Beastmaster of the Ages

”Ling’er!” Tianming didn’t care about his injuries and came charging across the battlefield. When he reached her side, all he saw was a tuft of Soulburn flame. ”Ling’er, you....”

He stretched out his hand to touch the golden flame, but even his black left arm could feel the heat and pain. Ling’er no longer had a physical body; he couldn’t see her face or feel her gentleness. His mind was going wild with panic. Then, Mister Taihe’s spatial ring fell to the ground. The two super manna that he had stolen from Tianming were still inside, along with many other items from Myriadpath Valley.

”Big Brother...” Feiling said right as he was losing it. Her voice came from within the flame.

Stunned, he hurriedly asked, ”Ling’er, how are you feeling?”

Her face manifested within the fire. She looked at Tianming with absolute longing. Tianming ignored how hot it was and held her face with both hands. Even a true man like him couldn’t help it when tears began forming in his eyes. He was absolutely wrecked. He would rather have endured the torture of the Bloodweaver than look at the woman he loved suffer. She was the most precious thing to him, yet merely the act of holding the flame gave him the fear of extinguishing it.

”Big Brother, how laughable of me.... I worked so hard, but I wasn’t able to help you at all. You seem to have solved the problem on your own,” Feiling said with a tearful smile. Her pearl-like tears were part of the flame, like her face.

”What nonsense are you talking about? If you hadn’t been there to keep Mister Taihe busy, I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to resist Demoness Yin! If you hadn’t been there, Old Lin, Godfather, my grandparents, and others would’ve probably died at Mister Taihe’s hand! Most importantly, if you hadn’t defeated him, I might not have stood a chance against him in my current state!” Dealing with Demoness Yin had taken everything he had. Without Feiling, who knew if he would be able to deal with an even stronger foe?

”I see.... So I helped after all... that’s great....” She stretched a flaming hand out to wipe Tianming’s tears off. ”Big Brother, men shouldn’t tear up so easily. Don’t get all soppy on me, alright? So many people are looking at you right now and they’ll laugh.”

Tianming felt a blade across his heart. Hastily, he said, ”Forget about that. Tell me how you’re doing and what I can do to get you back to me! Tell me!”

Even as he was dying, he had never felt so distressed. He didn’t panic in the slightest even when the Bloodweaver had him completely bound. But feeling the nirvana flames of Feiling change, he couldn’t bear to imagine her leaving his side right after he survived. He couldn’t bear to suffer the pain of eternal separation.

”I’m fine. It’s not my first time....” Having experienced such a tribulation before, she was much calmer than Tianming. She had grown a lot since her days as a young, innocent girl.

”This is the third Perpetual Nirvana. The last time.” Tianming widened his eyes, recalling the first time at the Divine Moon Realm when she had pulled at him at the cost of her life, and the second time when she finally returned to him from the Kunlan Realm. She was just as close to losing her life during both times. What kind of willpower did it take for her to be able to return to him? This time around, he still needed her reassurance.

”That’s right. It’s the last time.” Her eyes shook with emotion, but she still mustered a smile so that he wouldn’t be so worried during their time apart. ”Big Brother, I might go to a really faraway place called the Upper Star Ruins. There’s a chance I might not be able to return to you here. But if it’s possible... I want to live on and meet you again at the Upper Star Ruins!”

Tianming felt pain across his entire body when he heard her struggle to say those words. ”Upper Star Ruins! Upper Star Ruins! I’ve burned that place’s name in my mind!” Tianming took a deep breath and grit his teeth. ”I swear that I will find you! We will live to reunite! You’ve been with me since you were sixteen, and I’ll never abandon you! I promised that I’d live forever with you and make many babies! I swear that if I can’t find you in this life, I’m no human! I’d rather be dead!”

He said that with all the effort he could muster. Only then would she believe his words and face her third Perpetual Nirvana without fear and with something to look forward to. The thought of Perpetual Nirvana reminded him of the near-death parting they had suffered at the mooncore. It was such a terrifying tribulation that even Xuanyuan Xi, Feiling’s alter ego, had never overcome it even once. The cost of true immortality was steep, as was clear from how Demoness Yin had to not violate her taboo for three millennia just to extend her life.

But Feiling would have to face such terrible circumstances alone with Tianming unable to offer any help at all. The thought that she would be faced with endless solitude throughout each of her torturous tribulations greatly unnerved him. Each time, she would probably hurt far more than the torture he experienced from the Bloodweaver! She would have to undergo that billions of times only to be able to return to his side as a normal person.

It felt like his entire body was being chewed up by bonegnaw ants. He looked at her face in the flame; even though he saw himself as a tough person that never shed tears, seeing her desperately trying to keep a smile on her face caused him to bawl in public.

”I swear! I swear!” All he could do was repeat those words in the hopes that she saw his dedication.

”You fool....” Feiling understood him the best. If he wasn’t truly worried, there was no way he would be tearing up and hurting so much. Those very tears conveyed his intentions far better than words ever could.