Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Never could Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan have guessed that someone would swoop in and save his quarry, right when he was in complete control of the situation. His energy arts already bordered on the Deathless Throne, and it was no exaggeration to say that he had a myriad of magics that could span the heavens.

Therefore, it could only be imagined how powerful a person would have to be to whisk his enemy out of the fight right under his nose.

Not only was he shocked, he was outraged.

The streak of light was still visible out in primal-chaos, so he quickly blurred into motion to chase it, vowing that he would kill whoever had just saved Patriarch Annalist.

The All-Eternity Spring-Autumn Annalist God-Dao Scripture that he cultivated was very profound and mysterious, containing some of the most abstruse secrets of civilization. Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan knew that it would benefit him greatly, and might even help him achieve his next breakthrough. There was no way he would let something like that slip through his fingers.

However, as he gave chase through the violent and dangerous primal-chaos tempests, his shock mounted. Soon, they were in a place where the tempests were tinged with godliness, which meant that they could even kill members of the legion of gods.

Even the most elite of the old-timers would hesitate to go too far into areas like this. After all, it would eventually lead to the Ancient Road to the Gods, which was an extremely dangerous place. It was a road that led to the kingdom of the gods, and was supposedly set aside only for the gods themselves. It was a place of death for immortals. In fact, there had been occasions in the past in which Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan had sought to travel the Ancient Road to the Gods, but had nearly died in the process. When he realized where he was, he got even angrier.

‘Is this guy not afraid of dying? Is he actually going to enter the Ancient Road to the Gods? That's suicide!’

BOOM!

Eventually, the primal-chaos tempests were so intense that they were filled with god lightning as large as immortal worlds, making every inch of progress painfully difficult.

At a certain point, Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan stopped in place. This was only a clone, not his true body, and although it was extremely powerful, it wouldn’t last long in circumstances like this. In fact, it was already covered with a mass of bloody wounds.

Of course, considering it was only a clone, he wasn't particularly worried about it perishing.

‘I’ll unleash one final attack. Let’s see if he can handle it!’

The clone burst into intense flames, burning up until he was nothing but a streak of light that shot forward thousands of times faster than before. In the blink of an eye, it was closing in on Yang Qi.

As it neared, the beam of light that was Yang Qi transformed into an enormous hand. “Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan,” he said haughtily, “I can’t believe that you’re coming after me with a puny clone like that. I have important matters at hand and don't feel like messing around with you. If you Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court want me to kill you, then please wash your necks so my ax remains clean when I take your heads!”

He thrust his palm out, and Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan’s clone screamed like a dying animal as he faded away into nothing.

Moments later, a kingdom of existence appeared in Yang Qi’s hand, within which was Patriarch Annalist. When the patriarch looked around at their surroundings, he said, “You can't go any further. The Ancient Road to the Gods is up ahead, and only gods can walk it. Sir, I offer you profound thanks for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. Grand Emperor Myriadmagic Heavenspan is my enemy, and saving you will be a big blow to him.”

“Ai! I don’t have much life left in me. I experienced cultivation deviation thanks to failing with the All-Eternity Spring-Autumn Annalist God-Dao Scripture. My true energy flows reversed and my nascent divinity was nearly destroyed. Otherwise I wouldn't have been so easily defeated by him. Your energy arts are incredible, but they seem to be newly developed. I’m honestly shocked that an expert like you has risen up among the younger generation. Excuse me for being ill-informed, but might I ask your name?”

“I'm the Emissary of Radiance and Light from the Dao Defense League.” When he saw Patriarch Annalist react with sudden alarm, he quickly continued, “Don’t worry, I'm vying for power with Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven. I'm fully aware that the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court want to take over all of existence, and although I'm currently strong enough to take them on one at a time, I'm not ready to handle all four simultaneously. Patriarch, if you're willing to work for me, I can ensure that you gain incredible power and earn boundless destiny.”

“So, that’s how it is,” Patriarch Annalist said, sighing with relief. “Unfortunately, I really am struggling at death’s door. How could I be of any help to you?”

“Well, first of all, I can heal your injuries,” Yang Qi said. “Whatever godly-class energy art conflicts you have, I’ll smooth them out. You’ll return to full health, and who knows, maybe you’ll even advance your cultivation.”

Patriarch Annalist looked both shocked and excited. “R-really? You’re serious? If you can heal me, I’ll follow you no matter what!”

“Of course I'm serious. However, as payment, I want those seven hundred imperial snakecharms.”

“Fine! Take them all. My life is in your hands, so what would be the point of trying to haggle? Although, you really need all three thousand of those talismans to do anything. Having only seven hundred won’t help you very much.” He sighed. “They definitely won’t be enough to deal with the four emperors.”

“I already have two thousand three hundred,” Yang Qi replied, “otherwise I wouldn’t ask for your collection. And I insist on providing you compensation in the form of some magical treasures.” With that, Yang Qi waved his hand to collect the talismans, then immediately sent out his energy to fuse with them.

Crack. Crunch.

Transformations immediately began occurring.

As the aura of three thousand of King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans surged out, an enormous primal-chaos elder-snake appeared behind Yang Qi. It was clearly superior to the primal-chaos tempests in the area as it opened its mouth and devoured all of it. Then it shrank down into a strange-looking figure with the head of a person and the body of a snake.

It was actually King Heaven-Devourer!

Looking at Yang Qi with cold, emotionless eyes, the creature said, “Who called forth my will!? Who summoned my soul from the void? I am a monarch who devoured heavenly worlds! I shall devour the kingdom of the gods and create a new world! After the gods experience nirvanic rebirth, a brand new civilization will be born again….”

“King Heaven-Devourer has been resurrected?!” Patriarch Annalist said, trembling. Even the legion of gods would tremble at the sight of King Heaven-Devourer. After all, together with King Immortal-Slayer, he shook all creation, devouring numerous gods before ultimately being defeated by the Sovereign Lord and his godmammoths.

Now his will had been revived, and even a person like Patriarch Annalist was ant-like in comparison.

Yang Qi felt transfixed as the humanoid snake stared at him. He knew that this was a very important moment. Obviously, he had to conquer King Heaven-Devourer’s will, otherwise he himself would be forever lost.

“God Legion Seal!”

Even as Patriarch Annalist trembled in fear, the golden imp flew out, surrounded by boundless golden radiance. As the pressure weighed down on King Heaven-Devourer, the two of them began fighting.

At the same time, Yang Qi let out a bellow of rage as he unleashed the Hand of the One God.

Patriarch Annalist stared on in complete and utter shock.

Eventually, Yang Qi combined with the God Legion Seal, unleashing his ultimate attack, using the Blood of the One God. King Heaven-Devourer’s will was crushed and began fading away.

Yang Qi now had full control of all three thousand talismans, the original property of he who ranked second among the seventy-two brethren that included King Immortal-Slayer.

At that point, a voice spoke, “It is by means of the Ancient Road to the Gods that one can reach the Deathless Throne. That is the location of the god ruins, of the perished gods, of the mighty god world. Go… find my treasures….”

The voice was that of King Heaven-Devourer. His true treasures had been left behind in the god world, and his talismans were merely a key to get there. Finding his corpse was the only way to acquire his true legacy, something far beyond anything in the Aeonic God Temple.

‘Incredible. Considering how strong King Heaven-Devourer’s will was, I wonder what will happen when I collect all of King Immortal-Slayer’s medallions and resurrect his will. For now, I should refrain from putting together the full collection. If his will manages to suppress the God Legion Seal, I would end up possessed.’