Beastmaster of the Ages

”He’s too far away! Killing me is pointless. He’s on the run and he can’t come back!” Tianming said, gritting his teeth. He finally understood what Yi Daiyan’s confusing words had meant.

”It’s fine. As long as he knows that I killed you, he’ll definitely come back. He thought he understood me, but I want him to know that he was mistaken.” The dark spirit’s ravenous energy kept seeping into Tianming’s astral brain, turning his head completely black. Black mist poured out of his orifices nonstop.

”Ugh....” Tianming felt extreme pain and struggled. The enemy wasn’t holding back at all, having completely broken down. Tianming didn’t know her story, nor of that betrayal, but he knew the pain and sorrow she felt was real. He’d defeated Yi Daiyan, so the dark spirit had to give up on the skin and the colorful tears that ‘he’ had loved so much. After losing that body, it was as if the lie she had told herself had been peeled away. Tianming’s presence was a sign that she no longer had to wait.

”Ugh... I... I....” Tianming struggled as if he was drowning, unable to breathe at all. His vision was filled with nothing but darkness and hatred. In fact, she even seemed like she was suffering more than Tianming himself.

”Mom! Mom....” Tianming struggled and stretched out his arms. Then, he hugged the dark spirit as hard as he could. The moment he touched her, his arms felt like they were being torn apart, causing him to cry out in pain. ”Mom... I’m Tianming... don’t kill me... don’t kill me....”

Tianming struggled like a mad drowning man. In that instant, everything seemed to still. He had been dragged out of the abyss into clear skies. Sweating profusely, he panted heavily, yet the world still seemed completely still.

The dark spirit was still there, staring at him and shaking. Mustering all of her energy, she asked, ”What did you call me?”

”After ten cycles of reincarnation and being lovers for all ten of those lives, even if she was all nine incarnations, you could’ve been one of the ten incarnations. Isn’t it possible that the two of you were of the same body in the beginning? You’re one side, and she’s another. You’re her, and she’s you! There’s only one Cyclic Reflector....” Tianming was merely saying whatever came to mind. For the sake of survival, he would say anything the spirit wanted to hear! He had never been so anxious before.

”Mom! I want to live on and look for her!” Tianming knelt before the dark spirit and looked up at the golden star above. ”Perhaps it’s true that he didn’t fulfill his promise, but I don’t want to be like that! I don’t want to be someone who breaks my promises! I promised that I would live on and find her! Please give me that chance, Mom!”

Tianming kowtowed to her as he inwardly cursed Li Muyang countless times for leaving such a mess behind for him. He also came to understand that the incident concerning the Ancestral Swordheart wasn’t what it seemed. Li Muyang definitely hadn’t told him the truth when he had asked Tianming to go to the Infinitum Mundus.

”Mom! Dad was wrong! When I find him, I’ll definitely beat him up! He’s a shameless, inhuman crook!” Tianming used all the tricks he once deployed against Wei Jing. His mother had been quite the softie and had always ceased being angry every time he acted spoiled. He prayed that it would work!

After kowtowing for a good while, he nervously looked up, only to see the dark spirit calmly staring at him. He was still nervous; even though it no longer seemed like she would kill him, the spirit still seemed really cold. There was a chance that she didn’t buy Tianming’s whole act.

”Shut up,” she said.

”Yes! I’ll shut up! I’ll listen to anything Mom says and not that trash of a father!” Tianming said, repeatedly nodding.

”Don’t shout!”

”Yesyesyes....” He nodded like a chicken pecking at worms. He felt like it was working. The dark spirit’s frozen heart seemed to thaw from what he was doing.

”Do you think that calling me ’Mom’ is enough for me to spare you?” The dark spirit said, coldly looking at him. Tianming audibly swallowed and started growing nervous once more. ”You were right. It does.”

Tianming was stunned. Then the dark spirit stretched out a hand and pulled at his ear. Even more dark energy flooded his astral brain and entered his vita!

”Aaaaagh!” he shrieked as dark mist filled his eyes. He felt that his vita was changing! His rage, bloodlust, and negative desires continually rose as bestial thoughts began forming in his mind! ”Wha... what?”

”I’m giving you half of all evil impulses, desires, and urges,” the dark spirit said.

”W-why?”

The dark spirit gave him a side glance. ”Didn’t you call me ’Mom’? That means you’re my son, not hers! My son should be like me! You should be as murderous and evil as I am!”

Tianming was stupefied. He truly felt that his will was changing due to the foreign power. The dark spirit loosened her hand, causing him to weakly slump to the ground. The dark mist in his eyes had changed his aura, giving him a murderous and savage vibe.

”Mom....” He looked up at the familiar stranger.

The dark spirit looked back at him. ”You’re really sentimental, aren’t you?”

Tianming didn’t dare to respond.

”I don’t trust human nature, so I’ll personally see if you let her down,” she said in a doubtful tone. Tianming was guessing that she should be the dark mirror spirit.

”Just watch!” Tianming was confident in himself. However, he also felt like the dark energy that had entered his astral brain and stained his vita was corroding his confidence. His thoughts had begun changing on a level he couldn’t consciously notice. Some things that he had complete, grounded faith in were gradually being loosened in an undetectable way.

The dark spirit seemed quite satisfied with her work. She gave Tianming a few last looks and looked past him at the Sky Palace Formation. ”Without an actual body, it’s difficult to move around in this world. So, I’ll borrow one of yours for a bit! As for whether I’ll return it in the future, that’s for another time!” After that, she vanished before Tianming’s eyes.

”What?” Tianming turned back and saw her inside the Sky Palace Formation! The dense crowd parted from her sudden appearance. Even Xiaodao and the rest didn’t dare to approach her. Only one person was affixed by the dark spirit’s shadows: Xiaoxiao! Her eyes were wide open and she was unable to even blink!