Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had broken through to the Destabilizing level of will convergence.

Ordinary cultivators were usually at the Normal level, with top geniuses reaching the Stupendous level. An example of the latter was Leaf Dao-Denier. People like him were far above average, and had deadly trump cards that could let them turn defeats into victories, or defeat opponents much stronger than themselves.

Of course, there were different varieties of Stupendous will convergence. Some were stronger than others, and some people would reach limits that could not be surpassed. But in the end, even top geniuses almost never surpassed the Stupendous. Only the most consummate of geniuses, the freakish hellions, could possibly do that.

The Destabilizing level was vastly different than the Stupendous level. For instance, it contained traces of godhood, which meant that even top geniuses of cultivation couldn’t possibly reach it. No one could compare to the gods, who were the most almighty beings in heaven and earth, who had surpassed the dao of heaven to become deathless. Normally speaking, Destabilizing will was something from the legion of gods, and according to rumor, those who cultivated to that level were within reach of the Deathless Throne.

In the ancient legends, only individuals with power indexes in the thousands could possibly have Destabilizing will. As for God-Noble Goldensword’s god soul, his power index was only around three hundred, which would normally indicate that he didn’t have Destabilizing will. However, he was a fallen god, and the Destabilizing will that had once existed in his godhood wouldn’t just disappear, even though the godhood had.

Now that Yang Qi had Destabilizing will convergence, his every sword slash and fist strike would contain incomparable levels of true energy.

“Shatter All Earthly Phenomena!”

As he unleashed his most explosive attack possible, his power index of over one hundred spiked to its ultimate level, provoking an exclamation from the Cruiser of Civilization.

[Power eruption. Power index five hundred!]

The effects of Destabilizing will convergence on his most explosive attacks was shocking to the extreme. He had obviously reached a most enigmatic and mysterious level.

His attack smashed through the golden sword light and hit God-Noble Goldensword square on the chest. The golden bell around him shattered and he was flung back, slamming into the ground and going dark.

“You broke through to the Destabilizing level?” God-Noble Goldensword said, his voice trembling with terror.

Gods could feel terror, just like people. They feared the idea of perishing and ceasing to exist. Even a deathless god who faced a power and will vastly stronger than their own could indeed be wiped out of existence.

Ignoring the terror of his opponent, Yang Qi pressed the attack, unleashing the power of the God Legion Seal and causing golden light to slam into God-Noble Goldensword.

POP!

Fist strike after fist strike slammed into the god soul until he finally collapsed, transforming into a mass of gore that exploded out in all directions. Of course, there was no way Yang Qi would let him escape in this fashion. The combination of King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, the grand spell formation, and the curse being chanted ensured that the remains of the god soul were completely trapped.

‘This god soul is incredible. Without breaking through to the Destabilizing level, I doubt I would’ve been a match for it. But now it's completely in my control.’

“No!” God-Noble Goldensword shouted, trembling. “I don’t want to fade from existence. You can't assimilate me! I'm God-Noble Goldensword! I'm a god! Maybe I'm just a Lesser God, but I'm still a god. Mortals are supposed to look up to me and respect me!”

“Quit your prattling and just die!” Yang Qi said. He thrust out a palm that burned with sagefire, and at long last, God-Noble Goldensword’s god soul began to truly perish. Golden light flowed through Yang Qi, transforming him on a fundamental level, until he felt like a sage sword was forming in his sea of energy. At the same time, his true energy began transforming again.

[Power index rising. One hundred ten, one hundred twenty… one hundred fifty… one hundred eighty… two hundred….]

The Cruiser of Civilization seemed to be sighing in admiration.

Under normal circumstances, assimilating God-Noble Goldensword shouldn’t have caused Yang Qi’s power to rise, mostly because his body had limits and couldn’t take in so much power. But now that he had Destabilizing will, his tolerance for power had risen, and in turn, his cultivation base was rising.

In the end, his power index stopped at two hundred twenty, making him a solitary powerhouse.

Even on the Ancient Road to the Gods, he would be a terrifying entity who could go where he wished without any need for fear.

‘Astounding!’ Holy Daughter Joyflower thought. ‘I can’t believe he's reached this level. If he continues advancing like this, maybe he really can help me. Unfortunately, he's still not strong enough. The empress of Joyflower Palace has a power index in the thousands, and her will is likely at the peak of the Destabilizing level.’

Meanwhile, Yang Qi reined his power in, his eyes glittering as he pulsed with unprecedented energy. In the past, he might have been considered a remarkable genius, someone who could surpass the limitations of his current level. But now he was beyond being a genius.

The will convergence he had could be encountered by chance, but never searched for and found. Now he was fairly certain that he could reach the ninth stair of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway any time he wanted. The Stair of the True Void.

Then he would truly be a Grand Emperor.

For the moment, he refrained from making the breakthrough. He would stay on the first stair and make sure he had complete and utter control of it before moving on.

He was like a ruthless and ambitious individual in the mortal world who, if he wanted, could proclaim himself king, or even emperor. Instead, he would build high walls and stock up rations, patiently waiting for the appropriate time to seize rulership. [1]

For now, his view was that keeping his cultivation level low was actually a benefit.

In fact, if he had been able, he might have regressed in his cultivation. That said, at least he could clearly assess his sea of consciousness, finding and repairing areas where his previously rapid rise through the cultivation levels had created deficiencies and defects.

“Alright, everything is settled now,” Yang Qi said. “We can return to our search for treasure in the Great Necropolis. There’s plenty to be had. And now that I have Destabilizing will, even if we run into an enemy with a power index around eight hundred, we should be fine. I might even be able to handle a thousand. So, where are these other locations with godhood?”

Yang Qi knew that Holy Daughter Joyflower had her own plans and schemes, and was only following him for her own benefit. That said, he had every intention of making use of her.

Of course, if he wanted to, he could use his Hell Scourge to force her to exercise faith in him, and learn all of her secrets. But he wasn’t interested in that right now.

Ordinary cultivators, even those old-timers who cultivated a righteous dao, would go to any lengths to get information about godhood, creating mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. To get godhood, even the most righteous of patriarchs could easily turn evil. In front of the Deathless Throne, there was essentially no such thing as righteousness or evil.

Yang Qi and Holy Daughter Joyflower returned to the Great Necropolis, while Cipher Rite-Heaven and the other Grand Emperors headed to the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple.

Of course, their existence was kept top secret.

The first thing they did was set up a spell formation, and when the old-timers in the Dao Defense League sensed the immense godpower, they were shocked. The formation sent out power, strengthening the defensive formations and greyspaces throughout the alliance. In the blink of an eye, the entire league was sealed to outsiders and its vital energy grew stronger.

“What exactly is going on here? Did the league-lord come across something amazing in the Great Necropolis?”

“These transformations are incredible. The power is unbelievable!”

“Compared to this, the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court are complete trash!”

“That’s right. There are only three emperors left, and now they’ll never have a chance of making a comeback.

The old-timers were all shocked, and of course, none of them dared to violate Yang Qi’s orders to stay away from the Great Necropolis. Word was already starting to spread about how extremely dangerous the necropolis was, and how only Grand Emperors could safely enter it. People were even saying that there were Godmyths from the Demonfolk and the future world who had absorbed vital energy from the place and exploded as a result.

The Demonfolk and the future world were suffering heavy casualties, thanks to exploring the necropolis.

That said, some of the Grand Emperors were coming across good fortune.

Whispered rumors were spreading that experts from the Ancient Road to the Gods had come to the Great Necropolis, and that it could completely change the world. Amidst the chaos, the Dao Defense League hunkered down like a turtle in its shell, keeping its interior a pure land of cultivation.

1. The quote in this passage was originally advice given to the Hongwu Emperor by one of his advisors, Zhu Sheng. The full quote is “build high walls, stock up rations, and don’t be too quick to call yourself a king”.