Sage Monarch

As soon as the soundwave rope entered the group of angels, it lost its effectiveness. At the same time, the archangels howled with rage, and angry bugle calls rang out.

These archangels were extremely powerful, but they never actually spoke. They could only shout with rage and sound their bugle horns. However, the sound was so powerful it could crush wretch-devils without mercy. In ancient times, the battle cries of these archangels would strike fear into the hearts of demons and devils, as they knew the calls were a portent of judgment.

BAM!

The mere sound shattered the rope, causing an unsightly expression to appear on Buddha Thunderjolt's face. What was worse, Yang Qi seemed completely unaffected, despite being in the middle of a huge group of archangels. And he hadn't been able to clearly identify what the golden glow from moments before was.

The tempests in the Bastille of the One God were too numerous and severe, and he was forced to constantly defend against the invasive sagelight, as well as all the other dangers. For instance, directly underneath him was a spell formation tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter that resembled an enormous eye. It was an Angel Eye Formation, and if it weren't for the fact that he was hovering above the surface of the ground, he would have been trapped within it. And it took a lot of energy to defend against its tug.

'Who is this kid? And how come those angels aren't attacking him?'

Meanwhile, the archangels surged into motion, some of them sweeping about to surround Buddha Thunderjolt, and others lunging toward him with razor-sharp spears that resembled holier versions of the Infernal Deity Spear.

"Be destroyed!" Buddha Thunderjolt growled and waved his sleeve, shattering numerous spears and causing hundreds of angels to collapse into powder.

Unfortunately, he could tell that he was rapidly being forced into a very bad position.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi was taking advantage of his position to launch attacks of his own. He summoned a primal-chaos elder-snake, which immediately began devouring the surrounding archangels. Inside of him, crunching sounds could then be heard as they were given to the sage monarch magistrates, who used the influx to duplicate themselves.

Every few dozen archangels could produce a single sage monarch magistrate.

"Well done, boy!" Buddha Thunderjolt said. "It seems the Bastille of the One God is the perfect battleground for you. You obviously have a magical treasure left behind by the Sovereign Lord. Perhaps a commander's tally that keeps you safe from the angels. Is that what my apprentices were trying to take?"

Bam. Bam. Bam!

Buddha Thunderjolt burst into action, cutting down numerous archangels as he cut his way to freedom. Moments later, he was right in front of Yang Qi and reaching toward him with a clawed hand.

"Heaven in my Grip!"

However, it was to Yang Qi's surprise that Buddha Thunderjolt didn't actually lay hands on him. Instead, he reached up as if to grab heaven in his grip.

It was as if he were taking control of the dao of heaven!

What kind of a technique was this?

"The Dao in my Hand!"

Yang Qi suddenly felt like he had been grabbed tight and couldn't move a muscle. Although he was in the middle of a host of angels, he felt like he was completely alone and lonely, facing an evil fiend-devil that was Buddha Thunderjolt.

Buddha Thunderjolt reached out with his hand again.

The move The Dao in my Hand was so named because it was as if one held a great dao in one's hand. In Yang Qi's view, it was as if Buddha Thunderjolt had leapt into the air and grabbed the dao of heaven, creating a taiji symbol in his palm, which spread out as if to completely cover him.

"When I Was Born, Radiance and Light Shone like a Lamp!"

In that critical moment, Yang Qi unleashed a move that he had been keeping in his back pocket up to this point. The Everlit Godlamp appeared, sending out dazzling light like a flame, which surrounded Buddha Thunderjolt's hand.

WHACK!

Buddha Thunderjolt's hand was burned so badly it turned black, and he felt pain radiating up his arm as he looked at Yang Qi's lamp.

Shocked, Buddha Thunderjolt said, "Is that... the legendary... true form of the Lord of Radiance and Light?! The lamp that existed before heaven and earth were hewn out, and before the god world existed? The Everlit Godlamp? How did you get it? No wonder you're able to move about so freely here! Not bad. Not bad at all. If I had a lamp like that, what would I have to fear from the House of the Invincible? And here I thought you just had a commander's tally of some sort. But you actually have something far better. Give that lamp to me, and I'll let you go free. I don't care if you're from the House of the Invincible. Even if you were more important than that, I wouldn't let you go free."

Buddha Thunderjolt was nearly going mad. He knew that if he could take that lamp and assimilate it, he would very likely achieve the breakthrough to the peak level he sought. And it was entirely likely that his psychic scale and godhood rating would climb into the billions. In fact, it might even get to ten billion. Furthermore, he would be able to freely enter and exit the Bastille of the One God, and even command the Army of Radiance and Light. He would be able to take command of the Dragonswarm Society, and also take over the Myriad Dragons Lair.

With all of those opportunities right in front of him, how could he possibly hold anything back?

"God Dragon Blood Sacrifice!"

He spat out a huge mouthful of blood, which transformed into a blood-colored dragon, burning and sizzling. "I'm going to sacrifice my own lifespan, boy. I'll give up ten thousand years to summon this blood dragon, if that's what it takes to get you. And if you die, so be it. I'd originally planned to let you live so that I could ransom you back to the House of the Invincible. But now it seems that killing you is the only option."

Thanks to the burning blood dragon, his power levels were rising exponentially.

'This is bad!' Yang Qi thought, turning and fleeing. Meanwhile, the archangels remained clustered around him protectively, almost as if they were his own thrall troops.

WHOOSH!

Obviously, Buddha Thunderjolt wasn't going to let him get away. He transformed into a blood-red streak and sliced through the air like a saber, destroying any angel that got too close to it.

'What the fuck!? This damned dragon is really difficult to deal with!'

Buddha Thunderjolt was actually sacrificing thirty thousand years of lifespan to use his Blood Severing Void Saber technique, which was incredibly powerful and almost impossible to block.

Fleeing for his life, Yang Qi threw a handful of Purrfect God Art bubbles behind himself to buy time.

The blood-colored saber slashed through them with very little effort, buying Yang Qi only a very short bit of time.

After all, he wasn't the purrling.

The army of archangels was leaderless and without organization. As a result, this event was playing out very differently than it would have in ancient times. With the Lord of Radiance and Light there to issue orders, they would have quickly crushed Buddha Thunderjolt.

Yang Qi had never been in a deadly chase as bitter and intense as this.

The fact that he couldn't even escape here in the Bastille of the One God went to show how incredibly formidable Buddha Thunderjolt was. Of course, if word got out, it would lead to widespread shock. After all, Buddha Thunderjolt stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Dragonfolk, and was second only to Buddha Shockheaven.

The fact that Yang Qi had lasted this long just went to show how extraordinary he was.

The only upside was that, as the chase played out, Yang Qi was continuing to absorb what he needed to create more sage monarch magistrates. Up to this point, he had created a few hundred more, all of them as strong as Unbounded experts.

Unfortunately, Buddha Thunderjolt could sense Yang Qi getting stronger, and that only convinced him that he absolutely had to catch him and devour him.

Yang Qi's gums itched with anxiety, yet there was nothing he could do.

Meanwhile, in the Everlit Godlamp, the Second Devil General could sense what was happening, and he was trembling with anticipation. The truth was that he wasn't sure that if he took action now, he could break through the seals put in place by King Immortal-Slayer and the purrling. Furthermore, if he did the wrong thing and fell into the hands of Buddha Thunderjolt, his fate would be dismal.

'Is this some sort of personal tribulation of mine,' Yang Qi thought, 'retribution for all the people I've conquered and subjugated? As long as I can get through this, I'll probably benefit greatly. The Bastille of the One God is just too dangerous. I refuse to believe that this dragon can move around here completely freely.'

It didn't matter how he used his Tribulation Wings and Myriad Worlds Greater Teleportation, he simply couldn't shake his pursuer.

"Die!" Buddha Thunderjolt shouted, speeding up and heading directly toward Yang Qi's back with deadly force.

However, Yang Qi had already leaped forward several dozen meters, leaving behind a clone to take his place.

"You're fast, boy," Buddha Thunderjolt growled angrily. However, he kept his fury under control; he was willing to sacrifice anything to get that Everlit Godlamp.

All of a sudden, the energy of radiance and light vanished.

They had passed completely through the military base of the Army of Radiance and Light, and now the surrounding scenery was different. Countless stars were visible overhead, all of them pulsing with holiness. There was no radiance and light, yet the magical laws were profoundly strong and the entire area was filled with the energy of the Sovereign Lord.

There was a palace visible, immensely far away and incredibly huge. And it radiated the aura of the halls of heaven.