Beastmaster of the Ages

“What kind of trick are you playing here?” Tianming calmly asked. It was clear that Sixth’s vita was far more mature than both the caeli and terra, and would definitely be much harder to deal with. It would be a herculean task to shatter its beliefs.

“It’s no trick. You’re too strong, I only want to survive.” The countless mouths said in unison. The fact that it praised Tianming’s strength was rare. The caeli and terra had both thought that he was trash before they’d fused with him.

“Survive?” Tianming shook his head. “You exaggerate. No one wants you dead. Your two brothers, after accompanying me to the Upper Star Ruin, have changed their views. They now believe more in the future, where we share a common path. Right now, you’re the only one left behind. If you returned, we’d have a better chance of standing atop the universe together. I respect you all and you respect me. Wouldn’t that be the best?”

“It would. But that’s your dream, not ours. The moment the symbiotic cultivation system was born, the Primordial Chaos Beasts had already died.” The many mouths said with eerie calm.

“Died? What makes you say that? They’re living quite well. You don’t have the right to impose your belief on them,” Tianming seriously replied.

“I’m not imposing anything—you just don’t understand.” The countless faces’ expressions suddenly fell. “Lately, I’ve been hearing the call of my bloodline.... The cycle of the old world has reached its end. The universe is riddled with disease, while parasites dine on its vitality. We, the inheritors of the eternal mission, walk the path of the never-ending cycles, devouring the pathogens so the universe may be reborn. But you...!”

The faces coldly glared at Tianming, their expressions boiling with rage and hatred.

“You stole the antibodies and altered the mission, thus becoming the most terrifying parasite in the universe! Though you’re small, you’re still a cancer. When the Primordial Chaos Beasts changed from the blade of purification to the poison of the universe, even if they obtained a stronger future, they had already died.”

Tianming was confused, thrown off by so many strange terms. But he could still grasp the gist of things. The Primordial Chaos Beasts were originally created to purify, while all the myriad astral races were parasites, draining nova source and even stealing the rules of the Sea of Order.... Then Li Muyang stole their eggs, forcibly turning them into lifebound beasts and robbing them of their mission.

“Born for duty, die for duty. You’re a parasite, how could you ever resonate with us?” Countless sorrowful eyes stared at Tianming. “Each being on you was once my sibling, two of them were even my triplets. But they died by your hand, and I was powerless to stop it. I’ll never agree if you try to take me, too. I’d rather die beneath the heavens than forsake my mission. I’d rather die at your hands than live as a puppet!”

After hearing that, Tianming was really starting to understand that this wasn’t going to be easy. Unlike Bai Ye and Bai Ling, this one had no desire for power. It even understood that the symbiotic system could make it stronger.... But it hated that power. So, the previous enticements Tianming had used would be completely useless this time.

“Little Li, stop wasting time. What’s it even rambling about? It’s just trying to sound deep,”

Bai Ling chuckled.

“That guy only knows how to act superior! When it was stronger than us, it acted high and mighty. Now that it’s just average, it wants to act like a saint,” Bai Ye sneered.

“As long as we pin it down, once it enters symbiotic cultivation, it’ll submit whether it wants to or not,” Bai Ling snorted.

“Oh, really?” The countless heads of Sixth’s vita bitterly smiled and shook in unison. “I’ll commit suicide in repentance first.”

“So you’re saying this boundless universe is actually a divine body where every nova source is a middlekin astron within it? That the Sea of Order is its brain and laws? And every so often it needs a nirvanic rebirth by cleansing the parasites on its body?” Tianming suddenly asked. After all, a cosmic god was already a micro-universe. Based on that, his question made sense.

“Yes,” Sixth’s vita replied.

According to that logic, the end of cultivation was to evolve from cosmic god into a true boundless universe that included Lower Star Ruins, the Upper Star Ruin, and more.

“If that’s the case, then we haven’t done anything wrong,” Tianming suddenly remarked.

“A thief dares to plead not guilty?” Sixth’s vita sneered.

“From mortals to gods, then astral gods, and finally to cosmic gods, the path of cultivation reveals that the end goal is to become a vast universe. Thus, this universe must’ve once been a person who walked that path to the end. He rose somewhere and somewhen, and wasn’t born a universe himself. If he dies from sickness, then that’s just the end of his lifespan. And when he dies, someone else will take his place, becoming the new universe. You say I’m a cancer in his body, but in my world I’m the true new life!” Tianming said.

“Heh... heh heh....” Sixth’s vita let out a cold laugh as billions of mouths laughed in unison. “As expected, even the most despicable thief or parasite will always justify their actions. You kill someone, then say they provoked you. You kill a universe and call it rebirth. But does that change the fact that you’re still a thief? A murderer?”

“Then what about you? You gathered all these people and forced them into a giant ball to hold your will together. Did you ever ask their opinion? The law of the jungle is eternal, and all living things struggle to survive. Who gets to choose? You and I are no saints. Since we have the chance to live, who isn’t going to fight for a good life?” Tianming shot back.

“Is that so?” Sixth’s vita quietly sighed. “Then allow me to set them free.”

As it spoke, the enormous sphere instantly dispersed. One by one, the orderlies and wonderians began waking up and gently floated to the ground.

At the center of the now-vanished orb stood a white cloud shaped like Li Tianming. It calmly looked at the white-haired youth across from it. “The world shall be reborn. No one can stop it. You’ll lose badly, thief.”

As it spoke, a deep vortex appeared behind it, which it entered!

“I’ll leave this to you!” Tianming shouted. He couldn’t let Sixth’s vita get away!

“Huh?” Zi Zhen and Moran looked at the sea of awakened orderlies and wonderians in front of them.

“There’s no time!” Tianming instantly charged into the vortex after his errant lifebound beast!

“Where does that lead?” Moran asked.

“It must lead inside the Sea of Order where the undying aeternal race resides,” Zi Zhen bit her lip. “Sixth’s vita keeps trying to act holy, but in the end, isn’t it just crawling away for backup?”

The two of them suddenly felt enormous pressure as countless orderlies and wonderians stared them down.