Beastmaster of the Ages

"Can I take it out and use it?" Tianming asked.

"Of course not. Once you touch it, it will scatter. Divine ordered patterns need mediums like ores or herbs. Otherwise they're useless."

"Understood." In other words, every cultivation resource stems from divine ordered patterns and nova sources. Lifebound beasts evolve using manna, which is another distinct fundamental part of the universe.

Back then, he knew very little about divine ordered patterns, but he finally rectified that lack of understanding today. Divine ordered patterns and nova sources resulted in naturally occurring divine ores, herbs, and hazards, which could in turn be made into artifacts or pills by people.

Guess it's even clearer to me now how I should hatch the rest of the Primordial Chaos Beasts. Either I get lots of divine hazards, or I use a fundamental cosmic force with a fitting element.

While the stellunar source of the Divine Moon Realm had enough energy, it was too bad that the fifth egg didn't like the element. By now, the two of them had reached the deepest part of the pathway. The stellunar source here was rampaging wildly, to the point that the sound hurt his ears. He felt like his eardrums were about to explode; it was as if he was at the bottom of the ocean. The slightest failure in the fusion formation could cause him to be completely swallowed up by the stellunar source, but the same also applied to Sovereign Xi. Even she felt small in comparison to that huge power.

"We're here."

They had finally reached the mooncore, an eerie place indeed. Everything there was completely dark, and even the sound from outside was gone. The space was probably twisted due to the sheer force produced by the stellunar source. He felt like his body and the sovereign's were longer than usual from the tugging force, and it was only thanks to his astral disc body that he could resist the pull. Any normal person that came here would surely be torn to shreds.

It was no surprise, then, that a way into the world of caeli would be formed in a place where such forces ran wild. The instant Tianming came here, he stopped thinking about divine ordered patterns and looked for the entrance to the xenomemory space. Immediately, he spotted a dark vortex that seemed to be where the space was most twisted, right at the center of the core. It really stood out.

He took a few glances at it. If I can get the dimensional rope, I'll be able to enter and save Feng. The fusion formation can't stop me, the only issue is how to get that rope.

That would have to depend on the sovereign. Come to think of it, there was nothing here apart from the entrance to the xenomemory space—why had she brought him here in the first place?

Since they arrived, she had been looking at him through her mask. She seemed all the more terrifying in the presence of such odd forces. Everything was quiet, a calm before the storm that was her bringing up her trump card. Tianming had killed Yueshen Hao, so things were bound to change.

At that moment, she laughed abruptly and took out a black rope from her spatial ring. Then a transparent bottle appeared in her other hand that contained a drop of blood. That sight was completely out of his expectations. Whose blood was that? What was she trying to tell him? His gaze wavered.

"Sigh... are all men fools like you? When will you learn to try hiding your concern for others?" Sovereign Xi said, shaking her head.

"What're you trying to say?" Tianming felt a headache welling up. He had a feeling that she was more cunning than Li Caiwei. Her shiftiness was impossible to figure out.

"Let me guess... you're Ye Lingfeng's friend and you're trying to save him, so you came to me of your own accord, right?"

Tianming had no words. If she knew about that, what didn't she know?

"Do you want to know how We found out?" she asked, winking. "It's simple: careful observation. Women are mysterious figures that you'll never figure out, you know. Don't pretend you're smart if you're in the company of one. We know your every move and thought. Men are all fools if they think they know better, and you're no exception."

In her eyes, Tianming was nothing but a foolish child. Since she had already said as much, there was no longer any point in denying it. She wouldn't buy it. So Tianming went straight to the point. "You've guessed right. However, I'd like to know what gave me away."

"Then you'd better listen up."

"I'm all ears."

"First, We heard that you managed to leave the Veneramoon Formation despite not being a member of the divine moonrace. We took note of that and began to have Our doubts."

"But you hadn't met me back then, and I was a no-name. You're telling me you remember that insignificant little detail?"

"Yes, We do. We take note of what most would deem insignificant. No detail can escape Us. You might think that was insignificant, but in Our eyes, it was a huge mystery that needed to be answered. It unnerved Us greatly." Watchful people like that were rather scary in their own right.

"What else?"

"Second, since you came to Divine Moon Skycity, We've had Our eyes on you the entire time. That night when you were at the blood lake, We saw your arm tear through the formation. And tonight, We saw you destroy Yueshen Hao's formation as well. Third, yesterday was your first day in Xi Palace, yet you already requested freedom of movement. When We limited it to only the city, We noticed a slight change in your expression that indicated satisfaction from Our response. That was how We concluded you were able to leave the city at any time using your arm." When she finished, she continued to look at him, smiling.

Now he knew the reason that he had been found out was that he'd underestimated how careful she was, as well as how significant she thought him to be. It was no surprise that she wouldn't let him out of her sight at all. With her power, she could hide from him and never be discovered. The fact that she had taken note of him leaving the Veneramoon Formation meant there was no way he would have been able to leave the city tonight.

"So what does all that have to do with Ye Lingfeng?" Tianming asked.

"It's also really simple."

"It can't be. The two of us are completely unrelated."

"That seems to be the case on the surface, but here's where I tell you that women's intuition is a real thing."

"What do you mean?"

"When We said we were bringing you to the mooncore, your expression shifted ever so slightly, but it couldn't escape Our eyes. When We took out the dimensional rope and a vial of Ye Lingfeng's blood, your expression changed again. Even if your irises dilate only the slightest micron, We'll take note of it. While there's no rational justification for Our doubts, We've always felt that Ye Lingfeng was somehow related to you, hence Our tests," she explained.

In other words, she was incredibly observant! There was no way he couldn't have any reaction to all that had happened, and she had picked up on every clue. Not only was she a mastermind in full control of the situation, it almost seemed like she obsessed over every insignificant detail. He should have been clued in to her nature when he saw that the three thousand skeletons were arranged in the exact same position, nailed down with the exact same number of nails at the exact same places.

"We'll let you in on another shocking fact," she said, putting the blood and dimensional rope away as she slowly approached him. "Just now, We used Yueshen Qi's blood to leave a Bluemoon Heart mark on your chin. This is a fourth-realm divine art. As long as that's on your body, We will be able to find you no matter where you go. You'll never be able to escape the palm of Our hand."

Tianming didn't even know he had been hit. Using his third eye, he saw a small blue dot on his chin.

"Damn, how are you that impressive?"

"It's a natural talent. Convinced?" she said mischievously.

"Then can you answer two more questions of mine?"

"Sure. Go ahead, darling."

"First, why are you carrying Ye Lingfeng's blood on your person?" It would be normal to expect her to ditch the blood of someone who had been exiled on the orders of the celestial orderians so that he would never have a chance of being recovered. He was also worried about another thing; given how observant she was, she might even guess that he had come from the Flameyellow Continent. All he could do was try to get her to reveal what she knew.

"That's because We were planning to secretly get him out of there and use his life to do something for Us. High risk, high reward."

"Got it. Then, my second question: what are you trying to achieve by showing me your hand?"

"That's because We no longer have to take that risk. You will be a good replacement for Ye Lingfeng! That's the whole reason We were observing you from beginning to end. Any other questions?"

"Yes."

"Ask away then."

"What am I supposed to be replacing him for?"

"Shh!" She placed her index finger at her mouth as she hushed him.

"What does that mean?"

"Loudly announcing Our grand ambition before carrying it out will jinx it. Let Us whisper it to you," she said as she approached his ear. "We... want you... to turn Us from a maiden... to a woman...."

"I've seen more men who've waited on you than pigs in my life, hag."

"What're you talking about? Didn't you see what happened to them? We nailed them all to poles. They never touched Us, hehe..."

So she was a five-century-old virgin? A withering, unplucked flower?

"You must already be molding...."

He knew that this monster was planning to kill him for sure. However, he couldn't help his quipping. After he vented, he felt relieved and not panicked in the slightest. But given how sly she was, there was no way to tell if she was lying.