Sage Monarch

The group of Infernalfolk looked in shock at the enormous hand print. A moment passed, and then the female flew over, circled it, then reached out and touched it.

Bam!

Instantly, a sound erupted out like that of metal scraping against metal.

The air solidified, turning crystal, and the most holy of auras erupted out, the type that could drive away fiends and exterminate devils.

"So strong!" the female infernal blurted, backing away in fear. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "Infernal Wave, how many moves did you exchange with this Yang Qi?"

Looking a bit embarrassed, he replied, "Just one. I attacked him, then he solidified the space around me and started crushing me. I had to use the Infernal Worm Transformation from the Nine Transformations of the Netherworld Infernal to escape. Even still, I lost about half my vital energy."

"What? A single move?"

The other Infernalfolk began to tremble in fear. "Infernal Wave, you're definitely one of the strongest among the young Infernalfolk. You even ensconced your nascent divinity here in the Hell of Mahānata. And yet you couldn't last longer than one move?"

"Maybe we shouldn't try to chase down this Yang Qi. He could probably wipe us all out. That hand print there says everything."

"Come on, let's get back and report this to the elders."

"Yeah, let's go…."

With that, the Infernalfolk disappeared, gone just as quickly as they had come.

For the following several days, Yang Qi worked on his cultivation, including the Blood of the One God, as well as the spirit stone ore he had extracted.

With each day that passed, it became easier to build up the Blood of the One God. However, every time he did, the golden imp would absorb it, and then send out godpower to bless his sage motes.

To Great Sages, sage motes were as important as life essence vital energy. And the stronger and tougher they got, the more difficult it would be to destroy them.

And now, thanks to the blessing of the godly aura, his sage motes were substructurally stronger than immortal motes. Of course, that was only their fundamental nature; they couldn't match up at all to real immortal motes. They were like a drop of mercury compared to the raging water of a river. Although the river was more powerful, the mercury was fundamentally better. One could only imagine what it would be like when he had a river of mercury.

His substructural similarities to Demi-Immortals was the main reason he had been able to leave that hand print in the air.

Given some time, his cultivation base would rise, and he would reach the Eternal Sands, True Real, and even the Light King Step. Eventually, he would reach the level of actually being able to fight and kill Demi-Immortals.

As he did, the golden imp in his forehead would also grow stronger and more glorious.

At one point, Yang Qi suddenly started, and then looked up into the sky, and beyond it, into the depths of the universe. For some reason, he had just sensed another aura that reminded him of the God Legion Seal. However, it only flickered for a moment before vanishing.

'Don't tell me that there are other people out there with God Legion Seals?' he thought, shocked. 'Well, the seal was shattered at some point. But by who, I wonder? Perhaps the shattered pieces fell from the halls of heaven, and I just got one of them. Maybe it's like King Immortal-Slayer's command medallion, and I have to collect all the pieces to form the final whole version.'

Even as he thought about such things, he suddenly received a message from the golden imp. "Broken… reassemble… Lord… appear…."

It was almost like words left behind by some ancient god.

'What? If I reassemble the God Legion Seal, the Lord will appear?' The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He knew who the Lord was: the God of gods, He who existed above the legion of gods. The Monarch and Lord of all gods.

Given his current cultivation level, there was no way he could even begin to think about such matters though. Even the immortal planes were beyond him, much less the fabled Godmyth level, or the legion of gods.

RUMBLE!

A tremor passed through him, and a gravitational force wrapped around him and began to pull him away from the Hell of Mahānata.

He didn't struggle. The time had come for the competition to end, and therefore, the surviving competitors were being brought home.

Holy light erupted from the top of his head, which transformed into a vortex which he disappeared into. Moments later, he was gone from the Hell of Mahānata, and found himself standing on a tall platform, along with all the other competitors.

Also on the platform was the immortal ranking list.

His name was on the very top in large, brightly shining letters. There were a host of other names below him, but they were like fireflies compared to the moon.

His appearance caused a stir among everyone in the Hanging Mountain, including Demonfolk, humans, and powerful organizations of all sorts. Already, he was becoming something of a myth. He was in the eighth Legendary transformation when he entered the Hell of Mahānata, and not only did he come out alive, he slaughtered a host of experts along the way. And then he took first place. Numerous extremely important young Demonfolk had perished thanks to him. He even trampled the dignity of the Mammothfolk.

"Yang Qi's back!"

"He dominated everyone and took first place! He's definitely going to receive an amazing reward from the immortal world."

"Yeah. Who would have thought that Mammoth Manyvoids, Stunning Beheader and Finest Magic would all die at his hands? Look at his cultivation level! He's a second step Great Sage. That means he ensconced his nascent divinity somewhere."

"Ah, the young master is back," Leviathan Truesoaring said. "Well, that's certainly a big weight off my mind."

"He's no simple individual," Yan Wubing said, visibly shocked. "Did you notice that he has the aura of a second step Great Sage now? He's a Nirvanic Resurrection Sage! That means he ensconced his nascent divinity. But he's been in the Hell of Mahānata this entire time, which means…. Throughout all history, no cultivator has ever ensconced their nascent divinity in the Hell of Mahānata!"

"What?!" Leviathan Truesoaring blurted in astonishment. "The young master ensconced his nascent divinity in the Hell of Mahānata?! Attempting that is virtually suicide! No. There's no way he did that. The Hell of Mahānata is one of the most legendary and powerful hells. Only someone born and raised there as the descendant of infernal deities could possibly succeed in an effort like that. No human cultivator could do it. It would be even more difficult than ensconcing a nascent divinity in an immortal plane."

"The young master has some mysterious abilities that enable him to control fiend-devils and purify the power of hell," Yan Wubing said. "So actually, it's completely within the realm of possibility. The Hell of Mahānata's essence is far more immense than that of the Titan Emperor Heaven above us. Assuming the young master could neutralize the devilish will to prevent himself from being devilized, then ensconcing his nascent divinity there would come with numerous advantages."

"In any case, now we just have to see what rewards the immortal world will give him. He took first place, so presumably they'll give him some abilities, and probably some magical treasures and spirit stones." Leviathan Truesoaring was visibly excited to see what would happen.

Meanwhile, the Lionfolk, Sharkfolk, and Leopardfolk, and especially their chiefs, were all glaring angrily at Yang Qi. All of them wanted to rush the podium and slaughter him right there. Of course, they didn't dare to. He had taken first place, and would be protected by the immortal ranking list. Anyone who violated the dignity of the immortal world would be killed, even the August Patriarch.

Up on Mount Sumeru, Ape Heavenhelve gritted his teeth and said, "August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven, Yang Qi is out now. How do we kill him?"

"We can't do anything right now," Mammoth Heaven replied. "The immortal world intentionally held the competition in the Hell of Mahānata to produce the most ultimate genius possible. Let's see what they do. In any case, his level is simply too low. Considering that I'm a Demi-Immortal, he couldn't possibly fight me. When the time is right, I'll personally step in and just kill him."

"What?" the Epic Saga Sages looked over in surprise. "August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven, considering your status, are you really going to kill him personally? That…."

"If I don't, then he'll continue to get stronger and stronger, and that will only lead to continued problems. Besides, I sense something evil in him, something that can rob power from the blood of us Mammothfolk. That's why he absolutely must die. I've already sent word to heaven, and notified the immortal Mammothfolk about the situation. They'll definitely be watching closely."

"But what about the Holy Mother?"

"The Holy Mother? I'll keep her in her place myself."

All of a sudden, Ape Heavenhelve cried out in shock. "August Patriarch, power is descending from the immortal world…. That's… Titan Emperor Immortal Grass and Jade Palace Golden Talismans…."

RUMBLE!

Heaven and earth trembled as a pillar of golden light shot down toward Yang Qi, as well as a river of liquid jade.

Within the river of jade were a host of talismans that pulsed with immortal energy. Some looked like mountains, others looked like birds, tongues of flames, or dragons….

The level of power on display surpassed anything from the mortal world.

Even a scrap of it would be profoundly beneficial to any energy warrior. Many of the old-timers recognized what they were: Jade Palace Golden Talismans.

The rewards being bestowed by the immortals were incredible beyond belief.

1. The 'jade palace' here is a historical/literary term referring to locations connected to gods and immortals.