Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming thought about his parents and their pursuers. ”There must be another level above imperial-class worlds. In there, sky plunderers, archaionfiends, the Primordial God-Emperor, and other Primogenitors—including the Primordial God Race—must be related to each other in some way.”

That was his best guess. The Sea of Aeternity was also independent from the Upper Star Ruin. A picture of the complicated and seemingly boundless world slowly formed in Tianming’s mind.

”The question now is how a ruler of the Sea of Aeternity like you would have fallen to this extent,” he said, eyes filled with doubt.

”It’s related to the Order Relic in your body,” Huang Qi said, gazing at him.

”What is it?” Tianming asked.

”It’s the core of the Sea of Aeternity, as well as the core of the laws that the world revolves around. Word is that it had consumed all of the universal essence and was the origin of a new set of universal laws. In fact, you can consider it a crystallization of the universe’s will,” she said.

”Whoa, it’s that amazing?!”

”Of course! If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have ended up like this because of it!” Huang Qi seemed rather melancholic at the thought of times long gone.

”So you attempted to fuse with it only to suffer blowback?”

”That... more or less sums it up. I was far too bold and forcefully attempted to take something I didn’t quite understand, causing me to be weakened and enter a long period of slumber. Then the leader of the other undying aeternals attacked me and sealed me here. At that crucial moment, all I could do was take the Order Relic with me to the Lower Star Ruins and eventually hid inside the Ancestral World to protect it.”

”That doesn’t sound like what you told me back then.”

”Forget what I said before!” She glared at him. ”What’s more important is that a miracle has arisen in your body. You managed to forge your own body into the Order Relic. Many things you don’t expect will happen to you, so look forward to them.”

”So you aren’t able to take it from me anymore?” Tianming probed.

”It’s no longer possible. I’ve already given up. Instead, I want to work with you to reclaim all that belongs to my order apians,” Huang Qi sincerely said.

”Is that so?” Tianming smiled. ”So you’re saying that I’ll be able to enter the Sea of Aeternity with you, thanks to the Order Relic, and push back against the other undying aeternals.”

”Well, that should be the case. You’re essentially the owner of the Sea of Aeternity. In fact, you’re like the owner of the universal will!”

”More specifically, how will I be able to push back against the undying aeternals?”

”Well, it isn’t like I ever managed to fuse with the Order Relic, so I’m not too clear on that either. However, you don’t have to worry about that, as long as I’m there to guard you,” she said with a gentle tone.

”Is that so? So how this will work is that we’ll work together, I avenge you and you’ll help me subdue my lifebound beast and take control of the Sea of Aeternity so we can discover the secrets of the Order Relic. After that, we’ll hold each other’s hands tight and go into a foreign land for our happily-ever-after, is that right?”

”I won’t refuse you if you’re interested in me. Despite the time I’ve been alive, I’ve never been... married,” she said, lowering her head.

”Hahaha!”

”Also, there’s an infinite supply of order and overflow fragments in the Sea of Aeternity, billions of times more than the Sea of Order. Even though they aren’t useful to you, I know that your people are in need of them. You’ll be able to raise an army of trillions to help you conquer the universe in a short time,” she said with a coquettish voice. She sounded much softer in light of the flirtatious dynamic.

”Is that so?” Tianming was truly tempted by that point. ”By the way, how powerful are our foes? Are they cosmic gods who are a thousand meters tall? That’s about how tall you are, right?”

”You sure know how to crack jokes,” she giggled.

”I’m not joking.”

”Huh.... They’re much stronger than people from imperial-class worlds. There’s quite a few cosmic gods who are taller than ten thousand meters. Didn’t I tell you that gourd spirits in the Ancient Oldgod Domain are kept as tiny pets? I was serious about the relative size difference. The Sea of Aeternity is the brain of the universe, so it’s easiest to break through there.”

”Quite a few? And you expect me to go in alone, swords blazing, to a place like that?”

”Of course!” Huang Qi proudly puffed her chest out. ”Don’t worry. I’m only like this because I’m sealed. Once the seal’s undone, and with your Order Relic, taking over the Sea of Aeternity will be a piece of cake.”

”Just like that?” Tianming hadn’t even become a cosmic god yet. ”But there’s still something I don’t get.”

”Ask away.”

”If the undying aeternals are so amazing, why haven’t they shown themselves in the Upper Star Ruin before? Why haven’t they gone to the Ancient Oldgod Domain?”

”Because I took the Order Relic. Since then, as long as they leave the Sea of Order or Sea of Aeternity, their bodies will disintegrate. The Ancient Oldgod Domain is like a port that’s no longer a part of the Sea of Order,” Huang Qi said.

”I see....” To think that there was still such a vast world beyond the Ancient Oldgod Domain!

”That’s why you should understand that the Order Relic in your body is like a weapon to all undying aeternals. Li Tianming, I have no intention of hiding their strength from you. I’m just making a sincere proposition to work with you. There’s no need for you to rush, so you can take your time to consider my offer. If you have the guts, you can always set out with me and we’ll be able to take over the Sea of Aeternity.”

”But you know that I’m still too weak, so I can’t fully trust you.”

”That’s why you can always choose to delay. Come back when you’re confident in being able to defeat me. But with that soulbeast of yours already within the Sea of Aeternity, it might be much harder to defeat when you return. So what is your choice?”

”Can you take me to God Domain Nine?”

”Sure, that’s easy.”

”Alright. I’ll go to the Ancient Oldgod Domain to deal with some other important matters in the Upper Star Ruin. For now, I want to become a cosmic god first. I’ll deal with the Sea of Aeternity later.”

”Aren’t you worried that your soulbeast will get infinitely stronger?”

Tianming thought about Sixth’s vita. There was nothing he could do about failing to reclaim it. It wasn’t just a matter of dominating its body; he had to find a way to make it actually submit to him. The vita had gone completely feral and Tianming knew there was a rift that simply couldn’t be mended between them.

The fact that it could’ve come into the Sea of Aeternity but waited until now to do it means that things aren’t smooth sailing for it, either. It was currently a race for time. Two of Sixth’s souls have already returned. I should go to Ninefold Hellstar and hatch Eighth first. At the thought of that, he said, ”I’ll go back for now.”

”Sure.”

”As for trust between us, that’s something that must be built with time and communication. Give me time to understand you.”

”You might as well just tear off this film and let me out!” She cast a tempting glance at him. ”There’s one more thing in me that you’re free to tear apart as well....”

He didn’t even know how to react to that.