Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

RUMBLE!

With some experience under his belt, Yang Qi was no longer afraid. He quickly unleashed a vicious palm move, causing another coffin to break open and resulting in another bloodcurdling scream as a person was revealed inside. Sure enough, he saw himself.

However, considering this was the second time around, he wasn't startled.

Neither were any of the others. Their calm did a lot to weaken the illusion; another ghostly face appeared and lunged toward the bubble of the Purrfect God Art, but Yang Qi quickly crushed it, provoking another scream as it collapsed and disappeared into the main coffin.

Yang Qi ignored that aspect and went on to crush another coffin.

This time, the coffin wasn’t devoid of corporeal items. Unexpectedly, there was a mask inside!

It was made of bronze and painted with a host of flowery designs. Furthermore, it looked brand new, as opposed to something that had been sealed away for countless years.

Yang Qi flicked his finger, causing a bubble to appear around it. Upon failing to find anything dangerous about it, he pulled it over to him.

When he grabbed it, he was suddenly assailed by countless illusions. He became a ghost, then a god, then found himself struggling within the six daos of reincarnation. He experienced numerous visions before finally saying, “Be sealed.”

Unleashing the Devil-God Seal, he locked the mask down and suppressed the illusions. Now, it just looked like an ordinary copper mask.

“What is this?” Yang Qi asked of Doom. “It seems like a god item, but I don't sense any godliness in it. It’s powerful, though. If it weren’t for my recent advancement in energy arts, I would’ve been pulled into its illusions. Do any of you want to take a look?”

“Let me have a look,” Proud World said. He took the copper mask, whereupon his face fell and he began to tremble and sweat profusely.

Seeing that things were about to take a turn for the worse, Doom reached out and grabbed the mask from Proud World’s hands. After regaining lucidity, Proud World slowly exhaled and said, “That thing is vile. I don’t think we should touch anything from this cave. Be careful, Doom.”

With the mask in hand, Doom was already shaking back and forth, yet managed to keep his mind clear. Howling, he used his God Legion Seal, causing golden light to protect himself until he finally threw the mask back to Yang Qi.

“Do you know what it is, Brother Doom? Coming from the Primeval Age, you’re far more experienced and knowledgeable than us.”

“I'm not sure...” Doom said, shaking his head. “None of us know much about the Great Necropolis. The ancient records from the god world don’t mention anything about it, and it seemingly came out of nowhere. When I touched the mask just now, I did experience an illusion, but unfortunately I couldn’t benefit from it.”

“Whatever it is, it's a treasure,” the Shepherd said. “Why don’t we work together to open more of the coffins and see what we can find?”

“That's exactly what I was thinking,” Yang Qi said with a nod. Having opened two coffins in a row, he had some new ideas. “You three provide assistance by using whatever psychic blessing techniques you have on me. Brother Doom, why not explain your Unbounded God Reverberation technique to Proud World and the Shepherd? Give them a bit of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, which will boost their cultivation bases and psyches. Then, all of you can assist me in subjugating whatever wretch-devils appear.”

“Alright!”

Considering that Yang Qi had saved their lives so many times, they were now convinced that he harbored no ill intentions. Doom immediately took action, giving the requisite techniques to Proud World and the Shepherd, allowing them to make big progress with their psyches.

“Now, all three of us will use the Unbounded God Reverberation together!” Doom unleashed the technique, sending the reverberation of sound into Yang Qi’s mind.

At the same time, the Shepherd and Proud World joined in.

Bolstered by the blessings being poured into him, Yang Qi unleashed another palm strike, smashing open the nearest coffin. This time, another face appeared, wailing in ghostly fashion. However, considering how much Yang Qi’s psychic scale was being boosted, how could something like this be a threat to him? Quickly drawing on the Purrfect God Art, he wrapped the face up and dragged it toward him, hoping to get a better idea of what exactly it was.

The other faces had all been sucked back into the main coffin, so he really had no idea what they were. Perhaps studying this one would give him a better understanding of the nature of its powers of illusion.

Yang Qi, Doom, Proud World, and the Shepherd would be virtually invincible on the Ancient Road to the Gods. But here in this cave of coffins, they had faced deadly peril over and over again, nearly dying as a result. Therefore, there was no way they would pass up the opportunity to identify what was behind it all.

After snatching the face with the Purrfect God Art, it screamed and struggled mightily, causing a huge drain on Yang Qi’s will and true energy. Thankfully, he had his three compatriots to back him up.

With all four of them working together, they slowly managed to drag the face closer to them.

It rippled and distorted constantly, shifting between various ferocious visages, and at the same time, let loose piercing screams. However, none were particularly effective, and everyone felt their psychic power slowly increasing as a result.

RIP!

Something within Proud World’s mind suddenly popped.

“My psychic scale just increased by one!” he exclaimed. “I thought I was completely stuck, but after cultivating the Unbounded God Reverberation I felt it beginning to stir. And with the provocation of this horrific face, I've actually improved! There’s nothing more gratifying than punishing evildoers!”

Peering at the face, Doom said, “It seems to me that this face is the rancorous energy of a perished god from the god world. The vital energy of the god world would normally be a complete mystery to people like us. But we might be able to assimilate this rancorous energy and turn wretched into righteous. There’s a technique from the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth designed to do just that. It can even be used to turn fiend-devils into angels. If we use it on the face, then maybe we can gain a tool to use in the fight against the crimson coffin. We have a big opportunity on our hands here, something we would never have on the outside.”

“I agree on trying to assimilate the face,” Yang Qi said. “I want to see exactly what it is.” Suddenly, the Sovereign Lord’s Holy and Far-Reaching Consummate Omnicurse appeared, causing sagelight to rage toward the Purrfect God Art bubble.

“Continue boosting Yang Qi’s psychic power!” Doom said.

RUMBLE!

As the power of four top experts battered the face, it began screaming with increased ferocity.

“Not good!” Yang Qi said. Unexpectedly, the face was fighting back with screams so intense they could rip one's soul to shreds.

“Don’t let it get out into the open, Yang Qi!” Everyone could sense the danger they were in.

“Keep it suppressed!” Doom shouted. “I’ll channel some true energy from my God Legion Seal into you!” Raging, golden power suddenly erupted out of him, giving Yang Qi access to Doom’s lifetime of cultivation effort.

In the briefest of moments, Yang Qi’s own Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth began experiencing a dramatic advancement.

His will convergence began skyrocketing, climbing to the highest heavens and breaking through barriers to reach a higher level. He suddenly found himself in a realm where everything was real instead of illusory, where deathless godliness abounded.

Unexpectedly, he was immeasurably close to the god world.

He felt like he was the King of Godmammoths. Winds raged in the god world, and wild colors flashed in heaven and earth as all of the gods stared at him in terror.

Back when Yang Qi had taken some of Proud Heaven’s true energy and used it for cultivation, the fact that it contained a different aspect of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth caused dramatic transformations.

Now that Doom was holding nothing back, it was as if Yang Qi were suddenly benefiting from the combined power of the complete God Legion Seal.

Crack. Rattle.

His Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth improved, his energy flows accelerated, and his psychic scale climbed.

RIP!

He broke through from two hundred to two hundred and ten. Two hundred twenty. Two hundred thirty. It continued all the way until he reached two hundred and sixty.

However, his psyche didn’t achieve a breakthrough into the mid Terrifying level.

On the upside, the nascent souls in his sea of energy had become fiercer and stronger. Doom was obviously throwing all caution to the wind and putting absolute trust in Yang Qi. If Yang Qi wanted, he could use that moment to easily snatch Doom’s God Legion Seal.

But how could Yang Qi ever do something like that?

Nodding, he said, “Alright. Brother Doom, I'm going to subjugate this face and see exactly what it is!”