Sage Monarch

"What?" Yang Qi said. "Dugu Clan? What's their story? And how come I've never heard of them? You're the Second Devil General, who doesn't fear anything in heaven and earth, and even dared to personally challenge the Sovereign Lord. But you're afraid of this Dugu Clan?"

"The Sovereign Lord did everything wrong. That's why all of the gods in existence revolted against him. And it was only by attacking him from all sides that it was possible to launch any deadly blows. Otherwise, no one would've dared to make a move. Back in my prime, I would never have feared the Dugu Clan. But now I'm stuck in this lamp, so things are different. If you let me out in the open, I really won't fear anything in heaven or earth."

The Second Devil General was still angling for Yang Qi to release him.

'The Dugu Clan,' Yang Qi thought. 'My Master ended up here in the god world, and he was called the Invincible Dugu. I wonder if he's part of that clan.'

Many years ago, his Master, leader of the Invincible Society, had ascended to the immortal worlds. But when Yang Qi followed, and eventually conquered all of those immortal worlds, he still never encountered the Invincible Dugu.

Even after arriving in the god world, he hadn't managed to get any information about him. That said, he was certain his Master was in the god world. And maybe he had something to do with this Dugu Clan.

"The Dugu Clan was very powerful in the past. They weren't direct subordinates of the Sovereign Lord, but instead had an alliance with three other clans. It was called the House of the Invincible, and it was a very powerful vassal state. Although they couldn't necessarily compare to the Sovereign Lord, True-Devil, Wretch-God, or King Immortal-Slayer, their nine founders were very impressive. They were called the Heaven-Extinguishing Dugu, Heaven-Defeating Dugu, Heaven-Eclipsing Dugu, Heaven-Immolating Dugu, Heaven-Propping Dugu, Heaven-Conquering Dugu, Heaven-Rending Dugu, Heaven-Sacrificing Dugu and Heaven-Reaching Dugu. And they weren't human. They started out as embryonic forms in pure primal-chaos, then eventually cultivated human form. They founded the Dugu Clan and reached the level of God-Lords, and were called Invincible Children. When working together, they could even hold their own against King Immortal-Slayer. Thus, when the great tribulation hit, they were hurt, but didn't die!

"Considering all the years they've had to rest and recover, I suspect they're as strong as they ever were. Furthermore, when the tiger is away from the mountain, the monkey becomes king. And that's why they're so powerful here in the god world."

"I had no idea about all that," Yang Qi said, clearly taken aback.

Not only had he been unaware of this Dugu Clan, but he'd never even heard of the House of the Invincible. And he had to wonder if these Invincible Children had anything to do with the Invincible Dugu.

His Master had been called 'invincible' in the impure lands, so it only made sense that he had a very impressive background. Perhaps it had something to do with karma. Yang Qi was starting to think it was highly likely that his Master was in this House of the Invincible.

Furthermore, his mother had been a friend of the Invincible Dugu. Therefore, if he could find his Master, maybe he could finally get some clues about his mother's whereabouts.

'I'm curious to see if these four experts' aura and blood is similar to that of Master. I don't have Master's blood in me, but I did have close dealings with him in the past, and remember enough to make a comparison. Besides, he also imparted some energy arts to me, which gave me some of his aura.'

Given his current strength, he could deal with these four experts. Of course, that was assuming that the Second Devil General didn't cause any problems. If he were to cause problems, it would be a different story.

Although Yang Qi still wasn't a late Paramount God, he now had ten times as many sage monarch magistrates as before, and their might, combined with the fact that he was on favorable terrain, ensured that he could use the God Legion Seal to turn the four into puppets.

"Regardless of their status, Second Devil General, I'm going to capture them and force them to be my people. I've been running low on manpower lately. And maybe I can use them to get some information about the House of the Invincible. If they're late Paramount Gods, that indicates the House of the Invincible must have even more powerful people in it."

"If you want to do that, boy, do it on your own. I'm not helping you. I'll just sit back and relax."

"Don't cause any mischief, Second Devil General. If you do, I'll make sure we both go out together!"

"How dare you threaten me, boy!"

"So what if I threaten you?" Yang Qi shot back. "If I throw caution to the wind and combine the God Legion Seal with the lamp, what do you think will happen?"

"Hmph. You might end up resurrecting the Lord of Radiance and Light, and things will definitely end badly for you."

"The two of us just need to stick to business and not fight," Yang Qi said. "That will be the best for both of us."

He was in a very dangerous situation going around with the Second Devil General sealed in a lamp. Although the general couldn't do anything, it would be a disaster if he got out. Yang Qi was already planning to get together with Yang Immortal-Slayer and see if they could deal with him. After all, Yang Immortal-Slayer had a direct connection to King Immortal-Slayer.

"Hmph. Do what you want, boy. I'm not interested in the squabbling of the younger generation. Although, I'm curious to see what kind of energy arts those four children use. Their cultivation level is higher than yours, and they have superior psychic scales and godhood ratings. Do you really think you can take all four of them on by yourself? Well, what are you waiting for? I want to see exactly how strong you are!"

WHOOSH!

Ignoring the Second Devil General, Yang Qi headed toward the four experts off in the distance.

As they hunted for treasure, the four were using their energy arts to defend against the tempests created by the clash between light and darkness. Of course, the moment the Second Devil General had emerged, a huge earthquake had rocked the entire area. Because of that, areas that were normally buried had been upturned, and numerous treasures were now visible.

The four experts were delighted, and were running around getting as much treasure as possible.

"Elder Brother, look! This is an ancient god item!" One of the women reached out and grabbed a beautiful painting that was covered with images of enchanting outdoor scenery, soaring eagles, flying dragons, and mysterious mist.

"That's a magical treasure belonging to King Cinnabar-Azure, one of the seventy-two monarchs!" one of the men exclaimed. "He created a total of one thousand two hundred and ninety-six exquisite paintings, all of them minor worlds of their own that represent an eon of time. Incredible! If you collect them all, they form the Cinnabar-Azure God-Painting, which is second only to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. According to the stories, King Immortal-Slayer actually got the inspiration for the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart from the Cinnabar-Azure God-Painting."

"That treasure alone is enough for us to strike it rich. And there are more magical treasures from the seventy-two monarchs around here. Most people don't have what it takes to unleash the might of those items, but in the hands of patriarchs like us, they'll be incredibly mighty."

"There's another one over here!" the other woman said, picking up a painting.

"By the way," the other man said, "the Bastille of the One God has remained exactly the same for the past millions upon millions of years. So what was that earthquake all about? What if that devil broke free? If he did, we need to find him! It seems to me that even if he broke free temporarily, he's still sealed. We should take advantage of his moment of weakness to strike a fatal blow!"

It was true. Even if the Second Devil General had broken free, the Lord of Radiance and Light had a contingency plan. The general would have been sucked into that destructive dimensional passageway, which would have then detonated. He might not have ended up dead, but he would have been severely wounded, and possibly suffered the same fate as a dragon in the shallows who falls victim to the shrimps.

"How dare those children plot against me!" the Second Devil General spat. It didn't matter that these four had an impressive background, he still bristled at the humiliation of their words. And now he was more curious than ever to see what Yang Qi was going to do next.

Transforming into an energy flow that combined the godly and the devilish, Yang Qi headed closer toward the four experts. Yang Qi could perfectly blend into the surroundings in the Bastille of the One God, and no one could possibly track him.

He was like someone who could transform into a snowflake on a snowy night. Who would ever notice someone like that?

He closed in on one of the men, who had no idea he was nearby. The man was keeping his defenses up after the earthquake, but was still searching around for treasure.

All of a sudden, the man noticed a bottle gourd in one of the buildings that had collapsed because of the earthquake. And it contained some high-level medicinal pills. "This is a god pill concocted by the Lord of Radiance and Light!"

Because of his excitement, his defenses were lowered for a moment.

That was when Yang Qi struck.

RUMBLE!

It was a very precise use of Hero's Last Stand, and it instantly descended on the man like a violent tempest.

This man had a cultivation base on roughly the same level as Patriarch Deva, but he was in a very weak position, and Yang Qi took every advantage he could get.

Crack! Snap!

The man's shields shattered, and Yang Qi's psychic power, bolstered by that of the twenty-five thousand sage monarch magistrates, pierced into his sea of consciousness. The man screamed, then blood sprayed out of his mouth.

"God Legion Seal: Instantaneous Seed Infection!" Yang Qi sent the power of the God Legion Seal flying into the man's body, which then exploded with golden light. As that happened, a new golden throne appeared in the God Legion Seal.

It took only that short moment to subjugate this top expert and make him Yang Qi's servant.

Next, Yang Qi took the battle experience in the God Legion Seal and put it into the man's mind, bringing him to clarity.

Roar!

Howling, the man turned and charged at one of the two women who had come with him and his other companion.

1. In , there was a very vague bit of conversation that established there was some sort of past between Yang Qi's mother and the Invincible Dugu.

2. 'Cinnabar-Azure' is a Chinese word that means "painting". It's obviously a rather poetic word that's literally referring to the red and green pigments used in painting.

3. 1,296 and the "eon" is a reference to Chinese cosmology. According to the Book of Supreme World Ordering Principles by the ancient Chinese philosopher , a cosmic "year" or "eon" is made up of 129,600 calendar years.