Sage Monarch

Buddha Thunderjolt was dead.

His attempt to reach the peak Paramount God level failed, as Yang Qi had used the might of the Great Necropolis to crush him. The final stance of the Sage Monarch Grand Magic was simply the best of the best.

Yang Qi controlled the quintessence of the Great Necropolis, and when you added in the starry godpower of the God Legion Seal, he finally accomplished what was a nearly impossible task.

In a defiance of what seemed possible, he had killed Buddha Thunderjolt.

Given his current level of cultivation, it should have been impossible. In the final critical moment of the fight, Buddha Thunderjolt actually could have escaped. But his thoughts had been dominated by greed, and in his hope of taking Yang Qi's numerous magical treasures, he ended up meeting a tragic end.

His explosive unleashing of godly might had been suppressed by Yang Qi, without a tiny fraction of it leaking out into the open. Then Yang Qi had assimilated him, shifting between various forms, including the Great Necropolis, Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart and others.

Buddha Thunderjolt had a psychic scale of a billion, which was almost too mighty to comprehend. Furthermore, he had consumed an Inimitable Dragon-Pill, something left behind by the ancient ancestors of the Dragonfolk. It was normally something that couldn't be casually consumed without running the risk of exploding.

Sadly, that power was now going to Yang Qi, who was converting it by means of King Heaven-Devourer's talismans. Without those talismans, he would have detonated from the immense forces at play. Thankfully, they could take the draconic essence and convert it safely.

Immense godly might flowed endlessly into the depths of the God Legion Paradise. There, the sage monarch magistrates were again splitting apart like mad.

All of a sudden, another dramatic transformation occurred, as the godpower in the God Legion Paradise transformed into a host of blood-red flower petals that filled the sky. They were roughly bowl-sized, and resembled peonies, yet at the same time, looked like swirling dragons.

They were none other than myriad dragon peonies, which could be immensely beneficial.

Within moments, his force of sage monarch magistrates reached a total of forty thousand. Then, they climbed to forty-five, fifty, and finally sixty thousand.

Sixty thousand sage monarch magistrates.

All of them were domineering figures, Paramount Gods who could act in such unison that, when they stood together, no one could tell the difference between them. In fact, they were identical down to their life force, genes, and psyches. They really were the perfect thralls.

Thanks to having the sixty thousand sage monarch magistrates, Yang Qi's own cultivation base also increased. When the process was complete, his psychic scale and godhood rating reached the level of five hundred million.

It was a complete and utter transformation. The only downside was that, because he had monarch godhood, he wasn't able to progress as quickly. If he had normal godhood, assimilating Buddha Thunderjolt and all his Dragonfolk magical treasures and god items would have instantly pushed Yang Qi to the level of a billion.

'Excellent. Even if Buddha Shockheaven came at me now, I wouldn't need to be afraid. I've become so strong! The Bastille of the One God really is a blessed land for me.' After the process was over, he drew on his monarch godhood and stirred his psyche, and instantly sensed that, with a single fist strike, he could crush hundreds of continents. And his mind could cover thousands of landmasses, detecting everything within them down to the tiniest ants. This was what it meant to have late Unbounded will convergence.

Sadly, the peak level was far, far away.

It took several days for him to assimilate all of Buddha Thunderjolt's quintessence blood and vital energy. And among the new abilities he had gained enlightenment of was a way to absorb even more starry godpower.

Precisely speaking, it wasn't starry godpower, but rather, sovereign caliber godstones. And of all the places in the god world, this was the only one where he could assimilate sovereign-caliber godstones. Their power levels were many, many times beyond anything from perfect caliber godstones.

It was easy to get wrapped up in cultivation here. He knew that if he stayed here for about half a year, he would end up on a completely different level than everyone around him. However, he couldn't afford to do that. There were very important things to do right now, such as going to the House of the Invincible to search for his Master and Aunt Susu. He wanted to stop the marriage of Yang Susu to this Dugu Yunkong, yet he didn't even know the level of the latter's cultivation base. If he was a peak Paramount God, he might be difficult to deal with. If he was the same level as Buddha Thunderjolt had been, then at least Yang Qi could probably stand up to him.

Unfortunately, the House of the Invincible had as many experts as the sky has clouds, so the job of infiltrating them wouldn't be an easy one. Thankfully, Yang Qi had agents there, which would make it a lot easier to get in undetected.

"Still cowering in there, Second Devil General?" Yang Qi asked. "I've got you completely locked down now. Itching to get out and stretch your legs? I'm a lot stronger now, so maybe I should just throw caution to the wind and use the power of these sovereign caliber godstones to assimilate you. I've definitely got the upper hand here. What do you think? Interested in working out a deal?"

"What sort of deal?" the Second Devil General said, his voice faint. "What are you thinking, boy? It's true, I'm surprised that you got lucky and managed to gain enlightenment of such a consummate technique. You actually mastered the Great Necropolis God Art and used it to crush that little dragon. If the dragon had escaped and blabbed your secrets, you'd have all of the Dragonfolk chasing after you. However, the truth is that not even the Great Necropolis God Art is going to put you in the position to deal with me. The Sovereign Lord had it, and he couldn't kill me. So what exactly are you going to do?"

"Don't forget," Yang Qi said, "once I get the Mahātmā Jade from you, my psychic scale is going to get much higher. At that point, I might even agree to let you go free. What do you say?"

Of course, Yang Qi knew that, despite all his advantages, it would still be dangerous to try to handle the Second Devil General. But rewards come only with risk, and there wasn't any time to lose.

He had the feeling that going to the House of the Invincible to find Yang Susu was going to be a very dangerous and deadly affair. And there was likely some grand conspiracy he would have to deal with. There was definitely someone manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

And bringing the Second Devil General with him into that situation would be dangerous.

"Tell me, boy," the Second Devil General said. "If I give you this piece of the Mahātmā Jade, will you really free me? And how could I ever trust you?"

"You can only take the risk. You're probably worried that if I assimilate that jade, I'll try to assimilate you next. But not even the Lord of Radiance and Light could do that, so there's no way I'll be able to, at least for the time being. That said, you heard what King Immortal-Slayer said. There are ambitious forces at work in the god world, and before long, major events are going to take place. In other words, I don't have hundreds of thousands of years to wait around before being able to assimilate you. What would be the point? But if we join forces, then what could we accomplish?

"Think about it. Once you're free, I can assimilate the Everlit Godlamp, which is the true form of the Lord of Radiance and Light. Then, my cultivation base will be even stronger. It's a win for both of us. What good does it do me to have you imprisoned in the lamp? All that's doing is making the lamp completely useless to me."

"That's true. Even if I gave you the Mahātmā Jade and you increased your cultivation base, all you could do would be to tighten my bonds. You couldn't force me out of the lamp, nor take complete control of it. And even if you were at the same level as the Lord of Radiance and Light was, you wouldn't be able to assimilate me in the next hundred million years."

"That's right!" Yang Qi said. Seeing that the Second Devil General seemed to be considering the offer, he continued, "I know you thirst for freedom, Second Devil General. You've been sealed for tens of billions of years, ever since the God Legion Tribulation. So why not accomplish big things with me instead of just being a prisoner?"

"You make a lot of sense, boy. And I have to say, I'm tempted. But I need to think it over. I do want my freedom, as you say. But even in my weakest state, I could kill Buddha Thunderjolt, let alone you. Aren't you worried that's what I'll do as soon as I'm free? Unless you can answer that question, there's no way I won't believe this to be anything other than a trap."

"Oh. Well, that's simple. Once I have that piece of the Mahātmā Jade, I'll get so much stronger that, although I won't be a match for you, I can use the Everlit Godlamp to reach the peak Paramount God level. And at that level, I might not be your equal, but with the God Legion Seal, I'll be strong enough that you wouldn't dare to try taking me on. And don't forget that I have the purrling on my side."

"The purrling..." the Second Devil General murmured. He knew exactly how powerful the purrling was. After all, the purrling had sealed him not too long ago. From what he could tell, it must be on roughly the same level as the King of Godmammoths of yesteryear.