Beastmaster of the Ages

"Are you going to turn into her?"

When Tianming heard that, his heart skipped a beat. His and Lingfeng's hearts had sunk when Yin Chen had repeated everything to them. According to the Torchdragon Emperor and others, this kind of change in her bane-rings made it possible for Li Wushuang to become a ruler. It was equivalent to a surge in talent. However, how could a woman accept looking like a ghost? Qingyu must be more afraid than Li Wushuang.

In the face of Tianming's question, Qingyu momentarily struggled. With tears in her eyes, she said to the little cockroach in front of her, "Yes." She mentioned how the sun emperor had dripped nine drops of scarlet liquid on her bane-rings before her trip to the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect.

"He said he got it from somewhere in the void. It may cause totems to evolve. Although it can increase one's strength…." The more she spoke, the more her voice trembled. Li Wushuang's current appearance was like a nightmare that she couldn't get out of her mind.

"Damn it!" Lingfeng made a dent in the stone pillar next to him, his eyes darkening. He had desperately prayed for her safety, but in the end, she'd still suffered a mishap.

"Qingyu, do you know anything else about this liquid? For example, its name?" Tianming took a deep breath, his expression icy. His godfather had asked him to protect her; it was his only request. However, the situation wasn't optimistic. Tianming was just as sullen as Lingfeng. Before this, he hadn't openly been in conflict with the domineering sun emperor. But at this moment, Tianming was finally convinced that he was the enemy! He might have indulged in a bit of wishful thinking in the past, because he didn't want to be enemies with such a powerful force.

"I don't know. Maybe Li Wushuang does." Qingyu shook her head.

"Alright, don't panic yet. We'll ask around and see if there's anything we can do to get rid of this thing," Tianming said.

As her big brother, it was Tianming's responsibility to protect her. The urgent task at hand was to figure out what this liquid was.

"Will it affect you for the time being?" Tianming asked.

"No."

"Okay, then remember, you mustn't allow your emotions to fluctuate. Also, make sure your bane-rings are kept intact," Tianming warned. He recalled that Li Wushuang's change had begun when her bane-ring was destroyed by the Wind Swordlord.

Qingyu nodded. After talking to Tianming and Lingfeng, she was no longer alone and felt an inexplicable sense of safety and confidence in herself.

"Don't worry, just follow my arrangements. I promised Godfather that I'd get you out of here safe and sound." Tianming grit his teeth.

The road ahead was difficult, and the one who stood in the way was the ruler of this world. He was extremely strong and had numerous subordinates. Facing the sun emperor right now would be impossible.

"It'll be very difficult. After I was taken there, I thought about escaping. I was so naive. With the mark he planted on me, he'll be able to find me even if I return to the Flameyellow Continent. I might not even be able to escape his control even if I traveled to other worlds with a nova source." Qingyu bitterly smiled.

Tianming had expected as much. A nonabane's talent was equivalent to the celestial orderian's progenitor. How could the sun emperor allow her to escape from the palm of his hand? Just like an inescapable net, his control stretched across the ends of the earth. They were dreaming if they thought a few juniors under the age of thirty could escape him alive. Qingyu's body was covered in invisible chains that made her despair. Because of them, Qingyu could only cultivate after arriving in Orderia.

"Don't worry. I have a way to leave Orderia with a divine astralship. But I can't be sure if it's effective." Tianming told Qingyu about the Imperial Ninedragon Tomb and the Azurecloud Divine Tree Saplings. Her eyes lit up; she finally saw a possibility of breaking out of the sun emperor's clutches.

"Big Brother, we must take our father with us if we have an opportunity to leave!" She said in a low voice, her eyes blurry with tears.

"Our father? Li Wudi?" A puzzled Tianming asked, "Didn't you say the sun emperor isn't your father?"

"Of course he isn't, but… I'm not sure, either," Li Qingyu said.

"Tell me."

"This year, I cultivated in the Ninemoon Palace. I'd also occasionally go to the Divine Sun Palace. I don't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I seemed to see my father sitting on the throne once. The color of his hair is different from the sun emperor's. He didn't speak to me, just waved and pushed me out of the palace. When I entered again, he was gone." As Qingyu recalled the situation at the time, her eyes were filled with doubt.

"Did you make a mistake?" Tianming asked in shock.

"No, the flames are very strong and I was a little absentminded. But one glance was all I needed to know that he was different from the usual sun emperor. After all, I know my father very well. Even if he isn't drinking or bragging, the way he looked at me was different from the sun emperor," Qingyu eagerly said.

Li Wudi had left him a note, asking him to take care of Qingyu while he went to investigate the secret of the experiment. It was clear he had left the Flameyellow Continent. Nothing in the Tianming Dynasty and Flameyellow Continent could escape Tianming's eyes. If Li Wudi was still in the Flameyellow Continent, Tianming would have been able to find him. However, only gods at Ascension could leave the Welkin plane. All of that suggested that Li Wudi had undergone further changes after the transformation of his bane-rings.

"You mean it's possible that Godfather is in the Divine Sun Palace?" Tianming asked.

"It's possible.… Where else could he go?"

"Perhaps that devil imprisoned us because of our bane-rings!" Qingyu said, her voice filled with hatred.

"Why do you call the sun emperor the devil?" Tianming asked.

"It's something I've felt from the moment we met. I hate him. He's a terrifying man who seems to be in control of everything. He holds my fate in his hands and treats me like a puppet. I'm not allowed to resist him." Qingyu bit her lip in resentment.

Tianming nodded. Bowing his head, he contemplated for a moment and said, "If Godfather has yet to appear despite being in the Divine Sun Palace this whole time, then it's complicated. It means the sun emperor treats him differently. You're valuable enough to be nurtured. Perhaps Godfather's value can only be exploited if he's imprisoned or dead! Qingyu, do you know what Godfather was talking about when he mentioned experiments? Can you guess the connection between Godfather and the sun emperor?"