Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 3376 - Suishen Yuan's Loot

"Lead the way," Tianming said.

"Luckily for... you the... destination is... not far!" Yin Chen said.

"Did you already find some Yin-Yang Baleflame?"

"Yes and... someone you... might know."

"Really? Who's that?"

Yin Chen knew where one of its bodies was, but the spatial twists and chaos made the road long and full of pitfalls. It had to constantly tell Tianming to adjust where he was heading. It was quite a huge waste of time, even though they already knew where they were going.

"Go faster! Otherwise the... fight will... finish soon!" Yin Chen said.

"I'm going as fast as I can! You're the one that’s leading me in circles!" Tianming really wanted to freak out over a place like this. He asked Yin Chen for more clarification on what was going on.

It had managed to find some Yin-Yang Baleflame, and also two other cultivators from Myriadpath Valley, one of whom Tianming was familiar with. There seemed to be around a hundred bowls of springwater's worth of baleflame. While that wasn't much for Tianming and only equated to a year of his stipend, it was a huge deal for normal reverends. Naturally, the two cultivators immediately fought over who would be claiming it.

However, Myriadpath Valley's rules regarding settling differences were similar to Infinitum Duels. Their myriadpath rings would decide who won, which was a decent and fair compromise.

Tianming had heard that most people would opt for that kind of duel. They were there to hunt for treasures, after all, so there was no need to form deep grudges over it. Reverends of Myriadpath Valley knew one another well enough and wouldn't kill each other over some Yin-Yang Baleflame.

"Then again, there's still a minority who’ll fight over it, considering the number of deaths during a stable period in the Yin-Yang World. I bet they were assassinated without warning. Transmission stones are useless here, after all, which means the heavy storms are very useful as smokescreens to cover up any killings."

Tianming was well aware that this was a haven for less savory cultivators, which was also why Eminent Jiguang didn't want to let him come. When there was conflict, the dark nature of humanity would show itself, and at a place like this, there was nothing to hold it back—especially not with the subtle influence Yin-Yang Baleflame exerted on the minds of cultivators. Sometimes, even those who called each other brothers might end up fighting to their deaths over it.

Fortunately, the two people that Tianming had been paying attention to had chosen to settle it with a formal duel rather than outright robbery. The reason for that was that one of them was Suishen Yuan, a major pathkeeper, and the other was from House Fenghun. They were an august house of totemancers that deeply respected House Suishen.

Reverend Feng Xuan, also known as Feng the Silent, was a fifth-level foundationeer who should be stronger than Suishen Yuan. Yin Chen had said that he’d discovered the flame earlier and agreed to duel for it when Suishen Yuan arrived. If it had been the other way round, Feng Xuan might not have dared to issue a challenge in fear of offending the major pathkeeper.

"Quickly now... Suishen Yuan... is going... to win," Yin Chen said.

"Got it." Tianming had heard that cultivators that entered the Yin-Yang World use a special method to track Yin-Yang Baleflame: its signature burnt stench. They would use springwater to first stimulate their noses so they would be more sensitive to the stench of the flame, unlike Tianming, who could search with Yin Chen. Springwater was a consumable, however, and while sniffing it only used a little, Tianming couldn't possibly let all of Yin Chen's bodies sniff it, so he had no choice but to rely on their numbers instead.

Tianming took a small whiff of springwater himself and immediately sensed the stark contrasting pungent smell that was coming from the Yin-Yang Baleflame. As he approached, he heard the sound of combat growing louder, mixed with the chaos of the storm. If it was someone else with worse hearing, they probably couldn't even tell the difference.

"Suishen Yuan knows me and the Greatsun Suishen Art. Let me test the mask on him to see if he can recognize me from that." Tianming immediately fused with Meow Meow and used Fiveway Blitzrun. He put on the mask that Zi Zhen had fashioned for him and changed into a completely different person. Even his movement ability was disguised so that not a single lightning bolt could be seen.

When Tianming barged into the battle, he spotted Suishen Yuan just having defeated Reverend Feng Xuan; the states of their myriadpath rings said as much.

"As expected of Major Pathkeeper Suishen! You defeated me even though I’m a level stronger. You have my deepest respect," the reverend shouted, or Suishen Yuan wouldn't be able to hear him in the storm. He immediately disappeared into the storm of yin-yang essence after acknowledging his loss.

Tianming immediately went for the Yin-Yang Baleflame!

"Damn, it stinks!" It smelled like the charred embers of perdition, horribly clashing against the heavenly fragrance of springwater. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a fusion of black and white flames. Like the Yin-Yang World, the flames took the form of butterfly wings. The monochrome butterfly burned brightly amidst the storm.

The strong wind of the storm blew at the Yin-Yang Baleflame. However, it seemed to have its own will and quietly burned so as to not move that quickly within the storm. Otherwise, it would immediately be blown away and be lost for good.

Just as Suishen Yuan happily turned around, he almost coughed out blood. A figure shrouded in black and purple mist had appeared and put the Yin-Yang Baleflame into a special container right before his very eyes before popping it into his spatial ring without another word. Suishen Yuan's loot was gone!

His rage boiled as he yelled, "Who dares to steal my Yin-Yang Baleflame?! You came too late. I discovered the flame with Reverend Feng Xuan and dueled him over it—you have no right to it! I advise you to quickly hand it over or you'll be harshly punished once you return to Myriadpath Valley!"