Beastmaster of the Ages

"If I die, she'll be tortured for the rest of her life and can never hope to live a normal life again," Feiling said.

"So you're rather ruthless yourself, huh?"

"That isn't my intention. I only want you to help me once more."

"To save Tianming in Xi Palace?" Bodhi asked. He didn't dare to gamble with Little You's life.

"That's right."

"It's beyond me. I'm incapable of that."

"I'll cooperate with you and lead as many people away from you as I can. If you can enter, Tianming can also fight."

"It's too risky."

"That's why I need your help."

"What kind of curse is it?"

"If it isn't undone, she'll die within a year. As for whether she'll suffer, it's something I can turn on or off at will. You can take the gamble and doubt what I say, but you won't."

"I can also let you experience endless pain until you decide to undo the curse," Bodhi said threateningly.

"You're free to try. All we'll achieve is wiping each other out. The Flameyellow Continent is going through a disaster right now as Sovereign Xi plans to use him to unlock her eighth bane-ring and become an octabane. If she succeeds, you won't even be relevant anymore. Carefully consider your options. As long as he comes out alive, I'll undo Little You's curse."

Feiling didn't waste any words. Everything she said was for the sole purpose of illustrating Bodhi's options. She had never wanted to use the Latticeheart Curse to cause anyone to suffer. The first time she used it, she only did so to protect the Flameyellow humans with Tianming, and she even undid it once their relationship with Huiye Shi improved. Bodhi was an even more terrifying foe, and there was no other option but to keep him reined in by holding a grasp on his precious daughter.

"Octabane?" Those words caused Bodhi to furrow his brows.

"Specters can coexist with humans, you know," Feiling said."Hmph... of course they can. With some compromises."

"So you've agreed to help?"

"What choice do I have? You're not exactly giving me any options after sinking so low as to threaten me with my daughter's life." Unlike Sovereign Xi, he willingly caved to his weakness. Perhaps the word 'octabane' had had an unexpected effect. Bodhi had just learned why the sovereign wanted Tianming in the first place. "Come to think of it, how many people can you lead away? I wouldn't want you to die and doom Little You in the process."

"It'll depend on luck."

"Luck...." Bodhi looked at her more intently. He had known from the start that she was no simple girl. Though she usually stood behind Tianming, she was far more mysterious than he was. When they met during the day, he didn't think too much of her. But now, when Tianming was in danger, she looked completely different. She looked oddly cold about the whole thing. Warmth only returned to her gaze when she talked about him. Apart from that, she was like the emptiest of voids.

"Then let's get started!"

......

At the lake of blood within the palace compound, Sovereign Xi removed the formation. Tianming could see the rotting lake with the three thousand nailed skeletons from within the Prime Tower. The salacious beauty stood before the tower and said, "The mood is set. It's prime time during the stellunar source pulse. Come out, baby. We've obsessively observed and studied the art of love-making. With Our knowledge and assets, We can make you forget your mortal coil."

Her slight drunkenness only accentuated her allure. She slowly undid her belt and opened her collar wider and wider, exposing her fair, smooth skin and luscious mounds. Her figure was as slender as a serpent's and even seemed able to figuratively wrap around and constrict a person. Nobody could escape its hold on the soul.

However, all Tianming felt for her was disgust. No man would risk their life just to lay with a goddess amidst that gore. He didn't react the slightest bit to the temptation, but she wasn't the least bit mad. Instead, she began dancing in front of the tower after taking another swig of alcohol. "You know you're Our baby.... What should We do about a disobedient baby? We shall have the remaining three hundred thousand gods We have at Our disposal go down for a hunt. This time, there's no limit to how many they'll kill. Bad babies are to be punished. We won't stop until you cry and beg for forgiveness.

"You've been really naughty. Did you think you could avoid this for the rest of your life? As you hide away, your kin are dying and suffering. So selfish, like the child you are. How could someone like you be a ruler? You have doomed them, you know? You'll only continue dooming even more. At the end of the day, you only care about your own life. You only serve your self-interest. Don't you think it's a great thing to sacrifice yourself for billions of others? Why can't you be the great man you claim to be? Tianming, stop running away from reality. If you yourself think of your own life as more precious than others', then who are you to blame other people for trampling over them?"

She understood him well and was certain of her plan of attack. The only time she had lost to him was when he destroyed the formation core. Even capturing the imperial guide hadn't been able to stop her. Nothing would stop her from achieving her goals this very night!

"If you don't come out, enjoy listening to your subjects crying out in despair!" she said with a harsh voice. She was losing patience; however, she didn't know that there was no point to all the threats, either. From the moment the eighty thousand gods had started slaughtering away on the continent, The Grand-Orient Sword-shaped Imperial Will in his albi began cracking.

"Water can carry vessels just as well as it can topple them over..."

The will of his cultivation stemmed from his identity as the Human Emperor. He had obtained their mandate and blessing, but now it was cracking when they were in peril. It was just a matter of time before they crumbled completely. By then, Tianming's Lifesbane Will wouldn't be enough to contain all of his astralforce and he would die in a huge explosion.

This was the path of cultivation. There was no turning back once one embarked on the path. They simply had to bear all of the burdens that came with it. If he could overcome this obstacle, his path would be clearer than ever. Perhaps the Omnisentient Threads could lead him to true glory in the astralscape of order. A ruler was one with their subjects in many senses of the word.

However, if his divine will crumbled, it was a sign that his own intent was flawed and he would lose everything. Sovereign Xi had killed the imperial guide in a gesture of unwavering dedication. But now that Tianming's weakness was in her grasp, he knew that not even the Prime Tower could protect him.

"You can risk it for the sliver of a chance you'll survive, you know," the sovereign said. She smiled as her eyes glowed as she saw Tianming step out of the tower. The only complaint she had was the bird above his head.

......

Outside the palace, most of the citizens remained at home. There were tens of thousands of guards alertly standing guard at the palace in fear of Bodhi's appearance. The surging stellunar source was already enough to unnerve most of them.

Then, all of a sudden, a scream disrupted the pin-drop silence. The one who cried out was bisected, and then another.

"The astral killer is here!"

Usually, the killer wouldn't show up at the sovereign's turf. But who else could be behind all these deaths? The bisected corpses began piling up, but they couldn't even see their enemy.

"Report to Her Majesty now!"

"No, Her Majesty ordered for there to be no interruptions!"

With the Pentamoon Slayers, the imperial guide, and even Prince Fengyue gone, there was nobody higher up in the chain of command to report to other than the sovereign.

"Over there!" They finally spotted the culprit in the chaos, but were stunned at what they saw. The person walking toward them was a beautiful girl like no other.

"It's not the astral killer."

"Who is that?"

"Capture her!"

She kept killing as she retreated backward. Many were stumped that they were getting slower and slower as they approached her, not to mention the invisible walls that frequently stood in their way.

"Don't let her escape!" Many more began joining the chase, until there were thousands.

"Die!"

Right at that moment, the girl crumbled into dust. "It's the seventy-third time," said a voice from who knew where. It was so bizarre a sight that nobody noticed a white-robed man slipping through the formation of the palace and entering it.

"Is she dead?" But as they wondered, the dust in the air gathered and reformed.