Sage Monarch

Yang Qi had been playing the masked face all along, wanting to get into the coffin to see what Proud Heaven had left behind.

It was obvious that there was no way he would willingly allow himself to fall victim to the machinations of the masked face. Releasing this wretched and evil entity would only bring calamity to all of heaven and earth.

Therefore, instead of immediately undoing the sealing mark, he first absorbed the third type of power from the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. Then he launched an attack at the masked face using the quintessence of battle and all varieties of martial disciplines. The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth came from the Sovereign Lord, and inherently contained the martial aspects of the legion of gods.

Who could possibly stand up to something like that?

Normally speaking, Yang Qi shouldn't have been strong enough to launch a sneak attack on the masked face. But because the sealing mark was crumbling, the face had been distracted. Furthermore, Yang Qi had the formidable Purrfect God Art, which lent strength to his sudden strike.

Because of that, his initial blow did manage to injure the face.

However, the face was nothing to take lightly, and it immediately launched a devastating counter-attack in the form of a sound spear that seemed impossible to block. In response, Yang Qi called forth the wills of countless infernal deities, sending a host of Infernal Deity Spears out to defend himself.

Even so, when the two forces collided, the shock wave sent Yang Qi tumbling backward, spinning as rapidly as a top. Nobody could possibly withstand a blow like that without being hurt.

As he tumbled back, he felt expressions of will shattering within himself as his opponent drew on the power of illusions to injure him.

Thankfully, he had extensive fighting experience, so he quickly drew on his abilities to heal himself. "Annulled Grand Magic! Purrfect God Art!"

Recovering in the middle of a fight was another kind of valuable experience, one that many people failed to develop. However, with the addition of Proud Heaven's fighting experience, Yang Qi had reached the point of perfection.

Furthermore, with all three aspects of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, his cultivation base was now so profound that he could repurpose the sealing mark and re-seal the masked face.

Yang Qi had already come to the conclusion that the reason the face was so strong right now was because of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth that Proud Heaven had left behind. Without the damage Proud Heaven had done to the sealing mark, the face would never have been able to cause such problems for Yang Qi and his companions.

As the masked face exploded, an enormous character appeared, none other than the one that meant "kill". It contained the killing intent of perished gods and was like a vortex of destruction as it closed in on Yang Qi.

Everything trembled violently as the character approached, like a mountain of death, or millions upon millions of blades, all focused on destroying his true energy.

This was the ultimate expression of the word "kill".

It was something very similar to the core teachings and doctrines of King Life-Killer, whose sword techniques Yang Qi had long since cultivated. And thanks to that, he was very familiar with the fundamental nature of the word "kill".

A long sword suddenly appeared in Yang Qi's hand, and as he flourished it, a host of talismans appeared around it, almost like golden grains of sand. The talismans shot toward the incoming "kill" character, and unexpectedly began devouring it, allowing Yang Qi to absorb it.

Unfortunately, as he did that, the three-part combined energy of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth began flowing away from him.

He quickly reached out and grabbed it.

But right then, in that most critical juncture, a cascade of sword light suddenly appeared.

Something completely unexpected was happening.

The sword light fell from above, entering the depths of the sealed area in the coffin. It was a dazzling sword light that seemed completely impossible to block. The sword energy, sword will, sword divinity, sword dao, sword heart, sword theory, and sword meaning... they were all completely perfect.

This was not the kind of sword that was meant to kill, but rather to save lives and subjugate devils.

The dazzling sword light swept forth amidst thunderous rumblings, causing plants to sprout as life force filled the area.

It was Star Swordlife's sword!

This sword could truly vanquish all sorts of monsters, and it easily severed Yang Qi's connection to the combined energy of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. Then, it sealed that energy!

Crack! Snap!

Star Swordlife snapped up the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, whereupon golden light shone from behind him, making him look like an ancient buddha. Meanwhile, a godmammoth could be seen above his head, trunk flailing.

That combined energy was the result of the cultivation efforts of Yang Qi, Doom, and Proud Heaven, and had provoked profound transformations in them.

Yet Star Swordlife had just taken it!

Previously, Star Swordlife had pushed his sword technique to the highest level, cultivating a sword of life that, once unleashed, would tap into the life force of himself and the universe, creating a divine ability that few could vanquish. But now, his cultivation base had advanced even further. He had the triple combination of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth pushing him to an unheard of peak in the mortal world.

Sword energy swirled around him, as well as holy life force, making him like a living god.

In fact, he seemed like he was just on the verge of godly ascension.

After being blessed by Proud Heaven, his Inheritor status became elevated. And with the triple combination of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, he had access to even more knowledge and wisdom. In the blink of an eye, it was as if all the radiance and light in the universe were poured into him, causing his nascent divinity to advance by leaps and bounds.

Crash!

He landed on the ground, golden energy swirling around him.

"I bet you never guessed I would show up here, Yang Qi! And I took your Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to make sure you never kill again. Prepare to be captured and sealed!"

When the triple combination of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was removed, the masked face let loose a piercing scream. With that combination gone, the sealing mark was growing stronger again, which meant the face was now doomed to be sealed forever.

RUUUUMBLE!

A sound like an enormous millstone could be heard as the rancorous energy of the masked face was sucked into the sealing mark. The bronze mask then clattered onto the ground. However, a moment later, a bubble appeared around it and subsequently vanished, along with the mask.

Yang Qi had taken it. Now he had all thirty-six masks, which was just like having all of the legacies of the seventy-two monarchs. The thirty-six masks were filled with wretched energy, as though they were the ultimate manifestation of terrifying horror. And although they seemed to be constantly trying to encroach on Yang Qi's body and will, he didn't care, as the process caused his psychic scale to rise.

After snatching them away, he looked over at the re-sealed face and Star Swordlife, who had just taken the triple combined Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. Surprisingly, Yang Qi's face was completely expressionless. He had already come to the conclusion that the reason Star Swordlife was able to do this was because he had been aided by Proud Heaven.

In other words, he had become a pawn of Proud Heaven and had lost his own core principles.

"That wretch-devil is sealed, Star Swordlife," he said, "but it wasn't destroyed. The sealing mark has to be unraveled to get rid of the thing permanently. And that's the only way to access the essence of the Great Necropolis, and by extension, the Ancient Road to the Gods. In turn, that is the only way to reach the god world. You're putting on a good show of looking haughty and victorious, but the truth is that you're nothing more than one of Proud Heaven's pawns now. I actually feel sorry for you."

Swish!

Star Swordlife pointed his sword at Yang Qi, glanced at Doom, Proud World, and the Shepherd, and smiled coldly.

"The three of you are all villainous wrongdoers, guilty of numerous crimes. But there is virtue in sparing animal life. As long as the three of you confess your sins, promise to never kill again, and follow me, I won't hurt you. But Yang Qi is different. You three can be saved, but he cannot. Over and over again, he has killed in my presence. If he refuses to be guided back to the light, then he can only be sealed. As for that wretch-devil, it's sealed, and who could possibly undo the sealing mark now? To kill someone who has been sealed is a violation of the heaven above, which has obviously given the creature a chance to live. As for me being a pawn of Proud Heaven, so what? He didn't force me to violate my dao of life. And he didn't give me any real training. I was blessed by heaven on high, whereas he is controlled by it. You see, his act was really an act of heaven blessing me. He thinks I'm his pawn, but in reality, he's just a pawn of heaven on high.

"I've tried to explain this to you many times, Yang Qi, but you still think my successes are random luck. How could I possibly be so lucky? No matter the danger I find myself in, I'm always benevolent and generous by nature, thus I always turn ill fortune into good luck. If you could only learn from me, you'd live a great life. But now, I'm going to seal you up for a few millions of years. Hopefully during that time, you can finally realize the truth of what I've said."