Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi laughed. “Two hundred billion godnotes. Are you joking, Miss Soundfyre?”

It wasn’t as though the idea of two hundred billion godnotes was shocking to him. He could create that many if he wanted to. But even in the god world, that was a huge sum. The imperial court of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty would have trouble putting together that much wealth, and not even their crown prince would likely manage to secure such a loan. The only way he could would be if the emperor and ministers all agreed to it.

Yet Summer Soundfyre was directly asking for that much. Her outrageous demand made her seem like a lion opening its jaws wide.

“I bet you think I'm like a lion opening its jaws wide, don’t you?” she said, smiling.

“That’s right. And not just an ordinary lion. You’re like a nine-headed lion. Your appetite seems out of control.”

“So you're saying you can't give me that much?” she replied. From her tone, it seemed she didn’t think her request was too big at all. “In any case, that was just a test to see how much money you have access to. If you can produce that much, my assessment of you will completely change.”

He thought for a moment, then said, “I can produce that much, but it will take some time.”

Now it was Summer Soundfyre’s turn to look taken aback. “You can really get that much money? You’d better not be joking about this. I wasn’t really being serious, you know. I didn’t think you would really have access to that much wealth.”

However, after looking at his expression, she realized that he wasn’t exaggerating.

Originally, she hadn’t dared to hope that this deal would work out, and was only trying to negotiate with him to assess his financial state.

Who could have guessed that he would actually give her hope?

“Two hundred billion godnotes is no small sum. Not even I can just casually produce that amount of wealth. Also, I need to know what your plan is, and if it's even realistic. If it is, and if I can benefit by helping you, then I will. What do you say?”

Waving his hand, he caused the air around them to crystallize, then turn into godnotes that poured down into her hands. “Here’s ten billion godnotes. Consider it a deposit. Now, out with your plan.”

“Oh?” she blurted. Accepting the godnotes in astonishment, she looked at them closely with divine will, and found that they were real. “You’re really not worried that I’ll just take the money and refuse to tell you my plan?”

“Not really,” he replied coolly. “I can tell that you have some sort of master plan, and clearly you need money to implement it. I'm the only person who can give you the money you need. If you’re the type to just take my money and run, then so be it. I don’t care about a paltry sum like ten billion.”

“Now I'm starting to believe that you really can produce two hundred billion godnotes. I've never seen anyone from any faction who can just pull out ten billion godnotes as a gift. The Lord of Civilization’s treasure trove really lives up to its reputation. I suppose it makes sense. In the past, the Lord of Civilization was one of the main God-Lords responsible for creating the godnotes we use here in the god world.”

Putting the godnotes away, she said, “Considering this gift, I won’t hide the truth from you. I know of a shortcut to reach the Unbounded level, with the only downside being that the rate of success is only thirty percent.”

“A thirty percent success rate?” Yang Qi said. “That’s not bad. I doubt Summer Vastcold’s Wisdom and Knowledge God Pill will provide much more than a thirty percent chance of success, either. And that's not to mention the low success rate of concocting the pill to begin with. Considering your chances are so much higher than hers, maybe I should bet on you instead.”

“You’d better not reveal any of this to Summer Vastcold,” Summer Soundfyre said with another smile. “Did you ever really think you could woo her? She uses men, that’s all. To her, men are just tools.”

“The same as you,” he said with a chuckle. “Now, please explain your plan in detail.”

“Fine, let’s not mince words.” Drawing on a minor energy art, she created a canopy that surrounded them and provided them with some privacy. “You’re familiar with the Supplication God Temple, right?”

“Yes. It's one of the most mysterious locations in the Nacrelight Sageland. However, there doesn’t seem to be any standard for how it works. Some people pray for a day and get blessed by the High Priestess, while some people can pray for hundreds of years with no results.”

“That's right. The Supplication God Temple is a completely profound and mysterious place. The High Priestess was like a prime minister to the Sovereign Lord, officiating all rites and ceremonies. She led the legion of gods in worship of the Sovereign Lord, and presided over the creation of the God Legion Seal. But in the end, the Sovereign Lord gave the God Legion Seal to the King of Godmammoths. In any case, in the course of her duties, the High Priestess created her own unique god kingdom, which was different from all other kinds of god kingdoms. It contained the power of the entire primeval age, as well as the godpower of the Sovereign Lord. It was that god kingdom that provided the foundational power of the Nacrelight Sageland. In other words, it’s the Supplication God Temple, and it’s how we’ve managed to survive unscathed for so many millions upon millions of years. When dramatic circumstances arrive, the Supplication God Temple will select a powerful disciple to benefit from an influx of the High Priestess’ power, which will push that person to the Unbounded level.”

Yang Qi listened carefully and with patience. After all, this was all very important information.

The High Priestess had been roughly on the same level as King Immortal-Slayer, and her god kingdom had been built with the godpower of the Sovereign Lord. In that respect, it even rivaled the halls of heaven. And when disciples prayed in it, the blessings they received were such that it seemed entirely likely it could produce multiple Unbounded experts.

“Actually, I’ve discovered the standards by which praying works,” Summer Soundfyre said. “It has to do with the quality of the sacrifice. I spent a lot of time studying the ancient records in the Scripture Pavilion, and I found a book containing the ceremonial records of the High Priestess herself. After gathering certain resources, I performed a test in the Supplication God Temple, and used those ancient methods along with prayer to confirm that the god kingdom can draw on the divine might of the High Priestess. Using that method is definitely a valid way to reach the Unbounded level, and compared to it, Wisdom and Knowledge God Pills are like children’s toys.”

“An ancient ceremony,” Yang Qi said, his brow furrowing. “And no one’s ever tried this before?”

“Never. The main reason is that it requires too many resources. Remember, I asked for two hundred billion godnotes. Throughout the history of the Nacrelight Sageland, there’s never been a single person who could accumulate that much wealth. Furthermore, given there’s only a thirty percent chance of success, a failure would essentially mean losing one’s entire life savings.”

“If you failed, you would lose my life savings. And if you succeed, but failed to reach the Unbounded level, then not only would it be unhelpful to me, but you would also probably try to kill me and take the rest of my wealth. Neither outcome is good. This whole thing seems far too dangerous.”

“Do you really think I'm that untrustworthy?” Summer Soundfyre said, sounding less than pleased. “The Nacrelight Sageland is a righteous and orthodox sect, after all.”

“When there’s enough profit to be made, any so-called righteous and orthodox sect would be tempted. Forget the Nacrelight Sageland, even the Lord of Radiance and Light himself could be lured onto the path of darkness and gloom. How exactly am I supposed to trust that you’ll help me after you reach the Unbounded level?”

“What do you suggest? Don’t tell me you want me to bring you with me to the ceremony. Unfortunately, that would only lower the chances of success. Furthermore, you’re not a disciple here, so there’s no way you’d be blessed by the High Priestess. Instead, you would die. After all, the High Priestess hated men with a passion.”

“No, I'm not interested in that. I want you to help me get a treasure that's here in the Nacrelight Sageland.”

At this point, Yang Qi finally decided to reveal the bait.

“What treasure? There are a lot of signature treasures here. Unfortunately, if that’s what you’re after, you’re going to be disappointed. Even if I reached the Unbounded level, I probably wouldn’t be able to help you get any of the sect's signature treasures.”

“No,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “The treasure I want won’t be of any use to the Nacrelight Sageland.” As they conversed, Yang Qi secretly slipped a tiny devil embryo into Summer Soundfyre. Although he couldn’t use it to control her, he could at least spy on her. And only Unbounded will convergence could possibly reveal the existence of the embryo.

“Well what treasure is it, then?”

“A piece of the Mahātmā Jade,” he replied. “I know that the Nacrelight Sageland and the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty discovered an evil treasure trove belonging to the True Devil. And you got a piece of the Mahātmā Jade from it. That’s what I want. Can you help me get it? If not, I don’t see how we can continue to work together. That said, even if our business deal fails, we can still be friends. And you can consider that ten billion to be a gift between friends.”

“A piece of the Mahātmā Jade?” Summer Soundfyre said. “That’s what you want? It’s a boundless treasure, except it’s only a fragment of the whole. Plenty of Paramount Gods from our sect have studied it without ever uncovering any of its secrets. It's a very dangerous thing that can lead to cultivation deviation. I heard it's the same in the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty; no one has ever been able to unlock its secrets. So why do you want it?”