Beastmaster of the Ages

In response to the appearance of the human-shaped fruits, Tianming had gathered the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, Group of Celestial Maiden Halls, and Azuresoul Palace on the Azuresoul Sword Mountain.

Yin Chen had clearly seen what had happened in the Supracloud Sanctuary. Once again, it had rendered huge merits. The little fellow merely haughtily said, "Do not… thank me… I just… want more… metal ore!" Eating ores to replicate itself was its base instinct, just as much as bathing was.

When the key figures like Gujian Qingshuang, Long Wanying, and Yan Nuxia had arrived, Tianming relayed what had happened with Yun Tianque. "I just carefully checked, and we also have eighteen pairs here. The entire continent should have thirty-six sets then. Thirty-five remain after Li Wushuang destroyed one," he said.

Every pair of them had one man-shaped and one woman-shaped fruit hugging each other.

The tree's mournful cries and the ensuing earthquake had led to emotions running high for all of those present.

"Head instructor, do you know what this is?" Tianming asked.

After his briefing, Gujian Qingshuang had been standing in a corner in a daze. Just now, he had been plunged into sorrow by the Azurecloud Divine Tree and hadn't recovered yet.

"If the tree is alive, could these fruits be its seeds? I'm not very sure, this is all just passed down by ancestors, but… in the legends of the tree, if saplings were to appear, we were to guard it to the death. Else, the tree would be furious and there will never be a bounty again."

"I've heard of it before too." Jiang Qingliu nodded.

"Did you have that feeling too? That sorrow from the depths of your bloodline?" Gujian Qingshuang asked Jiang Qingliu.

"Yes. I think that… every person's body comes from their ancestors and is a passing down of bloodline. However, each generation is deeply intertwined with the nurturing of the Azurecloud Divine Tree, so our bodies and souls are tied to it," Jiang Qingliu said. Those were words he had wanted to say to Gujian Qingshuang for a long time. Cutting down the tree was an act of betrayal toward their ancestors.

"Saplings? Does that mean if we plant it, it'll grow and become a new divine tree? And if one pair is one, doesn't that mean there's thirty-six potential Azurecloud Divine Trees?" Tianming asked curiously.

"Well, actually, thirty-five." Long Wanying sneered. The bonegnaw ants in Yun Tianque's body had heard everything the man heard. Long Wanying knew better than anyone why Li Wushuang had destroyed the fruits so willfully. The old grudges in her heart resurfaced, turning her eyes bloodshot.

"Uncertain. Maybe the saplings have other effects, or maybe they aren't even saplings. That's just our guess. But what we can be sure of is that such an ancient tree can't grow so fast. We won't have dozens of young trees all around. Planting it would probably only bring fortune thousands of generations later," Gujian Qingshuang said.

The forebears would plant the tree and the descendants would harvest it. Even if it was for future generations, giving the children of your children a good environment was still a great merit.

"Whatever the case, the human-shaped fruit needs to be protected," Tianming concluded.

"Yes, that's the consensus. The remaining thirty-five must not be destroyed," Gujian Qingshuang said, his heart filled with pain. The destruction of every pair was the end of infinite possibilities. And the first loss had caused the tree so much sorrow and fury.

"What does Yun Tianque think about these human-shaped fruits?" Long Wanying asked.

"He also thinks they may be saplings. I could feel that he received a huge mental blow when Li Wushuang destroyed one and slapped him."

"Could he turn to our side now?"

Tianming smiled and confidently said, "The issue is almost a done deal. Even ignoring the mess the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean have caused, his bloodline will push him to our side too. The bonegnaw ants are just insurance. It'll be best if he chooses for himself."

"You're right. This event really can change the heart. At least for me, my heart is pumping now." Gujian Qingshuang remembered the resonance he had felt just now.

"This is the path our ancestors have pointed out to us. Perhaps, Li Tianming, you're the one our ancestors and the divine tree has chosen to save us…" Jiang Qingliu emotionally said.

"I wouldn't dare claim that. I'm just trying my best," Tianming said.

Protecting the human-shaped fruits would be their next mission, with higher priority than fruit picking.

"Tianming, have you determined the eighteen locations yet? If so, we need to plan our deployments," Long Wanying said.

That was the advantage of the Myriadworld Immortabeast. Tianming could gather information from everywhere on the tree without sending people out to search.

"Yes. But first we have to decide something," Tianming said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Right now, all of the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean have moved out to protect theirs. We can forget about those for now. But if we send people to protect ours, the Empyrean Sword Sect will find out. Should we tell them?" Tianming asked.

"Let me think about it." Long Wanying pursed her lips, then looked at Gujian Qingshuang. "The Empyrean Sword Sect doesn't know the Azuresoul Palace stands on our side. They think the head instructor is in the same camp as them. If the head instructor knows about this and hides it, when they find out, it'll cause them to have ill will toward the Azuresoul Palace and act even worse.

"The best way to handle this is to immediately tell them. If they know the human-shaped fruits are important, they'll protect them well, and even come up with ideas. It'll cause conflict with the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean, too.…"

Perhaps the Empyrean Sword Sect may already know from the commotion on the Supracloud Sanctuary's side. Since they couldn't be excluded, the best thing to do was to point them at the enemy.

Gujian Qingshuang and Jiang Qingliu exchanged a look. Currently, Gujian Qingshuang still had the Empyrean Sword Sect's trust.

"Head instructor, go and find them to talk about this," Jiang Qingliu said.

"I'll leave first, then." Gujian Qingshuang stood up and left. If there were any new developments, Tianming could communicate with him any time using the bonegnaw ants.

Tianming was very clear that even if the Supracloud Sanctuary and Azuresoul Palace joined up, they didn't have the strength to challenge the invaders. Rather, it would be more effective to scheme in the dark and use intelligence, since they had Yin Chen. Hidden in the dark, they still had a good chance, even though they were much weaker. The Tumulus Pill God and the Wind and Rain Swordlords would never think of invisible cockroaches and bonegnaw ants no matter how they wracked their brains.

"It isn't that we're very intelligent. Rather, the Primordial Chaos Beasts have provided me an advantage others can't imagine." Tianming believed that he was someone rash who didn't consider matters from every possible angle. Long Wanying had been the one helping him make arrangements during this period.

……

Gujian Qingshuang went to the Driftsword Halls to find Shi Yan and the Wind and Rain Swordlords. When he arrived, the people of the Empyrean Sword Sect had already received a report from the Supracloud Sanctuary's side. After all, even an idiot could tell something had happened after the tree had made such a commotion.

"Head Instructor Gujian, the report says the human-shaped fruit is a sapling. What do you think?" The Rain Swordlord asked. There seemed to be a hidden meaning in her words.

"From our ancestral records, that may be the case. I'm not too sure. But what we do know is that since it can incite such a huge reaction from the divine tree, it must be important," Gujian Qingshuang said.

"The Supracloud Sanctuary has seventeen left. The wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean have already moved out, yet, we seem to be behind them," the Rain Swordlord reprimanded him, stressing the words 'wargodeans' and 'Blueblood Starocean'.

"Swordlord, don't worry. I immediately mobilized the entire Azuresoul Palace to check. We found some in our territory too. So far, fifteen have appeared. More are still being found, and I suspect we'll have eighteen too."

"Locations determined?"

"For fifteen of them, yes. We are still searching," Gujian Qingshuang said.

"Fine. Give us the locations. Our one hundred and ten thousand swordpupils will split into eighteen units to guard them. When the matter is so huge, how could we not help? Right, don't stop with the normal fruit picking work, either. Don't slack off, your mission is important.

The Rain Swordlord's words were completely within Long Wanying's expectations. They didn't want to help; they wanted to take it all over.

They were no different from Li Wushuang.