Beastmaster of the Ages

The valley lord clearly noted the change in the specters’ mindsets.

”Father’s right! This is a glorious thing for all of the Three Exalted Houses. As for the other houses and cultivators of Myriadpath Valley, we can forget about them. They should be grateful that we share as many resources as the Myriadpath Sacred Codex stipulates in the first place,” Qitian Muyu said.

”That’s right.”

”This way, the Three Exalted Houses will have an even firmer hand over Myriadpath Valley.”

”In the future, there’ll be even more disciples from the Three Exalted Houses in the Maniverse and Fortuna Rankings....”

All of them had their eyes glued to the black-and-white flower; it was the key to kicking everything off.

***

Tianming’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets when Yin Chen brought up the flower. ”Wait, isn’t the statue the formation core? Why would there be another one?”

”How would... I know?” Yin Chen said.

”Gaaaaaah! I quit!” Tianming had been waiting for the monochrome figurine to activate for so long, only for things to turn out this way.

”What to... do now?” Yin Chen asked.

Tianming gave it some thought and sighed. ”What can I even do? I’m only a hundred years old. Killing Suishen Yue was the greatest thing I could possibly have achieved. Those eleven cultivators are all in the top twenty in the entire Myriadpath Valley! Any one of them can easily squash me. How would I even fight them?”

The youngest minor-zenith foundationeer in Myriadpath Valley was around two thousand years old and right beside him. Compared to her and the others, he was just a little baby at the age of a hundred. Putting that aside, even Yin Chen didn’t dare to approach the tensource beast lest it be discovered by the valley lord.

Tianming could do naught but sigh in resignation, ”Fine.... Staying alive’s the most important thing. At least I have that planet order to help me with gaining insight. No matter what they take away today, I just have to take it back later.”

He would be a fool to risk everything despite the difference in power they had, so he endured it.

***

Within the dark hall in the spheroid, the silver-haired valley lord stood before the flower that gently danced and smiled at the senior madame. While they were ostensibly from the same generation, the valley lord seemed much younger. ”Little Meng, what’re you waiting for? Go ahead.”

”What do you mean, Valley Lord?” the old crone asked.

”This formation core is clearly composed of two separate streams, one black and one white. Since House Yumo has merit in finding the astralship, naturally you deserve to control one of these streams. Black or white, what’s your choice?” the valley lord asked.

While the specters would have gained both, had the valley lord not shown up, it was still nice of him to offer them a choice. They had numbers on their side, after all. Was that why the valley lord was being amicable and respectful?

The senior madame didn’t hesitate and said, ”We’re from House Yumo, so the black flower’s the natural choice.”

The divine celestial patterns that made up the part of the flower with black petals were dark and insidious, which suited House Yumo. The white petals, on the other hand, seemed bright and righteous, which suited House Qitian.

The senior madame had planned to let Yumo Diyan control the entire ship, but the appearance of the valley lord had ruined her plans. Given that it was obvious that the valley lord wanted to control one of those two streams, it wouldn’t be appropriate to have a junior like Yumo Diyan control the other.

The valley lord had offered it to the senior madame, after all. Qitian Muyu also didn’t get to take control of the formation core. At the end of the day, the senior madame was the better candidate to be the co-captain of the ship with the valley lord.

Thus, the two of them took their positions on their respective half of the flower, while Qitian Muyu and the specters waited behind them.

”It truly is a legacy of beauty,” the valley lord said, looking closely at the intricate divine celestial patterns.

”That’s right! Valley Lord, go ahead!” the senior madame said.

”There’s no rush,” the valley lord said, then suddenly smiled at the senior madame. ”Little Meng, how would you describe our relationship?”

”Valley Lord, the two of us have protected Myriadpath Valley and the Million Mundi for thousands of years. We’re naturally very good friends,” the senior madame said, puzzled at why she was asked that.

”Very good friends? Nay, we might even be called brother and sister! During the chaos caused by House Qingchuan, you were the first to entrust me with your support!” the valley lord generously said.

The senior madame smiled. ”That’s all in the past. Time’s proven my choice the correct one. Valley Lord, you’ve led Myriadpath Valley to a new age of prosperity.” If it wasn’t for his supremacy, there was no way House Yumo would be able to destroy worlds to refine starblood without obstruction.

”Hahahaha....” The valley lord’s laughter continued for quite a while before he stopped and sighed, ”That old patriarch of House Suishen, on the other hand, not only didn’t help us during the revolt, but even seemed to want us to tire ourselves out fighting each other.”

Hearing the valley lord seemingly guiding the conversation in a certain direction, the senior madame’s eyes brightened. ”That’s right. His behavior’s been truly disappointing. Not to mention, despite the lessons we’ve all learned, he still took an outsider genius into Myriadpath Valley’s protection and nurture, one that you, Valley Lord, have been cautious of!

”They even offered up their daughter to that child! Are they trying to repeat the mistakes that resulted in House Qingchuan’s revolt? It’s almost as if they forgot you’re around, Valley Lord—apologies! Saying that was far too disrespectful, even for me!” the senior madame hurriedly apologized.

The valley lord gave her a deep look and sighed. ”You aren’t wrong. That youth is a potential threat indeed. Fortunately, he’s still young and not far into the Foundation stage, so there’s still time for us to deal with him. But based on that alone, we can clearly see that House Suishen’s trying to undermine the shared interest of the Three Exalted Houses to further their own. Resorting to little tricks like these will one day come to cost them!”

The senior madame gawked at the flower with much longing, fully knowing what the valley lord was hinting at. ”Everything in Myriadpath Valley, down to the allocation of resources, has been set by our forebears in the Myriadpath Sacred Codex. It’s a decree that we hesitate to break, for history has proven that having a council of three factions is the most stable form of rulership for Myriadpath Valley!”

The difference between the bloodlines of the Million Mundi and that of the Three Exalted Houses actually wasn’t that stark. In fact, the forebears of the Three Exalted Houses didn’t completely isolate themselves from those of the Million Mundi, nor did they rule over them by force.

Instead, they made Myriadpath Valley the sacred hub of cultivation, drawing in talented geniuses from the Million Mundi and making them members of Myriadpath Valley! Simply being a part of the valley gave them status and superiority over those who weren’t.