Sage Monarch

In the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, the virtual god world continued growing more and more profound under the direction and control of the immortal-slaying clone.

Thanks to the magical treasures and medicinal pills that had been provided from the Joyflower Palace's storehouse, Yang Qi's followers were achieving spectacular progress. One after another reached the Godmyth level, and many had stepped onto the Deathless Heavenly Stairway.

Some of the most elite among them were already Grand Emperors, and many who were not yet Grand Emperors were already at that level of strength.

For example, Eldest Brother, Elder Second Brother, and the rest of the seventeen members of the Invincible Society, despite having started out in the mortal world, were now vastly superior even to people who had been born in the immortal worlds. They had gone through a lot with Yang Qi, and now they were climbing the Deathless Heavenly Stairway, with all of them already being superior to Grand Emperors.

That was especially true of Eldest Brother, who had received some amazing treasures from the Joyflower Palace storehouse, including fifty god souls.

Back when Yang Qi had acquired the god soul of God-Noble Goldensword, it had given him a huge boost. To think that the Joyflower Palace had thousands upon thousands of god souls like that. They were the souls of perished gods, whose godhood had faded away, but whose quintessence energy remained.

Eldest Brother's will had already reached the peak of the Stupendous level.

There was no better place for Yang Qi's people to achieve progress than in the virtual god world. Not even the Joyflower Palace could compare to it.

The only place that could be superior to a virtual god world would be the true and real god world.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi's true self was working hard on his cultivation, seeking enlightenment of the essence of godpower, and on the assimilation of godhood. His will was now at the peak of the Destabilizing level, which meant he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in that regard if he faced Empress Joyflower.

Unfortunately, his power index was just too far beneath hers.

Her power index was at least three thousand or more. Perhaps it was even at four thousand, which was a terrifying thought. Meanwhile, Yang Qi was only at a bit over three hundred. That meant that she wasn't ten times stronger than him, but rather millions upon millions of times stronger. After all, an increase in power index involved an exponential increase in strength.

Right now, Leaf Dao-Denier's power index was over a thousand, but because he only had Stupendous will, Yang Qi would still have an advantage if they fought.

The difference between Stupendous and Destabilizing will was like the difference between commoners and nobility in the mortal world. Commoners had no power at all, which was quite the contrast to the nobility, who had the authority to execute people if they wanted.

Someone with a power index of ten, but who had a Destabilizing will, could easily devastate a hundred opponents with Stupendous will.

Of course, Yang Qi wasn't satisfied with the status quo. He wanted to achieve another will breakthrough. It was only when he had Terrifying will that he could truly surpass all limitations. By reaching the edges of the god world, he would finally begin unlocking its secrets.

As he assimilated the godhood, and his will defeated its will, he slowly drew closer and closer to the Terrifying level.

Converging his will into the shape of a long spear, he sent it stabbing into the godhood with deadly force. Each time he did this, the power within the godhood would shatter the spear, yet he didn't care. That spear was made, not from true energy, but from pure will, so he would form it anew and stab it into the godhood again. He did it thousands upon thousands of times, until a liquid stream appeared, which he then grabbed with true energy and sent into his Heaven and Earth Furnace. There, it was converted into raw power, some of which he sent into his heart, where the Engine of the One God resided, and the rest of which flowed into the particles that made him up.

By now, the particles within him were like hells unto themselves, the darkness of which contained motes of sagelight.

His Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was designed to take hells and convert them into radiant kingdoms of heavenly holiness.

The particles started out as megamammoths, and then became dracomammoths and, eventually, protomammoths. Eventually, they were godmammoths that existed within hells. Later, the godmammoths would emanate radiance and light to transform the hells around them into the halls of heaven. That was when the technique would reach its most perfect level.

After stabbing the godhood billions of times, Yang Qi felt his power and will rising to a higher level. And that was only after having assimilated one-tenth of the godhood.

His cultivation base was reaching another peak, at which point his power index would surpass four hundred. At that point, killing Leaf Dao-Denier wouldn't necessarily be an impossibility.

Meanwhile, his power double, who, as a consort to the flower goddesses, was far more important than the god-generals or eunuchs, was in Jade Nightqueen's palace, benefiting from the improvements to his true self.

As his true self's will and power increased, the power double circulated his true energy, causing energy art fluctuations to flow through his meridians and his sea of energy to grow stronger, until he was just as strong as a flesh and blood being.

Days passed.

The power double was now twice as strong as he had been when he clashed with Leaf Dao-Denier. And anyone who looked closely would be able to tell that there was some sort of godpower at work within the power double, causing his cultivation base to slowly improve.

Of course, those 'slow' improvements actually surpassed the speed capable by ordinary individuals by many times over.

The power double also spent time with Eunuch Blackheart and the two flower goddesses, learning of the Joyflower Palace's magical laws and even acquiring some new martial disciplines. And he imparted some secret techniques of his own to them, to further earn their trust.

On one particular day, Eunuch Blackheart and the two flower goddesses were both out on business. Apparently, some new ruins or treasures had appeared out in the Great Necropolis, and they had gone to join the fight for them. As for Yang Qi, he was no longer interested in ordinary treasures, so he stayed in the palace.

At one point, a eunuch entered and offered a respectful salute.

"Exalted, Yang Qi," he said, "someone is here to see you."

Yang Qi couldn't help but smile a bit at the eunuch's attitude. When Yang Qi had been a god-general, even the lowest-ranking eunuch could have caused major problems for him. But now that his power double was a consort, the eunuchs didn't dare to treat him with anything but the utmost respect.

Those were the rules in the Joyflower Palace, and they were strictly enforced.

The ranking system went from god-general prisoners, to eunuchs, then consorts, and the women were on top. Not even Leaf Dao-Denier, in all his power, would dare to act inappropriately to the flower goddesses.

Of course, Yang Qi didn't approve of the arrangement at all, so he smiled sarcastically and said, "Oh? Who's here to see me?"

"It's the exalted Leaf Dao-Denier, here to pay a formal visit."

"Leaf Dao-Denier?" Yang Qi's smile suddenly turned crafty. 'He really doesn't have any patience, does he? I assumed it would be many more days before he came looking for me. Empress Joyflower must have given him some help. Perhaps she boosted his energy arts? It seems like I've attracted the attention of the empress. But considering I haven't sensed anyone spying on me, it's safe to assume she's in seclusion working on some sort of technique. If I were to make a bet, I'd say she's trying to achieve Terrifying will.'

Before he could send the eunuch back with a reply and was still contemplating the matter, Leaf Dao-Denier strolled into his presence. "I trust you've been well since we last met, Brother Yang Qi? It's been a few days, but it seems this power double of yours has improved already. Presumably, your true self is in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, similarly getting stronger?"

Leaf Dao-Denier seemed very different from before. From what Yang Qi could tell, he didn't seem to have improved in power or will. However, that was only with a cursory glance. Yang Qi was convinced that he must have made advancements and was simply keeping them hidden.

'Lord's Eye. Myriad Worlds Speculative Analysis.'

Back in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, his true self drew on the power of the godhood he had assimilated, and before he even used it, he could tell that there was something profound and mysterious surrounding Leaf Dao-Denier.

'Such incredible strength!' he thought, and he didn't dare to probe deeper, lest Leaf Dao-Denier detect what was happening. However, he did know that Leaf Dao-Denier was as different from his previous self as heaven was from earth. Obviously, he had achieved a major cultivation base breakthrough and experienced a huge psychic transformation.

'Could it be that he's reached Destabilizing will?' he speculated. 'If so, he won't be easy to deal with.'

"What, Yang Qi," Leaf Dao-Denier said, frowning, "are you probing my cultivation base? Yes, I did make some progress with my cultivation base, although it's only thanks to a magical treasure I acquired. Anyway, the reason I'm here today is to continue our previous discussion."

"Is that so. The palace is empty today, so I'll just set up a shield to give us some privacy, and we can discuss things openly. I assume you're itching to take on Empress Joyflower."

Leaf Dao-Denier's eyes flickered with a crafty gleam. "You're as frank and straightforward as ever, I see. Yes. Let's get this cooperation of ours going immediately."