Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The Third Devil General, progenitor of devil-dragons, was standing right in front of Yang Qi. And this devil-dragon was a woman! At first sight, she seemed profoundly mysterious, her every movement cloaked in darkness and gloom, as though she wanted to spread the blackness of hell throughout all creation. That said, there wasn’t anything particularly special about her as far as Yang Qi was concerned. Now that he had taken the King of Godmammoths’ sealing mark, as well as the additional pieces of the Mahātmā Jade, her psychic scale of twenty billion wasn’t anything he feared.

He was absolutely confident that he could crush her.

His own cultivation base might only be at ten billion, but now that his Sage Monarch Empire had fully occupied the former Blood-Diamond Dragon Kingdom, he now had more than two million sage monarch magistrates, all of whom were late Paramount Gods. Together, their might was such that he definitely had an advantage over the Third Devil General.

Coupled with the fact that he had numerous magical treasures, and could draw directly on the Halls of Heaven, he was more than confident. And he had the Second Devil General at his side, which meant the Third Devil General wouldn’t have any breathing room.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Yang Qi took a moment to assess his surroundings inside the Dragon Compendium. The book was a spectacular treasure comparable to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, but the Third Devil General hadn’t completely fused with it. And thanks to the huge amount of golden blood Yang Qi had absorbed, as well as the King of Godmammoths’ sealing mark, he was actually connected to the Dragon Compendium to some extent.

If he could control the entire thing, he would control the Myriad Dragons Lair, and by extension, everything that happened inside it.

It was similar to how King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions were the key to controlling the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Whoever controlled the Dragon Compendium controlled the Myriad Dragons Lair. It didn’t matter what powerful old-timers existed inside. Once the lair was under the complete control of one person, everyone else would be trapped inside like turtles in a jar.

Many people had long yearned to obtain the compendium, but because of the sealing mark, no one had ever even gotten close to it. Dugu Yunkong and Yang Jian were the first to do so, other than Yang Qi, and they might have taken it, if not for him.

“It’s really you, Second Devil General,” the Third Devil General said. She glanced at Yang Qi and Yang Jian, then looked back at the Second Devil General and continued, “But you're so much weaker! You came at just the right moment. After all the countless hundreds of millions of years that’ve passed, I’ve almost fused with the Dragon Compendium. Now that you’re here, we can work together to complete the process, then take over the Myriad Dragons Lair. Agreed? I don’t know who these two companions of yours are, but we obviously need to kill them to keep our secrets safe.”

“Third Devil General, allow me to introduce my lord and master,” the Second Devil General said. “He's the one who unraveled the sealing mark. He has the legacy of the King of Godmammoths, and as such, you should be able to deduce why he’s here. He wants you to join him. Together, we can accomplish things that have never been accomplished before. And he has the power to do it.”

“What are you talking about, Second Devil General?! Have you gone mad? Only the boundless True Devil deserves to be our lord and master. Other than him, any who try to do so shall die. Unfortunately, the True Devil is dead, therefore, we're free to take over all creation.” Turning to glare at Yang Qi, she continued, “Who exactly is he, anyway? He must have taken advantage of your weakness to subjugate you, presumably with some sort of powerful sealing mark. Don’t worry, I’ll kill him for you.”

“Stop!” the Second Devil General blurted. “He really is my lord and master. He has the God Legion Seal and the Mahātmā Jade. What's more, he’s done what no one ever thought to do: he combined the two of them. He's the one who freed you, so if you defy him, it’ll be a big show of ingratitude. And then we’ll have to use force.”

“I can’t believe you’re talking like this, Second Devil General!” It was a big shock to her to go from thinking the Second Devil General had come to free her, to being told that he was actually a servant of Yang Qi. Suddenly, her eyes flickered with understanding. “He used the God Legion Seal on you, didn’t he? You're just like the God-Lords of old, enslaved by the Sovereign Lord. So, the God Legion Seal is back in play.”

Suddenly, her voice turned ice cold. “Hand it over, boy. You have one chance to live, and if you don’t take it, you’ll die. We're inside the Dragon Compendium, and I'm a devil-dragon. I was born in this book, and as long as we’re here, you’re no match for me. Not even the God Legion Seal can help you.”

“Oh really?” Yang Qi said, clasping his hands behind his back. “You’ve been sealed in here for hundreds of millions of years, Third Devil General. And instead of growing weaker, you’ve been working on your cultivation. Sadly, you haven’t made much progress. You see, the only way to truly get stronger is to establish a kingdom out in the god world, and obtain powerful destiny. Second Devil General, take her into custody.”

“Yes sir,” the Second Devil General said. Reaching out with fingers splayed, he unleashed a string of powerful attacks.

“Grand Devil Divine Ability!”

“Five Devils Leave the Ocean!”

“Six Thieves Travel Undetectable!”

“Seven Emotions and Six Sensory Pleasures!”

“Heart-Devil Like the Sea!”

The Second Devil General was actually using newfound knowledge of the battle techniques of the dao of devils. In order to strengthen him, Yang Qi had given him battle experience from the God Legion Seal. As a result, his energy arts had reached an unprecedented level.

Devil energy rushed forth like the tide, catching the Third Devil General totally off-guard.

“Chiliocosm God Fist!” Yang Jian said, attacking. Talking wasn’t going to win the Third Devil General over; quick and decisive action was needed to force her to acknowledge allegiance.

“I can’t believe you’re attacking me, Second Devil General!” the Third Devil General shouted. “Fine, don’t blame me for casting aside our old friendship. Besides, what need is there for friendship in the dao of devils? I'm going to crush you and turn you into an out-of-body incarnation that I can use to conquer the Dragonfolk and take over the world!” The Third Devil General’s black hair swirled around her, and her veil flipped up as she unleashed a wave of dragon energy, causing numerous dragon characters to rush forth from the depths of the Dragon Compendium.

“The Dragon Compendium is mine!” she grated. “And I'm going to show you what it feels like to be imprisoned for an eternity. Dragon Horde Ascends to Heaven. Dragon Horde Slaughters Gods!”

RUMBLE!

The Dragon Compendium trembled, yet it didn’t do what she had just ordered. Instead, spell formations popped up everywhere, spewing out the character mammoth, which began trampling the dragon characters.

“There’s no point in resisting, Third Devil General,” Yang Qi said. “The Dragon Compendium was sealed by the King of Godmammoths, and that lasted for billions of years. This place is filled with the power of the King of Godmammoths, and you can’t just take control of it like that. I’ll show you what it really means to take control of something. Let the Halls of Heaven come!”

Vortexes sprang up in the Dragon Compendium, revealing countless stars, which were of course heaven caliber godstones.

Now that he had a psychic scale of ten billion, his connection to the Bastille of the One God and the Halls of Heaven was even stronger and more reliable.

The power of the Halls of Heaven was filling the Dragon Compendium, and Yang Qi was using it to completely take over. What was the mightiest magical treasure in the world? It wasn’t the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Nor was it the Dragon Compendium, the Everlit Godlamp, or the Chiliocosm Pagoda. It was actually the Halls of Heaven. The palaces created by the Sovereign Lord, his god kingdom, which struck fear into the heart of hell.

As soon as the Third Devil General caught sight of the Halls of Heaven, she knew why this young man in front of her had been able to subjugate the Second Devil General. It was a shocking thing, and the fact that he had this legacy meant that another Sovereign Lord had appeared, someone who could enslave the entire legion of gods.

Suddenly, she blurred into motion. “Devil Specter Weighs Heaven; Devil Hallucination Myriad Transformations!”

She seemed to surpass time and space to appear right in front of Yang Qi, ignoring all spell formation and defenses. The mighty claw of a dragon slashed toward Yang Qi’s face, pulsing with devilishness so intense it could devilize even the strongest expression of godliness.

This was her consummate move, the Heaven-God Enslaving Claw, designed specifically to enslave gods.

Yet Yang Qi simply thrust his palm out, and the claw vanished as surely as if it had been trampled by a mammoth. Then a massive explosion rippled out.

Thump, thump, thump!

Yang Qi took three steps back, while the Third Devil General was sent flying. Yet before she had even landed, she spun in place and started laughing. “You’re strong, boy. But your psyche and godhood are only half of what mine are. Strength is the foundation of everything, and in terms of strength, you don’t measure up. So prepare to die!”

“Mammoth King’s God Whip!”

Seemingly completely unconcerned by her words, Yang Qi chose to unleash one of the King of Godmammoths’ most ultimate techniques.