Sage Monarch

Upon seeing how incredible Yang Qi was, Elder Sister Xue tried to recruit him into her Snow Society. Of course, Bai Yin could already tell that Yang Qi wasn't the kind of person who would like to be restricted, and would never agree to join such an organization as an ordinary member.

"He's right," Yang Qi said. "Many thanks for your kindness, Elder Sister Xue, but for the moment, I'd rather not join. I haven't reached the Paramount level of will convergence yet, so I'd prefer to stay here in the Scripture Pavilion increasing my knowledge and furthering my cultivation."

"Oh really?" Elder Sister Xue said, sounding impressed. "You haven't reached godly ascension, but you want to enter the Paramount level? You have some impressive ambitions. Regardless of the sect or clan, people like you are extremely rare. In fact, I haven't heard of anyone who's ever succeeded in such an effort. Aren't you just following in the footsteps of Bai Yin? After all, my Snow Society has done a lot of study and research into this subject, and have come to believe that the best path lies in focusing on cultivating the fleshly body. If you can push your fleshly body to the point of being able to contain Paramount will convergence, you'll succeed."

"I really do appreciate it. And if you're able to provide any direct help, I definitely wouldn't refuse it. But as for joining the Snow Society, I'm still going to have to decline."

"People with ambitions can't be forced to action," Elder Sister Xue said, nodding her head in approval. "That said, the doors of the Snow Society will always be open to you. If you want to join, just say the word."

Yang Qi laughed. "Alright."

"Are you here to do some reading, Elder Sister Xue?" Bai Yin asked. "Did you come to some new understanding recently in your cultivation?"

"I'm still interested in books about developing the fleshly body and filling it with psychic power. I heard that our House of God Ordainment recently wiped out a devil church known as the Asura Hegemon Chapel, and took all of their ancient records. Considering the members of their church were known for their powerful fleshly bodies and their expertise in ancient genetics, I'm very interested in those records."

The House of God Ordainment was an enormous sect that was always wiping out some sect or another and seizing their ancient records. And it was more common for cultivators from the devil churches to develop impressive fleshly bodies. Therefore, it could only be imagined what could be learned from their books.

Chuckling, Bai Yin said, "You're very well informed, Elder Sister. The pontifex of the Asura Hegemon Chapel was originally a devil-god from the Hell of Suras. It was only after he arrived here in the god world that he started his church. And you're right, our House of God Ordainment recently joined forces with the Truth Academy and the Sole Immortal Sect to destroy them. Unfortunately, the ancient records that were taken are all stored in the fifth or sixth floor. In other words, Elder Sister, you won't be able to look at them until after you reach godly ascension."

"Like hell, Bai Yin. There've got to be at least a few books here on the second floor." With a flourish, she revealed over a dozen godnotes. "This should get you plenty of alcohol. Now hurry and get me those books."

Bai Yin coughed dryly. "Many thanks, Elder Sister. Follow me."

With that, he led Elder Sister Xue through the maze of bookshelves. The books on the shelves were all tightly sealed, so that ordinary disciples couldn't just take them, but Bai Yin and Yang Qi had different rights with their identity medallions. And Bai Yin had worked here for ten years, so he knew the place like the back of his hand.

After reaching a certain bookshelf, he waved a hand dismissively, removing the warding magic to reveal a bookshelf made of human bones, that pulsed with immense devil energy.

Most of the books and scrolls on the second floor were made of bamboo, jade, metal, or other similar materials. But on this bookshelf, they were carved from bone, and some of the books had covers that appeared to be crafted from human flesh.

"Alright Elder Sister," Bai Yin said in a serious tone, "this bookshelf contains information from the dao of devils. And you can only read these things here; you're not allowed to take anything away. If you did, we would all be punished by the sect."

"You think I don't know the rules or something?" Elder Sister Xue said, flashing a pearly smile. Looking at the books, she pulled one down that resembled a lotus flower, except made from human flesh. It pulsed with devil energy, as though the words in it were a manifestation of millions upon millions of evil ghosts and vengeful souls.

Yang Qi scanned it with his divine sense and saw that the title was Secrets of the Retroconversion of Dead Flesh.

"Oh, I've read that one," Bai Yin said. "It was written by an outstanding figure among the asuras, who did a lot of research into fleshly bodies. That book has some very interesting revelations in it. In fact, I suspect that the author was also familiar with that most precious classic of the dao of devils, the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body. Ah, what a pity. If only I had a chance to learn about that legendary Unspoiled Body, then maybe I could resolve some of my own fleshly body problems, and actually prepare it for Paramount will convergence.

Elder Sister Xue flipped through the book, black mists pouring out of it the entire time. When she was finished reading, she shook her head. "This book talks about theoretical elements, but nothing practical. Although the wording is insightful, I think you're right: it's all based on the basic structure of the Unspoiled Body. Without having studied the Unspoiled Body itself, this book won't do us any good."

Putting the book back, she took something else off the bookshelf, a pile of human skin.

Looking over, Yang Qi saw that the title read The Origins of Devilfolk Genes.

It provided a detailed description and analysis of Devilfolk genetics, and by extent, an explanation of why, when humans cultivated devil arts, they would ultimately become devils, all the way down to their genes and very soul.

It would be impossible to find such detailed information in the impure lands. After all, this information had originally been written down by gods from the Devilfolk.

'This is all incredible information,' Yang Qi thought. Even just having looked over Elder Sister Xue's shoulder as she looked through the records, he had gained new understandings of his Unspoiled Body.

Elder Sister Xue and Bai Yin might not understand the information, but he did. After arriving in the god world with the completed God Legion Seal, he'd gained further enlightenment of his Sage Monarch Grand Magic, and had temporarily given up on the Unspoiled Body. But now he was suddenly presented with more information about its secrets.

Reaching out, he took a book made of human bones and paged through it to find information about fleshly bodies from the dao of devils, and how they related to tribulation clouds. It was another book penned by a god.

The things that gods could perceive surpassed the vision of mortals by many times over. And the information they could provide was proving immensely beneficial to Yang Qi.

Within him, the sheepskin scroll stirred and tribulation energy brewed. Whether it was his fleshly body, his soul, or his sea of consciousness, tiny transformations were occurring everywhere within him.

Looking at these ancient records from the dao of devils, enlightenment from devil-gods poured through him relentlessly. In fact, he quickly became lost in study.

Over the next few days, Elder Sister Xue came back every day and spent a few hours studying. It was hard to say where she came up with so many merit points. Meanwhile, Yang Qi was so focused on studying that soon, a month had gone by and he had read several thousand ancient records from the dao of devils. Most disciples wouldn't be able to read so many records without experiencing a fundamental shift in their dao and worldview. And most would have a hard time resisting the pull into devilry.

After all, knowledge-devils were powerful, and could easily lead to cultivation deviation. In fact, there were many sages and gurus who had transformed into devils after spending too much time in study. But Yang Qi had conquered knowledge-devils even when he was in the impure lands, so he wasn't worried.

After reading, he simply crushed the knowledge-devils and focused on improving his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and Unspoiled Body.

Life in the Scripture Pavilion was very casual and relaxed. Disciples would occasionally come to study, which would only lead to further profit. There was no danger or difficulty like in the mines, and he was slowly building up a collection of medicinal pills, talismans, and godstones....

Life was wonderful. Yang Qi almost felt like a fancy government official living in luxury.

One particularly bright day, the light of the god world pierced into the bookshelves, waking up Bai Yin, who stretched lazily. Pulling out a medicinal pill from his robe, he dropped it into his alcohol, which fizzed loudly for a moment before he chugged it all down.

"He who rises early gains the deepest enlightenment," he murmured. "Ah, what a life. Reading, sleeping, drinking, getting a tan. This is how gods are supposed to live. What's the point of all the fighting and death all the other disciples participate in?"

Looking over, he saw Yang Qi reading a book. From the look of it, he had been in that same spot all night, reading.

"Hmm? Don't go too crazy, Yang Qi. You've already been here a few months and all you do is read, cultivate, and seek enlightenment. You don't even sleep! Remember, it's important to balance work and leisure. It's not good for you to just sit around studying."

Closing the book, Yang Qi laughed and said, "You have your dao, I have mine. And as they say, all daos can lead to godly ascension."

Bai Yin nodded. "I really don't get it, though. What's your trick? The fact that you don't need to sleep is incredible. Even gods get tired and need to rest. Mind letting me in on the secret?"

Yang Qi shook his head. "You wouldn't be able to master it, so what would be the point in telling you?"

"Pshh!" Bai Yin pointed a finger at Yang Qi as if to start cursing him, only to then look down toward the bottom of the mountain. Then he leaped to his feet. "Come on, Brother. Some more wealth is headed our way. Looks like they wiped out another sect and are bringing some books up. And of course, we have to appraise them to see how many merit points they're worth."

Appraising books was another part of their job in the Scripture Pavilion, and it left them a lot of room for shenanigans. After all, they were entirely in charge of whether a book was worth one merit point, or five.

In other words, they decided how many merit points people got for handing in books. Although it seemed like a small responsibility, it was enough to cause most people to fawn obsequiously to them. And of course, it could be a great source of wealth.

Walking out of the Scripture Pavilion, they met a group of several dozen disciples hauling some books toward the second floor.

When Yang Qi looked over the group, the first person that stood out was Elder Brother Yue, who apparently wasn't working in the mines anymore.

He was still alive!