Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“We can’t put all our hope for defeating Proud Heaven on the purrling,” Yang Qi said. “Besides, just because it’s mysterious and impossible for us to fully understand doesn’t mean that it can handle Proud Heaven. The best option is for us to get as strong as possible, and rely only on ourselves.”

“I agree,” said Doom. “We have to rely on ourselves to defeat Proud Heaven. Besides, only a bearer of the God Legion Seal can kill another bearer and take the other seal. If an ordinary person kills one of the bearers, the God Legion Seal will simply fly away and look for a new host. Besides, we just don’t know if the purrling could actually deal with Proud Heaven.”

“So what do we do now?” the Shepherd said. “Considering the danger of succumbing to the illusions, we can’t explore the coffins. But at the same time, we can’t leave. We’re really in a bind here.”

“We are in a bind,” Proud World said. “If we proceed forward and succumb to more illusions, it's only a matter of time before one of us kills one of the others. And that’s not to mention what will happen if ghosts emerge from those coffins and attack us.”

“Let’s wait for a moment and see what else happens,” Yang Qi said, brow furrowed. “I just gained new enlightenment regarding what is neither false nor void, and what seems both reality and illusion. My Purrfect God Art has reached a high enough level that it should keep you safe for the time being. So let’s see if any more illusions rise up, and if we can unlock any of the secrets of the coffins.”

“Fine,” Doom said. “Considering the level of your cultivation base, we’ll follow your lead.”

While the other three remained within the bubble Yang Qi had created, he gazed out at the numerous coffins with a look of concentration and vigilance on his face.

They were all deeply frightened by the experience of succumbing to the illusion earlier. It would have almost been better if some powerful expert had come along and defeated them all in open combat. But having their perceptions tainted so they didn’t even know who their enemy was, and having their companions fight and kill them, well, that left them feeling helpless.

However, as they remained in the bubble, they saw occasional sinister winds floating toward them from the area of the coffins. However, the winds couldn’t penetrate the bubbles, ensuring that they were completely safe.

“Strange,” Doom murmured. “The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth is the ultimate martial art, but not even its defensive empyrean energy and god curses are enough to keep me safe. But inside this Purrfect God Art bubble, I feel fine. What exactly is going on? Don’t tell me that the Purrfect God Art is actually superior to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. I refuse to believe it!”

Normally speaking, everyone in this group had profound energy arts with defensive capabilities that should have made them impervious to any wicked incursions. But once inside this cave of coffins, the terrifying miasma they faced was strong, but it couldn’t extrude the sinister energy that built up in their hearts.

The winds that blew on them were not true winds, but things of the god world that affected their hearts. They were rancorous energy from perished gods, filled with the power of curses, that their defensive empyrean energy simply couldn’t deal with.

But they were safe in the Purrfect God Art bubble.

A few hours passed in which none of them had any problems succumbing to illusions.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi continued to observe their surroundings thoughtfully.

As he kept the bubble active, he could sense streams of wretched will swirling out from the coffins. Although they were invisible, once they reached into the hearts of a victim, they would affect their thoughts and emotions.

In fact, if he didn’t have his Purrfect God Art, he would be in great danger here.

The streams of wretched will couldn’t be killed or expelled, and would essentially replace the thoughts of whoever they infected. And eventually, after someone completely succumbed to the illusions, they would go mad and die.

“It’s been a few hours,” Proud World said, “and we haven't experienced any more illusions. Brother Yang Qi, you’re quite simply a god! I don’t think any of us here could possibly be a match for you. And without you here, we would definitely be trapped in illusions.”

“Don't celebrate yet,” Doom said. “Brother Yang Qi, how long can you keep this up?”

“A few thousand years, if I had to,” Yang Qi said. “Maybe even ten thousand. I have plenty of true energy. But we can’t just sit around like this forever. We have to take the initiative to do something.”

“That’s right,” Doom said. “The status quo isn’t going to work. The way things are now, we might as well be buried in here. Although our cultivation bases are strong enough to keep us alive for a hundred million years, we can't afford any delays in our plan to kill Proud Heaven. Considering we have protection from Brother Yang Qi’s Purrfect God Art, I suggest that we open some of these coffins and kill the wretch-spirits inside. I refuse to believe they can really harm us. Other than their illusion techniques, I doubt they can do much!”

“You’re right!” Yang Qi said, nodding. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

RUMBLE!

He flicked his finger, sending a stream of energy from the Purrfect God Art out toward one of the nearby coffins. There were millions upon millions of coffins here, and Yang Qi got the sense that all of them contained mysterious locations inside. After all, these weren’t the coffins of ordinary humans; they contained massive conglomerations of wretch will and rancorous energy from the god world.

Without opening them and seeing what was inside, how would it be possible to escape from this place?

If some truly dangerous situation arose, and worse came to worst, Yang Qi could always unleash his potential and enter the mid Terrifying level. With his cultivation base that much higher, he was confident he would be able to handle the situation. Truth be told, not even he was sure what unimaginable level of power he would reach when he finally achieved that breakthrough.

Most people wouldn't be able to achieve a breakthrough in a place like this, considering that they couldn’t sense the power of the outside world. But Yang Qi had ten thousand pieces of godhood within him, which he was constantly working on turning into nascent souls. Furthermore, he had the vital energy of the Great Necropolis and the quintessence of the Purrfect God Art. With all of that, he had reached a state that was neither that of gods, nor immortals, nor humans. And when he unleashed all of his explosive potential, he could definitely slaughter even Doom.

In other words, he could take the second God Legion Seal any time he wanted.

However, he had no plans to kill Doom. And when he killed Proud Heaven, he didn’t intend to take his God Legion Seal, either. At most, he would use it to gain some enlightenment regarding the true quintessence of combat.

As was written: The Dharma is like a log raft used to cross the river. Upon reaching the destination, the log should be abandoned. Similarly, the Dharma must eventually be cast aside, much less those false Dharmas which are not the true Dharma. [1]

The God Legion Seal was like the log raft which was to be discarded after crossing the river. Someone who reached the other bank, then hoisted the raft onto their back to continue their journey, would be nothing more than a moron, and would make no further progress.

A human who acquired the God Legion Seal would definitely have acquired a precious treasure. However, if that person couldn’t abandon the seal, they would eventually be unable to make progress. One must be willing to cast aside the now irrelevant. Cast it aside, and benefit.

RIP!

A bubble from the Purrfect God Art quickly surrounded the coffin, then began shrinking it down to crush it. Grating sounds rang out, accompanied by the piercing cry of a ghost, which sought to stab into the Purrfect God Art.

Yang Qi snorted coldly. “Did you think it would be that easy?” Numerous streams of will shot out, bolstering the bubble.

RUMBLE!

The bubble crushed down onto the coffin, making it impossible to escape. At the same time, Yang Qi converged some true energy on the tip of his finger, drawing on his Unspoiled Body and Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

Then he flicked his finger.

The energy shot out toward the stone coffin, reached the lid, and slowly began to lift it up.

Everyone rose to their feet nervously, craning their necks to see what would happen next. What would come out of the coffin?

A piercing, grating noise could be heard, filling their hearts and spirits with chaotic madness that sought to control them.

“Remain calm!” Doom said, sensing the danger. “Still your minds and use your psychic powers to protect yourselves!”

Then he used one of the psychic techniques from his version of the God Legion Seal, something called the Unbounded God Reverberation.

1. This passage is from the real-life Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, or Diamond Sutra. I found another English translation of it, but honestly, that translation is far too wordy and inserts a lot of explanation into the passage that doesn’t exist in Chinese. Although that can be helpful in understanding the passage, I feel like it's unnecessary. So I translated it myself after doing a bit of research.