Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The Dragon Compendium had finally appeared within the windstorms.

And it was indeed a book.

However, it was vastly larger than any ordinary book. It was the size of a continent, and indescribably thick. Writing flowed across its surface, and it looked like god dragons twisting and writhing this way and that. Of course, it was ancient dragon script.

RUMBLE!

As if suddenly sensing the presence of intruders, the book trembled, and an immense roaring sound echoed out from within, shaking everything in the vicinity.

The leather cover of the book was sealed with a blood-colored talisman covered in golden scrawl. The talisman pulsed with an aura that seemed filled with war, destruction, conquest, subjugation, and the trumpeting of megamammoths.

“That must be the King of Godmammoths’ seal,” the Second Devil General said. “It’s keeping the Dragon Compendium sealed, and giving rise to the tempests in the area. Assimilate it, and you’ll gain immense power.”

“I know,” Yang Qi said coolly. “I can sense it. I need to use the God Legion Seal to break the seal. However, that process is going to involve a clash with the will of the King of Godmammoths. It's entirely likely that his will can destroy my own, turning my body into a husk that can easily be possessed. If that happens, the King of Godmammoths will once again exist in the world. Meanwhile, I’ll sink into eternal oblivion, completely losing myself.”

“You’re right. You've obviously thought this matter through. However, without undoing that seal, we can’t open the Dragon Compendium. Since we’re here together, it's definitely possible. I trust you, and have full faith that you don’t take on tasks that you can't accomplish.”

“That’s a given. And I do feel confident about this. However, I need to take some time to study that sealing mark.”

Thanks to his recent gains, his cultivation base was creeping forward, and the sage monarch magistrates seemed like they might be heading toward a breakthrough. If he could get them all into the late Paramount God level, what level of power would he commend then?

In any case, he was highly confident in his ability to unravel the King of Godmammoths’ sealing mark. He knew that this effort was going to involve a major tempering, and would be a trial of blood and fire. And he was looking forward to the clash. After all, the God Legion Seal was deeply connected to the King of Godmammoths, so this would almost be like an apprentice fighting a master. However, if Yang Qi could come out victorious, then the God Legion Seal would truly become his own.

It was going to be a contest of elite experts, of wills that Yang Qi hoped would facilitate a further boost in power. To him, it would be like a tribulation.

WHOOSH!

The two of them landed on the surface of the book, coming to stand at the edge of what appeared to be a golden river. Yang Qi looked at the flowing gold, and immediately sensed immense pressure weighing down on him, like a mountain descending onto his soul.

BAM!

The Second Devil General reached down as if to scoop up some of the golden liquid from the river, but before he could even touch it, he was flung backward violently. There was no way he was going to get even a drop of liquid out of it.

SPLAT!

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and his face looked as pale as death. “I can’t believe the King of Godmammoths’ blood is filled with such power. That sealing mark is so strong I couldn't possibly undo it.”

“That’s for sure,” Yang Qi said. “The King of Godmammoths exists at the peak of power. He was so strong he could transform the dao of heaven and reverse the cosmos. Only the God Legion Seal can deal with this. There’s no way someone like you could handle something so mighty. Of course, I still need to study it. Don’t do anything rash.”

“I'm curious to see exactly how you study it.” The Second Devil General was a bit suspicious about the situation, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was follow Yang Qi’s lead.

Yang Qi sat down on the bank of the golden river and started doing some breathing exercises, inhaling some of the golden water vapor that drifted over the surface. Almost immediately, he could sense the genetic chains within him growing more plentiful. This river was made of the King of Godmammoths’ eternally unchangeable blood, so bringing it into himself was the best way to study it. Soon, he realized that the blood had the amazing property of constantly absorbing the power of the god world, and even that of the Dragon Compendium.

In fact, as it absorbed godpower from the book, it seemed as though the purpose was actually to form a body.

‘Not good!’ Yang Qi thought. ‘Now I get it. This sealing mark is made up of life force, flesh, and blood. The King of Godmammoths put this here on purpose in an attempt to be reborn. If someone assimilates the Dragon Compendium, then uses its power to conquer the Myriad Dragons Lair, the resulting power will cause the King of Godmammoths to be resurrected. Although he won’t be at full strength, he’ll still be alive.’

Having become aware of this, there was no way that Yang Qi would do anything rash. The last thing he wanted right now was to awaken the will of the King of Godmammoths.

For the time being, he simply sat in place, absorbing power and observing the magical laws. In this way, he gained greater and greater understanding of the King of Godmammoths’ genes. And as the God Legion Seal broke down the golden liquid, he used his internal teleportation portal to send it back to the Sage Monarch Empire, both to grow more sage monarch magistrates and to help his brethren improve their true energy.

With actual blood from the King of Godmammoths, the sage monarch magistrates’ genes became more well-developed than ever, allowing them to creep closer and closer to the late Paramount God level.

Once they broke through, the benefits to Yang Qi would be immense, and he would definitely advance by leaps and bounds. If he wanted to open this sealing mark, he needed to be as strong as possible, lest he end up dead in the process.

“Someone’s coming!” the Second Devil General blurted, drawing Yang Qi out of his trance. Sure enough, Yang Qi could sense an immense power piercing toward them, devastating any windstorms along the way.

“What the fuck? Who could be this strong? I can’t believe someone is braving these windstorms. The only way to get through them easily is with the God Legion Seal. Otherwise, it would take an immense amount of quintessence-blood and vital energy, or possibly some sort of peerless magical treasure.”

Eyes flashing, the Second Devil General said, “We need to hide. This newcomer obviously can’t be taken lightly!”

Yang Qi quickly unleashed the Life-Death Void-Destruction God-Lightning from the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, allowing the two of them to merge perfectly with heaven and earth. In the blink of an eye, they seemingly vanished into thin air.

The Dragon Compendium was located in the middle of a massive vortex of tempests. Other than Yang Qi, no one had ever come here. Yet someone was approaching? Who could it be? How could someone this strong actually exist?

Yang Qi was about to find out who it was.

Two blurs approached; unexpectedly, two people were coming! Both of them were young men, seemingly in their twenties, but with auras completely enigmatic and mysterious. Each of them bore a jade amulet, one white and one black, creating something like a taiji symbol when they were linked together.

The jade amulets cast a profound light that made a sphere around them, keeping them safe and untouched by the winds.

Yang Qi’s heart was already pounding wildly, as he realized that these people were so similar to him they might as well have been brothers. And the reason was that those two jade amulets were pieces of the Mahātmā Jade!

Some almighty power had been used to alter them so they no longer bore their original shape and appearance. Obviously, whoever had done that was a person whose cultivation base couldn’t be weaker than that of the High Priestess. In fact, they probably surpassed the Lord of Radiance and Light and the Lord of Civilization, and were close to the level of the True Devil.

There were few people Yang Qi knew of who matched that description. Proud Central. The nine chief elders of the House of the Invincible. The Lord of the Chiliocosm. In years past, such people couldn’t even come close to resembling King Immortal-Slayer, the True Devil, the Demon Master, or the other almighty entities. But all of those apex beings had fought and killed each other.

New people had taken advantage of the following billions of years to rise to prominence, pushing their destiny and cultivation bases to the point of rivaling those almighty entities of yesteryear.

Not too many years ago, Patriarch Deva had worked with a piece of the Mahātmā Jade, but had failed to unlock any of its true secrets. Eventually, it had ended up with Yang Qi. Now, two pieces were right in front of him, having been refined into something different from before, and capable of piercing through the godmammoth tempests.

Other than the God Legion Seal, the only thing that could possibly deal with winds like this was the Mahātmā Jade. However, the God Legion Seal absorbed the winds, it didn’t repel them, which made it superior to the Mahātmā Jade.

‘One of those guys is from the House of the Invincible!’ Yang Qi thought. The young man had skin as white as fine jade, and pulsed with the aura of the House of the Invincible. And from his aura, he wasn’t a viceroy of a thousand lands. In fact, not even a viceroy of ten thousand or a hundred thousand lands could compare to him.

He had so much destiny that his aura was that of true invincibility! He represented the very substructure of the House of the Invincible.

In other words, he surpassed the level of the nobility!