Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Right now, Yang Qi’s companions were all woefully underpowered. Until they reached the peak Terrifying level and became Quasi-Gods, giving them the ability to use true energy externally, they would be in a very bad position.

After all, they couldn’t even fly right now, nor could they use most god items and spell formations. If they ended up surrounded by some enemy, they would surely end up slaughtered. After all, even bows and arrows could be deadly to them in their current state. To be able to use godpower externally was just as much a hallmark in the god world as the fifth phase of Energy Arts was, back in the mortal world.

Danger abounded in the god world. And while these people were at the top of the food chain in the immortal worlds, here in the god world, things were the opposite. They were at the bottom, almost as weak as slaves. Given their current level, it was impossible to even count how many people could kill them.

Now that they were back on the bottom, they had to work on rising to the top yet again.

“The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth will enter you, improve your energy arts, purify your body and soul, and cleanse your blood....” Godpower converged in the golden hands Yang Qi had summoned, then flowed into the heads of his people as he drew on the Sage Monarch Grand Magic.

The Sage Monarch Grand Magic was definitely the most marvelous set of techniques in existence, and although Yang Qi’s mastery was shallow and far from complete, he had a strong foundation.

Purr. Purr....

The sounds emanating from Yang Qi caused the purrling to look at him with wide eyes, as if it suddenly sensed that he was like something of a brother to it.

He had long since fused the Purrfect God Art with his Sage Monarch Grand Magic. And as his cultivation base grew stronger, and he gained more enlightenment of yin and yang, the sun and the moon, heaven and earth, and time and space, his skills and abilities only grew more refined.

“Converge the godpower. Let the virtual godhood become true and real!”

Crack!

The virtual godhood within Yang Qi suddenly transformed; having absorbed such immense amounts of godpower, it was now as transparent as crystal and contained ten types of energy, which created a perfect peak of power.

“Sage, Monarch, Ruler, Emperor, Sovereign, Lord, Hero, Hegemon, God, Nothing!”

Ten characters appeared within Yang Qi’s virtual godhood, all of them written in the script of the Godfolk. They were incomparably true and real, contained all sorts of transformations and interactions, and thrummed with an invincible, destabilizing power. As a result, Yang Qi’s tendons, bones, blood, and flesh became numerous magical laws, as if he himself were transforming into godhood.

He was godhood, godhood was him.

It was a very enigmatic transformation.

Ten golden flows of energy swept through the room, and everyone shuddered from the godpower. They even coughed up necrotic blood as the impurities were removed from within them, and they were purified in body and soul.

“Purging!” Yang Qi spat out some blood, which burst into flames and flowed like cleansing water into his followers.

“Bathe the Psyche in Snow....” He twitched, and the flames turned into snowflakes which fluttered down and took away the impurities, leaving everyone clean and fresh. Holy melodies drifted into their ears, and whatever devils existed in their seas of consciousness were subjugated and crushed.

Because they were constantly absorbing the vital energy of the surrounding world, it was a given that they would build up impurities. Even the things they learned by observing their surroundings would create impurities in the seas of consciousness, which they would then need to eliminate.

Sometimes, knowledge could count as an impurity.

Now, with Yang Qi’s help, they were cleansing their psyches and bodies, and were drawing closer to the god world, allowing their minds to drift calmly in the ocean of magical laws of the god world.

It was now more obvious than ever how effective the God Legion Seal was.

Streams of power drifted through the god world toward Yang Qi, becoming vital energy that was nearly corporeal.

Reaching out, he grabbed it, causing cracking sounds to ring out as walnut-sized stones appeared in his hand.

Opening his eyes, he saw that everyone had much-improved psyches, and their bodies were now in a much higher state. Smiling, he exhaled.

“I should be able to break through at any moment!” Brahma said. Looking over at Yang Qi, he said, “Yang Qi, what’s that in your hand? Godstones? Where did you get them?”

“They’re the product of my most recent enlightenment,” Yang Qi replied. “During this session of cultivation, I gained more understanding of the profundities of the God Legion Seal. I was able to reach out into the void of the god world and turn its essence into godstones.”

“How is that even possible?” Brahma said, visibly surprised. “Godstones come from natural ores in the god world, and form in the very depths of the god world essence. They go through countless heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations and generally form a tiny bit at a time over endless years. But you just directly made some? You know, before godnotes, godstones were used as a hard currency. And although godnotes are more widespread and popular, they’re so valuable that some people don’t use them. Instead, they rely on godstones for everyday purchases. And that’s not to mention how godstones work with formations!”

“I know,” Yang Qi said. “I noticed along the way that a lot of people were using godstones for minor purchases. In fact, I didn’t even see any godnotes. It seems to me that godnotes are for huge transactions. It makes sense considering that although godnotes are bills of cash, they’re actually sealed by Paramount Gods and contain immense god vitality. And if I can already create godstones, it’s only a matter of time before I can create godnotes.”

By this point, it was already daylight.

It was a new day, and their stomachs were grumbling with hunger. Thankfully, the table was already set with food, so they ate and drank their fill. Afterward, Jadefall sighed and said, “Here in the god world, we’re like ordinary people again. I can’t even remember the last time I needed to eat or drink in the immortal worlds.”

“Soon enough we’ll reach the point of not needing to eat,” Brahma said. “Once we're Quasi-Gods, we won’t need food, and can subsist on the vital energy we absorb. Of course, we’ll still require medicinal pills.”

“Is the exalted Yang Qi present?” said the innkeeper from outside.

“Yes, what’s the situation?” Yang Qi said, stepping out to find that the innkeeper was waiting for him, flanked by a burly man in armor. The Quasi-God fluctuations he emanated placed him at around the same level as Wang Juan, and clearly he was some sort of military officer from the Wang Clan.

“I am your humble servant, Wang Xiang,” he said, offering a humble salute of greeting. Behind him were a few dozen servants who were all Despots, bearing several bulky chests with them. Scanning the servants, Yang Qi found that they had psychic scales of three or four hundred, which meant that they were all on the same level as the emperor of the executors!

“Hello,” Yang Qi said, clasping hands in return.

“These chests contain the Godsieve Pills you need,” Wang Xiang said. “It took a lot of effort for the young lady to put together this collection. It will cost a total of eighteen godnotes.”

“Only eighteen godnotes for all these pills?” Yang Qi said. “I don’t want to take advantage of the young lady. Here, take twenty-five godnotes.”

He had a total of twenty-six godnotes, and was only keeping one for himself to use for research purposes. Considering that he could already use the God Legion Seal to produce godstones, and would soon be able to produce godnotes, he knew that he would soon be a very rich person in the god world.

And he would rather not owe Wang Juan a favor.

“Oh?” Wang Xiang said, his expression flickering with surprise and indecision. But in the end, he accepted the godnotes. “It seems I underestimated you. I assumed that you were wanderers who saved the young lady by chance and would try to take advantage of our clan. Maybe you’re not like that. However, I should still explain to you that this collection of pills would probably sell for about thirty godnotes. Even with you being generous, the young lady is still taking a loss that she’ll have to make up for from her personal savings.”

“Oh, I understand. In that case, I’ll make sure she profits in the end. You’re dismissed.” Yang Qi nodded.

Without another word, Wang Xiang turned and left. Apparently, he didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary with lowly wanderers like them.

“What a damned snob,” Doom said. The Shepherd, Proud World, and the others were also grinding their teeth in irritation. It was definitely hard going from the top of the food chain all the way to the bottom.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi waved his hand, wrapping up all the chests with his true energy and pulling them inside. Upon opening them, they found that they were packed with medicinal pills, all of them the size of dragon eyes and extremely fragrant.

Even just smelling them caused their spirits to rise.

“Not bad at all!” Brahma said with a wide smile. “Godsieve Pills! Most people are unaware of the proper way to use them effectively, but I know how. With these, we should all be able to reach the Quasi-God level. Trust me.”

“In that case, let’s begin,” Yang Qi said. “The reason I helped you purify your bodies and souls was so that you could properly use these pills. Now I’ll use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and the God Legion Seal to cleanse the pills, extract their medicinal energy, and use it to create a medicinal spell formation. I’ll follow all of Brahma’s instructions in this regard.”

“Great. Let’s start building the formation.” Brahma began to sketch an outline on the table. “It works like this. Copy the designs onto your body as well, and prepare to start absorbing energy.”