Sage Monarch

Out in the Yore-Wilds planetary system, countless planets were filled with cultivators who, day after day, year after year, would practice their cultivation, build up vital energy, train with energy arts, gain enlightenment of the dao of heaven, and manipulate magical laws. All sorts of living beings lived their simple lives, and the demon-devils, monsters, and humans waged war back and forth.

The Yore-Wilds was invaded, and ultimately shattered, by the Hell of Euphoria, and yet there was a wild energy that remained behind. Over the years, it had slowly built back up. If things went on without interference and millions and millions of years passed, it was possible that the Yore-Wilds’ Heart would grow again and the Yore-Wilds Continent of old would take shape. Maybe after a hundred million years or more, the Yore-Wilds would once again be a planetary system of immense power and strength.

Right now, Great Sages would travel within the old Yore-Wilds to other planets, looking for fellow souls to befriend. And sometimes, Great Sages would come from other planetary systems, hoping to find things of benefit in the ruins of the Yore-Wilds. After all, there were many planes that existed there, and some had ancient wills or magical treasures. People from the Waste-Wilds, Brute-Wilds, and Proto-Wilds would often come there looking for legacies, or other ways to boost their cultivation base.

Many immortals had participated in the war between the Yore-Wilds planetary system and the Hell of Euphoria, and many of them had fallen. The sun and moon went dark, and countless planes of existence had been wiped out of existence. Space shattered, and new wormholes were formed to facilitate the movement of troops. And of course, the will of many of the dead immortals remained where they had fallen.

If a mortal could acquire the will of an ancient immortal, they would advance by leaps and bounds, quickly rising to greater heights of existence.

** 

On the border of the Yore-Wilds planetary system, near the Dark True Void, powerful fluctuations spread out, accompanied by dazzling, celestial light and immortal chants. An aura spread out that contained longevity the same as heaven itself, and it came from one particular continent.

That continent continuously absorbed the wild power and the ancient aura around it, constantly growing larger as a result.

It was none other than the Sage Monarch Continent.

Dramatic transformations were occurring in the Sage Monarch Continent, and it was a matter of great rejoicing. Everyone who lived there knew that their ultimate leader, Yang Qi, had left behind an immortal clone, and that the clone was about to become a Demi-Immortal.

Back in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, Yang Qi’s true self had reached enlightenment of the Demi-Immortal level, thus his clone also received the same enlightenment.

There were no obstacles to his rise in cultivation, and in fact he immediately began absorbing power from the world around him. In the depths of the continent was an immortal formation that activated, releasing energies of primal-chaos that had long since been brewing in embryonic form.

The corpses of countless Demi-Immortal experts were buried in the continent, including sixth order Prime Demi-Immortals. That power also came to the aid of the immortal clone, causing deafening rumbling sounds to fill all creation.

RUMBLE!

Numerous planets near the Sage Monarch Continent exploded.

However, they exploded not into rubble, but rather with brightness, creating numerous suns that cast light onto the continent. The Dark True Void near the Sage Monarch Continent was illuminated by the new suns, which began orbiting the lands in prescribed trajectories.

Suddenly, a figure floated up from the middle of the continent, and as he did, lightning bolts larger than planets fell from above. It was hard to say where in the universe they originated, but they were actually humanoid in shape, with halos made of seas of lightning.

They shot down like lightning dragons, heading directly toward the ascending figure.

That figure was, of course, Yang Qi’s immortal clone, and as he stepped into the Demi-Immortal level he had to face Demi-Immortal tribulation, which came in the form of Space-Void Godlightning.

The event did not go unnoticed.

“That's some incredible tribulation lightning. Look, they resemble daoist paintings that could crush anything in existence, yet they're not doing anything to that new Demi-Immortal.”

“That’s right. Looks like our Yore-Wilds planetary system is going to have another Demi-Immortal. The Rich-Lush Continent used to be a tiny place, but someone conquered it and began raising it to new heights. I heard that the Holy Mother of the Hanging Mountain had something to do with it. There was a war in which Lord Quake-Dawn from the Quake-Dawn Continent ended up getting killed, along with a whole bunch of invading experts from the Megaplexus planetary system. All of them became part of this new Sage Monarch Continent.”

All sorts of cultivators were talking about what was happening, and many a sigh could be heard. After all, the appearance of a new Demi-Immortal in the Yore-Wilds planetary system was a major event. Great Sages were considered top figures, but Demi-Immortals were top figures among top figures.

The Hanging Mountain was thrown into a huge commotion, with countless Demonfolk chiefs looking out into space to watch Yang Qi’s power grow.

Leviathan Truesoaring and Yan Wubing both flew out, watching as the glowing figure floating above the Sage Monarch Continent reached out, grabbed the lightning bolts, crushed them out of existence, then sucked in the resulting energy as if it were fresh water.

“The Demi-Immortal level… he’s actually a Demi-Immortal! The Hanging Mountain only has two Demi-Immortals right now, the August Patriarch and the Holy Mother. But now there’s a third. The young master is going to be a Demi-Immortal!”

Not too long ago, Yang Qi had come to the Hanging Mountain as a Legendary and participated in the Hanging Mountain’s training competition. Back then, people thought he was a nobody, but he had already reached this amazing point step by step.

From here on out, the positions of the August Patriarch and the Holy Mother would be significantly different, with the Holy Mother occupying a clearly superior position. Numerous Demonfolk chiefs had already made their minds up to switch loyalties from the August Patriarch to her. Many of them thought back to how, when Yang Qi had only just risen to the Great Sage level, he had killed numerous elite youths, and had even cut down Chief Lion.

Considering he had done that back when he was a ‘nobody’, none of them could even imagine how terrifying he would be as a Demi-Immortal. Would he simply go around and execute everyone who had ever offended him?

And that was not to mention the well-known fact that Yang Qi had long since joined the Titan Emperor Collegium in the Central Planetary River, a place of immense luxury and invincible power. Even a single student from the Titan Emperor Collegium was the type of person no one in the Hanging Mountain would dare to offend.

“Don't forget, Father Leviathan, that’s actually the young master's clone,” Yan Wubing said. “His true body is in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. He’s obviously gained soul enlightenment of the Demi-Immortal level, which means that once he makes his way to the Hell of Mahānata, his cultivation base is going to reach an incredible level.”

Leviathan Truesoaring, chief of all the Leviathanfolk, simply shivered in response. The same thing had just occurred to him, and he actually couldn’t wrap his mind around how terrifyingly powerful Yang Qi’s true self was.

“Look, the young master’s clone has already passed the lightning tribulation. Now it's time for immortal punishment!”

WHIZZZ!

Lighting clouds spread out in all direction, casting down immortal light that would instantly dissolve a ninth step Great Sage.

“That's Immortal-Exterminating Sunset Glow!” Yan Wubing blurted, sounding nervous. “I would never have guessed that the Holy Mother would have passed on her lesser godly-class energy art to the young master's clone. That’s the sign of the Jade-Emperor Profound-Welkin Exalted-Celestial God-Dao! Considering that the young master’s clone cultivates that energy art, it's no wonder that he's provoked punishment from heaven and earth.”

“True. But as I recall from the descriptions of the Godmyth level from ancient daoist texts, the godly-class energy arts are divided into the subdivisions of lesser, common, greater, consummate, perfect, paramount, and lordly. I can’t help but wonder what level of art the young master’s true self cultivates, but it’s definitely high on the list.”

“I’d agree with that. However, we’ll have to wait until he gets out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Charts before we know for sure.”

“I'm actually a bit worried. There are plenty of treasures in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, even godworm larvae that can be used to gain mastery over the godly laws of space-time. And many people have come out of the chart to become overlords of their time. But getting out is hard, and a lot of people never return.”

“That’s true. I would personally never dare to go into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.”

“Our Hanging Mountain is strong, but we don’t count for much, compared to the planetary system as a whole. And we’re even less important when it comes to the Titan Emperor Collegium. And what about other places like the Megaplexus Heaven and Coiling Arc Heaven?”

“It was fairly recently that the Northstar Clan from the Megaplexus planetary system invaded and were wiped out. That's really a death knell. There’s no way their main clan is going to stand for so many of their people being killed. We need to get ready. If a larger invasion occurs, we’re going to be in trouble, and a lot of people will either be killed or captured.”

“Well, the Holy Mother is ready for that. After gaining a major revelation from the young master, she went into seclusion. I bet that when she comes out, she’ll have reached an even higher level of enlightenment.”

“Come on, let's head back. That immortal punishment isn’t going to hurt the young master's clone. He’ll be done with his breakthrough shortly.”

Yan Wubing, Leviathan Truesoaring, and other Demonfolk chiefs who were loyal to the Holy Mother all sighed. Meanwhile, Yang Qi’s clone was directly consuming the glowing light of the immortal punishment, making him look like an immortal emperor. After all, he cultivated the Jade-Emperor Profound-Welkin Exalted-Celestial God-Dao. As such, he had the divine will of an exalted celestial, which could easily vanquish immortal light.

RUMBLE!

He absorbed the last bit of the immortal light and, as he did, the aura of a Demi-Immortal spread out to fill the Sage Monarch Continent.

Yang Qi’s clone was now a Demi-Immortal. As a result, many individuals abandoned their wildly ambitious thoughts of jumping in to take advantage of the tribulation and attack the clone. As of this moment, Yang Qi was stronger than ever.