Sage Monarch

With the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, Yang Qi had unprecedented control over the vital energy of the Rich-Lush Continent.

Many forces from the Quake-Dawn Continent were interested in finding the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, but Yang Qi had the best chance of all of them. After all, the pagoda was already tightly linked to the fragment.

The fragment had been sealed in the depths of the continent in ancient times, and not even Grand Emperor Rich-Lush himself had dared to try to extract it.

But Yang Qi was different. He had rescued the sage spirits in the Planar Pearl, who acknowledged him as a representative of the legion of gods. As of now, there was no way that they would oppose him. It was something he had forgotten due to the hectic nature of recent events. And of course, that was why he had been so confident in his suggestion of a wager with Ghost Emperor Yama.

If he could find the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, and then combine its powers with the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, he would definitely have the power he needed to advance by leaps and bounds.

The fragment had been the ultimate core of the Yore-Wilds Continent in ancient times. It was like its literal heart, and abounded with the power of the five phases, and of yin and yang. With it, reaching the Yin-Yang Transformation would be a simple thing.

Of course, one of his initial fears had been what Ghost Emperor Yama would do when he found out the truth.

That was why he had initiated the wager, and demanded that Ghost Emperor Yama promise not to interfere. Otherwise, Ghost Emperor Yama could very well have seized the fragment ahead of him.

**

Yanhaven was now a flourishing city, far beyond anything it had been in the past. Countless boats made their way up and down the Yan River, kept in check by an enormous bronze vessel that patrolled the waters.

The innumerable estuaries that branched out from the river were also full of boats, and there were even numerous canals that had been built. It all formed a massive web of transportation that facilitated all sorts of business.

Yang Zhan had already followed through on his plan to take the coastal cities and establish ocean trade. Thanks to the spirit stones Yang Qi had provided for the city, and the spell formations they had been used to create, Yanhaven was now a holy land of cultivation. The Yang Clan had recruited many soldiers in recent days, and taken over quite a few nearby cities. The population grew constantly, with numerous smaller locations and clans swearing fealty to the Yang Clan.

There were even canals that stretched all the way to the seaside.

In the Rich-Lush Continent, it was possible to quickly accomplish great deeds by means of cultivation. And thanks to the Yang Clan, there were plenty of medicinal pills and spirit stones to go around in Yanhaven.

Thus, the construction work went about at a fever pitch.

No one would dare to cause problems. The Yang Clan had plenty of Lifeseizers now, plus Yang Qi himself, who was considered to be a Legendary patriarch.

As Yang Qi touched down in the square outside of the royal mansion, his aura spread out, causing countless guards, maids, and children of the clan to rush over and drop to their knees.

Laughing heartily, Yang Zhan rushed out, flanked by Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong. Further back were the chief elders, who offered solemn greetings.

Yang Qi really was viewed like a mythical patriarch nowadays, and was venerated by everyone.

"Father, I've invited my sworn siblings to come here tonight to discuss an important matter. In a hundred days, I'm to duel with the Crown Prince. Beforehand, we need to make sure that Yanhaven is completely prepared."

"Yeah, I heard the news from the Sage Ancestor Dynasty. The Crown Prince is a Great Sage! Did you return to the Demi-Immortal Institute already? If not, then you should stay away. They're definitely not on your side anymore." Yang Zhan and the Yang Clan were well connected to Capital City now, which meant that they were much more in tune with recent events.

"I did go back. And I forced Chancellor Demi-Immortal to give me a hundred days to prepare for a final fight with the Crown Prince. If I win, I'll become the new chancellor. However, there are a lot of details to discuss. Why don't we head to one of the studies?"

Later that night, a vortex of starlight suddenly appeared up above, and numerous individuals stepped out into a certain tower in the royal mansion. As they did, they laughed heartily and embraced Yang Qi.

"Brother!"

These were Yang Qi's numerous sworn siblings. Flame Clearspring, Lu Wangxian, and many more. All of them had made significant cultivation advancement, especially Flame Clearspring, who had finally succeeded in becoming a Legendary.

Even Hua Fengfeng came. Her eyes were warm as she greeted him; she knew that he had brought her father back from death, and even helped him to advance his cultivation.

As the night wore on, more and more sworn siblings arrived, until they were all present.

"Yang Qi," Flame Clearspring said, "you really threw your weight around at the Demi-Immortal Institute. Everyone is talking about how you forced the chancellor into a corner. Back when news spread that the Crown Prince was a Great Sage, everyone warned us to stay away from you. But not anymore. That's why we were able to assemble so quickly."

"This must be Ghost Emperor Yama," Hua Fengfeng said, looking at what appeared to be an old man standing with Yang Qi. "Everyone, offer greetings." Clasping hands respectfully, she said, "Many thanks to you, Ghost Emperor Yama, sir, for bringing my father back to life."

"There's no need to be so respectful, girl. You're from a righteous, orthodox sect, and I'm an old devil. We have wildly different daos. You're clever to give me face, though. Here, take this. I don't want people saying that I went around seeking flattery." Ghost Emperor Yama seemed to be in a good mood. Flicking his finger, he sent a stream of pure spirit light into Hua Fengfeng, which began to purify her true energy. Soon, she began to radiate an aura like that of a lotus.

"That's some lotus seed true energy. It even contains some immortal energy. I came across it many years ago, before I was imprisoned. It should help you to think more clearly, and refine your true energy to make your cultivation proceed much more quickly."

"Many thanks, Senior!" Hua Fengfeng said. Already, she could tell that her true energy had reached a higher level.

"Say, Ghost Emperor Yama," Yang Qi said in a cold voice, "you'd better not be infecting my sworn siblings with some sort of devil art. You wouldn't threaten them to get at me, would you?"

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Ghost Emperor Yama shouted. "I'm trying to be nice and you accuse me of evil intent? Listen fool, I'm Ghost Emperor Yama, a mighty devil from the primeval times, a devil king! You think I'm going to use insects like this to threaten you?"

"Okay, okay," Hua Fengfeng said. "Senior, my Little Bro Qi is always acting like this. Considering that you two are working together, there's no reason to take things so seriously. He was just joking."

"Calm down, Ghost Emperor Yama," Yang Qi said. "I understand where you're coming from. As long as I live through the next hundred days, I'll give you some more of that infernal deity enlightenment. Alright?"

"Fine," Ghost Emperor Yama said with a cold snort.

Nodding, Yang Qi waved his hand, and said, "Come out, everyone." In response, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda trembled as his mercenary squad emerged, an entire group of Never-Dying Legendaries and Half Sages.

Yang Qi's sworn siblings were completely stunned.

To them, Never-Dying Legendaries were the most powerful experts in the world, with Half Sages being even more shocking. And yet here, there were dozens of them, all following Yang Qi's orders.

"Well met, Captain!" said Blademaster Thunderbolt. All of the mercenaries bowed at the waist, and simultaneously cast fearful glances at Ghost Emperor Yama. Although they feared Yang Qi, they definitely feared Ghost Emperor Yama even more.

Even the white-robed Chaoguang joined in. He knew that Yang Qi could essentially kill anyone who was under the Great Sage level, and therefore, had to be shown respect. Not even an army of Half Sages would do any good against him considering that he could summon fiend-devils.

"And now it's time for Silvermoon!" Instantly, the city emerged from within the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. It was enormous, hundreds of kilometers from end to end, and shining with splendorous silver light. As it hung there in the air, it was actually like a silver moon casting brilliant light onto Yanhaven and everything around it.

"Mercenaries," Yang Qi said. "Please help me to refine Silvermoon, and then place it in the Blackcorpse Mountains as a sister city to Yanhaven. It will become a bastion of defense for the Yang Clan. Furthermore, please produce any precious materials or magical treasures you have that can be used to bolster it. I want it to become an impregnable fortress!"

"Yes, Captain!" the mercenaries all replied. With that, they flew up to begin the work refining Silvermoon. Some of them flew over to the Blackcorpse Mountains and began to level a section to make room for the new city.

After some time passed, Ghost Emperor Yama impatiently said, "What are you wasting time like this for, brat? Look, just give me some more hellish enlightenment, and I'll help you to refine Silvermoon. Having those punks do it is like throwing a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood. I can make it so strong that not even a Great Sage could break into the city without a lot of hard work. In fact, I can connect it to the void so that it could make an easy escape in a dire situation."

Yet again, Ghost Emperor Yama was taking advantage of the dire circumstances to try to benefit a bit.

"Deal!" Yang Qi said without hesitation.