Sage Monarch

In the wild mountains, demon energy filled the forests and rose high into the sky. There were obviously countless demonlings lurking about; the trees were the best place for them to keep safe from the scorching light. The canopy overhead kept the brightness from seeping down into the cool, shady sections below.

The trees of the god world were tenacious and filled with life. They could absorb frigid energy, scorching energy, and even the strikes of lightning. They were tenacious, and those that weren't strong enough to survive were quickly weeded out in a very direct display of survival of the fittest.

Some trees were even able to build collections of godpower, turning themselves into murderous things that could kill and assimilate demonlings and human cultivators alike.

Just about all of the plant life in the god world was unique.

In fact, if one were to create a record of all the types of plants and trees, it would surely fill a billion volumes of text. Of course, in addition to the towering trees, there were all sorts of rare medicinal plants. Some such plants were able to use godpower to take the form of imps that could walk about and actively evade pursuit.

Yang Qi wasn't interested in studying such medicinal plants. Thanks to his deal with the Demonfolk, he got lots of medicinal plants on a monthly basis. After all, the demonlings were much better equipped to collect such plants. And the ghostface monkey-god's people weren't just adept at collecting medicinal plants, but also knew how to brew amazing alcohol.

Whooosh!

Yang Qi flew for so long that eventually, he didn't feel like he was in the world of humans anymore. He was surrounded by towering mountain peaks and primitive forests. Occasionally, flying demonlings would appear, but he would simply make himself invisible and fly past them to avoid trouble.

He flew for about six hours until he was in an immense valley, quiet and peaceful.

Landing, he waved his sleeve, and a sound like sabers and swords echoed out as numerous areas on the surrounding cliff walls exploded. All of them were spell formation nodes.

"Ghostface monkey-god! Snake goddess. You sent a message for me to meet you here to look at the Demon Master's jade discs. Instead, you set up spell formations to ambush me?" He threw his head back and laughed, and the sound reverberated out with such explosive force that it seemed the cliffs might collapse.

"Your cultivation base only gets more and more impressive, Yang Qi."

The ghostface monkey-god and the snake goddess appeared, both of them looking a bit chagrined. They really had hoped to trap Yang Qi in a spell formation, only to have him destroy it with casual ease.

"We were just testing out your cultivation base," the snake goddess said. "Please, don't take offense."

"You'd best not stir up trouble," Yang Qi said. "Your lives are directly in my hands!" All of a sudden, both the ghostface monkey-god and the snake goddess felt power thrumming within their hearts. Instantly, looks of shock appeared on their faces as they realized they couldn't control their own godpower.

"W-what... what did you do to us?" the snake goddess stammered.

"Oh nothing. Just planted some devil embryos in you. You've had them inside you for months now. I can use them to control your godpower, and even read your thoughts." Yang Qi chuckled. "Did you really think I would just casually let you leave the day we met? No, the truth is that I could have killed you any time I wanted. And I know exactly what you've been thinking all along. You really are planning to open Demon Master Valley and join forces with other Demonfolk experts to try to unlock its secrets. However, some of the other Demonfolk gods have it out for me. For example, that moon-eating lion king and the ox god. The former has a godhood rating of eight, and the latter, nine. Did you really think they'd be enough to deal with me?"

The two demon-gods looked at Yang Qi with ashen faces.

"You...."

"Can you really spy on our thoughts?"

"Of course I can." He flicked his finger. "For example, right now you're trying to think of ways to expel the devil embryos. You're hoping that the other Demonfolk experts will be able to save you. Sadly, that won't work. Now lead the way. Take me into Demon Master Valley."

"What?" the snake goddess said. "You know how dangerous Demon Master Valley is, but you want to just walk right inside?"

"Of course," Yang Qi replied. "Now quit jabbering and lead the way."

"Yes, of course...." The two demon-gods had no choice but to comply. Flying into the air, they led Yang Qi over a few mountain peaks until they reached an immense valley with a waterfall spilling into it, filling it with mist. In the depths of that valley was an enormous door that was currently tightly closed. The door itself was as big as a mountain, and engraved with calligraphy as flamboyant as dancing dragons and swirling phoenixes. Of course, it was the script of the Demonfolk.

Numerous demon-gods were converging on the area, most of them looking expectantly at the huge door.

There was a subterranean river below the surface of the earth, and the pulsing power of heaven and earth that flowed up from it was being gathered to use in a spell formation to open the door.

This place was none other than Demon Master Valley.

It was the location where the boundless Demon Master had left behind jade discs inscribed with all sorts of energy arts, spell formation instructions, pill concocting formulas, and the like. One of the discs even contained the Psychic Devil-Raising Demon-Sacrificing Heaven-Defying Grand Magic.

Whenever the power of heaven and earth was unleashed in Demon Master Valley, the local demon-gods would gather in hopes of gaining new enlightenment.

Yang Qi stood with the ghostface monkey-god and the snake goddess, looking around at all the other demon-gods flying into the valley. While some just quietly sat down, others were engaged in conversation.

A few of them called out greetings to the snake goddess and ghostface monkey-god. "Monkey, Snake, who's that Junior Brother with you? Which demon tribe does he come from? And considering he hasn't reached godly ascension, why did you bring him here? Does he actually want to get himself killed?"

"Oh, this is just a friend of ours from a distant tribe."

However, before anything else could be said, a burly man with golden hair appeared, flanked by a similarly burly man in black.

Yang Qi could instantly see that they had godhood ratings of nine and eight respectively.

One was the moon-eating lion king, the other was the ox god.

They were the very same gods that the ghostface monkey-god and snake goddess had asked to help deal with Yang Qi. Now that they had caught sight of Yang Qi alive, they were obviously going to attempt to do something to him.

"Don't do anything!" the snake goddess said to the burly man in black. "This has all been just a misunderstanding, Big Bro Ox."

"A misunderstanding? Seems to me you're under his control!" The ox god stepped forward and reached out toward the snake goddess, sending out a stream of godpower that entered her and caused cracking sounds to ring out from the godhood in her sea of energy.

Yang Qi looked over at the ox.

Although he didn't say a word, an enormous, devilish specter appeared behind the ox god, which entered him and caused him to shiver. All of a sudden, he realized that his godpower was flowing only in fits and starts.

"What did you just do to me, boy!?" the ox god bellowed angrily.

"Oh, nothing. Just made you a bit more obedient. And helped you understand how strong I am." Yang Qi had secretly used the Heaven-God Hell-Exterminating Devil Embryo to infect him. Although the ox god was able to suppress the effects, it was causing problems for his godpower, and had already reduced his fighting prowess.

"Where exactly are you from, brat?" said the burly man with the golden hair. Although he was glaring at Yang Qi, he didn't dare to make a move against him.

"That doesn't matter. I came to seek enlightenment from the Demon Master's jade disc. Considering that has nothing to do with you, and we don't have any grudge, there's no need to get into any life-or-death struggle." Yang Qi waved his hand and retracted the devil embryo.

Instantly, the ox god's godpower flows returned to normal, although he was still soaked with sweat.

"Incredible. Nothing short of incredible. I understand, Sire. You clearly have grand ambitions, and want to reach the Paramount level. So you came to acquire one of the Demon Master's techniques, the one pertaining to developing inner devils. I was coerced into causing problems for you, so please, let's turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk." The ox god clasped hands respectfully.

The truth was that they didn't have any personal grudge with Yang Qi, and they could see that he wasn't interested in causing problems for them. Even Demonfolk knew of the axiom, dismount a donkey on favorable terrain, in other words, take advantage of favorable conditions. For the Demonfolk, survival came first, and dignity second. It was actually the opposite of humans. Because humans often lived comfortable lives, they could afford to put dignity ahead of survival.

Yang Qi gave a vague nod and sat down cross-legged.

Their small altercation hadn't attracted the attention of other demon-gods. This was another difference between demons and humans. Demons' interest in self-preservation made them different from humans, who loved to watch a big scene.

A few hours passed, and the sky turned dark. At that point, a strange glow rose up from the subterranean river, gathering above the valley in the shape of a crescent moon that cast soft light everywhere.

As the enormous stone door slowly opened, a voice echoed out. "Demon Master Valley will be open for three days and three nights. Take care. If you don't leave before the door closes, you never will."

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Numerous demon-gods flew forward in streaks of light.

As for Yang Qi, he slapped his palm on the ground and instantly disappeared, giving quite a shock to the moon-eating lion king and the ox god. He really could come and go like the wind. In fact, even the wind would marvel at his methods.

He flew past the door into the valley, and saw that the area was roughly shaped like a gourd. It was huge, and the cliffs were covered with numerous jade discs, all of which emanated immense demon energy. The floor was littered with the bones of those who had entered in times past, but hadn't left before the door closed.

The Demon Master was a legendary figure among the Demonfolk, and his secrets were here in this valley, left behind for his people to gain enlightenment of.