Sage Monarch

Yang Qi hardly noticed Lady-Princess Silvermoon's words. With the power of three hundred thousand ancient megamammoths, his Sovereign Lord True Energy was stronger than ever, with even a tiny bit of it being a hundred times stronger than the true energy of an ordinary person. And that wasn't to mention the powerful fiend-devils he could summon with the Hell Portal.

Considering the endless supply of fiend-devils he could use as fuel for the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would be able to break the Sky-Heaven Godcharm.

Although the charm had been created by Grand Empress Sky-Heaven, what was more important was the person who was using it.

If the user didn't have enough true energy to keep it active, then it would be completely useless. That was one reason why so many people would love to take the Grand Emperor's Pagoda from Yang Qi.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute feared Yang Qi's so-called backer, he would probably have tried to do so already.

As for the reason why Yang Qi had frowned earlier, it was because he was coming to find that piercing through space really was difficult.

Space was like the ocean, while people were driftwood.

As for Yang Qi, he was like a piece of driftwood so enormous that it was almost impossible to push it under the water. Worse, trying to pierce through space resulted in the magical laws of space fighting back against him, even sending Space-Void Godlightning to try to punish him.

In fact, Yang Qi wasn't sure if he was strong enough to succeed.

Furthermore, he had to worry about what would happen if the backlash were severe enough to affect the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. After all, there were a lot of people inside that he needed to keep safe.

From the look of things, he just wouldn't be able to pierce through space right now.

'First I'll handle Lady-Princess Silvermoon, then I'll worry about piercing through space. Besides, I need to pick the appropriate place for the attempt, and the Western Continent isn't it. After all, if I succeeded, I would probably draw the attention of the Great Sages here."

Besides, he had to succeed using only his own power. When that happened, and his soul and body truly combined, drastic transformations would occur.

The baptism by the magical laws of heaven and earth that he would undergo would provide incredible, unimaginable benefits. Besides, what would his true energy capacity rise to? Five hundred thousand megamammoths? Six hundred thousand? Seven hundred thousand? Perhaps even the terrifying level of one million was a possibility.

'I wonder if I can get something from Lady-Princess Silvermoon to help me.' After some thought, he turned and walked toward her.

"What do you think you're going to do?!" she said, her voice quavering with fear.

"What am I going to do? Didn't you say I could never break through your Sky-Heaven Godcharm? That you could just sit there like everything was hunky-dory? Well, I'm going to show you what I'm capable of when I want to break something."

He splayed his five fingers, causing the Hellfire Crucible to appear above Lady-Princess Silvermoon.

With the flick of his hand, he turned it on its side, causing molten fire to pour out and splash onto the white lotus that was the Sky-Heaven Godcharm. Instantly, the sound of explosions rang out, and Lady-Princess Silvermoon's eyes went wide.

However, the Sky-Heaven Godcharm was indeed crafted by a Great Sage. Not only did it not weaken under the attack, it actually seemed to grow stronger, causing white lotuses to bloom everywhere around it.

Within each of the lotuses stood an empress, surrounded by her host of ministers and officials as she prepared to conquer, not just the lands around her, but the sky itself.

She was none other than Grand Empress Sky-Heaven.

Also present within the white auras was a sensation of the blood of the Demonfolk. However, that blood was not the ordinary type, but rather, the type that came from a lofty and noble demon.

The reason for that was that Grand Empress Sky-Heaven was once a white lotus demon.

White lotuses were pure and holy, but they were still demons.

Yang Qi wasn't surprised at all to find that his attempt to break through the Sky-Heaven Godcharm was being resisted. In fact, it was to be expected. Next, he sent black energy pouring out of the Hell Portal as he summoned numerous bronzeblaze fiend-devils, which he used as fuel to further intensify the fire pouring from the crucible.

One by one, the white lotuses began to melt.

And yet, however quickly they melted, new ones popped up to replace them.

Yang Qi hovered cross-legged in the air, using the opportunity to gain further enlightenment. After all, this attempt to break through the Sky-Heaven Godcharm involved his soul and thoughts being in direct contact with imperial might, and the will of a Great Sage.

It was a tempering through and through.

With every lotus that melted, he would experience a vision of the empress on it attacking him, using millions of martial techniques of the most deadly nature.

Of course, it was the will of the empress, assaulting him.

Any ordinary person who tried to break the Sky-Heaven Godcharm would be attacked by the imperial might, and even if they were in the eighth Legendary transformation, would be killed.

But Yang Qi's willpower was stronger than average, and as it turned out, the attacks of this empress were actually like a baptism for his soul.

It was almost as if, there in his sea of consciousness, he was fighting Grand Empress Sky-Heaven, countering and dodging her every vicious move. If he made a mistake, then his soul would be damaged or even destroyed, and he would be dead.

The fighting went on for a long time until the empress finally shouted, "Sky-Heaven Triple Severing!"

Those three final moves involved using her hands as the sharpest of blades, like axes capable of cleaving mountains, of slicing the void apart, of cutting deep into the heart of an enemy and destroying their soul.

As for Lady-Princess Silvermoon, she could sense the imperial might growing weaker and weaker; after all, she was controlling the incarnation of Grand Empress Sky-Heaven.

"Think you can harm my soul? You're delusional!" Within Yang Qi's sea of consciousness in his forehead, countless streams of energy backed the Infernal Deity Spear to block the Sky-Heaven Triple Severing. When they made contact, his sea of consciousness trembled, and yet, remained firm. Sitting nearby was the golden imp, who seemed secure and content to remain completely motionless.

Millions upon millions of moves were exchanged as the fight continued.

As for Yang Qi's martial path, it contained the fundamental nature of a powerful asura from the depths of hell. Grand Empress Sky-Heaven's martial path was mighty, but compared to the asuras from hell, it counted for little. In fact, the only reason she had the advantage was that she was a Great Sage, a person who could soon break through to the path of immortality by becoming a Demi-Immortal.

Furthermore, the Sky-Heaven Godcharm only contained a sliver of her will, which was like nothing compared to her true self. In contrast, Yang Qi was very much his true self, able to think and react in unpredictable ways.

As the fight proceeded, Yang Qi was getting used to her moves and actions.

And also her weaknesses.

'There it is!' Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw the opening he had been looking for. Without any hesitation, he launched an explosive attack, and the might of the empress was destroyed.

Countless white lotuses began to fall down to the ground.

The will of Grand Empress Sky-Heaven had been completely vanquished.

BOOM!

Yang Qi reached out, smashing through the defensive barrier, and laid hands on the white lotus that was the Sky-Heaven Godcharm.

The charm itself was a five-petaled lotus, crafted from some unknown material, and covered with magical symbols written in the ancient demon script that had existed for countless years. It also contained pulsing imperial might.

The Sky-Heaven Godcharm was his.

Of course, he would need to study the item to identify how to use it properly.

"That's it!" Lady-Princess Silvermoon shouted. "You're dead!" Without any hesitation, she shot forth to fight Yang Qi. However, before she could barely move an inch, a terrifying hand appeared, latched onto her throat, and lifted her up into the air.

Yang Qi now had the power of three hundred thousand ancient megamammoths, a Hell Portal powered by the Nine Stars Pearl Necklace, and his Grand Emperor's Pagoda. With all that, he could defeat Lady-Princess Silvermoon with a single move.

With Yang Qi holding her by the throat, her face began to turn bright red, and she gurgled, "W-what… what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" He quickly began to place sealing marks all over her, which was when he noticed that her sea of energy contained a vortex of stars that emanated a constant stream of power.

"So this is the sign of the Astral-Star Transformation?" He looked a bit closer. "The eighth Legendary transformation. Clearly nothing to take lightly. You can communicate with the universe, and draw upon the power of the countless stars that inhabit it. Unfortunately, Lady-Princess Silvermoon, you're pathetically weak. I wonder what I'll be like when I'm in the Astral-Star Transformation."

"You beast!" she snarled, feeling completely overwhelmed with humiliation of having Yang Qi slap his hands on her body to seal her.

"God-Devil Seal!" Yang Qi had to admit that this Lady-Princess Silvermoon was smoking hot in every sense of the term. In fact, most men who had her in this position would be hard pressed to avoid doing something completely inappropriate. However, at the moment, Yang Qi was primarily interested in sealing her meridians to guarantee her compliance.

Once the power of the God-Devil Seal entered her, she truly lost any hope at all. She could instantly sense that Yang Qi had taken control of her true energy, which now contained some enigmatic and powerful will that was not her own.

He was even connected to her on the level of her soul. All he had to do was exercise a thought, and she would have no choice but to carry out the action.

When the process was complete, she collapsed to the ground.

"Get up!" Yang Qi said.

Gritting her teeth, she climbed to her feet. Although she didn't have the slightest desire to do as he asked, his will tugged on her heart and soul like magic, making it impossible for her to disobey him.

"You serve me from now on…." he said, trying to decide how to teach her a lesson she wouldn't forget. However, it was in that exact moment that he sensed a boundless will sweeping across the lands above.