“Huff… huff….” Chong Yang was gasping for breath when he came out of the palace. His face was pale, and covered in cold sweat. He and Mo Yu both collapsed to the ground in a corner of the Imperial City, looking like two beggars on the side of the road.
“N-national funeral…” Chong Yang had a difficult time speaking, as if there was something stuck in his throat.
“How is that possible? His Majesty’s only three hundred years old. With his cultivation, the limit of his lifespan should be five hundred years. So how did he die all of a sudden…?” Mo Yu was dazed.
“I don’t know what happened. Anyway, there weren't any traces of battle. The members of the Ancient Theocrats will soon return, and we’ll know what happened then.” Even Chong Yang still couldn’t believe that all of this was true.
“The sky is changing.” Mo Yu closed her eyes.
“Yeah… the Theocracy of the Ancients no longer has a pillar.…”
“I wonder if His Majesty assigned a new successor before passing away?”
“If not, the two princes, Dongyang Ling and Dongyang Yun, will definitely start fighting.” Chong Yang panicked a little.
“His Majesty was on the throne for two centuries, and during his reign, eight crown princes died. But he suddenly left without raising a new crown prince!”
“I heard that His Majesty initially planned to make the ninth prince, Dongyang Ling, the crown prince next month,” said Chong Yang.
“So the ninth prince will succeed the throne?”
“I don’t know. It’ll be troublesome if the ninth and thirteenth prince start fighting. In recent years, the clans have supported the ninth prince, Dongyang Ling. On the other hand, those brutes of the Saint Martial Manor support the thirteenth prince, Dongyang Yun. There’s also the Decimo Dao Palace, and other forces. It’ll be troublesome if everything becomes a mess,” said Chong Yang.
“That’s right. I thought His Majesty would abdicate the throne and support an heir for the new Primeval Autarch, just like how the throne was inherited in the past. But his sudden death left this mess, and even if there’s a decree for the new autarch, I’m afraid that it’ll be impossible to convince the masses.”
“The autarch beast won’t last long with His Majesty’s death.”
The two of them exchanged a look, and their faces were unsightly. Suddenly, Mo Yu said, “There’s another problem here!”
“What is it?”
“The Ancient Theocrats’ legacy goes a long way back, and they would always have an empyrean saint around. But ever since the Cyclic Mirror was stolen by Li Muyang four decades ago, the Ancient Theocrats have never given birth to a new empyrean saint. Even the thirteenth prince is somewhat lacking, and it’ll be dangerous without an empyrean saint around to hold the situation,” said Mo Yu.
“They relied on the Cyclic Mirror to obtain the fate souls of the people to reach the Empyrean Saint stage. Although the people were free from suffering for the past four decades, the dynasty is probably in trouble. They might still be powerful, but there’s still internal and external troubles around,” said Chong Yang.
“Don’t be too pessimistic. Maybe His Majesty already made preparations for it. For the time being, the foreign threat isn’t too big of an issue. After all, the dynasty doesn’t have any rivals in the territory. But the troublesome thing right now is the internal friction between the two princes…” Mo Yu said; she could feel a headache coming on.
“Furthermore, this is also related to our Ancient Qilin Clan!” said Chong Yang.
“That’s right.”
“If the clans and officials of the dynasty are forced to make a stand…. We might be punished by His Majesty, but our clan is still strong. At the very least, there won’t be an issue for us to be ranked within the top three among the clans. And if we don’t take a stand, we’ll surely be wiped out by them first thing. Return immediately and hold an emergency meeting!” said Chong Yang.
“What about Tianming’s ability to tear the Infernal Soul Barrier?”
“The question is, who are you going to inform about that? Who can make decisions right now? Regardless of Dongyang Yun and Dongyang Ling, do you think that they dare to oppress the Decimo Dao Palace without an empyrean saint around? With His Majesty’s death, who can deal with the Decimo Dao Palace?”
“Then what about Li Muyang’s matter?”
“They won’t give a damn about it. The Cyclic Mirror might be important, but they only have the throne in their eyes right now. At the very least, it’s no longer possible for us to get the Cyclic Mirror back through Tianming.” Chong Yang took a deep breath. The youth had completely slipped away from him now.
“Without His Majesty, the Decimo Dao Palace has suddenly become the toughest rock around….”
“The only way forward for us right now is to try and chase after Li Muyang through the Cyclic Barrier. As for the Theocrats, let’s give it a few more days for the storm to settle down.”
“We can only do that.…”
……
The scenery was gorgeous on the hillside, with grass growing wildly. Tianming, the three Hall Kings, and Bai Zijin were all dumbfounded as they looked at the black-haired youth rolling around in the grass. He would climb the mountains, pick grass, swim, and run around like a newborn monkey. Everyone could tell that he was pleased, and even an ant could catch his attention.
“He doesn’t seem too smart,” Bai Zijin said with a headache.
“Yeah.…”
“This is the effect of eighty thousand souls fused into one?” Bai Zijin couldn’t help laughing. As Ye Lingfeng had to be released within half an hour, Tianming had no choice but to confess Ye Lingfeng’s identity and origins.
“The Infernal Soul Clan is truly admirable. They’ve created one of their greatest works, and I greatly admire their courage!” the Future Hall King suddenly said.
“Sacrificing eighty thousand lives just to create... him. Just listening to the story was sad. This child has too many burdens, and he should come out to take a look at the world so that the eighty thousand souls in him can feel it together,” said the Sky Hall King with reddened eyes. It was surprising that none of them had reprimanded Tianming for bringing Ye Lingfeng out. On the contrary, they were all moved by the Infernal Soul Race’s story.
“The Infernal Soul Race is great and admirable. This child will definitely become a miracle,” said the South Hall King. When Tianming heard what they said, he felt relieved. At the very least, Ye Lingfeng’s safety would be guaranteed.
“Tianming, you can’t let anyone know about Ye Lingfeng’s origins, aside from us. You can’t even mention the Infernal Soul Race at all. We’ll deal with his identity, and in the future, he can cultivate with you. Never let him be alone; he’s a blank piece of paper right now. Do you know what I mean?” said the Future Hall King.
“Please be reassured, Hall King. Feng is my friend.” Tianming smiled.
“Alright.” It took a long time for the three of them to calm down, and they even examined Ye Lingfeng’s body. At first, Ye Lingfeng was a little reluctant, but he gradually relaxed when Tianming told him that they were all friends.
“Are you guys done?” Ye Lingfeng asked, feeling a little uneasy.
“It’s done.” The three Hall Kings nodded. The moment the three Hall Kings said they were done, Ye Lingfeng immediately dashed out and started rolling on the ground, picking flowers to decorate his pants, and jumping into the lake.
He didn’t say a word. By relaxing his mind, he captured everything in the surroundings with his senses and wore a smile on his face. Lying on the surface of the water, he looked at the blue sky and fluffy clouds. Looking at the scenery, his soul trembled. He knew that the eighty thousand people were all sensing it together with him. Many people cried, and a tear rolled down Feng’s cheeks.
“So this is the outside world.…” He thought of the vague face as a woman gently looked at him.
“Feng, feel it,” her gentle voice sounded out.
“Mother…” Ye Lingfeng couldn’t hold back his tears and started crying. He now remembered who she was; she was in his own soul, and Ye Lingfeng had finally found her. He wanted to hug her, but he could no longer do it anymore.
“Feng, we can see everything that you see. Don’t be sad. We’re all with you.”
“Big Brother Feng, can I smell the flowers?” many voices sounded out in his head.
“Of course you can,” Ye Lingfeng said with excitement. He moved over to the flowers and smelled them. “Can you smell it? It smells great!”
“Feng!” a heavy voice suddenly rang out in his mind. “Remember to take revenge for us!”
That voice made Ye Lingfeng’s crimson eyes turn even more frightening as lots of scenes flashed in his mind. Crushing the stone in his hand, he declared, “I am one of the Infernal Soul Race!” This time, his voice no longer sounded empty like it did before.
……
“Hall King, won’t people suspect anything if Feng joins the Decimo Dao Palace without a lifebound beast?” Tianming asked on their way back.
“It’s fine. We already have an idea to resolve it,” said the Future Hall King.
“What is it?”
“We’ll just say that his lifebound beast died.”
“Then wouldn’t he be a cripple? What if he progresses in his cultivation?” Tianming asked.
“Have you heard of the Lifespirit Barrier?” the Future Hall King asked. After Tianming shook his head, the Future Hall King continued, “It’s a unique heavenly pattern barrier. Within an hour of death of the lifebound beast, a patternscribe can draw a Lifespirit Barrier, turning the deceased lifebound beast into a lifebound spirit. The lifebound spirit is a symbiotic energy source that can stay in the lifebound space and cultivate with the beastmaster. Although the lifebound spirit will become stronger, there’s no way for them to come out and fight. That way, a beastmaster can still carry on cultivating even after the death of their lifebound beast.
“But there are a few issues with it. Firstly, all cultivation will solely depend on the beastmaster, and the lifebound spirit is just a remnant energy medium. So the cultivation speed will be greatly reduced. Secondly, the beastmaster won’t be able to summon a lifebound beast in battle, nor can they use its spiritsource abilities.”
That also means that if a lifebound beast dies, it’s essentially dead, but the Lifespirit Barrier can turn it into an energy medium to carry on the cultivation system. This method couldn’t be used to save the lives of the lifebound beasts, however.
“The Lifespirit Barrier is difficult, and it’s not something that anyone can succeed in using. There aren’t many people who know how to use the Lifespirit Barrier in the entire Divine Capital. But in the Decimo Dao Palace, the Life Hall Master knows how to use it, and the Life Hall Master is one of us,” the Future Hall King smiled.
“So we just claim that Feng’s lifebound beast died, and been converted into a lifebound spirit?” Tianming asked.
“That’s right.”
“What about the stars in his eye?”
“It doesn’t matter. No one will think about the lifebound beasts. Speaking of which, since he has thirty-six stars, that means that he’s a part of the lifebound beast, and he can also undergo spiritsource evolution, allowing him to evolve as a whole,” said the Future Hall King.
He had already examined Ye Lingfeng, and his body was a fusion between man and beast. While he was a beastmaster, he was a lifebound beast at the same time. So could even execute spiritsource abilities.
However, the three Hall Kings had forbidden Ye Lingfeng from executing any spiritsource abilities, or it would reveal the fact that he was from the Infernal Soul Race. Now that Tianming had sorted out Ye Lingfeng’s matters, he was filled with anticipation toward his future life in the Decimo Dao Palace. Moreover, he was starting to miss Feiling. It had been two months since they had parted.