Beastmaster of the Ages

"With no other casualties and the Veneramoon Formation showing no signs of a breach, this isn't necessarily the work of the killer. Yuehe, the death of your grandson could be the deed of someone else. You are tasked to investigate this issue. I, on the other hand, will ensure the safety of the city," Fengyue ordered.

"Understood!" Yuehe and the remaining weakened elders all heeded the orders.

"By the way, where is Li Tianming? Her Majesty has given you more than enough time to locate him," Fengyue said, squinting at them.

"We... have disappointed Her Majesty. We've lost our lead on finding him," Yuehe said.

"What a bunch of pathetic useless trash," the prince sighed. "If you couldn't even capture a child, what're you even good for?" Fengyue chuckled. "Listen up. Her Majesty values talent and is really interested in that child. Before leaving, Her Majesty insisted that this person be found. Do whatever you can to fulfill the assignment, understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Yuehe and the rest were nervously sweating. Based on the tone, it sounded like Sovereign Xi was desperately craving for Tianming now. If they messed up in finding him, the Huiyue Clan would be even worse off than it was already.

"Have your subordinates look into Huiyue Jie's death. Instead, I want you to tell me what the deal with Li Tianming is. I want all the details."

"Your humble servant shall oblige." Yuehe recounted everything she knew about Tianming's time in Huiyue City. She even pointed out Huiye Shi.

"So you're Huiye Shi?" Fengyue turned to look at her, shivering in the corner.

"Yes, Your Highness! I was the fool that ended up being used by him!" she said.

"So he faked his love for you to cultivate, offended Huiyue Jie, and fled while leaving you behind?" the prince asked with a smile.

"That must be the case! He is the vilest of bastards!" she snapped.

"Don't be so quick to say that." Fengyue's words immediately shut her up. He turned to Yuehe and said, "Spread word to the entire Divine Moon Realm. It doesn't matter. I want it known that if Li Tianming doesn't return to Huiyue City within half a month, I'll quarter Huiye Shi twice! I'm sure he'll hear the news even if he's hiding in some backwater, right?"

"Huh?!" Everyone was shocked to hear that. Huiye Shi was so pale and terrified that she backed herself into a wall and then some.

"Y-y-your Highness... that heartless b-b-bastard won't even bat an eye no matter how many pieces I'm c-cut into," Huiye Shi stuttered, her teeth chattering.

"Lord Prince, that would be pointless. He's already gone and wouldn't care for this poor child any longer." Yuehe found some compassion in the fact that Huiye Shi had just lost her whole family and spoke out on her behalf. But more crucially, she truly believed it to be a pointless act.

Huiye Shi herself was completely stumped. All Tianming had done was ruin one of Huiyue Jie's bane-rings. With Huiyue Jie dead and the culprit still unaccounted for, why were they turning over every stone in the Divine Moon Realm to find Tianming? It was as if he had desecrated the mausoleum of the royal family. It didn't make sense at all. Insignificant as her life was, there was no sense in broadcasting it to the whole of the Divine Moon Realm, unless....

When she recalled the prince's words, she was stumped. Could it be that the sovereign she worshipped actually desired Tianming? Even so, there was no need to go that far, right? Is she some man-crazed maiden who's never seen another man or something?

Huiye Shi couldn't even find tears to shed at the absurdity. Even Tianming himself thought he was being given so much trouble because he destroyed one bane-ring of Huiyue Jie's. If they had known the true plot behind the scenes, Huiye Shi would have fled with him.

She immediately prostrated herself before the prince and sobbed. "Your Highness, I've been orphaned after my parents fell to the killer and even got manipulated and used. Even if the sky falls, that bastard won't come to my aid. My death would only be in vain!"

She looked all too pitiful. Though many of the Huiyue Clan wanted to speak out on her behalf, they were worried about offending the royals. How desperate must the sovereign be for the prince to resort to something like this?

Prince Fengyue said, "I know he most likely won't save you."

"Then why?"

"I'm going to take your life as a statement. That way, this will spread fast and he'll hear that Her Majesty is looking for him and offering a bright future ahead."

Huiye Shi slumped to the ground, powerless. "So my life is nothing but a blade of grass to Her Majesty...." The sovereign was her idol, the object of her worship. She had dreamed of seeing her in person and offering her most respectful greetings, but her dreams had just been shattered.

"What're you talking about? Even a blade of grass has a place in Her Majesty's garden. You don't." After saying that, Fengyue turned to leave. He was a master propagandist. This was all he needed to get the news to spread like wildfire.

When he left, Yuehe looked at Huiye Shi and could only sigh.

"You think you're pitiful? I lost my dad and brother too! We're all the same, so stop crying! Just accept your fate. If I were you, I'd have all the fun I can during the remaining two weeks!" Huiye Yin said, giving her head a light smack and sighing.

She no longer loathed Huiye Shi. After all, she used to be one of her little minions. It was all just bad luck. Now, nobody could save her any longer.

"Waaaahh..." She cried in the corner of the wall, hugging her legs and huddled up.

......

It was night on the Flameyellow Continent. Tianming looked up at the silver moon above and murmured, "Feng, wait a bit more. I found a chance. The time will come soon."

With the activation of the spirit core, the four heavenly locus formations appeared once more. He, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Feiling assumed their caeli as avatars and appeared on the island from before.

"What in the world?!" Tianming grimaced when Ying Huo and the rest returned to their former positions.

"Damn, I'm impure! Li Tianming has soiled me! I'll never be able to wash myself clean!" Ying Huo cried in horror.

"Well, fuck you too!" Tianming snapped.

"Ling'er, I'm sorry. This should've been yours..." Ying Huo lamented.

Fortunately, the wondersky fairy appeared. "Esteemed Violetglory Disciples, may I be of any service?"

"Quick, change the locations of the tattoos!" Tianming urged.

"Understood."

Finally, things went back to 'normal'. Tianming cleared his throat and pretended not to see the guffawing Feiling and Lin Xiaoxiao. He turned to the fairy and said, "Didn't I change the locations last time? Why'd they return?"

"That's the default setting of your avatar. The wondersky realm is designed to operate as such. After all, nobody concerns themselves with the location of the caeli of the lifebound beast."

"In other words, they'll return to their former positions every time I come in here?" Tianming felt like lightning had struck him.

"Yes."

"Dammit, I won't come here ever again!"

"You think you're in any place to complain? I am!" Ying Huo snapped.

"Sigh...."

The two of them were hurting all the same.

"Chicken Bro, I'm envious. You finally found a birdie to soar with you through the skies," Meow Meow said.

Tianming was about to vomit. "Curse you, wondersky realm! Fairy, next time I come, change their locations immediately. Otherwise, I'll never come here again."

"Understood. However, whether you come or not is not my business."

"How dare you talk back to me?"

"Talking back is permitted per the parameters set by my masters."

"Who're your masters?"

"The superior and omnipotent divine wondersky race, of course!" the fairy proudly announced.

Since Tianming's last time here, he had a lot more questions. So, he had come this time to ask the wondersky fairy to clarify his many doubts. As such, he wasn't in a rush to head to the land of legacy.

"I have a few other questions for you."

"Ask away, but I can only answer questions depending on your access privileges."

"Alright. First: where was the wondersky realm constructed? What is its true nature?"

"The wondersky realm was constructed within the xenomemory space. It was formed using the Perpetual Wondersky Formation."

"The xenomemory space?" That was where Ye Lingfeng had been exiled to!

"That's correct."

"Can you tell me more about that?"

"Basically, our universe is rooted in corporeal reality. There's an ethereal world layered atop the corporeal reality. The true nature of the world is a dual one, comprised of corporeality and ethereality. Any space you occupy is contained within both corporeality and ethereality. However, you are only able to perceive the former. The ethereal reality refers to the xenomemory space. To many, it is a dreamscape that can only be accessed by the caelum.

"Normally, the caelum monitors the vita. Only when the vita lays dormant during sleep will the caelum enter the xenomemory space and voyage in the ethereal world. As the caelum's recorded memories clash with ethereality, everything in this space will look really chaotic and unpredictable, much like dreams. Within dreams, things with no logical connection often randomly relate to one another due to lapses in memory.

"Upon waking, most people won't remember what happened in their dreams, as the memories of the vita and caelum are only partially accessible. Only a small part of the caelum's memories will flow to the vita.

"Originally, the caelum roaming the xenomemory space had no purpose, but the invention of the wondersky realms changed everything! We managed to incorporate the pointless act of dreaming as a key aspect of cultivation! That's the amazing contribution of the divine wondersky race!" The wondersky fairy proudly and eagerly gave the explanation.