your side’s weakness is in their hands, you shouldn’t show yourselves. Let us handle the details of the heavenly oath.”

”What advantage do you think they’ll get from these 1.5 billion? They don’t have a world with a nova source. Can they really sustain all those people with divine astralships alone?” Mo Shen simply didn’t understand. The details of the agreement stipulated that the 1.5 billion people were to be sent somewhere in outer space instead of being allowed to scatter across Starmoon Haven.

”All those slaves will be nothing but burdens to him. He probably doesn’t have a choice and is only seeking to keep them safe. Divine astralships might be cramped for so many, but at the very least, they’ll get to live with dignity. At least that’s what I’m thinking is going through his head,” Yanri Huang said.

”The timing is key.” Mo Shen looked outside. ”The fact that he’s doing this means that he’s really confident in Li Tianming. All we can do is shorten the ceasefire as much as possible to a point he can accept.”

”What’s next?”

”Let’s see if the wonderians have any success with the thing they’re doing at Saturatia-49. Even though we can’t threaten them with slaves while the heavenly oath is active, there are many other methods we can use to capture those two flies.”

”Alright!” Yanri Huang went to negotiate the heavenly oath as their representative. Three days later, the heavenly oath’s stipulations were finalized. They would be exchanging 1.5 billion people for a hundred and the ceasefire would hold for twenty years. During that time, they wouldn’t be able to threaten Long Xing and Tianming with the lives of the flameyellow descendants. The price for twenty years of peace was the biggest trump card in Tianming’s hands—their young geniuses. Soon, the oath would be made and the seeds of heavenly punishment would take effect!

”Phew!” Tianming took a deep breath as he waited for the other side to carry out the heavenly oath.