Beastmaster of the Ages

Once Moran put on the purple mask, Tianming had her manifest her divine wonders to see if the two from Shiming Shengshi could be recognizable. When she did so, the most recognizable parts of the wonders were shrouded in purple mist, which was enough to make them distinct. Even the three lifetimes celestial cycle wonder turned from a universal disc covered in flower petals into a smoky, purple sphere. Given the myriad forms that divine wonders could take, other wonderians would no longer be able to link the wonders to Shiming Shengshi.

”The seniors will have an even harder time seeing this through their tracing rings,” Tianming said.

”That means it’ll be even easier to keep any word of Tian Jiu’s reincarnation hidden, right?” Moran asked.

”Yes. However, try not to use too many divine wonders at once, or they’ll still be able to tell.”

”Okay. I’ll only use the strongest two.” While that would weaken her somewhat, it wouldn’t be by too much.

”Zi Zhen, these masks of yours are just exactly what we need right now,” Tianming said.

She nodded without explicitly taking credit, though she did seem rather proud to be of help. After testing them out, Tianming was able to leave with the girls without a worry in his mind. However, he realized something different not long after leaving. The number of people near the entrance of Miracle Mountain had always been staggering. Back then, they’d had to hide to sneak in, but it wouldn’t be a problem now, even if they didn’t have their masks. There was nobody there!

”Where’d all the people go?” Yin Chen had spread far and wide and had only managed to spot a handful of people through the mud. Given that, Tianming was even less worried about sending more Yin Chens out. They could turn into invisible cockroaches, and even if they were spotted, their middlekin-astron bodies could easily disperse and reform elsewhere, making them even harder to identify.

Tianming continued up Miracle Mountain as he scattered the metallic insects around.

”Something near the peak must’ve changed.” Tianming felt a slight rumbling at his feet. He could even hear a loud rumble when he placed his ear against the ground. While the Yin Chens that had been left at Miracle Mountain hadn’t undergone the cosmic god transformation, they’d been left in good locations to gather information. Soon, they reported the recent changes that had happened there.

”Wait, you’re saying that the tip of Miracle Mountain turned into a gigantic black-and-gold sword tip? There’s a cave at the center of the tip of the blade too? And there’s even a legend about the mountain being a super cosmic relic that can be claimed if anyone can enter the hole at the center?” Tianming furrowed his brows.

”I didn’t think that the true nature of Miracle Mountain would show itself so soon.” The change would pose quite a bit of trouble for his acquisition of Miracle Mountain. ”The good news is that I never had an idea how I’d claim it in the first place. So the newly opened cave is as good a lead as any.” He looked toward the top of the mountain, but couldn’t see that far.

”Is everyone heading toward the peak? Aren’t they even bothering to search for ninelives fruits in the Ninelives Cave anymore?” Moran asked.

”Seems like it. Most of them have already gone up, leaving only a few people down here. We’re somewhat late to the race,” Tianming said.

”That means they consider Miracle Mountain to be really important,” Zi Zhen said. ”They called it a super cosmic relic, so the seniors are also aware of its importance.”

If that hadn’t been the case, nobody would have bothered racing up the mountain. If the silver keys to access the mountain hadn’t been limited in the first place, even more cosmic gods would make the attempt.

Tianming kept looking up and said, ”Miracle Mountain’s in the lower ruins, while the Ninelives Ancestral Tree that grows within it reaches the upper ruins. That means the tree’s even taller than the mountain....” The tree must be growing out of the mountain as well, then.

”The peak of the mountain is already pretty close to the upper ruins.” Tianming exchanged glances with the other two before continuing their ascent without hesitation. Did Feng turn up because of the sword tip at the top of the mountain? Maybe he recognized it as part of the Grand-Orient Sword and wants to claim it for me. The thought made him feel rather emotional. If that was indeed the case, his chances of finding Feng were even higher. He would achieve two goals in one go.

Then he thought of something else. Does this change have anything to do with the flameyellow voidkin? Mushan Xue and that feral man’s goal seems to be the elimination of the cosmic gods from the Ten Desolate Starforges.... I wonder if this change is supposed to be bait. It did make logical sense. Tianming asked Yin Chen, ”What’d the youths from the Primordial Sands decide to do?”

”They are... regrouping before... ascending up... the mountain.” It was delivering the information Tianming needed much faster than before.

”So the young geniuses of the Eightpart Pantheons have already grouped up and started ascending. They won’t really face any trouble going up and they’ll also be able to instigate conflict between the Ten Desolate Starforges and Primordial Sands. The slightest mistake will cost the Primordial Sands a great deal.”

”Didn’t you say that those from the Primordial Sands were also here to conquer the place to gain a foothold? Maybe they know what they’re getting into,” Moran said.

”Yeah.” According to Yin Chen, Jiang Lincheng and the rest had returned from the Primordial Sands and were grouping up. They seemed resolute enough to fight the Eightpart Pantheons to the death if it meant being able to claim the super cosmic relic and lower ruins. Jiang Lincheng was even together with Lin Chaoge.

”Should we join them?” Zi Zhen asked.

Tianming gave it a thought and said, ”Not for now. We’ll give them a hand if they’re in danger, otherwise it’ll be better to stay hidden where we can work our best.”

”Okay,” said the other two.

Right before they continued, Yin Chen suddenly warned, ”Little beastballs... in danger!”

”What?” Tianming recalled that one of the caverns in Miracle Mountain also had little beastballs that had helped him make some breakthroughs.