Sage Monarch

Yang Qi could sense that Ghost Emperor Yama was hidden somewhere in the void, seeking enlightenment of some consummate technique. His aura was stronger than before, and his substructure seemed different.

Worse, it seemed that there was something about him that was harming the essence of the Rich-Lush Continent.

With the infernal deity information that Yang Qi had given him, as well as the first half of the Infernal Deity Spear technique, he had obviously achieved a lot of progress, and at the same time, developed even deeper ambitions.

For one thing, the fusion of the Rich-Lush Continent with the Western Continent was obviously his doing. By connecting them, he reduced Yang Qi’s influence, and later on, could theoretically use their moment of turning into a planet to push himself into the Demi-Immortal level.

Up to now, Yang Qi hadn’t been able to completely control Ghost Emperor Yama. They had been using each other, and in fact, if it weren’t for the God Legion Seal, Ghost Emperor Yama would already have killed him.

His main goal on this return visit was to resolve the situation.

At a mere glance, he could see that Ghost Emperor Yama had inserted some devilish sense into the two continents, which allowed him to connect to and use their essences. Of course, ordinary individuals would never be able to sense that.

Yang Qi could also tell that Ghost Emperor Yama had risen from the Planet God Step to the Without Limit Step.

Considering that, it was little wonder that he was getting ambitious and trying to plot against Yang Qi. Sadly for him, his efforts were very transparent.

In response to Yang Qi's call, an angry howl of rage erupted from the depths of the void.

Devil energy erupted, causing the sky to turn dark, and the sun to become like a devil eye. At the same time, foul winds swept across the Rich-Lush Continent.

“So, brat, you’re back from the Hanging Mountain. Hand over the other half of the Infernal Deity Spear.” Ghost Emperor Yama threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Apparently, he assumed that with his recent breakthrough, he was now strong enough to crush Yang Qi.

“How impudent!” Yang Qi said, and then reached out with the Hand of the One God. At the same time, everything began to shake, and all the heavenly bodies vanished. Immortal motes swept forth, creating a spell formation that was filled with the holy hymns of immortal-spirits.

Smack!

Before Ghost Emperor Yama could even react, he was sent flying. Coughing up blood, he looked back at Yang Qi with a stunned expression. However, he quickly recovered.

“How dare you, brat!” he shouted, launching himself back in Yang Qi's direction. “Guess what? I'm an eighth step Without Limit Sage now! You think you're a match for me? Yama King Ascendant!”

RIIIIP! A massive rift opened up above, and devil energy poured out.

Stepping onto the resulting devil cloud, he unleashed the most deadly of attacks.

Yang Qi ignored him, and simply extended the Hand of the One God. As it flew forth, it vaporized all of the devil energy, and caused chains to spring up around Ghost Emperor Yama.

Crack!

The undefiable Hand of the One God latched onto Ghost Emperor Yama’s throat, negating all of his devil energy. Yang Qi had Ghost Emperor Yama held up like a duck, and was clutching his neck so hard that he could only gurgle a bit.

Fear filled him, as he suddenly realized that he felt like a toddler in the presence of Yang Qi.

Not even the incredible power of a Without Limit Sage could do anything to help him.

After a moment passed, Yang Qi loosened his grip, allowing him to speak. 

“Y-you….” he stammered. “When did you get so strong, Yang Qi? This isn’t the power of the God Legion Seal. It’s… your own strength?”

From the way Ghost Emperor Yama was staring at Yang Qi, it seemed he couldn’t believe his own eyes. Yang Qi exhaled, and it became dazzling sagelight that smashed into Ghost Emperor Yama and sent him tumbling backward again, the air shattering around him.

Ghost Emperor Yama’s energy arts were actually weaker than Chief Lion’s had been. And Yang Qi was the bane of devil-ghosts from hell, so obviously, there was no way Ghost Emperor Yama was strong enough to fight back.

“You’re not a match for me,” Yang Qi said. “Presumably you didn’t hear that I participated in a competition held in the Hell of Mahānata. That was where I became a Great Sage, and it's also where I ensconced my nascent divinity and became a Nirvanic Resurrection Sage. After the competition ended, I was blessed by the immortal worlds above and killed the chief of the Lionfolk. Not even you’re strong enough to deal with Chief Lion, and I killed him as easily as blowing some dust off my shoulder.”

“What?” Ghost Emperor Yama said, trembling visibly. All of a sudden, he realized that the destructive power inside of Yang Qi was definitely enough to eradicate him. “You made so much progress in such a short time? The Hell of Mahānata? That’s known as the grandest of all the hells. You… you actually ensconced your nascent divinity there?”

“Enough chit chat, Ghost Emperor Yama. Do you acknowledge allegiance to me, or not? Serve me as a slave, swear an oath on your devilish heart to be loyal, and never betray me for all eternity. If you don’t, I’ll bury you right here and now. Don’t think I'm not aware of your little plot with the Rich-Lush Continent and the Western Continent. I'm not going to just let that go.”

“Serve you as a slave…?” Ghost Emperor Yama said, hardly able to keep his mind focused on how things were developing.

Smiling coldly, Yang Qi reached out and clamped his hand onto the top of Ghost Emperor Yama’s head. Then he sent sagelight pouring into him, causing agonizing pain.

In that moment, Ghost Emperor Yama realized that it was true; he absolutely was not a match for Yang Qi.

“I’ll be your servant!” he shouted. Dropping to his knees, he swore an oath. “I, Ghost Emperor Yama, acknowledge lifelong allegiance to Yang Qi, and will serve him faithfully. If I don’t, let me be destroyed in body and soul.”

“That’s good. On your feet.” With that, Yang Qi prepared a hexing spell and inserted it into Ghost Emperor Yama’s devil energy. “Now, about the two continents….” 

He waved his hand, sending out a stream of energy into the two continents, to connect with their essences, and expunge the devil energy.

Then, he forced the two continents together, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in numerous locations. All such phenomena occurred in unpopulated areas, but the cultivators in the lands could sense that dramatic transformations were occurring.

Chancellor Sun Moon and the other leaders flew out and saw Yang Qi unleashing powerful energy arts, and were filled with sensations of deep reverence.

As for Ghost Emperor Yama, he was struck with profound fear at how Yang Qi was casually fusing the two continents together. 

‘That’s… that’s the type of power Epic Saga Sages wield,’ he thought.

The process lasted for seven days and seven nights. In the end, the two continents became one. The demonlings from the Rich-Lush Continent began to spread through the lands of the Western Continent, and the subterranean spirit ore veins from the Western Continent began to expand into the Rich-Lush Continent. A new continent existed in the universe now.

Its greyspace was larger and tougher, and primal-chaos paleo-energy filled the lands, allowing life to flourish.

When it was all done, Yang Qi finally met with Yang Zhan. 

“Qi’er, you’re back!” Yang Zhan said. “How did things go? Did you see your mother? Is it really true that she's the Holy Mother?”

“It’s true, Father, she’s the Holy Mother. One of her subordinates, an Epic Saga Sage, said that I'm a young master of her house. Unfortunately, she’s been in secluded cultivation this whole time, and I still haven’t been able to see her.”

“Why didn’t you wait until you saw her before returning?” Yang Zhan asked. “You need to find out the truth about your birth father.”

“Birth father?” Yang Qi’s smile vanished. “You’re my father. All I want to know is who exactly that man was. Other than that, he's not important. The reason I came back was to take care of Ghost Emperor Yama. Left on his own, he would definitely cause problems for the Rich-Lush Continent. But now, I've forced him into servitude, and can trust him to continue to protect the continent.”

“Milord, I’ll definitely take care of the Rich-Lush Continent,” Ghost Emperor Yama said from off to the side.

At this point, Yang Qi’s sworn brothers and sisters came, and they were clearly delighted. 

“Brother,” Li He said, “who could have guessed that you would surpass us so quickly!” [1]

“That doesn’t matter,” Yang Qi said. “You’ll always be my sworn brothers and sisters. By the way, one of the reasons I’ve come back is to make some big changes to the Rich-Lush Continent. I want it to be a holy land with incredible feng shui, perfect for cultivation. And I need your help with that. Brothers and Sisters, please, take a seat while I connect to the primal-chaos formations deep in the continent.”

Moments later, streams of primal-chaos paleo-energy erupted out, which slowly began to take the shape of a hand, like that of an ancient god.

“The hand of a primal-chaos elder-immortal!” Ghost Emperor Yama said. “In the ancient area, a powerful ruler from the Yore-Wilds Continent lost his hand, and it fell here to form the primal-chaos paleo-energy and the immortal formations. That’s the hand of an actual immortal! Yang, er… Milord, are you going to bring him back or something?”

Yang Qi snorted coldly, and the vital energy he exhaled became sagelight that shot into the depths of the continent, activating the formations there, causing the images of countless ancient battlefields to rise up.

1. It’s been a while so here’s a reminder that Li He was the very first friend Yang Qi made in the Demi-Immortal Institute. He was actually the one who met him at the front gate back in chapter 54.