Sage Monarch

As soon as the figure in blue arrived, the power tempests went calm and the passageway went still and quiet. The man seemed to pulse with the mysteries of universal destruction, as if he himself could reach out and grab countless parallel universes. To infuse one's true energy with universal power, and one's every movement with the transformations of numerous parallel universes, was something that ordinary Grand Emperors couldn't do.

"What just happened?" the figure in blue murmured. He was clearly some sort of royalty or nobility, with an aquiline nose and a crafty, ruthless glint in his eyes. From the grim expression on his face, it seemed he was furious at some miscalculation on his part.

Snorting angrily, he thought, 'My skill in soul-locking is unparalleled. No one under heaven should be able to escape me, except perhaps a god. How could Holy Daughter Joyflower have suddenly vanished like this? Did she learn some new concealment technique? My thoughts can penetrate countless universes, yet I can't sense her cultivation base anywhere. Where could she be?

'Damn it all! I've been chasing this woman for so long, only to have her disappear now? Although, at least the Great Necropolis has reached the Immortal Dao Age. The dao of immortals has truly fallen into decline. What a bunch of ants. I really have to get out of here and conquer the many heavens that exist. Although, my time would probably be better spent getting godhood here in the Great Necropolis. Conquering the god world would be a lot more meaningful.

'I'm going to find you eventually, Holy Daughter Joyflower, and make you my slave girl. And once I'm tired of you, I'll kill you!' The young sir in blue suddenly opened his mouth and unleashed a roar that echoed down the pathway, awakening countless entities, and even provoking screams as some of them died.

There were many powerful creatures here, yet this man was strong even compared to them.

'Such incredible power!' Yang Qi thought as he watched the scene play out on a mirror within the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. The young man in blue was as strong as one hundred fifty Grand Emperors, making him vastly stronger than anyone in the immortal worlds, or even the Primeval Age or future world.

Considering that the Ancient Road to the Gods was a place of convergence for people from all worlds and times, this young man wasn't anything rare. That said, it was Yang Qi's first time seeing someone like him, and right now he had no idea whether getting involved with him was going to be a blessing or a curse. If such people emerged into the immortal worlds, there would be no one who could possibly stand up to them.

Normally speaking, people who entered the Ancient Road to the Gods couldn't go back, but now that the Great Necropolis had appeared, things were different.

That was why Yang Qi was trying to be careful, and also make sure the Dao Defense League was as strong as possible.

"So this is the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart?" Holy Daughter Joyflower said. "I never would've guessed that you also have King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions. So, you really can get in and out of the Great Necropolis whenever you want. Well, that should make it a lot easier to seize godhood."

"Seize godhood?" Yang Qi said. "If we seize any godhood, it'll be going to me. I just helped you escape a very dangerous situation. Besides, you tried to use the quintessence vitality of the Profound-Netherworld Ultimate-Yin Goddess to plot against me. I'm repaying evil with good here, and putting myself in a very dangerous situation. Why should I possibly put any trust in you?"

"I admit that I was plotting against you," she replied. "And yes, you saved me from the junior chaplain of the Ancestral Wilds Basilica. For that, I owe you profound thanks, and also, sincerely desire to cooperate with you. I really need to combine my quintessence vitality with that god soul. That's the only way I can make some significant advancement with my energy arts. How about we split that soul sixty-forty? Before, the deal was fifty-fifty, but I'll give you an extra ten percent as a show of good faith."

Yang Qi shook his head. "Sixty-forty? How about ninety-ten, instead! Considering what you just did, I should kill you, not help you make progress. Besides, we're in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, which means that your life is in my hands. That's my offer. I get ninety percent, you get ten. Even that offer is me being particularly benevolent."

"Ninety-ten!? Are you kidding!?"

"Don't waste your words," Yang Qi said. "There's a truth in life that you should be aware of."

"Truth? What truth?" she asked angrily.

"When you stand under low eaves, you have no choice but to bow your head! Similarly, a wise man submits to the circumstances. Or should I say woman?"

"You!" she barked furiously. However, a moment later, her eyes flickered as though she had just thought of something, and she smiled sweetly. "Fine. I agree. Ninety-ten it is. Considering how strong you are, you've won me over. Alright?"

"That's better. Here, take it and assimilate it." Yang Qi knew full well that this woman was full of craft and cunning. He didn't trust her at all, and knew that she would likely cause trouble later on. But at the moment, they were in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, so no matter what she might try to do, he was safe.

He threw his hands out in front of him and the fiery god soul appeared. The icy seal on its surface was already beginning to melt, and the soul inside had its arms stretched above its head as though it were struggling to break free. And from the anger in the soul's eyes, it was obvious it wanted to burn Yang Qi and Holy Daughter Joyflower to death.

However, all Yang Qi had to do was draw on the power of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart to create a host of thick chains that fortified the warding magics and made any efforts at escape meaningless.

"Profound-Netherworld Ultimate-Yin Goddess Frigid Energy!" Holy Daughter Joyflower reached out and tapped the icy seal, sending frigid true energy into the god soul. At the same time, a plethora of icy godspheres appeared in the area, all of them pulsing with godpower. The entire area became a kingdom of ice, filled with icy thrones, giant-spirits, and the like. Soon, the god soul began to twitch and howl with anguish.

"Die!" it screamed. "For profaning the soul of a god, you will be cursed by the legion of gods!"

Holy Daughter Joyflower ignored all that, and focused all of her energy arts on the god soul. Slowly but surely, the soul began to fuse with her true energy, creating a taiji symbol that was half fire and half ice that pulsed with both coldness and warmth, creating a vital energy that was difficult to describe.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi inhaled deeply, pulling the two types of god energy into himself. It instantly caused his own true energy and energy arts to transform in various ways. In the blink of an eye, he gained the power of another Grand Emperor. His power index was now at thirty-seven!

'Awesome! Another increase in power. With these two kinds of power, I should be able to get past the first stair on the Deathless Heavenly Stairway!' Yang Qi could never have guessed that the god soul and the frigid energy would have such an impressive effect.

BOOM!

Explosions seemed to echo out within him as the true energy caused transformations of all sorts. For example, the Engine of the One God's power level was rising.

The power assessment systems began providing a report.

[Power index has reached thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty….]

Normally speaking, increasing one's power by the level of an entire Grand Emperor was no easy task. Not even killing another Grand Emperor and assimilating them would necessarily bring that result. If that were the case, Yang Qi could have just gone around killing Grand Emperors to power up. However, things didn't work like that, any more than a person who wanted to gain a hundred pounds could do so by just eating a hundred pounds of food. In fact, eating that much food could be detrimental.

But the combination of these two kinds of energy was pushing his power index to incredible heights. His meridians were expanding and his sea of energy was growing stronger. And the particles within him were growing more closely connected to the universe around him. As a result, his cultivation base was advancing.

Soon, he was passing a power index of eighty! It was an increase of over double! Only after having absorbed fifty percent did he stop, leaving forty percent to give to family and friends.

The other ten percent was for Holy Daughter Joyflower, whose own power index was now at about sixty. The entire time, he kept a very close eye on her to make sure she didn't try anything funny. Of course, from her perspective, she knew that he could probably kill her easily, therefore, she didn't dare to do anything out of line.

At a certain point, she said, "Alright, the god soul is completely assimilated. And I can tell you're strong enough now that I can't fight you. That said, there are other stashes of godhood in the Great Necropolis. If you can help me deal with the young chaplain of the Ancestral Wilds Basilica, I don't mind sharing the wealth."