Beastmaster of the Ages

In other words, if Tianming had only fused with Xian Xian, his body would be a little similar to Jian Qinghe’s. However, she was even more perfectly fused with her lifebound beast, being part plant beast herself.

”Our myriadpath source spirits exist symbiotically with us. Compared to those of House Qitian, we have much more vigorous and enhanced life force, with much finer control over it. As such, we also live longer than normal cultivators. At the Foundation stage, most cultivators’ lifespans reach their end around the six thousandth year without using any life-extension techniques. However, those of House Qingchuan can live to ten thousand. We only reach our prime at around five thousand years old,” Jian Qinghe said.

Tianming now believed it even more. House Qitian and House Qingchuan used to be the same kind of beastmaster, but one of them used plants as beasts while the other used animals with myriadpath properties. One focused on combat, while the other focused on nourishing and enhancement. ”Are the Qitians stronger when they fight alongside you?”

”Yes, we help each other to some extent. That’s why House Qitian’s relied on us to reach supremacy and rule Myriadpath Valley the longest.”

”So how could you end up like this? Why’d House Qingchuan get wiped out?” It would be one thing if they fell from an exalted house to an august one, but they were completely gone!

”It’s because House Qitian discovered that letting their myriadpath source beasts consume our myriadpath source spirits also extends their lifespan and talent. It also makes them stronger. Just like that, we lost any value we originally had. Naturally, when my grandfather took over as the valley lord, he also threatened the interests of the Three Exalted Houses. Initially, House Qitian didn’t dare to treat us so brazenly, but when grandfather fell from grace, everyone in House Qingchuan—including me—was turned into fodder for their myriadpath source beasts.”

”That would be the cleaner grandpa at the Grand Myriadpath Ruins, right?”

”Yes.”

”What’s his story?”

”It’s nothing complicated. A genius youth from House Qingchuan rose to sudden prominence and reached the major zenith. But back then, even with a ninesource spirit, his combat capability wasn’t much to speak of among foundationeers. He wasn’t even a match for most geniuses on the same level from the Three Exalted Houses. But unlike the others, he had a longer lifespan, giving him more time for his talent to blossom.

”Eventually, he reached the super zenith and his ninesource spirit became a tensource spirit. Overnight, he became invincible in Myriadpath Valley, far exceeding the expectations of the Three Exalted Houses. Just like that, an outsider became the valley lord in Myriadpath Valley, supported by many other great houses.” One could only imagine the kind of shock that the previous valley lord’s triumph had elicited.

”What happened then?”

”He ruled as the valley lord for three millennia. During his reign, he began instilling new rules and ideologies into Myriadpath Valley. The era of peace and order we had was nothing like what we have now. The biggest difference was that House Yumo was forbidden from refining starblood. Some of House Qitian’s atrocities were also limited. Eventually, more and more friction built up between him and the Three Exalted Houses. They were content to let him rule while he was still strong, but once he grew old, everything changed.”

The previous valley lord had only had himself to count on. While there were many in Myriadpath Valley that supported him, the true elites still remained with the Three Exalted Houses, which still posed a significant threat no matter how powerful the valley lord was. The valley lord could defend himself, but could he take care of every single person in House Qingchuan?

While the super zenith was only one step removed from the major zenith, it was still within the Foundation stage. In his youth, he was unmatched and could force his way through obstacles, but as he aged, he had no worthy successor to take over and the conflicts caught up to him.

”He’s an idealist and wanted to make the world even more fair, yet he didn’t know that it would offend all the people whose interests were threatened. Nobody dared utter a word while he was in his prime, but when the cracks began to show, far too many people were all too happy to widen them. Some august houses even thought that the fair distribution of cultivation resources came at the cost of their interests. Not to mention, my grandfather forbade anyone from plundering the outer mundi for resources. He had wanted to build true strength and prosperity, yet those under him wanted to be nothing more than bandits that took everything with force,” Jian Qinghe melancholically said.

In the present day, much of the riches of Myriadpath Valley came not just from the Myriadpath Sourcespring, but also as a consequence of rampaging through many other mundi. Those riches included the countless mundus-level geniuses that came to die on the Skyward Grandpath.

”Alright!” Tianming really hadn’t thought that the cleaner grandpa had such a complicated backstory. To sum it up, he had tried to change Myriadpath Valley... but failed. The Three Exalted Houses snatched back the reins and returned everything to how it once was. As time passed, everything about the previous valley lord had been scrubbed clean and forgotten, on top of the many gag orders on topics relating to him.

Tianming recalled the relationship between Qitian Muchen and the old cleaner and asked, ”Why does Qitian Muchen call him ’grandfather’? What about your mother?”

Jian Qinghe didn’t speak for yet another long while. It was clear how painful it was for her to recount everything. Laying shriveled on the ground with tears covering her face, she told the little insects, ”Grandfather actually had a really good relationship with House Qitian in his prime. House Yumo and House Suishen stubbornly grumbled, only to be taught lessons again and again. However, House Qitian always stood by our side.

”The current valley lord was an especially staunch and loyal defender of my grandfather. He wasn’t someone from House Qitian’s core bloodline. Instead, my grandfather nurtured him by taking him in as a disciple, kickstarting his rise. The valley lord then married my mother and gradually rose to a leadership position in House Qitian.”

”What happened then?”

”When my grandfather aged, that very disciple was the one that led the Three Exalted Houses in rebellion against him. That man is my so-called father. As for my mother, he sacrificed her before the eyes of the Three Exalted Houses by getting his myriadpath source beast to eat her before advancing on House Qingchuan with his troops. My grandfather had weakened to the major-zenith level by then at the age of eight thousand. In the end, he lost. That was when endless tribulations befell our house.”