Beastmaster of the Ages

The Azuresoul Sword Hall was the only place not kept under surveillance by Yin Chen. However, it was an area where mostly only Gujian Qingshuang stayed.

Everywhere else was covertly filled with little Yin Chens. They were tiny and didn't move at all, so it was like they had disappeared. Hidden in the dark corners, they quietly watched everything. Up until now, apart from when Yin Chen took its work break and found somewhere to wash itself, nothing was missed by the omnipresent Primordial Chaos Beast. Tianming wouldn't be wrong to say that he would have been blind at the Azuresoul Palace if it weren't for Yin Chen.

Tianming was training in the Violetglory Pagoda's seventh floor when Yin Chen rushed him out to show him what it had seen. After hearing a short bit, Tianming's face darkened.

Yin Chen was still slowly describing, "Then that… Ye Buzhichen… started saying.…"

Tianming immediately set off and, after dragging Yu Ziqian out of dreamland, rushed over to Jiang Qingliu.

"What is it?" Yu Ziqian shouted.

Tianming ignored him and spoke to Yin Chen. "Enough, just display what you want to say to me!"

Inside the lifebound space, the remaining tiny silver eggs were succinct. "Stupid fool." However, it still knew it was slow, which was a critical flaw for a messenger. Hence, the small eggs transformed into tiny cockroaches that spread out, forming words.

Ye Buzhiqu's words were quickly displayed in text form. It only took one quick glance for Tianming to understand.

"If I'd made you say all this, it would've taken an hour," Tianming muttered.

"Stupid fool." The antennae of the cockroaches all stood up.

Tianming felt like it was pointing the middle finger at him. It hadn't been alive long, and it had been spending most of its time eavesdropping and watching Yu Ziqian tease his junior and senior sisters. It had also learned some uncouth words and spoke like a delinquent.

Jiang Qingliu was currently in the Sixth Sword Branch. Gujian Qingshuang and the rest were currently at the ancestral tomb, which was located in the First Sword Branch. They wouldn't be coming over in a hurry, so Tianming quickly seized the time and rushed to Jiang Qingliu's residence.

He immediately barged in.

"Master, master!" Yu Ziqian shouted.

A middle-aged man in green clothes appeared in front of them. His hair and clothes were a complete mess, and there was no light in his eyes. He didn't seem very steady on his feet, either. Clearly, his mental state wasn't the best during this time.

"What happened?" Jiang Qingliu rubbed his eyes, looking slightly lost.

"Something huge." Tianming was someone who always worked fast. He quickly conveyed the conversation in the tomb to Jiang Qingliu before finally summarizing, "They have actual killing intent toward you now. Not because of the Empyrean Sword Sect or the matter of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, but because they want your Azuresoul Tower. If Gujian Qingshuang is coming, it means he's been convinced. Either that, or the Azuresoul Tower has always been plaguing his mind."

Jiang Qingliu calmly listened. He just chuckled bitterly and downed more wine, shaking his head.

Yu Ziqian had been furious to find out the truth. "Fuck them! It's Gujian Qingshuang's own fault for being anxious when the Azuresoul Tower was choosing its owner, and ended up losing its trust. My master didn't even approach the tower and it chose him!"

It was inexplicable. The chief instructor of the Azuresoul Palace didn't have the divine artifact with the same name.

When Tianming and Yu Ziqian looked at Jiang Qingliu and asked him what to do, Jiang Qingliu hoarsely laughed. "Actually, I knew his real intention from the moment he didn't say anything."

As expected, the ones who understood the situation best were those involved.

"Bastard! He's blaming others for his own ineptness. You've done so much for the Azuresoul Palace!" Yu Ziqian's eyes were turning red. "Even worse, they want to chop down the tree. Taking care of it has been an ancestral instruction for generations. It's the foundation of the continent! "

Compared to simply dying, the Azurecloud Divine Tree falling would be the pain of centuries and generations. Many natives of the continent saw the tree as their origin and the support of their heart. Even if not many saw it bear fruit in their lifetimes, it still represented thriving through the ages and every scar on its body told a story and symbolized history. It was something core to the blood flowing through everyone on the Azurecloud Continent.

"Was I at fault? Am I the greatest sinner? Haha.…" Jiang Qingliu slowly sat on the ground, his expression growing bleaker. He recalled how before he was thirty, he had wanted to fight for his home's glory. However, ignorant then, he had lost half of his talent. For hundreds of years afterward, he had tried his hardest. He had campaigned for the Azurecloud Continent, accepted disciples, and always put in his best. He had loved this land, but was now being called a sinner by these people.

"Master, don't listen to them. You need to fight back! We've all been to the ancestral tomb. They're the ones who've gone against the ancestral teachings. They're the traitors to the Azuresoul Palace and our ancestors!" Yu Ziqian grit his teeth.

"Protect Azurecloud.…" New light shone in Jiang Qingliu's eyes. The people he had once respected the most, including Granny Mu Hua, had said words that had made him despair. His entire world had collapsed. However, the conviction in his heart and his veneration for that tree had relit the fire in his heart.

"Senior Jiang, I hope you can stand up again. After all, you aren't alone. You still have me, Ziqian, Auntie Ying, and the friends from the Group of Celestial Maiden Halls. Even if the entire Azuresoul Palace stands against us, history will determine the party that's in the right. Following our hearts is the path of a cultivator, and the treasure we try to grasp our whole lives. You cannot give up hope. At least, you can't let down your children and their children because of short-term benefits." This matter had made Tianming quite emotional.

He did get it. On the surface, the Azuresoul Palace barely got any fruits. However, that amount was enough to make the sect rank thirty-eighth on the myriad sect ranking. One could only imagine the value of the full haul.

The tree sucked up most of the nova source of the continent to produce these fruits. Clearly, the tree could raise the efficacy of nova source by several times! It wasn't at fault; the only fault lay with the Azuresoul Palace and Supracloud Sanctuary not having the strength to protect this treasure, which let outsiders occupy it.

The outsiders using their strength to snatch treasures didn't seem wrong either. Thus, the original sin lay with the weak. However, wanting to cut down the tree because they were weak was both short-sighted and insane. Perhaps the Azuresoul Palace's ancestors had more reasons for making protecting the tree a teaching!

Jiang Qingliu inhaled deeply. "I'm impressed with your understanding at your age. I'm several centuries old, yet I was so confused."

"It's just because senior wasn't able to take an objective view and was too emotionally invested in this. Since the opponent doesn't care about bonds, senior can also ignore any past ties. Take a stand regardless of life and death"

Jiang Qingliu laughed. He stood up and patted Tianming's shoulder. "Thank you. My fate would've been to die, and I would've done so in ignorance as well."

"So?" Tianming asked.

"Wait for me." Jiang Qingliu went back inside.

"What will master do?" Yu Ziqian asked.

"I don't know. However, they're about to arrive." Tianming knew that Gujian Qingshuang had arrived in the Sixth Sword Branch from Yin Chen's report.

Jiang Qingliu reappeared from inside. He had cleaned up. He had changed into new green robes, tidied up his hair, and washed his face. Now, he gave off a positive vibe. He seemed completely different than the man he was before.

"Did you transform inside?" Yu Ziqian asked, surprised.

"Yes, it's a new me," Jiang Qingliu chuckled. Now, he seemed to have an immortal air around him the way Gujian Qingshuang did.

Gujian Qingshuang's group had arrived outside. They directly entered when they saw the gate open. As they entered, their faces resumed peaceful expressions instead of their previous coldness.

"Qingliu." Gujian Qingshuang entered and immediately caught sight of the three of them. He noticed that Jiang Qingliu seemed to be in a much better condition than before.