Sage Monarch

Eldest Brother Secundus, Grand Emperors Myriadmagic Heavenspan, Heavenearth Vastocean, and Ninelimits Paragon had all appeared, along with Leaf Dao-Denier and experts of the Demonfolk.

Clearly, they were allies.

Yang Qi spotted an old man among the Demonfolk who was obviously the legendary Patriarch Hell-Crusher, the incarnation of an ancient megamammoth. His aura caused Yang Qi's Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to stir wildly; obviously, assimilating this person's blood would provide a huge boost.

There were many others present as well, including eight powerful Demonfolk leaders and the Five Great Lokapālas.

Further back were a host of experts from the Primeval Age, all of them clad in beast hides just like Eldest Brother Secundus. They were clearly an obstinate and unruly lot and were somewhat reluctant to be working with such allies. That said, some of their number were actually demons.

After all, in the Primeval Age, there was no distinction between humans and demons.

'I can't believe they managed to get the passageway to the Primeval Age working after I stole the Engine of the One God,' Yang Qi thought. 'It must have been accomplished with the help of the Demonfolk experts. Now that they're working together, they're going to be even more difficult to deal with.'

There were quite a few enemies present, while the only representative of the Dao Defense League was Yang Qi. The disparity in numbers was obvious, and there were surely other powerful entities who were lurking in the shadows.

However, Yang Qi still burst out into laughter. Maybe he was outnumbered, but in terms of overall strength he still had the advantage.

"Grand Emperors Myriadmagic Heavenspan, Ninelimits Paragon, and Heavenearth Vastocean, you're all human! What are you doing working with the Demonfolk? How disgraceful!"

Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan snorted coldly. "You'd best not run your mouth in our presence, Yang Qi. You might control the Dao Defense League for now, but you'd better hand over Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven immediately, otherwise you'll die today!"

"That's right," Grand Emperor Heavenearth Vastocean said. "Look at all the experts present, including those of the Demonfolk, and ones from the Primeval Age. Do you really think you can single-handedly take us all on? Do you really think you can take the good fortune in the Great Necropolis? I doubt you have any clue how much treasure is inside it. Regardless, it belongs to us. The Dao Defense League isn't going to get even a tiny fraction!"

"Useless pieces of trash," Yang Qi said. Then he unleashed a string of even more biting insults. "You scum are nothing more than stray dogs, sucking up to the Demonfolk in the hope of regaining some lost ground. But with them, you're nothing more than cannon fodder. Why not side with me? I'll even give you a high position. Sticking with Patriarch Hell-Crusher isn't going to work out in the long run. He's a crafty, vile person who will eventually see you dead."

"How impudent!" Patriarch Hell-Crusher said, glaring at Yang Qi. "You're just trying to sow dissension, boy. I have an agreement with these Grand Emperors, and we've been cultivating a special technique that has benefited all of us. Also, don't think I've forgotten about how you attacked our Demon League and destroyed numerous immortal worlds. You'd better offer a good explanation for that, otherwise don't even think of leaving here alive."

"Explanation?" Yang Qi laughed. "Your Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat tried to assassinate me! It was only natural I take a tooth for a tooth. Anyone who dares to offend me will have their entire clan wiped out without any offer of mercy. Understood?"

"What incredible gall!" shouted other members of the Demon League, who clearly hated Yang Qi down to their bones. As for the experts from the Primeval Age, they were simply looking on coldly, clearly having decided to sit on the mountaintop and watch the tigers fight, then reap the spoils when they tire out. Obviously, the alliance wasn't particularly strong, which was good for Yang Qi. Otherwise, he might have been overwhelmed by the sheer force of numbers.

There were just too many enemies. Although the Demon League didn't count for much, the passageway to the past had obviously been opened, allowing numerous Grand Emperors to come through. There were even some people present that Yang Qi couldn't assess.

To do that, he would need to improve his cultivation base, and also use the Engine of the One God to find other fragments of the Cruiser of Civilization. With the power assessment systems working, he could scan enemies to gain valuable information about them. Unfortunately, these Primeval Age experts were currently Past Ones, and were shrouded in mystery to him.

"So, you're the leader of the Dao Defense League?" one of the experts said. He was clad in beast hides and had numerous tattoos, including one on his chest that depicted a host of world planes surrounding a bright sun and moon.

"That's right," Yang Qi replied, maintaining full vigilance. "I'm the league-lord. Who are you? Someone from the Primeval Age? What exactly do you want from our age?"

"Nothing," the man replied. "We just want to get onto the Ancient Road to the Gods. And also see what your immortal dao civilization is all about. So far, you've been quite the disappointment. It's really true that when there are no heroes, the incompetent rise to fame."

"The Ancient Road to the Gods vanished from the Primeval Age, right?" Yang Qi laughed. "You know, your age won't necessarily develop into an immortal dao civilization. The passage of time can contain many possibilities. In fact, it's possible that your Primeval Age will simply cease to exist. Similarly, our immortal dao civilization won't necessarily become like the future world. For all we know, the dao of immortals will continue existing for all eternity."

"Quite the sharp tongue you have, boy," the man replied, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Bright Tideflow from the Bright King World in the Primeval Age. I brought the entire Bright King World through time to see the immortal dao world. And considering you're the top figure in the dao of immortals, I'm very interested to know how strong you are."

"The Bright King World?" Yang Qi wasn't very familiar with the history of the Primeval Age, and had never even heard of this Bright King World. However, this Bright Tideflow was clearly an aggressive individual, otherwise he wouldn't be the first to step forward and issue a challenge to fight.

"Why waste words? Try out this move!" Bright Tideflow was the type of person who followed up words with actions, thus, he blurred into motion with an opening attack. Parallel universes flashed as he moved, making it seem like he didn't even exist within reality.

Swish!

In an instant, he was in front of Yang Qi and stretched out his finger, causing a vortex of power to appear that seemed strong enough to transform the dao of heaven. In fact, countless heavenly tribulations were born.

The other experts from the Primeval Age immediately began discussing what was happening.

"What? It's the legendary World Tribulation Finger of Lamenting Gods! Supposedly, that finger technique comes from the ancient age of the gods. It has ten levels, the first of which is equivalent to the tribulation that a Lesser God would face. The final level is equivalent to the tribulation of Paramount Gods. The attacks of this finger technique would cause even gods to lament."

"Incredible. This expert from the Bright King World is really strong. He could shake all creation with that finger attack. What a pity. This immortal dao civilization really is in decline. I doubt this league-lord will come out of this exchange alive."

POP!

Yang Qi didn't do anything to evade the incoming attack. Instead, he actually used a finger technique of his own.

Thump, thump, thump!

Bright Tideflow staggered back three paces before managing to stand firm. "What finger technique was that? It seems very similar to King Mourn-Parting's famous Endless Mourning Finger Technique!"

"Good guess," Yang Qi replied coolly. "You see, I know the techniques of all seventy-two brethren. Your World Tribulation Finger of Lamenting Gods might be strong, but it can't do anything to me." Yang Qi could tell that although Bright Tideflow was strong, fighting him wouldn't be a problem. With the secrets of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, and the numerous magical devices of the ancient seventy-two brethren, his cultivation base was almost as strong as the legion of gods. [1]

For all intents and purposes, he had combined the energy arts of the seventy-two ancient monarchs. When he faced King Immortal-Slayer himself, he would be well-prepared and would surely come out on top.

1. It was around chapters 757 and 764 that Yang Qi got "all" of the techniques.