Beastmaster of the Ages

”The Yin-Yang World is too strange this time. First the Mistrunner, likely a remnant of the Yin-Yang World, appeared. Now, even something that resembles an astralship’s appeared! It’s at least as large as the Grand Myriadpath Ruins!” Reverend Qiyao’s bewitching red eyes were filled with unease.

”It really is as big as the Grand Myriadpath Ruins. If it’s an astralship, wouldn’t it be fortuna class?” Reverend Xiaogui said, trembling with excitement. He could already imagine the glory they would receive if his group managed to find a fortuna-class astralship for Myriadpath Valley. Their names would surely go down in history!

”Quick, get closer and find an entrance!” Yumo Fuyun said, suppressing the excitement in his heart and speaking with calm restraint.

The most important thing about an astralship was its divine astralship formation, not its body. It was basically just a building without the formation, incapable of traveling through the stars, let alone serving as a weapon.

As long as the astralship formation could be activated, they could be sure it was an astralship. Determining its level, however, would be difficult, as size alone wasn’t a reliable indicator. But this thing had appeared in the Yin-Yang World, a place shrouded in legends of being a fallen fortuna-class world like Myriadpath Valley and their imaginations couldn’t help but run wild.

Yumo Fuyun remained relatively composed, but other maniverse disciples might have already lost control.

”Yes!” The other members of House Yumo followed his orders without hesitation.

”Spread out, but keep a safe distance. Don’t rush and stay alert for any enemies!” Yumo Fuyun instructed. This could very well be the enemy’s lair and recklessness would be a death sentence. Still, he was willing to take a gamble that there were no enemies present. If he was right, he could secure some extra treasures and perhaps even gain control of an astralship.

They soon discovered that it was a smooth black-and-white spherical object with no visible patterns. If there was an entrance, they should be able to find it by circling around it.

”Found it!” Reverend Xiaogui shouted from his position after about half an hour of searching.

Everyone gathered at the spot, where they saw a circular opening at the intersection of the black and white colors. The entrance wasn’t large, but it was the only one on the metal planet.

”Yumo Xiaogui, your eyesight’s really something,” Reverend Qiyao said, arriving alongside Yumo Fuyun.

”It’s Major Pathkeeper Fuyun’s luck rubbing off on me!” Reverend Xiaogui excitedly laughed.

Yumo Fuyun gazed into the deep, dark entrance ahead and said, ”Let’s go in together!”

They couldn’t move the metal planet, nor could they contact their elders using transmission stones. Yumo Fuyun knew that if they found some kind of treasure inside, seizing it for his house would give them an advantage in negotiations with the other two exalted houses.

”Go!” The ten reverends entered the spherical planet together. It was pitch-black inside with only one visible path. The walls to the left and right were white, while the top and bottom were black. The yin-yang essence storm filled the corridor, which stretched deep into the unknown.

Yumo Fuyun took a few steps before turning back and saying, ”Yumo Xiaogui, you and the rest stand guard at the entrance. Reverend Qiyao and I will explore further. No matter who comes, as long as their strength is below yours, stop them. If they’re stronger, even if they’re from the Three Exalted Houses, tell them that a dozen of our House Yumo’s eminents, including Eminent Diyan, have already gone in. No one else is allowed to enter!”

Reverend Xiaogui was shocked by his boldness and asked, ”What if someone like Eminent Ranxing shows up? Can we still bluff?”

”People at that level won’t be fooled and they’ll barge in anyway. Just delay them as much as you can, unless they’re House Yumo’s eminents,” Yumo Fuyun coldly replied.

”Understood!” Reverend Xiaogui felt somewhat bitter. He had been the first to spot this thing, yet now Yumo Fuyun had left him to guard the entrance. If there truly were treasures inside, he would get nothing.

What frustrated him even more was that Reverend Qiyao wasn’t much stronger than he was, but Yumo Fuyun had taken her along because she was a woman. The preferential treatment had left him deeply dissatisfied.

But he suppressed his irritation and forced a smile. ”Major Pathkeeper, explore to your heart’s content. We’ll handle the outside! We’ll do our best to stop anyone from entering.”

”Good.” Yumo Fuyun nodded, then exchanged a glance with Reverend Qiyao and the two of them descended deeper into the tunnel.

Once they were out of sight, Reverend Xiaogui and the remaining seven exchanged uneasy glances.

”Do we really need so many gatekeepers?”

”We discovered this together, and we’re all elders. That kid doesn’t respect us.”

”It’s frustrating! What secrets does this thing hold?”

Reverend Xiaogui was the most aggrieved. Glancing at the passage, he muttered, ”This place is strange. Who knows if entering will bring fortune or disaster? I’m honestly worried about those two.”

”Are you really worried?” the other elders asked, giving him knowing looks.

Reverend Xiaogui awkwardly coughed and replied, ”Of course! I hope our house can rise again after this and regain our peak status in Myriadpath Valley!”

”Let’s hope so.”

As they continued guarding the entrance, they all anxiously fidgeted.

After about fifteen minutes, a blue-robed elder appeared. He immediately spotted the group of guards.

”Reverend Lantian?” one of the House Yumo members recognized him.

”What’s his identity?” Reverend Xiaogui asked.

”A sixth-level foundationeer reverend from a sacred house.”

Seeing the crowd at the entrance, the blue-robed man gave a sheepish smile and said, ”I thought I’d discovered a great secret, but it seems that the lords from House Yumo have already beaten me to it.”

”Get lost,” Reverend Xiaogui barked.

”Uh....” The blue-robed man had been about to ask if he could join in the exploration, but he held back the words.

”Then I’ll take my leave!”

As the blue-robed man turned to leave, Reverend Xiaogui suddenly stood up and commanded, ”Kill him!”

”Why?” one of the others exclaimed in surprise.

”The fewer people who know about this until we discover more, the better,” Reverend Xiaogui firmly said.

The Yin-Yang World was vast, and although the metal planet was large, it might not be noticed by many. Now that someone of relatively low status had found it, Reverend Xiaogui wasn’t about to let him return to Myriadpath Valley and spread rumors.