Beastmaster of the Ages

"You want to cultivate here?" Bai Zijin asked.

"Yeah."

"With the lifetime curse on your forehead and the blazing temperature here, along with the lack of spiritual energy, you can only replenish your beast ki here. Don't even think about increasing your beast ki or saint origin. Without beast ki, you won't even have the foundation to temper your heavenly will. So the six months will just be a waste of time," Bai Zijin said honestly.

Everyone shared the same thoughts, but not many knew that the Prime Tower had an endless supply of spiritual energy it was providing to Tianming and his lifebound beasts. The heat in the Infernal Soul Purgatory was terrible, and not even someone in the Heavenly Will stage could bear it; however, Tianming felt comfortable there.

The Infernal Soul Barrier seemed like a thin, translucent layer. But despite how thin the barrier looked, it was still tough. The upper layer was decorated with countless barrier nuclei, with threads connected to them that provided energy for the barrier.

Tianming found a barrier nucleus located in a corner and planned to go into seclusion there for the next six months. On the other hand, Bai Zijin felt that the next six months would be dull and boring.

"Big Sister Bai, can you tell me more about the Infernal Soul Race?" Tianming asked curiously.

"Why do you talk so much?" Bai Zijin was just about to close her eyes and rest.

"I can't help it. I don't know anything here, so I can't help feeling a little nervous if I don't ask about it." Tianming smiled.

Bai Zijin explained with a cold expression, "The Infernal Soul Race is a strange race. It was rumored that their ancestor used a secret technique to fuse newborns with their lifebound beasts, which led to a transformation in their bodies. Most of them had a human body and beast head, but they also came in other forms."

"They practice battle arts, but can also utilize spiritsource abilities. After merging with their beasts, they have the spiritsource of a beastmaster and lifebound beast combined. So much so that they could even fuse their souls, devouring the souls of their lifebound beasts to empower their own. After that transformation, their descendants didn't have to undergo the same process again. Their newborns were already fused. I heard that all of them look pretty disgusting." Bai Zijin was a little unhappy; she clearly wasn't fond of them.

"Disgusting?" Tianming was stunned.

"That was what the seniors told me. I've never seen a member of the Infernal Soul Race, myself. They've been suppressed by the Ancient Theocrats and thrown into the Infernal Soul Volcano, punished with the Infernal Soul Barrier since twenty thousand years ago. I have no idea how many generations it's been since then," said Bai Zijin.

"Isn't that a little too cruel? Twenty thousand years in the Infernal Soul Purgatory? How many generations of hatred have been accumulated? Why didn't the Ancient Theocrats just kill them, instead of torturing them?" Tianming asked, taking in a deep breath.

There were many methods crueler than killing in this world, and Tianming had experienced it for himself now by seeing how the Theocrats treated the Infernal Soul Race. For the past four decades, even the Ancient Qilin Clan had been the Theocrats' tool.

"They must be making an example out of someone to prevent revolts. In this regard, the Ancient Theocrats have never been merciful. No one can shake their rule over the Theocracy of the Ancients, not in the slightest," Bai Zijin said unhappily.

Tianming could tell that she didn't like the Infernal Soul Race, but at the same time, she also had her objections about how the Ancient Theocrats had dealt with this matter. As Bai Zijin looked at the barrier beneath her feet, she continued, "Tianming, do you know why the Ancient Theocrats used the Infernal Soul Barrier to suppress the Infernal Soul Race?"

Tianming responded by shaking his head.

"That's because after undergoing the merging of human and lifebeast souls, the Infernal Soul Race became very powerful. They're more complete in that form. This granted them immense talent as patternscribes, and every single one of them was powerful. They created all kinds of heavenly pattern barriers and tomes. Eventually, they became the strongest clan of patternscribes in history. So any surviving clansmen suffer the pain of having their souls burned. That way, it's impossible for them to give birth to new patternscribes, let alone destroy the Infernal Soul Barrier," said Bai Zijin.

"Patternscribe clan?" Tianming had always longed for this unique profession. The power of the Spiritburn Tome and Bloodbane Barrier had shown him how powerful a patternscribe was. He then asked, "Big Sister Bai, are there any patternscribes in the Decimo Dao Palace?"

"Of course. Although there aren't many that possess the talent to become a patternscribe, the Decimo Dao Palace is, after all, the cradle of geniuses in Theocracy of the Ancients."

"Then is there any powerful patternscribe existence in the dao palace?"

"My father. You can give it a try, if you're interested. Then again, that's only if you manage to make it out after six months. If you learn from my father, it won't be an issue for you to create ordinary heavenly pattern barriers, even if you can't become a patternscribe," said Bai Zijin. After all, his father was a future Decimo Dao King.

"Then what does the 'Decimo' in the Decimo Dao Palace mean?" Tianming asked.

"They represent directions. They're the east, south, west, north, sky, earth, life, death, past, and future," Bai Zijin explained. Li Qingyu was a disciple of the Sky Hall King.

Tianming had only asked because he wanted to know if the 'Decimo' in the Decimo Dao Palace was related to his Aeonic Grandbane. Through their conversation, he had learned more about the Infernal Soul Barrier and Infernal Soul Race. Now, it was time for him to go into seclusion.

……

The black patterns on the Infernal Soul Barrier formed a black lotus platform, which was the barrier nucleus. There were at least tens of thousands of barrier cores in the barrier's upper layer, putting it on the same level as the Bloodbane Barrier.

"I can't imagine what the Infernal Soul Race has to suffer since they're born. Compared to them, what the Ancient Qilin Clan suffered is nothing." Tianming sat down on the platform, while Bai Zijin was bored and closed her eyes to rest.

"Boss, I want to sleep beside that top-grade mount!" Meow Meow suddenly spoke out.

"Dream on. All of you start cultivating. As for Lan Huang, start with the Olympos Imperius and Oceanos Imperius," Tianming ordered.

What Tianming planned to work on was the third sword of the Shenxiao Sword Art. He placed the Grand-Orient Sword on his lap and, with the aid of the Prime Tower in his lifebound space, tried circulating the three cultivation techniques, which went smoothly. As long as he had the Prime Tower, he would be able to cultivate, although it was slightly inferior to Li Shenxiao's tomb.

Tianming had no worries about staying here at all. He even started doubting the lifetime curse's effectiveness, and wondered if there was nothing to it except a mark. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't dare to gamble with his life, he would've already left with Li Wudi.

"The Infernal Soul Barrier…." As Tianming cultivated, his interest in the Infernal Soul Barrier was piqued. After all, what made this thin barrier so terrifying? When he placed his hand on the barrier, he could sense it fluctuating, seemingly welcoming him.

"Mhm?" Tianming was dumbfounded when he sensed the sudden changes. His left arm, which was given the name of Ancient Devil Arm by Chong Yang, actually entered the barrier.

"Holy shit!" Tianming was stunned, and his scalp went numb. The Ancient Devil Arm could penetrate the Infernal Soul Barrier? The Infernal Soul Barrier was the greatest masterpiece of the Infernal Soul Race, but it was useless against Tianming.

He immediately withdrew his fingers to avoid anyone seeing what he had done. Discreetly, he gave it several attempts, and each time, his fingers could penetrate the barrier without any difficulty. But there wasn't any reaction when he tried with his right hand. When his Ancient Devil Arm entered the Infernal Soul Barrier, the black patterns started gathering toward his arm.

Then won't I be able to tear it apart if I use a little more strength? If that's the case, wouldn't I be able to release the Infernal Soul Race? Holy Shit! What the hell's going on? Tianming wouldn't be so shocked if Bai Zijin hadn't told him how powerful the Infernal Soul Barrier was. After several attempts, Tianming was certain that he could easily tear it apart. With a gentle pull of his crimson claws, the thin layer easily broke. Although the hole quickly repaired itself, it also showed that Tianming had the ability to tear the barrier apart if he made a bigger move.

Furthermore, Tianming also had a strange feeling. It was as if his left arm had an inexplicable connection with the heavenly patterns on the barrier, like his arm had control over it by nature. When he tried touching the patterns, they would wriggle around his hand, allowing him to absorb the secrets of the barrier.

Why didn't I discover this function of the black arm in the past? Through the hexagon scales, it seemed that he could swiftly absorb the profundities contained in the heavenly patterns. It felt like the Infernal Soul Barrier's secrets are within my reach, which is the same way I feel with the Grand-Orient Sword.

Tianming then tried using his left arm to grab at the heavenly patterns on the golden gate. He discovered that he could easily crush those heavenly patterns, which then turned into golden particles and gathered above his Imperial Will.

Why didn't I discover this in the past? Or did the black arm only recently start changing? Tianming couldn't figure it out, but then again, it wasn't important. What was important was that it felt terrific!