Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The talismans sank into Crimson-Maiden Inferno, making it completely impossible for her to move. Of course, Yang Qi didn’t do anything untoward to her. But he did use the domineering Sagely Sacrifice to force her to offer her heart to the God Legion Seal.

“Sagely Sacrifice Without Limit; Martial Path that Spans the Heavens; Subjugate the Legion of Gods; Create New God-Spirits; Return Forthwith!”

A beautiful image of the halls of heaven appeared, filled with golden thrones that numbered like the eternal sands. Shadowy figures sat on the thrones, thrumming with ancient auras. Of course, the figures were the primeval legion of gods, horde of devils, and multitude of buddhas.

All of them were entities that had sacrificed their hearts to the God Legion Seal in the past.

Right now, Yang Qi was creating a new foundation.

RUMBLE!

Thanks to the Sagely Sacrifice, a new golden throne appeared in that throng in a middling position. And it was new, not like the ancient versions, which in turn added something mysterious and enigmatic to the God Legion Seal.

That throne belonged to Crimson-Maiden Inferno.

All God-Lord members of the legion of gods who offered faith to the boundless lord would have a throne in the halls of heaven. This was a new first. With Crimson-Maiden Inferno’s addition, the God Legion Seal had a new Greater God to fuel it.

Crash!

Yang Qi could sense the fluctuations of the God Legion Seal, which seemed like an old tree suddenly sprouting new leaves. And his own will and psyche were also thrumming with new fluctuations.

‘Oh, I see. How could I have forgotten about this? The God Legion Seal is going to awaken and grow. As long as I continue to subjugate members of the legion of gods, its power will improve, which will benefit my cultivation base and push my psyche to new heights.’ All of a sudden, new enlightenment appeared within him.

‘Yes, the Mahātmā Jade can be used to reach the Annulled level of will convergence. I have to continue subjugating gods and using their wills to combine with the jade. Although, only time will tell if this will work. In ancient times, there were almighty entities who could dominate everything, but they still failed to achieve Annulled will convergence. The Sovereign Lord, True Devil, Demon Master, and King Immortal-Slayer.... They were all half-Annulled, but never fully stepped into that level. For now, I shouldn't worry about that. At least I have proof that by continuing to take advantage of the God Legion Seal and gathering the faith of other gods, then I can break through my bottleneck and reach the mid Paramount level of will convergence.”

Yang Qi was currently stalled at the early Paramount level. Even if he practiced cultivation for a thousand years the normal way, he would fail to make progress. He had to subjugate more gods.

“You...” Crimson-Maiden Inferno said, her voice trembling with terror. “What did you do to me? Do you control my mind now? Did you sacrifice me?”

“Yes, I sacrificed you. You have been given to the God Legion Seal, and your soul is now bound to it. You’re like the ancient members of the legion of gods. Your life, your death, your very thoughts are now connected to the God Legion Seal. In other words, you belong to me. If I don’t exert control, you can live your life as normal. But if I do take control, your very life will be in my hands. You should feel honored to be in the good graces of the God Legion Seal. Going forward, your life is going to change. You’re part of my new system. The House of God Ordainment is a system, and the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty is a system, both complete with their own powerful destinies. But those systems are like nothing compared to the God Legion Seal. The God Legion Seal represents the ancient era and the destiny of the entire god world. Although the seal vanished for a time, it’s now in my hands. Therefore, I will establish a new system with it. Congratulations, you’re the first person to be part of that new system.”

Various expressions were flashing across Crimson-Maiden Inferno’s face.

Not even she was sure what she was thinking.

But Yang Qi knew that she couldn't defy him. By means of the God Legion Seal, he had access to all of her thoughts, and any actions she wished to take had to be approved by it first.

For example, now that she knew Yang Qi’s secret, she wanted to tell the leaders of the House of God Ordainment. And as soon as that thought appeared, Yang Qi knew about it. If the God Legion Seal didn't sense any threats in her thoughts or intended actions, it wouldn't do anything. But if it disapproved, she wouldn’t be able to take that action.

That was how powerful the God Legion Seal was.

It could audit each and every thought.

For example, Crimson-Maiden Inferno wanted to put on a new set of clothing. But after those thoughts were audited by the God Legion Seal, Yang Qi rejected them. Because of that, it didn't matter how much she wanted to put clothing on, she couldn’t.

Even subconscious thoughts were controlled.

Only someone who could annul their own thoughts by reaching the Annulled level of will convergence could free their thoughts from the auditing of the seal.

Yang Qi had come to understand that the God Legion Seal was another way to gain enlightenment of the Annulled level. Namely, it was a way to control the psyche and will.

Life was about freedom.

Everyone sought it. Even if one wasn’t physically free, at least their thoughts could be. And how miserable would it be if everyone had their thoughts audited by another person.

At the moment, Crimson-Maiden Inferno didn’t realize what was going on. Until she had numerous thoughts audited by the God Legion Seal, she wouldn’t truly understand how powerful the seal was.

“You may leave now, and put on some clothes. Remember, you work for me now. Don’t have anything to do with groups like the Brilliant Radiance Society or the Dragon Society. You serve me, heart and soul. For now, I don’t have any specific missions for you. Go back and work on your cultivation. Breaking through to the Consummate God level should bring some great opportunities.”

“I can’t believe that I made such an absurd error,” she said. “What exactly are you planning to do, Yang Qi? How can the God Legion Seal control me? What’s it capable of? Tell me! Otherwise, why wouldn’t I just reveal your secret? After you became public enemy number one, you would be chased down and killed, and I would be free.”

“I'm not worried, because the truth is you won’t say a word. You can’t.” Based on her psychic fluctuations, Yang Qi knew exactly what she planned to do. Knowing that he had absolutely nothing to fear, he said, “Putting your faith in the God Legion Seal will even benefit your cultivation base, and do it no harm. In the ancient era, the innumerable gods all wanted to exercise faith in the God Legion Seal. Do you think that would be the case if it hurt their cultivation base?”

“Hmph! I refuse to believe that you can really control me. And since you’re letting me go and allowing me to do whatever I want, I'm going back to the sect to tell the truth about you.”

“Go ahead. Tell them everything.” Waving his hand dismissively, Yang Qi faded from sight.

He wasn’t interested in wasting any more time on this woman.

“Damn you!” she cursed. “I won’t let this drop, Yang Qi. I refuse to believe you can control me!” Circulating her godpower a few hundred thousand times to confirm her current state, she headed back to the god kingdom.

‘I'm going to see Master. She’s a Consummate God that’s just on the verge of breaking through to the Perfect God level. I'm going to tell her everything!’ However, as soon as she was about to do just that, she heard a voice speaking in her head. ‘Your thoughts have been audited and are not approved. Now, they will be destroyed.’

RUMBLE!

A beam of golden light appeared in her sea of consciousness, and her thoughts from moments ago faded away.

“What?!” Crimson-Maiden Inferno blurted, dropping to her knees. ‘What’s going on? Don’t tell me my thoughts have been imprisoned.’ She sat there in deep terror, her mind trembling on the verge of collapse.

At this point, Yang Qi stopped worrying about Crimson-Maiden Inferno.

Unfortunately, it took a lot of effort for him to use the God Legion Seal to audit and control her thoughts. The mere thought of subjugating hundreds more gods and auditing their thoughts was exhausting. And that wasn’t to mention what would happen if the gods were as numerous as the eternal sands.

That said, it was a way to temper the psyche.

Auditing the thoughts of other gods would actually be a big weight on his back. How could he possibly keep track of the random thoughts of so many individuals?

As he considered all of these matters, he noticed a sprawling region of gardens off in the distance. It was none other than the gardens of the Spritefolk.