Beastmaster of the Ages

The Middlekin Star Ruin was no longer at the center of the conflict, so Tianming would have to use the shortest amount of time to get a firm grip over Starmoon Haven. Bai Ye would definitely have quite a bit of trouble locating Long Xing, the cosmic god, so it would still be up to Yin Chen.

There were far too many Yin Chens at the moment, a practically boundless number of them. Even though the gravity of fortuna-class worlds was rather heavy, its new bodies were able to withstand it rather well. It would be able to duplicate itself using the ore veins in Starmoon Haven until it had enough numbers to cast a wide net.

However, Yin Chen’s movements this time around had an additional purpose. Tianming had Bai Ye’s soul seeds scattered on its bodies. The soul seeds were like dandelion fluff that could float and scatter in the wind. They didn’t have good maneuverability on their own, but Yin Chen could take care of that and deliver them straight to the flameyellow descendants!

”Look at you, being the perfect mount for me!” Bai Ye excitedly said as the soul seeds began spreading.

”Who are... you calling... your mount?!” Yin Chen grumbled.

”Of course... it’s you... little Fifth,” Bai Ye mimicked before mockingly laughing.

”Ha ha... I am... carrying a... bunch of... shit with... me as... I roam... the land!” Yin Chen snapped back.

As the bugs continued flowing out of the Ninesun, Yin Chen and Bai Ye bickered nonstop. Tianming automatically filtered them out and achieved inner peace.

The scattering would give Tianming quite a wide view of Starmoon Haven. Yin Chen would focus on spotting their enemies, while Bai Ye would help connect with their allies and accelerate Tianming’s rise to the top in Starmoon Haven using his path of sovereignhood.

”Yanri Shuang, come here,” Tianming said to the blonde, baby-faced astral giant.

”Okay....” She came over and sat down before him, hugging her legs.

”You know something about the divine tomb, right?”

Bai Ye had mentioned it to her already and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to shirk the conversation. ”The divine tomb is the final resting place for cosmic gods of the Starfall Pantheon. Naturally, they’re are cosmic gods that die once they reach the very limit of their lifetimes instead of those that perished in battle. The latter will never have intact corpses.”

Not even cosmic gods were immortal and there was a limit to how long they could live. Eternal life was the toughest obstacle to overcome in the universe, and it wasn’t known whether anyone could ever achieve it. At the very least, Wu You, an Archaionfiend, was more than a million years old. And Feiling should be much older, being the ruler of Perpetia. Perhaps she was the one who had a grasp on the path to eternal life.

”Keep going,” Tianming said.

”Most of the time, juniors would never be allowed to disturb the cosmic gods’ eternal rest. Instead, there’s an event called the Starmoon Sacred Battle for members of the Starfall Pantheon under three hundred years of age. That’s a chance for them to obtain the ancestral heart key, which allows them to enter the divine tomb. There’s also other rewards associated with the event,” Yanri Shuang said.

”I see. So, the divine tomb is a place where rewards are given out, not where the competition takes place. The ancestral heart key is among the rewards given out then,” Tianming said. ”How many types of rewards are there?”

”Three. The first is being allowed to gain insight from cosmic god caeli, some of which have galaxy-class orders. Only those with specific ancestral heart keys may access them. The second is browsing the battle techniques left behind by our forebears. Usually, they’re inscribed on the tombstones of our ancestors. The ones that are imperial class are limited to the ancestral heart keys of the top ten.” Yanri Shuang didn’t quite understand why Tianming wanted to learn about a strict place like that.

”Galaxy-class orders and imperial-class battle techniques....” Tianming looked at his black arm and cleared his throat. The sky plunderer in him was tempted by the opportunity. Even though he’d often had chances to steal secrets like those, he was always excited to do so when he could. With Yin Chen and Bai Ye, he would be a nightmarish sky plunderer that could come and go at will.

”The third reward is the cosmic tribulation seas, the most precious of the three. It’s said that each ancestral heart key has a corresponding cosmic tribulation sea. In essence, who gets to absorb which cosmic tribulation sea is decided during the event,” Yanri Shuang said, though she didn’t show much enthusiasm since she was a beastmaster who had no use for it.

”What’re cosmic tribulation seas?” Tianming asked.

”Basically, they’re bane-rings of fallen cosmic gods. No matter how many rings they had, they fuse to form the most permanent part of cosmic god corpses. Simulacra tides arise in cosmic tribulation seas from time to time thanks to the totem ki that’s left behind in the bodies of the cosmic gods. As for their effects, I’m sure you already know. There’s a good chance that the tides can increase the simulacra of young totemancers. It’s most effective when used before the age of three hundred!”

”In other words, cosmic tribulation seas are one of the most important cultivation resources that the Starfall Pantheon has, right?”

”Yes! Unlike our cosmic crest beasts, which take quite a bit of effort to power up, increasing totem simulacra is rather convenient! However, there aren’t that many comic-gods corpses around, and most of them are not supposed to be disturbed anyway. Coupled with the limited frequency of simulacra tides, which only form after many years and disappear when absorbed, this resource is rather limited. Only the kids in the top hundred will have the opportunity.”

Tianming felt like it was similar to accessing the Myriadpath Sourcespring, but way more potent. The ancestors, even in death, were able to increase the simulacra of their descendants.

So does the lack of cosmic tribulation seas on the Source Progenitor and the monochrome giant mean that they weren’t totemancers? That was his best guess, but he had no confirmation. Bane-rings could still be destroyed after the fact. The corpse would produce springwater, while bane-rings gave rise to cosmic tribulation seas.

”The Starmoon Sacred Battle for juniors under three hundred is already over, and the ancestral heart keys have been distributed. They’ll be claiming their rewards soon, but why’d you ask about it? Are you going to rob them of it?” Yanri Shuang asked.

”Yeah,” Tianming said, matter-of-factly nodding.

Stunned, she shook her head. ”Don’t even dream of it. It’s impossible.”

”Why?”

”First, the divine tomb’s location is a heavily guarded secret. Apart from their cosmic gods, nobody knows where it is. Juniors are blindfolded before being brought there and don’t know where it is. Second, I heard there’s a nine-layered fortuna-class formation sealing it off. Without permission, it’d take a maniverse-class ship an entire month of bombarding it to open it up. But even fifteen minutes would be enough for their cosmic guards to come to their defense. And third....”