"Cut the bullshit!" Gong Tianjian was terrified. She suddenly grabbed Yun Sheng's hand and said anxiously:

"What good could possibly come of this? Even if that walking calamity dominates the Ancestor Immortal Grotto and crushes all the geniuses, so what? He's offended the Blue Necrosquid demon tribe; he's doomed! He's just a mere child—not even a top-tier Boundless Immortal—how can he survive? Even Si Ji is like tofu compared to the Blue Necrosquid demon tribe—completely defenseless! We've already made a misstep. We must go to the Samsara Hall immediately and plead for forgiveness! It would be best if our master intervenes!"

Yun Sheng glanced at her again. Finally, he said in a deep voice, "Junior Sister Gong, just now, that calamity you speak of saved my daughter."

"So what! Is your daughter's life more important than all our fellow disciples in the Elysian Immortal Palace?" Gong Tianjian shouted, disregarding Yun Sheng's authority right in front of everyone.

Yun Sheng frowned, his voice turning cold, "You don't need to use the sect to pressure me. Matters of the Elysian Immortal Palace are decided by the Yun Clan, not you. If you're truly anxious, you can betray the sect and join the Southern Divine Dragon Realm to ensure your safety. There's no need to shout at me."

"You!" Gong Tianjian felt as if cold water had been poured over her. Tears streamed down as she broke down. "Senior Brother, I was born in the Elysian Immortal Palace, cultivated in the Elysian Immortal Palace, and I will die in the Elysian Immortal Palace! You don't need to doubt my loyalty!"

"Then shut up and step aside," Yun Sheng said coldly.

Hearing this, Gong Tianjian, though seething with rage, bit her lip and retreated silently.

Soon, she received a flying talisman.

「

The Black and White Dragon Emperors have infiltrated the Million Starlight Palace, preparing to kill the two traitors Shen Nanyin and Shi Feifei. Your task is to restrain Wan Ji.

」

This was the content of the talisman.

Gong Tianjian held the talisman and smiled coldly. She knew this was her chance to prove her

true

loyalty.

▬ι══🪦✧⚰️✧🪦══ι▬

Back in the Ancestor Immortal Grotto…

"Hey, wake up."

A hand appeared on a smooth, delicate face. Slender fingers were gently patting the face.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

"Mhm..." The innocent, bunny-like girl Yun Lingchen drowsily opened her eyes.

In her blurred vision appeared a face of unparalleled beauty—so handsome it could make the heavens tremble and ghosts weep.

"Ah! Ah!" Yun Lingchen instinctively jumped in fright, letting out a scream.

After all, the owner of this face had, just a day ago, given her a nightmare about losing her purity, making her think she'd lost her innocence in front of countless people.

"Is that really necessary? I'm the one who saved you."

As she instinctively tried to run, Yun Xiao grabbed her by the nape of her neck, lifting her like a real little rabbit.

"Don't! Please don't!" Yun Lingchen burst into tears. As she cried, she noticed that Feng Yao, Zu Xi, Mu Xihe, and others were all there, watching her with barely suppressed laughter.

"Oh..." Yun Lingchen shuddered, finally breaking free from her fear. She remembered that this guy behind her was actually her only hope in her moment of despair!

"You... you saved me?" Yun Lingchen turned back shakily, looking at Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao released her, gave her a glare, and said, "Who else?"

"Oh, right." Yun Lingchen breathed a sigh of relief, looked around, and whispered, "Those terrifying wraiths aren't still chasing us, are they?"

"They can't chase us," Yun Xiao replied.

"Why not?" Yun Lingchen asked, puzzled.

Yun Xiao lifted the Heaven Burial Sword Soul, pointing to the 33 Sword Rings on it. "Look, they're all here."

Yun Lingchen's eyes immediately widened. She froze for a full 30 seconds, like an ice sculpture for a long, long time.

After going through the same mental process as the others, she now looked at Yun Xiao with complete awe.

She was completely stunned.

The whole group fell into silence.

"Everyone's finally here. Shall we proceed deeper into the Ancestor Immortal Grotto?" Feng Yao asked.

Yun Xiao was about to nod when something seemed off with Zu Xi. He stepped away briefly, and when he returned, his brow was furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Yun Xiao asked.

Zu Xi looked at him, stepped forward, and said in a heavy voice, "I've received a secret order."

"I thought communication between inside and outside was prohibited?" Feng Yao said, surprised.

"There are always loopholes." Yun Xiao didn't dwell on the issue. He asked Zu Xi, "What's it about?"

Zu Xi sighed and said, "Apparently, the Blue Necrosquid demon tribe is reacting strongly. They've notified all their geniuses in the Ancestor Immortal Grotto that whoever kills you will receive the greatest reward ever."

"This means a lot of people will be after me?" Yun Xiao said calmly.

"The Blue Necrosquid demon tribe is quite influential, and others seeking the reward might take desperate measures. So your journey in the Ancestor Immortal Grotto will be more difficult," Zu Xi replied.

"Tch, just kill them," Feng Yao scoffed.

"I see." Yun Xiao nodded. After a moment of silence, he looked at Zu Xi, Yun Lingchen, and the others. Suddenly, he said, "My friends, I appreciate you joining me, but now my enemies are too many and too strong—they could endanger you. So I plan to go alone. The best thing for you is to leave the Ancestor Immortal Grotto and stay safe."

"But..." Yun Lingchen had just been dreaming of adventuring with him; she found it hard to accept.

Yun Xiao looked at her seriously and said, "The fate of sects isn't child's play. I'm a wanted fugitive; you're not. Our friendship is enough—no need to risk your lives."

Yun Lingchen bit her lip, feeling tears well up. She had just started to like this guy, and now they were parting ways.

"Go on your way; our friendship remains," Yun Xiao said with a slight smile.

"Alright!" Zu Xi nodded.

In his secret orders, his elders had also advised them to leave. Otherwise, next time might be worse than just kidnapping Yun Lingchen.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Yun Lingchen asked softly.

"Yes, actually—a big favor," Yun Xiao replied.

"Please, tell us," Zu Xi said.

Yun Xiao said straightforwardly, "Behind you are the Elysian Immortal Palace, Ancestral Land, and three Heavenly Deity Alliance sects. These five sects are the backbone of the Heavenly Deity Stellar River. If possible, when you return, please put in a good word for me with your elders. At the very least, give me and the Harmony Divine Palace a fair chance to face our opponents."

"I'll do everything I can," Zu Xi promised with a firm nod.

"And you?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Since we share the same surname, I'll try harder to persuade my father and grandfather!" Yun Lingchen mumbled.

Li Xuan, Wang Chen, and Qin Feng also cupped their hands in agreement.

"Everyone, see you out there," Yun Xiao said.

"See you!"

With that, their group was about to end their brief half-day journey in the Ancestor Immortal Grotto.

Staying alive was crucial. The stakes were too high.

However, before leaving, Zu Xi turned back and whispered to Yun Xiao, "In my father's secret message, he had a suggestion for you."

"Empyrean Emperor Chen?" Yun Xiao paused. "Please, go ahead."

"He suggested that, given the current situation in the Ancestor Immortal Grotto, you can kill members of the Blue Necrosquid demon tribe and befriend the Fushen imperial family. As for the disciples from other Stellar Rivers, handle them as you see fit. But if you encounter the Divine Subduer Stellar River and Archdevil Stellar River—the two biggest players in the Samsara Galaxy—avoid offending them for now. Especially the Divine Subduer Stellar River, they can be won over," Zu Xi said.

"I understand," Yun Xiao nodded.

Regarding the grand scheme within the Samsara Galaxy, that brief message essentially summed it up.

Yun Xiao would accept the advice from Zu Xincheng.

"Good luck."

After bidding farewell once more, Zu Xi, the reluctant Yun Lingchen, and the others disappeared together.

Who knew when they would meet again?

In this ink-painting-like world, only Yun Xiao and Feng Yao remained.

"Can't bear to part with the little white rabbit?" Feng Yao teased.

Yun Xiao didn't deny it but suddenly gave a helpless smile.

"Why the long face?" Feng Yao noticed his mood and asked, somewhat puzzled.

Dressed in flowing white, Yun Xiao gazed at the ethereal depths of the Ancestor Immortal Grotto and murmured, "Life is but a dream; the journey is arduous. I'm fortunate to have you by my side."

"Tch, getting sentimental out of nowhere?" Feng Yao remarked.

"May I borrow your lovely shoulder?"

As he spoke, Yun Xiao gently leaned against her. He said shoulder, but due to the height difference, he could only lean on… Well, it was quite stable, with built-in cushioning and support.

"You scoundrel!" Feng Yao was about to scold him, but seeing the emptiness in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

She couldn't resist embracing him, gently stroking his back, and softly said, "There, there. Don't be gloomy. I'll always be here for you."

"Mhm." Yun Xiao leaned against her like that, his eyes distant as he gazed into the depths of the Ancestor Immortal Grotto.

In his robes, a small black beast poked its head out, silently looking toward the future.

All of them remained silent.

***

AUTHOR HIATUS ANNOUNCEMENT

It's been a while since I've had a chat with everyone, and today I feel compelled to share some thoughts. Over the past year and a half since starting Immortal of the Ages, I overestimated my capabilities. I thought a temporary burst of good form could last indefinitely. So, without finishing Beastmaster of the Ages, I rashly began its companion piece, Immortal of the Ages. This decision led me into a prolonged period of high pressure, fatigue, and mental strain.

In these nearly 500 days, aside from a few bouts of illness, I haven't had a moment to catch my breath.

What you might not realize is that writing two chapters for two different books is possibly harder than writing five chapters for one. It requires splitting focus and energy in different directions. Trying to make both books excellent exceeded my expectations in difficulty. I had never attempted to write two books simultaneously before, and this experience has truly taken a toll on me.

Because of this, over the past 500 days, I've had to pour everything I have into nurturing both stories, afraid of neglecting either. This required me to expend even more energy, mental effort, and creativity. Every day was tense, without a single moment of relaxation.

I won't elaborate on how tough it's been because this situation is entirely of my own making. In the later arcs of Beastmaster of the Ages, I had a strong urge to start a new project. Writers are like that sometimes—when an idea excites you, it's hard to hold back, which led to this significant challenge.

A book is like a life; once it's brought into the world, you have to take responsibility for it. That's why I felt compelled to keep going. Many things in life are like this; sometimes a poorly made decision can have long-lasting consequences. I admit my mistake—I underestimated the difficulty of juggling two projects. Even pushing myself to the limit, it felt like a lot of effort with little reward.

This situation caused fluctuations in both books, and the updates for Beastmaster of the Ages have decreased. I feel deeply sorry for the readers who have always supported me. This shouldn't have happened. It was due to my intense creative desire and a decision that, while not wrong, was ill-timed. Here, I sincerely apologize to all of you. Although to err is human, this was a significant oversight on my part.

Over the past 500-plus days since the birth of Immortal of the Ages, we've weathered many storms together. I've introduced you to a new world of xianxia—a completely different protagonist, story, and characters—bringing you some unique surprises.

But now, whether due to personal health reasons (my health has been very poor since contracting COVID; I won't go into details, but even though I'm only 32, I feel quite old), or out of responsibility to my readers and my craft, I've decided to grit my teeth and make a decision.

That is—

To pause updates on Immortal of the Ages and focus all my efforts on completing Beastmaster of the Ages. After that, I'll continue our Xianxia journey here.

The benefit of this is that both books can continue with high quality, and I can handle them more easily and focus more, making them both better—especially Beastmaster of the Ages; it can't be sacrificed any longer!

I've designed an explosive late-stage storyline. The entire worldview is, I believe, quite advanced in online literature. If I continue writing both books simultaneously, it will be very difficult for me to do justice to the grand plots about Stealing Heaven, the Ninth and Tenth Eggs of the Primordial Chaos Behemoth, and the protagonist's ultimate fate. That would be truly regrettable and irresponsible. That's why I've made this tough decision.

After a transitional period of one or two days, the update frequency for Beastmaster of the Ages will increase, and everyone should be able to rekindle the passion of the earlier and middle stages. The early arcs were the Flameyellow Continent, the middle were the Solar Emperor Continent... and now, it's time to give Li Tianming a magnificent later arc.

Once Beastmaster of the Ages concludes, I'll return to this Xianxia creation, and we can pick up speed and quality here as well.

As facts have proven, trying to focus on two things at once leads to half the results with twice the effort.

I hope this life lesson can serve as a reminder for all of you. Everyone has limits to their abilities and energy. Sometimes, making peace with yourself might lead to a better path.

Alright, Yun Xiao's journey, along with Feng Yao's, will take a break here.

When Li Tianming forges his divine body spanning hundreds of billions of light-years, the Creator Immortal of the Immortal of the Ages will break through the myriad heavens once again!

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

Don't worry. I'll keep things short after that long author hiatus message. I really do hope ITA gets picked back up again. The author might have dropped the ball at times, but I appreciate that he at least tried to subvert tropes and expectations. It also makes sense now given he was juggling two novels at once because it was obvious some of these plot threads needed more time in the oven. End of the day, though, it was still a fun project for me, and I enjoyed working on it.

As for final words from me, I hope my translations brought you a brief respite from the stresses of everyday life. If you enjoyed my work and want to follow me, my next novel will be My Journey to Immortality Begins With Hunting. Hope to see you there. Love you guys.

-JL