Sage Monarch

Chaos was truly spreading as Paramount Gods clashed. If nothing else, the vital energy shockwaves from the fighting provided the perfect cover for Yang Qi and Yang Immortal-Slayer to take action.

Thankfully, Yang Qi had identity medallions from both Summer Vastcold and Summer Soundfyre, and could even use the devil embryos in them to replicate their auras. That made it easy to get back into the Nacrelight Sageland without attracting any attention. Of course, it was a different story for the Paramount Gods from the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. Their expressions of will slammed into the defenses with deadly force, provoking an immediate reaction.

And because of the chaos, no one was paying attention to what Yang Qi and Yang Immortal-Slayer were doing in the treasure storehouse.

This widespread chaos had provided them the perfect opportunity.

'Where is that Mahātmā Jade?!'

Following the map Summer Soundfyre had given him, he was making his way through the storehouse looking for the jade. He didn't dare to act casually the way he could in the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty's treasure storehouse, where his Sagelight Body made things so simple.

He was here as his true self, and only had the cloaking abilities of the Cruiser of Civilization to rely on.

'So Summer Soundfyre was actually lying. This map is a complete fake.' To his frustration, the map she had given him only led to a trap, not the Mahātmā Jade.

Summer Soundfyre was just as bad as Summer Vastcold. Yang Qi would make sure they received their comeuppances alongside Mother Voidwalker.

Thankfully, he had infected Summer Soundfyre with a devil embryo, and although he couldn't use it to control her, it did inform him of her ill intent. As such, there was no way he would fall into her trap.

Furthermore, he could use the pieces of the Mahātmā Jade he already possessed to guide him to the piece he sought.

As he passed through the treasure storehouse, he looked around at all the countless treasures, medicinal pills, and rare objects. He didn't touch a single one of them. He knew that as soon as he did, the defensive spell formations would activate and sound an alarm.

Although the Nacrelight Sageland was currently in the midst of a big battle, that didn't mean the Paramount Gods would ignore someone breaking into their treasure storehouse.

Moving slowly but surely, he crept through the storehouse, passing by countless treasures as he attempted to fish a needle from the sea.

'It's just up ahead.'

Sure enough, he had just sensed the fluctuations of the jade forming a resonance with the pieces he already possessed.

Deep in the world that was the treasure storehouse, there was an area of pure crystal that contained a host of different unique jades. Heaven Jade, Earth Jade, Cloudsoaring Jade, Medusa Jade, Profound-Yang Jade, Yin-Yang Godjade, Nethernorth Jade, Frigid Jade, and the like. Each of these pieces of jade was a unique heaven and earth of its own.

Among the mountainous piles of jade was one fragment that, upon initial inspection, seemed like it didn't contain any psychic or spirit energy fluctuations at all. However, Yang Qi could tell at a glance that this was the ultimate type of jade in existence, a god among other types of jade: the Mahātmā Jade.

A smile broke out on Yang Qi's face. 'Excellent. This piece is similar in size to the piece from the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. If I'm not mistaken, there are several more pieces out there in the god world. But where...?'

WHOOSH!

Knowing there was no time to lose, he burst into motion.

Locking onto the psychic fluctuations of the Mahātmā Jade, he activated his Unspoiled Body, then reached out and grabbed the jade.

Almost instantly, he felt immense power surging through him, completely unbounded and without limits. His psyche and will shot higher, breaking through the bottleneck he had been stuck in for so long.

"Let's get out of here! GO!"

Yang Qi didn't intend to cause a scene upon first taking the jade. Ignoring all of the other treasures around him, he remained focused, using the Cruiser of Civilization to slip out of the treasure storehouse, through the chaos, and away from the Nacrelight Sageland.

As he made his escape, the Paramount Gods were still fighting, sending out vital energy shockwaves and blasts of lightning so violent and chaotic it made it impossible to see anything.

"You finally got the Mahātmā Jade!" Yang Immortal-Slayer said excitedly. "Yang Qi, this means you can reach the Unbounded level, right? You're going to be the first true expert of all of us. Now it'll be a lot easier to accomplish things."

"Yes, I just didn't want to attempt the breakthrough in the middle of the treasure storehouse. I need to find a good place to do it. This is obviously going to be a major step." Yang Qi felt the psychic power in his sea of consciousness surging to the point of detonation. He needed to find a place to settle down and focus, lest his entire body explode. Once he reached the Unbounded level, then combined with his cultivation base, he could easily return to the Nacrelight Sageland and clear out their treasure storehouse.

As he currently was, he couldn't even think of dealing with Unbounded experts. He was like a caterpillar, but once he rose to the Unbounded level, he would be like a mighty roc.

Now that they were out of danger, Yang Qi and Yang Immortal-Slayer flew into the depths of space-time until they found a stable place to settle down.

There, Yang Qi activated the cloaking functions of the Cruiser of Civilization, which would ensure that even if a Paramount God passed by, they would only see a flickering mirage. The cruiser was the ultimate treasure of the Lord of Civilization, and now that it was complete, it was immeasurably powerful.

The thing was huge, containing countless subsections and innumerable aspects that related both to the dao of immortals, as well as science and technology.

"Incredible. The Cruiser of Civilization is much more effective now that it's complete." It was almost as if Yang Immortal-Slayer had never been inside the cruiser before, that was how different it was.

"Yeah. This will function well as a god kingdom for the Sage Monarch Society. It's definitely superior to the god kingdom of the House of God Ordainment. After all, we just used it to escape from some Paramount Gods. And once I reach the Unbounded level, it'll only be even more incredible. I'd say that, right now, we're only able to use about fifty percent of its full potential."

Now that Yang Qi's thoughts could fill the entire cruiser, he realized how incredibly mighty the Lord of Civilization had been. Furthermore, he could tell that, with the power of the cruiser, he could definitely help his subordinates to develop unique types of godhood.

After all, there were other types of godhood besides monarch godhood that were incredibly formidable.

Even with his current cultivation base, Yang Qi could bring his people in here, transform them, and make them three to five times as powerful as before. And once he was in the Unbounded level, he could probably make them ten times stronger.

Years ago, the Lord of Civilization suffered untold hardships to complete the cruiser, and even relied on the support of the Sovereign Lord. And with it, he had helped the countless subordinates of the Sovereign Lord dramatically improve their fighting prowess.

"How confident are you that you can reach the Unbounded level?" Yang Immortal-Slayer asked.

"One hundred percent!" Yang Qi replied. "I've been building up to this moment for a long time now. With the piece of the Mahātmā Jade I just got, I can definitely do it."

"Great. I'll stand as dharmic guard for you."

Yang Immortal-Slayer powered up his cultivation base and took control of the Cruiser of Civilization.

Yang Qi nodded. He was already trembling, unable to control the psychic power that was coursing through him. If he didn't achieve his breakthrough soon, his monarch godhood was going to crumble.

"Unbounded Psyche; Defy All Laws and Principles!"

A shadowy projection appeared behind him, which was none other than the "Nothing" from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic.

The Mahātmā Jade erupted with mountain-crushing, sea-shattering psychic power, filling every aspect of Yang Qi. As it did, Unbounded will grew within him, and he glimpsed even more profundities of the god world. He saw space within space, continents within continents, and even more enigmatic aspects. His thoughts, psyche, and worldview expanded as his fundamental nature changed.

He could also see invisible shackles within him, binding his soul, spirit, and will.

As they collapsed, his psyche gained freedom, and his will became Unbounded. He was now a true potentate in the god world.

1. This section contains a second comparison that I'm leaving out because it doesn't make sense in English the way it does in Chinese. It says that he transforms from a snail to a rhinoceros. In Chinese, both snail and rhinoceros contain the character for "ox/cow", so the comparison makes perfect sense visually.

2. As you can see if you look at the Chinese characters, the "Nothing" 无 from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic is connected to the Unbounded level (无限) and the Annulled level (无无). In some cases, it's just not possible to have everything connect in English the way it does in Chinese.