Sage Monarch

The Heavendawn Quarry was a massive place that was impossible to take in with a single glance.

The mining district stretched through numerous mountain ranges that were filled with demon energy. There were also plenty of tunnels and caves that led into the depths of the mine, where magical treasures glittered, and spirit energy abounded. There were also all sorts of stones and gems, as well as locations where the quintessence of the sun and moon had built up over the years.

Yang Qi currently flew in the air over the mountains, and despite the thick cloud cover, could easily see everything down below. He wore his Infernal Deity Plate Armor, the helmet of which featured two glowing eyes that could pierce through to the brightest heights and the darkest depths.

In fact, if Yang Qi practiced cultivation to an extremely high level, the eyes of the godmammoth could supposedly pierce through time itself. It could gaze into the depths of hell, into the most ancient past, into the chiliocosm itself. Eyes like that could make out the tiniest of details, and were essentially all-seeing.

Yang Qi's eyes weren't that sharp yet, but they were at least able to pierce through cloud layers and masses of demon energy.

As he looked down at the terrain below, he would consult the map the chancellor had given him, which clearly depicted the winding rivers and complex mountains and valleys.

His destination was none other than the area where the monster was supposedly sealed.

'I wonder how strong this monster is. And what type of magical treasure was used to seal it. How difficult is this test going to be? The chancellor is a profound schemer, and unfortunately, I have no idea what he's thinking. Well, I guess I'll just have to take my chances.' He did his best to keep his aura reined in. Although the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth had some fiendish elements, it was actually the perfect amalgam of the righteous and the evil.

Considering the Heavendawn Quarry was the territory of powerful demons, if someone who cultivated a righteous technique entered it, they would be like a bright torch on a moonless night. They would immediately attract the wrong kind of attention, and be attacked by hordes of evil creatures.

Given the level of Yang Qi's cultivation base, he wasn't particularly worried about being attacked, but at the same time, it might make his mission more difficult to accomplish. Furthermore, it could cause complications in regard to getting on the good side of the chancellor, and standing up to the Crown Prince.

Keeping his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth hidden, he slipped down into the mine.

As he moved along, he sensed many powerful demon-devils, and yet, none of them noticed him. Some of that had to do with the Hell Portal.

When he fully completed the portal, he would be able to step through it as a means to pierce through space. After all, if he hid himself in the Nine Serenities or Yellow Springs underworld, not even the legion of gods would be able to see him.

However, he was still perfecting it, and as such, wasn't able to use it to completely conceal himself, or to travel through space. However, he could draw on his power to create illusory effects around him that were even more profound than those of certain energy arts of invisibility.

At the moment, his energy flow conformed exactly to that of a boulder. Thanks to the Hell Portal, anyone who looked at him would have no way to distinguish him from one of the numerous rocks that filled the area.

Only the most powerful of entities, the type who were at one with nature in every aspect, would possibly be able to pick up on the signs.

Even among Legendaries, such individuals were rare.

In the Demi-Immortal Institute, there were many royal-class energy arts that could be used to cast illusions, or confuse the eyes of others. Such energy arts of invisibility were often what mortals took to be magic. However, such techniques paled in comparison to the Hell Portal's abilities.

Although energy arts of invisibility were quite useful, Yang Qi had never studied them. With the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, why should he?

"The geography here conforms exactly to the azure dragon, white tiger, vermillion bird, black turtle and flying snake. The five elements are all perfectly represented. It's the perfect location for either a consummate hellion or a genius human."

The massive Heavendawn Quarry had extremely favorable feng shui, to the point where it almost seemed crafted by human hands.

Of course, in ancient times, it had actually been created by Great Sages of the Demonfolk, which was why the feng shui was so spectacular.

Even as he proceeded along stealthily, pulses of demon-devil energy suddenly battered his face, along with the reek of blood. Moments later, he caught sight of a lake of blood up ahead.

It was thousands of kilometers from end to end, and covered with rolling waves. There was even a blood mist which covered its surface and the surrounding areas.

There, in the middle of the lake, was a stone statue of a blood demon, standing guard over the area.

'So here we are at Blood Demon Grotto.' He suddenly thought back to when he had been hunting vampire brigands, and how similar their auras were to what he was sensing now.

Of course, he had been to the Black Floodwyrm Grotto in the Black Sea. And now here he was in front of another grotto. Of course, King Blood Demon wasn't anywhere close to being as strong as King Black Floodwyrm. The Blood Demon Grotto ranked very low among the seventy-two grottos, which led Yang Qi to feel very curious about what its king was actually like. If he was only in the first transformation of the Legendary level, he wouldn't be too tough of an opponent. And his demon core would be very useful, as it would have Legendary magical laws in it. That would make Yang Qi's progress toward Nonary Lifeseizing even smoother.

Heart swelling with ambition, and under a lot of pressure because of the Crown Prince, he decided that now was the time to hunt for Legendary level opponents.

Two years ago, he had been a country bumpkin brat, a so-called elite young one of his clan. Now he was a powerful Lifeseizer, which in the past had been the thing of myth and legend to him. Back then, he had never even heard of the Legendary level. But now, only two short years later, he was closing in on that very level. It was almost unbelievable.

All of a sudden, a group of demon-devils flew out of Blood Demon Grotto, all of them pulsing with powerful auras.

They had blood-red wings that were so powerful that their flapping caused blood-colored tornadoes to spring up as they passed. Unexpectedly, these were Lifeseizers, some of the most powerful experts associated with the Blood Demon Grotto.

"Hmph! We sent Jing Wuxue out to kill some people and finish the Sage Devil Painting, and he couldn't even do that. Instead he got himself killed by some punks from the Demi-Immortal Institute. Thanks to him, King Blood Demon ended up getting punished by Young Master Shroud-Heaven. It's completely outrageous!"

"Jing Wuxue was nothing but trash," another of the blood demons said. "Forget about him. He couldn't do anything right, so it's better that he's dead. By the way, did you hear that the Crown Prince showed up at the four institutes' martial arts competition? Young Master Shroud-Heaven directly challenged him to a duel in the hopes of killing him. I wonder how the fight is going. Don't tell me that the young master is really planning to use the Nine-Heavens Ten-Earths Demon-Devil-Horde World-Ending Grand Spell Formation here to kill him?"

Yang Qi had been preparing to leave and work on the chancellor's mission, then return later to fight the Blood Demon Grotto forces. But after hearing what these blood demons were talking about, he suddenly shrank back into his concealed position.

Right now, he would look like little more than part of the blood mist in the area, and would be impossible for these Lifeseizers to spot.

The Crown Prince. Young Master Shroud-Heaven. And now this Nine-Heavens Ten-Earths Demon-Devil-Horde World-Ending Grand Spell Formation? How could such terms not prick his ears?

"He is," a female blood demon said. "A Great Sage of the Demonfolk left some Demon Sage power in the depths of the Heavendawn Quarry. However, it's fused with the baleful earthly powers, making it very difficult to tap into. That doesn't stop it from influencing the terrain in the mining region as a whole, though. Otherwise, the righteous sects would have tried long ago to take this place over. Why do you think it's so easy for us Demonfolk to remain here undisturbed?"

This female blood demon was clad in thin strips of red silk, and was so incredibly alluring that most human men would instantly be entranced by her. Furthermore, from the way she carried herself, she was clearly the leader of the group.

"Why haven't the people from the Shroud-Heaven Alliance come yet?" she said, looking off into the distance. "If they don't hurry, they'll be too late. Considering they don't have any demon-devil aura, I wonder if the formation's Demon Sage energy will harm them."

"It won't," said another of the blood demons. Chuckling coldly, he continued, "Young Master Shroud-Heaven prepared for that. He imparted some demonic cultivation arts to the cultivators from the Shroud-Heaven Alliance. Not only does it make them stronger, but it transforms their life force, slowly turning them into Demonfolk. That technique was recently created by Great Sage Shroud-Heaven, with the specific purpose of transforming everyone in the Rich-Lush Continent into powerful Demonfolk. In fact, he intends to spread it to other continents as well."

"Before long, none of the continents will have humans any longer, only Demonfolk."

"Well, who knows what will happen in the end. It's not like the four institutes are just going to let a technique like that spread. They'll definitely make it illegal and try to kill anyone who cultivates it."

"Who do you think is going to come out on top this time, the Crown Prince, or Young Master Shroud-Heaven?"

"How should I know?" the female blood demon said. "That Crown Prince is a terrifying person. He's a god from heaven descended into the mortal world, you know. His mother dreamed of falling stars, which was how he was born. He'll definitely become a Great Sage eventually. On the other hand, Young Master Shroud-Heaven is dead set on revenge. He actually begged for help from numerous Great Sages from the Hanging Mountain, all to open the Sura Portal. By training in the Hell of Suras, one can acquire an iron heart, and incredible battle prowess. Who knows, maybe he's a match for the Crown Prince now. They're currently fighting somewhere deep in the void. Young Master Shroud-Heaven is just waiting for the spell formation to be complete. Once it is, he'll lure the Crown Prince back here and kill him!"

"What? The Hell of Suras? According to the stories, that's one of the most ancient hells, a place of endless fighting and battle. How could Young Master Shroud-Heaven treat himself with such cruelty?"

1. I think this is the longest term I've ever translated. It consists of twelve Chinese characters, making it quite the mouthful. In subsequent chapters, the author actually mixes and matches the characters a few different ways, but I'm going to standardize all references to the spell formation. Fun fact: the longest term I recall translating up to this point was seven Chinese characters, and that was Meng Hao's Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao from ISSTH.

2. In both English and Chinese, "sura" and "asura" are different. In the past, I never saw them used in contrast, so I would translate both as "asura". But in this novel, both terms are used, so I will differentiate them. Sometimes they are used synonymously, and sometimes there is a slight difference between them. Use the context and your own judgment in that regard. P.S. According to this standard, MGA should actually be Martial God Sura. Haha.