Beastmaster of the Ages

It didn't take long for the Tumulus Pill God and the Snowsun Quadspecters to arrive at the Supracloud Sanctuary. There was nobody else in the vicinity of the sect, which was surrounded by a gigantic cloud formation. The layers were so dense that one couldn't see through to the sect within, much to the shock of the five.

"What in the world is this?" the specters said in unison.

"This is the Myriadfold Skycloud Formation, a grade-seven formation," the Tumulus Pill God said with a complicated expression.

"No, we were asking what Yun Tianque's intentions are," the four said in unison once more. They couldn't figure it out at all.

On the way there, the Tumulus Pill God had worried that this would be the case. "Yun Tianque has been alarmed by the arrival of the alliance's army, so he's trying to hide and protect himself."

"Doesn't he know the consequences? How dare he betray us? Betray the celestial orderians? He'll suffer an even worse death."

"He might not understand the situation as a whole. Let me explain it to him. No doubt, it'll become clear to him when I do." The old man cleared his throat and had the four specters wait outside. Then he approached the formation, took a deep breath, and yelled with all he had, "Yun Tianque, come meet me! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't!" His voice reverberated through the formation like a wave, but there was no response.

Just as the four specters were about to strike, a middle-aged man dressed in a monochrome robe emerged from the clouds. Yun Tianque stood before the Tumulus Pill God. The four specters approached and glared at him like they would a dog.

"Was this your idea, Yun Tianque?" the Tumulus Pill God said, his golden eyes glaring at him with fury.

"Yes." Yun Tianque simply nodded.

"Don't you know the price of betraying the celestial orderians? Even though the million-man army is strong and you're trying to cut your losses, you're underestimating what we're capable of. The alliance seems impressive, but it's actually fractured and disorganized from within. They aren't united at all, and there's no way they can make any real change. If you make the wrong move now and offend Li Wushuang, the Supracloud Sanctuary will pay dearly for it! We don't take kindly to traitors. As for you personally, you'll end up with a fate far worse than you can imagine. Your descendants and relatives will all die from your decision." Though the Tumulus Pill God spoke in a calm tone, his words carried surprising weight.

"I know what you're saying, Tumulus, but I've already made my decision. There's no turning back."

"No, you still have a chance. I can get the Snowsun Quadsaints to promise not to let a word of this out to Lady Wushuang. Even if she finds out, you can always atone for your mistake and earn her forgiveness."

"You misunderstand me. Both of us know the kind of person Li Wushuang is. Since I made up my mind to do this, I've never considered turning back on my decision. In fact, I've officially announced that we're cutting ties with you lot. Once more, allow me to emphasize to you that the Supracloud Sanctuary will no longer serve you. Go back and tell Li Wushuang that," Yun Tianque firmly said.

"Hahahaha…." the Snowsun Quandsaints laughed even though the Tumulus Pill God's expression was incredibly dark.

"Yet another fool that doesn't fear death."

"Is there even a brain in that skull of yours? Your mistake will doom your entire sect."

"They must've been drunk to make you sect master."

However, Yun Tianque didn't get the slightest bit angry at the mockery. Smiling, he bowed to the Tumulus Pill God. "I appreciate your lessons and the care you've shown me until now. However, I won't let my sect members be Li Wushuang's cannon fodder. We are not expendable. Tumulus, if it'd just been you, we definitely wouldn't have betrayed you. However, Li Wushuang's actions have gone too far, trampling us at every turn. I can no longer associate with you in good conscience. Farewell!"

Yun Tianque retreated back into the formation, leaving the Tumulus Pill God blankly standing there. He knew what kind of person Li Wushuang was, and that was something that greatly troubled him. She simply didn't see Yun Tianque as a person. The way she'd slapped him back then had left more than just a flesh wound. People like her with an ultimate status never understood that even a desperate little ant would bite back when cornered, let alone someone like Yun Tianque, who was no pushover himself. There was nothing the Tumulus Pill God could say to refute what Yun Tianque had said. In fact, he even understood why he had come to make that choice.

However, the four specters were losing their patience. "Yun Tianque, it was your honor to receive a punishment from Lady Wushuang, don't you know that?" They eerily spoke the same words once more.

"An honor, you say? You're the Snowsun Quadspecters, right? Dogs that ran from the Myriad Solar Sects to be the celestial orderians' pets…. No amount of standing on your hind legs will make you look like humans, you filthy mutts," Yun Tianque said.

"You wanna die?!" They stared needles through Yun Tianque, but he didn't care in the slightest and immediately vanished. "Tumulus, the four of us will go in to destroy the formation and kill him. Go notify Lady Wushuang that we'll take over the Supracloud Sanctuary in her stead. However, we'll need more people to force them to guard the sapling sites for us."

"Just the four of you?"

"Relax. We're all grade-six formation gurus. We've intimately studied such formations, and we're experts at stealth. Sneaking in to kill Yun Tianque will be a walk in the park." The four of them could no longer control the murderous rage they felt. Anyone that dared betray Li Wushuang deserved to die! "The alliance's army will arrive soon. We need this formation to hold out against their attack, so we must immediately take over this place. There's no time to spare."

The Tumulus Pill God recalled that back when these four specters were in the Myriad Solar Sects' territory, they had relied on their formation expertise to enter sects with ease and commit atrocities. Infiltrating formations was their specialty.

Lady Wushuang must've anticipated Yun Tianque's betrayal, so she sent these four here with me. "Alright. Do your best. I'll be supporting you from the outside, so tell me if you need help. You're right—we need to take over the sect as soon as possible."

If they didn't, his wargodeans wouldn't survive. Yun Tianque's betrayal would be fatal for them. Even if Li Wushuang couldn't care less, he had to! His people were the ones who would fight the war, while Li Wushuang only came with a dozen of her own. She didn't even have to fear being killed, either! Otherwise, there was no way she would have dealt with Yun Tianque so undiplomatically. The Tumulus Pill God was caught up between the two, agonizing over the losses the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean were about to suffer. If only Li Wushuang hadn't come to mess up their harvest plans… but alas, it was too late!

Time was running out, so the four specters charged into the formation without another word. The Tumulus Pill God sent Li Wushuang a transmission stone to notify her of Yun Tianque's betrayal. However, the little cockroach by his feet saw and heard everything.

……

"Don't rush too much. This formation has ten thousand layers of illusions. It's among the best illusory formations, but its offensive capabilities aren't that high so it isn't that dangerous."

"Right. We only need to keep our eyes and ears out for flaws we can exploit. Once we break through to the inside, it'll be rendered useless."

"That's right."

"Brothers, now's our chance to serve the celestial orderians."

"No doubt we'll earn great merit if we take down the formation by the time Lady Wushuang arrives."

In actuality, Li Wushuang was a person who inspired more fear than love, given her eccentric demeanor. These four had only flocked to her because she would protect them. Otherwise, the celestial orderians wouldn't have taken them in at all and they would have nowhere to go thanks to the crimes they had committed.

"It's so laughable that a second-rate faction dares to betray the celestial orderians. They wouldn't know how terrifying the celestial orderians truly were if they hadn't gone to their territory before."

They continued to fly through the smoky formation. Being grade-six formation gurus, they were experts at clearing the way. Normal people couldn't even find their way in this formation, yet they easily passed through about five thousand layers.

"Hold on a little longer. We'll make it in another hour."

"They think this crappy formation can stop us? They're in for a surprise…."

They were confident indeed, but not without good reason. The Myriadfold Skycloud Formation couldn't stop them. What they didn't expect, however, was for a bunch of clouds to come flying their way, upon which a middle-aged man stood. It was none other than Yun Tianque. "Are you four looking for me?"

"He came to us on a silver platter?" The four of them were shocked.

"No, you're the ones who came to me on a silver platter."

"Huh, a second-rate sect master and his crappy formation wants to take us on?" Their eyes glowed with gleeful malice.

"Nope, not just me. It's the entire Azurecloud Continent against you."

The four specters wanted to laugh, but they felt a chill behind them. Turning back, they spotted a white-haired youth coldly staring at them. "Sky Palace Disciple Li Tianming…."

They knew him, and he wasn't capable of sending a chill down their spine. Instead, the chill had come from Yang Ce, Long Wanying, Gujian Qingshuang, Yan Nuxia, and the rest.

"Congratulations on marching toward death, you four," Tianming said with a smile.