Beastmaster of the Ages

"Oh, wait, I misspoke. You are the first rex mundi of the Infinitum Bodhimanda, while the rest of us are all mere members. So alliance isn't the right word to use. The ebons are rebelling against the Infinitum Bodhimanda, while there are three alien factions from outside the mundus threatening to taint what’s ours and kill the people of the Infinitum Bodhimanda, taking our rightful legacies. The mundus is in danger, so we’ll stand firm and protect the rex mundi! We’ll kill our enemies and defend our territory, even if it means our death!" The more Tianming said, the more hot blooded he got.

"Didn't you want to become your own ruler?" Yi Daiyan said, her mouth curving into a smile.

"There's no such thing. At most, I'll be a minor ruler under your reign," Tianming said.

"Naughty." The expression she wore as she said that seemed all too familiar.

Stunned, Tianming couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if you believe what we have to say, First Rex Mundi. If you do, what’re your plans?"

"What can my plans be? We have rebels reaching out to outside forces. No matter how many factions there are, no matter how far they are, any that dare to violate the sovereignty of the Infinitum Bodhimanda shall be exterminated."

"Then, are you aware of the kind of strength possessed by Myriadpath Valley and Intrepidus? I heard that they’re far from easy to deal with."

"The luxdaemons are from Intrepidus, so we’re naturally aware of the might their core world possesses. The godshades often have three to five foundationeers at any given time."

"According to my sources, the whole of Intrepidus has six foundationeers in total."

"Then the godshades would have around four."

"What of Myriadpath Valley? Do you know much about it?" Tianming directly asked, seeing as she was in the mood to converse.

"Myriadpath Valley... I’ve been there before."

Tianming had never expected such a revelation! He had guessed that she might have been to the Xenoabyss before, but to think that she’d even been to Myriadpath Valley....

Seeing that he didn't ask another question, Yi Daiyan continued, "Myriadpath Valley's internal factions are complicated. The 'Li Fan' that you mentioned shouldn't be that powerful a figure. If anyone does come, it should be his master or senior. If they’re after my Infinitum Stele, there can only be one person."

The matter of them wanting the Infinitum Stele was a complete fabrication by Xiaodao, but she believed it. Tianming also spoke as if it were true. What made him curious was that Yi Daiyan hadn’t even questioned the fact that Shenxi Xingtian would work with three outer factions.

He tested the waters and asked, "Why would Shenxi Xingtian work with them? Isn't he afraid that the outsiders will take everything valuable from the mundus, leaving nothing for him and branding him as an eternal sinner to the whole mundus?"

"The astralscape of order has something called the directive of order. Myriadpath Valley isn't allowed to launch wars in any mundus, so they need a proper justification to interfere in our affairs. Shenxi Xingtian is able to offer them that, lending credence to their cause. If they don't cooperate, Myriadpath Valley won't be able to come."

It appeared that there was some supervision after all! Not to mention, communicating with Yi Daiyan was easy. She didn't talk around things and went straight to the point. Tianming and the rest still had their guard up within the Gladean Ruins, though it didn't seem to be doing much. Even so, caution was still paramount, for they were dealing with the one who had killed Lin Mu—it was still too soon to call her a friend or foe. Tianming thought that he would be able to overlook such little things, too, once he was just as powerful.

Yi Daiyan seemed to be in deep thought for quite a while, then her gaze sharpened. "Shenxi Xingtian has chosen the path of a sinner and tried to disrupt the peace of the Infinitum Bodhimanda. If we let him have his way, we’ll fall to the ebons' chaotic rule once more. If we don't exterminate them, the Infinitum Bodhimanda will never know peace. You’re right."

"That's right!" Tianming agreed.

"The stronger someone is, the more time is required for the Myriadpath Celestial Formation to transport them. If those factions are sending a lot of powerful cultivators, we’ll be in more danger, but we’ll also have more time to prepare."

"That's right. Myriadpath Valley, Intrepidus, and the divine wonderians won’t be sending any armies or astralships, so the Infinitum Bodhimanda will have to hunker down for a siege. Only the ebons will be able to launch any kind of large-scale warfare. Their beast waves, in particular, are a great threat to the general populace," Tianming said.

"In other words, our main priority is to shave away at the ebons' forces as much as we can before the outside factions arrive. The battlefield of the future will shift to one where elite cultivators reign supreme, so the casualties among the weak will be immense." Yi Daiyan finished Tianming's thoughts. It was an incredibly strange sight to the others watching.

"That's right. Astralships, beast waves, and infinitum-class wildbeasts will be the Infinitum Bodhimanda's next targets. Rex Mundi, you’ve basically eliminated all the ebons’ astral gods, while you have three times the ships the ebons still possess. If it weren’t for their two ether-class defensive formations, you could already crush them," Tianming said.

"I don’t have an astralship that can break through ether-class formations," Yi Daiyan said.

"I have two. We can help." That was what they were intending to negotiate in the first place. They would only have to lend their aid in the form of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb and the Gladean Ruins. As for astral gods and top elites, Yi Daiyan had more than enough at her disposal.

The remaining forces could be used to reinforce the Sun's defenses, where they would keep as much as they had for the real battle, and they weren't at risk of losing the two infinitum-class ships either.

Hearing the offer, Yi Daiyan's colorful eyes brightened. She let out a rare smile, a sign that her greatest weakness had not only just been made up for, but also become a weapon she could use. "Not bad. The folk that live under the Infinitum Bodhimanda will forever remember the generous contributions of the Swordgod Lin Clan. From this moment on, apart from the ebons, all twelve Infinitum Regal Clans have reunited under the banner of the Infinitum Bodhimanda. That’s most pleasing."

"It is indeed," Tianming said with a nod. He then changed his tone. "Since everything’s settled, what should we do when foundationeers come to us? Nobody apart from my master, Old Lin, is able to stand up against them."

"Once we succeed in wiping out the ebons, if any outsider dares to touch you, I will kill them." It was a simple declaration of intent, but nobody doubted her when she said it with a stern face. Tianming and the others could feel the weight of her words.

Dongshen Yue alone, however, mumbled, "Just listen to the lies coming out of that woman's mouth. It won’t be the first time she's burned bridges after crossing them. We probably shouldn’t put everything we have into exterminating the ebons."

Tianming and the rest would definitely not throw everything they had at the ebons. Either way, the alliance with Yi Daiyan was forged.

When the details were agreed on, Yi Daiyan looked up. "Lin Feng, you should let the Sun approach Ebonia a little closer. I’ll see if we can form a binary star formation so that you’ll also be protected by Ebonia's astralguard formation."

That was an extra favorable treatment. Both she and Tianming were the administrators of their respective stars, so they could indeed initiate such a pairing. Since Ebonia's astralguard formation covered a much larger area, it could indeed help the Sun. Tianming wasn't too worried about the risks, either. The Sun used to be the Flameyellow Imperial Star and had solar lances and an extra boost from Ji Ji. In fact, it might be even tougher than Ebonia. If massive loss of life wasn’t a concern, the Sun stood a good chance of being able to punch through Ebonia in a direct collision.

Tianming had Ji Ji move the Sun closer to Ebonia. From afar, one could see a black star and a pink star, one large and the other small, right next to each other. Ebonia was huge, but barely emitted any light, while the sun was only a tenth of its size, yet it seemed so much brighter. In a way, they almost looked like mother and child. It was no wonder the expressions of Xiaodao and the other seniors looked even weirder after all that.

Ebonia was old, wise, and unpredictable, while the Sun was hot blooded and filled with vigor. As the nova sources of the two stars were too close, they began sucking each other in. Ebonia itself started having traces of pink flame while dark gusts started appearing on the Sun. The two worlds ended up in a stable orbit around each other, with the Sun seemingly being protected by Ebonia. If the ebons could see that sight, they would be wise to see it as a nightmare in the making.

Once everything was done, Tianming casually told Yi Daiyan, "I know the location of the taixi fiendbeast. Do you want to kill it now?"

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