Sage Monarch

As Yang Qi’s clone stepped into the Demi-Immortal level, there was quite a stir in an area deep in the Hanging Mountain.

Mount Sumeru no longer shone with dazzling light. The August Patriarch, leader of the ancient Mammothfolk, had been suppressed to the limit.

The greatest changes had occurred after the Northstar Fleet crossed the Dark True Void with the intention of wreaking havoc in the Yore-Wilds planetary system. After the Holy Mother slaughtered the entire fleet, she reported the matter to the heaven above, the mighty Titan Emperor Heaven. The result was that she had been blessed with a stalk of immortal grass. With the universal power that came with it, she grew even stronger than before.

Henceforth, the August Patriarch’s faction would be incredibly weak, and many of the forces who had once clung closely to the Mammothfolk had already switched loyalties to the Holy Mother.

At the moment, one of the Epic Saga Sage megamammoth elders was currently in a discussion with the August Patriarch and a third party, a young man. 

“Ai. August Patriarch. Chief Snake. That brat Yang Qi’s clone just reached the Demi-Immortal level. If things keep going on like this, will the Mammothfolk even be able to survive?”

The young man was obviously not a megamammoth. He seemed cold and vicious, and was surrounded by a hissing aura. That said, his cultivation base was actually on the same level as Mammoth Heaven’s. He almost seemed to be coiled up as he sat there, and anyone who was strong enough would get the sense that he was the type of person who could devour anything.

He was obviously a demonic snake in human form.

Snakes devour mammoths.

It was for that very reason that August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven actually feared this person and would have loved to expel him from Mount Sumeru. Unfortunately, they had important business to discuss.

This young man was the chief of the Snakefolk, and also a student from the Titan Emperor Collegium. He was a member of the Beastmaster Society, and his clothing was embroidered with a tiny “royal” character.

That meant that he was a royal student.

Snorting coldly, Chief Snake said, “That brat joined the Invincible Society, which is the most outrageous, domineering, and overbearing society in the entire Titan Emperor Collegium. For the time being, we can’t do anything about him. If his Elder Brothers and Sisters caused problems, not even the society chief of our Beastmaster Society could do anything to stop them. The Invincible Dugu isn’t a Demolisher yet, but he’s already strong enough to slaughter immortals! That said, the brat isn’t going to last for much longer. You know the saying: he who is too unyielding will eventually break. 

“Back in the entrance ceremony, he killed all sorts of people he shouldn’t have killed. He offended the Everlasting Society, and they’re one of the most powerful societies there is. Besides, the Invincible Dugu is off trying to achieve a breakthrough. When he does, he’ll ascend to the immortal world, leaving the Invincible Society with no backbone. When that happens, we can definitely cut that brat down to size.”

“Oh really?” August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven said, his eyes flickering with cold light. Inside, though, he was feeling very nervous. He had no interest in getting swept up in the affairs of the Invincible Society. If even one of their members came to cause problems for him, he would have no hope of coming out alive in the end.

The type of fighting that went on in the Titan Emperor Collegium was intense to the extreme.

“Chief Snake, correct me if I'm wrong, but the majestic society chief of the Beastmaster Society has never had a good relationship with the Invincible Society.”

“That’s right,” Chief Snake said. “The Beastmaster Society and the Invincible Society have been at odds for a long time. The Invincible Dugu is strong, but our society chief isn’t that far from him. Furthermore, he's sent a clone into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart to search for the treasures of the ancient King Heaven-Devourer. Once he gets that legacy, the Invincible Dugu is definitely dead!”

“Didn’t Yang Qi’s true self also go into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart?” Mammoth Heaven asked.

“Yeah, he did,” Chief Snake replied, then burst out laughing. “That brat is definitely suicidal. Considering how many times the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart has appeared throughout the years, it's obvious that going inside is a virtual death sentence. That’s why our society chief only sent in a clone to search for the talismans of King Heaven-Devourer. And that was only after doing countless years of research into the secrets of the place. Who would dare to send their true self in nowadays?”

“So that’s how it is.” Mammoth Heaven nodded. “Chief Snake, back in the days of the Yore-Wilds planetary system, your Snakefolk were a very important race in the Hanging Mountain. At that time, mammoths and snakes were allies and the humans could only dream of ruling the Demonfolk. But now the Holy Mother is growing stronger, and she’s really putting the pressure on us. I'm afraid that, before long, the Hanging Mountain will have a Holy Mother, but no August Patriarch. That’s why I invited you here from the Titan Emperor Collegium to discuss the possibility of restoring our previous alliance. What are your thoughts on the matter?”

“That’s no trifling matter you’re talking about,” Chief Snake said, his voice turning very serious. “Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about the Holy Mother, considering she’s connected to that banished immortal. If we did something to her, and he found out about it, it would cause a stir that would rile up the entire Titan Emperor Collegium. However, I think our Beastmaster Society can be of some help. In the next few days, our society chief will issue an invitation for you to join our society, and even bless you with the rank of noble student. Once that happens, the Holy Mother won't be able to do anything to you.”

“Excellent,” Mammoth Heaven said. “By the way, if Yang Qi is really the son of that banished immortal and we do something to him, such as kill him, then….” His voice trembled, and he didn't even finish his sentence.

“Don’t worry about that. Remember, that banished immortal was completely shocked that the Holy Mother gave birth to a son, and even tried to kill him. Unfortunately, she somehow managed to escape and secretly left her son with some nobody in the Rich-Lush Continent, a fact which remained secret until only recently. Anyway, there’s no way that the powers that be will allow the father and son to reunite.”

After revealing this profound secret, Chief Snake concluded by saying, “In the end, we can feel free to kill the banished immortal’s son, but not the Holy Mother. At least, not openly. However, considering that that banished immortal has long since returned to the immortal world and stopped caring about the matters below, if some ‘accident’ befell the Holy Mother, he probably wouldn’t think to blame us….”

He chuckled in sinister fashion. “You were part of the reason the Northstar Clan came here, weren’t you, Mammoth Heaven? You hoped that they would deal with the Holy Mother and that your hands would be clean.”

“So what if I hoped someone else would do my dirty work for me?” Mammoth Heaven said coldly. “Besides, considering how things played out, the matter is already resolved. Once word gets back to the Northstar Clan about the Holy Mother killing their people, they’ll definitely come seeking revenge. Considering the Northstar Clan is part of the Megaplexus Heaven, there’s no way they’ll worry about some banished immortal. 

“If I'm going to become a royal student at the Titan Emperor Collegium, then I’ll definitely be able to control the Hanging Mountain in the future. I can’t let the Holy Mother complete her rise to prominence. I will be the one to unite the Demonfolk and become the greatest demon-immortal in the Titan Emperor Heaven!”

Mammoth Heaven threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

“In that case, I’ll wait to hear from you,” Chief Snake said. Then he rose to his feet and vanished without a trace. 

Moments later, he was far out in the starry sky, where he looked back at the Hanging Mountain, then off toward the Central Planetary River. ‘Beastmaster Society. The society chief. The imperial snakecharms… I joined the Titan Emperor Collegium with the whole purpose of finding those imperial snakecharms. The ancient King Heaven-Devourer, a veritable god-spirit, actually fought against the legion of gods. He was a primal-chaos elder-snake, and the founding ancestor of the Snakefolk. Well, those imperial snakecharms belong to us! The fact that the society chief has a few dozen is a huge waste. They belong to those with the blood of the Snakefolk in them, and we’re the only ones who can unlock their full potential. Well, I’ll get them eventually. Even if I have to kill the society chief, I’ll definitely be the one to rule all of the Snakefolk!”

With that, he faded away.

** 

In the depths of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, the fighting continued just as fiercely as before. Numerous top experts were battling back and forth to get to the godworm nest and the eggs therein. Some of them even hoped to tame the mother godworm herself.

Of course, in the end, none of them had any hope of succeeding in that endeavor. She was just too strong.

The only one who was currently benefiting was Yang Qi, who was still hidden atop the greyspace of the nest, absorbing power.

As soon as Yang Qi achieved soul enlightenment of the Demi-Immortal level, he suddenly felt as if the entire world were different. Before, he had felt separated from heaven and earth, but after the breakthrough the vital energy of heaven and earth seemed like it was part of him. He could absorb streams of it into the particles inside of him with almost no effort.

In the blink of an eye, all eight hundred forty million megamammoth particles stirred, as if they might wake up. Sadly, the magical laws of space in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart made that impossible.

Yang Qi could sense that, once he left the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, he would undergo dramatic transformations on a substructural level.

‘So my soul has reached the level of a Demi-Immortal, giving me understanding of those unique magical laws of Demi-Immortals, which are on an equal footing with heaven. The next major breakthrough will be into the Demolishing level. In the Demolishing level, you demolish heaven and become an actual immortal. Unfortunately, even if I leave the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, the heaven and earth outside will still be too weak to sustain my breakthrough. I have to get to the Hell of Mahānata….’

As he pondered these matters, he suddenly heard an echoing howl from inside the God Legion Paradise as his godworm grew strong enough to climb higher in its life cycle.

From the fluctuations of the howl, Yang Qi sensed that the godworm was extremely hungry.

“Fine, I’ll get you plenty to eat. What the legion of gods creates, the legion of gods protects and blesses for all eternity. Open, God Legion Paradise!” With that, he allowed even more power from the godworm nest to pour into his godworm.

As the godworm reached a higher level, legacy memories poured from its soul into Yang Qi. His soul and sea of consciousness filled with genetic memories, and power coursed through him, provoking drastic transformations.

As this occurred, a heavenly song echoed out into the God Legion Paradise. It was the Eternal Heavenly Aria, and it sounded like it was actually being sung by the legion of gods. It was perfect, an ancient epic saga recounting the way the gods created the planes of existence, and how the magical laws of the Lord came to be.

The Eternal Heavenly Aria was originally sung as praise to the Lord, which was why it was called ‘eternal’. After all, even the legion of gods could eventually wither and decay, but not the Lord.

As the Eternal Heavenly Aria echoed out, the God Legion Paradise twitched, and began absorbing even more power from the fiery greyspace.