Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Five days passed before Yang Qi finished his work. Both Zhang Jufang and Cherry now had cultivation bases so advanced that they could defeat multiple official disciples in battle.

Yang Qi didn’t just give them godpower, but also fighting experience. Among people of the same level as them, they were essentially invincible.

They had been working with Yang Qi for nearly half a year by this point, and were very loyal. They could now be like lieutenants to him, and would also be helpful in dealing with the ghostface monkey-god and the snake goddess.

Even though he was leaving, he would still have some level of control in the mine. After all, the last thing he wanted was for things to go bad, then get investigated as a result.

“I have the feeling we’ll be reaching godly ascension soon,” Zhang Jufang said. He kowtowed. “Many thanks for your magnanimity, Elder Brother.”

Cherry also kowtowed. “Young Sir, not only did you save me from Huang Weilong’s dirty hands, but you also blessed me with boundless energy arts. I know that you’re more than just an official disciple, but don’t worry, I’ll do everything in my power to carry out your work. Whoever comes in to replace you will either have to fall in line, or die.”

“Just don’t do anything over the top, alright?” Yang Qi replied. “If any of the other official disciples get out of hand, you can always have the Demonfolk deal with them. Make sure you aren’t implicated. We don’t want the law enforcement team coming to investigate.”

“Yes sir!”

“Another thing. After I'm gone, you can do whatever necessary to erode the Yue Clan’s power here in the mines. That Elder Brother Yue will definitely try taking advantage of my absence to take over. But don’t worry. Before I leave, I’ll make sure to take some preventative measures.”

Yang Qi had changed his mining district as surely as if he had molded it out of clay. Things were changing slowly but surely. He was starting with this tiny mining district, but would eventually continue on until he controlled the entire House of God Ordainment.

Having made all necessary preparations, he stepped into the teleportation portal and headed to the main headquarters.

He didn’t actually know where the headquarters was located. From what he could tell, it wasn’t on a continent or city, but in a god kingdom created by some unknown god. Because of that, searching the continent for their headquarters would be useless. One had to teleport in. And only official disciples could use the teleportation portals; anyone else who tried would be severely punished.

Stepping out of the portal, Yang Qi immediately felt cold air on his face.

It was quite a difference from the intense heat outside.

He was in a minor world, a standalone god kingdom that didn’t have the same horrible weather as the god world in general.

The air was fresh and carried a fragrant aroma, and although there was light, it was soft and gentle, instead of intense and burning hot like outside.

And unlike the god world in general, he saw a sun up above, a glowing ball of pure power. This god kingdom had a cycle of night and day very much like the impure lands, and also had the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

It was a big contrast to the god world, which had a chaotic climate and seasons that could last for decades or even centuries.

Of course, while winter or summer could last for years, it was the same with spring. And when spring came for centuries, life would flourish, and the god world looked exactly as one would expect.

As soon as Yang Qi stepped out of the teleportation portal, he felt safe and free.

Looking around, he saw mountains covered with palaces of crystal and jade, and beautiful waterfalls that made rainbow-filled mists.

Obviously, whoever had made this place had godhood strong enough to change reality.

It made Yang Qi wonder if the House of God Ordainment actually had a Paramount God in it.

This god kingdom was so huge he couldn’t see the ends of it; it simply faded into misty depths that were obviously restricted areas. He was standing in a wide-open square filled with numerous teleportation portals, where disciples of all levels were coming and going. Some were returning from missions, some had come to hand in items to get merit points, and some had fled back to the sect in fear after offending important people on the outside.

And of course some were like Yang Qi, here to accept cushy positions.

‘Where exactly is the Scripture Pavilion?’ he thought. He leafed through the Great Classic of God Ordainment until he found the information he sought, then headed in that direction.

Before long, he was standing at the base of a towering mountain covered with huge buildings. The entire mountain smelled like books, although, not the aroma of books penned with ink. After all, they didn’t use ink to write books in the god world. Instead, they inscribed them with psychic power. However, these books contained daoist texts and sutras that had stood the test of time and eventually come to emanate an aura of civilization.

Because Yang Qi cultivated the Civilization Founding Grand Magic, and knew a lot about ancient civilizations, this wasn’t lost on him.

He had visited a library in the Brahman Immortal World in which the books had their own minds and wills, and had become book-demons. It seemed likely that this Scripture Pavilion would be even more impressive than that.

As he stepped toward the main entrance that led up the mountain, two official disciples blocked his way. “Where are you from, disciple? Are you trying to trespass on the Scripture Pavilion?”

“I'm here to check in,” Yang Qi said, pulling out his medallion. “I've been given a post here.” The disciples looked at his medallion, then one of them said, “Wait here. I’ll notify them that you've arrived.”

He hurried back about an hour later with a smile on his face. “I had no idea it was you, Elder Brother Yang Qi. As a friend of Junior Sister Jadefall, it was a big mistake on my part to be so rude earlier. I hope you can forgive me.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi was once again impressed by what Jadefall had accomplished. Nodding, he said, “Not a problem at all. So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“I’ll take you inside to meet the elders. Then I’ll get you your new identity medallion as well as your assignment. From now on, you’re a member of the Scripture Pavilion!” The disciple led Yang Qi through a maze of corridors. There were bookshelves filled with ancient records everywhere, seemingly without end. There were books about the history of the god world, its people and customs, and just about everything else. What continents were in the god world? In those continents, how many royal dynasties were there? How many nations? How many civilizations existed? Such information was recorded in the books here. Of course, they couldn't contain all of the information about the god world.

Seeing Yang Qi's interest, the disciple said, “These are records penned by disciples of the House of God Ordainment, describing their travels and detailing the information and enlightenment they gathered. If you hand in reports such as this with valuable information, you can earn merit points. And if you read them, you’ll find out about missions that disciples accomplished in the past, what daoist texts they acquired, and other such data. All of it is audited and merit points are rewarded accordingly.” It seemed he was trying to get on Yang Qi’s good side.

Eventually, they reached a certain room. “Elder, Yang Qi is here!”

“Send him in and then be off!” Yang Qi looked in to see an old man with a stooped back. The man beckoned, wrapping up Yang Qi in a stream of power that pulled him into the room.

“My respects, Elder,” Yang Qi said. He could sense that the man was a Common God, although he wasn't sure what his godhood rating was. At the moment, he could only determine the godhood ratings of Lesser Gods.

“So, you're Yang Qi? Impressive cultivation base. I heard you donated some imperial caliber godstones, is that right?”

“I was lucky and came across them by random chance, that’s all,” Yang Qi said quietly. This man was so strong that, if he attacked Yang Qi, it would be a tricky situation. Although Yang Qi wasn’t afraid of him, there was no way he could kill him quietly. And of course, infecting him with a devil embryo was completely out of the question.

“Well, I hope you can make more contributions to the sect. Here’s your identity medallion, which identifies you as a disciple of the Scripture Pavilion. Your daily tasks are to tend to the books and go on patrol. Make sure no disciples sneak in to look at the ancient energy arts records. For the moment, you can have access up to the second floor of the pavilion. The first floor contains information about the peoples and customs of the god world, but the second floor contains countless cultivation information, and insights into godly ascension. It also has books detailing the pill concocting and cultivation techniques of members of the senior generation.”

“Yes sir,” Yang Qi said. “Thank you for your consideration, Senior. I’ll remember all of this.”

He knew that, normally speaking, he would have been limited to the first floor.

And although he didn’t need any information about energy arts, having access to the experiences of members of the senior generation about godly ascension would be very useful.

Of course, the highest levels of the Scripture Pavilion definitely had all sorts of information about powerful techniques.

With that, Yang Qi produced a gift, which was none other than an imperial caliber godstone the size of an egg.

The old man smiled. “The boy is worth teaching,” he thought.