Beastmaster of the Ages

The aftermath of those complications were horrifying, so Tianming chose not to do so and left it as a final resort while he pondered more preferable alternatives. ”The Flameyellow used to see Grand Xia as allies. Even after being betrayed, they weren’t killed off completely. If I did something to wipe them out indiscriminately like that, I might be going against the wishes of the Flameyellow ancestors...”

Tianming didn’t really understand how deep the ties between these factions were, but that didn’t mean he gave up on the gambit completely. ”If Ling’er is in danger, I will not hesitate to use it no matter the cost.”

Grand Xia Voidback was a fallen world. Perhaps they had already paid the price for their betrayal. It was too bad that their descendant, Empress Xia, still seemed intent on repeating that mistake. ”I wonder how sad Old Man Voidback would be if he saw all this...”

The reason Tianming didn’t destroy the place outright was partly due to Old Man Voidback, who had given him a legacy as well. How could he be willing to see Tianming wipe out all his descendants? That reminded Tianming of the grand lexicon wonder.

”He said that the divine wonder is the culmination of the efforts of countless generations of Grand Xia imperials, making it the strongest ever made. The wonderians also want it for themselves. I’m only ten thousand words short of a hundred thousand, which would propel it to become an imperial-class wonder...” Still, Tianming found it rather weird as the grand lexicon wonder didn’t seem that powerful when he used it with omnisentient power. Why did Old Man Voidback make such a big deal out of it?

”Is it because my lifebound beasts and totems are too powerful and outshine it?” In terms of totems, Tianming had upgraded them significantly after absorbing the cosmic tribulation seas of the cosmic-god corpses from five maniverse-class worlds. The simulacra of the decapath era godswords continued to improve. Comparatively, the grand lexicon wonder didn’t seem that impressive.

”The words of Grand Xia shall shine forevermore... These hundred thousand words record everything about this people...” He manifested the ninety thousand Xia words he had in front of Grand Xia Voidback, arranging them into a grand picture. ”The Grand Xia imperials have deep foundations and ambitions. There must have been a reason for the flameyellow divinities to look after them...”

How did a people like that fall to the point of having to submit to the Eightpart Pantheons? Where were their spines and spirits? The grandness that emanated from every single Xia word seemed like a historical poem that showed Tianming glimpses of their ancestors’ glory, and the contrast with their current descendants made him feel really bad for Old Man Voidback.

”Senior, I’m really sorry that your descendants have already lost faith. They no longer carry themselves like the rightful creator of divine wonders. Before a powerful enemy, they shrivel up weakly as if their spines have snapped. I’m tempted to wipe them all out.”

As he observed the fallen world, he suddenly realized why the Flameyellow had prized Grand Xia so much. ”The flameyellow divinities are able to cultivate totems and beasts, making them natural rulers of the universe, while Grand Xia comprises normal humans without any special talents. Yet, from their wisdom and sheer effort, they created divine wonders, a whole new type of cultivation, and passed down their legacies generation after generation through wonder embryos, giving the races without special talents an alternate way to compete. That must be why the Flameyellow respected them!”

Grand Xia truly was an amazing people deserving of respect, struggling against the hand they were dealt. Divine wonders were formations engraved in the body, the culmination of pure effort without regard to any prenatal talents! ”Yet, the wonderians stole divine wonders and are now representatives of this style of cultivation, while Grand Xia’s descendants have forgotten the glory of their ancestors and kneel to their robbers...”

How tragic would Old Man Voidback feel at the sight of all this? The more Tianming understood the ties of the Flameyellow and Grand Xia in the past, the more bleak he felt about the battle that took place all those years ago. His feelings seemed to cause the Xia words before him to shudder. As if they were alive, each word turned to look at its home as if they were the souls of their ancestors, shuddering like they were crying. Grand Xia was about to be wiped out, and all those words felt the chill that had formed across tens of millions of years. The disaster all those years ago had ruined two mighty peoples and fattened up the Eightpart Pantheons. There was no way they would have risen to prominence without those two being out of the picture first.

Tianming sighed deeply, but then he noticed that all Xia words within him had awoken. A full hundred thousand of them arranged themselves before him, resembling ancestors with their backs turned to him, tearing up as they watched their fallen homeland. However, there was nothing they could do about it. While the imperial-class divine wonder was a boost to Tianming’s strength, it was nothing before the might of a billion troops.

”Destroying Grand Xia might be the only way... I’m sorry.” Right as he said that, something changed! The Xia words shot towards Grand Xia Voidback and fused with the astralguard and fusion formations! The ancestors of the fallen empire had returned, but they were also linked to Tianming!

”What’s going on?” He felt as if he had fused with the Grand Xia Guard Formation as well as the nova source coming from the astral hole. He seemed to be able to control all that power with his divine wonder. ”Old Man Voidback, are you saying that this divine wonder is the true key to Grand Xia?”

Apparently, this was it! He closed his eyes and felt the power of the divine wonder. The astralguard formation seemed even more complete than before now that it was under his control. He was able to make countless word-shaped flames manifest everywhere. The collapsed Grand Xia Fusion Formation, on the other hand, seemed to be mended by countless divine celestial patterns! Tianming didn’t need to do anything aside from willing it. The ones that were saving Grand Xia were the ancestors who had been long gone.