Sage Monarch

Yang Qi didn't think that further delays were a good idea.

The situation was developing rapidly, for instance, the debut of the Inheritors and their godpower seeds. The dao of heaven was changing, and it was impossible to say what powerful entities might appear on the scene. And if he wasn't strong enough, there was always the threat of being picked on.

Although he had been rapidly growing stronger, as far as he was concerned, it wasn't enough to keep up with the recent developments. After all, there were people who were rising to higher levels of cultivation faster than him now. It was an age of heroes, and it conformed perfectly to that oft-repeated saying that after the gods experience nirvanic rebirth, a new civilization would once again be born. After the arrival of the Great Necropolis, the face of the immortal dao civilization was changing completely.

'The upside is that I'm forced to improve my cultivation base, and my overall level. The time has come to rise to new heights! Delaying isn't an option! I'm going to completely assimilate this fragment of godhood!'

He rose to his feet in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart and drew on his energy arts to open a passageway to provoke the wrath of the gods.

Innumerable flaming expressions of god rage instantly descended, thrumming with explosive power as they enveloped him from head to toe.

The Deathless Heavenly Stairway appeared behind him, and he turned and stepped onto it. He had prepared long and hard for this moment; at long last, he was stepping past the first minor stair, and although it was a major accomplishment, it still left him very far from being a Grand Emperor.

That said, he had prepared so extensively for this moment that he was sure he would rapidly rise to extreme heights. There were nine mysterious stairs on the stairway: the Stairs of Valor, Strength, Wisdom, Endurance, Fearlessness, Awareness, Heaven-Fate, Forgetfulness, and finally, the Stair of the True Void.

The process involved understanding oneself, cleansing one's will, refining one's body, and circulating one's energy in a perfect cycle to absorb the quintessence of the god world. Only in that manner could one begin rising to deathlessness.

Yang Qi was already heading toward the second stair, the Stair of Strength.

The rage of the god world assailed him in the form of flame, but as his cultivation base fought through the tribulation, he not only achieved incredible progress, but was also able to perceive even deeper secrets regarding the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.

'All of this godhood will become power for me!'

He clenched his fist around the godhood, forcing it to melt into liquid true energy that he then instantly assimilated.

Throwing his head back and howling, he stepped fully onto the Stair of Strength. Afterward, he began to step forward yet again, prompting an influx of Wisdom as he reached the third stair. As for his will convergence, it surpassed even that which the "such arrogance" of the Vajra Māyādevī found untouchable.

In other words, he was on his way from Destabilizing will to the Terrifying level.

The difference between the two was so vast that it actually couldn't be considered just going from one level to another. It was more like the difference between the sky and the land, or an emperor and a beggar. In fact, thinking back to his fight with Profound Valor, he realized that, despite being incredibly mighty, the man didn't actually have Terrifying will. If he had, it would have been a simple matter for him to lock Yang Qi in place and prevent him from even moving.

The only reason he had such a powerful will was because he was an Inheritor with a godpower seed.

'I'm not done yet!'

Stepping onto the third stair flooded him with Wisdom. Of course, it was not ordinary wisdom, but True Wisdom, something that surpassed the mundane. Ordinary wisdom related to intelligence, and perhaps to crafty plots and machinations. But this Wisdom pertained to enlightenment of the dao of heaven, the god world, the legion of gods, and universal power.

In the blink of an eye, he was on the Stair of Wisdom.

As he did, his will reached a higher level and his nascent divinity began emanating such pressure that even the magical symbol of the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic was suppressed.

The words "such arrogance!" echoed out nonstop, yet they weren't even the slightest threat to him. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet reached a point where he could completely master the magical symbol.

'Onward!'

Instantly, the godly knowledge-devils from all of the countless god items and god formations that he had assimilated flew out into the open, swirling around him as they chanted scriptures.

They were like members of the legion of gods, and as they converged upon each other, they formed a tiny golden person who looked exactly like the imp from the God Legion Seal. At that moment, Yang Qi took another step.

He was on the fourth stair, the Stair of Endurance.

Simultaneously, the godhood completely shattered, unable to stand up to the God Legion Seal and the force of Yang Qi's will. It melted into an endless stream of liquid that flowed into him, burning with the fire of the gods and pulsing with a boundless and never-ending force.

[Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep. Power index eight hundred... eight hundred fifty... eight hundred ninety... nine hundred....]

The Cruiser of Civilization continued listing out the numbers before ultimately stopping at one thousand two hundred.

'What a pity...' Yang Qi thought. Sadly, although his will convergence now had nothing to fear from the "such arrogance" assault, he still wasn't strong enough to completely subjugate the magical symbol that made up the technique. He would have to continue rising through the levels.

That was also when he would truly reach the level of Terrifying will.

Truth be told, his journey through the Godmyth level, going from Seer, Tempered, Incarnated God and the like, and progressing all the way to the Revisionist, Buddha, and Chaos God levels was all about improving his nascent divinity. In contrast, the nine stairs of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway were about forming one's will and reaching the levels of Valor, Strength, Wisdom, Endurance, Fearlessness, Awareness, Heaven-Fate, Forgetfulness, and True Void.

In the end, it made one a Grand Emperor, and involved pure and raw power. Most people who became Grand Emperors would have a power index of one, whereas even the weakest Lesser God would have a power index of ten thousand. The rise from "one" to "ten thousand" could definitely be described as an increase of pure power. Whether it was the Godmyth level or the Deathless Heavenly Stairway, both were about tempering the inner self.

The stronger and more refined one's heart was, the further one could progress. And the more one gained mastery of the Godmyth level, the more likely they were to eventually become truly Deathless.

'So I'm on the fourth minor stair, the Stair of Endurance. It's too bad that I don't have power for more than that. I definitely have to get my hands on more godhood. That's the only way to power further breakthroughs.' He shook his head. 'The requirements are insane. I don't think that even the godhood of a Lesser God would be enough for my Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. It seems that the best option for getting stronger is to kill Empress Joyflower. I need to go back and find Leaf Dao-Denier, then force him to tell me what his plans are for the Joyflower Palace. Worst case scenario, I can kill him too. It's not like he's a match for me now.'

As of now, he didn't need to rely on his power double any longer. He was now strong enough to face Profound Valor in his true body without fear. With a power index of one thousand two hundred, he was actually superior to even people with indexes of two or three thousand.

Swish!

He left the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart as his true self and headed toward the Joyflower Palace. Once inside, he slipped undetected into a palace deep in its depths.

Instead of going to Flower Goddesses Jade Nightqueen and Snowlotus, he headed toward Leaf Dao-Denier, intent on forcing him to reveal his true plans, and at the same time, adding power to his Heaven-God Hell-Exterminating Devil Embryo.

Now that Yang Qi was so much stronger, it was an easy task for him to use that devil embryo to track down Leaf Dao-Denier, who was in a session of secluded meditation at the moment.

Swish!

Once inside the palace, he waved his hand and set up a shield of power. Considering the level of his cultivation base, no one other than Empress Joyflower herself could possibly pierce the warding spells that he set up with the Life-Death Void-Destruction Lightning.

Leaf Dao-Denier was engaged in breathing exercises, absorbing the mysterious powers of the buddhist school of the god world and combining it with the Taiji Indestructible Chaos-Magic World-Terrorizing Profound Art he had.

All of a sudden, he opened his eyes and thrust his palms out, sending out two energy flows, one a pure expression of the great dao of taiji, and the other an expression of the vajra emptiness of buddhism.

The two opposites combined into a palm strike of immense power.

"What is the empress still doing in meditation?" he murmured. "It's a critical moment, and even now she isn't showing her face. Damnation, I need to tell her about how the Inheritors have appeared!

"What is that brat Yang Qi up to right now, I wonder? Well, it's not like Profound Valor will kill him. He faced him as a power double, so, worst-case scenario, he'll sacrifice a chariot to defend the general. Maybe he'll end up weakened, which would be the perfect opportunity to stomp him into the ground and torment him to death." He chuckled coldly.

However, that was when a new voice echoed out in his private meditation chamber.

"Wow, you really do hate me, don't you, Leaf Dao-Denier. Can't we just be allies for once?" Yang Qi strolled out into the open.

Swish!

Leaf Dao-Denier shot to his feet, his hackles rising. "You... Yang Qi! How did you get in here?"

"Simple. I walked in." He looked around. "You have some nice warding magics, but they're weak. Nothing amazing as far as I'm concerned, and full of way too many holes. Here, I'll fix them for you. But afterward, you'll have to learn a thing or two from me, otherwise you'll end up stuck inside."