Beastmaster of the Ages

Tens of thousands of layers of formations supported an incredibly vast sword-shaped mountain, countless times larger than the previous Infinitum Stele.

Its full glory was shrouded in gold-and-black mist, like a divine dragon whose head could be seen but not its tail. The gold-and-black mist was actually flameyellow void essence. It wasn’t as thick, which made it easier to absorb and have less lethality.

However, according to Gu Susu, the mountain also contained many natural dangers and traps. The risks here were greater than in the muddy outer areas.

The Grand-Orient Sword in his hand rattled even more strongly. But many of the formations on the mountain had a sealing effect, creating a distance between the sword and the mountain.

“I wonder what needs to be done to absorb the mountain back into the Grand-Orient Sword? Don’t tell me I have to break all these formations?” Tianming speculated.

“Little Feng, what are you thinking? If you want to back out now, there’s still time. This place really isn’t suitable for a quasi cosmic god,” Gu Susu said one last time.

“I’ve already made up my mind.” Tianming nodded.

“Alright then... let’s go to the entrance.”

The so-called entrance was at the hilt of the mountain. There was an entrance through the formations there, and it looked like there were quite a few people gathered.

From this position, they could no longer make out the full form of the mountain.

“At the entrance, it’s like a small-scale maniverse assembly. Many people trade there after acquiring treasures from the mountain. But it’s more dangerous than an actual maniverse assembly, because there are still people from the Primordial Sands here. They could rob you at any time,” Gu Susu explained.

“They’re that brazen?” Tianming asked.

“It’s mainly because they have considerable power. The Eightpart Pantheons haven’t been able to conquer the Primordial Sands after all these years, which says a lot. Those of us entering the Ancient Flameyellow Ruins are only geniuses from ten maniverse-class worlds. No peak bloodlines from imperial-class worlds are here. So we’re roughly evenly matched. They’ve also sent in tens of thousands of cosmic gods here too,” Gu Susu said.

And among the ten maniverse-class worlds, Tianming had witnessed their tens of thousands of geniuses under 500 years old who had achieved cosmic godhood back when the heavenly punishment protection seed descended!

There were many genius cosmic gods! Tianming didn’t yet count as one of them.

“Sister Susu, do you have information on the cosmic gods from the Eightpart Pantheons? I don’t know many people here, and I’m afraid I’ll accidentally offend someone,” Tianming asked.

This big sister was a good person. Tianming planned to dig out all the information he could from her.

“It just so happens I do.” Gu Susu smiled gently, then took out a golden scroll from her spatial ring. She placed it in Tianming’s hands, reminding him, “Before the Ancient Flameyellow Ruins opened, the Eightpart Pantheons from these ten maniverse-class worlds held a competition for their geniuses and created the Ten Desolate Cosmic Genii Ranking. The scroll lists the rankings and detailed introductions of each person. If you take some time to study it, you’ll recognize these terrifying genius-level cosmic gods.

“This ranking holds significant weight. Anyone near the top of the list is a monster just below the peak geniuses of imperial-class worlds. Most of them have cultivated in imperial-class worlds and have such backgrounds. For such people, even failing to flatter them properly is considered a crime... so be extra cautious,” Gu Susu advised carefully.

“I understand.” Tianming admitted that there was still a gap in strength.

He unfurled the golden scroll for a glance and found the Eightpart Pantheons were fairly balanced. Among the top ten, the three main divine races had slightly more members. But in the top twenty or one hundred, the other five pantheons also had a strong showing.

Many of the names were easy to remember. Tianming kept a mental note of them.

He then put the scroll away for now and headed toward the entrance with Gu Susu while holding the key in his hand.

Ahead, many cosmic gods were active. Some were so tall that Tianming had to look up at them. These dazzling humanoid stars radiated such terrifying pressure that even Tianming struggled to breathe when near.

So for now, he kept a low profile!

Just then, Gu Susu suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her expression turned slightly pained, and a trace of sorrow flashed through her eyes.

Tianming followed her gaze to a group of cosmic gods emerging from the mountain’s entrance. They were all young and pure humans, but were neither beastmasters nor totemancers. They all shared black-red hair, cold and gloomy divine bodies, and sinister faces.

“The Sin Pantheon?” This was one of the five pantheons and the collection of the strongest primalwingers in the universe.

Primalwingers reminded Tianming of Feiling. But clearly, the Sin Pantheon followed a completely different path from hers.

“It’s said that primalwings manifest in the Ancestral World, so primalwingers are considered to originate from there and migrated to the Realm of Order.”

It was Tianming’s first time seeing the Sin Pantheon, and without combat, he couldn’t yet determine their distinct traits. But one thing was clear: they were definitely no weaker than the Virtue, Starfall, or Sundown Pantheons.

Gu Susu’s eyes, however, were fixed on a pale young man among the group. He was surrounded by others, laughing and chatting. Those cosmic gods addressed him as ‘Young Master Can Nian.’

Next to the young master was a female cosmic god holding his arm. She was delicate and lovely, and possessed flawless features and a bright demeanor.

Her eyes glowed faintly, and an astonishing power gathered at her back. No doubt, those were her primalwings.

Seeing these two, Gu Susu immediately turned her back and stood behind Tianming without a word, her eyes filled with deep sorrow.

Tianming didn’t need to ask to know that this was the man who had abandoned her.

He was surprised that the man belonged to the Sin Pantheon. That confirmed their love had no future. And the young female cosmic god beside Young Master Can Nian had an even more exalted bloodline than him.

“She’s from a royal lineage of the Sin Pantheon. She’s also on the Ten Desolate Cosmic Genii Ranking. For him to latch onto a family like that... well, it’s a good thing for him.” Only after they walked away did Gu Susu softly say this.

It was her way of consoling herself.

Yet, after this incident, Tianming made a new decision in his heart. He said to Gu Susu, “Sister Susu, let’s split up here. I want to go in alone.”