Sage Monarch

Ghost Emperor Yama looked around and said, "Soul-gathering flags. A soul-restoring altar. An altar lamp. This is the Sun Moon Soul-Harvesting Grand Energy Art. Not bad. Not bad at all. Unfortunately for you, little chancellor, your cultivation base is just too low. Only high-level Great Sages could manipulate magical laws to make this work. That said, I'm curious as to why that brat chancellor from the Demi-Immortal Institute is so strong. He's no weaker than me, and he has a very dangerous aura. I wonder if he got some sort of powerful legacy."

It was obvious that Chancellor Demi-Immortal was far stronger than Chancellor Sun Moon. However, the former kept his true skill and power hidden. He might seem soft on the outside, but Ghost Emperor Yama actually feared him quite a bit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to Yang Qi's suggestions so quickly.

Chancellor Sun-Moon didn't seem offended that he had just been called weak. For one thing, Ghost Emperor Yama was so far above him, if word got out about what he said, it would be no loss of face. Furthermore, Hua Tianxiong's life was on the line here, and they needed Ghost Emperor Yama's help.

"Ghost Emperor Yama, you're a member of the senior generation, with a profound cultivation base. Not even Reverend Sun Moon could match up to you, sir. You definitely have what it takes to operate the altar and call Hua Tianxiong's soul back from the void."

"Of course I do. We fiend-devils know a lot more about the workings of souls than you humans. In the Hell of Yamas, we have something called the Spirit-Assimilating Soul-Controlling Grand Energy Art, which is specifically designed for collecting souls. Once I'm finished with this, Yang Qi, you'd better not forget your promise to give me the Primeval Infernal Deity Sutra."

"I won't," Yang Qi said. He could already sense that Ghost Emperor Yama was treating him a bit differently, He was being a bit more polite, and had stopped using pejoratives such as 'brat' and 'punk'. Instead, he was addressing him with his full name.

One reason was that Ghost Emperor Yama hoped to get his help to deal with his arch-enemies in the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. The other was that he was worried that constantly calling him names like that could end up offending the legion of gods. Even hell-born fiend-devils who were more vicious than Ghost Emperor Yama feared the gods.

"Alright, let me get to work. Back up." He waved his hand, sending devil energy roiling out. Instantly, the altar trembled, and Yang Qi and Chancellor Sun Moon felt themselves leaving the Rich-Lush Continent. In the blink of an eye, they were out in the starry sky.

There were countless glittering stars around them, which cast their soft, gentle light down onto the living beings below. They were like a silver river that streamed endlessly into the depths of the universe.

The stars existed, not in the void, but in outer space.

The void, and outer space, were two very different things.

Outer space described the distance between objects in the universe. The void was what connected such objects. Outer space was immeasurably large; even Great Sages who wanted to travel through it from star to star would require years and years of effort. In fact, the only way to truly do it was to fold space to perform teleportations.

As Yang Qi looked at the distant river of stars, he saw one particularly bright object which was none other than Planet Quake-Dawn. Also known as the Quake-Dawn Continent, it was not something that could normally be seen from the Rich-Lush Continent. If one simply traveled through outer space to try to reach it, it could take ten thousand years. And that was even using minor teleportations and spatial coordinates.

Most energy artists would never go into outer space. It was deathly, cold, and never-ending. Empty.

By way of analogy, outer space could be likened to the countless twisting ravines and valleys that would exist between two mountains, whereas the void was like a bridge connecting them. To get from one mountain to another could take days if one walked the land between them. However, if one walked the bridge connecting them, the trip could be made in the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

'This devil-ghost is so strong! He actually teleported us into outer space.' Chancellor Sun Moon couldn't have been more shocked. At the same time, he realized that no amount of warding magics could ever be used to keep Ghost Emperor Yama at bay.

Ghost Emperor Yama looked out at the boundless river of stars, and extended both hands.

"The Step of the Star God; the Position of Outer Space; the Transformation of the Giant Spirit; the Bridge of the Heavenly Connection; the Magic of Life and Death; the Arts of the Archaean Past; the Dignity of Double Nines; the King of the Vast Heaven…."

RUMBLE!

Never-ending devil energy swept through outer space, causing countless stars to tremble, making it seem like they might fall out of the sky.

Ghost Emperor Yama's hand reached out and tore a rift into space, causing a huge stream of starlight to descend, which became countless . Instantly, the sound of wailing ghosts filled the area, along with a wind straight from the netherworld itself.

'The Star God step!' Chancellor Sun Moon thought. 'I wonder if I'll ever reach that level myself?'

"Preheaven Star God, Bathe Me in Radiance; Turn Stars into Gods, Open the Door to Hell; Return the Soul, Grant it Long Life!" As Ghost Emperor Yama unleashed one magic after another, the stars trembled, and Yang Qi and Chancellor Sun Moon felt like they were suffocating.

Ghost Emperor Yama threw his head back and howled; ripples spread through outer space, and the starlight intensified. The millions upon millions of distant stars seemed to form a web of light that settled onto him, transforming him into what looked like a god of the stars.

Wham! Bam!

Stimulated by the power being drawn upon, the altar began to tremble, and the lamp began to shine ten times as brightly as before. Suddenly, the aura of Hua Tianxiong's soul began to pulse. Soon, it was so strong that it affected some of the streams of starlight around it, causing the stars themselves to reflect Hua Tianxiong's features.

What level of power was this? How strong was Ghost Emperor Yama? And to think that even a mighty being like him was afraid of the God Legion Seal.

Ghost Emperor Yama burst out into laughter. "With the power of ten thousand stars to search for this soul, I'm ninety-nine percent confident that I can succeed! Thankfully, we're in time. If another ten days went by, perhaps two weeks at the most, the soul fragments would have disappeared, and not even a Demi-Immortal would have been able to find them."

Ghost Emperor Yama stamped his foot, and countless streams of starlight shot out of him, racing out into the void like god-spirits.

Soon, the lamp began to burn more brightly as the starlight re-converged, each beam of it pulsing with Hua Tianxiong's aura.

Six hours passed, and the aura of Hua Tianxiong's soul grew stronger and stronger. Soon, a shadowy figure took form.

"Yang Qi, spatter some of your blood onto the altar lamp to stand in for your friend's body. Your blood has the aura of a god-spirit, and is filled with the glory of the legion of gods. It'll be very beneficial to use it as the husk for the soul. That way, he'll be resurrected without any deficiencies. In fact, he'll be able to advance by leaps and bounds, and can probably become a Great Sage."

"Alright," Yang Qi said. Waving his hand, he sent a stream of his own blood over to the altar lamp. It was pure and transparent, like porcelain, filled with magical symbols pertaining to the legion of gods. It was even possible to hear singing like that of a choir of angels.

'That's blood? Is it even human?' Chancellor Sun Moon was completely shocked. 'It's so strong! Not even the blood of a Half Sage could match that. This kid is already as strong as a Great Sage!'

'God blood! The blood of gods!' A very serious expression overtook Ghost Emperor Yama's face. 'It's too bad I can't use it for my own purposes. The might of the gods is the natural bane of fiend-devils.'

As soon as Yang Qi's blood hit the altar lamp, the lamp began to spin rapidly, causing a humanoid figure to take shape.

"Excellent. The rebirth is starting! With my help, and your god blood to make the body, the results are going to be extraordinary! You owe me for this, Yang Qi! Now, I'll use my Multifold Heavenly Devil-Refining Grand Energy Art to fuse your friend's body with his soul! Let the godly and the devilish combine!"

RUUUUUMBLE!

Ghost Emperor Yama sent a drop of his own blood into the altar lamp, which caused immediate transformations. Instantly, the forming body became corporeal.

Hua Tianxiong had a new body, and his soul was repaired.

His skin was like copper, and the blood that pumped through his veins was like porcelain. He was like half a god and half a devil, a god and devil combined, with starlight for his clothing. It was a fiery baptism of epic proportions.

"I've been resurrected! You chopped me into mincemeat, Crown Prince, and yet, I've come back. And I'm stronger than before. One of these days, I'll have my revenge, and kill you!"

As Hua Tianxiong touched down onto the ground, the altar behind him shattered into dust. Everyone could tell that he was no longer a Never-Dying Legendary, but rather, a Half Sage. And not an ordinary Half Sage, but one of incredible power, just on the verge of reaching the Great Sage level.

"Yes, you've been resurrected, little bug," Ghost Emperor Yama said without any pretense of courtesy. "Don't get all arrogant, though. That Crown Prince of yours is originally from a higher plane, perhaps even an immortal plane. He's terrifying down to his core, and now that he's a Great Sage, his memories from the immortal plane will likely return. Once they do, he'll get even worse. He might even remember the various immortal skills necessary to make immortal motes! That's rare in low-level Great Sages, and would let him kill people higher than his level. You think you're going to beat him? At the moment, I'd say it's highly unlikely."

"That's enough, Ghost Emperor Yama," Yang Qi said. "Uncle Tianxiong, now that you've been reborn, we need to talk about how to deal with the Crown Prince. You and Young Master Shroud-Heaven both ended up dying when you fought him. What exactly happened?"

1. This word for "outer space" is a different Chinese word from the one I normally translate as "space", and is the word commonly translated as "outer space".