Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming spent a few days picking a good spot. ”The yin-yang essence storm here’s really fierce. If I hadn’t become a second-level foundationeer and grown much stronger than when I first entered as an eleventh-level cosmic cartographer, I probably wouldn’t have been able to survive on the boundary of the Inner Yin.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have ventured so deep. The Lumistar Formation was already fading from view. Once inside the Inner Yin, the Lumistar Formation would no longer be visible and survival depended entirely on personal skill.

No one knew exactly how large the Inner Yin was, and most people in Myriadpath Valley believed that there were still many untapped secrets within.

”Suishen Yue....” Tianming locked on to his location, hiding within the yin-yang essence storm.

Yin Chen reported that Suishen Yue was pacing back and forth, his face twisted with rage and impatience, clearly troubled by something.

”What’s he planning?” Tianming knew that Suishen Yue was feeling rather pent up. ”Judging by his behavior, he’s clearly waiting for something to happen, something that’ll vent all his pent-up frustration and anger.” But what could it be? For now, he couldn’t figure it out, but he had a hunch it wouldn’t be anything good.

”That guy hates me to the core. Well, I don’t see any witnesses here, so if he pushes me too far, he may just become a missing person case,” Tianming coldly chuckled, keeping Suishen Yue under full surveillance, then settled into his cultivation.

It had to be said that Yin Chen’s strategic utility far exceeded its combat effectiveness in any situation. It was Tianming’s greatest asset in navigating the Yin-Yang World.

***

In the depths of the Inner Yin, the yin-yang essence storm was at least ten times more intense than in the Outer Yin. Yin-yang essence formed terrifying cyclones that howled, creating a destructive force strong enough to easily shred deific-class worlds! Only an eminent, with their cosmoforce and mighty astral god physique, could withstand such storms and move through the hellish environment.

It was a world completely consumed by darkness. Even the light of the Lumistar Formation couldn’t penetrate it; all that was visible was the endless black storm.

A tall woman with pink hair and eyes, dressed in platinum armor, advanced with her brow slightly furrowed. Her figure was elegant and her battle armor perfectly accentuated her curves, making her look feminine, yet valiant. Her skin was as fair as snow, glowing with a pinkish hue, and the yin-yang essence storm couldn’t get close to her.

”The storm’s intensifying. The calm season will soon end.” Eminent Jiguang gazed into the seemingly endless darkness, her eyes filled with a hint of frustration. ”Is my search all in vain?”

She felt a sense of reluctance. She had promised Yaoyao she would search for her mother, and didn’t want to let her down. Furthermore, the person she was searching for was someone she deeply respected. ”If she’s still alive and trapped in such a brutal world, how much suffering must she have endured? She must miss the children she left behind so much....”

Thinking of that, Eminent Jiguang made up her mind. ”She disappeared when the calm season was ending. Maybe I’ll still have a chance if I push further.”

Eminent Jiguang was already far, far away from the Lumistar Formation. She could only rely on her instincts to determine her location and direction. She might even have been the first to venture so deep into the Yin-Yang World. Ahead lay unimaginable dangers, and there was even a chance she might never return.

She had hesitated before because she knew that the Suishen siblings, as well as Tianming, still needed her as an elder to protect them. But... the deeper she ventured into the Inner-Yin, the more she seemed to hear a voice constantly calling, ”Jiguang, Jiguang, save me, save me....”

The voice was all too familiar. It was the voice that haunted Suishen Yao’s dreams, the voice of her mother.

In the depths of the Inner Yin, the dark and chaotic baleflames were everywhere. It was as if Eminent Jiguang was bathing in them and her mind was gradually being affected.

”I should still be rational... right?” She looked down at herself, and everything seemed clear, so she was sure she was still lucid. But the voice continued echoing without pause.

”Jiguang, I miss you all.”

”It’s so, so painful here. I’m so lonely.”

The heart-wrenching words brought Eminent Jiguang to tears, overwhelming her with sadness.

”Maybe the place I’ve been searching for is right here.” Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath, making a decision and resolutely continuing forward. The storm grew more violent and darkness loomed, as if she had entered the mouth of an abyss.

She didn’t know how long she had been advancing when a glimmer of light seized her attention. An unpleasant burnt smell wafted through the air. In the Inner Yin, even baleflame would be shredded to pieces and the smell would quickly disperse. It had to be massive if it could be smelled!

”This....” Eminent Jiguang focused her gaze on an enormous, boundless baleflame. It was less of a black-and-white flower and more of a spinning, black-and-white vortex. But it was still baleflame that could alter one’s body and talents. Even ten kegs were enough to bless tens of billions of people in an infinitum-class world, and just how much was in this massive baleflame?

”At least a hundred kegs....” Eminent Jiguang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Tianming hadn’t even gathered that much with Yin Chen’s assistance!

”No one’s ever encountered such a massive baleflame!” Eminent Jiguang’s heart pounded with shock. Knowing how much Tianming needed it, her first instinct was to capture it, but to be honest, both baleflame and springwater required special containers. Though she had enough of them, the largest container—myriadpath kegs—could only hold one keg at a time. Splitting the massive baleflame into a hundred portions would take quite some time.

More crucially, she noticed something strange about the baleflame. It had an eerie aura, and in the center of the vortex, a dense black-and-white fog swirled. It seemed as though there was a passage inside!

”Jiguang, I’m in here. Hurry, come to me....” Suddenly, a familiar, sorrowful, and desperate voice echoed from the center of the vortex. It made her momentarily forget the significance of the hundred kegs of baleflame; rescuing someone was her top priority!

”Wait for me!” she shouted, and, without hesitation, rushed toward the center of the vortex.