Beastmaster of the Ages

The news spread quickly, otherwise the cultivators at the Windheed Pavilion wouldn’t even know what had happened even after the Divine Sun Palace reached them. Tianming was already communicating with Fengling Suyu as the sun emperor was loading the Divine Sun Palace up with his troops. There were quite a few factions that had to abandon their homes and defensive formations to escape, and Tianming knew that it wouldn’t be easy for them. However, no sect would be able to withstand the might of the Divine Sun Palace and the troops within. It was practically made to breach defensive formations so that they wouldn’t have to suffer casualties for that.

Most of the third- and fourth-rate sects had already abandoned their homes to preserve their main riches and combat power. Tianming had thought that it would also be something the Windheed Pavilion could accept. But after Fengling Suyu crushed the Yin Chen in her hand, Tianming tried reaching out to her again to no avail.

Fengling Suyu stood calmly before the crowd and quickly organized the evacuation and defense efforts. Those that wanted to leave were helped in doing so. They were going to scatter in multiple directions, but in an orderly fashion. Those that remained could either fight on the battlefield or hold formation spirit threads. They knew that their enemy was powerful, but a large portion of the sect members chose to die defending their homes. They knew it was a hopeless effort that would lead to their deaths, yet they did it anyway. Nobody, not even Tianming could convince them to change their minds. Perhaps Fengling Suyu was right. As long as they remained, they would be able to buy time for the other seven second-rate factions on the Xuanyu Continent to retreat.

Many younger cultivators brought their family members and lifebound friends out of the Chaos Windstorm Formation, heading south on their lifebound beasts. To prevent being wiped out in one fell swoop, they decided to spread out as best as they could, but given the sheer number of people, they were still rather densely packed. Most of the people that stayed behind were the elderly, who couldn’t quite run fast enough and had lived long enough lives. They loved the city far too much and decided to stay back, leaving the future to the younger generation.

Part of that was by Fengling Suyu’s design. She had stipulated that those under five hundred years old had to leave no matter what, while those above could choose to stay if they wanted. With disaster almost at their door, they had no time for soppy farewells. They let their tears trail behind them as they headed south, not daring to look back in fear of seeing the flames that came from the north swallow up the place they had called home for centuries.

Given the speed of the Divine Sun Palace, it probably wouldn’t take more than half an hour for it to reach the Windheed Pavilion. If it weren’t for the delay caused by loading the sixty million troops into the Divine Sun Palace, they might not even have had a chance to flee. To take over a territory, it was crucial to crush the defensive formation around it, which served as the foundation of a sect or faction. All eight of the second-rate factions on the Xuanyu Continent had deployed their formations, manned by the few that chose to remain.

”With the Divine Sun Palace and sixty million troops, the second-rate factions no longer stand a chance to resist, huh....”

”Thankfully, the other seven factions of the continent didn’t have as many people staying behind as the Windheed Pavilion did.”

While this day wouldn’t be marked by endless bloodshed and countless casualties, it was one where countless people had lost their homes and legacies. There were many kinds of cultivation resources that couldn’t quite be taken away with them, after all, such as the divine ores and herbs in the vicinity. Without those, divine artifacts and pills couldn’t be made.

”Even the combined Myriad Solar Sects would find it hard to face off against the Divine Sun Palace and all those troops on the battlefield. The only thing we can count on are the defensive formations. It seems that only the grade-eight formations of first-rate factions stand a chance, so all of the second-rate factions have to flee instead. That’s the only way for us to survive,” the Northdipper Swordsage said. Without the Divine Sun Palace, the sixty million troops wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

”But what about Fengling Suyu and the rest?!” Long Wanying said, her eyes bloodshot.

”Let’s respect her choice. The Windheed Pavilion’s legacy is too important to be destroyed without at least putting up a fight,” the Saintdragon Emperor lamented.

A veil of doom loomed over them. The celestial orderians had completely dropped all semblance of any pretenses and revealed their true colors. They threatened to devour all that was good in the Myriad Solar Sects. Countless totems gathered together to form flaming seas. The Divine Sun Palace’s troops were only the vanguard, and there were another three hundred million troops marching south and burning everything in their path.

The gigantic golden head finally descended from the flaming clouds above, its sinister expression, flaming eyes, and messy, dragon-shaped hair striking fear and terror into the hearts of its enemies. The Divine Sun Palace was like the alpha lion of a pack, while the Windheed Pavilion was more like a cage for the birds within that couldn’t run even if they wanted to. There were five million cultivators remaining there, a million of whom were elites while the rest were normal gods.

Most of them were more than five hundred years old. The beastmasters flying around with their mounts mostly had white hair and frail bodies. While they probably used to have incredibly powerful cultivations, their astralforce had started fading away long ago due to their age. When their level receded to the point of their birth, they would depart from this world; that was the truth of cultivation. Power couldn’t just surge to the peak in a single moment, nor would it instantly dissipate into nothing. Dying from old age was an incredibly long process, much like growing up. All who remained were willing to die with their sect. Though they were old, they were still filled with fighting spirit. The elderly apathy that used to color their eyes had been replaced by courage before death.

”We were going to die today either way. At least the young ones managed to leave with hope for our future.”

”We’re already old and far from as lively as we were before. Dying is only a matter of time, so why not use our deaths to give our children a chance? We’ll serve as an example. Even if they run today, they can fight another day like we are doing now! Let’s show these totemancer dogs what we’re made of!”

”We’ve cared for this place for so long, so how can we just let them take it from us? We won’t go down without a fight!”

The approach of the golden head caused the pressure on them to mount. The territory of the sect was currently experiencing a windstorm, which would help fire spread even faster. The blazing flames of the Divine Sun Palace were already licking against their defensive formation, the light of which colored the faces of the defenders red. Many would never forget how the descent of the golden head from the flaming clouds felt like the arrival of a flaming god of death.

Fengling Suyu stood at the very front, facing the furious flames. Her hair and robes fluttered in the wind and beside her were five top-tier rainwood phoenixes, unique beasts that were the signature of the Fengling Clan. They had dual attributes of wood and water, making their beastmasters capable pill gurus as well. The Windheed Pavilion had planted a lot of divine herbs in their territory to facilitate that discipline as well.

The phoenixes took flight alongside countless other beasts, yet they seemed incomparably insignificant before the Divine Sun Palace. By sheer volume alone, the palace seemed to take up half the space of the defensive formation! Yet it could move, unlike a defensive formation. Divine astralships were basically moving fortresses, and with sovereigns controlling them, there was no recourse against them.

The gigantic head suddenly descended and flared up even more. The nova sources in its eyes immediately set the entire sect on fire. It seemed like it was breathing, and every breath it took shook the hearts of the defenders.

”Fengling Suyu, you’re still here, huh?” said a booming voice as the mouth of the Divine Sun Palace opened. The sun emperor stood on its tongue, drawing the attention of all.

”I stayed here to tell you that nothing but death and destruction awaits you if you take another step forward. We have millions of years of legacies, and we’ll use them to bury you if we’re forced to endure your tyrannical onslaught!” She spoke her words firmly and clearly, channeling the spirit and legacy of her sect well. Since ancient times, no force had been able to force them to submit.

”You misunderstand me. Only enemies think of me as tyrannical, but my people think of me as a never-before-seen genius and a wise ruler. The history books of the future will write of how I brought about a new golden age.”