Beastmaster of the Ages

"Fortunately, we have two new Foundation-level fighters in our midst. Otherwise, we'd be far worse off." Even if the imminent invasion hadn't yet been proven, Tianming and the rest believed that it was incredibly likely, to the point that they had to take action.

The entire thing had put a damper on the joy they’d felt after they discovered the Thousand Foundation Divine Puppet's capabilities. Tianming felt quite a bit of pressure over his worry for the Sun, so he wouldn't be going soft on Fengqing Youmeng at all.

Xiaodao increased the level of torture of the gourd to hell mode. They could hear the intensifying cries of pain and despair coming from within. She was in a state far worse than death. Death was a relief that was far out of her reach. She had thought that Tianming was a pleasant fellow that could be reasoned with, and wouldn't be harsh against women, but he simply let Wudi deal with her.

Wudi called out to her from outside the gourd, "Lass, think it over. Do you have anything that we'd like to know? If you tell us, we'll let you out. If you don't, well... sucks to be you. You'll have to enjoy the rest of your life in there."

The only thing that answered him was her cries of despair.

"Alright, keep them going."

Xiaodao's gourd proved effective and it didn't take long before Fengqing Youmeng relented. "Let me out! I'll tell you something!"

"Oh?" Their attention was drawn. They didn't think they would actually manage to squeeze more out of her. When she left the gourd, she seemed even paler than before and her appearance was hard on the eyes. Crying, she said, "You have to promise me not to put me back in there if I tell you this."

"Well, it depends on whether what you say is useful to us," Tianming said.

"No. I want you to swear before I say it."

"Nonsense. I could swear and go back on my word. What would it count for? Just in case the matter isn't clear enough, you only get to live if you submit to us, capisce?" Tianming snapped.

Fengqing Youmeng shuddered.

"Out with it. We'll spare you if it's useful information," Xiaodao said.

She grit her teeth and said, "The big boss of the Star Hunters is still on the Sun."

"What?!" They were all stunned.

"Impossible! His cosmic charts were all destroyed—I saw to that myself," Xiaodao said, shaking his head.

"Godshades are really hard to kill, especially high-level ones. Before you found me and Lin Ke, we met him."

"You did?" Tianming and the others exchanged looks.

Have Yin Chen search the Sun again. Maybe he’s hiding from it in the seas and lakes," Wudi said.

"He doesn't have any cosmic charts left, so he's only barely surviving, right?" Tianming asked.

"That's right," Fengqing Youmeng said. She had completely given up.

"Where’d you and Lin Ke see him?"

"Near where you killed Lin Ke."

Tianming told Yin Chen to focus its search there, then turned to the seniors and said, "Yin Chen didn't pay attention to the flow of water, as we didn't expect him to survive. He's also lost his combat prowess, so he couldn't have gone far. We might be able to find him yet."

The seniors nodded and turned to Fengqing Youmeng again. All those cold glares made her quite frightful. "I wasn't lying. Go look for him. When you find him, you'll know that I was telling the truth." After experiencing the torture of the gourd, she seemed far more willing to talk.

"What’d Lin Ke talk to him about?" Tianming asked.

Fengqing Youmeng felt a hint of hesitation, but one look at the gourd caused her fear to overwhelm her hesitation. "Whatever. Even if I tell you, what will come will come. No amount of preparation can stand up against the elites of Intrepidus and Myriadpath Valley." She didn't seem to be afraid any longer after resolving herself to come clean with everything.

"Then speak," Tianming said.

"There's a few main things. First, your ether-class world has two infinitum-class astralships. Second, you're somehow able to use the power of the people for yourself. Intrepidus is very interested in how your cultivation works and wishes to study you," she said.

"I see." The Star Hunters' Big Boss had been in the Sun for so long without anyone knowing, so it would have been impossible to keep the Omnisentient Threads a secret from him. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Intrepidus sent people over.

"How many will be coming? Give us an estimate," Xiaodao said.

"I really don't know. I don't think my parents know an exact number either. All Intrepidus said is that they're sending people to avenge Lin Ke." Fengqing Youmeng shook in fear of the others disbelieving her.

"Let's see if we can catch the boss and ask about the Intrepidus elites. We need to understand every single foundationeer they have," Lin Xiao said.

Yin Chen had already started making moves. However, the boss might be a much tougher nut to crack than Fengqing Youmeng and they might not get any useful intel from him.

"What about Myriadpath Valley? What's their motivation in sending people here?" Xiaodao asked.

Fengqing Youmeng shook her head. "I don't know that, either. But the fact that they're willing to use the Myriadpath Celestial Formation must mean there's something that's worth the cost."

Even though she didn't know, Tianming did. It could well be Zi Zhen.

"Alright."

They had a rough idea of what was going on now. Fengqing Youmeng had given them quite a bit of information, so it was more than worth it. They were at least aware of the kind of danger they would be facing, so they no longer tortured her.

Over the next five days, all fifty billion Yin Chens on the Sun turned into aquatic bugs to search the lakes and seas for any sign of movement. The Sun, having been reborn, still had a developing biome with few trees, so it wouldn't be hard to find someone.

On the fifth day, they did indeed find their target. Yin Chen spotted some traces of damaged cosmic charts and formed a gigantic silver ball with billions of its bodies to trap the Star Hunters' boss within.

He didn't manage to break out of the mass of metal insects, and Tianming and the rest swiftly arrived in the Gladean Ruins and imprisoned their captive within it, ensuring that there was no escape. Finally, the Sun was completely rid of any hidden foes. They tossed the boss into Xiaodao's gourd; the second- and third-in-commands of the Star Hunters had been tortured to death within the very same gourd.

"You!" howled the boss from within.

"You’d better do what we say," Wudi said.

"Hahaha...." As befitting the boss of the Star Hunters, he managed to laugh even as he was experiencing ultimate agony. Without prompting, he said, "It looks like I'm being tortured for information."

"Death or honesty, pick one," Xiaodao said.

"There's no choice to be made. I've lost all my cosmic charts, so I'm nothing but a cripple. Death is my choice! Lin Xiaodao, I'm not afraid of you. You've killed so many of my brothers, so I can only dream of seeing you pay the price! Torture me all you want. If I beg for mercy even a single time, it's my loss!" His voice was filled with endless pain, yet his hate for the Sun wasn't something the average person could comprehend.

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