Sage Monarch

'Finally these two have come for their big showdown.' Through the window, it was possible for Yang Qi to see the Crown Prince and Young Master Shroud-Heaven, both of them Never-Dying Legendaries, ninth transformation experts who were vastly more powerful than himself.

Each and every move of theirs could defeat the most ancient and profound of techniques. One wielded a dual-crescent-bladed halberd, the other, a holy spear of the Demonfolk. The intense heat caused by their conflict caused the nearby seawater to evaporate, filling the sky with dense mist. The entire area seemed rife with primal chaos, and the vital energy of heaven and earth was thrown into complete pandemonium.

The Legendary level was the level of magical law.

Right now, these two peak Legendaries were using that power to fight with such dominance that it seemed possible for them to overturn heaven and destroy the earth, and even cause the stars and moon to sink into oblivion.

Yang Qi was so entranced that he almost forgot that he was in such a dangerous situation in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda.

He was stuck in a place that had no exits. The powers of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda were enigmatic and mysterious, almost as if it were something that came from another world.

Bam!

Yang Qi struck the wall of the pagoda with his palm. However, despite the fact that he could unleash power to crush mountains, he wasn't even able to produce a mark on it.

'What is this thing made from?' Shocked, he tried out the Infernal Deity Spear, but the effects were the same. The Grand Emperor's Pagoda was seemingly impervious to anything and everything.

In fact, as soon as the spear touched the wall, the spear itself actually emitted cracking sounds, and then collapsed into fragments.

'This is simply….' Yang Qi actually was at a loss for words. It seemed that any thoughts of escaping the pagoda were a fantasy.

Right now, the only option was to wait to see what happened, and react accordingly.

And he still had his plan.

There were plenty of powerful enemies to deal with. Young Master Shroud-Heaven. The Crown Prince. The fiend-devils. And of course the asura, who was also a Never-Dying Legendary. Yang Qi was almost like an ant compared to all of these powerful entities, and to most people, it would seem like a sure death sentence for him.

However, he had his trump cards: the golden imp and the God Legion Seal. If he pulled everything off according to plan, the benefits would be staggering.

RUMBLE!

Even as he tested out the situation with the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, he heard a huge commotion outside. The ground beneath his feet lurched, and he sensed a massive power pouring into the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. The pagoda was being activated, causing his own soul to feel like it was being tugged at.

'The Demon Sage formation is finally at work!'

Yang Qi knew that the chancellor owned the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, but was not the person who forged it. It had been created by a Great Sage of antiquity, and contained a noble spirit of the distant past. The chancellor had left it here in the hopes that the noble spirit would be purged, thus giving him ultimate control of it. Once the huge spell formation outside was activated, the noble spirit would be snuffed out, the asura would be sucked into the pagoda, and the Crown Prince could use it to reach the Great Sage level.

If Yang Qi wanted to get the pagoda, he needed to do two things. First, he needed to destroy the noble spirit and the nascent divinity sealing mark the chancellor had placed on the pagoda. Second, he needed to ensure that the asura was dead.

Yang Qi had thought the matter through extensively, and was certain that in terms of the first aspect, he probably didn't need to do anything. The chancellor's plan would have already factored in the need to destroy the sealing mark and the noble spirit, and relinquish control of the pagoda so that the Crown Prince could use it.

In terms of the second thing, he knew that the asura was hoping for Yang Qi to die in his stead. However, the God Legion Seal and the golden imp would surely defend him.

The asura was strong, but not as strong as Ghost Emperor Yama, who the golden imp had easily crushed to the point of nearly destroying him.

Because of these various factors, Yang Qi was confident that he could snatch the pagoda, and benefit from all the scheming going on between the chancellor, the Crown Prince, the asura, and Young Master Shroud-Heaven.

The chancellor was extremely crafty, but the golden imp was the deal-breaker.

'For now, I simply bide my time, and see if the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth will be enough to refine the pagoda for my use. If the aggressive method doesn't work, I'll go with the passive.' Ignoring what was happening outside, he sat down cross-legged.

The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was a godly-class energy art, so it was entirely possible that he could use it to wipe out the spirit seal within this magical treasure, and replace it with his own.

He had taken control of the Ice-Soul God-Sword in a similar way.

The wailing of ghosts and weeping of gods could be heard as the Nightfall Symphony suddenly erupted into the open.

Gradually, the music of the symphony began to soak into the pagoda.

Unfortunately, the power of the pagoda was like a mountain or sea, making it impossible for his true energy to truly enter it.

Yang Qi didn't care. Instead, he drew more deeply upon his true energy, sending it out with more and more force, until it was like the ocean tide smashing against a seaside rock.

No matter how strong that rock was, as the waves continued to batter it, it would eventually be eaten away and destroyed.

As he continued with his work, the power of the Demon Sage formation built, and streams of Demon Sage energy poured into the pagoda. Thanks to that, the situation in the pagoda changed, and finally, Yang Qi's true energy managed to find a small corner where it could take hold.

If he wanted to control the entire pagoda, then obviously, he needed to start with a tiny corner.

Now, he just needed to wait for the right opportunity.

Now that his true energy was connected to the pagoda, he could sense two powerful entities inside, each occupying half of it.

One of them seemed profoundly ancient, as though it had existed for millions and millions of years.

The other was as boundless as a mountain or river, like a sage who could provide enlightenment to the masses under heaven. That second aura seemed somewhat familiar, and Yang Qi was fairly certain it belonged to the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Pushing his true energy further into the pagoda, he eventually reached an enormous dimension at the top.

Within that dimension was a noble, armor-clad spirit, standing opposite a young, scholarly man. That scholar looked like a young version of the chancellor, his sleeves fluttering in the wind, his eyes shining as if with the mysteries of the cosmos. His aura seemed as deep as the sea, and as profound as the sun, as if he were the type of person who could influence millions of mortal nations.

'So, the chancellor and that ancient spirit are facing off. I wonder what's going to happen next. Are they going to destroy each other? And will the asura interfere?'

As Yang Qi adjusted his plans based on what he was seeing, he kept his true energy pouring into the pagoda in the hopes of getting more information that he could use to his advantage.

The power of the Demon Sage formation continued to build, almost as though it were trying to take control of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. In fact, it was possible to sense Young Master Shroud-Heaven's aura within that power; clearly, he was personally influencing the formation.

Considering that, there was no way that he wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the Sura Devil-Eye.

'He must already know about the Grand Emperor's Pagoda….'

All of a sudden raucous laughter erupted from the asura. "I've been waiting for this day a long time. Finally, I'll be free, and finally, I'll become a Great Sage! I've never felt more alive! Once I'm a Great Sage, I'll turn the Rich-Lush Continent into my own version of the Hell of Suras. I'll open a portal to hell, and free all of my fellow devil-gods! Finally, I will have my fill of blood, souls, and lives!"

RUUUUMBLE!

Intense fire erupted from the steel chains, causing hissing sounds to echo out as his skin was burned. However, he didn't seem to be worried at all. The activation of the spell formation might be melting him, but he knew that it also meant that this was his perfect chance to finally escape, and to turn Yang Qi into a substitute for himself.

"Foolish brat. Why do you think I let you use so much of my sura flame? You've been infected with a sura aura, so once I switch places with you, you'll stand in for me to become the target of the formation! Sura Phantom!"

WHIZZZ!

An enormous sura suddenly appeared behind Yang Qi.

Yang Qi looked over his shoulder. "Switch places with me? Stand in for you? You've got to be kidding me!" Calling upon the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, he summoned the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World, which instantly began to eat away at the phantom sura.

"What's going on? My sura power is being neutralized by his energy art?! And my life force quintessence is being destroyed!? What energy art is that? It's the bane of all fiends and devils!"

Never could the asura have guessed that all of his plans and efforts would be for nothing. All of them were useless on Yang Qi.

In other words, he would be unable to switch places with Yang Qi, and thus, would become a sacrificial offering to the spell formation.

Suddenly, terror welled up within him.

"No! You're not going to escape me, brat! You're mine! Divine Dao of Suras; Dao of Six Paths; Never-ending Rotation; Devil-Sense Cometh!"

His sura aura raged, not in the form of flame, but in the form of a viscous liquid like melted gold, which poured into the pagoda, toward Yang Qi.