Sage Monarch

"What?!" Emissary Red Lotus blurted in shock. But then, she smiled. "Well, you most likely know why the Holy Mother wants to see you. Considering how important she is, she doesn't want your identity to be revealed. If it became public, the consequences could be horrific. In fact, the immortal planes could even get involved. She wants to see you, that's all. No tricks. Taking into account how important we are in the Hanging Mountain, we're not going to try to fool you somehow. Besides, few people are as important to her as you. She's not going to let you get hurt. Anyway, I can't say anything more than that. You understand, right?"

With decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron, Yang Qi said, "There's no way I'm going to go to the Hanging Mountain with you just because you say I should."

"Oh really? Well, you're a cautious fellow."

Emissary Red Lotus chuckled and pulled out a command medallion, which pulsed with the aura of the heaven above. Yang Qi shivered subconsciously, and backed up. Even Ghost Emperor Yama instinctively released some of his netherworldly aura to protect himself.

"That's… a demon-god command medallion!" Ghost Emperor Yama said in shock. "With that thing, you can command demon-devils from far and wide! Demonfolk of all type have an instinctual fear of demon-god command medallions, and it comes from their very genes!"

"What's going on here?" Yang Qi said, his voice trembling.

"The Holy Mother wanted me to loan this demon-god command medallion to you. Its energy will protect you, and ensure that no Demonfolk will cause you any problems. With this, you can enter the Hanging Mountain without fear of anything untoward happening."

With that, she sent the demon-god command medallion flying over to Yang Qi, who grabbed it.

"Yang Qi," Ghost Emperor Yama said, "it seems the Holy Mother really is acting in good faith. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given you that. Demon-god command medallions are generally divided into yin-type and yang-type. Throughout history, the Holy Mother generally controls the yin side of the Hanging Mountain, and the August Patriarch controls the yang side. That way, they can restrain, oversee, and balance each other."

Yang Qi rubbed the demon-god command medallion as he looked at it. One side featured a delicate drawing of a woman with the head of a human and the body of a snake, who seemed to be looking down with pity from heaven on high, her eyes glittering with peace and compassion.

There was also some incredible and mysterious energy within the medallion that seemed too profound for him to make contact with.

As soon as he took hold of the medallion, the energy filled him, as if he had been imbued with the glory of the ruler of an entire nation, including that person's status and power.

With this command medallion, he would have immense power over Demonfolk, similar to how the Grand Emperor's Pagoda gave him control over the vital energy of the Rich-Lush Continent.

"Well, in that case, I guess I'll go with you." Although Yang Qi was still on guard, the fact that the Holy Mother was giving him this medallion seemed to indicate that she wasn't trying to screw him over.

It was almost how like mortal emperors might pass their jade ruler's seal to the leader of a rebel army to recruit him.

At the very least, it went to show how important he was to this Holy Mother. And of course, if she turned out to be related to him, it would make even more sense.

More and more, Yang Qi was convinced that this Holy Mother really was Greensura, his birth mother.

Besides, he still had the God Legion Seal, and was fairly certain that because of it, he wouldn't face any truly deadly situation. And if he didn't go now to find out about his past, who knew when he might get another chance.

Emissary Red Lotus nodded, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Gesturing with her delicate hand, she said, "Since that's settled, please follow me into the space-time wormhole."

In response to her gesture, the five-colored wormhole appeared in the open again. However, this time, it was different from before; apparently, much of the local primal-chaos paleo-energy had imbued itself into the wormhole.

Emissary Red Lotus noticed that too, and as they headed into the wormhole, she said, "Your cultivation base truly is shocking, Yang Qi. You're actually fully fused with the Rich-Lush Continent! You want to turn this continent into a planet, don't you? And you plan to use the energy burst to achieve your own cultivation breakthrough. That would definitely be the perfect opportunity for you. The reason Grand Emperor Rich-Lush was never able to pull it off was that he never gained control of the primal-chaos paleo-energy, and he never gained the approval of the noble spirits of the sages in the Planar Pearl."

"I just happened to get lucky," Yang Qi said with a nod.

"Don't worry, the Holy Mother can help you with that. She's a very mysterious person, you know. And the stronger you get, the more she'll be able to help you. However, the nature of your relationship to her must be kept as private as possible. For the sake of her position and glory, you mustn't reveal the secrets of her past. If you do, and word reached the heaven on high, then powerful entities in the immortal plane would definitely pass down orders that would harm her."

"Are you saying that she's my mother?" Yang Qi said, not beating around the bush.

"Quiet! Don't say that out loud!" Looking around in shock, Emissary Red Lotus locked down the area so that no one would be able to eavesdrop. "Henceforth, you absolutely, positively must not say such things."

"So it's like that, huh?" Yang Qi said, frowning. Everything seemed very confusing. He was being told to keep secrets, and yet had no idea what he was allowed to say, and what he wasn't.

"Just wait until you see the Holy Mother, and then you'll understand everything." Emissary Red Lotus's hands flashed with numerous magical signs, which caused the five-colored wormhole to send them into the depths of the universe.

Considering his past experiences, Yang Qi knew that they were skipping through space-time, heading toward the massive teleportation portal that sustained the wormhole from the other end.

Having nothing else to do, he settled down cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate.

Looking out with his mind, he could see space-time speeding by, with countless stars and heavenly bodies like little more than a blur. In fact, it was impossible to tell where they were going.

He couldn't even see the planet that was the Quake-Dawn Continent.

Obviously, they were going to a location far, far away from that continent, a place that would be inaccessible without this wormhole.

"Are we heading directly to the Hanging Mountain?" Yang Qi asked.

"Yes," replied Emissary Red Lotus. "Well, to a plane very close to the Hanging Mountain. At the moment, you can't enter the mountain itself. It's too important of a location, and considering you're a man, it would be inappropriate for you to get into the part controlled by the Holy Mother. Instead, she'll send you to a subsidiary plane called the Plateau of the Leviathan. She'll arrange for everything for you there. You'll eventually be disguised as one of the Demonfolk, and join one of the core factions on the male side of the mountain. Afterward, she'll arrange for a meeting between the two of you to explain everything. Remember, in the Hanging Mountain, the male factions are led by the August Patriarch, and the female factions are led by the Holy Mother. As a male, you can't join any of the female factions. If you want to survive, you have to be patient and deal with the status quo."

"I'm a patient person," Yang Qi said. Considering he would just have to wait to see how events played out, there seemed little point in continuing the conversation.

Yet again, he sent his mind out of the wormhole and into the void, where he could see countless planets, none of which he recognized. Some were pitch black and devoid of spirit energy, like enormous, lifeless meteorites.

Other planets teemed with life, although most of them contained primitive humans who were little more than hunters and gatherers, and didn't know anything about cultivation.

Planets where people knew about true energy and could practice cultivation were few and far between.

On some planets, the primitive humans ate grain and meat, and established kingdoms and empires. And yet, without cultivation, they had to rely on large armies and mundane martial arts. Even their most powerful experts couldn't unleash true energy outside of their bodies.

This was Yang Qi's first time taking a journey like this, and his first time seeing so many other planets. And as a result, his understanding and enlightenment of existence itself seemed to deepen.

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the wormhole twitched, as though some immense power were touching it.

Emissary Red Lotus' expression flickered, and she looked over toward one particular location.

"Who dares to encroach on this wormhole!? It was established by the Holy Mother as a passageway to the Rich-Lush Continent. Unauthorized entry is forbidden!"

Suddenly, a burst of maniacal cackling filled the wormhole, along with a demonic wind.

Then, the auras of multiple Great Sages erupted from the other end.

A group of people appeared, led by a young man with abundant wretch energy. He seemed evil, mighty, ruthless, lascivious, and murderous; he fairly brimmed with darkness and gloom.

The other men who flanked him looked sinister, vicious, and crafty.

"I was wondering why a five-colored wormhole suddenly appeared," said the vicious-looking man in the lead position. "As it turns out, the Holy Mother's people secretly went to the Rich-Lush Continent. There was already a wormhole leading there, but instead of taking it, you expended resources to make this hidden passageway? Why might that be?"

Suddenly, the man looked at Yang Qi. "Who's this? The Holy Mother's faction needs women, not men. What are you doing with him?"

A particularly vile-looking one of these male Demonfolk glared at Yang Qi and said, "Who are you, brat? Talk. I'm Arhat Hate-Malice, from the August Patriarch's half of the Hanging Mountain."

Another powerful Demonfolk male said, "You're from the Rich-Lush Continent, aren't you? The Hanging Mountain has learned a lot about your continent lately. Supposedly, Ghost Emperor Yama has been freed, and is working for a youngster who conquered the entire continent. The Holy Mother's people never act without reason, so I'm going to guess that you're that very youngster. We're here for you, so come with us."

In the blink of an eye, Emissary Red Lotus suddenly looked completely vicious. "What did you bring these arhats here to do, Di Shidao? The Holy Mother has plans for this person, and he's in my custody on her orders."

"Well, I'm here on the orders of the August Patriarch to take this person to him. Not only is he male, but his act of taking over the Rich-Lush Continent is a violation of the rules and plans of the Hanging Mountain. Therefore, he will be put on trial."

1. Di Shidao: Di means "emperor". Shi means "teacher, master". Dao means "the Dao, the way, etc.". Honestly this name does not sound like a realistic name. However, based on his cultivation techniques (revealed later), as well as other information, I believe it's supposed to be taken as an actual surname/given name combo.