Sage Monarch

SNICK!

A black snake as thin as a metal wire shot through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow. It was clearly the venomous type whose bite would kill rapidly.

Sadly for it, before it could get close to Yang Qi it burst into flame. Thanks to his Unspoiled Body, he was able to summon the power of fire tribulations at any time.

Having seen the black snake, Zhang Jufang's face fell and he said, "Elder Brother, that's a black ironwire viper. They're very venomous, and especially dangerous when in groups. But they shouldn't be here in the mine. We cleared the trees for miles in every direction, which is where they usually make their home. So what exactly are they doing here? They're so venomous that they even scar the trees and the rocks they slither across."

"Let's keep going deeper and see if we can figure out what's going on. The snakes aren't coming from outside, they're entering from the depths of the mine." There were black ironwire vipers in every nook and cranny of the enormous tunnel. Despite their size, they were so dangerous that even people with profound energy arts might not be able to defend against them. But with Yang Qi there, any vipers that showed up were instantly reduced to ashes.

Despite that, the people at Yang Qi's side didn't feel even a bit of heat from the fire.

After all, he wasn't using ordinary fire, but rather the flame of tribulation.

Considering how amazing he was, everyone present was coming to think of him as a god. Eventually, they were deep in the tunnel.

"Watch out!" Zhang Jufang said. "Elder Brother, this has got to be the beginnings of a demonling invasion, and a big one at that. What happens if there's a cave-in here? Wouldn't we be buried alive?"

"We'll be fine," Yang Qi said. "I can send my godpower into the stone around us to strengthen it, if I have to. Did you really think I'd come down here if I couldn't do that?"

The deeper they got, the more black ironwire vipers they saw. Sadly for them, they were dealing with Yang Qi, an enemy the likes of which they had never seen before.

They collapsed into dust, without even leaving behind their corpses. Meanwhile, Yang Qi sped up, moving so fast he was almost flying, and killing the vipers the entire way. It was almost as if he had a destination in mind as he went through all sorts of twists and turns until finally reaching a dead end. This was obviously a huge vein of ore, with crystallized godstones sticking out of the wall, thrumming with power.

Of course, the godstones couldn't be taken for use in cultivation like this; in this state they could only be used to power formations.

Visible directly ahead of the group was a large hole in the wall, out of which poured black ironwire vipers, almost like a flood of water. It was a flood of snakes that not even Quasi-Gods could stand up to. And if nothing happened to stop it, then by daytime, Mine Thirteen would be completely overrun.

That said, Yang Qi was standing there now, destroying all of the snakes that got close.

However, no matter how many he killed, more came out, as if they were hoping to wear down his godpower. Sadly for them, the phrase "run out of godpower" didn't exist in Yang Qi's vocabulary. Smiling, he sent out a stream of energy that vanished into the hole as if it were a black hole.

Then, a shrill voice echoed out, "What brat is out there killing my snake children and grandchildren!?" As the voice washed over them, everyone in Yang Qi's presence felt their souls shrinking away in response.

"A god! It's a god!" Zhang Jufang shrieked, backing up. "Elder Brother, this is bad. We have to get out of here! There's a god controlling the black ironwire vipers. We can't deal with something of this level. We have to report it to the sect!"

"What are you getting flustered for?" Yang Qi said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's only a Lesser God with a godhood rating of one. What can something like that do in the end?"

"You're not a god, boy, so you might as well be an ant to me. That said, you're obviously strong." Along with the words, an enormous, pitch-black snake appeared.

It pulsed with black energy and had a long horn on its head, as well as horns on its abdomen, which was the telltale sign of a dragon in the making. Yang Qi had encountered plenty of Dragonfolk in the mortal world and had eventually subjugated them. But the dragons in the god world were true dragons, making the ones in the mortal world seem like nothing more than loaches.

'This is a godpower incarnation,' Yang Qi thought as he looked at the huge snake. Instead of backing up, he merely smiled and said, "A Snakefolk god? What exactly are you doing here? Are you instigating a demonling invasion to provoke the House of God Ordainment?"

"Are you trying to scare me by bringing up the House of God Ordainment?" The snake god incarnation laughed. "You killed a lot of my snake children and grandchildren, boy. And that pisses me off. Considering you know I'm a god, I'm surprised you still have what it takes to smile."

"Why shouldn't I smile?" Yang Qi replied. "And I couldn't care less whether you're a clone or a real god. I'll kill either version. So cut the crap and prepare to die. Sage Monarch Grand Magic!"

Because the Sage Monarch Grand Magic was Yang Qi's unique divine ability, no one in the god world would recognize it. He had used it to kill the Bloodcorpse God that attacked the Lightningbolt Continent, and he was much weaker at the time. So there was little question as to whether or not he could deal with this snake god incarnation.

With a wave of his hand, he unleashed the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, sending out a wave of power that surrounded the snake.

The pitch-black snake's face fell. "Impossible! How could this be happening? How are you so strong? And what energy art is that? Clone Retreat!"

"It's too late for that!" Yang Qi said, thrusting out his palm with full power, backing it with the Mahātmā Jade and his Heaven-Devouring abilities. When they hit the snake, it crumpled down and flew over, landing on his palm. A moment later, it was sucked inside him.

"Be sealed!" he said, waving his hand to send a stream of power to the hole in the wall, causing it to fade away and return to its original state.

As it vanished, a voice cried out as if from a great distance away, "You'll pay for this, boy! How could I have guessed you were this strong? What's someone like you doing fooling around in a backwater place like this? I'm not going to let you off the hook for this...."

Yang Qi turned around as if he hadn't heard the voice speaking. "Let's go. There's definitely a demonling invasion about to happen. We need to head back and put together a strategy. My main question is why a god is involved. What about the Guardian Mines is worth this level of demonling activity?"

The miners were already buzzing about in activity. After all, a demonling invasion wasn't something to take lightly, and any who weren't fully prepared could end up being eaten.

'It seems I need to set up a spell formation to protect the entire mine. It'll take a lot of godpower, but I should be able to defend against a Lesser God. Having assimilated the sheepskin scroll and the Mahātmā Jade, my energy arts have advanced a lot. It should be enough.'

Raising his voice, he said, "Gather the miners. For the next few days, work is on hold."

Back on the ground level, he chopped his hand out, hewing out a huge ditch with a rampart of earth on the interior.

As soon as it had formed, complex designs were visible on the rampart. Next, he exhaled, and fire filled the designs as the formation powered up.

Then he walked the perimeter, doing the same thing over and over, wrenching up piles of earth and stone to create two sets of seven watchtowers each, for a total of fourteen. Afterward, he summoned a host of swords, all of them crafted from stone and filled with the godpower of the Great Necropolis. Considering their origin, there was no way anyone here would have any idea what they were.

"Step forward," he said to the disciples. "Everyone take a sword and head to a watchtower. If you see any demonlings coming, attack them with the sword. The towers have spell formations with godstones already set into them, so they'll automatically activate when necessary. We should be fine. However, remain in combat readiness at all times. Everyone else, keep an eye on the miners. If any of them try taking advantage of the attack to flee, kill them."

"Yes sir!" the disciples replied in loud voices.