Beastmaster of the Ages

"Hurry up!" Since Bodhi was going to move the moon back, Tianming ignored the Archaionfiend's rambling. He wasn't worried about any tricks, since Bodhi didn't have to stop the moon's descent at all if he intended to mess around, let alone allow Tianming down to disturb him. Sometimes true affection and love couldn't be disguised. It was especially apparent in the eyes.

Like Tianming had predicted, Bodhi gradually stood up and returned to the formation core without any thought of resistance, then steered the moon back up. He had made his choice and given up.

"After it's done, hand me the Moonsoul Dream," Tianming said.

"Alright."

"After that, kill yourself. To make up for it, I'll remove Latticeheart Curse from Little You for good. I'll also allow the remaining specters to continue living in the Abyssal Battlefield." Seeing Bodhi maintain his silence, Tianming continued, "I'm a simple person. As long as nobody pushes me into a corner, I won't do the same. Your wife and son's deaths were the result of you forcing my hand. If I hadn't ensured their deaths, the humans of the Flameyellow Continent would never have survived."

Bodhi took a deep breath and turned to Little You, gritting his teeth. "Alright, I'll end myself. It's over for me."

His swift submission made Tianming feel unsure. Was this really it? He was beginning to doubt it himself, but the moon was still rising back up.

"Your curse is truly impressive. It really ruined everything for me." Bodhi made a forlorn smile. The thought of Little You's current state had chilled him so much that the fire of his ancestors' revenge was completely extinguished.

"What choice did I have? Think about it—what were you planning to do? If I weren't cruel enough to have countermeasures in place, all the denizens of both worlds would've turned to ash. I can't allow that to come to pass."

Tianming had never expected that the curse they had left behind would play such a pivotal role. Bodhi's greatest mistake was letting Little You run into Feiling, or rather, giving birth to a daughter in the first place. As terrifying as the entire affair had been, its resolution was deceptively simple. He closely eyed Bodhi to make sure he didn't pull any tricks.

"Daddy…" Little You had finally recovered somewhat. She tugged on his pants and looked up at him.

"Little You, it's fine. We won't have a home anymore, but you'll be able to grow up fine. Li Tianming isn't really a bad guy," he said with a pained smile.

"So, are you giving up just like that?"

"Yes… it's my loss. I've been completely defeated, I'm afraid." He closed his eyes to relive what he had just seen. It was a complete nightmare that had doused his fiery hatred like cold water, shocking him awake from his raging fervor.

"Daddy!" Little You yelled all of a sudden.

"What?" Bodhi looked down and noticed that his daughter's eyes were still bloodshot. She looked as mad as Bodhi had just now.

"You told me that we have to answer for every single drop of blood in our bodies! We have to avenge them and restore our race! You said you'd plant a glorious seed that'll bear fruit and swallow up all the sinners so that our kin back in the Ninefold Hell will have a place to call home! But now, you're saying that you've lost because of me! Don't you care about our ancestors cursing you? Why'd you become a coward and kneel to your enemy? Can you still face Big Brother, Mother, and the rest of our kin?!" she howled as she tugged on his pants with both hands.

In her eyes was boundless hate, which stunned Bodhi. He was all too familiar with the look; he was even the one who had planted the seed in his daughter. As it sprouted and grew, he had felt blissful and fulfilled. Yet this time around, it felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. He was the one who had done this to himself, carefully molding Little You into what she was today. He stopped her from eating grass, and made her eat the flesh of the divine moonrace instead. He had taught her how to swallow the rage and hate, savoring it all the way.

"Little You, listen. I've already lost. You're too young. You can't—"

"No! No! No!" Her nails tore into his flesh as she glared at him with hate. "I won't be the chains that hold you back! If you give up on your mission and kneel to your enemy, it'll be my fault! Daddy, don't forget! The blood in our veins isn't our own!" Her voice was higher pitched than ever and her face was a contorted mess.

"It's okay, Little You…" He hurriedly picked her up, helpless.

"It's not okay!" she cried as she slapped him on the head, leaving bloody marks and biting off his ear. "Daddy, I hate myself for turning you this way. So, I don't deserve to live."

She loosened her mouth and let Bodhi's ear fall into her palm.

"Don't let her kill herself!" Tianming shrieked, almost losing his voice.

However, Little You's blood was special. Like Bodhi's, it didn't belong to her, but her hate-filled ancestors. That instant, countless arrows of blood burst from her body, splattering all over Bodhi. She squeezed out a final smile and said, "Daddy, bury me at our new home, alright?"

Everything was silent in the mooncore, apart from the blood dripping from Bodhi's body. Tianming and Lin Xiaoxiao watched the scene, dumbstruck. The little girl had ended herself, propelling the lifeforms of the Flameyellow Continent and the Divine Moon Realm on a trajectory of death once more. But this time, it was even more terrifying.

Bodhi slumped to the ground, his hands shaking. However, he still tightly hugged the near bloodless girl. His eyes were blank as he lightly rubbed his blood-covered face on her white hair. Though he was still alive, he looked like a dead man. Little You no longer contained the hateful blood of her ancestors, and looked like she had been released of all debts. Perhaps she felt peace at the thought of being buried in her new home, so she looked like she had merely fallen asleep in her father's arms.

Bodhi was completely gone. His ego had evaporated along with the release of the blood arrows. When his gaze met Tianming's once more, he was a complete beast. He took out a casket and put Little You's corpse into it gently, setting her clothes and hair right before putting a blanket over her and closing the casket up, then giving it one last sentimental look. He put away the casket, stood up, and lightly twisted the formation core, causing the Divine Moon Realm to rapidly fall once more.