Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Upon seeing the serious expression on the face of this god uncle of his, Elder Brother Yue said, “Uncle, don’t tell me that even gods need to fear this Yang Qi?”

The elder snorted coldly. “I never said that. If there was a Quasi-God strong enough to stand up to a god, the sect would have noticed him much earlier. Why would they possibly force him to be a foreman here? Exalted figures like that are rarities, even in our House of God Ordainment. I did hear of a few people like that making a show in the recent Bloodgore Trials, although they were all taken away as apprentices by top figures in the sect.”

“In any case, Uncle, I'm not a match for him.”

Elder Brother Yue was doing his best to emphasize that part.

“That formation of his is extraordinary to say the least. I don’t think I could break through those defenses easily, but I doubt he was the one who set it up. He probably has the support of an important person from the sect, similar to how I support you. After all, that’s the reason why Mine One has such a powerful formation protecting it. I'm very curious to see what this Yang Qi’s cultivation base is like. Psychic Mightiness: Void Infiltration!”

A powerful stream of psychic power flowed out of the elder and surreptitiously headed toward Yang Qi’s formation. Once there, the elder used an ingenious magical method to pierce the formation.

He chuckled. “It's a strong formation, but considering I've mastered the Nine Flexures Psychic Concealment art, I can come and go without being detected by anyone, including this Yang Qi. And if I can raise my cultivation base to a slightly higher level, pushing me even closer to the Paramount level, I could probably take control of him and turn him into a puppet.”

“Uncle,” Elder Brother Yue asked, “my will convergence is currently at peak Terrifying, just a step away from the Paramount level. Do you think I have a chance of breaking through?”

The elder laughed heartily. Studying his nephew for a moment, he said, “You want to reach the Paramount level? I advise you to stop thinking about it. You probably think that, given your talent, all you need is some help from us to become a Lesser God. But breaking through to the Paramount level is nothing to take lightly. For you, it’s essentially a pipe dream. The difference between Terrifying and Paramount isn’t just a difference of a level. They're as far apart as heaven and earth. Not even I can achieve that breakthrough without coming across some very good fortune. For example, if you have enough merit points, you can hand them in to the sect to get a first-class treasure and slowly work toward a breakthrough. But for you, it’s not possible. You’d do better to focus on solidifying your godhood and becoming a Lesser God. Even with a godhood rating of only one, you can still accomplish a lot. Afterward, you can worry about trying to reach the Paramount level. And even then, don't forget that your chances will be slim. To step from the Terrifying level to the Paramount level requires passing all kinds of hurdles and tribulations. You have to overcome heart-devils, illusion-devils, will-devils, self-devils, faith-devils, and all sorts of devilish tests. They’re devil tribulations that involve fighting, not ordinary monsters, but fiend-devils that arise from within yourself. I've seen a lot of Common Gods who tried to reach the Paramount level, but ultimately went insane and then died within a few days.”

“It's that bad?” Elder Brother Yue said, his face ashen. “Many thanks for your advice, Uncle. I guess I had my sights set too high. I’ll just go forward slowly but surely. Oh, by the way, Uncle. What level is Yang Qi’s cultivation base?”

“He’s reading the Great Classic of God Ordainment,” the elder chuckled coldly. “I’ll send some more psychic power in to get an idea of exactly what’s going on with him. In fact, maybe I’ll infect him with my God-Ordaining Towering-Heaven Magic. If I implant one of those seeds into him, it will spread through his blood, nascent divinity, sea of consciousness, and psyche. He’ll have no idea what’s going on, and will probably even think that heaven is helping him further his cultivation!”

Waving both of his hands out in front of him, he sent out a stream of psychic energy.

Meanwhile, in Yang Qi’s mansion grotto, Yang Qi opened his eyes and locked his gaze onto the Yue Clan elder. The truth was that, given Yang Qi’s cultivation base, his psychic power was vastly superior to this elder’s. While the elder was on the verge of being able to start a Paramount breakthrough, Yang Qi had already begun the process. In fact, the only reason he hadn’t completed the process yet was that he wasn’t in the ideal circumstance.

Invisible psychic power flowed toward Yang Qi, but he didn’t react at all, as if he didn’t notice what was happening. He simply focused on the book he was reading. The truth was that he wasn’t there as his true self. It was a godpower incarnation that was so realistic that no one could possibly tell that it wasn’t real.

As the Yue Clan elder sent his psychic power in to implant the seed, the clone shivered and his cultivation base seemed to rise to a higher level.

An ordinary Quasi-God who experienced something like this would think that they were breaking through, and would simply accept what was happening. And of course, that would result in them falling for the trick.

But Yang Qi just chuckled darkly. ‘These people from the Yue Clan are really shameless. They’re actually plotting against me in complete disregard for the rules of the House of God Ordainment. Unfortunately, I don’t have any solid proof. That seed could’ve come about as a side effect of regular cultivation. Although, it’s impolite not to reciprocate! I think I’ll implant him with a devil embryo! Heaven-God Hell-Exterminating Devil Embryo!”

A virtual devil embryo appeared, which flew up into the air toward what appeared to be a golden eye hovering there, quietly observing everything.

Of course, it was a manifestation of the Yue Clan elder’s technique. Moments later, as the elder chuckled madly, he retracted the godpower eye, bringing the devil embryo along with it. That, in turn, made it possible for Yang Qi to instantly know everything about the elder. He saw one piece of godhood floating in his sea of energy, which meant that his godhood rating was one, albeit close to reaching the level of two.

Godhood was often described as the Great Dao of the Gold Core, and even having one piece made one deathless.

Already, the devil embryo had taken up residence within that piece of godhood like a parasite. All it would take would be a thought on Yang Qi’s part and the devil embryo would flare to life, either turning the elder into a puppet or completely draining his godpower.

It was definitely against the rules to kill an elder in the sect, and anyone who did would be severely punished. That said, Yang Qi hadn’t even met this elder yet, so there was no way anyone could link the two of them together. If Yang Qi wanted, he could wait until the elder returned to the sect and kill him during a session of cultivation, ensuring that no one would suspect foul play. Or he could wait until the man got into a fight with someone else, and do it then.

He now had control over a god.

“Very well, I’ve already helped you deal with your enemy,” the elder said. “Now that he has that seed in him, whenever he practices cultivation, the godpower he develops will be transferred to you. All you need to do is assimilate this paper talisman, got it?” He produced a paper talisman which Elder Brother Yue immediately devoured.

Almost immediately, Elder Brother Yue felt godpower flowing into him, which meant that for all intents and purposes, he didn’t need to practice his own cultivation. He burst out laughing. “How will you fight with me now, Yang Qi? Your cultivation is my cultivation. Your reserves of energy will be my reserves!”

Yang Qi watched all of this happen from his own mountain. He saw the godpower flowing from the clone into Elder Brother Yue, yet what Elder Brother Yue didn’t know was that he had also been infected with a devil embryo, putting him under Yang Qi’s control as well.

“I can’t kill this Yang Qi with my own hands,” the elder said. “He's an official disciple, so if the truth were to leak, the sect would never let me off the hook. Remember, you absolutely, positively must not actually kill any official disciples. Even if you were the son of the sect leader, as long as there was evidence incriminating you, no one would be able to keep you safe. However, if you can have him disposed secretly, then no one will be the wiser.”

“I know,” Elder Brother Yue said, nodding his head grimly.

It was around that time that day suddenly turned into night.

Howls echoed out in the night, like the screeching of monkeys. Clearly, there were hordes of demonlings approaching! The ground shook, and the mountains trembled.

“The demonling invasion!” the elder said, his expression turning serious. “Hurry up and get ready, I’ll keep the spell formation going. You lead your followers into combat against the demonlings. It’ll be dangerous, but will also be good training for them. Remember, you have to seize control of the Guardian Mines. Our clan needs them! And you have to do this on your own, without anyone realizing that I'm helping you.”

“I understand all that. I know it took a lot of resources on the part of the clan to make me an official disciple, all for the purpose of taking control of these fifty-six mines. Seizing control will be the ultimate service to the clan.” Elder Brother Yue shivered. Although it felt good to have the support of his clan, he knew that if he didn’t make himself useful, he would eventually be discarded. The clan rules were very strict.

The House of God Ordainment was a huge organization that contained many clans within it. It was just like how mortal empires would have aristocratic families in positions of power.

Back in Mine Thirteen, the disciples heard the sound of the incoming armies of demonlings. They couldn’t see them yet, but they could hear the sound, and feel the ground shaking.