Beastmaster of the Ages

Qitian Xiao yelled a low war cry, making the blood of the thousand scouts boil. The Myriadpath Celestial Formation had to be reactivated, so everyone was wary of the potential disruption that the Grand Myriadpath Ruins could cause. That was why Qitian Xiao and four other elites escorted the thousand scouts to the formation.

The five of them didn’t dare to leave Myriadpath Valley, as they weren’t sure where the Grand Myriadpath Ruins was. It would take at least a month to travel round-trip from the Myriadpath Celestial Formation, so If Tianming noticed them leaving, it would be a disaster.

They couldn’t afford to leave Myriadpath Valley undefended without even a single major-zenith foundationeer around. If the Grand Myriadpath Ruins came back to Myriadpath Valley, it could easily bombard the caves of the Three Exalted Houses and take them over.

Even if Qitian Muyue wasn’t included, considering that she was tasked with watching the Qingchuan prisoners, the Three Exalted Houses couldn’t afford to send one or two major-zenith foundationeers and leave the others behind. After all, the Three Exalted Houses weren’t a single entity, but three.

Yumo Diyan was the only major-zenith foundationeer from House Yumo that could threaten the Grand Myriadpath Ruins. If House Qitian and House Suishen’s leaders went to Skydome, he’d be worried that they would monopolize the copper coffin and leave House Yumo out, so he would definitely go if they went.

But if he left, it would take at least a month just to make the trip, which would mean leaving House Yumo defenseless against major-zenith threats. House Yumo had already suffered a huge loss at the hands of House Qitian, so they were definitely wary of them.

That was the greatest weakness of the Three Exalted Houses. Not even Suishen Ranxing’s bridge-building attempts could wipe it all away. As such, he decided to send a group of a thousand scouts instead of risking the few major-zenith foundationeers they had to hunt down Tianming’s loved ones.

The plan indeed proved rather troubling for Tianming, as a matter of fact. He had intended Skydome to be the bottleneck for any threats coming from Myriadpath Valley. The wonderians could just bring a few elites to the copper coffin, which would allow Tianming to kill them.

However, a group of a thousand scouts could easily spread out. Once they discovered more information about the Infinitum Mundus, Skydome would be the first to fall. The losses they had suffered at Infinitum were far too great and the Three Exalted Houses had been passively waiting for far too long, so this was the breakthrough point that they had been waiting for so long. It was far too important to mess up.

The Myriadpath Celestial Formation was thus reactivated. Before the scouts left, the old patriarch pulled Suishen Qin close and whispered, ”No matter what House Yumo and House Qitian do, make sure that nobody from House Suishen commits any atrocities in Skydome! Don’t kill anyone!”

”Old Patriarch?” Suishen Qin seemed startled. ”Are... are we ensuring that House Suishen has a path of survival?”

”Very smart.” The old patriarch patted her shoulder. ”Also, don’t tell my son about this.”

”Okay!” Suishen Qin obediently nodded.

”Go, and stay out of trouble, kid,” the old patriarch urged. There was nothing he could do now that the Three Exalted Houses had come out so strongly against Tianming, Jiguang, and Suishen Xiyue. The two Suishen eminents had been kicked out the moment Suishen Ranxing had reforged the Three Exalted Houses’ alliance.

On one side of the old patriarch was his son, and on the other were his daughter and granddaughter. Saying what he had to Suishen Qin was the most he could do.

The Myriadpath Celestial Formation lit up and the thousand scouts vanished into thin air. The rest stayed behind, still looking out for the Grand Myriadpath Ruins. They had to protect the Myriadpath Celestial Formation, await news from the scouts, and prevent Tianming and the rest from slipping away using the Myriadpath Celestial Formation. It was bound to be a rather boring wait.

”Dad,” Suishen Ranxing said as he approached the old patriarch. ”Those women turned their backs on the Suishen bloodline and sold their bodies for wealth and glory. That should be the end of your support of them, right?”

”What do you mean by selling their bodies?” the old patriarch asked, furrowing his brows.

”If my guess is right, Jiguang must’ve done it with that kid,” Suishen Ranxing calmly said.

”Don’t spout nonsense,” the old patriarch spat.

”Remember the rumor of the Mistrunner in the Yin-Yang World who kept getting stronger and killing more and more powerful people until he reached the eminent level? If that Mistrunner had kept improving, it lines up with when Li Tianming killed my nephew. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the Mistrunner. There was no native of the Yin-Yang World to begin with. He’s probably also the one who killed Qitian Muchen’s ninesource beast,” Suishen Ranxing said with certainty.

”How’s that even possible?” The old patriarch felt a wild rush of emotions. He had thought that Jiguang and Suishen Xiyue were the main instigators of the rebellion. But considering the fact that the former valley lord had announced that he would hand over the Grand Myriadpath Ruins to Tianming, rather than Jiguang, and the fact that everyone was waiting for him to return, it seemed clear.

”How’s it impossible? You allowed a top fugitive to return to Myriadpath Valley to absorb our essence and grow into the monster he is today. You were the fool who fed the wolf and created the leader of the pack! Do you see now?”

The old patriarch fell silent.

”He’s related to House Qingchuan and hates source beasts, so he killed Qitian Muchen’s ninesource beast. It isn’t hard to see how he’s developed a grudge against House Qitian. However, there’s something I don’t quite understand,” Suishen Ranxing said.

”Go on,” the old patriarch said.

”Before he made a move against Qitian Muchen, he’d been killing Yumos.”

”That’s true. Did he not kill any Suishens because we protected him? If so, what would his motivation to kill Yumos be?”

”The same as Jiguang’s. He’s a delusional madman who thinks he’s a saint and has something against the refining of starblood.”

”Based on his behavior, that does seem likely to be the case,” the old patriarch said

Suishen Ranxing furrowed his brows even deeper. ”Dad, do you remember House Yumo losing the Hellfiend and twenty eminents in an instant in Infinitum?”

”Of course. Are you telling me that had something to do with him? He doesn’t possess that kind of combat capability. If he did, he wouldn’t have to run away—he could just fight us here. Not to mention, his home is Skydome and his loved ones are in that secret realm there, not Infinitum. The secret realm would explain his talent. There’s nothing linking Infinitum with Skydome, and we still have no idea what happened in Infinitum.

”What we heard about the secret realm came directly from Qitian Muyue’s mouth. It lines up with the deaths of Yumo Dinai and the rest, who perished at nearly the same instant. That sounds exactly like what would happen in a secret realm.

”On the other hand, the eminents that House Yumo lost in Infinitum died one after another. There was a defined order, and Eminent Baigui died last. Some time later, Yumo Xue and the other two juniors died. That pattern of deaths matches the scenario where a single elite fighter killed them all. It’s completely different from what happened in Skydome,” the old patriarch reasoned.