Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

This peak Perfect God A’ling was no ordinary individual, and because of that, Yang Qi wouldn’t be upfront with her. Instead, he made up a story in the hopes of getting some more information. “I found a devilish treasure trove that once belonged to a subordinate of the True Devil. The Second Devil General, whose original name was Desireless. You see, I stumbled across his burial chamber. It contained all sorts of treasures, including the Desireless Devil Sutra, which features a host of techniques relating to desire. With it, I can use heart-devils to achieve advancement to the Unbounded level, as long as I have the proper items to sacrifice to the True Devil.”

“Oh? So that's how it is.” Of course, A’ling only partially believed him. “And do you have any more perfect caliber godstones, Patriarch? The more you have, the more things we can sell to you. What do you think?”

“I only want to buy the things I listed out, although I'm sure I’ll be interested in other purchases in the future.” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Oh, right. There are a few other rare magical treasures I'm interested in, sage items from the dao of devils. And I'm willing to spend a lot of money on them.”

“Please, go on. It sounds like you have a lot of perfect caliber godstones, Patriarch.”

Perfect caliber godstones were things that countless sects sought after. They were extremely useful for powering spell formations, offering as sacrifices, practicing energy arts, and improving the psyche. A single one could be considered a precious treasure to most sects. Generally speaking, sects that acquired them would keep them hidden and secure, only bringing them out in the case of a dangerous emergency.

Every sect in existence longed for godstones like that. After all, they could even be used to suppress destiny.

Paramount Gods could use them in spell formations to help in breaking through bottlenecks. And when used in pill furnaces, they could create god pills that were extremely useful in advancing one’s cultivation.

Back in the Nacrelight Sageland, when he had helped Summer Vastcold with the Wisdom and Knowledge God Pill, if Yang Qi hadn’t used holy caliber godstones in the formation, the effort would definitely have completely failed.

Even the Deva Dynasty would hoard godstones like this, and would never pass up an opportunity to get more.

“I don’t have many. But I do know that the Deva Dynasty is always interested in getting more for your Paramount Gods to use in the creation of medicinal pills. That said, I won’t give them up for anything but sage items from the dao of devils. And what I need are the most spectacular magical treasures left behind by the Supreme True-Devil. For example, the Mahātmā Jade or the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body....” Only now was Yang Qi truly starting to dig for information.

A’ling laughed. “You've got to be kidding me, Patriarch. Things like those are considered the most precious of treasures. Even if our Deva Dynasty did have them, we would keep their existence top secret.”

“Well, that’s too bad,” Yang Qi said, sighing. “I really would’ve liked to get that Mahātmā Jade. You see, in the Second Devil General’s notes in the Desireless Devil Sutra, it talks about how the True Devil filled that jade with the combined might of countless sages and mahātmās from the dao of devils. People from the dao of devils who use it to practice cultivation can receive a major blessing to their psyche. What a pity. Well, anyway, what other things does the Deva Dynasty have to sell?”

“I was under the impression nobody could use the Mahātmā Jade,” A’ling said. “Is that not true? Do you really have a way to benefit from it? As you know, the Deva Dynasty can get anything, as long as you have enough money. If you want, I can send your request to my superiors. How much are you willing to pay for it?”

“I’ll pay whatever you ask!” Yang Qi said. “As for whether or not I can use it, the truth is that I don’t know for sure. But I do know that the Desireless Devil Sutra does say that someone who cultivates the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body can use the jade. That's why I asked about that technique too. Does your Deva Consortium have it? To be honest, those are the only two things I really need. I’ll even pay for information about them. How much for that?”

“Both of those items are extremely rare, so the cost for information will be high. Let me check for you.” She pulled out a book and consulted it. “According to the cost lists, it will set you back thirty billion godnotes.”

Thirty billion godnotes was an astronomical sum, especially when it came to a simple business transaction. After all, Summer Vastcold’s entire family fortune had only totaled sixty billion. Not many people in existence could simply hand over thirty billion. However, Yang Qi had trillions of godnotes, so to him, thirty billion was actually like spare change.

He waved his hand, summoning a spatial crystal and handing it over to A’ling.

When she inspected it and found thirty billion godnotes, a smile broke out on her face. “Don’t worry, Patriarch Bloodcloak. Considering how huge this deal is, we’ll definitely give you the treatment of a top customer. We’ll track down all the information about the two items you just mentioned.”

With that, she hurried away.

Yang Qi simply sat there, calmly sipping tea as he waited. The tea they had provided was of the highest quality, and the snacks were miraculous medicinal items that provided immense boosts of vital energy. Not even the House of God Ordainment had things like this.

Yang Qi picked up something that looked like a three-leaf clover, but was actually a type of candy that had been concocted by a top expert. By refining it in a pill furnace tens of thousands of times, it became filled with vital energy that could lead to high levels of enlightenment. It was clearly the masterwork of top alchemists.

And they were serving this to him with tea. It was all very luxurious.

‘Incredible. The Deva Dynasty puts so much attention even into the candy they serve guests. This must’ve been created by dozens of Perfect God alchemists all working together.’

Soon enough, A’ling returned, followed by a middle-aged confucian scholar who emanated the fragrance of books and scrolls, and looked like he was bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind. He was obviously a confucian cultivator, and when it came to governing nations, the confucians would always be superior to the daoists and the buddhists.

“This is Ser Temple, viceroy of the Heaven Temple Continent,” A’ling said. “Viceroy, this is Patriarch Bloodcloak, who wants to work out a big business deal with us.”

“Your humble servant offers salutations, Patriarch Bloodcloak,” Ser Temple said.

“There’s no need for such courtesy, Viceroy,” Yang Qi said, pretending to be somewhat overwhelmed. “I specifically wanted to do business with your Deva Consortium because of the sterling reputation you’ve built up over the years. I know you have rules, and you follow them. You never scam people. I admire you a lot, so when I came across this huge fortune, I decided to come here to spend it.”

“I see. It did indeed take millions upon millions of years for the Deva Consortium to build its reputation. No member of ours would ever dare to violate the rules! Whatever you need, Patriarch Bloodcloak, we can get it. In fact, we've already collected the items on your list and put them into this spatial god kingdom. Here.”

He produced a golden sphere, filled with the piles of rare items Yang Qi had requested.

“Very good.”

He scanned the sphere to confirm all the requested items were there, and couldn’t help but be surprised at the resources the Deva Consortium had at their disposal. Despite all of the capital he had given to Mother Voidwalker, not even she had been able to produce these items.

“It's going to cost fifty-four perfect caliber godstones,” Ser Temple said.

“No problem at all!" To the shock of the viceroy, Yang Qi counted out the godstones and put them in a magical treasure bag, which he handed over.

“Patriarch Bloodcloak, do you still have more perfect caliber godstones?” Ser Temple asked. “If so, might you be interested in further purchases? We don’t just sell magical treasures, you know. We offer other services, such as baptisms by Paramount Gods. For instance, our Deva Baptism, which costs a hundred perfect caliber godstones, involves nine famous Paramount Gods reaching out into the void to summon a blessing of power. When the light of the great dao washes over you, baptizing you, your energy arts will be boosted, greatly aiding your effort to reach the Unbounded level. Fairly recently, a young sir from the Proud Clan spent a thousand perfect caliber godstones to be baptized ten times in that fashion, and he actually reached the Unbounded level as a result!”

“What?!” Yang Qi said. “You offer services like that? Who was this young sir from the Proud Clan?”

“His name is Proud Void. He already headed back home, though. You see, many experts from the great clans will come to the Deva Consortium to take advantage of our Deva Baptism. As long as you have enough perfect caliber godstones, you could give it a try. Who knows, you might even achieve a breakthrough.”