Sage Monarch

Compared to the rest of the crumbling and disorderly Yore-Wilds planetary system, the Sage Monarch Continent was actually quite eye-catching. It was much larger than the average location, almost like a planet. And although it wasn't a full planet yet, in many ways, it actually surpassed most other planets. The Quake-Dawn Continent wasn't too far away, but seemed a bit lackluster in comparison.

In the Proto-Wilds, Waste-Wilds, and Brute-Wilds, a location like this wouldn't be particularly noticeable. But in the devastated Yore-Wilds planetary system, it was like a pearl sitting in the dust.

The people on the bridge of the Northstar Fleet flagship were all quite surprised.

"Not a bad planet. Plentiful spirit energy, as well as a lot of life force. There's actually heaven motes there. And look at the sage motes. The remains of Great Sages abound in the lands there."

"I can't believe a place like this actually exists in the rubble of the Yore-Wilds!"

"Incredible. Truly incredible! Well, we have to take it. There are definitely a lot of cultivation resources to be had, and the people there will fetch a great price back home. Captives with the blood of the Yore-Wilds are the perfect subjects to transform into death knights."

"Hold on," one of the young men said, his voice quivering with astonishment. "It's actually not a planet. It's only a continent!"

"Impossible! How could it have so much energy, but not be a planet? You almost never see this situation!"

"No, he's right. It's not a planet yet. It's in a state of preheaven primal-chaos, with plenty of potential for growth. Man, we really got lucky, didn't we? If one of us ninth step Great Sages fused with that place's essence and transformed it into a planet, we would be able to reach the Demi-Immortal level!"

"We have to conquer that continent!"

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of experts within the fleet were whipped into a state of deep excitement. They had only just entered the Yore-Wilds planetary system and had already found an incredible treasure.

"There's more to that continent than meets the eye…" said the Demi-Immortal. "You can sense the auras of many fallen Great Sages there, almost as if the place were built on their corpses. How could someone have created a continent in that way? What happened here? Well, we came here to conquer and pillage, so the people there are destined to be our slaves. Send down orders to start the invasion."

"Yes sir!"

Countless powerful auras sprang up as the Great Sages prepared for war.

Meanwhile, not very far away from the Sage Monarch Continent in the Quake-Dawn Continent, numerous pairs of eyes were locked onto the fleet from the Northstar Clan.

Prominent in the group was none other than the Holy Daughter of the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. She was joined by the Ninja God, Winter God, Oracle God, and War God. Also present was the founder and leader of the entire Quake-Dawn Cathedral itself, the enigmatic Lord Quake-Dawn, although he was hidden in something that resembled a bottle gourd.

Surprisingly, the main rival of the Quake-Dawn Cathedral was present, the Wilds God from the Grand-Wilds Mansion.

After watching the Northstar Fleet fly out into the open, the Wilds God snorted coldly. "So they crossed the Dark True Void to our ruined Yore-Wilds planetary system, and now they'll take out the Sage Monarch Continent. Well, Yang Qi can only blame his own impulsiveness. I don't know how he did it, but he somehow managed to transform that continent into a holy land of cultivation."

Looking like a picture of vicious ferocity and venomous murder, the Ninja God said, "You're right, Wilds God. This is a case of joining forces to fight a common enemy. In the Hanging Mountain's training competition, our best and brightest disciples were both killed by Yang Qi, and now we will use others as a weapon to kill both him and the Holy Mother of the Hanging Mountain."

"Very well," Lord Quake-Dawn said from within the void. "For us, this is a case of asking a tiger for its skin. Win or lose, it all ends here. The Northstar Fleet came here to plunder and conquer. Although we told them we would offer help, I'm absolutely certain that they'll go back on their word later. After they take the Sage Monarch Continent, they'll come for the Quake-Dawn Continent. Ladies and gentlemen, I know that all of you are wise and experienced. You know that everyone born in the Yore-Wilds planetary system has special blood that the people from the Megaplexus Heaven will pay godly-grade spirit stones to get."

Lord Quake-Dawn controlled all of the three thousand daoist sects and hundred thousand smaller factions of the Quake-Dawn Continent, and he had the reputation of being a terrifying individual. In fact, many people from the Hanging Mountain feared him. Were it not for him, there were many factions among the Demonfolk who would have long since invaded and occupied the Quake-Dawn Continent. Instead, they only did business with them.

"What do we do now, Lord Quake-Dawn?" the War God asked. He was a tall, hulking man, clad in armor, with an enormous war hammer in his hand. That hammer was the size of a small mountain, and could easily crush the starry sky into dust. He was also a ninth step Epic Saga Sage, just on the verge of becoming a Demi-Immortal.

The Quake-Dawn Cathedral had four main halls. The Hall of Ninjas, the Hall of Oracles, the Hall of Winter, and the Hall of Warriors.

The hall masters were all ninth step Great Sages. However, the Holy Daughter was a Demi-Immortal, as was Lord Quake-Dawn.

"The time has come to get the tiger and the wolf to kill each other," Lord Quake-Dawn said, a smile audible in his words. "Yang Qi created the Sage Monarch Continent and his mother, the Hanging Mountain's Holy Mother, has long since come to view the place as her son's temple. With the Northstar Fleet heading to the Sage Monarch Continent, it's a foregone conclusion that she'll step in to defend it. And when the fighting breaks out… who knows how it will end."

"When two tigers fight, at least one will get injured!

"When the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!

"It's the perfect plan. The Holy Mother currently reigns supreme in the Hanging Mountain. Her cultivation base has continued to rise through the years, to the point where she forced even August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven to bow his head. Now that the Northstar Clan has invaded, she'll definitely make a move." It really seemed as if he had everything planned out perfectly. Sounding profoundly sinister, he continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, you are the best of the best from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. Wilds God from the Grand-Wilds Mansion, you are here to provide even further support. And the three thousand daoist sects and the hundred thousand smaller factions will provide endless supplies of Great Sages.

"The time has come to reveal the truth. I have long since gained control of the essence of the Quake-Dawn Continent, and am prepared to enact Operation Azure Heavens. When the critical moment arrives, I'll unleash my trump card, and the Holy Mother, the August Patriarch, and the Northstar Fleet will all be wiped out! And I will reach an untold level of cultivation power."

By the time he reached the end of his monologue, Lord Quake-Dawn's voice trembled, as if with madness.

"What? Lord Quake-Dawn, is that really your plan?" Everyone present was completely taken aback.

He snorted coldly in response. "Operation Azure Heavens was originally intended for the Crown Prince. Sadly, he perished and lost King Immortal-Slayer's medallion to Yang Qi. Unfortunately, I was in seclusion when that most unexpected event occurred. It was only by killing the Crown Prince that Yang Qi grew so powerful. Soon I will capture that mother of his and force Yang Qi to return King Immortal-Slayer's medallion. I've planned everything out to the last detail, to the extent of luring the Northstar Fleet out here. Soon, all of you will see that Lord Quake-Dawn controls everything!"

Even as he spoke, an enormous spell formation appeared in the depths of the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. "Come. All of you enter the spell formation and draw on your true energy. Stick with me and I guarantee that all of you will be Demi-Immortals soon."

Operation Azure Heavens had once again appeared in the world.

The Crown Prince had used it to reach the Great Sage level and then, in his insufferable arrogance, had led eighteen Great Sages to kill Yang Qi. Now, Lord Quake-Dawn was using Operation Azure Heavens to try to put an end to the Hanging Mountain, the Sage Monarch Continent, and the Northstar Fleet.

Without manipulating these forces to fight and kill each other, there was no way that Lord Quake-Dawn, who usually remained hidden in the shadows, could ever contend with the Hanging Mountain.

Slowly but surely, he was attempting to get the tiger and the wolf to kill each other.

As Operation Azure Heavens took effect, the entire Quake-Dawn Continent slipped into an aspect of the void and vanished from the Yore-Wilds planetary system.

The development did not go unnoticed by the lookouts in the Northstar Fleet.

"Uncle," said one of the young ones on the bridge. "The Quake-Dawn Continent just vanished. It seems they noticed the arrival of our fleet and went into hiding."

"That doesn't matter," the Demi-Immortal replied. "The monk can hide in the temple, but can't flee it. Obviously, they're worried about getting caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately for them, our Northstar Fleet has come to conquer and plunder and we won't let anyone off the hook. After we take this continent here, we'll move on to the Quake-Dawn Continent. And beyond that is the so-called Hanging Mountain."

RUMBLE!

The fleet sailed through the void, kicking up spatial tempests and even destroying certain smaller planets and asteroids that got in their way.

**

Somewhere in the Sage Monarch Continent, the immortal child was currently meditating. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he looked skyward, his vision piercing through the mists and clouds until he caught sight of the fleet above.

"An enemy invasion!" He leapt to his feet, an expression of shock on his face. "People from a foreign land. They must have come from across the Dark True Void. Ancient ships, ancient weapons, and the auras of multiple Demi-Immortals…."

The immortal child was a clone of Yang Qi, and they were essentially the same person. His cultivation base was in the fifth step, making him a Light King Sage. However, he could easily defeat seventh step opponents. Unfortunately, the incoming fleet had multiple Demi-Immortals, which meant that they could easily crush the Sage Monarch Continent into powder!

In fact, not even Yang Qi's true self would be able to stop them.