Beastmaster of the Ages

As soon as Suishen Hongtian arrived, House Qitian understood that they no longer had anything to fear.

”Stall for time. After Suishen Hongtian’s people gain the upper hand and seize his brother’s line by their throats, what do we have to fear from House Suishen?” Qitian Baba chuckled to himself.

Since Suishen Jiguang already knew the truth, it would have come out sooner or later. Today’s Ancestral Worship Ceremony was risky, but gaining Suishen Hongtian and the descendants of his brother’s line would let the major-zenith cultivators and the silver-haired valley lord remain cool in the face of the anger of Houses Yumo and Suishen, as well as some regular Myriadpath Valley cultivators.

”Suishen Hongtian, why are you standing there?” The old patriarch glanced at his eldest son, who was standing shoulder to shoulder with House Qitian, and immediately felt a surge of unease. It was one thing for his daughter to keep House Qitian’s secret from him, but seeing his eldest son now backing them up just before the storm struck made the old patriarch nervous.

Before Suishen Hongtian could respond, the silver-haired valley lord faced the fury of the entire valley and the incredulous stares of countless House Qitian eminents and reverends. He stepped forward and sneered, ”Yes! I haven’t acquired the Yin-Yang World legacy, and I’m indeed injured!”

The revelation stunned the entire crowd. Even House Qitian stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief. No one had believed it when others said it, but hearing it straight from the valley lord’s mouth left no room for doubt.

What puzzled everyone, however, was the audacity to speak with such arrogance in the face of a situation like this.

The valley lord’s gaze swept across the crowd as he continued in a resounding voice, ”But the Yin-Yang World cannot escape. Sooner or later, everything there will belong to our Myriadpath Valley! When that day comes, House Qitian will share all fortunes with the entire valley. As for myself, I’ll soon remove the sequela left by the control core and return to full power!”

The statement was clearly meant to reassure the two million Myriadpath Valley cultivators, as he hadn’t mentioned House Yumo or House Suishen at all.

Then he directed an infuriated gaze at House Yumo. “But House Yumo, on the other hand, is the scourge of the astralscape! Their Hellfiend and Yumo Blood Crucible harvests the flesh and blood of innocents to refine starblood! Such vile fiends don’t qualify to exist in Myriadpath Valley, and definitely don’t deserve to stand as one of the Three Exalted Houses leading the people! Thus, I executed the senior madame for the sake of righteousness. House Qitian has no regrets!”

The valley lord made his stance clear. Since it had been exposed, they would continue to trample on House Yumo, while drawing the continued support of the Myriadpath Valley cultivators.

He glanced at Suishen Hongtian, his meaning as clear. By aligning with House Qitian, Suishen Hongtian had indicated that not everyone in House Suishen stood united.

Understanding the unspoken message, Suishen Hongtian quickly addressed the old patriarch, ”Dad! House Yumo’s an unforgivable blight upon our astralscape. It’s time we stand on the side of justice, join forces with House Qitian, and cleanse Myriadpath Valley of the Yumos’ sins. Isn’t that the lifelong wish of every ancestor in our House Suishen?”

He directly borrowed Suishen Jiguang’s lines.

Previously, she could never get along with House Yumo due to the starblood issue. However, her lack of strength meant she could do little to sway the balance of power among the Three Exalted Houses even with supporters.

Now, House Qitian, skilled in the ways of deflection, had shifted the blame onto House Yumo, directly targeting them in their desperation.

And as for House Suishen, House Qitian and Suishen Hongtian only had to await good news to bring them to their knees.

”I finally made the right choice!” Suishen Hongtian congratulated himself. If House Qitian was a crumbling house, he would be the pillar holding it up. However, after he and House Qitian had finished speaking, only cold stares filled the eyes of everyone present, including the tens of thousands of reverends and saints of Myriadpath Valley.

Yumo Diyan, the leader of House Yumo, stepped forward, his black-and-white eyes fiercely blazing. ”I’ll say this only once!”

His gaze swept the crowd, finally landing on Eminent Ranxing. ”Over the past decade, House Qitian has bullied everyone, proclaiming themselves the sole imperial clan. They openly violated the Myriadpath Sacred Code and ancestral teachings, betraying the ideals of Myriadpath Valley. Everyone witnessed it with their own eyes, yet the Qitians continue their deceit, never once reflecting on their wrongdoings!”

That was directed at the Myriadpath Valley cultivators. The next part was for Suishen Ranxing!

”Every day that follows will be when the valley lord is at his weakest. This chance will never come again!”

When he’s ill, go for the kill! Otherwise, once House Qitian rose again, enmity would surely erupt and the other two houses would suffer even more. Moreover, most of House Qitian had already left Qitian Cave and had no formations to protect them. If they missed the opportunity today, when would they ever get a chance to kill the valley lord?

House Yumo didn’t even wait for Suishen Ranxing to respond. They knew that if House Yumo took action, House Suishen would fear that, should House Yumo be eliminated, their own house would be in dire straits.

”House Yumo, heed my orders!” Two mid-maniverse-class artifacts, Skyhook and Worldweeper, appeared in Yumo Diyan’s hands. They were the same artifacts that had once broken into the Blissful Union. And now, they pointed at House Qitian.

”Today, we avenge the senior madame, we avenge the twenty eminents who can never return home! Blood for blood! Let this day be a requiem for our lost ones! The valley lord must not be forgiven for causing Myriadpath Valley’s order to collapse and shattering a thousand years of peace. KILL!”

House Yumo had endured far too much. Over the past decade, they had been ridiculed without the opportunity to exact vengeance. And after House Qitian exposed the starblood issue, their once-noble house became like vermin in Myriadpath Valley.

And at that moment, they could no longer tolerate it upon realizing their enemy was a paper tiger.

”Kill! Kill!” House Yumo had nearly come out in full force. Their eminents and reverends underwent their skyghoul transformations and all kinds of hellish demons erupted in murderous fury before the altar. The scene bore a striking resemblance to when the valley lord had ritually killed his wife and attacked House Qingchuan.

House Yumo’s murderous intent and demonic aura coalesced into a dark cloud of enormous skulls that loomed over House Qitian.

The overwhelming ferocity shocked many in House Qitian. They had never personally experienced House Yumo’s agony, but were suddenly faced with this unleashed, relentless wrath.

The advantage of specters was readily apparent. As they were each a single unit, their blitz was exceedingly swift and they were like countless swords piercing straight toward House Qitian.

The battle had begun!