Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi waved his hand toward the box, and the ten flags inside flapped into motion, creating a circular spell formation. And the magical symbols on the flags began to flicker and glow.

WOOOOSH!

His fingers flashed as he counted out ten grains of godsand and sent them flying toward the flags, which resulted in a massive outflow of vital energy.

Next, Yang Qi reached out, grabbed Yu Guo, and threw him into the middle of the formation. Instantly, streams of energy pierced into Yu Guo, whereupon a look of exultation appeared on his face. “Godpower! Godpower is forming inside of me. It’s crystallizing so quickly!”

Crack. Crunch.

“Return!” said Yang Qi. He beckoned, and the ten flags flew back into the box. A look of disappointment overtook Yu Guo’s face; he knew full well that if he had been able to spend more time in that formation, he would definitely have achieved a breakthrough. Even the short moment he had just spent had saved him a few dozen years of ordinary cultivation.

The general process to reach godly ascension involved building up godpower, then exerting immense pressure on it, over and over again, until it turned into true godhood. It was a very exhaustive process that also involved the development of the psyche and the will.

Ordinary people, even those who had the potential to reach godly ascension, would have a very tough time exerting enough pressure on the godpower. And a mistake in the process could result in the godpower going out of control and detonating!

Godhood was essentially a conglomeration of condensed power, or as some people referred to it, the Great Dao of the Gold Core.

The formation created by the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags could adjust one’s godpower and assist in the process of crushing it into submission.

It was similar to how, in the impure lands, people couldn’t simply use their hands to crush corn into meal. It required a grindstone. And the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags served the same purpose as that grindstone.

Yang Qi immediately understood the profound complexities of the flags. The Cruiser of Civilization had a similar function, except the ship wasn’t currently functional. He would need to reach godly ascension before he could use it, which meant that, for the time being, the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags were his best bet to achieve the same results.

“You certainly got lucky, brat,” Eighth Elder murmured as he glared with open envy at Yu Guo. It didn’t matter how amazing the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags formation was, without high-quality godstones to power it, it wouldn’t do any good. And although Yu Guo hadn’t experienced an overall increase in godpower, his substructure had transformed in a significant way.

It was like the difference between a pound of cotton and a pound of iron; both weighed a pound, but their structure was completely different.

Before, Yu Guo’s godpower had been like cotton, but now it was as hard as iron. Whether in terms of attack or defense, he was far beyond his previous level.

After all, being hit with a pound of cotton would be a lot less painful than being hit with a pound of iron.

Of course, Yang Qi didn’t need the formation, but Brahma and the others could definitely benefit from it. As long as there were enough godstones to power it, they would easily be able to reach the Lesser God level.

Right now, their godpower was immense but unstable, extensive but not refined.

In fact, because their godpower was so intense, it was difficult to shape it properly. By way of analogy, a puddle could easily freeze in cold temperature, but a mighty flowing river, not so much.

Godpower was like water, which meant that if it was too mighty and forceful, it could take forever for it to ‘freeze’.

Yang Qi’s people needed to ‘freeze’ their godpower, taking that mighty river and turning it into ice. And that was no easy task. But if they succeeded, their godhood would surpass that of ordinary Lesser Gods.

“How much godsand do you want for the formation?” Yang Qi said. “Name your price.”

Eighth Elder thought for a moment, then extended his index finger.

“A hundred?” Yang Qi asked quietly.

“Oh, no, not a hundred. That’s far too little. I made this god formation myself, and I spent blood, sweat, and tears to get it done. You definitely need to add a zero to that number.”

“A thousand?” Lightning Dragonriser blurted. “Are you trying to rip us off, Eighth Elder? Do you know how valuable that godsand is? A thousand should be enough to buy multiple formations.”

“You think making formations like that is some sort of game?” Eighth Elder said with a grim frown. “That formation inverts yin and yang, and contains the mysteries necessary to crystallize godpower. The flags themselves were filled with quintessence energy by the god patriarchs of the Primeval Pavilion. Although it can't be used to attack or defend, it's extremely powerful. It’s clearly the best option for your group. Besides, none of the other magical treasures up for auction can compare to it. If you want to condense your godpower into godhood, there is no better item to use than the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags.”

“Maybe it’s the best,” said Brahma, “but for most people, it would be useless. Who could possibly have enough godsand to actually make it operational? And of course, using that method to operate it would be an insult to the wills of Paramount Gods in godnotes.”

Eighth Elder laughed. “As the saying goes, bestow a valuable sword on a skilled swordsman, and provide beautiful women to accompany heroes. Only you deserve to use these flags, Brother Yang Qi.” [1]

“Fine. If you want a thousand, that's what you’ll get.” Yang Qi wasn’t interested in haggling, so he waved his hand and sent out a stream of glittering godsand.

Eighth Elder quickly produced a box and used it to carefully capture all of the sand. He had to marvel at how casually Yang Qi seemed to produce the sand, and came to the conclusion that he must be using some sort of spatial god item to do it.

“So I get the flags now?” Yang Qi said, making a grasping gesture that caused them to fly toward him.

“Yes. They’re yours. Here at the Primeval Pavilion, doing business is simple, and we never cheat or swindle. By the way, Brother, if you have more godsand, we’d be happy to do more business.” Eighth Elder was actually very pleased to have inked such a good deal. “By the way, the formation works best if you use God-Convergence Pills or Vitality-Strengthening Pills.”

“Oh?” Brahma said. “Presumably you have such pills for sale?”

When it came to increased cultivation speed, none of them wanted to hold back anything.

“Of course.” Eighth Elder gave a meaningful look to Yu Guo, who hurried off.

Around that time, they heard voices from the auction floor.

Looking out, Yang Qi and his companions saw a sea of people clamoring loudly at a charming young woman who was presiding over the formalities. Apparently, the auction was finally starting.

“Lot one is a divine treasure known as the Cyclical Cauldron. If you practice cultivation inside the cauldron, you can instantly achieve nine thousand cycles of godpower. In addition, the cauldron can absorb both frigid and burning energies, then combine them. By using the power of yin and yang, the cycle of reincarnation is imitated and the person in the cauldron can benefit from the ultimate protection. No evil could possibly harm them!”

As she spoke, the cauldron appeared in the open.

Although it was exquisitely crafted, Yang Qi could tell that it was the work of a Common God. In other words, it was useless to him. However, the auction floor exploded into a frenzy and it ended up selling for quite a few godnotes.

The winner was a woman in one of the private rooms, whose high-pitched voice seemed to indicate that she was changing her voice by means of a spell formation.

Yang Qi watched as the auction continued. Unfortunately, compared to the Great Necropolis, the god items and medicinal pills on sale were pitiful. The only downside was that because it had been tainted by the impure lands, the Great Necropolis wouldn’t be useful for years to come.

After about two hours, a few cases were delivered to their private room that contained medicinal pills designed to increase godpower and strengthen the psyche. They were very expensive.

But Yang Qi didn't care. He bought them for about a thousand grains of godsand.

After all, as long as he had the God Legion Seal, he could produce as many godstones as he wanted.

Eventually, the auction was reaching an end and the final lot appeared on the stage. It pulsed with immense godpower, and when the red cloth was removed, Yang Qi saw that it was some sort of god tree.

“According to the rumors,” the auctioneer said, “this god tree was planted by a Consummate God, who carefully nurtured it into a sapling. It can refine godpower, and if it’s assimilated into the sea of energy, it will sprout, providing a never-ending flow of godpower.”

The crowd erupted into a buzz.

The worst fear for anyone involved in a fight was running out of godpower. In fact, unless someone had some way to flee from a fight in that situation, they would have no choice but to just lay down and be slaughtered. It could only be imagined how much of an advantage it would be to have an endless supply of godpower.

In fact, the main reason they had to stop and rest on their journey over the ocean was that Yang Qi’s companions would eventually run out of power and fall down.

The god world was filled with a variety of heterogeneous vital energies, but the God Legion Seal could absorb them all. Although this tree wasn’t at the same level, it could provide a similar function and was thus incredibly valuable.

Many eyes began shining with anticipation. Whoever got that tree would definitely have a much better chance of winning in the Bloodgore Trials.

1. This appears to be a twist on a more common expression: sell a valuable sword to a skilled swordsman, give makeup to a top beauty, with another version I found being give a valuable sword to a skilled swordsman, let a good doctor handle an uncommon prescription.