Sage Monarch

The destiny of the Deva Dynasty was so immense it could affect the workings of heaven, as well as the psyches of cultivators. Anyone who tried manipulating it would suffer greatly.

Even Yang Qi had experienced some backlash; however, it wasn't enough to harm him significantly. That said, there was enough resistance that he couldn't pin down the exact position of the Mahātmā Jade.

It seemed his only option was to start a manual search, which would likely take some time.

His original plan had been to slip in, take the jade, and leave. Unfortunately, that plan wasn't going to work. Thankfully, he was patient. Yang Immortal-Slayer was already in the Unbounded level, and with the Cruiser of Civilization, he could definitely keep the House of God Ordainment and Sage Monarch Society safe for the time being. Eternal Millennium was plotting against the House of God Ordainment, but that would take years to come to fruition, which meant Yang Qi had some time to work with.

He walked down the street in the guise of Patriarch Bloodcloak. Thanks to the information he had gleaned from his soulsearch, he knew that this particular island was called the Heaven Temple Continent, and was one of billions of places like it. As for the city magistrate, he was a Consummate God who hoped to reach the Unbounded level soon.

There were many businesses on the street, and countless experts strolling about shopping. Just about everything imaginable was for sale: demonling internal pellets, godhood, divine medicines, ores, magical treasures, maps, information....

There were even places to hire mercenaries. If you had enough godnotes and godstones, you could hire Perfect Gods to keep you safe.

Yang Qi soon reached a place of business deep in the city, run by the Deva Dynasty itself. It was a very busy place, with all the customers being Perfect Gods. 'The Deva Consortium!'

Upon seeing 'Patriarch Bloodcloak' approaching, some of the salesmen approached. "How can we help you, Patriarch Bloodcloak? What would you like to buy today? Last time you asked about the blood śarīra of an ancient buddhist expert, and we managed to track one down. The only question is, can you afford it?"

"I can afford it!" Yang Qi replied. "I struck it rich recently. In fact, I don't just want that śarīra, I'm willing to buy all sacrificial items useful to the dao of devils!" Flicking his sleeve, he produced a stack of ten thousand godnotes and handed it to the salespeople. "Take this as a little tip."

None of them had very high cultivation bases. They were all Greater Gods who would normally grovel in front of a Perfect God. However, that wasn't how they had been acting in front of 'Patriarch Bloodcloak.' After all, this was a place of business, and as natives of the Deva Dynasty, they obviously didn't think much of people from the dao of devils.

No one would ever dare to cause problems in the middle of the Deva Dynasty, not even Paramount Gods.

That said, upon being given ten thousand godnotes, their eyebrows shot up in delight. After all, money talks.

"You really did strike it rich, Patriarch Bloodcloak! Where did you find a treasure trove this amazing? Don't tell me you robbed someone? In any case, what're you looking for? As long as you have enough money, the Deva Consortium can get you anything you want. We can even arrange for Paramount Gods from the dao of devils to be killed!" They were obviously bragging, but Yang Qi had no doubt that they could actually follow through on their words.

The Deva Dynasty was huge, and its destiny was so incredible that he was certain that buying the life of a Paramount God was indeed within the realm of possibility.

"Are you serious?" Yang Qi said, plastering a look of surprise onto his face. "You can have a Paramount God killed?"

"That's nothing," one of the Greater Gods said. "Not too long ago, a young sir from the profoundly majestic Proud Clan headquarters came here and struck a deal. He paid a hundred perfect caliber godstones to hire Assassin King Heavenmaster to kill an Unbounded expert from the dao of devils, and the operation was a complete success. You see, the Deva Dynasty doesn't cheat anyone. As long as you have the money, we can do whatever you want. That's our reputation, and we'll never allow it to be tarnished. In any case, why are you asking, Patriarch Bloodcloak? Don't tell me you want some Paramount God assassinated! If so, you'll need to produce some perfect caliber godstones."

"I have no animosity toward any Paramount Gods from the dao of devils," Yang Qi said. "But I did acquire a devilish treasure trove, which was how I mastered a new sacrificial technique to gain a blessing of power from the noble spirit of the True Devil. Unfortunately, I need a lot of materials to pull it off. If I succeed, I'll reach the Unbounded level."

Sacrificial techniques were very popular, and there were a whole host of them. For instance, the Nacrelight Sageland specialized in sacrifices to the ancient High Priestess. But there were other sacrifices than to the High Priestess. The True Devil had also perished, leaving behind his deathless will convergence.

Many experts from the dao of devils would offer sacrifices to the True Devil. If their sacrifices succeeded, it was possible to be bestowed with boundless devil energy that they could use to achieve breakthroughs.

Therefore, it was the perfect excuse for Yang Qi to use. He could use that as a ruse to do some business deals, and simultaneously try to gather some information about the Mahātmā Jade.

One of the Greater Gods led Yang Qi into a private meeting room. "What items do you need for your sacrifice? If you can list them out, I can simply send the request to the general headquarters and have them start gathering all the items."

Yang Qi nodded and used the Bloodcloak God Art to create a blood-colored piece of paper. Then he wrote down a list of items in flowing calligraphy. He included things like the reborn golden body of a buddhist expert, figfruits from hell, discarnate godspheres, ghost-god quintessence, dragon-soul devil-banes....

He wrote down a huge list filled with all sorts of random things.

He didn't need these items personally; he was more interested in finding out what it was possible to get. Furthermore, he had friends and family back in the Sage Monarch Society who could use such items. After using the Cruiser of Civilization to remold their life force and genes, many of them had special requirements. After all, not even the cleverest housewife can cook a good meal without rice.

There were many ingredients that not even Mother Voidwalker had been able to procure.

For instance, the photonic computers of the Cruiser of Civilization contained information about a certain unique body called the Myriad-Buddhas Royal-Pilgrimage Devil-Subduing True Body. It needed śarīras from the reborn golden bodies of buddhist experts, tribulation ash, and the devilish sense of a buddhist expert. Such items weren't exactly easy to find.

Since the Deva Dynasty claimed to be able to get anything in existence, Yang Qi wasn't going to make it easy on them. One after another, he listed out a host of extremely rare items that he wanted to purchase.

"That's a lot of items," the salesman said, his expression flickering at the site of the list. "And it's going to be very expensive. Patriarch Bloodcloak, you're a regular customer, so please tell me this isn't some kind of joke. If you want that many things, you need to prove you can afford them before I pass the list along to my superiors."

"I understand," Yang Qi replied. "How much will it cost to get everything on this list?"

After performing some calculations, the salesperson said, "At the very least, a hundred billion godnotes. Maybe even a trillion. In other words, dozens of perfect caliber godstones. Didn't you realize that? And that's the most conservative estimate. If anything, the final price will be higher."

"That's fine," Yang Qi said. Flicking his sleeve, he produced ten walnut-sized godstones, all of them perfect caliber. "Here are ten perfect caliber godstones. Put that down as my deposit, and after you've finalized the quote, I'll pay the rest. I trust the reputation of the Deva Dynasty, and I'm confident you won't try to take advantage of me."

If nothing else, the Deva Dynasty did work hard to maintain their reputation for doing honest business. Over all the years that had passed, and the various bloodbaths that had taken place, it had become a hard and fast rule that anyone who tried to scam customers would be immediately executed.

That was one reason why business boomed in the Deva Dynasty. Everyone knew that they could come here and not fear being swindled.

As for the Deva Consortium, they even did business with Quasi-Gods, and would still be fair with them. Scams simply weren't allowed.

Those were things that Yang Qi had gleaned from Patriarch Bloodcloak's mind. And of course, those who gave a lot of business to the Deva Dynasty were considered important customers, and given even more consideration.

"Ten perfect caliber godstones?!"

The salesperson's expression flickered, and he quivered with shock. If he ruined a deal involving this many godstones, he would earn the death penalty a hundred times over.

"I can't take responsibility for a deal like this. I need to report this to the viceroy who runs this continent, Ser Temple. He's a feudal official working for the Deva Dynasty." Not daring to move an inch, the salesperson sent a message to call some Consummate Gods to hand over custody of the godstones to. Then, he scurried away. Shortly after, a beautiful young woman stepped into the room, a Perfect God. "I almost can't believe you came across such a fortune, Patriarch Bloodcloak. I'm a majordomo working for the viceroy here on the Heaven Temple Continent. You can call me A'ling."

Yang Qi let loose a cackling stream of laughter that sounded exactly what would be expected from a member of the dao of devils. "Well, if it isn't the exalted A'ling. Quite a beauty, you are. I'm glad they sent you to take care of me."

"I'm here to handle this deal, that's all," she said, looking at him with glittering eyes. "Patriarch, where did you get your hands on this much wealth? As I recall, your sect has always been strapped for cash."