Beastmaster of the Ages

”The Sea of Order hides the secrets of the entire Realm of Order. It’s very complicated to explain,” Huang Qi’s ethereal voice echoed. She leaned close to the translucent membrane, her dark blue eyes fixed on Tianming.

”If you don’t know how to explain it, it means you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tianming faced her again. He was no longer the small fry that had once been controlled by her and his attitude was firm.

”Alright then.” Huang Qi let out a soft sigh. ”Today, we’re like fellow exiles who share the same fate. Destiny bound us together—”

”Cut the crap,” Tianming snapped. “You’re wasting time. Are you trying to say you want me to let you out first, and then we’ll talk in detail?” he coldly asked.

Huang Qi gave a slight smile. ”It’s true that talking face to face would be clearer.”

”Dream on.” Tianming pointed to the two giant shadows pressed against the membrane and said, ”Get those things out of my sight, too. I’m not attracted to bees....”

”You misunderstand. We order apian cosmic gods are actually no different from humans. There’s no anatomical issues for lovemaking,” Huang Qi said with a strange tone.

”Enough.” Tianming felt a chill run down his spine from her words.

”I remember your caelum once quite enjoyed it?” Huang Qi mercilessly exposed him.

”That was because I was inexperienced! I hadn’t seen astral giants before, alright?” Tianming awkwardly replied.

”Fine.” Huang Qi gave him a resentful glance. ”Big Brother, won’t you let me out? I’ll service you while telling you the secrets of the Sea of Order. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

”Please, can you stop being such a freak? Say one more thing like that and I’m leaving,” Tianming said, exasperated.

”Wait.” Seeing that her tactic failed, Huang Qi rolled her eyes. Her expression returned to normal and she calmly said, ”Regardless, what I said about destiny forcing us to cooperate was absolutely true.”

”Fine, go ahead, I’m listening.” Tianming folded his arms and stepped back. He was well aware of how terrifying she could be, so he remained on guard, not fooled by her coquettishness and seduction. She had been ruthless back when she’d messed with him!

”I don’t even know where to begin,” Huang Qi shook her head. ”I’ve been sealed for too long. Many of my memories are in a mess and I need time to recall them.”

”Then I’ll ask, and you answer.” Tianming stared at her, observing her expressions to judge whether she was telling the truth.

”Alright,” Huang Qi nodded.

”Are the order apians part of the undying aeternal race?” he asked.

”Hmm... yes, the order apians belong to the undying aeternal race....” Huang Qi scratched her head, sounding a little stilted.

”You, the bee-headed person from earlier, the ones in this hive, and those who just swarmed me are all order apians?” Tianming asked again.

Huang Qi nodded, a little pained. ”Yes, those were all from my race. But now their status in the Sea of Order is surely much lower than before. They might even have been expelled from the Sea of Aeternity....”

”Sea of Aeternity? What’s that?” Tianming frowned.

Huang Qi thought for a moment, then said, ”The Sea of Aeternity... is behind the Sea of Order. It’s much larger. The Sea of Order is where the caeli of the Realm of Order’s beings gain orders, but the Sea of Aeternity beyond it is the central hub of the world’s functioning laws. You could say the Sea of Order is the gateway to the Sea of Aeternity? Or maybe the Sea of Order is like a small brain, and the Sea of Aeternity is the big brain?”

Tianming recalled some strange things Sixth’s vita had said and asked, ”Why do you describe it as a small brain and big brain?”

”Because their external shapes really do look similar. The Sea of Aeternity, especially, has contours that exactly match that of the human brain.... We’re currently in the center of the Sea of Order. If we ascend into the void from here, we can reach the Sea of Aeternity, the true homeland of the order apians. All the undying aeternal races live in the Sea of Aeternity, not in this outer region.” Huang Qi seemed to be regaining her clarity, her speech becoming more coherent.

”So this so-called outer region refers to the place where all beings gain orders....” Tianming had never expected that behind the Sea of Order lay such a mystery. ”The Sea of Aeternity’s shape is like a brain? That actually makes sense, according to Sixth’s vita’s theory. If the Sea of Order was the universe’s brain, it’d be way too small, and the orderlies on top of it wouldn’t be strong enough—”

”Orderlies? You mean those gourd spirits? Those things are just little pets raised at our home’s entrance. They’ve been away from their masters for too long, forgotten them, and even gave themselves the name ‘orderlies’. It’s actually quite hilarious,” Huang Qi giggled.

”Gourd spirits?” Tianming recalled the appearance of the orderlies. The name ”gourd spirits” indeed suited them better. He had always felt they were incomplete as lifeforms, and Huang Qi’s words confirmed it.

At max, they were fifth-level cosmic gods, only five hundred meters tall. They really were like small pets.

Tianming continued his line of questioning. ”So you’re saying the undying aeternal race has many branches?”

”Our order apians once commanded the origin of the grand dao and our likeness became part of the form a caelum’s order took. We ruled the Sea of Aeternity and were the imperial clan of the undying aeternal race. We commanded dozens of branches....” As she spoke, Huang Qi looked somewhat pained.

”Then what’re you?” Tianming looked at her with intense focus.

”Me?” Huang Qi took a deep breath, her eyes filled with reminiscence. ”I was once the sovereign of the Sea of Aeternity, its very master!”

”Oh?” Tianming raised a brow. ”That doesn’t seem to be what you told me before?”

”I was lying back then, but now I’m telling the truth. I’m one of the nine beings in this world that’s been bestowed with ‘aeternity’. I’m Huang Qi, seventh of their number, ruling the Sea of Aeternity,” she gravely said.

”Nine Aetrernal Beings?” Tianming was slightly shocked. He’d had his suspicions, with all the powerful figures that had numbers as part of their name. For example, Qi meant Seven. ”Di Yi (One)? Tian Jiu (Nine)?”

”Indeed,” Huang Qi lightly said.

”Tell me about the nine of them. Their origins, power levels, specific responsibilities, and their relationships to the living things of the world,” Tianming asked. So far, he had seen three! Of them, Moran only counted as a new Tian Jiu and might not necessarily be real.

”Sorry. That secret has nothing to do with your journey to the Sea of Aeternity. I can’t say it. Otherwise, I’ll be breaking a great taboo and die a terrible death,” Huang Qi seriously said.

”Who could kill you? You’ve been sealed this long and you’re still alive,” Tianming sneered.

”But if I speak recklessly, I will die,” Huang Qi said.

Tianming could only assume that whatever could kill her... must be terrifying indeed.