Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“So Brother, this is the Grand Emperor's Pagoda?”

“Miraculous! My strength is like nothing compared to this thing. How does it rank among magical treasures? I’d guess sagely-grade at the very least.”

“Brother, are we going to work on our cultivation right here? Supposedly, Grand Emperor Rich-Lush created this pagoda so that when you practice cultivation in it, it gathers the vital energy of heaven and earth at an insanely rapid speed. It can draw energy from tens of thousands of kilometers of land, including the subterranean spirit energy. With that much energy gathered in Yanhaven, it will become a holy land for cultivation. Even ordinary people will benefit, with their physical bodies growing stronger just by breathing the air.”

“Amazing. A treasure through and through. And you say the quintessence-blood and vital energy of a Never-Dying asura is in there? Even performing breathing exercises for ten years in there wouldn’t dry up all that energy.”

“I heard that the Crown Prince Society just called a big meeting. Something happened to him, and he’s going into seclusion for five years. Young Master Shroud-Heaven has people out trying to track him down, so he didn’t return to the Demi-Immortal Institute.”

“Why would he avoid the institute, though?”

“Well, that’s simple. He’s too proud, and doesn’t want people saying that he needed the Demi-Immortal Institute to protect him from the Hanging Mountain.”

“I wonder if he’ll actually recover in five years, or if it will take longer.”

“Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Think of what can we accomplish in five years or more! Although, he’s a crafty character. Maybe he said five years to lull us into complacency, and he’ll really come out after three years. That must be his plan.”

An enormous bronze pagoda loomed in the main square in Yanhaven, so heavy that the ground sank down beneath it. At the same time, countless streams of true energy connected the pagoda to the earth and everything around it.

Yang Qi’s nineteen sworn siblings were all there gathered in front of the pagoda, along with Yang Zhan, Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong.

The pagoda reached all the way up into the sea of clouds, where it absorbed the spirit energy of heaven and earth, as well as the quintessence of the burning sun. The shimmering streams of energy that flowed toward the pagoda seemed like astrological phenomena.

Yang Zhan couldn’t help but mutter exclamations of praise and excitement. Never before had he seen a magical treasure like this, and the thought that it belonged to his son was completely astonishing.

A year ago, the Lifeseizing level had seemed like a mere myth to him. But now, even the level above it, the Legendary level, was as real as could be. In fact, his son was now a Nonary Lifeseizer, just on the verge of becoming a Legendary. Yang Zhan knew that the only people who could possibly threaten Yang Qi now would be experts in the Great Sage level.

Hua Fengfeng, Jun Tianchou, Meng Qingshan, Li Zhengdao…. All of Yang Qi’s sworn siblings were gasping in praise.

Yang Qi focused on the operation of the pagoda, but at the same time, digested the news he was getting. The Crown Prince hadn’t returned to the Demi-Immortal Institute, but had instead gone to some unknown location to hide from the forces of the Hanging Mountain. Most likely, it was all connected to the fact that he never got the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. It seemed that the way things had played out caused some distrust for the chancellor to rise up in the Crown Prince's heart.

And thus, he had avoided the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Yang Qi knew how insufferably proud the Crown Prince was, and therefore, it was highly likely that he hated the chancellor now.

And that could only be good for Yang Qi.

‘Ah, Crown Prince, you have no way of knowing how shocked you’ll be when you come out of seclusion. Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up as the next chancellor instead of you.’ Yang Qi had long since come to have grand ambitions of his own. He was no longer the nobody he had once been. He had even begun to contemplate what it would be like to be the chancellor.

With a godly-class energy art that had the immense power to suppress hells, plus the God Legion Seal, why would he possibly be afraid of butting heads with people like the chancellor?

Compared to the hells that existed, places such as the Demi-Immortal Institute, and even the Rich-Lush Continent as a whole, were like nothing. They had been mere specks on the Yore-Wilds Continent of the distant past, tiny drops of water in the ocean that was the universe.

“Brothers and sisters, let’s begin this session of cultivation. Please, enter the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. Join forces, and use your energy arts to power the spell formation therein.”

“Will do!”

“Brother, if you need us to do anything for you, just say the word.”

Li He, Liang Dong, He Jili, and Hua Yinhu spent most of their time at their clans nowadays, not in the Demi-Immortal Institute. However, Yang Qi had also called them to work on their cultivation in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. Everyone present was in high spirits, and looked forward to the possibility of reaching a higher level.

When Hua Fengfeng entered the pagoda, she looked around at the enormous dimension around her, every inch of which looked like ancient bronze. Powerful auras buffeted her face, like ancient vital power of the most pure and unadulterated nature. Instantly, her true energy began to flow inside of her with more vigor than before.

“Our main goal is for all of us to become Legendaries before the Crown Prince comes out of seclusion!” she said. “In the past, that would have been a pipe dream, but with this treasure, and the flesh and blood of a Never-Dying asura, it’s more than just a fleeting wish. In fact, we might eventually be able to use the spatial powers of the pagoda to search for treasures in dangerous places. We could even look in alternate dimensions. And the fighting that will go on with that search would be great training.”

There was also the faint sensation of magical law that only top Lifeseizers were able to detect. That should be because of the asura.

Yang Qi led everyone to the highest level of the pagoda, which had a dimension that was ridiculously large. It was hundreds or perhaps thousands of kilometers from end to end, everything bronze and covered with ancient magical symbols. They almost seemed alive, pulsing with ancient energy, like script that modern-day individuals could never carve out.

However, what was most shocking to everyone was not the bronze surroundings with the magical symbols, but rather, a huge, wriggling mass of flesh and blood that hovered in the air above them. It abounded with wretch energy, and upon closer examination, was obviously the corpse of some powerful, wretched devil.

As it wriggled, something like an enormous eye suddenly opened up, a devil-eye. Then another, and another, until thousands such eyes were open, all of them radiating terrifying power.

“That's the flesh and blood of the asura,” Yang Qi said. “He’s been tightly bound, and is actually only half-dead. However, he will never be able to free himself. Please, sit. Find the magical symbols which form the shape of eyes, which are the nodes of the spell formation. They’re called Rich-Lush Eyes. Pour your true energy into them, and we can begin to refine the flesh and blood of the asura.”

As everyone looked on, the magical symbols on the ground swirled into the shapes of eyes. Somehow, they seemed warm and inviting, nothing like the wicked devil-eyes of the asura. As they sat down in their places, they felt a refreshing sensation, as though their minds were being purified.

In many types of energy arts, eyes were considered the most ultimate symbol of respect. After all, eyes revealed one's thoughts, and were a window into the soul. They could express evil, righteousness, and emotion.

Sura Devil-Eyes represented battle and slaughter. Deathly Devil-Eyes represented an end of life. Preheaven Devil-Eyes represented cruelty. As for Rich-Lush Eyes, they represented rich resources and lush harvests, the things of pure joy.

As Hua Fengfeng sat down on one of the Rich-Lush Eyes, she said, “That asura reached the Never-Dying Transformation, and yet the Grand Emperor's Pagoda can still keep him locked down. Simply miraculous. How did you do all this, Little Bro Qi?”

She couldn’t help but shiver a bit as she asked the question. After all, if that flesh and blood were unsealed, it would be able to raze everything within five thousand kilometers. Everything down to the grass and roots would be destroyed, and rivers of blood would run everywhere.

After all, in the ancient mythologies, the Hell of Suras surpassed the Hell of Euphoria.

And back when the Hell of Euphoria invaded the Yore-Wilds Continent, the lands were shattered, and many Great Sages were killed. Later, it came to be known as the God Devil Apocalypse. However, if it had been the Hell of Suras that invaded, the Yore-Wilds Continent would have been wiped out of existence.

In modern times, asuras were mythological creatures, so to be in the presence of one now, even one that had been killed, caused dread to seep into the hearts of everyone present.

Yang Qi laughed. “I took advantage of the fighting between the Crown Prince and Young Master Shroud-Heaven. Don’t worry, this asura is mostly dead, and his mind is gone. The wriggling is just instinctual movement. Besides, I cultivate a technique specifically designed to destroy evil. Combined with the power of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, there’s no way any of the lingering wretch energy will infect you. I've already done a few tests, and benefited spectacularly. Go ahead and begin your cultivation.”

“Alright, then, let’s begin!” Yang Zhan looked at the lump of asura flesh, heart beating with fear. Not daring to act rashly, he looked at the Rich-Lush Eye, then placed his hand onto it and sent out some true energy.

WHIZZZ!

The bronze magical symbols glittered, and the wriggling lump of flesh and blood suddenly came to be covered with numerous vortexes, which started extracting the vital energy.

RUMBLE!

After ten breaths of time passed, life force quintessence and vital power shot out from the Rich-Lush Eye and into Yang Zhan. Suddenly, he shot to his feet, trembling physically. Shockingly, scales began to pop up on his skin, almost as if he were being devilized. There was even a horn of true energy that sprang out of his forehead. From the look of it, he was being transformed on a fundamental level.

The sura battle spirit which he had just made contact with was trying to transform him into a sura.

“Uncle!” shouted some of Yang Qi’s sworn siblings. Rising to their feet, they prepared to interfere and help.

“Don't do anything!” Yang Qi said quickly. “Father is now in combat with a sura battle spirit. It’s not wretch energy. Defeating that will of battle will have a purifying effect. Success will provide significant advancement in martial arts. Although it's not quite the same as training personally in the Hell of Suras, it's about as close as you can get.”

Even as he spoke, Yang Zhan continued to tremble violently. However, a moment later, the scales began to fade away, and the horn disappeared. He returned to his previous condition, although he was flushed and dripping with sweat. “What a powerful battle spirit. I can already tell that my essence has improved by double! I'm almost ready for Secondary Lifeseizing!”