Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“You should buy that god tree, Yang Qi,” Jadefall said. “Assimilating it would provide a huge boost in godpower, making it much easier to interact with the vital energy of heaven and earth here.”

“My own path of cultivation is superior,” Yang Qi replied. “Assimilate something like that, and I would end up parasitized, which wouldn’t be of any help at all.” The tree looked lush and alive, and its trunk was covered with knobby protrusions that were evidence of the work of whatever Consummate God expert had created it. Obviously, that god had been attempting to use this tree to connect with heaven and earth, which was fine. But for Yang Qi to assimilate it into his sea of energy would be a mistake.

That said, other Quasi-Gods could probably make use of it.

“The bidding for this Consummate-level god tree will start at a hundred godnotes!” When Yang Qi heard the price that was being asked, he squashed any thoughts of trying to buy it. Although he could hand over enough godsand to match the price in godnotes, it would attract too much attention. Furthermore, it was a given that people would have designs on the tree, and would cause problems for him because of it.

“What's wrong, Brother?” asked Eighth Elder. “You’re not interested in that god tree? It's the best item we're offering for sale at this auction. If you don’t get it, one of your competitors will.”

“I'm not worried about that,” Yang Qi replied. “That thing is a disaster in the making. Whoever wins it will never have any peace. The business we’ve already done can remain confidential, but buying that treasure with everyone watching is just asking for trouble. An ordinary man who possesses great treasure makes himself a big target.”

“Trying to avoid trouble, Brother?” Eighth Elder asked probingly.

“I'm trying to avoid annoying side-issues,” Yang Qi replied, giving Eighth Elder a level stare. “The business we've done so far is more than satisfactory. After I'm an official student of the House of God Ordainment, I'm sure there will be plenty of chances to work out even better deals with your Primeval Pavilion.”

“That sounds wonderful. The Primeval Pavilion can’t compare to the House of God Ordainment, but we do have a very powerful patriarch god, as well as many years’ worth of resources. As long as you can produce the wealth and godsand, we can find whatever it is you need.”

“What about secrets?” Yang Qi said. “Do you traffic in those?”

“Secrets?” Eighth Elder thought for a moment. “You want to buy information? If so, you couldn’t have come to a better place than the Primeval Pavilion. Yes, we sell information. What exactly do you want to know?”

“Have you heard of the Proud Clan?” Yang Qi asked quietly.

“Of course. They have branches on many continents and are extremely powerful. What. Are you an enemy of the Proud Clan?” Eighth Elder’s expression flickered. “The Primeval Pavilion isn’t in the position to be able to offend the Proud Clan, so information about them is going to be extremely expensive.”

“I wouldn't say that we're enemies. Nor do I have any interest in you doing anything to offend them. But I am interested in their secrets.”

“Well that's good to hear. In that case, just tell me what secrets you’re interested in, and I can tell you how much it will cost.” Suddenly shifting his gaze to the auction floor, he said, “Would you look at that. Someone is actually buying the god tree!”

Down below, the auctioneer said, “Three thousand godnotes. Going once. Going twice. Any further bids? In that case, sold! For three thousand godnotes.”

Within moments, the god tree was taken away.

As Yang Qi watched it being taken into private room #9, he opened his Lord's Eye. Inside the room, several people were gathered. One of them was a young man who was sitting cross-legged, with a handful of old men and burly fellows standing around who were obviously his attendants.

“We won the Consummate-level god tree?” the young man said, smiling. “I'm sure that’s painted a target on our back. What do you think, Stewards?”

One of the old men in the group replied, “If anyone tries to make a move, we’ll kill them. I can't believe that animals like this have come to participate in the Bloodgore Trials. They’re obviously looking to get killed.”

Another old man said, “Young Master, that god tree was raised from one of the ninety-nine seeds created by the boundless Sovereign Lord. If you can collect the rest of the trees that came from those seeds, you can use them to track down the location of the Sovereign Lord’s palace of operations. The halls of heaven! I can’t believe the fools from the Primeval Pavilion just sold an item as priceless as this!”

“The halls of heaven? I must have them! Whatever secrets this god tree contains, I’ll acquire them when I assimilate it into my sea of energy. Eventually, I’ll collect all ninety-nine of the trees and use them to summon the halls of heaven, which I’ll also assimilate!” The young man burst out laughing.

Looking concerned, one of the burly men asked, “In that case, Young Master, are you saying you plan to push back godly ascension? Your godpower is so mighty, sir, that it'll be difficult to form it into godhood. Are you really going to participate in the Bloodgore Trials and become a disciple of the House of God Ordainment?”

“That’s right,” the young man said. “Little Huan is in the House of God Ordainment, and I must have her. So joining the House of God Ordainment myself is the only option.”

“Why bother? Young Master, joining the House of God Ordainment will be a big embarrassment for you. Our clan is no weaker than the House of God Ordainment! When people hear that a young master of the Cloudsoaring Mansion has done something like that, we’ll be a laughingstock.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the young man said. “I’ll conceal my identity. And who out there could possibly pierce that illusion? After I'm in the House of God Ordainment, I’ll advance by leaps and bounds, quickly becoming so powerful that the rest of the people in the Cloudsoaring Mansion will be forced to give me more respect.”

“If that’s your plan, Young Master, we’ll simply wait for the good news.” His attendants all offered respectful salutes.

With that, the young master inhaled deeply, causing the god tree to burst into flames, shrink down into an expression of power, and fly into his sea of energy. There, cracking sounds could be heard as godpower flowed through him like a mighty river.

“Come on, let’s get out of here! I'm already on the cusp of godly ascension! Those fools in the Primeval Pavilion clearly had no idea what they had on their hands with this god tree. I can't believe they gave it to me for a mere three thousand godnotes. Before, I was a bit lacking in godpower, but not any more. I can reach godly ascension with a mere thought, any time I wish!”

With that, their entire group vanished into thin air.

‘He’s obviously a top expert,’ Yang Qi thought. ‘The god world really is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even among Quasi-Gods, there’ll be some dangerous people. I have to be careful. For example, this guy seems to be just on the verge of reaching godly ascension.’

With that, he led his people out of the auction house as well.

Back at the tavern, they split up the medicinal pills they had acquired and started another session of cultivation. They also activated the Ten Directions God Convergence Flags.

When the power of the ten directions began to flow, it was as if they were wrapped up in an enormous bag made of godpower. As they performed their breathing exercises and worked with their various techniques, their godpower grew, and at the same time, they exerted pressure to shrink it down.

Before long, the medicinal pills had all been assimilated.

Before, Lightning Dragonriser had been under the impression that his godpower had reached a peak level, and that he was right on the verge of a breakthrough. Never could he have guessed that he actually had a lot more progress to make; becoming a god was obviously no easy task.

That said, it was a good thing for him to know the truth, and it made him realize how backward the Lightningbolt Continent was.

Of course, now he was becoming truly powerful.

They had so many medicinal pills that, normally speaking, even if they had a larger group, it should have taken them years to assimilate them properly.

God pills simply weren’t designed to be taken in large quantities. But Yang Qi’s God Legion Seal changed everything. He could easily use burning sagefire to remove any impurities.

As the days passed, everyone experienced a dramatic improvement and advancement in their godpower.

As for Yang Qi, he furthered his enlightenment of godnotes. Now, it wasn’t just a matter of wanting to be able to create his own, but he also wanted to unlock the mysterious knowledge they could provide.

When he reached the point of being able to produce godnotes, he would be able to push his Sage Monarch Grand Magic to an even higher level.

“Use the god vitality of heaven and earth to produce godnotes!”

A tremor passed through him and a host of projected godnotes appeared above his head, making it seem like it was about to start raining money.