Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The entire area shone with plenty of radiance and light, in other words, a pure expression of sagepower without even a hint of a speck of impurity. It was so grand it could purify the heart of anyone who came near it, making them a loyal servant of the Sovereign Lord. There were all sorts of buildings that made up the base, as many as the stars in the sky, and most of them glittered with resplendent glory.

Unfortunately, there were some buildings that had been infected with pitch black devilishness. And the conflict between the light and the darkness made for a very chaotic scene.

As a result, the area wasn’t completely filled with radiance and light.

“We’re here,” said one of the men. “The military base of the ancient Army of Radiance and Light. We have to proceed with the utmost caution, lest we end up dead and buried here. Do you see that dazzling radiance and light, and the sagepower? They’re filled with magical symbols that, if inhaled, will enter the body and transform your godhood. It will cause seeds of radiance and light to take hold, eventually transforming you into an angelic member of the Army of Radiance and Light. In other words, we absolutely, positively must not breathe them in.”

The four experts took out various magical treasures and talismans and activated them, surrounding themselves in glowing shields that staved off the intruding sagepower.

As for Yang Qi, he could see the magical symbols in the sagelight, like jellyfish swaying to the holy hymns of the Lord of Radiance and Light himself.

They had the power to brainwash even Paramount Gods, ensuring that if these four experts assimilated them, they would be severely injured and unable to escape.

WHOOSH!

All of a sudden, something appeared within the depths of the radiance and light, like a swarm of black locusts that shot toward the four experts at top speed. They had no time to dodge, and soon pinging sounds rang out as their defensive empyrean energies were hit and started cracking.

Looking closer, Yang Qi realized that the ‘locusts’ were actually devilish talismans that, if they were attached to a human, would transform them into a monster.

They were roughly finger-sized, and they almost looked alive, with vicious teeth and snapping jaws. They were completely incompatible with the magical symbols in the radiance and light, and the two would clash so violently that sparks would shower out, creating a very dangerous environment.

‘I can already sense the auras of numerous magical treasures and medicinal pills....’

They were the remnants of the immense battle that had been fought between the dao of devils and the Army of Radiance and Light. To this day, they were still fighting back and forth.

Along the way here, Yang Qi had come across quite a few stashes of magical treasures, but most of them were ordinary in nature, and nothing that he would find particularly useful. Furthermore, he didn’t want to do anything to attract the attention of the four experts he was following. So he had ignored all such treasures.

But there were definitely some amazing things to be had here, and in fact, Yang Qi could even sense some of the items belonging to the seventy-two monarchs.

Although he had a large number of those items collected already, it was obvious that the seventy-two monarchs had fought in this area, and left behind some of their weapons and items. If he could complete the collection of those items, Yang Immortal-Slayer’s cultivation base would likely rise to a higher level.

‘I need to head into this base and see if I can absorb that radiance and light, or perhaps the power of the devilishness.’ He blurred into motion without provoking any action whatsoever from the light or the darkness, as if he were a part of both of them.

If he had only possessed the God Legion Seal, the devilishness would have instantly attacked him. However, he also had the aura of the Mahātmā Jade. Therefore, he was at home in both the darkness and the light.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz....

He extended his palm, and one of the devilish locusts landed on it. Sucking it into him, he used the aura of the Mahātmā Jade to turn it into something deathless that he then inserted into his godhood.

The same thing happened with the radiant magical symbols. They turned into pure, raw power that he could use.

‘Perfect. This part of the Bastille of the One God really is a blessed land for me. I can absorb both the godly and the devilish energy, and if anyone tries to kill me, at the very worst I can just escape.’ However, Yang Qi actually couldn’t accept anything more into his godhood. He could absorb power to feed to the sage monarch magistrates, but anything else would simply go to waste.

Meanwhile, the four experts were fighting fiercely with both the light and the darkness, making it very difficult for them to make progress.

Obviously, their overall strength and fighting ability was greatly reduced. It was similar to how it would be extremely difficult for ordinary travelers to move about in the middle of a torrential rainfall.

‘Considering the state they’re in,’ Yang Qi thought, ‘if I ambush them, I might actually win. Should I try? If I pulled it off, it would be a huge windfall in terms of destiny. I’d instantly get about a hundred times stronger. Then, it would definitely take less than a year to conquer and unify the Nacrelight Sageland, League of the Devil-Dao, League of Wretch-Gods, League of Academies, Deva Dynasty, Nine Dragons Court, and Sumeru Temple. Then what would my destiny influx be like? Regardless, it’ll be extremely beneficial to my cultivation.’

It wasn’t an easy thought to let go of, but eventually, Yang Qi shook his head and decided he wasn’t confident enough. He was only thirty percent sure it would work, and he couldn’t forget that these four people had a Master backing them.

That person would definitely be beyond Yang Qi’s ability to handle. Even if they weren’t a peak Paramount God, and were only in the late level, they would still have a psychic scale and godhood rating of five or six hundred million. For a person like that, striking a devastating blow against him would be as easy as drinking water.

That wasn’t to mention what would happen if that person had a rating of seven or eight hundred million. And if they had reached the peak level, with a rating of a billion or higher, then that person could send a mere expression of will into his apprentices, and Yang Qi would be in real trouble.

Therefore, he would simply wait patiently and watch the situation develop.

Whooosh!

It was very easy for him to absorb the godliness and devilishness. After all, the four experts were so wrapped up in staying safe that they couldn’t spare the effort to keep a close eye on their surroundings.

‘I've got to absorb as much as possible!’ Yang Qi thought, and he became like a vortex that pulled in the light and darkness everywhere he went. ‘Hmm? What’s this?’

He had reached a certain point in the ruins where he sensed the aura of the seventy-two monarchs. All of a sudden, he transformed, becoming a magical symbol that was a combination of the godly and devilish, which allowed him to sink down into the ground.

Deep underground, he found a series of sealing stamps that were as black as the darkest ink, each the size of a hand, seemingly carved from jade.

These were the origin of the aura he had just sensed.

‘These... are from one of the seventy-two monarchs known as King Sealer. He had a total of five thousand four hundred of these sealing stamps, and although I collected some of them in the impure lands, my collection isn’t complete. Who would’ve guessed that they would be here? I wonder if King Sealer died here and left these behind. This must also be the location from where some of the sealing stamps eventually fell into the impure lands.’

Yang Qi unleashed his God Legion Paradise and collected the sealing stamps, of which there were about three thousand.

As of this moment, he had two full collections of items from the seventy-two monarchs. One was the set of King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, and the other was the set of sealing stamps of King Sealer. Their official name was the Imprint of the God Seal, and they were actually very similar to the Many Heavens God Seal.

After taking the treasures, Yang Qi almost immediately sensed other treasures in the surrounding ruins. And they were located deep underground, where the four experts above would never get them. Yang Qi was the only person who could do so, by transforming himself into a magical symbol that was both devilish and godly.

‘That’s a very strong medicinal aura,’ he thought. There were no obstacles underground for him, so he followed the aura until he found a collection of pill furnaces, each of which contained a golden pill whose glow resembled that of the God Legion Seal.

‘Those are... Deathless God-Lord Pills! They were created by the Lord of Radiance and Light for use by angel kings. The years must’ve taken their toll on them, and they’ve probably lost some of their medicinal properties, but they're still boundless medicines. If I give them to some of my brethren, they’ll surely break through to the Paramount God level!’

Yang Qi couldn’t have been more delighted.