Sage Monarch

A mote of power floated into Brahma Echo-Silk.

Yang Qi wasn't the only one to be surprised. Hu Latu and the other children of Brahma who were present were all shocked. Of course, every child of Brahma was a consummate expert, the kind of genius who could literally be considered one in a billion. Some were even rarer than that. Many of them were ninth stage Dao-Demolishers, some of whom had as many as seven or eight lineaments on their dao hearts. A few even had nine.

All of them were experienced and knowledgeable, so every person present knew exactly what that mote of power was. It was pure virtual godhood.

To reach the Godmyth level, one had to destroy one's dao heart, subverting their magical laws and distorting the quintessence of one's great dao. Only then could one produce virtual godhood. It wasn't true godhood, but it was still the main path to becoming a powerful patriarch.

Only by getting virtual godhood could a ninth stage Dao-Demolisher break into the Godmyth level.

Usually, it was impossible to accept virtual godhood that hadn't been personally cultivated with one's own nascent divinity. In other words, even if some almighty being managed to kill a first division Seer God and take their virtual godhood, they wouldn't be able to pass it down to their own lower-level disciples. That disciple would probably explode, and even if they didn't, they wouldn't actually be able to use the power.

But the virtual godhood being provided by the divine likeness of Proud Heaven was different. It was absolutely pure and flawless, not stained with any postheaven aura. It was preheaven virtual godhood that would be of immense benefit to anyone who acquired it. Pure virtual godhood like this was something so rare that, even in ancient times, there were no stories of it.

'Truly, truly incredible,' Yang Qi thought. 'So that's what a photonic computer from the future world can do? It can actually create virtual godhood?' Although Yang Qi was terrified by what he was seeing, his immediate thought was that he hoped he could use the divine likeness of Proud Heaven to somehow fool that photonic computer into providing virtual godhood that he could give to his family and friends. How much could they accomplish if they were all Godmyths?

The reactions among the other Children of Brahma ranged from excited to terrified as everyone wondered what this implied for the days to come.

"Brahma Echo-Silk actually got some virtual godhood as a reward? But how? She must have offered the purest of sacrifices. And her soul must be completely devoted and faithful to August Patriarch Proud Heaven."

"Throughout all the years, I don't think that virtual godhood has ever been given out as a reward."

"I can't believe that Brahma Echo-Silk got this lucky. Is it because she's an Enlightened One? No, it can't be that. Not even the constitution of an Enlightened One would earn her the heaven-defying reward of virtual godhood."

"When did our Brahman Immortal World become so strong? Pure virtual godhood given out as a reward? People say that even in thirty-third ranked immortal worlds, paramount places like the Tusita Heaven, Mourn-Parting Heaven, and Unrestrained Heaven, they can't produce pure virtual godhood. That's the power of the legion of gods!"

"Are we really just a fifth ranked immortal world?"

"How did our Brahman Institute get access to such terrifying godpower?"

Gong!

The tolling of a bell rang out as certain patriarchs apparently noticed that Brahma Echo-Silk had acquired the virtual godhood and came to investigate. One of them wore a yellow robe and resembled an emaciated monkey with flaming golden eyes.

Raising his voice, he said, "All children of Brahma in the Unknown Temple take note: this matter is not to be divulged! Any who fail to comply will be executed!"

"Yes sir!" the children of Brahma all replied, nodding their heads vigorously.

If word spread, even tenth or twentieth ranked immortal worlds would likely invade the Brahman Immortal World because of it.

Pure virtual godhood was something that could be used to create new Godmyths. And one could only imagine what could be accomplished by an army of such individuals.

Yang Qi and Hu Latu remained as motionless as the other children of Brahma, looking over to see how Brahma Echo-Silk would react.

After taking the virtual godhood, she rose to her feet. As she did, Yang Qi saw the tiniest flash of ridicule in her eyes as they lingered on the statue in front of her. No one else noticed it, but thanks to the level of his cultivation base, Yang Qi could see it clearly. He immediately suspected that she had somehow fooled the divine likeness into giving her the pure virtual godhood.

'Don't tell me that Brahma Echo-Silk is actually an infiltrator like me?' he thought. He chuckled inwardly. 'Is she not a true believer, born and raised here in the Brahman Immortal World?' Although it was only a guess, he felt convinced that this was the case.

Of course, he wouldn't act on the suspicion just yet. He would wait and see how things developed. If he jumped out and made accusations without evidence, he would come across as a fool. Besides, whatever benefits he could earn by discrediting her right here and now would surely be outweighed by finding a time to have a private conversation with her about the subject.

Perhaps it would be worth it to work with her.

Just like that, the Brahman Immortal World transformed into something vastly more complicated than a mere fifth ranked immortal world. Considering it was wrapped up with the future world, it was obviously a colossal monster of an organization that had already surpassed any tenth ranked immortal world.

"Many thanks for your reward, August Patriarch," Brahma Echo-Silk said, bowing formally to the divine likeness again. She looked completely emotionless, and as calm as a tranquil pond.

"Wonderful. Wonderful!" one of the patriarchs said. "This is completely unprecedented. Brahma Echo-Silk, congratulations on acquiring a reward of pure virtual godhood from the August Patriarch. Before long, you won't just be a child of Brahma, you'll become a patriarch like us. The parliament of elders is meeting now, please come to provide a thorough description of what it's like to be blessed by August Patriarch Proud Heaven's divine likeness in such a way."

Yang Qi took advantage of the opportunity to take a close look at the several dozen Godmyth patriarchs, all of whom were first division Seer Gods. It was instantly obvious that this immortal world's forces were far superior to that of the seventh ranked Sage Sword Heaven.

'Seems the forces of the Brahman Immortal World are only showing a tiny fraction of how strong they really are.' Yang Qi remained in his spot, completely unmoving. He didn't dare to use his divine will to search Proud Heaven's divine likeness now. He could sense that this statue was the strongest of them all, and unfortunately that meant that its secrets would have to wait until later.

"All children of Brahma, remember: the matters you have witnessed today must be kept an absolute secret. Any who unlawfully divulge the information will be executed, along with their entire clan. Furthermore, their nascent divinity will be condemned to spend all eternity in the Hell of Nine Serenities."

In addition to the orders, the Godmyth patriarchs sent talismans into the nascent divinities of everyone present that would activate if any of them spoke of the day's events.

Furthermore, the monkey-like patriarch flicked his finger, sending out a golden globe of light that rose up into the air in the Unknown Temple and then exploded, sending down a rain of golden light. The light entered the heads of all of the children of Brahma, branding them with spell formations of warding.

Yang Qi wasn't concerned. With a quick surge of true energy, he negated the warding spell, then did the same for Hu Latu.

The monkey-like patriarch was a mere Seer God, one that Yang Qi could kill a hundred times over without any effort.

Eventually, Brahma Echo-Silk left, and the other children of Brahma dispersed. Before leaving, Yang Qi looked one more time at the divine likeness of Proud Heaven and resolved to come back later to probe its secrets. Before he did, he wanted to talk with Brahma Echo-Silk and find out if she had really tricked the thing into giving her virtual godhood.

If so, then perhaps he could do the same thing to help his friends and family. For example, Empress Jadefall currently had nine lineaments on her dao heart, but thanks to her being a Reincarnated One she was having a lot of trouble breaking through to the Godmyth level.

Yang Qi returned to his mansion grotto in the Brahman Institute and sat down to work on his cultivation; he also thought deeply about his current situation. Using a Reverse Light Stream technique he had picked up long ago, he reviewed the images from the past. And he also combed through the memories of the young man in yellow. He could currently sense the aura of the future world bubbling and roiling. He knew that the crux of everything was the talisman that was the Brahman Institute. Once the breakthrough occurred for this immortal world, the forces of the future would come.

Yang Qi stayed in seclusion for a month, during which time he reached the absolute peak of sixth stage Abstrusity-Demolishing. He was now just on the verge of breaking through to the seventh stage, which would make him a Wilds-Demolisher and an immortal ancestor.

Reining in his energy arts, he opened his eyes.

Hu Latu had just neared. "Milord, I have news. After Brahma Echo-Silk got that virtual godhood, it only took her three days to break through to the Godmyth level. She went to a secret location within the Brahman Immortal World to pass her tribulation, which was said to be shockingly powerful—ten times what ordinary Godmyth patriarchs face. But she didn't have any problems with it. She's a matriarch now, and the only people who outrank her are the Tempered God patriarchs."

"I see. Well, this is fortuitous. I've been wanting to go talk to her and see what secrets she might be hiding." Yang Qi rose to his feet.

"What?" Hu Latu said, looking quite nervous. "Milord, now that Brahma Echo-Silk is a matriarch, it's not going to be easy to get an audience with her. We're not important enough."

Yang Qi laughed. "Don't worry, I know exactly what to do."