Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of the most loyal disciples in the Sage Panacea Sect had become Godmyths. It was a truly shocking development that even caused a stir among the Measureless Gods. And now, a Buddha God had arrived in the form of the boyish Patriarch Promoter.

As soon as he announced himself, Yang Qi flew out and said, “You grace us with your presence, Patriarch! Please forgive me for not coming out to receive you earlier!”

“Stow the jibber-jabber, Dragon Proudheaven. You’re causing a big scene here in the Sage Panacea Sect. You have tens of thousands of disciples all becoming elders, and that's going to require a big redistribution of resources in the Dao Defense League.” He looked at Yang Qi with narrowed eyes as though he could see right into him.

Of course, Yang Qi wasn’t the same person that Patriarch Promoter had dealt with in the past. He now had nine lineaments on his dao heart, and had his Many Heavens God Seal. He was so much stronger than before that it was almost impossible to quantify. He wouldn’t even need to use King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, the God Legion Seal, or the power of the Cruiser of Civilization to deal with a Buddha God patriarch.

“There won’t be a need for that,” Yang Qi said. “The Sage Panacea Sect hasn’t asked for any resources from the Dao Defense League so far, and I don’t plan to start. Don’t worry, we’re going to continue contributing to the alliance. All I ask is that my disciples formally be named elders. Now that they’re Godmyths, they can help me with the healing services.”

“Well that goes without saying. The main reason I’ve come here today is to ask exactly how you did this. How did you push so many disciples into the Godmyth level at the same time?”

“Oh, that. It's a secret magic of the Dragonfolk. I’m not really at liberty to discuss the details.” Obviously, there was no way Yang Qi was going to reveal the details about what he had done in the Tusita Heaven. Technically, the Tusita Heaven was a member of the Dao Defense League, and although they likely suspected him of being the culprit, they wouldn’t have any way to prove it.

“Is that so?” Patriarch Promoter said coolly. “Secret magic of the Dragonfolk? I doubt that. I’ve never heard of any such technique being used by the Dragonfolk. Look, don’t read too much into this. I'm not here to try to force your secrets out of you. I actually have a very good impression of you. Unfortunately, you’ve put everyone in an awkward position here. Our highest council already met about the subject, and I’ve been sent here to invite you to the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple to discuss the matter.”

Patriarch Promoter realized that he was unable to assess Yang Qi’s power, and secretly marveled at that. He also wondered how he could have achieved such rapid cultivation progress.

From what Yang Qi could tell, it seemed that Patriarch Promoter really had come with good intentions. And he was obviously being very friendly.

Of course, there was more to the story. With the recent transformations to Yang Qi, his Lord's Eye could now see into Patriarch Promoter and detect the fluctuations of heterogeneous power within him. “If the old-timers want to see me, then it’s only natural that I’ll agree to their request. Besides, I’ll be reaching the higher ranks of the Dao Defense League myself eventually. Patriarch Promoter, I remember how it was you that drove away Dragon Everlasting, and I know that I owe you some help in return. Don’t worry, I won’t be stingy.”

Patriarch Promoter laughed loudly. “You don’t need to do anything for me. How about you just agree to owe me a favor.”

“Are you sure about that?” Yang Qi said with a faint smile. “Patriarch Promoter, your energy fluctuations are very pure, which is a testament to the boundless divine abilities that you cultivate. Unfortunately, there is some heterogeneous godpower in your sea of energy. I know that it's influencing your cultivation base and making it difficult for you to circulate your true energy. If you want, I could provide you with treatment.”

“What?” Patriarch Promoter said, his eyes widening. “How can you see that? I've never told anybody about that, but you know? Have you really gotten that much stronger recently?”

“I have. As for how exactly I can see your problem, I’d prefer to keep that to myself. But I can heal you. You see, everyone has injuries beneath the surface. Be they large or small, I can find them and treat them.”

“Do you have hidden injuries?” Patriarch Promoter couldn’t help but ask.

“No. I'm perfect.”

It was something of a shameless boast, but it was true. Yang Qi had no hidden injuries. The God Legion Seal ensured that he was perfect, beyond the compare of any other individual. Not even Lesser or Common Gods could be as perfect as he was.

“You’re right, I do have hidden injuries,” Patriarch Promoter said. “A while back, I was exploring a primal-chaos godrelic when I found the śarīra of a fallen true god. I assimilated it, and it made me vastly stronger. Unfortunately, a streak of will from the fallen god remained in the śarīra, and it attempted to possess me. It even ate away some of my soul to use as its husk. By maintaining the utmost vigilance and using the power of certain god items, I can keep the will sealed. But I've never been able to root it out. And it occasionally lashes out, inflicting me with severe pain until I manage to suppress it again. If it weren’t for that thing, I would already have become a Chaos God, instead of being stuck at my current cultivation level. Ai….”

“So, that's how it is,” Yang Qi said coolly. “Well, then, let’s get rid of it right here and now.”

“What?” Patriarch Promoter said, looking a bit stunned. “You can really help me to destroy it?”

“You think I would lie to you?” Yang Qi said. With that, he shoved his palm out in Patriarch Promoter’s direction. Patriarch Promoter instinctively tried to fight back, but Yang Qi’s palm moved with countless variations, making it impossible to block. It had the power to shake the universe, and even possessed the slight aura of a true god, causing all the magical laws in the area to freeze up. In the blink of an eye, his hand was at Patriarch Promoter’s dantian region.

“You’re so strong!” Patriarch Promoter blurted in terror. He was one of the old-timers in the Dao Defense League, yet not even he was capable of resisting Yang Qi. Normally speaking, not even someone in his own cultivation level would’ve been able to do something like that.

Even as he was preparing to struggle against Yang Qi, Yang Qi’s voice rang out, “Don’t fight me. Absorb my true energy and send it against the will of that god!”

Patriarch Promoter could sense Yang Qi’s massive true energy rumbling into his sea of energy, where it took the form of a huge primal-chaos elder-snake.

“King Heaven-Devourer!” Patriarch Promoter blurted. “Don’t tell me you’re a successor of King Heaven-Devourer?!”

“King Heaven-Devourer isn’t really that impressive,” Yang Qi said with a smile. “I just use a few of his talismans when I need to.” He next drew on the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, causing millions upon millions of hells to appear in Patriarch Promoter's dantian region.

The seals within him opened and a malicious, discarnate will erupted out, which immediately attacked Yang Qi. However, the primal-chaos elder-snake devoured it. Then Yang Qi sealed it and pulled it into himself. The god's will was full of power that he could likely use to put into a magical treasure.

Patriarch Promoter let loose a long sigh of relief. After so many years, he had finally freed himself.

“You got rid of it. You really got rid of it!” He looked down at his hands in disbelief.

“Yes, I did. Now, let's get going.” Yang Qi was very curious to see why the old-timers wanted to meet him at the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple.

“Yes, let’s go.” Shaking his head to clear it, Patriarch Promoter clasped Yang Qi on the shoulder. “Dragon Proudheaven, old boy, from here on out, we're buddies. I owe you a lot, and I won’t waste time just offering thanks. You’ll have my full backing when we get to Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple. If those old-timers are even the least bit disrespectful….”

“Disrespectful?” Yang Qi said coldly. “Whose interests have I harmed, exactly?”

“You have enemies in the Tusita Heaven, the Nine Yangs God Sect, and the God Dragon Tribe,” Patriarch Promoter replied. “And that’s especially true of the Nine Yangs God Sect. They’re really out to get you, to the point where some of their top patriarchs have come out of seclusion.”

“The Nine Yangs God Sect?” Yang Qi’s expression flickered with killing intent. “I started out on good terms with them, and earned them a lot of profit with my medicine sect. But in the end, they sold me out to the God Dragon Tribe when I needed them the most. Thankfully, I revealed their true colors. Who could have guessed that they would turn into an actual enemy, and even plot against me? This is preposterous!”