Sage Monarch

by Stayrr

Yang Qi was the son of the patriarch of a wealthy family from a small town. Believing himself to be in love, he stole a pill for his lover, only to have the girl betray him, by taking the pill and leaving him behind. Caught, his dantian was crippled and left to die under the lightning. This lightning helped him to recover his lost martial arts and also helped him gain a new, divi

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Chapter 129: Devil Horde Defilemen

'What a powerful devil-ghost.'

The devil-ghost had countless ways to try to escape the Hellfire Crucible, but none of them did any good. Slowly but surely, the platinum sagefire ate away at the vengeful spirit, and transformed the wretch energy that made it up into pure life force quintessence, which poured into the next of Yang Qi's particles.

This devil-ghost's spirit body was the equivalent of a Quaternary Lifeseizer.

Whatever this thing had been in life, if it had turned into a zombie upon death,it might not have been a big deal, because that would have been little more than a fleshly body.

But instead, it turned into a devil-ghost, which was a different matter. Its soul had not dispersed, which only happened with incredibly mighty beings. It had obviously been very powerful before dying.

Yang Qi exhaled slowly, looking at the rippling wretch energy around him. The devil-ghost had tried to possess him, but he had turned the tables and benefited greatly. In fact, the benefit was no less than from the Nine-Yang Immortal Energy he had absorbed from the Minorcosm World.

'So, it seems these devil-ghosts look for flesh and blood bodies to possess or parasitize. Maybe I should just open myself up to them, sort of like the old saying invite the wolf into one's house. Then, once they're inside, I can trap them in my Hellfire Crucible. I can benefit from these devil-ghosts just like I benefited from the Nine-Yang Immortal Energy. In fact, with enough of them, I could probably reach Quaternary Lifeseizing, or even Quinary! At that point, the only people in the Demi-Immortal Institute who could possibly cause me problems would be the Legendaries.'

With that, he prepared to proceed forward through the twisting wretch energy toward what he knew was the entrance to the Heavencorpse Dimension.

But then, just before moving onward, he stopped. 'I need to get stronger before I go into this strange aspect of space-time. Otherwise, how could I be confident in being able to defend myself?

With that, he pulled in his true energy and concealed it in his dantian region. He also extinguished his sagefire, leaving behind only a very weak bit of defensive energy. Then, he intentionally stimulated his blood flow, and sent strong pulses of energy out in all directions.

Almost immediately, the wail of multiple ghosts could be heard. It was almost like he had just tossed blood into shark-infested waters, as rippling balls of ghostfire appeared in all directions.

Some of them were fist-sized, and were obviously very weak devil-ghosts.

But one was as large as a mountain, a massive conflagration of flame that was roughly on the same level as Jiao Wufeng in terms of strength.

A devil-ghost that was, at the very least, as powerful as a Quinary Lifeseizer!

"What a lovely fleshly body! What strong blood energy! If I could have that shell for my own use, I could reach a much higher level of cultivation." All of a sudden, the mountain-like mass of ghostfire began to pulse with soul fluctuations as it took on a devilish appearance. This creature seemed powerful enough to cause the stars to fall from the skies, and force all other ghosts to prostrate in worship.

The devilish image seemed to blot out all other creation as it loomed over Yang Qi.

Crack! Rattle!

As the devilish image closed in, the true energy around Yang Qi shattered, and the thing entered his body.

"Undying Devil Soul!"

Incredible levels of power seized Yang Qi's fleshly body, and wrested control of his meridians.

It was almost impossible to fathom how powerful this devil-ghost was; it was clearly stronger than Jiao Wufeng. In fact, it seemed to Yang Qi that it had likely seized life six times.

Almost as soon as the devil-ghost entered him, he felt his soul trembling on the verge of being expelled from his body. Even his blood seemed to freeze because of the icy true energy of the devil-ghost.

'Did I bite off more than I can chew?' he thought. The danger posed by this devil-ghost was almost beyond comprehension. However, he wouldn't simply give up and resign himself to eternal damnation.

"I am like an infernal deity! I crush devils beneath my feet, and issue orders to ghosts of all kinds!" As he spoke, his voice thrummed with true energy, and his Hellfire Crucible appeared.

The devil-ghost cackled evilly. "So, brat, this was all a trick. Inviting the wolf in your house in the hopes of subduing me? Sadly for you, your schemes will do no good. I cultivate the Undying Devil Soul! No type of burning true energy can hurt me. What sect are you from? Reaching the Lifeseizing level is no small feat. Sadly, I'm going to take over your body and suppress your soul for all time."

'Undying Devil Soul?' Yang Qi thought, shocked. He had actually heard of this type of energy art back in the Demi-Immortal Institute. It was something commonly cultivated among devil-ghosts with spirit bodies.

In ancient times, there were many things that devil-ghosts feared, such as fire, sunlight, blood energy, wild beasts, and burning true energy. Eventually, a spectacular genius arose among devil-ghosts, a being who came to be called Ghost Emperor Yama. He was the one who eventually created an energy art of the dao of ghosts, the Undying Devil Soul. Any devil-ghost who cultivated it would no longer fear burning fire or golden blood energy.

In fact, even devil-ghosts who had just come to exist, but cultivated that technique, could go out into broad daylight at any time. Eventually, numerous Great Sages of the distant past joined forces to vanquish Ghost Emperor Yama, and his technique was lost in the sands of time.

And yet, here that very technique was, back in the world and being wielded by an enormous devil-ghost.

'Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, as unmovable as a mountain….' In that moment, certain skills and abilities he had worked so hard at became incredibly relevant. He had defeated his inner devil, gained enlightenment of the quick strike, and gained supreme confidence. Although this devil-ghost had entered his body with the Undying Devil Soul, he had already reached a state in which he felt neither joy nor sorrow nor fear.

Even as the devil-ghost entered his dantian region, a god appeared, with an elephantine head and a human body. A godmammoth!

Furthermore, it was just barely possible to see that, right behind the godmammoth was a Hell Portal.

"What's that? A godmammoth?" The devil-ghost simply couldn't believe what it was seeing.

How could it possibly believe that it would encounter an energy art of the gods inside of this human? Although Ghost Emperor Yama had been a Great Sage, compared to the countless devils which existed in hell, he counted for little.

The Great Sages of the distant past were little more than saints who dominated the world of men. They were like nothing when compared to the inimitable legion of gods that existed on their mysterious plane of existence.

All devil-ghosts feared the godmammoths that were the creation of the legion of gods. Such entities existed in both mythologies and the devil-ghosts' inherited memories.

"That's right. A godmammoth that can crush hells. The greatest level of strength from the legion of gods in heaven. You cultivate the Undying Devil Soul, a puny technique created by Ghost Emperor Yama? You're delusional if you think something like that can compare to my godly-class energy art." Instantly, platinum sagefire sprang up everywhere.

All of a sudden, the huge devil-ghost shrieked, "Devils and ghosts of all types! Come immediately and help me consume this human's fleshly body!"

Instantly, numerous devil-ghosts in the area began to rush over.

Emerald green ghostfire flickered within the surrounding wretch energy as thousands of wretch-devils attempted to entered Yang Qi's body.

Yang Qi felt immense pressure weighing down on him, the likes of which he had never felt before.

He really was inviting the wolf into his house.

Years in the past, the fabled Great Sages would often be besieged by hosts of devils and monsters when they achieved their dao.

In this moment, Yang Qi was receiving the same treatment. Although, these were not monsters from beyond the heavens, and Yang Qi was also not at the level of a Great Sage.

It was a battle to the death, and only one side would come out alive.

Countless ghosts poured into him, filling his meridians, racing to his dantian region, occupying his acupoints, invading his five viscera and six bowels, even occupying his brain….

In the blink of an eye, Yang Qi was completely overtaken by devil-ghosts.

There were millions of them, and they made his body like a living hell as they began to use their cultivation techniques to snatch at his energy, blood, and life force. Even a top expert like Holy Daughter Manyflowers would be helpless in a situation like this.

Only a Legendary could possibly do something to fight back.

However, the fact that a horde of ghosts was turning him into hell itself actually conformed quite nicely to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. The aura of countless devil-ghosts swirled through his meridians, trying to transform his true energy into something completely evil. And that was when something deep within Yang Qi suddenly woke up.

"Trying to defile me with a horde of devils? Well, I'll just execute them all!"

He threw his head back and roared as pop pop pop pop… one after another, numerous particles within him released their power. Instantly, he was engulfed in platinum sagefire.

Unexpectedly, he was breaking through into Quaternary Lifeseizing!

Some of the smaller devil-ghosts burst into flames and became life force quintessence, which further fueled the power of Yang Qi's true energy.

In the shortest of moments, Yang Qi's power exploded in intensity, and a river of platinum sagefire streamed through him, wiping out any devil-ghost it touched.

The horde of ghosts that had just entered his body was now the fuel he needed to become a Quaternary Lifeseizer. He might as well have been sitting comfortably in the Minorcosm World, with Nine-Yang Immortal Energy flowing into him.

"No! I have to get out of here! I can't be exterminated!"

Screaming and howling, the devil-ghosts tried to flee, but unfortunately, they soon found that Yang Qi's skin was locked down, sealed, making it impossible for them to escape.

God-Devil Seal!

He was going to absorb each and every one of these devil-ghosts!

The largest of the devil-ghosts, the one with the Undying Devil Soul, was there in his sea of energy, struggling uselessly against the godmammoth. All it took was a single inhalation through that massive trunk, and the devil-ghost was sucked into the Hellfire Crucible.

The lid slammed down with a boom.

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Chapter 130: Quaternary Lifeseizing

"No! I can't be exterminated like this! Undying Devil Soul! Ghost Emperor Yama!"

The devil-ghost was going all out in its attempt to break free from the Hellfire Crucible.

The aura of the Undying Devil Soul erupted out, like the weeping of a ghost-god, fighting against the power of the platinum sagefire.

The fiendish devil-ghost was putting everything on the line.

Unfortunately, Yang Qi didn't budge. The power of millions of melting devil-ghosts poured into the particles in his body, awakening a sixty-first, sixty-second, and sixty-third….

One ancient megamammoth after another was waking up.

Thanks to the unstoppable platinum sagefire, he was being blessed by the power of millions of ghosts, and the blood of millions of devils.

As he stepped into Quaternary Lifeseizing, the vital energy of heaven and earth stirred, and began to flow into him. The wretch energy was blasted away as expressions of thunder, lightning, earth, water, fire and wind attacked him.

He was too strong, like an enormous mountain, impossible to shake. He almost seemed like a Great Sage descending on the world in the flesh.

"Undying Devil Soul? Be destroyed!"

His hands flashed with magical sealing marks, each one powerful, righteous, and divine. The power that erupted out was like that of an azure dragon floating through the heavens, a white tiger creeping along the ground, a vermilion bird being born in a volcano, or a black turtle lurking in the depths of the ocean.

The wretch energy in the area was swept away in explosive fashion, clearing the area for ten kilometers in every direction.

Slowly but surely, the platinum sagefire began to take the shape of a palace, complete with trees of fire, holy beasts and other divine scenery.

Shockingly, it was also at that moment that Yang Qi suddenly received a message from the golden imp that resided in his forehead. A name suddenly came to exist in his heart.

God Legion Paradise!

It was another special ability of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

'So, that's how it is. After the Infernal Deity Spear, Fiend-Devil Wings, Infernal Deity Plate Armor, Hellfire Crucible, and the Hell Portal, is the God Legion Paradise…. The Hell Portal can break through to alternate dimensions, connecting directly to the planes of hell to summon devil-gods. As for the God Legion Paradise, it is a land of utmost purity, which can never be broken, and will exist for all eternity.'

In order to master the God Legion Paradise, he needed to understand the magic of space-time. If he did, he could transform his true energy into a pure land, a paradise that would exist eternally, and could never be invaded.

Of course, just like the Hell Portal, the God Legion Paradise was something that would develop later in his cultivation of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, not now.

Most likely, he would need to become a Legendary before he could understand the profound secrets of alternate dimensions, and use them in cultivation.

If he could use the Hell Portal and the God Legion Paradise as a Lifeseizer, then he would definitely be able to kill Legendaries. And that would make him a genius among geniuses, even when taking into consideration all the experts who had existed throughout history.

After all, only stories from the ancient past told of Lifeseizers who killed Legendaries. In fact, such stories were essentially mythological, and there was no way to prove whether they were true or false. In any case, such a person had never existed in the Rich-Lush Continent.

As such, it would seem to most people that it was highly unlikely Yang Qi could ever reach such a level. After all, he was human, not a god, nor a god from heaven descended into the mortal world, reincarnated into a human body.

"I refuse to accept this!" the powerful devil-ghost shrieked, making another attempt to break free.

Netherworldly sounds bubbled up from the Hellfire Crucible, which was actually beginning to show signs of cracking.

"You'll accept it whether you want to or not!" Yang Qi shouted.

As of this moment, his energy arts broke through to an even higher level.

Millions upon millions of devils had been transformed into vital energy for his use, and the largest of the devil-ghosts was now stuck in his Hellfire Crucible. As it screamed, it melted away into pure vital energy, which bolstered Yang Qi's true energy, making it stronger and stronger.

One particle after another awoke.

Sixty-nine. Seventy. Seventy-one….

Even Yang Qi was shocked at how much he was benefiting. As of this moment, he possessed the power of seventy-one ancient megamammoths, which was enough to drain lakes and reverse the flow of rivers.

'Quaternary Lifeseizing!'

Rising to his feet, he looked around, and found that all of the wretch energy had retreated, and there was no aura of any sort of devil-ghost. He had cleansed the vital energy of the Blackcorpse Mountains; now, there was no sign of any sort of horde of zombies. Yanhaven was safe.

'Unfortunately, not even being a Quaternary Lifeseizer will be enough to deal with the Crown Prince. I need to progress more. Become stronger. Maybe when I'm at Septenary Lifeseizing I could defeat a Legendary. I guess the time has come to enter the Heavencorpse Dimension and look for life force springwater. Or maybe I can find some more devil-ghosts.'

Now that he realized how beneficial devil-ghosts were, he actually found them to be somewhat charming, and was hoping he could find some even more powerful versions to lure into a trap.

'I can sense the twisting and distortion of another dimension up ahead.'

Already, the area was starting to fill up with more wretch energy, and he could sense its source.

Obviously, it was the passageway to the Heavencorpse Dimension.

Now that he was even stronger than before, finding the object of his search was even easier.

A moment later, the wretch energy and distortions suddenly grew much more intense.

WHIZZZ! Dimensional fluctuations suddenly erupted out with biting ferocity. His platinum-colored Infernal Deity Plate Armor sprang up in response; after all, this deadly flow of energy could definitely cut down even powerful Lifeseizers.

Within the depths of the wretch energy flow, Yang Qi could see something like an enormous eye, flickering in and out of existence. It was this eye that was the source of all of the wretch energy in the Blackcorpse Mountains.

'Deathly Devil-Eye!' Yang Qi murmured in shock.

Even he was aware that, if someone cultivated devil arts to a certain level, they could create Deathly Devil-Eyes. They were the ultimate expression of the dao of death, and any being they gazed upon would most certainly die. Only fabled monsters in the Great Sage level could possibly create them.

And now, there was a Deathly Devil-Eye right in front of him, belching devil energy, placing him right on the verge of meeting a tragic end.

He didn't dare to do anything rash, so he simply observed it for a bit. That was when he realized that it wasn't a true devil-eye, but rather, a passageway that resembled an eye.

It had obviously been created to look like a Deathly Devil-Eye, but was really a passageway to an alternate dimension, that being, the Heavencorpse Dimension.

Unfortunately, he wasn't sure it was safe to actually enter it. After all, he didn't fully understand alternate dimensions and their entryways and exits. If he went in, it was entirely possible he would never be able to get out. He wasn't a Legendary yet, and therefore, lacked the requisite understanding of the magical laws of space-time.

After a moment of thought, the platinum sagefire around him rippled and transformed into a humanoid shape that strode forward and entered the passageway.

It was Humanoid True Energy, branded with Thousand Kilometer Soul Locking. If that Humanoid True Energy could enter the dimension and then return safely, then it would indicate that he could do the same.

Besides, he could also assess what was on the other side at the same time.

His Humanoid True Energy vanished into the passageway, then reappeared in a world of endless gloom, filled with devil energy and devilish wills.

WHOOSH!

He directed his Humanoid True Energy to return, which it did instantly. At that point, a serious expression appeared on his face.

The view of that dark and gloomy world was a sharp contrast to the bright and sunny Minorcosm World.

Not only could he not see into the true depths of the place, but he could sense a powerful devilish will standing guard where the passageway opened up.

Clearly, there was some sort of fiend-devil waiting there.

This place seemed even more dangerous than Black Floodwyrm Grotto.

"Alright, fine. I just need to go in with a plan. Let's see exactly what sort of hidden dragons and crouching tigers are in this place. There's no way that a mere passageway to another dimension is going to be guarded by a Legendary, right? Even the guards at the Minorcosm World were just giants in the Lifeseizing level." He sat down for a few minutes to think and plan. It took some time, but he eventually came up with a plan that he was confident in.

With that, he stepped forward and vanished into the so-called Deathly Devil-Eye. He felt a tremor pass through him, and then he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

He was in another world, a place filled with sinister auras and intense wretch energy. He saw vast plains stretching out in all directions, a wasteland filled with boulders, dirt, and swamps. However, instead of dark soil, everything was the color of blood. The water of the swamps was blood itself, and there were bones visible within them.

Occasionally, a bubble would rise to the surface of the blood, which would then pop, letting loose green flames that were none other than ghostfire.

Occasionally, the ghostfire would take the shape of a humanoid face, which would then turn into a full devil-ghost. Shockingly, monsters were being born here left and right.

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Chapter 131: Heavencorpse Dimension

'So, these blood swamps are where monsters are born. This alternate dimension is so mysterious! I definitely can't go too deep inside. I'll just stay near the entrance and look for clues about life force springwater. It's too bad information about this place is strictly controlled back at the institute. You can't even get it with a lot of merit points.'

He looked out at the swamps and the monsters being born from within the popping bubbles. Then he stared out into the misty distance, and wondered what lay within the true depths of this place.

The Heavencorpse Dimension was quite famous as being a place of incredible danger.

The Demi-Immortal Institute had thoroughly investigated it, but its secrets were tied together with the life force springwater itself, and were kept under tight control.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh…!

Almost as soon as Yang Qi emerged from the dimensional passageway, numerous devil-ghosts in the area apparently could sense his blood, and were drawn to him like moths to the flame.

'Hell Vortex. Sagefire Crucible!'

Yang Qi didn't hold back at all, summoning a vortex of true energy that sucked the devil-ghosts up and converted them into life force quintessence. Sadly, these devil-ghost were so weak that they did him little good in terms of pushing him toward a breakthrough. He needed devil-ghosts in the Lifeseizing level, with spirit bodies. Only they would help him press toward a higher level of enlightenment.

As he began to travel through the blood swamps, he eradicated any devil-ghosts he found, and absorbed them.

Considering he cultivated the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, this Heavencorpse Dimension was better for him than his energy formation of the dao of monarchs or Nine-Yang Immortal Energy.

As for his sea of energy, considering that he was pulling in tens of thousands of devil-ghosts into it, it truly was becoming like hell.

The ever-burning platinum sagefire was really hell for ghosts, causing them to scream and howl as they struggled in vain to escape.

His sagefire even caused the blood of the nearby swamps to congeal and dry up.

After a bit of time wreaking havoc on the lesser enemies, he suddenly heard a cry of rage as an enormous devil-ghost reared its head off in the distance.

It had a spirit body, but not the type made of emerald green flame. Instead, the fire which made it up was as red as blood. In the blink of an eye, the gigantic thing shrank down until it resembled a man with parchment-like skin. Glaring at Yang Qi, he said, "Where are you from, cultivator? You've got some real guts to invade the Heavencorpse Dimension and slaughter devil-ghosts. Aren't you worried about being captured and sacrificed?"

Yang Qi eyed the blood-colored devil-ghost and said, "And you are…?"

"King Bloodcorpse Devil of the Heavencorpse Kingdom," the creature replied. He looked at Yang Qi closely, then glanced at the so-called Deathly Devil-Eye off in the distance. "I've been bored out of my mind guarding the Deathly Devil-Eye to the Blackcorpse Mountains for the past several hundred years. Who would have thought that someone would come in this way? Usually people come from the Fiendcorpse Mountains, which borders the Demi-Immortal Institute. The monsters over there get more than their fair share of fresh blood and succulent flesh. It seems I've struck it lucky today."

From the way this King Bloodcorpse Devil looked at him, it seemed he was getting ready for a feast.

Suddenly, he attacked, summoning a long, blood-colored whip that he struck at Yang Qi with. This was a blood demon energy art that Yang Qi had seen before, the Bloodshadow Godwhip.

Blood-type energy arts all came from the imperial-class canon, the Devil Sutra of the Blood Emperor. The experts from the vampire brigands had used the Bloodshadow Godwhip, although their version was not very powerful. In contrast, this King Bloodcorpse Devil was using a version that was very powerful. The blood-colored whip was like a crimson dragon surrounded by a raging sea of blood.

Obviously, this opponent was far more powerful than the devil-ghost from earlier. He was likely as strong as a Septenary Lifeseizer from the Demi-Immortal Institute, one of the powerful conclave students.

It made sense; only an extremely powerful guard would be stationed here to prevent experts from entering the Heavencorpse Dimension.

"Be destroyed!" Yang Qi growled, stabbing out with his flaming spear. At the same time, he used White Corona Pierces the Sun to attack King Bloodcorpse Devil's head.

However, King Bloodcorpse Devil was no easy foe; he was deceptively agile, and incredibly powerful, making him difficult to hit.

"Blood Drenches the Human World!" he said, shocked at Yang Qi's performance. After all, he was only a Quaternary Lifeseizer, which was like nothing compared to the Septenary Lifeseizing level.

No matter what blood-type energy art King Bloodcorpse Devil used, it seemed that Yang Qi's platinum spear could vanquish it with ease.

That spear slaughtered everything that got in its way, cutting down all forms of evil, and easily dispelling King Bloodcorpse Devil's true energy.

Suddenly, a fiendish beam of blood-colored light shot out from King Bloodcorpse Devil's forehead, rising into the sky, where it then exploded. The surrounding blood swamps began to boil and rise up, creating a huge blood sphere that surrounded Yang Qi.

"Nine Blood Gods; Boundless Blood Sea!" King Bloodcorpse Devil suddenly split into nine separate versions of himself that sped to nine specific locations throughout the blood sphere. Unleashing various hand signs, they cause the blood sphere to then burst into flames.

It was a massive spell formation that drew upon the power of the blood swamps in the area to trap a person, and also strengthen the one controlling the formation.

Yang Qi could already sense massive pressure weighing down on him.

'It's a good thing I took the time to power up before entering. If I had come here as a Tertiary Lifeseizer, this blood formation would have been very, very difficult to deal with.'

The towering blood flames which bore down on him were already pushing his sagefire to the limits. Obviously, he had to be very careful, otherwise he would end up dead and buried in this place.

Of course, what he was doing was actually terrifying to the extreme.

If word got out to the Demi-Immortal Institute, it would cause a massive uproar.

The Heavencorpse Dimension was a restricted area as far as the Demi-Immortal Institute was concerned, and was generally entered only by teams of conclave students.

Not even elite students were allowed to go in. It was simply too dangerous for them. As for conclave students, they were experts in the use of various battle formations, and thus qualified to kill the devils and demons in this place, and take the precious materials of heaven and earth that existed here.

And yet, despite that, here was Yang Qi, an elite student, fighting King Bloodcorpse Devil. It was simply miraculous.

If this King Bloodcorpse Devil somehow escaped into the Rich-Lush Continent, it would be a disaster of monumental proportions. Legendaries would have been dispatched to defeat him.

And yet, Yang Qi was fighting him all on his own.

If the chancellor of the institute learned of the matter, he would definitely launch an investigation. But Yang Qi was still keeping a low profile. He had no desire to become famous, but rather, preferred to do amazing things in secret.

There he hovered in the midst of dazzling blood flames, keeping his power restrained, like a dragon that had slept too long and become a loach. He was waiting. Building up his energy to unleash a devastating attack in the manner of the dao of the quick strike.

Laughing maniacally, King Bloodcorpse Devil said, "Alright, punk. I have to admit that you're strong. You actually forced me to use my Blood Drenches the Human World. The blood hellfire in that formation will really bring out the flavor in your bones. All I have to do now is wait for you to finish melting."

With that, King Bloodcorpse Devil pushed the formation even harder, trying to defeat Yang Qi as quickly as possible.

'Now's my chance!'

In the blink of an eye, Yang Qi unleashed the energy he had been holding back, causing him to erupt with platinum, holy light.

Sagefire flames danced around him, not elegantly, but with vicious ferocity.

WHIZZZ!

A white stream of light shot toward the blood flames, slicing the nine projections of King Bloodcorpse Devil in half.

"What energy art is that?" he blurted, stunned and terrified. That platinum sagefire seemed to be just on the verge of slashing into his spirit body, causing his soul to pulse with intense pain.

"Blood-Devil Dispellation! Manifold Vital Energy!"

His projections returned together, flickering with blood-colored light as they fought back against the platinum sagefire.

However, there was no way Yang Qi would just let him seize the initiative. Blurring into motion, he appeared suddenly above King Bloodcorpse Devil, where he unleashed the power of seventy-one ancient megamammoths. His true energy formed into the Hellfire Crucible, which dropped down, alive with inescapable sagefire.

"You want to use blood flames to kill me? Unfortunately for you, I'm not afraid of devil arts. The energy art I cultivate is the bane of all wretch-devils. And now, I'll give you a chance to see what it's really like. It comes from heaven, and represents the glory of the legion of gods, with sagefire that can purify anything and everything!"

He held nothing back as he waved his hand to summon blazing sagefire, which swept out to cover an area even larger than the blood flame spell formation.

King Bloodcorpse Devil was caught up in the middle of it, and before he could even unleash his next attack, sizzling sounds could be heard as his blood-type energy art was vanquished by the attack. It was almost like a rat facing a cat, with no hope whatsoever of coming out on top.

"How can you possibly be so strong?" King Bloodcorpse Devil shouted in rage. "You're only a Quaternary Lifeseizer! I'm King Bloodcorpse Devil! I've been famous for hundreds of years! My name alone is enough to cause the Rich-Lush Continent to tremble in fear! Who exactly are you?!"

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Chapter 132: Conclave Students

"It doesn't matter who I am. You just need to know that I'm the bane of your existence. You monsters are all hoping for a chance to plague humanity and commit the most horrific of crimes. So I'm going to cut down as many of you as I can."

Yang Qi's fingers interlocked in an incantation sign, at which point his platinum sagefire churned, revealing azure dragons, white tigers, vermilion birds, black turtles, qilins, shimmering palaces, flame trees, silver grass, all of which seemed to thrum with the power of the God Legion Paradise.

Of course, it wasn't the true pure land of the God Legion Paradise, but rather, a mere expression of it.

However, it made his sagefire more intense, and as it burned King Bloodcorpse Devil, Yang Qi could sense himself benefiting.

His true energy coursed through him like a river, causing the fire to immolate the surrounding wretch energy. Any nearby corpses were transformed into ash, the blood of the swamps turned dry, and the ground began to melt into lava. Everything truly was being purified.

This part of the Heavencorpse Dimension, true kingdom of devil-ghosts, was temporarily becoming a paradise.

A paradise that belonged to Yang Qi.

Trembling with the effort, King Bloodcorpse Devil made yet another attempt to break free.

"The Blood Emperor Cometh! I Rule the Cosmos!" A figure appeared wearing a blood-colored robe, with a blood-red crown on his head. Simultaneously, a raging sea of blood sprang up around him.

Yang Qi could tell that the fighting had come to a climax. King Bloodcorpse Devil was using the ultimate energy arts of the Devil Sutra of the Blood Emperor, summoning a blood emperor from the netherworld for a final explosive attack.

"Blood Detonation! Lightning of Blood!"

Masses of blood formed into a lightning bolt that slammed into the platinum sagefire and the Hellfire Crucible. Simultaneously, the blood emperor waved his hand, causing a blood-colored light to stream out, filled with the curses of ghosts and the wails of gods.

"Sagefire Mirror!" Yang Qi barked, causing a mirror to form in front of him, formed of pure platinum fire. As for the blood-colored light, it slammed into the mirror, and then bounced right back.

It was yet another facet of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

Now that he was in Quaternary Lifeseizing, Yang Qi was even more familiar with the infinite variations of the technique.

Although the Lightning of Blood shook the platinum sagefire, it couldn't break through the Hellfire Crucible.

With Yang Qi keeping the crucible closed tight, it didn't matter what King Bloodcorpse Devil did, he was incapable of shaking Yang Qi's true energy, or his confidence.

The process continued for eight hours, until King Bloodcorpse Devil's true energy finally began to run out, and he began to weaken visibly. He was now like a fish on the chopping block, just waiting for the end to come.

In a moment like this, Yang Qi had no intention of holding back.

"Hellfire Crucible!" he shouted. "Melt blood to dispel devils! Exterminate all vicious fiends! Establish a pure paradise! With an empty hell, the legion of gods can never be vindicated!"

WHIZZZ!

Power poured into the Hellfire Crucible, and King Bloodcorpse Devil screamed as he slowly melted into a glob of blood and vital energy.

Magical symbols flitted throughout the glob, which seemed to exist between a state of liquid and solid.

'Wow. That's going to make some powerful life force quintessence. In fact, I think it might enable me to seize life a fifth time! King Bloodcorpse Devil definitely deserved to be a devil king in the alternate dimension that was the Heavencorpse Dimension.'

There were many danger zones in the Rich-Lush Continent, various alternate dimensions, some small, some large. Many contained vast treasures. There were some that contained no entryways or exits, and could only be discovered by Legendaries. Those that could be traversed to by lower-level energy artists contained permanent entryways which were almost always guarded by powerful monsters and fiends.

The Heavencorpse Dimension was among the latter.

Most experts focused on killing the monsters first before they looked for treasure. After all, spirit bodies were in and of themselves treasures, and could be converted into medicinal pills or magical items.

King Bloodcorpse Devil was as powerful as a Septenary Lifeseizer, and yet, had not been able to hold out against Yang Qi.

After all, Yang Qi cultivated a technique that was a bane to all sorts of evil and wretched energy arts. If Yang Qi had been facing a practitioner of orthodox energy arts, someone in Septenary Lifeseizing, at best he would have been able to fight to the death in bitter fashion, with only a slight hope of coming out on top, or even escaping. But when fighting wretch-devils such as this, he was actually much stronger.

In the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, the 'hell-crushing' aspect said it all.

'Now, into my sea of energy you go.' Of course, King Bloodcorpse Devil was still struggling, just like the old saying a centipede does not stop wriggling even after being stomped on. Just as Yang Qi was preparing to toss him into the Hellfire Crucible, a bright beam of light shot up from deeper in the Heavencorpse Dimension.

Then, a powerful rumbling like thunder could be heard, followed by a lightning-like streak of light.

It was sword energy!

Sword energy that crackled like thunder!

It was massive, and cut through the sky like a white dragon as it headed directly toward Yang Qi.

'What's that? Such intense sword energy! I've never encountered anything this strong before.' Fully aware that he couldn't fight something like this, he shot down, spiraling through the air to slam into the ground and dig deep under the surface.

The earth was a quagmire of bloody swamps, so as soon as he entered it, the powerful wretch energy began to eat away at him.

However, he wasn't afraid. Like a loach, he burrowed downward and then vanished without a trace.

When the massive beam of lightning-like sword energy hit the ground, the blood in the swamps evaporated, and the soil quaked as the wretch energy therein was eradicated.

A massive shock wave rolled out, and by the time the dust settled, the only thing left behind was a huge crater. Although the soil was still blood-red, not a single moving being could be seen in the area.

A single sword attack had decimated the entire region.

It was the type of sword energy that could destroy mountains and divert rivers, like an expression of rage from a heavenly being.

Obviously, it had not originated from some ordinary energy artist, but rather, some transcendent expert.

After the rumble of thunder faded away, a white-garbed individual appeared in the air above the crater. He had long eyebrows that extended all the way to his temples, and a sword in his hand. However, the sword immediately dissolved into energy that he pulled back into his body. His skin was as fair as jade, and he had a silver sigil on his forehead that looked almost like a lightning bolt.

This was a human, not a devil-ghost, and his sword energy had been pure and orthodox, the type designed to conquer the wretched. Even the sound of it would be enough to shake most wretch-devils.

'Whoever that was, did he burrow into the ground? Was he human, or a devil?' The man in white looked down at the crater, and then over at the Deathly Devil-Eye passageway. 'That way leads to the Blackcorpse Mountains, an area packed with devil-ghosts. There's no way someone came in through that passage. The area surrounding the Blackcorpse Mountains is barren countryside, with no big sects or organizations there. So how did this guy get in here?'

Swooosh!

Even as he muttered these things to himself, another man approached, accompanied by a woman, both of them moving so quickly that they left behind a string of afterimages behind them.

These were clearly people favored by the heavens, consummate experts.

Of course, that was to be expected; only the best of the best would come to the Heavencorpse Dimension.

"Elder Brother Lei," the young woman said, "your Grand Thunderclap Swordplay has really reached the pinnacle. Even from five hundred kilometers away, you were able to raze this entire area to the ground. Although, why exactly did you unleash it with no warning, and then vanish?"

"I could sense some vital energy fluctuations from this area that indicated a fight was going on." The man who had unleashed the thunderclap sword energy was Lei Tao. Looking around, he said, "Unfortunately, whoever it was, they escaped, making it impossible to determine if they were depraved or righteous."

"You're saying there's someone else here in the Heavencorpse Kingdom?" the other man said. "This place belongs to our Demi-Immortal Institute, and only conclave students can come here to work on their cultivation and slay wretch-devils. That's a well-known fact, so there's no way people from another organization would come here, lest they arouse the wrath of our institute. Considering that, I would venture to say that you detected the fluctuations of a fight between monsters. After seeing your sword technique, Elder Brother Lei, there's no way they'll show their faces now. And if it was a righteous individual, he wouldn't have burrowed into the ground. The ground here is a toxic sludge of decaying flesh that only devil-ghosts can tolerate.

"Elder Brother Lei, our mission has taken us from the Fiendcorpse Mountains all the way to here, looking for life force springwater for the Crown Prince. Come on, let's continue the search. If we don't hurry, our mission will be a failure, and the Crown Prince won't be happy."

"By the way, Elder Brother Lei," the woman added, "do you have any idea why the Crown Prince was so adamant about us finding some life force springwater? Considering the level of his cultivation base, it's not like he needs it."

"It must be for that woman," the man said. "What's her name again? Yun Hailan? Ever since she showed up, the Crown Prince has been showing her a lot of favor, and helping her this way and that. I wonder if the rumors that have been going around are true…. Well, we've all been following the Crown Prince for a long time. I doubt he would fall for some random hussy. He's a god from heaven, and is pursuing the heavenly dao. He exists outside of the law, and will soon break into the Great Sage level. How could he possibly get distracted by a woman?"

At this point, Lei Tao's eyes snapped open. "It's not like we can figure out what the Crown Prince is thinking, so what's the point in random speculation? There's definitely a purpose behind all this, something that plays into his master plan. Besides, Yun Hailan is no ordinary woman. In addition to the blood of the sea god that runs in her veins, she also has some of the aura of a dragon. I can attest to that personally. The aura of a dragon god is inside of her, and I felt it calling to me. There's definitely something special about her, so it's obvious that the Crown Prince is grooming her for a specific reason."

"The aura of a dragon god?" the woman said. "No wonder the Crown Prince asked Patriarchs Wind and Cloud to take her as an apprentice. I've heard that her energy arts have been advancing by leaps and bounds."

"Having someone like this suddenly join our ranks puts a lot of pressure on us," the other man said. "We need to keep working hard on our cultivation and break into the Legendary level as soon as possible."

With that the group flew off into the distance.

1. Lei Tao: Lei is a surname which also happens to mean "thunder, lightning". Tao means "wave".

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Chapter 133: Grand Thunderclap Swordplay

Once Yang Qi was alone again, he emerged from the blood swamps and flew up into the air, his eyes flashing. 'So, it really was someone from the Demi-Immortal Institute.'

Just as he had remembered, top experts from the institute would come to the Heavencorpse Dimension to hunt demon-devils and collect demon cores.

Based on how strong those three were, he was fairly certain that they were rarely seen conclave students.

Conclave students were all Quinary Lifeseizers or higher. They were precious assets to the institute, the expert students who were on their way to reaching the Legendary level. The treatment they received vastly surpassed that given to elite students; for instance, they could acquire personal mountain peaks within the Heaven Lode Mountains.

Conclave students essentially had the same standing as institute elders.

They were second only to holy neophytes, the Legendary students who were like sovereign lords in the institute. As for the holy neophytes, the Crown Prince was the most powerful among them.

Originally, Yang Qi's goals in the Heavencorpse Dimension had been to further his cultivation, and look for life force springwater. He had not intended to travel very deeply inside, lest he end up getting lost. But now that he realized that these three conclave students were members of the Crown Prince Society, he suddenly felt a streak of boldness rising up within him.

It was compounded by the fact that they were apparently here to find life force springwater for Yun Hailan.

'Ah, Yun Hailan. It turns out you need life force springwater too. Well, I guess I'll have to make sure your supply is cut off!' With that, he blurred into motion.

Occasionally he would speed along on foot, and sometimes he would become a streak of red, concealed within the blood swamps. The entire time, he followed the aura of the Grand Thunderclap Swordplay.

Of course, King Bloodcorpse Devil was already in his sea of energy, being slowly eaten away by the Hellfire Crucible.

Yang Qi completely covered his own aura, and instead released a bit of blood-type energy from King Bloodcorpse Devil. By mixing that with some heterogeneous true energy, it became like devil energy, which made it very easy for him to keep hidden. As he proceeded along, he could sense other sources of devil energy, some of them hundreds of meters beneath the surface of the swamp, others, even further down. Although such entities could sense him, they simply let him pass.

Meanwhile, inside of him, the blood-type energy was slowly being converted into life force quintessence, which he stored in his meridians and acupoints.

Clearly, he was starting to build up momentum in the hopes of breaking through to Quinary Lifeseizing.

How much vital energy did a Septenary Lifeseizer like King Bloodcorpse Devil have? Enough that Yang Qi felt one particle after another waking up inside him.

Even as he flew along, he went from seventy-two particles to seventy-three. Seventy-four. Seventy-five. Eighty. Eventually, the process slowed down, leaving him with the power of eighty-one ancient megamammoths.

Taking out King Bloodcorpse Devil had been a big win for him.

After reaching Quinary Lifeseizing, one would experience a transformation on the substructure level. For example, true energy would take hold in one's acupoints and begin to form objects similar to the demon cores found in demon-devils.

Among those who practiced energy arts, such objects were referred to as internal pellets.

Yang Qi's godly-class energy art was no different in this regard. As his true energy came to rest in his acupoints, they began to form internal pellets. His internal pellets were quite miraculous; each and every one of them flickered with dazzling, platinum sagefire.

At the moment, it seemed like he was undergoing some sort of baptism.

As for Quinary Lifeseizing, there were even more marvelous aspects to that level. However, at the moment, he wasn't quite ready to try to break through.

The Energy Arts level had nine phases, the fifth of which was the Energy Eruption phase, in which one could unleash one's true energy outside of the body. As for the Lifeseizing level, it was broken up into the nine lifeseizings, and similarly, the fifth was a watershed. Upon reaching Quinary Lifeseizing, one's life force would change dramatically, and thus, Quinary Lifeseizers were viewed as the ultimate core of any institute. Such individuals truly understood energy arts on a deep level, and could live for many, many years. Their prospects were virtually limitless.

'I probably shouldn't try to break through to Quinary Lifeseizing right here and now. I need to get used to my current level first. Trying to achieve breakthroughs too early can lead to instability. I'll just wait until I have plenty of life force springwater to use. With that, and a strong foundation, I can have a solid path to lead toward the Legendary Level. Either way, there's no way I'm going to lose to the Crown Prince or Yun Hailan.'

With that, he made his decision. No matter how difficult it might be, he would screw over these three conclave students from the Crown Prince Society.

And he would do it in a way that none of them realized who was actually responsible.

The deeper one got into the Heavencorpse Dimension, the more powerful the corpse energy, sordid energy, and wretch energy became. In fact, in many places, the air distorted so much that only monsters could possibly fly through it.

Eventually, Yang Qi finally caught sight of the group of two men and one woman. Lei Tao was in the middle of using his Grand Thunderclap Swordplay.

Stretched out in front of them were numerous pitch-black mountains rising up out of plains and swamps of blood. The mountains were so imposing that Yang Qi immediately felt his heart sink, and had to circulate his true energy to suppress his disappointment. Obviously, they were beyond him.

As for the group of three, they were well-prepared; they all pulled out various magical items, causing the air to distort around them for a moment as they began to move. Then, they suddenly vanished without a trace.

Yang Qi proceeded forward a bit, but could soon sense that within those mountains lurked demon-devils that could definitely destroy him. The only reason the other three had been able to enter were those magical items that lent them the power of invisibility.

"I guess the only thing I can do now is wait for them to come out."

Wrapping himself up with true energy, he sank down into the sordid, stinking, bloody sludge, where he lay in wait, not moving a muscle.

Back when he mastered the dao of the quick strike, he had also learned how to be extremely patient.

By this point, his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth had combined perfectly with the wretch energy around him, making his aura exactly the same as the Heavencorpse Dimension in general.

As of this moment, he was like a combination of a god and a devil.

It was also right then that he suddenly gained a deeper understanding of his technique. As he did, his true energy made cracking sounds as it solidified even more, and the platinum sagefire became slightly more transparent.

As he remained immersed in enlightenment of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, the air rippled at the edges of the mountain range, and three figures appeared. Of course, one of them was the white-garbed Lei Tao, who currently had a rather large bottle gourd slung over his shoulder. From the way he carried it, it was obviously extremely heavy.

Instantly, Yang Qi detected the aura of life force.

'Life force springwater! They actually got their hands on some. But how? Don't tell me it's just because of those invisibility treasures they have. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll relieve them of it either way.' The mere sight of that gourd of water caused Yang Qi's mind to start spinning with ideas.

As the group of three flew out of the mountains, it became evident that Lei Tao was actually running low on true energy, and needed to rest. "That place was so dangerous! The only reason we were able to get out with this bottle gourd is the Space-Piercing Divine Talisman that the Crown Prince painstakingly created for us. Otherwise, we would have awoken the monster sealed in the depths of the mountain."

"Elder Brother, are the rumors true? Have the Yama Mountains really been hiding Ghost Emperor Yama for the past ten thousand years? His apprentice, Baron Heavencorpse, is the true sovereign lord of the entire Heavencorpse Kingdom."

"That's right," Lei Tao said. "Ghost Emperor Yama is indeed sealed in these mountains. Great Sages of the distant past used life force springwater to suppress him. That water is like poison to zombies and those who cultivate the dao of devils. Supposedly, if they even get a whiff of the odor of the water, they'll be killed instantly. Alright, let's build our true energy back up and then leave this place. It won't be as easy to get our hands on life force springwater next time. Ghost Emperor Yama gets closer and closer to waking up with every day that passes. One of these days, he'll break free, and that will definitely be a big catastrophe."

"I heard people saying that the Crown Prince actually went into the Yama Mountains and talked with Ghost Emperor Yama," the female student said. "Supposedly, he carried a message from the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute, requesting the Ghost Emperor Yama remain in place after waking up, lest he be killed for good."

"It's impossible to be certain about such things," Lei Tao said. "Who knows what that old devil is thinking. You can never trust demon-devils; they always go back on their word. Come on, we really need to get out of here."

Having rested for a bit, Lei Tao was preparing to call upon some of his sword energy, but before he could….

Swish!

Holy, platinum light erupted out, making Lei Tao feel as though some chaotic, primeval beast were lunging toward him with deadly intentions.

In the blink of an eye, he saw a platinum sea threatening to completely overwhelm him, as well as a long, platinum spear stabbing toward him.

However, Lei Tao was no amateur. Considering the danger, he dropped his bottle gourd and threw his hands wide, causing the boom of thunder to ring out as he summoned his Grand Thunderclap sword. "Thunderclap Devastation!"

As his sword energy spread out, it formed the image of an enormous temple behind him.

The sword energy slammed into the spear, and Lei Tao staggered backward, his true energy almost completely drained.

The platinum spear vanished, to be replaced by a figure wearing a suit of platinum armor. It was hard to say whether he was a human or a devil. However, he moved so quickly that he was able to grab the bottle gourd of life force springwater, which vanished before any of them could do anything.

Then, he spun and dove back down into the bloody sludge, disappearing like a loach into the mud.

1. These "internal pellets" could also be translated as internal cores, inner cores, etc. There are two characters in Chinese that are commonly translated as "core", and since both are commonly used in this novel, I will translate the two terms differently. For more information, check out this FAQ on wuxiaworld .

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Chapter 134: Three Birds, One Spear...

"Stop right there!"

Yang Qi had relied on the skills he had mastered when gaining enlightenment of the dao of the quick strike. He struck a massive blow that shoved Lei Tao backward, and forced him to use his Grand Thunderclap Swordplay to defend himself. Then, he took that opportunity to snatch the bottle gourd of life force springwater.

Of course, he immediately threw the bottle into his Heart of the Sea thumb-ring.

After all, the thing was as heavy as a mountain, and could possibly have crushed him to death. Also, the powerful life force aura it emitted would have made it very simple to track him down. And it went without saying that he had no interest in sticking around to have a big fight with Lei Tao. If he had started a fight, and killed them, it could cause a catastrophe for him in the institute. And if he fought them but didn't kill them, it would have been much easier for them to deduce his identity.

After all, it would lead to profound irritation on their part if they didn't accomplish the mission the Crown Prince had assigned them.

That bottle gourd full of life force springwater could provoke heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations in Yang Qi. In fact, he didn't even need to open it to sense the powerful life force aura inside of it prodding at the particles within him, pushing them toward waking up.

This holy water was like the source of any and all life.

"Have a death wish?!" Lei Tao shouted, seemingly about to explode from frustration and anger at the sight of his life force springwater being stolen right in front of his own nose. Not only was it a big personal loss, it also meant that he couldn't accomplish the Crown Prince's mission, which would lose him a lot of face in the Crown Prince Society.

This was fury. Uncontrollable rage.

In fact, nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

"Transformation of the Thunderclap. Bring a myriad of lightning bolts to life to slay all opponents!" Sword light erupted out, accompanied by the rumble of thunder. Ten thousand fiery lightning bolts smashed into the bloody sludge, followed by Lei Tao himself. From how much effort he was putting into this, it seemed he would chase Yang Qi to the ends of the earth if he had to.

Almost as soon as Yang Qi burrowed into the sludge, a powerful lightning bolt slammed into the ground behind him, blasting away the nefarious energy and rapidly spreading out to form an impassable barrier.

Bam!

His spear slammed into the sword light, and the resulting shock wave sent bloody sludge spraying high into the air.

Then, Yang Qi burst out into the open.

Lei Tao shot out behind him, sword energy swirling around him, which caused thunderous rumbling sounds to echo out.

Each beam of sword energy that he unleashed was like a thunderbolt that could crush any sort of weapon or armor that got in its path.

At first, Lei Tao just stared at Yang Qi in his platinum armor. At the same time, his two teammates spread out to form a triangular formation around Yang Qi.

"Hey there, friend," Lei Tao said, glaring at him viciously. "We're conclave students from the Demi-Immortal Institute. I'm Lei Tao, and these are my fellow students Qu Ling and Qin Hui. People call us Heaven, Earth, and Man, the Three Heroes. As a top expert yourself, you must have heard of us before. And you surely realize what will happen if you steal food from the tiger's mouth. Now, I'll give you one chance to give that life force springwater back to me. If you do, we can forget that this little incident ever happened."

From the look in Lei Tao's eyes, it seemed he was ready to unleash a full-power attack if Yang Qi so much as twitched.

Yang Qi had never heard of any of these people before, and had definitely never heard of "Heaven, Earth, and Man, the Three Heroes". However, that was because he had only been a member of the institute for a short time. If Li He or his other friends were here, they would be trembling in astonishment.

They were fabled individuals among the students in the institute, and had been through countless adventures to reach their current level.

If they hadn't, then they wouldn't have earned their unique moniker.

"Elder Brother Lei, why waste words on this fool?" Qu Ling said. She clearly had the most violent temper of them all. In fact, it looked like she had already decided to launch an attack. "We have him surrounded. Let's just use our Heaven, Earth, and Man combined attack. Kill him and reduce him to dust. At least then we'll see why he thinks he qualifies to steal things from us."

"Jabber all you want," Yang Qi said, keeping his voice low and gravely so that they wouldn't be able to identify him. "I'm not giving it back. You want a fight? Fine, let's fight. Let's see if Heaven, Earth, and Man, the so-called Three Heroes are worth leaving alive."

With that, he brandished his spear, its tip pointing skyward, and the length of the spear flickering with partially-translucent platinum fire.

Considering that these three had cornered him, it seemed that he would have no choice other than to fight.

However, thanks to his recent progress, he wasn't the least bit afraid.

"A real ingrate, huh," Lei Tao said. "Fine, don't blame me when you end up dead." With that he swung his sword out in front of him; as it turned out, he had been using the short dialogue as a way to buy time and build up some energy.

"Lightning Tramples all Creation!" Having built up enough energy, he unleashed a deadly attack. The swipe of his sword caused thunderclouds to fill the sky, and a fiery rain of lightning to descend. It was almost as if he were in control of all of the power of heaven and earth.

Unfortunately for him, Yang Qi was even stronger. As he sprang into motion, a sound like the trumpeting of megamammoths erupted out, and he stabbed forward with his spear. Countless spear projections appeared, accompanied by the energy of hell itself, all of which shot forward to meet the lightning sword strike.

The two weapons collided with a huge boom.

"Wrath of the Lightning God!" Lei Tao shouted, his voice thrumming with such power that it could render lesser beasts unconscious or even dead from the mere vibrations.

This sword stance was even more powerful than the last; lightning swirled around him, gathering atop his head in the form of a strange being with the head of a bird and the body of a human, surrounded by snake-like bolts of lightning. It was a god of lightning who held a drum cradled in one arm that it began to beat.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom! Boom!! BOOM!!!

With each bang of the drum, the lightning grew brighter and brighter, until everyone present felt their hearts beating to the same rhythm.

Sword light shot out furiously to surround Yang Qi, moving so quickly that it was completely impossible to dodge.

And yet, Yang Qi had no intention of dodging it. Instead, he would meet it head on with his spear.

As he stabbed out, the trumpeting of megamammoths could be heard, and a whole herd of them appeared behind him, causing the ground to tremble. This was the ultimate level of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth that he was capable of unleashing, the power of eighty-one megamammoths, all combined together.

As for his Infernal Deity Spear, it was now able to project some of the God Legion Paradise, making it seem partially real and partially illusory.

There was now little suspense as to what would happen when the Infernal Deity Spear hit the Grand Thunderclap Sword.

CRASH! An overwhelmingly loud boom echoed out as the sword shattered into pieces, and the god of thunder behind it collapsed.

Lei Tao was clearly in the inferior position when dealing with power levels like this.

The Grand Thunderclap Swordplay was a royal-class energy art, and the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was godly-class. How could the two even be compared to each other?

Lei Tao staggered backward, his face completely falling. However, as he fell back, Qu Ling and Qin Hui took action. Qu Ling attacked with a deadly Qimen Wheel. As soon as that wheel spun forth, tens of thousands of moons and suns appeared to surround Yang Qi.

"Wind Forest Volcano!"

This was another deadly, top-rate energy art.

As for Qin Hui, he narrowed his eyes and pulled out a razor-sharp pike. "Driftflame Meteor!"

The two of them picked up exactly where Lei Tao had left off. Clearly, they didn't want to give Yang Qi any breathing room, and were dead set on defeating him.

They joined forces in a way that they hoped would wear out the enemy. After all, it didn't matter if someone was even an Octonary or Nonary Lifeseizer, once they ran out of true energy, they would be in big trouble.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't understand Yang Qi.

He just looked coldly at the incoming attacks and said, "Perfect."

He stabbed his spear out again, unwavering and filled with power that far surpassed that of his two opponents.

"Power of Heaven and Earth!" he growled. As he did, it seemed as if all of the power of heaven and earth in the area were sucked into the spear, making it resplendent to the highest degree.

It was as if he were in control of all creation.

True energy rumbled as the power of the lands seemed prepared to overturn anything in its path. It was a level of power that would weigh on the soul, making it seem like Yang Qi was the sovereign lord of all heaven and earth.

This was the power of a godly-class energy art.

What was a god? All-knowing. All-capable. Omnipotent. Eternal. That was a god.

When a god cultivated an energy art, of course it would reflect the spirit of the gods.

When a god said the world should be bathed in light, then all creation would fill with brightness. When a god said that the world should be destroyed, it would descend into ruin. The world was created by gods, as were all the living beings that inhabited it, and thus, it only made sense that godly-class energy arts would be so spectacular.

Although Yang Qi hadn't truly become like a sovereign lord of all heaven and earth, he was already starting to surpass mortal humans, and become something separate from the world around him.

RUMMMBLE!

His attack immediately formed a resonance with heaven and earth, causing the clouds to spin in the sky as the wheel of blades was defeated. Qu Ling's face went pale, and she staggered backward a few steps before coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Yang Qi didn't follow through with the attack. Spinning, he faced Qin Hui's Driftflame Meteor.

Yet again, his spear completely dominated the competition. Qin Hui was a famous conclave student, and yet he was completely vanquished by Yang Qi's true energy. In fact, his eyes shone with terror. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that someone could possibly be this strong, or have true energy like this.

"You three are too weak. Demi-Immortal Institute? Crown Prince Society? I think only your Crown Prince could possibly be qualified to fight me. Clearly, you don't." Yang Qi's spear vanished, and then he disappeared.

And his three opponents had no desire to give chase.

1. This Qimen is a reference to Qimen Dunjia, a form of divination common throughout Chinese history and still practiced nowadays. .

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Chapter 135: Ghost Emperor Yama

"What do we do?" Lei Tao, Qin Hui, and Qu Ling exchanged awkward glances. Although they wanted to chase after Yang Qi, they weren't a match for him in terms of true energy.

"He has very powerful true energy, but for some reason, I have the feeling his cultivation level isn't very high. He must be some sort of freak." A long moment passed, after which Lei Tao sighed. Eyes flashing, he said, "We lost. But we'll be able to track this guy down eventually. It seems to me he stole our life force springwater because of the Crown Prince. We need to report the matter as soon as we get back."

"Qu Ling, did you get a recording of everything that happened?"

"Yes, Elder Brother Lei," Qu Ling replied. "I got it all. My light refraction mirror captured the entire fight, and everything that was said." She pulled out a mirror and sent some true energy into it, causing it to project a recording of everything which had just played out.

"Alright. With hard evidence to back us up, the honorable Crown Prince won't blame us for what happened. It's not like we lost that springwater on purpose. That guy was a real freak, but I'm sure the Crown Prince can track him down and kill him, for the honor of our Crown Prince Society."

"Come on, let's head back. Considering we already used that divine talisman, there's no way we can go back into the Yama Mountains to get more life force springwater."

After some more discussion, the disheartened conclave students left.

After they were gone, Yang Qi emerged from his subterranean hiding place. 'A light refraction mirror?'

He hadn't fled earlier. After all, sometimes the best hiding place was in the most dangerous location. With his aura concealed, the three conclave students hadn't noticed him at all.

The fact that they had a light refraction mirror was troubling. And it meant that he could never use any of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth in the Demi-Immortal Institute, lest his secrets be revealed.

Unfortunately, not being able to use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth would make him much weaker.

"Well, there's nothing that can be done about it! Right now, I need to absorb this life force springwater and use it to reach a higher level. At that point, all of my energy arts will be even easier to use, and also more powerful. I'll be able to dominate just about every fight even with just the Cosmic Sunflare Sword." With his God-Devil Seal and its infinite variations, it would be easy to keep his aura sealed so tight that not even a Legendary would be able to see the truth behind it.

His godly-class energy art would definitely be safe.

He turned to look at the Yama Mountains and briefly considered going in, before shaking his head. If he could get his hands on even more life force springwater, then it would only be a matter of years before the Yang Clan was one of the top clans in the Rich-Lush Continent. However, he knew that getting too greedy could lead to catastrophe.

If the fabled Ghost Emperor Yama really was trapped in those mountains, an entity on the same level as an ancient Great Sage, then rashly going in would definitely be courting death.

'I think it's time to leave. With the life force springwater I already have, I can definitely help eldest brother and second brother to reach the Lifeseizing level. And whatever I have left, I can give to my sworn brothers back in the institute.'

With that, he flew up into the air, and yet, even as he did, he realized that black clouds were filling up the sky, making everything around him so dark that he had no way to figure out which direction the exit was.

'What happened? What's going on?'

Circulating his true energy, he sent a pillar of platinum sagefire shooting high into the sky in an attempt to dispel the clouds. Unfortunately, they were as tough as iron, and wouldn't burn. Then, he realized that there were fluctuations rolling through the air around him that seemed to contain the natural might of heaven and earth. Apparently, it was some sort of teleportation magic that was currently preparing to take him to another location.

It was a level of power that, unless he was mistaken, surpassed even what Patriarchs Wind and Cloud were capable of.

Yang Qi was now a Quaternary Lifeseizer, and had studied in the Demi-Immortal Institute for long enough to have a much better understanding of the world. He was no longer the ignorant simpleton he had been in the past. Based on what he was sensing, he knew that it was a power he couldn't fight against, and therefore, it would be a waste to use his true energy to try to resist it.

Soon, the black clouds were gone, and he found himself standing in an ancient, savage palace hall.

In the middle of the hall was a pond filled with gurgling springwater that emanated a boundless aura of life force. In fact, it was so intense that it filled the entire place with swirling mist.

A single breath of that misty air caused his own life force to flourish, and the particles within him to surge as if in anticipation. The life force quintessence building up in him in this short time seemed to be at almost the same level as that of the lightning mammoth of the past.

It was to Yang Qi's shock that he realized that this pond in the middle of this savage palace must be the source of life force springwater. Furthermore, didn't that mean that he was in the depths of the Yama Mountains? But how had he come here? Did someone use a powerful divine ability or energy art to bring him?

Not daring to move, he circulated his energy arts and waited patiently to see how things would develop.

Suddenly, a sound echoed out from within the life force springwater pond, like steel scraping against steel, as if some consummate devil-ghost were chained up within.

Heart pounding, Yang Qi thought, 'Don't tell me that the infamous Ghost Emperor Yama really is locked up inside the life force springwater.'

Suddenly, the grating sound stopped. Then, the water in the pond exploded upward, revealing a throne, atop which sat a middle-aged man who was dark gold in color.

He held a scepter in his hand, and had an aura that could only be described as raging to the heavens. He seemed so strong that a single breath of his could send Yang Qi flying through the air. In fact, it seemed to Yang Qi like even his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth would be powerless to do anything to this man.

There was no question about it; this person had definitely used some energy art of teleportation to bring Yang Qi into the depths of these mountains.

After a moment of observation, Yang Qi could tell that neither the man nor the throne were real. They were actually projections of true energy.

Forcing himself to calm down, he saluted the man and respectfully said, "Senior, are you Ghost Emperor Yama? Why have you summoned me here to the Yama Mountains? Is there some way that I can be of aid to you?"

Instead of answering the question, the man asked one of his own. "What's your name?"

"Senior, I'm Yang Qi."

"Yang Qi…?" the dark gold man said. A moment passed, and then he nodded. "Yes, I am the same Ghost Emperor Yama who was sealed here ten thousand years ago. What you are looking at now is a projection of true energy; my true body is in the depths of the life force spring, shackled with locks forged from Quake-Dawn godsteel. I saw everything that happened just now between you and those three students from the Demi-Immortal Institute. I'm very curious about who you are, so I expended some effort to teleport you here and see what type of energy arts you cultivate."

"Senior, how could a person as lofty as you be interested in the energy arts I cultivate?" Yang Qi was starting to feel very nervous. He didn't dare to loosen his God-Devil Seal in the presence of this projection of Ghost Emperor Yama, after all, this man was no member of the senior generation. He was a monster who wouldn't hesitate for a moment to kill Yang Qi if he felt like it. Perhaps he would even soulsearch him to get his techniques.

"Your aura is weak, but that is because your cultivation level is low. But I can tell that your substructure is mighty. Your technique surpasses royal-class, imperial-class, and even saintly-class." Suddenly, Ghost Emperor Yama's voice turned as cold as ice. "Tell me what energy art you practice! Imperial-class arts don't interest me, and I wouldn't waste my time bringing you here because of a saintly-class art. This place is the source of all life force springwater. Why not work on your cultivation here. You can stay for as long as you like, and I'll even lend you a helping hand. You're only in Quaternary Lifeseizing, but with my help, you could easily reach the Legendary level. All you have to do is tell me what technique you cultivate."

Suddenly, everything clicked. 'So, this monster really is interested in my technique.'

Normally speaking, even Legendaries would assume that he cultivated some amazing imperial-class energy art. But this ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Emperor Yama was very discerning, and could tell that his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was nothing to be taken lightly.

And if Ghost Emperor Yama got his hands on the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, it would spell disaster for the Rich-Lush Continent.

If he led an army of zombies and devil-ghosts into the lands of the living, billions of innocent people would die.

Monsters were monsters, and regardless of anything else, Yang Qi was a student from a righteous sect. His job was to rid the world of devils and demons, not help one of them to invade his home.

Unfortunately, there was no way he could actually fight Ghost Emperor Yama, at least not with strength. He could only use guile.

"If you want my technique, Senior, then I will gladly give it to you. Unfortunately, it's incomplete, and I need to reach a higher level before I can unleash the full version. Senior, it's my dream to reach the Legendary level and do just that. If you could help me, then I would be eternally grateful."

He was testing out this Ghost Emperor Yama a bit. If the monster really could help him to reach the Legendary level, then his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth really would be more powerful, and he might be able to get out of this situation.

Worst case scenario, perhaps he could buy some time to come up with a better plan.

After all, this was the most dangerous situation he had ever been in. It was even worse than when he had been crippled. It was so bad that his heart nearly hurt from the pressure he was under.

1. The term I'm translating as "Quake-Dawn" is a word used in ancient China to refer to India. It comes up every so often in novels like this because it sounds cool, but rarely is intended to be an actual reference to India. I'm translating the term directly for reasons which will become clear later.

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Chapter 136: The Imp Acts

"Boy, there's a time for schemes and cleverness," Ghost Emperor Yama said placidly. "But don't get greedy. Becoming a Legendary is no simple feat." His gaze was so piercing that it seemed capable of seeing through to all of Yang Qi's secrets. "In the grand scheme of energy arts cultivation, the Lifeseizing level isn't something particularly amazing. However, it is a time to set a solid foundation, which can deeply affect your future path. If you don't seize enough life from the heavens, and end up with an unstable foundation, no amount of hard work later on will help. Some Nonary Lifeseizers take a thousand years to break into the Legendary level, and others even two thousand. For those who have a weak foundation, the process could even take as long as five thousand years."

"You're absolutely right, Senior," Yang Qi said. He actually had no idea what point Ghost Emperor Yama was trying to make, and was simply trying to play along.

"That energy art of yours seems deficient. Presumably it's connected to some secret legacy of the distant past, so it's only natural that it would be incomplete in certain areas. How about I help you solve those problems? With my help, you probably can reach the Legendary level even sooner."

With that, he beckoned for Yang Qi to approach him.

Yang Qi could tell that this Ghost Emperor Yama was a crafty individual. Obviously, he had no intention of providing any so-called help, but rather, was hoping to trick Yang Qi into revealing his technique.

After getting it, he would most likely just kill Yang Qi.

"Most types of cultivation require personal exploration," Yang Qi said. "Besides, when I acquired this technique, I swore an oath not to spread it. Therefore, I won't bother you with asking for help, Senior."

"Come on, boy. You don't really think that I would try to steal your technique, do you?" It seemed that Ghost Emperor Yama could tell what Yang Qi was thinking. "I dominated all creation ten thousand years ago, and have my own ancient and mysterious technique. It's just that I can see how much potential you have, and realize how much I can help you to grow. What I was doing just now was testing you to see how respectful you are. Sadly for you, you lost a good opportunity. If you had acted deferential, and given me your technique, I would have helped you reach the Legendary level right away. I might have even taken you as an apprentice, and let you join me as I conquer the world. Unfortunately, your lack of sincerity has lost you some good fortune. I was looking for a successor! Understand?"

"Aiya!" Yang Qi said with a gasp. "I really did lose out on some good fortune. Well, since you don't want me as your successor, Senior, I guess I'll just have to leave empty-handed. You, the great Ghost Emperor Yama, definitely won't cause any problems for a nobody like me, right? Well, I guess I'll take my leave now."

"Take your leave? To where? These are the Yama Mountains. Everything in the area is locked down with the power of yamas. Not even a Legendary could break free, let alone you."

"Oh. Well, would you mind teleporting me out? I'd be eternally grateful."

"Think this through, boy. I'm going to give you another chance. Take me as your master, and I'll help you with your technique. All you have to do is pass three different tests. What do you say?"

Yang Qi shook his head. "No, that's okay. Really. I'm not destined for such things, and wouldn't want to disappoint you, Senior. Besides, this technique of mine is missing too much information. Although it looks hard and unyielding, I constantly run the risk of cultivation deviation. If that happened, I would lose my memories, and my soul would disperse. Then I would be left with absolutely nothing."

There was quite a bit of hidden meaning to Yang Qi's words. What he was really saying was: Don't push me too far, Ghost Emperor Yama. I'd rather kill myself than give you my technique. And if my soul and memories disappear, then not even soulsearching me would do any good.

He had hit the nail on the head. Actually, the whole reason Ghost Emperor Yama was talking with Yang Qi instead of just killing him, was that the slightest mistake could result in exactly what Yang Qi had just mentioned.

In response to his words, Ghost Emperor Yama burst out in laughter. After all, he was so old that he had seen just about everything, and actually found Yang Qi to be somewhat amusing. "You're pretty clever, you little punk. You remind me of another clever brat I met recently, although he's much, much stronger than you. He was able to force his way into the Yama Mountains, and you weren't."

"Are you talking about the Crown Prince?" Yang Qi asked.

"Exactly. He's the new genius from the Demi-Immortal Institute. Well, anyway, what's your decision? Your technique is obviously profoundly harmful to devil-ghosts like myself. Thankfully for you, I need something like that to dispel the nefarious energy around me, purify my own technique, and thus escape from the confines of this life force springwater. Who knows, maybe I could even absorb all the water. Listen, let's make a deal. You help me get free, and I'll give you a huge reward."

"What if I don't agree?" Yang Qi said.

"Don't agree? Well. You can die." A vicious smile played out on Ghost Emperor Yama's face. "You're in the Yama Mountains now. You think you can just waltz your way out of here? The truth is that you're trapped. If you agree to help me, I'll help you. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll have to kill you, and wait for the next person to come along."

'Devil-ghosts are devil-ghosts,' Yang Qi reminded himself. 'You can't trust them, no matter what.'

"To tell you the truth," Ghost Emperor Yama continued, "although my true self is bound by Quake-Dawn godsteel, I could still send out enough true energy to kill a Legendary, much less an ant like you. But I can tell you're smart. You know the old saying, right? Hesitate to shoot the rat for fear of breaking the vases. If I destroyed your soul and memories, then you're right, not even a soulsearch would help me get your technique. Come. Tell me of your technique. I'm more knowledgeable than anyone else in this continent, so I can tell that it's not saintly-class. It's heavenly-class, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Yang Qi replied simply.

At this point, he truly had stopped thinking about matters of his own life or death. This was an infinitely powerful wretch-devil that he was dealing with, a devil emperor in the Great Sage level. If he got his hands on a godly-class energy art, then he would definitely cause a rain of blood and death to soak the Rich-Lush Continent, the likes of which Yang Qi could scarcely imagine.

"Listen, brat, you're really pushing your luck here. Ten thousand years ago, I would never even look at an ant like you. I'm making an exception today by giving you a chance to become my apprentice. And yet you refuse? Do you have a death wish or something? If so, then I can make your wish come true!"

Apparently, Ghost Emperor Yama was starting to get angry.

Considering how powerful he was, it was little wonder. He had asked a tiny nobody for a technique, only to have that nobody refuse him. Of course he would become enraged!

All of a sudden, he lifted his hand off his throne, sending an enormous, dark gold palm flying through the air. "Hand of the Yama!"

WHIZZZ!

The entire savage palace filled with rumbling sounds as the enormous palm stretched out, filling the air around Yang Qi and giving him no room to escape.

Yang Qi was instantly immobilized, unable to even draw on his true energy.

"You think that I would just let you destroy your own memories and soul? Never! I'm Ghost Emperor Yama, and I can make you live a life in which you beg for death only to be refused!"

Yang Qi wasn't even close to being a match for Ghost Emperor Yama; he was simply too far below him.

Perhaps if he was a Legendary, with a deeper understanding of magical law, he might have qualified to fight back. But he wasn't.

'Hell-crushing godmammoths can overawe all wretch-devils!'

Under the immense pressure, Yang Qi's unyielding spirit kicked in. His true energy began to bubble in his dantian region, and then pour out into his body like the rising tide.

Unfortunately, the dark gold Ghost Emperor Yama reached out and placed a finger onto Yang Qi's forehead. Voice filled with rage, he said, "Heavenly Reincarnation Art! Ten Lives Transmigration! Your name is Yang Qi, right? Well, let's see what happens if your soul slips into eternal bewilderment. With my Heavenly Reincarnation Art, I can take everything you know from within the cycle of reincarnation, and make you speak it out loud."

At that moment, Yang Qi felt an evil, powerful, and irresistible force pouring into his forehead.

Ghost Emperor Yama was so strong that he could force Yang Qi's soul into the cycle of reincarnation, destroying any control he had over himself. It was a boundless devil art that experts even more powerful than Yang Qi couldn't defend against.

In fact, it contained magical laws of both space and time.

As the evil true energy entered Yang Qi's acupoints, Ghost Emperor Yama spoke in the cruelest of voices. "When you cultivate to the Legendary level, your acupoints will become expressions of space. The acupoint in your forehead is called the ancestral aperture, which contains the ultimate expression of your soul. All I have to do is take control of that, and I'll know exactly what technique you cultivate!"

It was in this very moment that Yang Qi realized the golden imp which resided in his ancestral aperture had noticed the devil energy.

Then, Ghost Emperor Yama noticed the golden imp. "What?" he blurted. "What do you have hiding in your forehead? What is that thing? A golden imp? Don't tell me you cultivate some nascent divinity technique? Well, I'll just dig this thing out!"

The evil energy grew stronger, pouring into Yang Qi's forehead and wrapping around the golden imp as if to tear it out of him.

But…

As soon as the devil energy touched the golden imp, everything changed! Golden streams of light suddenly poured out of nowhere, shattering the air; it was as though some mighty, mysterious entity were suddenly taking form.

It was impossible to see whether the tiny golden person inside of Yang Qi's forehead was male or female. However, the imp's eyes had definitely opened. Godly might erupted out, causing the previously pitch-black Yama Mountains to suddenly shine with golden light, and tremble violently. It was almost as if some wretch-devil had blasphemed a god-spirit, who had then come to inflict divine punishment.

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Chapter 137: God Legion Seal

Godly might towered to the heavens! Godly will spread like the deepest sea!

The golden imp in Yang Qi's forehead that had remained motionless and unmoving for so long suddenly sent its might out into the world, and it was so overwhelming that all of the Yama Mountains were encompassed.

The golden imp was awake, and was like a heavenly god out to punish blaspheming fiend-devils.

"What is that thing?!" Ghost Emperor Yama repeated, shocked by how his true energy was being completely routed. Even his Heavenly Reincarnation Art had been completely vanquished. From what he could tell, this golden imp was completely terrifying in nature, something that didn't even belong on the earth. It was more like a mysterious god from heaven.

If Yang Qi was as vastly separated from Ghost Emperor Yama as heaven from earth, then the exact same disparity existed between Ghost Emperor Yama and the golden imp. To the imp, Ghost Emperor Yama was like a bug.

He was a vulgar devil-ghost meeting the sovereign lord of all living beings.

At least, that was what Ghost Emperor Yama felt in this moment.

"How could you have something like that in your forehead? Who are you?! Ten Lives Seal!" Face written with terror, Ghost Emperor Yama performed numerous double-handed incantation gestures, summoning a heavenly seal that poured into Yang Qi's forehead to try to stop the golden imp.

Unfortunately for him, that sealing mark only caused the golden imp to react with even greater might.

The imp flew out of Yang Qi, and in the blink of an eye, the sealing mark was destroyed.

Then, the imp spoke.

It wasn't the language of humans; every single word was grand, pure, holy, and mighty. This was the language of some magnificent civilization, that much was clear.

Somehow, Yang Qi understood the words being spoken.

"Blaspheme the one marked by the God Legion Seal? Receive punishment from the legion of gods!"

The golden imp reached out with a hand so powerful that it seemed capable of ripping up the Yama Mountains by their roots. The entire palace began to tremble, and the life force springwater went still as the hand wrapped around the dark gold incarnation of Ghost Emperor Yama, as well as his throne, and shattered them.

The golden imp seemed completely invincible, and capable of crushing anything in its path like twigs. Ten thousand years ago, Ghost Emperor Yama had dominated the world, and yet this imp crushed his clone as easily as a clay figurine.

Gurgle. Splash.

The sound of metal chains could once again be heard as the life force springwater began to sink down. Soon, Yang Qi could see down into the depths, where an enormous, chained devil-ghost knelt on the ground. It was fully three thousand meters tall, with pitch black scales, and fiendish energy that would kill even a Lifeseizer who got too close to it.

That was Ghost Emperor Yama's true body; he was no human, he was a devil-god.

He looked up at the golden imp, his massive eyes gleaming with shock and terror. "Godtongue! That was Godtongue, the most ancient dialect in existence! Your energy art isn't heavenly-class. It's godly-class, isn't it?! Dear lord! Why has a godly-class energy art appeared in a lowly place like the Rich-Lush Continent? Compared to all the other worlds out there, the Rich-Lush Continent is so weak! Wait. You're no god-spirit! You're just an expert in the Godmyth level, bound by a godseal, aren't you? Leave this place immediately!"

Roar!

Ghost Emperor Yama seemed to have pulled himself together. Massive amounts of devil-god energy began to bless him, augmenting him with the sensation that he could shake the heavens and topple the earth.

"Reverse the flow of life force. Draw deeply on the lifespan. Remove this god-spirit! Spatial teleportation!"

His roar caused everything in the area to tremble from the powerful fluctuations.

As for Yang Qi, he still wasn't capable of moving, and was relying fully on the golden imp in his forehead, who now continued to speak in Godtongue.

The words came more and more quickly, and caused golden light to converge into a single point, which suddenly pierced through the air with deadly speed toward Ghost Emperor Yama's forehead.

A hoarse scream rang out, and a huge hole opened up in his forehead as his true body suffered a grievous blow. However, at the same time, he managed to send out a sphere of destructive energy, which headed directly toward Yang Qi.

That ball of energy was clearly powerful enough to destroy a Legendary, much less someone as weak as Yang Qi.

However, that was when the golden imp flew back into the recesses of Yang Qi's forehead. Golden light shot forth, and the sphere was destroyed.

Even as blood poured down the face of Ghost Emperor Yama's true body, he threw his hands wide, and bent space-time.

"Devilhorde Greater Teleportation!"

Yang Qi felt the space-time around him cracking and shattering, and then felt himself leaving the palace.

He blinked, and then he wasn't in the Yama Mountains anymore, but rather, back out in the desolate blood swamps.

Off in the distance, the location where the mountains had once existed now seemed completely empty.

"What's going on here?" he murmured. Putting his hands to his temples, he cast his senses inward toward the golden imp. However, the imp was back in its usual position, and was completely motionless.

It was almost like everything that had just happened was a dream.

However, Yang Qi knew that it was no dream. Ghost Emperor Yama saw him steal the life force springwater from Heaven, Earth, and Man, the Three Heroes, and had then teleported him into the Yama Mountains in the hopes of getting his energy art. Thankfully, the golden imp who resided in his forehead ended up attacking the ghost emperor.

And in the moment before Ghost Emperor Yama was completely defeated, he teleported Yang Qi out, resolving the situation.

'Senior? Senior…?'

Yet again, his attempts to communicate were fruitless. The golden imp didn't even move, much less speak in Godtongue, or any other language for that matter.

After a while, Yang Qi simply gave up. 'Maybe my cultivation base just isn't high enough. Well, I won't worry about it for now. I just escaped from almost certain calamity. From now on, I can't go into dangerous situations like that so casually. After all, I have more people to worry about than just myself. What would Father do if I died, or my sworn brothers?'

Yang Qi wasn't necessarily afraid of calamity, but he did have a lot of people to take care of.

After some more thought, he decided that he shouldn't stay in the Heavencorpse Dimension for any longer than necessary.

It took some searching, but he found the Deathly Devil-Eye passageway back to the Blackcorpse Mountains. Before long, he was back in the outside world.

Thanks to the slaughter he had carried out on his way to the dimension, there were no zombies to be seen, and no thousand-year-old corpse kings. He had killed just about everything.

The wretch energy was also much less intense than before. Yang Qi couldn't help but nod in satisfaction at the deed he had accomplished.

With that, he burst into motion, heading back toward Yanhaven at top speed.

He couldn't wait to get back.

Already, several days had passed, and he had no idea whether or not the representative from the House of Spring and Autumn had arrived. After all, he had been unable to connect with his Humanoid True Energy while in the Heavencorpse Dimension.

Thankfully, the connection reestablished soon after he emerged, and he found that the situation in Yanhaven was calm and peaceful. No one from the House of Spring and Autumn had come yet.

Before long, he landed in Yanhaven.

Meanwhile, deep in the Heavencorpse Dimension, the Yama Mountains that had vanished moments ago slowly reappeared.

Deep inside those mountains, in the palace, the life force springwater was building back up again, although, thanks to the blood of Ghost Emperor Yama, it was now pitch black.

'Dammit. Why did I have to run into someone like that? I can't believe he actually had a God Legion Seal in his forehead. A fabled sealing mark belonging to the legion of gods. What is something like that doing on an ordinary person from the Rich-Lush Continent? Ten thousand years ago, I, Ghost Emperor Yama, was completely invincible! If that expert from the Quake-Dawn Continent hadn't come and locked me up with Quake-Dawn godsteel, who could ever have been my match? And yet, godseals are never seen even on the Quake-Dawn Continent!'

Ghost Emperor Yama had been very seriously injured.

He was a virtually invincible devil-god, and yet even he couldn't hold back from howling in pain. He almost couldn't believe what had just happened, and completely regretted teleporting Yang Qi into his palace.

'A godly-class energy art! I can't believe something like that has shown up in this continent! This place was only a tiny part of the Yore-Wilds Continent before the entire thing broke apart. And now, a godly-class energy art has appeared. Don't tell me the mysterious, unparalleled, paragonic gods in their alternate dimension actually want to restore the Yore-Wilds Continent?'

Soon, Ghost Emperor Yama managed to stop the bleeding and close up his wound. Continuing to try to comfort himself, he thought, 'Or, perhaps there are problems amongst the gods in heaven! Either way, considering that a godly-class energy art has appeared here, the Rich-Lush Continent is in for a major storm of events. And what about that Crown Prince fellow who came before? There's an incredible aura inside of him as well. I wonder where he's from. I have to get rid of this Quake-Dawn godsteel!'

Back in Yanhaven, in a particularly spacious den, Yang Qi had reunited with Yang Zhan, Yang Yunchong, and Yang Hualong.

The energy formation of the dao of monarchs was fully activated, providing cultivation results that were ten to a hundred times as effective as elsewhere.

Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong had not yet reached the Lifeseizing level, but they were very close. Both of them had called upon the Four Seasons Swordplay to summon four spheres of sword light, which corresponded to spring, summer, autumn and winter.

By now, they could use their sword energy to kill an enemy ten thousand paces away, making them even stronger than Masters of Energy like Yang Xingshi or Dowager Yan.

"Qi'er, how was your trip into the Blackcorpse Mountains?" Yang Zhan asked. "No one from the House of Spring and Autumn has shown up, but I have the feeling it won't be long. In fact, I was just about to send you a message asking you to come back."

"Forget about my adventures, Father. Look at what I acquired. With this, eldest brother and second brother should both be able to reach the Lifeseizing level." With that, Yang Qi took out the enormous bottle gourd filled with life force springwater. It was so incredibly heavy that the ground cracked and shattered beneath it, and the walls and columns around them creaked ominously.

After all, one drop of life force springwater was dozens of times heavier than a drop of ordinary water.

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Chapter 138: Young Lord from the House of Spring and Autumn

'Life force springwater is an amazing thing,' Yang Qi thought. 'And considering what happened in the Yama Mountains, it's going to be a lot harder for the Crown Prince to get any more of it to help Yun Hailan.'

Yang Qi used true energy to handle the huge bottle gourd, so as to avoid allowing the immensely heavy life force springwater from breaking it.

After all, the gourd was not a magical item, but a mundane object forged from metal. Using true energy, he carefully opened it, and pulled out a single drop of the scintillating liquid.

Taking a step forward, he looked closely at the water. Even just this single drop weighed dozens of kilograms.

If a person consumed it directly, the water would dissolve them from the inside out. However, it was possible to use true energy to refine it into life force, which could then be sent into the meridians.

"Eldest Brother. Second Brother. Circulate your energy and relax your muscles."

Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong were already ready.

Waving his finger, Yang Qi used true energy to pull out another drop. Then, he waved his finger again, causing them to transform into two shimmering, swirling expressions of energy that thrummed with life force.

Without any hesitation, he sent that energy into his two brothers.

Yang Yunchong was the first to let out a hoarse bellow as his muscles bulged, making him look like he was about to explode. After all, a drop of life force springwater was all it took to force a person's life force to the ultimate limit. Watering a tree with a drop of the stuff would cause a sapling to grow into a mighty tree in only a few days. It was truly terrifying.

Of course, no one would go to the ridiculous extent of watering trees with life force springwater. Not even the rarest of spirit herbs needed treatment like that.

"Brothers," Yang Qi said, "the quintessence of the four seasons are connected to the twenty-four solar terms, and their corresponding twenty-four acupoints. Your bodies are heaven and earth, the sovereign lords of all astrological phenomena. Understand this enigmatic truth, and you can seize life from the heavens!"

With that, he poured his own true energy into his brothers to help them.

With the life force springwater replenishing them, they were given the same benefit that would come from a hundred years of bitter cultivation. As the moments ticked by, their true energy climbed higher and higher toward the Lifeseizing level.

Powerful rumbling sounds echoed out as the vital energy of heaven and earth formed vortexes around Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong, causing them to experience a baptism of sorts as they broke out of the ninth phase and into Lifeseizing.

'Amazing!' Yang Qi thought. 'This life force springwater is truly incredible. No wonder that useless Song Haishan actually made it to the Lifeseizing level. Too bad I killed him, making it all pointless.' Although Yang Qi was still pleased that he had managed to get his revenge on Song Haishan, he wouldn't be able to rest at ease until he exacted revenge on Yun Hailan.

'All four of us, Lifeseizers!' Yang Zhan thought, filled with pride and excitement. In all his life, he had never even seen a Lifeseizer. For generations, Yanhaven had been ruled by puny Masters of Energy. But now, he and his sons were all Lifeseizers. It was almost impossible to even comprehend the glory that represented. Their clan was now comparable to some of the most powerful organizations in existence. 'If word spread, even our staunchest opponents would pray to the gods for mercy.'

At this point, Yang Qi retracted his true energy. Eyes sparkling, he said, "Okay, brothers. Your energy arts are now solidly in the Lifeseizing level. As long as you continue to focus on your cultivation, you will continue to progress, and at the same time, be able to care for Yanhaven and the Yang Clan for generations to come. Our direct bloodline is completely stable. The next thing to focus on is grooming the younger generation. Incidentally, how have things been going with the chief elders?"

"They want access to the energy formation of the dao of monarchs to further their cultivation," Yang Zhan answered. "Unfortunately, none of them have performed any particularly meritorious service. In fact, I assigned some younger ones to spy on Yang Xingshi and Dowager Yan, to see whether they were truly on our side, or whether they were interested in sowing discord in the clan. If they've truly repented, and can prove their loyalty by doing good for the clan, I might give them the opportunity they seek. If not, well…."

His eyes glittered with killing intent.

"That does seem like the best thing to do," Yang Qi said. "The chief elders used to be completely high and mighty, so it's only natural that they would chafe under your leadership. Give them some assignments and see how they perform. Only the loyal ones should be given a chance."

"Third Brother," Yang Yunchong said, "not only have your energy arts and cultivation base improved in the Demi-Immortal Institute, but also, you've come to understand how to run a clan and a nation. After you went into the Blackcorpse Mountains, father founded the Yang Clan College, and appointed the chief elders as the faculty. Tests are being administered in the various counties subsidiary to Yanhaven, and the best and brightest young ones will be brought here to study. The top performers will eventually become government officials, allowing the nation to thrive on the backs of loyal, aristocratic clans."

Yang Qi nodded. "Excellent plan. I just wonder if the chief elders will do their best to teach the younger ones."

"If they don't," Yang Zhan said, "then for the good of the clan I might just have to institute the death penalty. Although, enticing rewards will also be on the table."

"Sounds good, Father. By the way, do you have a vessel I could use to separate out some of this life force springwater for the three of you to use later on in your cultivation? By the way, you mustn't allow anyone to know about this water. If word leaked, the consequences would be too horrible to contemplate." Yang Qi gave about one fifth of the life force springwater to his father.

Yang Zhan accepted it with trembling hands. After all, if only one drop of that water had been enough to push two of his sons into the Lifeseizing level, then it could only be imagined how much an entire bottle gourd was worth. Perhaps it would lead to an entire clan of experts! And who knew how far it could push Yang Zhan's cultivation base?

"And if you use it on the loyal young ones, don't directly give it to them. Water it down first, otherwise, they won't be able to absorb it." With that, he put the bottle-gourd away, and went on to discuss other important clan matters with his father and brothers.

Sometime later, a deafening rumbling sound could be heard from outside, and a massive beam of sword energy descended on the clan. Apparently, some consummate expert was arriving. Heart thumping, Yang Qi flew out to the main square in front of the city magistrate's mansion, to find a group of people landing.

All of them were Lifeseizers.

For countless generations, the tiny Yanhaven had never been graced by the presence of even a single Lifeseizer, and yet now, they were showing up left and right.

This group was made up of five people. Four were elderly, with bold, powerful demeanors and haughty eyes. Obviously, they were grand elders from a major organization. And yet, most eye-catching of all in this group was a young man who the four elders flanked. He appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, younger than Yang Qi. He wore light blue clothing, and even as his feet touched the ground, his eyes locked onto Yang Qi.

"Are you Yang Qi from the Demi-Immortal Institute?" he asked. "The one who imprisoned Zhang Lie from the House of Spring and Autumn?"

"That's right. I'm Yang Qi, elite student from the Demi-Immortal Institute." He examined the group for a moment, then continued, "You must be from the House of Spring and Autumn. Welcome, guests. Please, come in and sit down."

"There's no need. We're here for punitive purposes, so you can cut the courteous act. I can't believe that a measly elite student like you would dare to haggle with the House of Spring and Autumn. Let's see how tough you really are!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the young man attacked Yang Qi.

He arrived in a blur, striking out with lightning-like speed, causing swirling snow to fill the air. Unsurprisingly, he was using the Four Seasons Swordplay, and with a degree of skill that far surpassed Yang Qi's ability with the technique.

Moments ago, they had been surrounded by the heat of summer, but this one move caused clouds to fill the air and a snowstorm to cover Yanhaven.

Even more surprising was that he was using a palm strike.

This young man's energy arts were profound to say the least. The House of Spring and Autumn had sent a Quinary Lifeseizer to Yanhaven to deal with Yang Qi, indicating that they intended to crush him.

"Cosmic Sunflare," Yang Qi said with a faint smile. A beam of scorching hot sword energy exploded from his palm, which surged forward to meet the young man's attack.

At the same time, the image of an enormous sword shot up into the sky, tearing open the cloud cover and allowing a golden stream of sunlight to fall down.

The combination of the brilliant sunlight and Yang Qi's Cosmic Sunflare Sword was virtually unstoppable, and caused scorching flames to completely surround him.

In the blink of an eye, the young man was surrounded by fiery, raging sword energy.

"You've cultivated the Cosmic Sunflare Sword to this level…?" the young man said, clearly shocked. Never could he have guessed that Yang Qi would have such an incredible technique at his disposal. "You're really only an elite student? You seem more like a conclave student!"

"Watch out, Young Lord!"

The four old men lunged forward, unleashing their own Four Seasons Swordplay to intercept Yang Qi's invincible sword energy, causing innumerable strands of silk to fill the air.

Silk Rain of the Spring Silkworm

Yang Qi smiled and casually said, "Sunflare Illuminates the Nine Prefectures."

A burning mass of red sword energy appeared behind him, sending bright light out to fill the entire square, and causing the temperature to rise so high that the Silk Rain of the Spring Silkworm was instantly vanquished.

"Stay your hand!" the young man barked.

Yang Qi had never been interested in getting in a fight with the House of Spring and Autumn, so as soon as the young man spoke, he reined in his energy arts and said, "Young Lord, did you have something you wanted to say?"

The young lord hesitated for a moment, then said, "I see now that you are indeed strong enough to make demands of the House of Spring and Autumn. How about this: We'll pay whatever ransom you demand to get back Zhang Lie and the other elders."

From the straightforward manner in which he spoke, it was obvious he had been put in his place by Yang Qi.

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Chapter 139: Converting Enemies to Friends

Yang Qi could tell what this young lord wanted to do. Considering that he had no way of handling Yang Qi, he wanted to turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk. That was why he cut to the chase and clearly stated his demands, in the hopes of avoiding any further embarrassment.

Yang Qi's enigmatic energy arts had something to do with it. It didn't matter that this young lord was a Quinary Lifeseizer, the burning sun Yang Qi had summoned was simply too much for him. And if Yang Qi had been some ordinary person, perhaps threatening him with the reputation of the House of Spring and Autumn would have been effective. But he was a student from the Demi-Immortal Institute, so that made things different.

The Demi-Immortal Institute was the number one institute in all of the Rich-Lush Continent, an organization the House of Spring and Autumn couldn't even compare to.

Considering all of that, this young lord really had no choice but to back down.

"Fine," Yang Qi said. He wasn't interested in throwing his weight around too much. In fact, he was hoping to smooth the situation out. "If that's what you want, Young Lord, then the Yang Clan would be happy to comply. When people show me even an inch of respect, I pay them back with a hundred times that. We'll return Zhang Lie and the elders who came with him. Furthermore, we don't ask for a single bit of compensation from the House of Spring and Autumn."

"Really?" the young lord said, his eyes brightening. He had assumed that the Yang Clan would demand an exorbitant payment from them to resolve things. For things to play out like this was quite refreshing.

All of a sudden, he realized that he liked this Yang Qi.

"Brother Yang Qi, since you're being so magnanimous, then let's just consider the matter between the House of Spring and Autumn and the Yang Clan as having been completely resolved. By the way, Brother Yang, there's no need for you to address me as Young Lord. I'm just one of many of my father's relatively useless sons. Please, call me Lu Wangxian."

Yang Qi nodded, then turned to look at his father and brothers behind him. "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, bring out that Zhang Lie."

"Yes, Third Brother." Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong hurried off.

'Wait, they're all Lifeseizers…?' Lu Wangxian thought, eyes widening a bit. 'The insignificant Yang Clan from Yanhaven has three Lifeseizers? Talk about big fish in a little pond. Actually, they're more like big sharks in a little pond….'

Lu Wangxian's impression of this place was changing by the moment. Earlier, he had assumed the people here were just nouveau riche bumpkins, but as it turned out, they were actually a first-tier aristocratic clan.

After all, people respected power in these lands. With three Lifeseizers in the clan, and the enigmatic Yang Qi, who not even a Quinary Lifeseizer could deal with, it was clear that the Yang Clan would definitely be around for hundreds of years to come.

It didn't take long for Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong to return with Zhang Lie, and the other elders he had come with. All of them had their meridians tightly sealed. Yang Qi waved his hands, and popping sounds could be heard as they were freed.

"Ninth Young Lord!" Zhang Lie blurted. Rushing over, he dropped to his knees and saluted Lu Wangxian. Then, he glared over at Yang Qi and the others from the Yang Clan, and said, "This puny Yang Clan dared to trifle with our House of Spring and Autumn. They should be sentenced to death! Young Lord, please, carry out the punishment immediately! Otherwise, we'll lose a lot of face in—"

"Shut your mouth!" Lu Wangxian shouted. "You good-for-nothing fools are the ones who lost face for the House of Spring and Autumn. I can't believe you dared to come cause trouble here. I just sparred with Brother Yang, and believe me, if he wanted the lot of you dead, he could have done it with the snap of a finger. In fact, you apologize to him immediately!"

"But, Ninth Young Lord, the Yang Clan is definitely involved with the disappearance of some of our disciples!"

"The entire reason I came here today was to resolve this issue," Lu Wangxian said, his face completely expressionless. "It's a matter that involves both the Demi-Immortal Institute and the House of Spring and Autumn, and therefore, you don't qualify to offer your opinion. I'm in charge here, understand?"

"Yes, Ninth Young Lord." Zhang Lie said, shivering. He was familiar with how Lu Wangxian operated, and knew that the more expressionless he was, the more dangerous he became.

"Brother Lu, you're a guest," Yang Qi said. "Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of entertainment here. Why don't we head into my study, and we can talk about the disappearance of those disciples of yours. I can provide a full explanation."

"Many thanks, Brother Yang. Truth be told, my father did send me here to handle that very issue. If I don't take care of things to his satisfaction, I won't be able to show my face in his presence. And my brothers and sisters would definitely take advantage of the situation to my detriment. Brother Yang Qi, you have no idea the type of things that go on in my family." With that, the two of them went inside, along with the four elders, who ranked high enough that they qualified to attend the meeting. Zhang Lie and the others were left outside.

Along the way, Yang Qi contemplated what to do next. 'Although this Lu Wangxian makes a show of complaining about the situation, the truth is that he really wants to find out what happened to those disciples. He's a young lord from an important sect, but he still has to deal with a lot of competition and infighting. It sounds worse than being an imperial prince. If he doesn't handle his tasks well, he'll come under attack. And if he gets a bad reputation, that would be very difficult to come back from.'

After sitting down, Lu Wangxian said, "Brother Yang Qi, could it be that some useless disciples from the House of Spring and Autumn ended up offending the Yang Clan?"

"That's exactly right," Yang Qi said. To the surprise of everyone from the House of Spring and Autumn, he had no intention of hiding the truth. "Some time ago, a few disciples from your house tried to wipe out the Yang Clan…."

With that, he went on to give a detailed account of how he had been pillaging the Chen Clan when he came across the Chiliocosm Mirror, and how some disciples from the House of Spring and Autumn suddenly showed up, demanded the mirror, and then attacked him. He told the entire story, including how he had killed some of the disciples, and crippled the others. "And that's what happened, Brother Lu. So, what do you think? Did I do the right thing? We had no beef with each other, and yet those disciples demanded that we be their slaves! There's no way I could allow my clan to just sit around like a fish on the chopping block."

As Lu Wangxian listened to the story, anger began to burn in his eyes. "So, that's how things played out? Undisciplined and immoral! I almost can't believe that disciples from the House of Spring and Autumn would act in such a way. Elders, what do you think? Are disciples from our sect really this arrogant nowadays?"

"Ninth Young Lord, sir," one of the elders said, his expression grave, "this kind of thing happens with all large sects. It's really unavoidable. Even righteous and upright organizations like the Demi-Immortal Institute will have some bad apples, people who use their power to bully and rob others. That said, such matters should be handled internally. If word got out that outsiders were disciplining our disciples, we would come across as being weak. Reputation is everything when it comes to big sects like ours. Ninth Young Lord, please consider carefully how you handle this."

One of the other elders noticed that Yang Qi's expression was turning grimmer by the moment, so he quickly said, "Of course, the Yang Clan did nothing wrong. You're really in a tough situation Ninth Young Lord. Yang Qi, please, cut us some slack here. We aren't going to blame you, but on the other hand, the Ninth Young Lord has to go back and make a report about the situation. I'm sure we can come to an agreement. After all, our Ninth Young Lord wants to be friends with the Yang Clan."

Yang Qi's expression softened. "I understand. This matter could affect the reputation of the House of Spring and Autumn as a whole. Although our Yang Clan was by no means in the wrong, in the interests of righteousness, we couldn't sit back and do nothing. Brother Lu, how about I offer some compensation?"

"Oh?" Lu Wangxian said, taken aback. "Brother Yang, you're being so magnanimous today that I feel moved to tears. In any case, I have an idea of what to do. Why don't I just go back and say that the missing disciples were set upon by wild beasts and killed, and that it had nothing to do with the Yang Clan?"

About this time, the voices of two young women reached their ears. "Get your hands off me! Let me go! Your puny Yang Clan dared to kill disciples from the House of Spring and Autumn, and then you crippled our energy arts! Your whole clan is going to be exterminated because of this!"

The door opened, and the two young women were shoved in, the very disciples that Yang Qi had crippled. When they realized who was in the room, they were at first stunned, but then began to cry out in loud voices. "Ninth Young Lord! You have to get revenge for us! Exterminate the Yang Clan! It was this guy right here who killed our Elder Brothers! He cut them down!"

Snorting coldly, Lu Wangxian snapped his fingers to interrupt the young woman, who didn't dare to say another word.

"Brother Yang, the crimes of these stubborn, moronic disciples are really unforgivable."

With no warning whatsoever, Yang Qi reached out, revealing a drop of scintillating liquid floating above his palm. Along with it came a powerful aura that instantly enlivened everyone present.

The eyes of both Lu Wangxian and the elders went as wide as saucers.

"Is that…? Life force springwater? Is that really the fabled life force springwater?"

"That's exactly what it is," Yang Qi replied. "Thanks to some meritorious service I performed for the Demi-Immortal Institute, I was rewarded with this drop of life force springwater. It's only a drop, but it should be more than enough to propel someone into the Lifeseizing level. Perhaps this compensation will be enough to make up for the trouble the House of Spring and Autumn has endured."

"This…." It took a moment, but Lu Wangxian managed to calm himself. "You call an amazing gift like that 'compensation'? I can't accept it. Your virtue knows no bounds, Brother Yang Qi. You have my deepest respect."

Snap! Crack!

Lu Wangxian's fingers blurred, and two screams rang out. Then, the two young women from the House of Spring and Autumn toppled backward onto the ground, dead, gaping holes in their chests.

Yang Qi looked on, eyes flashing, fully aware of Lu Wangxian's stance in the matter.

"Not even death can wipe out the crimes of those two disciples. Undisciplined and immoral robbers is what they were. Elders, considering that they flagrantly violated clan rules, shouldn't they have been sentenced to death?" Lu Wangxian looked over at the elders.

"Yes," one of them said, nodding.

"Brother Yang Qi, I think matters have been resolved satisfactorily for both of us. I'll return and provide my father with a full report. And I'll even suggest that the House of Spring and Autumn enter a formal alliance with the Yang Clan." With that, he rose to his feet. "By the way, the House of Shadowblight has been eyeing your clan recently. If you need our help to deal with them, just say the word."

"There's no need for that," Yang Qi said, his tone turning cold. "The House of Shadowblight is a vile organization that deserves to be wiped off the map! I'll kill those dogs myself! Unless they send a Legendary, they won't be able to deal with me!"

As Yang Qi spoke, his aura grew more and more powerful, forcing Lu Wangxian and the four elders to back up a few paces, terror flickering in their eyes as they realized how strong Yang Qi was.

'My god,' one of the elders thought, 'his true energy is so strong! He's as powerful as an Octonary or Nonary Lifeseizer! Is he just a genius? Or is he actually like the Great Sages of the distant past, a god from heaven descended into the mortal world?'

"Very impressive, Brother Yang Qi," Lu Wangxian said with a forced laugh. "Now I know that you were actually holding back earlier; I'm not even close to being a match for you."

"Mercy is a virtue after all," Yang Qi said, smiling. "Listen, Brother Lu. We became friends at first sight, so for the sake of the future alliance between the Yang Clan and the House of Spring and Autumn, why don't we become sworn brothers, right here and now?"

1. Lu is a common surname. Wang means "forget, overlook" and Xian means "immortal".

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Chapter 140: All Men Are Brothers

"Become sworn brothers?"

At first, he was stunned, but soon, his eyes flickered with delight. Considering that Yang Qi had just demonstrated a bit of his true power, Lu Wangxian knew that he was a pure monster within the Lifeseizing level. Besides, who wouldn't want to have a friend in the Demi-Immortal Institute, or even better than that, a sworn brother.

"Okay," he said. "You're right. We became friends at first sight, so let's do it. As sworn brothers, we'll live and die together, and share in victory and defeat alike."

"Perfect! Eldest Brother. Second Brother. Deputy Sect Leader Lu Wangxian and I are going to become sworn brothers right here and now. Fetch some incense!"

"Of course!" Yang Hualong and Yang Yunchong hurried about making all the arrangements.

As for the elders, they exchanged glances, but did little more than that. After all, an arrangement like this would be beneficial to them. Considering the level of Yang Qi's cultivation base, he was obviously going to be an important person in the Demi-Immortal Institute. For their Ninth Young Lord to have a sworn brother like that would make it a bit easier for him to deal with his struggles in the House of Spring and Autumn.

Sworn brothers were different from friends. Friends were simply strangers that one encountered by chance, and ended up having dealings with, but sworn brothers were bound together by a formal ceremony. They swore to live and die together, and to share both glory and dishonor.

After the incense was prepared, Yang Qi and Lu Wangxian dropped to their knees, joined voices and said, "On this day, we, Lu Wangxian and Yang Qi, hereby swear to become brothers. We will share life and death, glory and dishonor. Although we were not born on the same day, we hope to die together on the same day. If either of us betrays the other, let heaven destroy him and the earth eradicate him, and let him be spurned by mortals and gods alike."

With that, they kowtowed eight times, formalizing the arrangement.

Afterward, they burst into delighted laughter. Yang Qi clasped Lu Wangxian on the shoulder and said, "Very well, Brother. Henceforth, the Yang Clan and the House of Spring and Autumn advance together and retreat together. If you ever need any help with anything, I'll be there for you. Any problem you have will be a problem for me too."

Lu Wangxian clasped hands formally. "Excellent. From now on, anything that matters to the Yang Clan matters to me too. Your father is my father."

Yang Zhan cleared his throat. "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that honor!"

Yang Qi smiled. "Very well, my brother. Take care of that drop of life force springwater. Once your father finds out about it, he'll definitely admit that you handled matters perfectly."

"Yeah. Getting this life force springwater will count as a major meritorious service. However, becoming your sworn brother is even more important. By the way, the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition is coming. Plenty of people from other big sects will be there to observe. I hope you perform well, Brother. Considering what you're capable of now, I bet you'll sweep the competition."

"I hope so too," Yang Qi said. Waving his hand, he used his God-Devil Seal to summon a small piece of true energy that resembled jade. Handing it to Lu Wangxian, he said, "Brother, this is an animadestiny true energy seal. If necessary, just crush it to send a message to me; I'll come to aid you as quickly as possible."

Jun Tianchou, Yang Qi's sworn brother from the Sea God Institute, had used a similar technique to create his Four Corners of the Earth talisman.

Lu Wangxian nodded. "Many thanks, Brother. Well, the time has come to say farewell. Take this divine talisman from the House of Spring and Autumn. You can use it to find me if you ever need help." With that, he handed over a jade talisman.

"Farewell, Brother. Until we meet again."

Lu Wangxian left in a blast of air, taking with him the elders, the bodies of the disciples he had killed, and Zhang Lie. In the blink of an eye, they were all gone.

Not only had Yang Qi resolved a big grudge, he ended up gaining the Ninth Young Lord of the House of Spring and Autumn as a sworn brother.

"You've grown up so much, Qi'er," Yang Zhan said. Clasping his son on the shoulder, he continued, "For a minute there I thought you were going to be bullheaded and offend the House of Spring and Autumn. It might not have affected you, since you can always go back to the Demi-Immortal Institute, but it could have caused some big problems for us here in Yanhaven. Instead, you turned everything into a big blessing. Having sworn brothers in life can make everything go much more smoothly. You've done something truly incredible, Son."

"I wouldn't say it's incredible, Father. Save that for when my cultivation reaches the point that I can go to the Hanging Mountain and find Mother. That would be incredible." At this point, Yang Qi's voice turned serious and decisive. "Father, I benefited greatly from my trip into the Blackcorpse Mountains, and now I need to spend some time in seclusion. Afterward, I'll head back to the Demi-Immortal Institute. It won't be long before the big martial arts tournament is here, and I need to do well. If I can attract the attention of the institute, it will provide an even further measure of safety. The House of Shadowblight definitely won't dare to do anything to our clan in that situation."

"I'll follow your lead," Yang Zhan said with a smile.

Sometime later, Yang Qi was back in the middle of the energy formation of the dao of monarchs, preparing to work with the life force springwater. Using his true energy like a hand, he carefully placed an egg-sized collection of the water into his Hellfire Crucible.

Snap!

His true energy immediately began to thrum, and his platinum sagefire grew even purer, to the point where it was nearly transparent. Henceforth, it would be called Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World.

It was now so hot that even a tiny bit of it would be enough to melt the hardest steel.

As the egg-sized conglomeration of life force springwater entered him, Yang Qi instantly sensed multiple particles within him beginning to wake, almost as though an entire herd of megamammoths were rising up.

Just as he had hoped, the life force springwater was far, far more effective than ordinary life force quintessence.

'Quinary Lifeseizing! Awaken, particles! If I become a Quinary Lifeseizer, then I'll be promoted to conclave student in the institute. Although that will make me more important, there will be down sides. The higher I rise, the more likely I'll come into direct conflict with the Crown Prince Society. Right now, I'm not strong enough to be a threat. But once I'm a conclave student, things could be different. In the end, I have to get stronger. If I can become a Legendary, then I can really make a big scene at the competition. But can I actually reach it in time?

'Unfortunately, I have no way to guarantee that the golden imp will always jump out to protect me. If I could be sure, then I wouldn't have to worry about the Crown Prince at all. It only took one move for it to crush Ghost Emperor Yama, a Great Sage. Oh right. What was it that Ghost Emperor Yama said about the golden imp? Something about a God Legion Seal? What's that? And what was that Quake-Dawn Continent he talked about? And why did he say that the Rich-Lush Continent is lowly and weak? It looks like I have some research to do after I get back to the institute.'

As he went about his cultivation, he reviewed his encounter with Ghost Emperor Yama, and thought about the many things he had learned.

Unfortunately, he had no idea what the God Legion Seal or the Quake-Dawn Continent were. All he did know was that the golden imp would take action if it encountered a powerful wretch-devil who was trying to harm him. Sadly, he had no idea how to communicate with it, let alone control it. Until he did, the only thing he could truly rely on was his own true energy.

'I have to break through to Quinary Lifeseizing!'

Focusing his thoughts, he opened his eyes, and the eighty-one particles that he had already awakened erupted with boundless energy.

A god-spirit appeared above his head, an expression of Humanoid True Energy with an elephantine head and a human body. In the blink of an eye, it shot out of the room and high into the sky, above the sea of clouds, until it was amongst the boundless, deadly winds.

As the winds bore down, it lifted its trunk, inhaling the vital energy so quickly that the winds immediately surrounding it vanished.

Flame lightning, intense winds, and bane-devils then appeared, and rushed toward the figure.

This creature with the elephantine head and human body was an expression of the nascent divinity that existed in Yang Qi's soul. Now, the vital energy of the tribulation that came with Quinary Lifeseizing didn't pause for a moment before attacking it.

However, the tribulation couldn't do a single thing to that Humanoid True Energy. It attacked for eight hours straight, and yet couldn't harm it at all. Instead, the true energy was tempered until it looked like ceramic, like the workmanship of some heavenly grandmaster craftsman.

It was a ceramic god-spirit with an elephantine head and a human body, standing tall and straight, surrounded by swirling flows of energy.

Eventually, the tribulation faded away.

The true energy sank back down, and entered Yang Qi again.

As it did, numerous particles within him awoke, and true energy took root on the various acupoints throughout his body, making him stronger and tougher than ever before.

Not even using true energy, he unleashed a fist strike, and punched a hole in the ground as easily as if it were soft tofu.

That was pure fleshly body power.

And the ground in this secret room was made of pure steel, the type that the most powerful weapons couldn't even scratch, metal that was as thick as several people standing on each other's shoulders.

'I'm finally in Quinary Lifeseizing. Now, I have numerous true energy vestiges within my body, all of which can store true energy. My true energy reserves will now be even deeper than before.' The true energy vestiges that were inside of him now were linked to him inextricably, and were basically a part of his body on a fundamental level.

They existed in his acupoints, almost like new seas of energy unto their own. Furthermore, they could defend themselves; if someone broke past the practitioner's defensive true energy and attacked them internally, the true energy vestiges would instantly fight back.

That was one of the main benefits of true energy vestiges.

'Alright, the time has come to return to the Demi-Immortal Institute.' Putting the bottle gourd of life force springwater back into his thumb-ring, he rose to his feet. However, in that very moment, his Four Corners of the Earth talisman suddenly trembled.

1. The oath contains a common Chinese expression that often appears in fiction. It's a bit wordy, and does not sound like something anyone would say in English, so I edited it to make the dialogue flow a bit more smoothly. The full and literal translation is "we cannot beg to be born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, but we can beg to die in the same year, the same month, and the same day".

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Chapter 141: Jun Tianchou Requests Help

Inside Yang Qi's Heart of the Sea thumb-ring was the Four Corners of the Earth talisman, which had been given to him by Jun Tianchou, a conclave student from the Sea God Institute. The two of them had become sworn siblings, and had agreed to use the talisman as a way to keep in touch. Even if they were hundreds of kilometers apart, that talisman could be used to transmit a message.

Originally, Jun Tianchou had told Yang Qi to use the talisman to ask for help if necessary.

But now, it seemed that Jun Tianchou was the one in trouble, and he was reversing the function of the talisman to reach out to his sworn brother.

With the wave of a hand, Yang Qi summoned the Four Corners of the Earth talisman out into the open.

As soon as he did, Jun Tianchou's voice was transmitted to him: "Brother Yang Qi, come to the East Sea, to Fiend-Devil Island. Myself and a few others are trapped in a spell formation set up by the fiend-devils…."

As soon as the message was transmitted, the Four Corners of the Earth talisman exploded, transforming into nothing but water vapor.

'East Sea? Fiend-Devil Island?' Yang Qi had never heard of the place, so he quickly pulled out a map of the Rich-Lush Continent that he had acquired back in the Demi-Immortal Institute, which included the oceans.

The East Sea was a huge place, with countless dangerous locations, island nations, and minor continents. There were all sorts of powerful organizations there, and numerous islands where powerful experts had founded sects on top of the spirit lodes in the sea springs that existed on them.

There were also space-time rifts that led to minor planes similar to the Heavencorpse Dimension.

According to the stories, in ancient times, the fiend-devils in hell used a powerful energy art to tear a hole through the void, opening up a unique area in space where fiend-devils could be birthed. That place eventually came to be called Fiend-Devil Island.

Later, the island came to be used for cultivation purposes by the Sea God Institute, similar to the way the Heavencorpse Dimension was used by the Demi-Immortal Institute. Occasionally, students from other organizations would also be invited to go there to hunt fiend-devils.

Apparently, Jun Tianchou had run into a dangerous situation there, and Yang Qi didn't have time to sit around thinking about the matter. His only choice was to get to Fiend-Devil Island as quickly as possible. When it came to helping a sworn brother, Yang Qi wouldn't hesitate to go through hell or high water.

Thankfully, he had a map, and thus, had a general idea of how to get there.

"Father, Eldest Brother, Second Brother: a sworn brother of mine is in great danger. I have to go save him. I'll leave Yanhaven in your hands, just contact me if you need any help. Here's a collection of antidotal medicinal pills that I acquired when I killed Blightking Skulkdevil and the other elders from the House of Shadowblight. If any people from there come to cause problems, these pills should be a big help."

With that, he shot like lightning up into the sea of clouds, where he vanished without a trace.

Beyond the view of any outsiders, he unfurled his Fiend-Devil Wings. Instead of being pitch black like they had in the past, they now glowed with holy light, making him look almost like an angel. As the nefarious energy was expunged from them, they were slowly transforming into Angel Wings.

Furthermore, the speeds they were capable of only continued to increase.

When he had returned home from the Demi-Immortal Institute, he had been in Tertiary Lifeseizing. Back then, he could move so quickly that he was little more than a white streak of light in the sky. And if he hit a mountain peak along the way, he could slice it clean through.

In the Blackcorpse Mountains, he had consumed numerous devil-ghosts, propelling him to Quaternary Lifeseizing. And with the help of the life force springwater, he had seized life a fifth time.

Now, he was a Quinary Lifeseizer. Alive within him were ninety-nine particles, giving him the strength of ninety-nine ancient megamammoths.

Ancient megamammoths were not like mammoths that existed in modern times. Their trunks could uproot mountains, and they could easily crush tigers, panthers, and all sorts of devillings. In ancient times, they were the epitome of power. They could even drain streams and then shoot the water into the air to become rainstorms.

The idea of the power of nearly a hundred such creatures lurking within Yang Qi's flesh and blood was simply terrifying.

WHOOOOOSH!

He sped through the sea of clouds, holding nothing back, glittering with light as golden as the sun itself. It was as if he could draw upon the power of gods that existed in nature, making him one with all creation, to the point where he didn't even emit energy fluctuations.

It didn't take any effort for him to fly nowadays, it came completely naturally. In fact, he had to keep his true energy under strict control so that he didn't damage his surroundings.

It was relatively easy for energy artists to acquire power, but to control that power was another matter. Smashing a boulder was a simple thing, but using that power to thread a needle would be incredibly difficult.

Back when he went from the Master of Energy level into the Lifeseizing level, he had flown out to the South Sea near the Demi-Immortal Institute. But this time, he was going to the East Sea, which was much farther away.

After flying for barely half a day, he could sense the humidity changing, and could smell the sea air. Reining in his energy arts, he came to a stop and looked out at the endless smattering of islands that covered the emerald waters.

He pulled out his map, then flew around a bit to confirm his exact location. At the moment, he was on the very edge of the East Sea, whereas Fiend-Devil Island was much further out in the depths of the water.

Thankfully, the map was very detailed, otherwise, he might have spent valuable time wandering.

It was already evening, and the moon was rising, casting dazzling light onto the countless islands. It was an extremely beautiful scene, but Yang Qi was too worried about his sworn brother to spend any time admiring it. As a lovely sea wind swept over him, he headed in the direction of Fiend-Devil Island.

Night deepened, and the temperature dropped. At the same time, he sensed wretch energy up ahead, something brutal and soaked with blood. It was so strong that it even disturbed the water. It almost seemed like there were an infinitude of demonlings, slaughtering each other, constantly shedding blood in their attempt to struggle for superiority.

'That's definitely Fiend-Devil Island, straight ahead.' The source of that boundless wretch energy was a massive land mass that was only now becoming visible. It wasn't actually an island, more like a continent. However, its inhabitants weren't humans, but rather, fiend-devils from another plane. They were the descendants of whatever powerful fiend-devils had created the continent in ancient times, and lived so far from the mainland that it was impossible for most of them to reach it even by flight. Therefore, they existed by raiding and devouring whatever sea creatures they could come across in their area.

As he neared, Yang Qi could see fiend-devils of all sorts. Most of them were only about half as tall as an average person, with ugly, vicious faces. They had clawed wings on their back, which looked like smaller versions of his own Fiend-Devil Wings.

Any demonlings they encountered in the water around them, they would fall upon and slash to pieces. Even these lesser fiend-devils had energy arts that allowed them to spit fire from their mouth, fire that smelled like the sulfur of hell.

Further inland, past the lesser fiend-devils, were enormous greater fiend-devils. They were often twice or three times as large as an average human, with enormous wings and profound energy arts. They were as powerful as Lifeseizers, and vicious to the extreme.

As soon as Yang Qi arrived, he attracted the attention of numerous nearby fiend-devils.

RUMMMBLE!

Almost like locusts, the lesser fiend-devils filled the sky as they charged toward him, sulfuric fire spewing out of their mouths, claws extended to slash him to shreds.

There were so many of the things that they looked like an army of ants. Even most Lifeseizers would turn and flee in the face of such a vicious horde of ravenous fiend-devils, lest they be destroyed in a matter of moments.

But Yang Qi wasn't impressed. "Screw the hell off!"

He sent out a wave of energy, causing all of the lesser fiend-devils within a thousand paces to explode, after which their demon cores shattered, becoming vital energy that shot into his Hellfire Crucible.

He had no time to waste on lesser fiend-devils, and thus, he became a white streak that shot through the air, destroying any of the things that got close. Even some of the greater fiend-devils attempted to get in his way, but he simply destroyed them and took their demon cores.

After his experience in the Heavencorpse Dimension, he was fairly certain that Jun Tianchou must have gone deep into the island, and whatever alternate dimension existed there. Therefore, these lesser and greater fiend-devils were of little consequence. His main goal was to reach the location with the strongest wretch energy.

As he flew further inland, he saw more and more spatial rifts, from which emerged numerous fiend-devils.

'Where is he? The Four Corners of the Earth talisman already exploded, so I have no way of contacting him. According to the information on the map, Fiend-Devil Island has numerous spatial rifts that lead to different alternate dimensions. All of them are controlled by different fiend-devils. This is going to be like fishing a needle from the sea! What a waste of time. Well, I guess I can't worry about that now. I have to find him as quickly as possible!'

After some time passed, he made no headway, and finally, resorted to shouting at the top of his lungs, "Brother Tianchou! It's me, Yang Qi! Where are you?!"

RUMBLE!

His voice echoed out like the shock wave from a massive boulder slamming into the ground. As it spread out, countless lesser and greater fiend-devils looked around in shock, and many of them simply exploded.

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Chapter 142: Fiend-Devil Viscounts

Yang Qi yelled as loud as he possibly could, bolstering his voice with true energy.

Not only did the sound waves shred numerous fiend-devils to pieces, they passed through the entryways to the various dimensional spaces.

His true energy was so powerful that these sound waves were almost Humanoid True Energy, making them audible to individuals within the alternate dimensions.

When he got no initial response, he shouted out again, and then again. Countless fiend-devils rushed toward him, but none could reach him, and soon, they simply went into hiding.

Although fiend-devils generally didn't fear death, they were like wild animals in that, upon encountering something even more vicious than themselves, would slink away to save their lives.

After shouting several times in a row, he got a faint response from one of the entryways to another spatial dimension. "Brother Yang, we're over here…."

'That's definitely Brother Jun Tianchou!' Heart pounding with anxiety, he shot toward that very passageway, and entered it.

He soon found himself in a location very similar to the Heavencorpse Dimension. Looking around, he saw endless decaying swamplands, and black streams and rivers that stank so badly he had to suppress the urge to vomit. However, those black waters were rife with lesser fiend-devils, as though that liquid were like mother's milk to them.

There were also many of the things flying about in the air.

Yang Qi ignored them and focused on what appeared to be a mountain off in the distance. Just barely visible at the top of the mountain were several enormous, devilish figures. They sat on the perimeter of a hexagrammic spell formation, in the middle of which was a shimmering black-gold canopy. Inside that canopy, he saw a familiar face: Jun Tianchou.

There were other experts trapped alongside him.

Obviously, Jun Tianchou had brought some friends with him to Fiend-Devil Island to rid the world of devils and demons. However, they had encountered some particularly powerful monsters who trapped them in a deadly spell formation.

Having no other options, Jun Tianchou ended up contacting Yang Qi for help.

There were five peaks on the mountain ahead, and the enormous devilish figures there were clearly different from the lesser and greater fiend-devils he had encountered up to this point. For some reason, they seemed more powerful and noble than the others.

Back in the Demi-Immortal Institute, Yang Qi had studied some of the detailed information about various monsters. Right now, he did his best to recall that information.

'Because of the influence of the power of hell, fiend-devils have a very strict social structure. They are monsters that are born out of thin air, and are classified as lesser, greater, and noble fiend-devils. As for the fiend-devil nobility, they are broken up into barons, viscounts, counts, marquises, dukes, and princes. Their classification corresponds to their energy arts level. Greater fiend-devils are equivalent to Primary Lifeseizers. Fiend-devil barons include Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Lifeseizers. Fiend-devil viscounts are Quinary and higher. Fiend-devil counts are Legendaries. Above them are the marquises, dukes, and princes. I wonder what level those things up there are.'

There were many types of monsters, including zombies, devil-ghosts with their spirit bodies, fiend-devils, bane-devils, blood-devils, heaven-devils, god-devils and many more.

Of all of those, fiend-devils were considered to have the purest bloodlines, as well as the strictest social order. They were very similar to humans in how they ran their society.

All of the various dimensions which connected to Fiend-Devil Island were run by different fiend-devils. There were no other types of monsters.

From what he could tell, the beasts on the mountain were far past the Quinary Lifeseizing level. Furthermore, he didn't sense any Legendary aura. That meant that the group contained Septenary, Octonary, and apparently at least one Nonary Lifeseizer, whose energy fluctuations were roughly on the same level as Holy Daughter Manyflowers.

Yang Qi was currently in Quinary Lifeseizing, and if he went absolutely all out, could probably hold his own against a Nonary expert. However, defeating such an opponent probably wouldn't be possible.

Nonary Lifeseizers were on the border of becoming Legendaries, and had profound understandings of the mysteries of heaven and earth, and the magical laws that existed therein.

Even with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, Yang Qi still felt nervous about fighting someone on that level.

These five fiend-devils, the weakest of which was a Septenary Lifeseizer, maintained their perches on the five mountain peaks, trapping the humans between them.

As Yang Qi continued to observe the situation, he realized that the monsters weren't there in their true form, but rather, as Humanoid True Energy. Their true forms were likely hiding somewhere nearby, although he couldn't tell where.

The crafty fiend-devils had set things up so that launching an ambush would be very difficult.

'What do I do?' Yang Qi thought. He knew that he didn't have time to spare, and thus, his mind raced as he tried to come up with an idea.

RUMMMBLE!

The black-gold, egg-like shield trembled and shrank down a bit. From what Yang Qi could tell, it was some sort of energy art that would definitely be very dangerous to break through.

'My top priority is keeping my brother safe. Killing those monsters isn't as important. The best option would be to break into that spell formation and join forces with my brother. With me there to help, he'll be less likely to get hurt. And maybe we could buy time until more help arrives.'

Having made his decision, he circulated his true energy and became a white streak of light that shot directly toward the black-gold shield. He was now fully drawing upon his dao of the quick strike to try to breach the spell formation and rescue Jun Tianchou.

However, even as he neared, a vortex suddenly appeared on the black-gold shield, which sucked him in before he could react.

As soon as Yang Qi was inside, the five fiend-devil viscounts began to transmit a conversation with devilish sense.

"Viscount Kui, it looks like another righteous individual has been sucked into our devil formation. Although, I must say, this fellow looks particularly strong."

"Only a Legendary could hope to break free from our Preheaven Devil Formation. Everyone else will become fodder for our sacrifice."

Another powerful stream of devilish sense rumbled, "The more Lifeseizer humans we get, the better. For years these righteous humans have been invading Fiend-Devil Island to slaughter us. Now, the debt of blood will be paid in blood!"

"That's right, these humans are all from big sects. They're the best of the best from the institutes in the land. Killing them will certainly ease some of our angst."

"But what if the institutes get angry and attack us en masse?"

"Ah, what are you scared of? There are countless dimensional spaces on Fiend-Devil Island. Some are even controlled by exalted counts and dukes. Although they currently sleep, if the humans attack us en masse, we'll definitely end up slaughtering them. Humans won't dare to interfere in the affairs of god-devils."

The fiend-devils continued to confer amongst each other with devil sense.

'What a powerful spell formation,' Yang Qi thought. The black-gold true energy that crushed down on him caused his defensive true energy to creak ominously. Thankfully, his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was the bane of wretch energy, and therefore, he wasn't very adversely affected.

Now that he was inside the spell formation itself, he saw something else, a shimmering light that looked like a cauldron, which was protecting all of the people inside. Then he glanced over at Jun Tianchou, and could see that his face was ashen, and his true energy was running dangerously low.

"Everyone, this is my sworn brother that I mentioned," Jun Tianchou said. "Brother, come over. We'll open the Flameking Cauldron for a moment to let you in." The cauldron flared with light, and the black-gold devil energy was momentarily dispelled.

Yang Qi allowed the light to grab him and pull him into the cauldron, whereupon the pressure he had felt moments ago vanished.

"You came so quickly, Brother," Jun Tianchou said, rushing forward to greet Yang Qi.

The glowing cauldron was the size of a small house, and was protecting everything inside it from the boundless devil light outside.

"Yeah. As soon as I got your message, I rushed over here without even stopping to rest." At this point, Yang Qi finally looked around at the others in the cauldron, and his eyes immediately flickered with shock.

There were fourteen people present, and all of them were higher than Quinary Lifeseizing. One of them was even an Octonary Lifeseizer, that one being the person operating the Flameking Cauldron.

There were men and women, and they all wore different styles of clothing, but from their haughty expressions, it was obvious they all came from large organizations. One of the experts was a young woman in Septenary Lifeseizing, who wore the long robes of the Sun Moon Institute. She was particularly beautiful, and wore dazzling, silver earrings that were decorated with phoenixes.

Shockingly, all of these people were conclave students.

And all of them were now sizing up Yang Qi.

At this point, the young woman from the Sun-Moon Institute snorted coldly and said, "Come on, Jun Tianchou, you really think this guy is going to save us? A Quinary Lifeseizer? You've basically just doomed him to die. This Preheaven Devil Formation is manned by five fiend-devil viscounts. Only a Legendary could possibly break it."

Clearly, this young woman was disappointed by the low level of Yang Qi's cultivation base.

"My brother isn't an ordinary person," Jung Tianchou said. "Not long ago, when he was only in Secondary Lifeseizing, he actually killed Jiao Wufeng with a single move." Looking at Yang Qi with no small level of disbelief, he continued, "Brother, you reached Quinary Lifeseizing already? How are you progressing so fast?"

Yang Qi nodded. "I encountered some good fortune, that's all."

The young woman with the earrings looked at Yang Qi, her eyes flickering with surprise. "You killed Jiao Wufeng when you were in Secondary Lifeseizing? How is that even possible? If that's the case, why don't you send some true energy into the Flameking Cauldron and see how long you can keep it going?

"Elder Brother Flame Clearspring, why don't you hand over the cauldron to Jun Tianchou's sworn brother for a moment, and see how strong he really is?"

1. There are tons and tons and tons of terms in Chinese for various ranks, titles, etc. The version of 'prince' mentioned here would traditionally have been a rank bestowed upon a male member of the royal or imperial house who was not actually a son of the king or emperor. That's not to say that the dictionary definition applies here. I just want to point out that it is a different word than a "bloodline" prince. Both terms will be used in various points throughout the story, so I will include footnotes to explain which version is being used.

2. I originally went back and forth a lot about whether to transliterate or translate this character's name. If I transliterated it, it would be Huo Qingquan. However, after reading further into the story, I decided to translate it, as there are certain clans and characters whose names are so uniquely tied to their cultivation or organization that they can't be taken as traditional names. In this case "Flame" should be treated like a family name, with "Clearspring" being his given name

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Chapter 143: Doing It Alone

More than ten experts, most of them conclave students from top organizations, were looking at Yang Qi.

They had already been stuck in the Preheaven Devil Formation for several days by now, and no attempts to break free had succeeded; they were forced to pool their true energy to power the magical item that was the Flameking Cauldron.

The protective shield generated by that cauldron was the only thing keeping them safe from harm.

After days of strenuous effort, they were all like oil lamps on the verge of flickering out. They were almost completely out of medicinal pills to replenish their true energy, and although they were all skeptical about what Yang Qi could do, at least he offered them a tiny scrap of hope.

The beautiful young woman from the Sun Moon Institute wanted Yang Qi to take over the effort of running the Flameking Cauldron for a moment to let everyone else rest and recuperate.

"Sure," Yang Qi said. "All of you are friends of my brother Jun Tianchou, so that means you're friends of Yang Qi. We're going to get out of this together, I guarantee it."

"Oh really," Flame Clearspring replied. "Fine, send your true energy into the cauldron. And cut it with the bragging. For all you know, we'll end up having to take care of you. This Preheaven Devil Formation is easy to get into; in fact, it will suck you in whether you want to enter or not. As for getting out, well, that's a different matter altogether. It contains magical laws from the dao of devils, so unless you're a Legendary, you have little hope of breaking free."

He wasn't from one of the four great institutes. However, he was from an organization that was nearly as strong as one. He was a conclave student from the Tabernacle of Flame, and held the rank of deputy pontifex. He was in the Octonary Lifeseizing level, and his enlightenment of the good fortune of heaven and earth was the only reason he had been able to keep the Preheaven Devil Formation at bay for so long.

As far as he was concerned, Yang Qi was no one special, and that was reflected in his tone of voice.

Everyone present was a spectacular hero, far beyond the Quinary Lifeseizer Yang Qi, and thus, none of them were particularly convinced that he would really be able to help them.

Yang Qi wasn't upset by the chilly reception, and realized that the best thing to do in the situation was simply prove himself.

"Cosmic Sunflare," he said, taking a step forward and looking up at the Flameking Cauldron. With that, he summoned a crimson burst of sword energy as thick as a bucket.

The sword energy emanated deafening rumbling sounds as it shot out, and everyone present could sense that it contained dangerous levels of heat.

When the energy touched the Flameking Cauldron, a projection of Yang Qi appeared inside of it. He looked like a sun god, shining with boundless sunlight that spread out and began to burn the black-gold light of the spell formation around them.

"Such strong true energy!" the girl with the phoenix earrings exclaimed, her eyes glittering with delight. "The Cosmic Sunflare Sword contains fire-type true energy that's the perfect fuel for the Flameking Cauldron! There's no way a Quinary Lifeseizer can unleash energy like that! In fact, not even ten Quinary Lifeseizers put together could match up to it!"

Now that Yang Qi was in Quinary Lifeseizing, all of his acupoints contained true energy vestiges that could store true energy. He also had the power of ninety-nine ancient megamammoths. And his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique transformed in nature along with them. As of now, it was like he could truly communicate with the sun, and control the sun god that existed inside of it.

The flare of that sun could fill the cosmos!

Considering that he didn't feel safe using the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth in front of so many strangers, his best alternative was to use a sword technique from another sect. And obviously, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword was the best choice.

He had already imparted all of the true energy from the Four Seasons Swordplay that he had built up to his father and brothers, for use in their cultivation.

However, he had also fused the meaning of that sword technique into the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique. Now, it was a combination of hard and soft, with elements of both fire and water mixed together. The mere sight of it was profoundly shocking to all onlookers.

'How could his true energy be so strong?' Flame Clearspring marveled. After all, he had the highest cultivation base among everyone present. Eventually, this deputy pontifex of the Tabernacle of Flame would become a Legendary. But now, he was only an Octonary Lifeseizer. And yet, from what he could tell, Yang Qi was just as strong as he was. How could that be?

Jun Tianchou laughed heartily. "Sure enough, Brother, you didn't let me down. I knew you could pull off a miracle. Come come, let me introduce everyone. This is Elder Sister Hua Fengfeng from the Sun Moon Institute. Her father is Hua Tianxiong, a Legendary grand elder. And this is Elder Brother Flame Clearspring, a deputy pontifex from the Tabernacle of Flame. Over here is another conclave student from the Sea God Institute…."

Not including Jun Tianchou and Yang Qi, there were thirteen people present, and as it turned out, not all of them were conclave students. Some were deputy leaders of their sects or clans. In any case, none of them could be considered common people.

As the saying went, birds of a feather flock together. It only made sense that as a conclave student from the Sea God Institute, Jun Tianchou would go on missions with people who had a similar standing as himself.

One of the experts nodded and said, "Brother Yang, I could never have guessed that your true energy would be so impressive. That said, we're still stuck in here. Even your true energy will eventually run out, and then we'll fall prey to those monsters out there."

"I'm fine for now," Yang Qi said. With that, he made some adjustments to his energy flow, causing the Flameking Cauldron to shine with even brighter light than before.

As everyone bathed in the radiant light, they felt their true energy being replenished rapidly.

That happened because of the aura of the life force springwater that now existed within Yang Qi's true energy. When Flame Clearspring and Hua Fengfeng sensed what was happening, their eyes glittered with thankfulness.

"Brother Yang," Flame Clearspring said, "we can't help but feel ashamed to have you sacrificing yourself like this on our behalf. Considering the strong life force aura in your true energy, could it be possible that you acquired that most fabled of precious treasures from the Demi-Immortal Institute, the life force springwater? That seems to be the perfect explanation for this."

"You're exactly right. I did get a bit of it." Yang Qi knew that many of the conclave students back in the Demi-Immortal Institute had used life force springwater, mostly thanks to the Crown Prince, so there would be little point in hiding the truth.

"Brother Yang," Hua Fengfeng said, "don't draw too deeply on your true energy. Save as much as you can. We need to figure out a way to get out of this spell formation, or at least, last for long enough to be rescued."

"How long have you been stuck so far?"

"Seven days and nights," replied a young man named Zhao Wuhun. "All of us have tried to contact the chief elders of our sects, but haven't received any responses from them. Those few people who did get our messages and came to help were all Lifeseizers, and are now stuck here as well. No Legendaries have come."

Zhao Wuhun was a conclave student from the House of Martial Saints, which was a powerful organization similar to the House of Spring and Autumn, and ranked just below the four institutes.

"Only Lifeseizers received your messages?" Yang Qi said, expression tightening. "The Legendaries don't even know the situation? This is bad. My guess is that it's all part of these fiend-devils' plan. Our top priority right now should be to escape. If too much time passes, and we really run out of true energy, we'll definitely be in a bad situation."

"We're all well aware of that, Brother Yang," said a young man in green. "But we really have no options. The Preheaven Devil Formation has the power to bend space. And the eye of the formation is packed with gravitational force, so no matter how you try to break free, you end up getting dragged back in. If you don't believe us, Brother Yang, just try to make a break for it with the Flameking Cauldron, and see how far you can get."

Yang Qi looked down at the black-gold devil energy that made up the formation, and could see a large eye staring back up at them.

It was deathly white, and terrifying to even look at. That was the eye of the spell formation, which was actually located deep beneath the surface of the ground.

As a test, he sent some true energy out of the formation, only to find that a huge gravitational force sprang up from the devil-eye and pulled it back.

"A Deathly Devil-Eye?" he said, shocked.

"No, not a Deathly Devil-Eye," Flame Clearspring said, shaking his head. "Deathly Devil-Eyes are objects from the dao of ghosts and corpses. This is a Preheaven Devil-Eye from the dao of fiend-devils. Obviously, a Preheaven Devil Formation would need one to operate. The devil-eye uses the wretch energy of fiend-devils to bend space-time, and right now, we're completely under its control. If we got sucked into the eye itself, well, then we would be done for."

"As for those five fiend-devil viscounts," said another of the experts, a student from the True Dragon Institute, "their true bodies are in the Preheaven Devil-Eye itself. The versions we can see are just projections. One of those viscounts is a Nonary Lifeseizer, which makes that devil-eye even stronger than normal. Their whole goal here is to wear us down until we get sucked into the eye, which will obviously lead to a fate worse than death."

As of now, there were students from the True Dragon, Sun-Moon, Sea God, and Demi-Immortal Institutes present. All four institutes were represented.

After some thought, Yang Qi said, "It seems the best plan of attack would be to send someone into the Preheaven Devil-Eye to attack those five fiend-devils. If we could disrupt their control over the eye, then everyone else would have a chance to escape."

Flame Clearspring shook his head. "In the end, that wouldn't work even if we teamed up. Only a Legendary could stand up to the wretch energy fluctuations in the devil-eye. Anyone under that level would be killed."

"I'll go," Yang Qi said. "I'll buy you the time you need to escape."

"What?" everyone exclaimed in shock.

"Brother," Jun Tianchou said in a serious tone, "are you crazy? Going down there alone would be suicide."

1. Hua Fengfeng: Hua is a common surname. It can mean "magnificent, flowery, grand" and is often used as an abbreviation for "China, Chinese". She has two Feng characters doubled up. Feng means "phoenix".

2. Hua Tianxiong. Same Hua as Hua Fengfeng, obviously. Tian means "heaven" and Xiong means "male, grand, hero".

3. Zhao Wuhun: Zhao is a common surname. Wu means "martial, military, fierce" and Hun means "soul", specifically the spiritual soul. If you want more information about souls, you can .

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Chapter 144: Saving Everyone

Jun Tianchou grabbed Yang Qi by the shoulder in the hopes of stopping what he took to be a completely crazy impulse. "That's crazy, Brother. The viscount fiend-devils in that Preheaven Devil-Eye could only be handled by a Legendary. If you go down there, you're dead for sure. Even if we all joined forces, it would be hopeless. The best thing to do is hold out for as long as possible, and hope that a Legendary comes to save us."

Everyone else present threw in similar bits of advice.

"Brother Yang," Flame Clearspring said, "we know you're trying to do the right thing here, but you'd be like an egg thrown against a boulder. The entities down there are too terrifying to even imagine. Besides, the Preheaven Devil-Eye has the power to distort space-time itself."

Flame Clearspring already liked Yang Qi a lot, and took him to be a heroic individual who valued friendship and righteousness. After all, in response to a call for help from his sworn brother, he had dropped everything and raced over to Fiend-Devil Island to try to save him. Then, he had completely disregarded any potential dangers by offering to enter the Preheaven Devil-Eye to save everyone else. It was a show of absolute sincerity and heroism.

In fact, it wasn't just Flame Clearspring who felt this way. Everyone present was starting to really like Yang Qi.

It was a rare thing for someone to take the initiative to help friends in such a way. That was especially true among Lifeseizers, who viewed life as extremely precious.

"Come on, Brother Yang," Hua Fengfeng said. "There's no need to bring up crazy talk like that. Besides, if you ended up stuck in the Preheaven Devil-Eye in an attempt to save us, how could we rest our hearts at ease? And how would we explain the situation to the Demi-Immortal Institute?"

"That's right," someone else said. "You already put yourself in great danger coming in here to try to help. Now you want to just throw your life away? No way!"

"Alright," Yang Qi said, sighing as his energy rippled. "I came here to save my sworn brother, and now, I have all of the rest of you as friends. So let me explain. I actually cultivate an energy art that's specifically designed to deal with fiend-devils. If I go in there, it will definitely be dangerous, but it won't be suicide. I'll actually have a good shot of eking out a win. Besides, these fiend-devils' plan is clear; they want us to try to delay things, and as a result, get completely worn out. For all we know, there may be a fiend-devil count on the way from deeper in Fiend-Devil Island. If a being like that showed up, we would definitely be doomed. The best thing to do is try to get out of here as quickly as possible. All of you need to get off of Fiend-Devil Island immediately, and then wait for me to join you."

Before any of them could even reply, Yang Qi's true energy thrummed, causing everything around them to tremble violently.

Swish!

He became a blur that shot through the bright light cast by the Flameking Cauldron, and headed directly toward the gravitational force, causing him to be sucked directly into the Preheaven Devil-Eye.

"Brother!" Flame Clearspring cried, but he was too late to stop Yang Qi.

"This…."

Everyone present was completely taken by surprise that Yang Qi was actually going through with his plan without even discussing matters with them. The spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice on display was incredible, and it prompted numerous spirited reactions.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go fight those fiend-devils to the death!"

"Yeah! If Yang Qi can pursue justice with no second thoughts, then how can we be soft!?"

"Everybody calm down!" Jun Tianchou shouted. "My brother went down there in an attempt to save us. We need to think about the situation clearly. If we go in there now, wouldn't it be a betrayal of his goodwill? But if we could escape and send word to the elders of our various organizations, maybe someone else will come along who can save him."

At this point, Zhao Wuhun from the House of Martial Saints said, "Are you really Yang Qi's sworn brother, Jun Tianchou? He's down there risking his life, and you're actually talking about how scared you are of dying?"

"It's precisely because I'm Yang Qi's brother that I'm suggesting this!" Jun Tianchou shot back. "I have faith that he can hold on long enough for us to get out of here and get help. If Yang Qi dies in that Preheaven Devil-Eye, then I swear to end my own life! All of you can bear witness to this oath!"

"He's right," Flame Clearspring said. "Everybody just calm down. If we rush in bull-headed, we're going to turn this into a worse disaster than it already is. Everyone, focus all of your true energy into the Flameking Cauldron, and get ready to break out."

"If we get out of this devil formation," Hua Fengfeng added, "Then we can save Brother Yang. We need to stand united on this."

"It looks like the Preheaven Devil-Eye is starting to stir!" another expert said. "It's gonna blow! The gravitational force is weakening!"

In that moment, Yang Qi's voice echoed out from within the Preheaven Devil-Eye. "Brother Tianchou! I'm fine where I am. Now is the perfect time for you to escape."

When everyone heard his words, their hearts began to pound with excitement, and their eyes welled up with tears. For people like them, there was little worse in the world than to be almost completely out of true energy in a situation like this. To top it off, Yang Qi disregarded his own safety to try to save them. It was impossible for them to not be moved.

Some people were still considering trying to join him.

However, that was when Flame Clearspring shouted, "Let's go! NOW!"

Focusing his true energy, he attacked the black-gold devil light with full force.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi was already in the midst of deadly combat. As soon as he entered the Preheaven Devil-Eye, he caught sight of several distortions in space-time, within which were the five towering fiend-devils. They were all different. One had armor plating and looked like a crab. Another had a sheep's head on a human body. The other three had the heads of wolves and the bodies of humans.

All of them had terrifying auras, auras that vastly surpassed those of the projections he had seen outside.

And yet, before anything could happen, his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth flared to life, and his Infernal Deity Spear appeared, burning with Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World. Instantly, the wretch energy in the area was suppressed.

"Greetings, fiend-devils. Ready to go back to hell!?" With that, he lunged forward, stabbing his spear out in an attack. Instantly, five projections of energy shot out, each one capable of snuffing out all forms of life, and sending fiend-devils to the depths of hell.

Even more impressive, the spear also projected the image of a shadowy figure in black clothing and a wide conical cap, which was none other than an infernal deity from hell, whose task was to collect the souls of the dead.

"What a mighty energy art!" one of the fiend-devils blurted. Howling in rage, the five of them unleashed more streams of wretch energy, causing everything within the Preheaven Devil-Eye to twist and distort.

Five pulses of devil energy smashed into the five spear projections.

However, Yang Qi's attack was strong enough to weaken the gravitational force being exerted, and thus gave Flame Clearspring and everyone else the chance they needed to break free.

Howling, one of the huge fiend-devils appeared behind Yang Qi. It was the one with the sheep's head and human's body; it had a pitch-black carapace and carried a massive hammer that it used to strike at Yang Qi with a devastating, killing blow.

This was a fiend-devil viscount, in the Octonary Lifeseizing level, born and raised in a fiend-devil space-time. Its energy arts were wicked to the extreme, and every move was designed to kill. As for its hammer, it was not a manifestation of true energy, but rather, an actual weapon forged by devilish hands, designed to increase the wicked power of fiend-devil energy arts.

The hammer was larger than Yang Qi himself, and cast a dark shadow over him as it descended, just on the verge of turning him into a bloody paste.

Unexpectedly, he didn't dodge the strike. As the hammer descended, a shining figure with an elephantine head and a human body appeared behind him. It almost looked like a ceramic statue wreathed in Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World. Without any hesitation, it thrust its hands up to meet the enormous hammer.

Bam!

The two hands and the weapon collided, and the hammer was sent recoiling in the opposite direction, two hand prints embedded on its surface. As for the sheep-headed fiend-devil, it staggered backward as its carapace exploded, causing red blood to spurt out everywhere.

At the same time, terror appeared in its evil, triangular eyes.

"Prepare to die!" Yang Qi seemed one with the Infernal Deity Spear as he blurred into motion, almost teleporting through space-time to appear right in front of the sheep-headed fiend-devil.

Then, he stabbed his spear directly into its heart.

Blood sprayed out like a fountain, and the fiend-devil howled in heaven-shaking, earth-shattering fashion as it realized that its true energy was leaking out rapidly. The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was attacking it on a foundational level, destroying it piece by piece.

However, in that moment, another of the enormous fiend-devils howled and leapt into motion. Tendrils of wretch energy shot out, some of them wrapping around the sheep-headed fiend-devil like tentacles, and some of them speeding straight toward Yang Qi's heart.

This was the most powerful expert of the group of fiend-devil viscounts, who commanded an almost supernatural level of power. It was similar to Holy Daughter Manyflowers, being at the peak of Nonary Lifeseizing, and just on the verge of becoming a Legendary.

A devil claw descended, surrounding Yang Qi, its wretch energy threatening to pierce through his armor and devilize him.

In fact, Yang Qi's Infernal Deity Plate Armor was already beginning to transform, changing into scales, which was the first sign of devilization.

Powerful fiend-devils all had the ability to devilize humans, which involved turning them into a fiend-devil.

And considering this crab-like fiend-devil viscount was in Nonary Lifeseizing, it meant that not even someone in Quinary Lifeseizing would be able to resist its devilization.

'What an incredible wretch-devil energy art!' Yang Qi quickly pulled back his Infernal Deity Spear, then stabbed it toward the crab-like fiend-devil. As he did, over a thousand spear projections appeared.

"Quite a strong human!" the fiend-devil said. Strangely, it sounded excited. "You'll make the perfect sacrifice for our Preheaven Devil Formation. I might even be able to use you to break into the Legendary level! We set this whole trap up for that very purpose, and you're delivering yourself up willingly!?"

WHOOOOOSH!

The crab-like fiend-devil threw its sheep-headed comrade off to the side, then stood there facing Yang Qi in a ready stance.

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Chapter 145: Fighting Devils

The enormous crab-like fiend-devil had eight claws, each of them sharp enough to snap mountains in half. He also had a disgusting human face, with triangular eyes that glittered with light that could pierce deep into one's heart and mind.

Anyone who looked into such eyes would experience the terrifying sensation of their soul being tugged at.

That was the power that fiend-devil viscounts had at their command, especially one at the Nonary level.

One by one, the other fiend-devils surrounded Yang Qi. Considering how much taller they were than him, they stared down at him the same way that wolves would stare down at a bunny.

Besides the fiend-devil close to being a Legendary, the sheep-headed fiend-devil was at the Octonary level, and the other three were just below it, in the Septenary level. Each and every one of them was savage, ruthless, malicious, evil and cruel.

As for the energy field they generated in their formation of five, it was strong enough to literally crush anyone in Quinary Lifeseizing or lower out of existence. However, it was nothing particularly threatening to Yang Qi.

The sheep-headed fiend-devil that he had stabbed was already fully healed thanks to the help provided by the crab-like fiend-devil.

Were it not for that outside assistance, he wouldn't have escaped from the Infernal Deity Spear with its life.

And without the powerful nefarious energy in the Preheaven Devil-Eye, there was no way he would have recovered so quickly.

Despite not having managed to take the thing's life, Yang Qi had put on an impressive enough showing to shock all of the fiend-devils present. He was a mere Quinary Lifeseizer student, and yet had charged into the Preheaven Devil-Eye and stabbed a fiend-devil viscount through the heart. They could hardly imagine what that implied regarding his cultivation base.

Considering he was surrounded by five fiend-devils, Yang Qi wasn't going to hold anything back. Drawing on all of the power he could muster, he brandished his spear; the wails of ghosts and howls of gods rang out, and the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World raged around him.

"Fiend-devils from hell, you should be on your knees in front of me, trembling at the sight of my spear. I represent the legion of gods who dominate hell. I am the sovereign lord who reigns supreme over all wretched entities of the underworld…."

With that, he unleashed five more spear attacks. As he did, the image of a god appeared behind him, porcelain in color, with an elephantine head and a human body. It stretched out its hands and splayed its five fingers wide, causing all of the wretch energy in the area to sweep toward the Hellfire Crucible inside Yang Qi.

In fact, the five fiend-devils realized to their terror they had lost control over the wretch energy of their own Preheaven Devil-Eye.

WHOOOOOOOOSH!

Five spear projections sped directly toward the hearts of the five fiend-devils, who already felt their wretch energy being pulled away from them. Thanks to this spear, their devil arts were acting like government officials in the presence of the emperor. There was virtually nothing they could do to fight back.

This was the typical reaction of evil techniques to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

Whether it was fiend-devils, devil-ghosts, or zombies, as long as they carried the characteristics of hell, the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was the bane of their existence.

Roar!

The crab-like fiend-devil howled as its eight arms shot forward and formed an ancient sealing mark. Instantly, a burst of energy fluctuations shot out.

"Grand Palms of the Wretch-Emperor!"

Eight enormous palms appeared, wicked, dripping with blood, and bursting with so much energy that everything in the area distorted.

Those eight hands quickly vanquished the five spear projections.

And yet, Yang Qi didn't seem fazed at all. He slipped from stance to stance using his spear, stabbing at the palm projections in quick succession, destroying one after another.

Suddenly, the crab-like fiend-devil grinned in sinister fashion and began to shrink down in size until he was as tall as an ordinary person. However, that only seemed to concentrate his power and make it more potent. Furthermore, it also summoned a manifestation of Humanoid True Energy, a wretched emperor dressed in black clothing, bursting with the most evil of auras.

Yang Qi recognized this energy art as being a secret legacy of fiend-devils, Wretch-Emperor Energy. If that power fully coalesced in the wretch energy of the Preheaven Devil-Eye, then it would likely make the battle too difficult for Yang Qi.

Quickly summoning his Fiend-Devil Wings, he circulated his true energy and before the wretched emperor could fully form, resorted to the dao of the quick strike.

RUUUUMBLE!

He vanished, moving so quickly that he appeared right in front of the fiend-devil, where he thrust out his spear with the power of ninety-nine ancient megamammoths to back it.

'Strike like a thunderstorm!'

This quick strike really was like a thunderstorm, like a manifestation of the rage of the heavens.

Instantly, the wretched emperor that the crab-like fiend-devil had been summoning was stabbed through, making it impossible for it to fully form.

In response, the crab-like fiend-devil spun in place and fled. Yang Qi's quick strike was like the rage of a god from heaven, and despite being in the Nonary Lifeseizing level, he knew that if he kept fighting, he would end up dead.

Before anything else could happen, Yang Qi vanished again, then reappeared in front of a wolf-headed fiend-devil.

These creatures were weaklings as far as Yang Qi was concerned. Back when he was in Quaternary Lifeseizing, he had consumed a devil-ghost who was an even stronger Septenary Lifeseizer. Considering how much stronger he was now, he could easily kill them with a single strike from his spear.

Whack. Whack. Whack!

Three explosions rang out as the three wolf-headed fiend-devils exploded, and their demon cores flew into Yang Qi's Hellfire Crucible.

Then, blue light shone out as he put their bodies into his Heart of the Sea thumb-ring. After all, their corpses were full of treasured parts that could be used to forge magical items, or handed in to the institute for a hefty reward of merit points.

With that, he turned and began to fly away. He had no desire to try to track down the crab-like fiend-devil. After all, he wasn't completely certain that he would actually be able to beat it in a fight. More pertinent, the Preheaven Devil-Eye had already lost much of its gravitational force.

Also, he could sense that the Flameking Cauldron was gone, which indicated that the other students had managed to escape the devil formation.

Meanwhile, outside of Fiend-Devil Island, Flame Clearspring, Hua Fengfeng, Jun Tianchou, and the others all hovered in the air, looking back at the island and the lesser fiend-devils that flew about on it. Thanks to the help Yang Qi had provided in weakening the Preheaven Devil Formation, they had finally managed to break out and escape. It was impossible to say how many lesser fiend-devils they killed as they did.

"I wonder how Brother Yang is doing. It was difficult enough to escape, let alone pay attention to what was happening in the Preheaven Devil-Eye. That thing is nothing to take lightly. I hope he's alright."

"Flame Clearspring. Jun Tianchou. Quickly notify the elders at your institutes. Tell them to send help immediately. We absolutely, positively must not let anything happen to Brother Yang."

"We need to call for the Legendary elders. I'll send a message immediately with my command medallion." One of the conclave students pulled out a very valuable command medallion and prepared to send the urgent message.

But just as the student was about to send the message, a whistling sound reached their ears, and a blur could be seen. Then, a voice echoed out. "Brother Tianchou, there's no need to send any messages. I broke free. Let's get out of here."

"It's Brother Yang Qi!"

"Brother Yang…."

"Brother Yang didn't die? He succeeded! He's a genius favored by the heavens! A role model for a generation!"

"So strong!"

Everyone rushed over and surrounded Yang Qi, and could sense from the intensity of his true energy fluctuations that he had just fought a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering battle.

"It's not the time and place to talk. Let's put some distance between us and Fiend-Devil Island. Once we find a safe place, we can talk a bit." With that, the group flew along for a few tens of thousands of kilometers over the sea until they found an island covered with blossoming peach trees.

They were now so far away from Fiend-Devil Island that they couldn't sense even a scrap of wretch energy. Even the demonlings in the nearby sea were docile and peaceful.

As they landed, the entire group immediately began to offer more praise. "Brother Yang Qi, I almost can't believe that you escaped from the Preheaven Devil-Eye! Without you, we would have been killed by those viscounts."

Yang Qi smiled. "Ah, you're definitely exaggerating. Besides, I just happened to get lucky, and don't need to fear devil energy. As friends of Brother Tianchou, you're friends of mine. And I'm the type of person who will go through hell and high water for my friends."

Suddenly, Zhao Wuhun from the House of Martial Saints said, "Listen, everyone. We barely escaped certain disaster thanks to the help of Brother Yang Qi. I suggest that we all become sworn siblings right here and now. Henceforth, we will live and die together, and share glory and misfortune alike. What do you say?"

He was a hot-blooded fellow, the same one who had suggested that they all join Yang Qi in a fight to the death with the fiend-devils.

"Fine! Great idea!" said Flame Clearspring, the strongest of them all. Eyes sparkling, he looked over at Yang Qi with an expression of admiration. As far as he was concerned, it was a great idea to become a sworn sibling of someone who would face danger for his friends, and whose heroism and sense of justice towered to the heavens.

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Chapter 146: Sworn Siblings from All Corners

'More sworn siblings?' Yang Qi thought, somewhat taken aback. The thought hadn't even occurred to him, and that was definitely not why he had saved them. But after thinking about it for a moment, he remembered that all of these people were like royalty in their various organizations. Some were even conclave students from the big institutes.

If they all became sworn siblings, then they would definitely make a powerful force if situations of life or death came around.

Although he wasn't the type to rely on help all the time, having more sworn siblings wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Alright," Yang Qi said with a nod. "Considering we were all in a deadly situation just now, I'd say becoming sworn siblings makes perfect sense. And we're all from righteous, orthodox organizations. Here, in this very forest of peach trees, let's become the closest of friends. It doesn't matter which of us is male or female. We will be brothers and sisters. In fact, I'll be the first to swear the oath."

With that, he dropped to his knees.

Everyone else followed suit, their hearts pounding. Kneeling together in a circle, they used the soil itself to stand in for incense.

"I, Yang Qi…."

"I, Flame Clearspring…."

"I, Jun Tianchou…."

"I, Hua Fengfeng…."

Everyone spoke their names, and then, they joined their voices together.

"Today, on this island of peach blossoms, we swear to become brothers and sisters. Our surnames might be different, but we shall live and die together, and shall share honor and disgrace. We shall be bound together in spirit and action, shall rid the world of devils and demons, and shall face all difficulty together. As brothers and sisters, we won't hesitate to go through hell and high water for each other. Let any betrayers be exterminated by heaven and executed by the earth."

Afterward, they brushed the dust off their clothes, rose to their feet, and turned to embrace each other.

Cultivators of energy arts felt a special connection to heaven, and had a healthy fear and respect for its will. Now, they had sworn a formal oath to heaven to become sworn siblings, and thus, it was only natural that they immediately felt more closely connected to each other.

There were exactly fifteen people present.

Other than Yang Qi and Jun Tianchou, there were thirteen members of various institutes, aristocratic clans, or other powerful organizations. All of them were Quinary Lifeseizers or higher, and most were conclave disciples. They were a force who could shake the heavens and topple the earth in the Rich-Lush Continent.

And now, Yang Qi considered them all as brothers and sisters.

Flame Clearspring was a deputy pontifex from the Tabernacle of Flame.

Hua Fengfeng was a conclave student from the Sun Moon Institute, a Septenary Lifeseizer who could rebuke even the elements of nature. In addition to being extremely beautiful, she was a valiant and formidable fighter as well. There were two other female conclave students from the Sun Moon Institute, friends of Hua Fengfeng. They were blood sisters, and were named Ji Xiaoman and Ji Xiaorong.

Those three were the only women in the group.

Then there was Zhao Wuhun, a Septenary Lifeseizer and conclave student from the House of Martial Saints. His master was a Legendary from that same organization, making him very famous.

Next was Meng Qingshan, a Senary Lifeseizer and young lord from the famous Meng Clan. The Meng Clan had a history that stretched back to the distant past, and once had a Great Sage as one of their members, much like the Gu Clan had. However, Meng Qingshan actually had a much higher position in his clan than Gu Fenxian had.

Next were Soaring Cloudheaven, Soaring Cloudwyrm, and Soaring Cloudgrit, who were all Quinary Lifeseizers. They were blood brothers from the House of Soaring Clouds, an organization similar to the House of Spring and Autumn or the House of Martial Saints.

Next was Yuan Tiankong, a conclave student from the Sea God Institute, a Quinary Lifeseizer and Elder Brother to Jun Tianchou.

After him was Sun Qian, Quinary Lifeseizer and conclave student from the True Dragon Institute.

Then there was Li Zhengdao, conclave student from the True Dragon Institute, and Elder Brother of Sun Qian. He was also a Quinary Lifeseizer.

Finally was Su Ximing, who was actually not a disciple or child of any organization or clan. He had come across good fortune of his own, and silently practiced cultivation to the point of being a Quinary Lifeseizer. He was a friend of Jun Tianchou, and was actually preparing to found a sect of his own. It had all started when he came across the first half of an imperial-class energy art, the Eight Polarities Divine Anthology.

One by one, Yang Qi met all of his new brothers and sisters, and learned a bit about them. All of them knew that he was from the Demi-Immortal Institute, and they were already in awe of his energy arts. In fact, Flame Clearspring could tell that despite being an Octonary Lifeseizer, if he got in a real fight with Yang Qi, he would come out the loser.

For a Quinary Lifeseizer to be able to defeat someone in Octonary Lifeseizing was a rarity that only happened once every thousand years.

"Brother," Flame Clearspring said, "who could ever have guessed that a genius like you would rise up in the Demi-Immortal Institute? When the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition arrives, I'm certain you'll sweep your opponents and take first place. The Tabernacle of Flame has been invited to observe, so I'll definitely be watching your performance."

In response, Yang Qi shook his head. "I'm not interested in fame. I just want to practice my cultivation in peace and quiet. In fact, I don't want to make much of a scene until I'm a Legendary. Before then, I'm worried I might get killed if my true strength is revealed."

"Killed?" Hua Fengfeng said, clearly surprised. "Does someone have a grudge with you, Little Bro Qi? If so, how strong are they? Don't tell me that you have a beef with a Legendary."

Yang Qi smiled. "It's a personal matter of mine that I'd rather not trouble you all with." With that, he waved his hand, causing a manifestation of Humanoid True Energy to appear, which broke apart and reformed into a handful of paper talismans. "Brothers and Sisters, my Humanoid True Energy contains some of my heart-blood. If you ever encounter any trouble, crush the talisman, and I'll sense it. And after that, ten thousand mountains and rivers couldn't block my path to come help."

With that, he sent the paper talismans flying out to everyone present.

Snatching a talisman, Flame Clearspring said, "Yang Qi, if you have that attitude, then you're not treating us as true brothers and sisters. You just braved the depths of a Preheaven Devil-Eye to save us. If you're facing some trouble, how could we possibly sit idly by? In fact, even if it were a Legendary, we still wouldn't need to fear. After all, every single one of us is backed by a major power, right? Truth be told, with all fifteen of us working together, we could shake the entire continent! Who out there would we possibly be afraid of?"

Flame Clearspring was the son of the pontifex of the Tabernacle of Flame, who was a famous Legendary, so it was little wonder he was so confident.

Yang Qi sighed. "Well, to tell you the truth, it's the Crown Prince Society. Have you heard of them?"

"Crown Prince Society?" Faces fell, and some gasps were even heard. "Brother Yang, don't tell me that your enemy is the leader of the Crown Prince Society, the famous Crown Prince himself? I've heard he's a god from heaven descended into the mortal world, born after his mother dreamed of a fallen star. He's definitely not someone to take lightly."

"Well, I'm not specifically referring to him. Here's the whole story…." With that, Yang Qi went on to explain how Yun Hailan betrayed him, joined the Demi-Immortal Institute, attracted the attention of the Crown Prince, and finally took Patriarchs Wind and Cloud as masters. "If I can reach the Legendary level, then I would be able to fight with people like the Crown Prince if I had to."

"You're right," Jun Tianchou said. "That is a bit of a problem. The truth is that although all of us are outstanding individuals from the most powerful organizations in the Rich-Lush Continent, the Crown Prince ranks even higher than us. A mere wave of his hand could cause a storm of chaos to grip the lands. However, even if he were more powerful than he already is, if you make a move on him, Brother, we'll all join you!"

"That's right," said Sun Qian from the True Dragon Institute. "I'm not afraid of anything in heaven or earth!" But then he shook his head. "That said, the Crown Prince Society really is powerful. They've even started meddling in affairs in our True Dragon Institute. In fact, some of the students there have joined the society. And with the blessing of the society, the leaders of the so-called branch there have advanced by leaps and bounds in their cultivation. Everyone knows how ambitious the Crown Prince is. He wants to single-handedly control all of the students in all four of the institutes. But it's not like we'll let him do that without a fight, right?"

"You're right, Brother Sun Qian," Yang Qi asked. "By the way, is there a young woman at your institute named Yan Feixia? She's probably a freshman student. I'm just curious how she's been doing."

"Freshman student? I usually don't pay attention to people who rank so low." After all, the difference between a conclave student like Sun Qian and a freshman student was like the difference between heaven and earth. "Although, now that I think about it, the name Yan Feixia does sound familiar. I'm pretty sure one of the Legendary elders took a liking to her and accepted her as a consecrated apprentice. She must have a pretty impressive background. Why? Are you close with her?"

"Close with her? To some degree, yes. I saved her life once. But on the other hand, she's somewhat of an enemy. My clan drove her clan out of the city we both come from." He went on to provide a bit more explanation, then said, "The reason I bring it up is not because I want her dead. If that were the case, I wouldn't have saved her life. I'm just interested to know if she'd be willing to turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk as the saying goes. In fact, that's one of the reason why we simply drove her Yan Clan away, instead of wiping them out."

Sun Qian nodded. "I understand what you mean, Brother. If I get the chance, I'll explain the situation to her. It's always better to end rivalries than foster grudges. We're students of the four institutes now. We shouldn't let clan squabbling interfere with more important things."

At this point, Hua Fengfeng said, "Little Bro Qi, there are always a multitude of issues to deal with in life, and little time to do so. We're all brothers and sisters now, so we'll have plenty of time in the future to take care of any important matters. For now, it's time for us all to return home. The big martial arts tournament is coming, and we all look forward to seeing you stomp the competition."

Yang Qi nodded. "Very well. I look forward to reuniting with all of you there. It won't be long now." Yang Qi was anxious to get back to the Demi-Immortal Institute and make good use of the life force springwater. If he could rise by another level or two, then if he ended up facing a Legendary, he would at least be able to defend himself.

"I'll take my leave now, Brother."

"If you have the time, come visit us. We'll definitely entertain you well."

Everyone said their goodbyes. After all, the fourteen others in the group had been stuck in the Preheaven Devil Formation for seven days and seven nights. They needed time to replenish their true energy, and then reflect on the experience. That was the only way to benefit from the incident, and even make some progress because of it.

Flame Clearspring was the first to fly into the air and then speed away, and everyone else followed suit.

1. Ji Xiaoman and Ji Xiaorong: Ji is a common surname which also means "order, discipline, age, era". The two sisters share the Xiao character, which means "small, little." Man means "graceful, large, lengthy". Rong means "tolerate, permit, form, shape".

2. Meng Qingshan: Meng is a surname (same as Meng Hao). Qing means "green, blue, azure, young" and Shan means "mountain". This is kind of a funny name if you're a fan of ISSTH, because the mountain that Meng Hao always reminisces about, Mount Daqing, uses the same characters as "qingshan".

3. Soaring brothers: Similar to Flame Clearspring, I went back and forth about whether to translate or transliterate these three brothers' names. In the end, I feel that the names are intended to be fabricated, similar to Daoist names.

4. Yuan Tian: Yuan is a common surname. Tian means "heaven" and Kong means "sky", and together, they make tiankong, a common word that just means "sky".

5. Sun Qian: Sun is a common surname that also means "grandchild". Qian is a really complicated character. It has a variety of meanings on its own, but in xianxia novels usually refers to its function as one of the Eight Trigrams, in which it symbolizes the sky or the heavens.

6. Li Zhengdao: Li is a common surname. Zheng means "true, proper, correct" and Dao means "way, path, the Dao". Together, they make the word Zhengdao which means "bonafide, genuine, the right path, morally upright".

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Chapter 147: Sword Training

Thus ended a spectacular battle, and a daring rescue.

Then, on an island of peach blossoms in the middle of the East Sea, fifteen people swore oaths to live and die together. Yang Qi was quite pleased with how it all turned out. Now he had sworn siblings from all corners of the lands. Having lots of good friends would always prove to be an advantage. And he would be reuniting with those friends sooner rather than later, at the big martial arts competition between the four institutes.

The fact that experts from all sorts of orthodox organizations would be invited to be spectators at the competition meant that it was a grand occasion involving the entire continent.

The Sage Ancestor Dynasty, which officially ruled over all the lands, would send representatives to oversee the occasion. Sometimes, the emperor himself would come to demonstrate his energy arts as a way of underscoring his majesty and might.

It was also an occasion in which the big institutes could show off their top geniuses.

Furthermore, it was a way for the institutes to identify their top talents, the individuals who would lead the future growth of their respective organizations.

Even more important, if the True Dragon, Sun-Moon, and Sea God Institutes could bring more genius experts to the competition than the Demi-Immortal Institute, it was entirely possible that the Demi-Immortal Institute would no longer be known as the number one institute in the lands.

That was something that the leadership of the Demi-Immortal Institute, the elders, grand elders, prime elders and prime paragon elders couldn't possibly stand for.

Yang Qi had long since noticed the somewhat tense atmosphere in the institute recently. And many experts had gone into seclusion to work on their cultivation, including his Aunt Susu, and even Holy Daughter Manyflowers.

'Right. I really need to get some life force springwater to Aunt Susu. She'll really advance by leaps and bounds then. When Holy Daughter Manyflowers comes out of seclusion and sees me, she's definitely going to be blown away.'

Unless Holy Daughter Manyflowers managed to reach the Legendary level, she would currently be at the same power level as Yang Qi. And if he went all out, he could probably best her. Of course, if she had become a Legendary, there would be no competition between them.

Unfortunately for her, there was no way Yang Qi would give her life force springwater to help her with a breakthrough. For one thing, it provided life force, not the vital energy that was necessary to reach the Legendary level. Even more pertinent, if word spread about the matter, and the people from the Crown Prince Society found out, they would instantly know that he was responsible for robbing them, which could prove troublesome.

Although Holy Daughter Manyflowers was powerful, she wasn't powerful enough to protect him from the Crown Prince.

According to the stories, the Crown Prince wasn't just a Legendary, he was a top expert among Legendaries. He was even more powerful than Patriarchs Wind and Cloud. Otherwise, those patriarchs wouldn't have treated Holy Daughter Manyflowers so insultingly during their last meeting.

Yang Qi watched all of his new sworn siblings leaving. Eventually, he was alone on the island of peach blossoms, and yet, he didn't leave. Instead, he decided to enjoy the lovely scenery for a bit.

Although this island had no name, the peach trees that covered it were not ordinary. They bloomed with spectacular colors, and emanated a strong medicinal aroma. They were also enormous, with dark green trunks that resembled jadeite.

Yang Qi sent out a stream of sword energy to slice a branch off one of the trees, whereupon an extremely fragrant, emerald-green sap flowed out. Clearly, these trees were very high-quality spirit plants.

Furthermore, after looking around the island more closely, it was obvious that the trees weren't growing here naturally, they were being tended by human hands.

Upon arriving, neither Yang Qi nor any of his friends had seen any traces of habitation, nor had they seen any mansion grotto where someone might be in seclusion. That wasn't necessarily unusual. Islands dotted the sea like stars in the sky or Go pieces on a Go board, whereas human beings were few and far between. Considering that there were underwater spirit meridians everywhere, it wasn't unusual for energy arts masters to use islands like personal farms to raise spirit plants.

As such, it was likely that whoever tended these trees would eventually come back.

According to what Jun Tianchou had told Yang Qi, the numerous beautiful holy lands that existed in the region surrounding Fiend-Devil Island had long since been abandoned. Energy arts masters just didn't want to deal with the constant threat of the fiend-devils.

Apparently, that was exactly what this island was.

Flying up into the air, Yang Qi looked around and confirmed that the island was only about five kilometers from end to end, and roughly crescent-shaped. Furthermore, from the various birds that flew about amongst the trees, it seemed unlikely that there were any dangerous devillings present.

Yang Qi sent his true energy out into the air, slowly covering the entire island. As he assessed its layout, he realized that there was some sort of spirit spring in the very middle of the island, emitting a steady stream of spirit energy.

'No wonder. Without that spirit spring, it seems unlikely that all these trees would be growing here. The sap from the trees would help in energy arts cultivation even more than energy convergence pills. However, to a Lifeseizer, it would be relatively useless.'

Before going back to the Demi-Immortal Institute, Yang Qi wanted to do a bit of practice with his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique and Invincible King's Fist, and this deserted island seemed like the perfect place to do so.

Obviously, he couldn't use his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth in the middle of the big competition, with numerous experts all looking on. Even trying to use it in disguise would be too risky with so many extremely knowledgeable individuals present. Even the most righteous and sanctimonious energy artists would transform into worse fiends than Ghost Emperor Yama if they thought they could get their hands on a godly-class energy art. And the result would be his own death.

Despite all that, though, he didn't want to just blindly press on without any greater strategy. Therefore, his plan was to take the true energy of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and convert it into sword energy that could be used by his Cosmic Sunflare Sword. That would turn the sword technique into something that surpassed anything which had ever been seen, either in the past or the present.

With a sword technique like that, he would be like a shining sun high in the sky, capable of defeating any genius who tried to fight him.

With that, he made his way to the spirit spring in the middle of the island. Because of the spirit energy it emitted, everything surrounding it was completely pure and clean.

The mouth of the spring was like a little pond that stretched down to depths unknown. In fact, it was actually impossible to see its bottom, as though the spring descended into the very depths of the ocean.

Yang Qi sat down next to it and sent out a field of energy that would make him invisible to any people or demonlings who were observing from outside.

'I need to thoroughly understand the Cosmic Sunflare Sword, and then combine it with my own true energy.' Although the Cosmic Sunflare Sword was a royal-class energy art, it actually existed on the very cusp of imperial-class. The person who originally invented it used it to dominate all creation, to raze mountains to the ground and evaporate entire seas. Its sword energy was formed by the quintessence of the burning sun, and was capable of emitting heat like that of ten suns combined.

He had acquired the full and complete technique from the Demi-Immortal Institute some time ago, but had never spent the time to study it thoroughly.

The sun burned high in the sky, and as he began to work with the technique, a smaller sun appeared above his head. Two suns shone with brilliant radiance, causing the entire island of peach trees to be covered with golden light.

From a distance, the island almost looked like it was on fire.

'Sword Energy Convergence!' As he continued to work with the technique, the sword energy of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword became a swirling, golden vortex as the sunlight was sucked into it. The quintessence of the burning sun in the sky created numerous shafts of bright light, inborn flame that writhed like fiery serpents.

'Sensing the Star God!' Yang Qi's sword energy vortex was like a black hole, dragging all of the light in the area into it, and causing the devillings nearby to sink down to the depths of the ocean in fear.

Eventually, the gravitational force began to drag the energy from the spirit spring into it, combining it with the aggressive, masculine energy therein.

As of this moment, Yang Qi had pushed his Cosmic Sunflare Sword to the level of Sensing the Star God.

That indicated that his version of the technique had reached the level intended by its original creator. He could actually sense the star god that existed in the huge sun overhead, and could call on its power by communicating to it with his nascent divinity. Even in the pitch black of night, his sword energy could summon burning true flame of the sun that would dispel all darkness.

By cultivating it to the proper level, one could literally turn night into day. In fact, experts of the past had used that ability to create areas around them that didn't see night for months at a time.

Obviously, that was something that came with the Legendary level, as it involved mysterious transformations of the magical laws of space.

Once Yang Qi succeeded with Sensing the Star God, he felt his true energy flowing into the sword energy vortex, and reaching an indescribable state.

A boom rang out as the sword energy shot upward, causing everything for fifty kilometers to tremble, heading into the sea of clouds and then beyond.

Yang Qi could sense that, far out into the void, there was a sphere of fire, burning endlessly, majestic beyond the compare of any human. It was a thing of god-spirits, something created by the legion of gods. It was the sun! The sun!

The sun was something that surpassed Legendaries or Great Sages. In fact, compared to that massive entity, a Great Sage would be like nothing more than an ant.

With his thoughts cast into the sword energy, Yang Qi could feel the enormous burning sun, and could sense the intense heat branding itself onto his soul.

Finally, the sword energy returned to him, causing endless sparks to rain down on the island of peach trees.

It was a heavenly sign that his energy art had stirred the inborn flame of the sun itself.

In that moment, something deep in the island reacted to the sword energy, and stirred. Suddenly, the spirit spring turned intensely cold.

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Chapter 148: Island of Unusual Fate

Having reached the level of Sensing the Star God, Yang Qi could draw out the true flame of the sun itself, and use it to forge sword energy.

As his cultivation base grew more and more refined, his sword technique could become godlike, and even use true flame to create a cosmic flame palace. His blood could slowly become golden like the sun, until eventually, he could call himself the offspring of the sun.

Of course, his blood had already been purified to the point where it was like the color of porcelain. It was the blood of a god from heaven, which surpassed the blood of the sun. Therefore, he didn't need to use scorching hot true energy to transform his blood.

In fact, with the blood of the legion of gods, he could push his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique to an even greater level of power, until it was also like something created by gods.

Doing that would be far more effective than improving it with a sun gem.

According to myth and legend, it was the legion of gods who had created the sun to begin with. After all, they were the sovereign lords of all, and had created everything.

Even as the fiery rain descended on the island of peach trees, incomparably frigid energy erupted from the spirit spring, becoming crystalline layers of ice that rose up to block the path of the sparks.

Considering how much frigid energy blanketed the island, it seemed like there must be something lurking in its depths that had been provoked into action.

Each spark within that fiery rain was hot enough to melt metal and pierce rock, and if it had actually landed onto the island, it would have been turned into slag, and all of the trees would have been destroyed.

That was one reason why Yang Qi had avoided carrying out this session of cultivation at the Demi-Immortal Institute.

If he had, it would have definitely been noticed, and worse, would probably have thrown the institute into chaos. And of course, people would have begun to investigate the reason for it all.

In contrast, he was free to do what he wished on this remote island. After all, with his life force springwater and abundance of vital energy, he wasn't worried about any problems cropping up. Furthermore, it seemed as though he actually ended up encountering even further good fortune.

As the frigid energy spewed out of the spring, it became like clouds of ice that blocked the intensely hot rain of sparks.

Cracking sounds rang out as the sparks hit the ice clouds. Not a single spark made it through; they were vanquished by the clouds, which slowly began to turn into dense mist.

At that point, Yang Qi waved his hand, causing the deluge of sparks to swirl together to form a fiery sword several dozen meters long, which he used to slash the ice clouds to bits.

Then, he sucked the sword energy into his dantian region, where it condensed down into a flame spark, floating amidst his true energy.

The most typical representation of Sensing the Star God was the ability to make a flame spark that represented the sun. Although it was miniscule, and constantly flickered as though it might be extinguished, it was actually formed from the true flame of the sun, and was itself like the soul of the sun.

"Disperse this mist!" He then unleashed his sword energy, causing golden, burning light to emerge, which transformed into fire flowers, fire trees, fire crows, fire birds, fire horses, fire qilins, fire dragons, fire humanoids, fire phoenixes, fire palaces and the like.

The fire then spread out through the island, dispelling the mists, and allowing the brilliant sunlight to shine down on it again.

Miraculously, none of the peach trees were burned, and in fact, they seemed to bloom even more spectacularly than before. Yang Qi's sword energy had truly reached the point of perfection; it was as if it had its own soul which governed its actions, and prevented it from blindly destroying everything in its path.

With the ice clouds and the mists driven away, the island almost seemed to be reborn. No more frigid energy pulsed out of the spirit stream, only spirit energy, which spread out to nourish the trees.

'There's something very strange about this spring!' Yang Qi looked into its depths, but could see nothing, so he finally sent out a stream of true energy to investigate.

Down, down the true energy went, finding no bottom.

Eventually, the water grew so cold that his true energy began to freeze up. And as he descended further and further down, the space widened.

At the mouth, the spring was only the size of a bowl, but down here, thousands of meters from the surface, it was already kilometers wide. In fact, it was wider than the island above, but did not contain sea water.

The water here was not like the sea water in the ocean. Sea water was salty, but this one was sweet and aromatic, and could liven the senses.

At a depth of roughly twelve thousand meters, the level of coldness was shocking, and Yang Qi's true energy was so frozen up that it could hardly move. Shaking his head, he bolstered his true energy directly with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, allowing it to break through the ice like a boulder crushing a drinking glass. Soon, he was thirty-thousand meters down.

There, he saw successive layers of ice so solid that it couldn't possibly break or melt by any ordinary means. It was as hard as steel, and pulsed with such frigid energy that it could freeze virtually all other types of true energy. If it wasn't for his godly-class energy art, there was simply no way Yang Qi could sink his true energy to this depth.

Not even Nonary Lifeseizers like Holy Daughter Manyflowers could do so.

The layers of ice seemed endless, and as still as death, without any living things anywhere. Yang Qi's stream of true energy swept this way and that, which required a massive drainage of energy with every breath of time that passed. Thankfully, he had such boundless reserves that he could easily sustain such wastage.

'Why would there be a kingdom of ice at the bottom of a spirit spring? There must be something hiding in here. Otherwise, why would so much frigid energy have shot up to counter the rain of sparks?' As his true energy 'eyes' roved about, he suddenly realized that in the depths of the frozen waters was a baleful, fiendish energy that suddenly rose up as if to attack him.

'There it is!' Some distance away in the depths of the ice was an enormous ice dragon.

It was hundreds of meters long, and it seemed capable of moving through the layers of ice with no effort at all. It was a deep azure blue, and almost looked like a statue of jade or stone, pulsing with boundless frigid energy.

'An ice dragon? A real dragon?'

Real live dragons were nothing to be taken lightly. For the most part, they only existed in mythological stories of the distant past. Even Legendaries would immediately retreat in the face of such a beast.

The most powerful creatures in modern times were floodwyrms, not dragons, the two of which were different on a substructural level.

Shockingly, in the depths of this spirit spring, far beneath the island of peach trees, was a kingdom of ice, within which lurked an actual ice dragon.

'Hold on. No, it's not a true dragon, it's a sword! A divine sword!' Although Yang Qi's true energy seemed like it was about to be defeated, it was at that moment that, as he sat above on the island next to the mouth of the spring, he said, "Hell-crushing godmammoths can sweep away heavenly bodies, and inhale suns and moons!"

All of the true energy within him shot toward the spring, causing the stream of true energy which descended down to transform into something like the trunk of a mammoth.

The image of a godlike being appeared above him, with an elephantine head and a human body, whose trunk seemed capable of absorbing any and all treasure which might exist in the depths of the spring.

As for the dragon, Yang Qi could see through to its true form, which was a long sword roughly a meter long, dark green in color, almost as if it were forged from jade. Its aura was no less powerful than the crab-like fiend-devil he had fought recently. As for the ice dragon, it was merely the manifestation of the frigid energy that emanated from the sword itself.

It was a divine sword that already had its own spirit; apparently, it was lurking in the depths of this spring as it grew stronger. It was almost like some consummate demon-devil hiding away practicing personal cultivation.

'What an incredible sword….' Yang Qi thought. 'Amazing. I've never seen a sword such as this before. I wonder what mighty expert left it here, sealed in this spring, feeding on the layers of ancient ice, never to be seen in the outside world? I have to get it! If I combined it with my Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique, the complementary aspects of fire and ice would make it so powerful that I could dominate the world of energy artists.'

Yang Qi immediately started to get excited.

However, it was a very powerful sword, located in a mysterious kingdom of ice. Even a Legendary would probably have trouble subduing it. All Yang Qi could do at the moment was use his true energy to struggle with the sword, hopefully subdue it, and then reel it out from the depths. Obviously, he couldn't enter the depths of the spring with his fleshly body.

And that would significantly limit the strength he could use.

Obviously, this wasn't a naturally occurring phenomenon. Some almighty expert must have left the sword there, someone who was likely a Legendary.

The massive trunk of true energy that Yang Qi controlled stretched into the depths of the mysterious kingdom of ice, and then headed directly toward the ice dragon.

As for the dragon, it looked over disdainfully and then attacked the true energy trunk.

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Chapter 149: Subduing the Divine Sword

The sword, manifested as an ice dragon, slashed out with its claws, sending crystalline streams of frigid energy out to wrap like fetters around Yang Qi's true energy trunk.

'True energy reversal.' The trunk swished, shattering the fetters.

'Nascent divinity incarnation.' Yang Qi poured more true energy into the depths of the spring, creating a Humanoid True Energy manifestation with an elephantine head and a human body.

Personally controlling the manifestation, Yang Qi sent it to attack the ice dragon with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

By this point, the massive wastage of true energy had Yang Qi down to half of his total reserves.

After all, the divine projection with the elephantine head and a human body required massive support to be able to unleash the true battle prowess that Yang Qi was capable of. Otherwise, it would be smashed by the ice dragon in the shortest of moments.

'Life force springwater!' A drop of life force springwater flew out of his thumb-ring, entering his mouth and instantly dissolving into true energy, replenishing and invigorating him.

The fact that he had to resort to life force springwater was very telling. Clearly, other than him, no one but a Legendary could possibly try to subdue this divine sword.

As the battle raged in the icy depths of the spring, a long spear suddenly appeared in the hand of the godmammoth, a spear that burned with Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World.

The Infernal Deity spear had appeared, accompanied by the wail of ghosts and the howl of gods. It was like a scene from hell itself.

POP!

The spear stabbed into the ice dragon, and pierced all the way to the dark green body of the sword itself.

The sword seemed to pulse with fury, and sent more frigid energy sweeping out into the darkness around it.

Pinging sounds rang out as the ice dragon sword and the Infernal Deity Spear clashed back and forth dozens of times. With life force springwater at his disposal, Yang Qi's true energy was virtually limitless. In no other circumstance would he be forced to do this. In fact, even when he was fighting five fiend-devil viscounts in the Preheaven Devil-Eye, he hadn't been even close to running out of true energy.

From that it could be imagined how much he would benefit if he managed to subdue and take this divine sword.

In fact, he was willing to throw caution to the wind to do so.

The true energy that flowed out of him looked like crystal or porcelain, and as it smashed into the ice layers of the stream, it fueled the epic battle.

The godmammoth projection grew more and more corporeal, and unleashed such heaven-shaking, earth-toppling power that the ice around it began to melt and turn into steam.

'The power from hell and the power from the legion of gods. The sovereign lord of everything, glorious and mighty….' The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was operating at its current limit, causing beautiful scriptural texts praising the legion of gods to swirl here and there, like the singing of angels.

"A freezing to time immemorial…." All of a sudden, a faintly discernible groan echoed out, like the chant of some mysterious ghost-god. Because of the incredible pressure weighing down on the sword, the ice dragon was beginning to fade away. But then, a mountain-toppling, sea-draining blast of frigid energy erupted from the sword, freezing everything, and locking the godmammoth in place.

The godmammoth's true energy began to build, and then it struck out with its fist, shattering the layers of ice. Then it lashed out with the Infernal Deity Spear, the ultimate expression of the quintessence of Yang Qi's martial arts. Each strike of that spear was like the blow of an infernal deity out collecting souls, the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World burning bright as it fought against the frigid energy in the spring.

The divine sword didn't seem to care. In fact, it began to vibrate, causing humming sounds to echo out as a frigid tide suddenly rose up from the depths of the spring. It was pitch black, and so cold that the godmammoth's true energy began to crack and break apart, and the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World on the Infernal Deity Spear began to die down.

"Apex cold wave?" Yang Qi murmured, stunned. He knew that the purest, intense type of cold waves originated in the depths of the earth, and that they were called apex cold waves. During a lunar corona, in the deepest part of the night, frigid energy would seep into the lands, causing everything to freeze. It was a frigid yin energy, the ultimate expression of cold, something that not even powerful Lifeseizers could handle.

Supposedly, when some Lifeseizers reached a certain level, they would incite an apex cold wave, a tribulation of sorts that had the potential to turn them into a zombie in the blink of an eye.

Yang Qi recalled a certain lecture given by an elder in the institute, talking about geographical theory. The elder had taken the class to observe a captive Octonary Lifeseizer, a conclave student who had succumbed to an apex cold wave and been transformed into a zombie. The sight of his freezing bone spurs had caused everyone in the class to shiver with fear.

Shockingly, this ice dragon sword had summoned an apex cold wave, something that even godly power would be forced to take seriously.

'Well, yin can beget yang. I'll use this apex cold wave to further improve my Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique!' It took focus, but Yang Qi managed to control the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and simultaneously unleash his Cosmic Sunflare Sword.

"Treat the sword as a god. Treat the god as heaven. Oh great sun, release your burning energy…." As Yang Qi murmured the mnemonic of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword, the flame spark in his sea of energy flared to life, connecting to the sun above and causing a golden stream of light to descend, which became a dazzling burst of incisive sword energy.

With the wave of a finger, Yang Qi sent that sword energy down into the spring. In the depths of the mysterious kingdom of ice, it took human shape, a swordsman with a long, golden robe, who resembled Yang Qi in every aspect, with shining halos rotating behind him. That swordsman merged with the godmammoth to fight the ice dragon sword and the apex cold wave.

It was none other than Yang Qi's sword energy nascent divinity of the sun.

Unfortunately, the combination was too weak. As the apex cold wave rolled up, it seemed that the combination would soon be destroyed.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Qi once again summoned true flame from the sun itself, then sent it down into the nascent divinity, empowering it further.

Tempering a fire-type sword energy in the middle of a cold wave was actually the best way to improve it. Yin can beget yang, and the juxtaposition of heaven and earth created the perfect, endless cycle.

Naturally, Yang Qi understood that principle.

By now, the sky was beginning to grow dark, and the power of the sun waned as it set. That in turn made the battle he was fighting more difficult. And yet, overcoming difficulty was often the best way to provide tempering.

As Yang Qi sat there at the edge of the spring, sending out a flow of constant true energy, golden light shone above his head, and flames surrounded him, making him look like some sort of burning god.

Soon, the sun dropped below the horizon, and the moon rose. Instantly, soft moonlight filled the world, the manifestation of yin power.

In the blink of an eye, it became ten times more difficult for Yang Qi to work with his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique.

However, he didn't even think of giving up. Doubling his focus, he reached out to the already-set sun, working hard to grasp onto the thin thread of sunlight that moments ago had been as thick as a bucket.

POP!

In the depths of the spring, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword's nascent divinity was frozen by the apex cold wave, and then shattered. As it dispersed, Yang Qi was grievously injured, and his face turned pale white. Another drop of life force springwater flew into his mouth, which he used to heal his wounds and restore his true energy to its limit. The golden strands of light that had been as thin as gossamer threads were now as thick as chopsticks, and as they flowed into the depths of the spring, they once again took the shape of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword's nascent divinity.

Then, the entire cycle repeated. Again. And again.

Yang Qi lost track of how many times the nascent divinity was destroyed. However, he could sense that the sword energy was changing, forming a deeper connection with the sun.

Soon, he entered a state in which the only thing that existed in his mind was a rising sun that could dispel all evil and darkness. He felt completely radiant and righteous, as though his mind and soul were being baptized, and his sword technique were being propelled to new heights.

He had entered a state of enlightenment in which, despite the fact that the sun had set, he could still call upon its aggressive, masculine power.

Soon, it reached the dead of night, when the cold wave was at its most powerful state. And yet, the true flame of the sun that burned above him only continued to grow stronger, sending out streams of light as thick as an arm.

The night passed, and the nascent divinity in the spring was defeated countless times. Soon, the sun rose, sending yang energy out into the lands. In the blink of an eye, Yang Qi's Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique was ten times as powerful as it had been a moment before. Back in the depths of the spring, it easily began to fight back against the apex cold wave.

And thus, Yang Qi continuously sent out true energy to fight the ice dragon sword. Three days and three nights passed, during which time he ran out of true energy over and over again, but replenished it with life force springwater. His true energy was being thoroughly tempered, and he was also developing incredible patience. Even the true energy vestiges in his acupoints were becoming more refined.

He was experiencing benefits and enlightenment that would normally only come with ten years of cultivation.

Unfortunately for the ice dragon sword, it didn't have the reserves Yang Qi had, and after three days and three nights, it was beginning to tire. Finally, it mustered its energy for one final attack.

"Ice-Soul. Ice-Soul!"

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Chapter 150: Ice-Soul God-Sword

Swish!

The ice sword's final attack slashed through the air toward what was now two Cosmic Sunflare Sword nascent divinities. To the ice sword, the might of the godmammoth was so intense that it was almost impossible to bear.

However, because of the increasing levels of power emanating from the two nascent divinities, the sword could also tell that, because of the apex cold wave, its enemy, the human up above on ground level, had succeeded in tempering his own sword energy.

Although it was both confused and enraged, it couldn't help but wonder who exactly this person was. How could his true energy be so strong? He hadn't run low on energy even after three days and three nights of continuous effort, something only Legendaries should be able to do.

As the vibrations of the final sword technique rolled out, the apex cold wave seemed to surge to life again within the layers of ice. Then, a voice could be heard, a voice which seemed to come from the awakening of an ancient soul.

"Ice-soul of antiquity…."

As the soul awoke within the sword energy, countless soul-like apparitions appeared within the layers of ice, which then rushed toward Yang Qi's two streams of sword energy, where they then exploded.

Boom. Boom. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!

Explosions rippled out through the depths of the spring, and frigid energy erupted out into the air above, spreading out to obscure the sun. The entire island of peach blossoms was covered with an icy cloud, after which, snow began to fall.

This was the ultimate expression of frigid yin energy.

Yang Qi didn't seem affected by it at all, though. In fact, he simply poured more true energy into the depths of the spring.

"Scorching hot godmammoth; eliminate these soul apparitions!"

The two manifestations of Humanoid True Energy grew larger and larger, until they glowed with godly light as they fought back against the incoming attack. Meanwhile, the godmammoth wrapped its trunk around the weakened ice dragon sword, and then began to drag it upward.

Before long, more frigid energy rippled out of the spring as a dark green sword appeared, which was slowly pulled up like a fish on a hook.

Yang Qi reached out, grabbed the sword and waved it through the air. Flames surged, creating fiery clouds that filled the sky, driving away the ice clouds, and evaporating all of the snowflakes. Within moments, it was a clear day again.

'What an incredible divine sword!' As he held the sword, pulses of frigid energy surged through his meridians toward his dantian region. At the same time, layers of frost began to build up on his skin. An ordinary Lifeseizer who experienced something like this would be frozen and turned into a zombie. But all Yang Qi had to do was shiver, and the frost shattered and turned into steam.

The scorching hot true energy of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword then entered the ice sword, subduing the frigid energy, and causing complex, golden designs to appear on its surface.

Furthermore, characters written in ancient-style script became visible, which read: Ice-Soul God-Sword.

Clearly, this was the sword's name.

It was impossible to determine what material it was made from, but clearly, the power of a lunar corona had been part of its forging. When its frigid energy encountered the scorching hot energy of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique, the two were originally completely incompatible. However, with the help of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, the two of them were combined into the supreme, ultimate balance of yin and yang.

The three days and three nights of battle had caused the fundamental nature of the Ice-Soul God-Sword to emerge. And as Yang Qi poured more true energy into the sword, he slowly but surely subjugated it.

It was a powerful sword, on the same level as a Nonary Lifeseizer, and covered with complex patterns that were none other than the manifestation of internal meridians. Clearly, this sword had its own sea of energy, although, at the moment, it was completely empty.

After completely suppressing it, Yang Qi flicked his finger, sending a drop of life force springwater into the Ice-Soul God-Sword. Instantly, the sword began to shine, and at the same time, emit such powerful frigid energy that the island and even the surrounding water began to freeze over. Of course, Yang Qi could already control the sword in its entirety, even including such effects.

Without any hesitation, he swept the sword through the air toward the sea water.

Swish!

A blast of frigid energy erupted out, and when it hit the water, it created a pathway of ice dozens of kilometers long.

'Such incredible power!' Yang Qi waved his hand, and the Ice-Soul God-Sword swept nimbly through the air, becoming an ice dragon surrounded by powerful frigid energy.

'Awesome! However, now I need to temper the sword even more, to make sure that it perfectly coordinates with the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique.' He waved his finger, and a fire dragon appeared, which swirled out to meet the ice dragon. The two of them intertwined, making an S shape in the middle, and a circle without. Ice and fire together created a perfect .

With that, he went about refining his sword technique.

The Ice-Soul God-Sword was powerful enough to temper the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique, and vice versa. The combination of yin and yang together allowed his sword technique to advance by leaps and bounds.

With the combination of these two, it seemed highly likely he could dominate the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition. After all, he wouldn't need to fear anyone under the Legendary level.

And he would have no need to conceal the fact that he had acquired the Ice-Soul God-Sword and used it to his advantage.

As he grew more familiar with the combination, it became easier and easier to control the sword. After all, although it had a spirit of its own, it hadn't reached the point of being able to take human form. And thanks to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, he was able to take what did exist of its spirit and make it a part of his own soul. As of now, the sword was like an extension of himself, and he could completely control its frigid energy.

The sword had been originally forged from some jade-like stone, refined numerous times, and had then experienced cold waves for countless years. It was almost impossible to quantify how much Yang Qi would benefit from it.

For instance, the fact that it had its own sea of energy made it almost like a Nonary Lifeseizer at his side, protecting him.

As he continued to refine the sword and train with it, the sun rose and fell, and the tide came in and out. Meanwhile, the flame spark within his dantian region began to shine more brightly, until it was ten times as powerful as before. Instead of a spark, it was more like a lamp. Furthermore, within the light that shone out from it could be seen all sorts of flame palaces, flame pagodas, and even flame immortals.

There were few people in Yang Qi's cultivation level who had ever pushed the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique to this level. Perhaps none.

After another three days and three nights passed, Yang Qi was pleased with his level of control over the new sword technique. Furthermore, he was so stabilized within Quinary Lifeseizing that he was fairly certain it wouldn't be much longer before he reached Senary Lifeseizing.

His five most powerful abilities, the Fiend-Devil Wings, Infernal Deity Spear, Infernal Deity Plate Armor, Hellfire Crucible and God-Devil Seal were now easier than ever to use. Even more noteworthy, he could use his God-Devil Seal to almost instantly mask his energy, blood, and true energy vestiges, sucking them into a tiny, imperceptible particle in his dantian region.

When he did that, he would seem like nothing more than a brand new Lifeseizer, weak and powerless. Not even people like the Patriarchs Wind and Cloud would be able to see through the illusion.

Godly-class energy arts truly came into their own during Quinary Lifeseizing, and began to develop aspects that ordinary humans couldn't comprehend. After all, most Legendaries cultivated imperial-class energy arts, with only a few having saintly- or heavenly-class arts.

Truth be told, no one in the Rich-Lush Continent currently had a heavenly-class energy art, much less a godly-class art. Even the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute only had a saintly-class art, namely the Demi-Immortal Sage Magic.

In total, Yang Qi had just spent six days and six nights on the island. The first half had been spent fighting the Ice-Soul God-Sword, and the last half had been devoted to training with the new sword energy, and working on his cultivation.

However, for all he knew, those six days and six nights might as well have been sixty years. He lost track of the passage of day and night and focused completely on his work, using life force springwater to replenish himself whenever necessary. Although he remained at the level of ninety-nine ancient megamammoths, his command of his current powers significantly improved, and he gained incredible insight into the vital energy of heaven and earth, the great sun out in the void, and how fire and ice were like yin and yang.

As the dawn sun warmed Yang Qi's face, he bathed in the spring water, changed into a fresh set of clothing, and then prepared to return to the institute.

Now that the Ice-Soul God-Sword had been removed from the spring, its waters were slowly drying up. Apparently, without the sword, the spring was little more than ordinary in nature. Likely, it would only take a few dozen years for any remaining spirit energy inside to vanish completely.

'It's too bad. I guess these peach trees will probably wither up as well.' Yang Qi sighed.

Without the precious treasure of the Ice-Soul God-Sword, this island would soon lose all of its miraculous qualities.

Just when he was about to leave, he suddenly heard some loud whooshing noises from off in the distance; a powerful energy arts expert was coming. And not just one. Soon, he saw a whole group heading over, all of them with powerful cultivation bases.

'Who are these people? And why are they coming to this island?'

Acting quickly, he activated his defensive true energy, and then slowly sank into the waters surrounding the island. He also sent some true energy into the island itself so that he could observe what happened there.

Powerful winds buffeted the island, and the ground trembled. Some of the trees were even uprooting, causing green sap to stain the ground.

First to land was an old man in white garments, who emanated a powerful frigid energy. He seemed righteous, but not righteous, evil, but not evil. Even more telling, he landed right in the middle of the island, in front of the mouth of the spring.

Moments later, seven other powerful individuals landed behind him, clad in armor. From the feathers which adorned their heads, it was obvious that they were not from a righteous organization. They were obviously from one of the strange nations that existed on the ocean surface.

The old man walked up to the spring, looked in, then shouted, "What?! Someone looted my spirit spring!? The spirit energy is gone, and the Ice-Soul God-Sword was taken away?!"

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Chapter 151: Shroud-Heaven Alliance

"Who did it?!" the old man howled. "Who dared to take my Ice-Soul God-Sword? That sword was locked in countless layers of ice. Only a Legendary could possibly reach it. Wait. Don't tell me some expert Legendary found out about the sword and stole it! How could that be possible, though? There aren't any Legendaries around here."

The man seemed to be on the verge of going crazy as he sent out true energy to cover the island with frigid cold. Instantly, the peach trees all began to wither up, and the island transformed from a place of beauty into one of chaos and disorder.

"Calm down, Patriarch Frost-Drake," said one of the men behind him, a burly Lifeseizer in black armor. "Perhaps the spirit energy just transformed naturally, and the Ice-Soul God-Sword is still down there. Let's join forces and bolster you with our true energy. Then you can just reach down and try to fish the sword out from the spring. As you know, Young Master Shroud-Heaven from the Hanging Mountain has come down to gather energy arts experts of all sorts into the Shroud-Heaven Alliance. We East Sea cultivators are relying on you to subjugate the Ice-Soul God-Sword and then reach the Legendary level. If you do, we can become one of the most important members of the Shroud-Heaven Alliance, and hopefully, gain the favor of the Hanging Mountain."

'Shroud-Heaven Alliance? The Hanging Mountain?' Yang Qi thought as he eavesdropped via true energy. Of course, he was hidden so expertly that not even the white-robed Patriarch Frost-Drake noticed him.

And thanks to what he had already overheard, he was fairly certain he knew what was going on.

Out in the sea, there were many experts of various levels who had never established their own sects, or if they had, were too inconsequential to consider important. People such as that were often referred to as rogue cultivators.

If they ever joined forces, they would be considered quite powerful.

Apparently, someone named Young Master Shroud-Heaven was trying to unite all of the rogue cultivators from the four seas and form them into some sort of alliance.

And this Patriarch Frost-Drake was the leader of one of many smaller groups who were hoping to find the Ice-Soul God-Sword, fuse with it to become a Legendary, and then become a powerful force within the Shroud-Heaven Alliance.

Yang Qi could tell that he cultivated frost-type energy arts that perfectly corresponded with the Ice-Soul God-Sword. If he acquired that sword, he would definitely advance by leaps and bounds, and would have a strong chance of reaching the Legendary level.

Normally speaking, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword that Yang Qi cultivated would be as compatible with the Ice-Soul God-Sword as oil was with water. After all, despite having certain elements of yin and yang that were complementary, the oppositional aspects were far more powerful.

Thankfully, he had his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and its Hellfire Crucible to forcibly combine them.

'The Hanging Mountain, huh,' he thought, heart pounding. 'I need to keep listening and see if I can get any information about my mother.' Right now, his two main ambitions in life were to crush Yun Hailan beneath his feet, and to get to the Hanging Mountain to find his mother.

In response to his subordinate's words, Patriarch Frost-Drake calmed down a bit.

"A thousand years ago," he said, "the Legendary Guru Ice-Soul himself practiced cultivation on this island, right by this apex cold wave spring. Thirty thousand meters beneath the mouth of the spring was a mysterious kingdom of ice, which was exactly where Guru Ice-Soul used his understanding of the magical laws of the void to seal the Ice-Soul God-Sword. There, he refined it day and night in his attempt to transform it into a Legendary-level weapon. Unfortunately, Guru Ice-Soul eventually experienced cultivation deviation, and went missing. Presumably, he died. As for the weapon, it remained sealed here ever since. I learned of the matter well over a hundred years ago, and ever since, have been trying to think of a way to drag that sword out into the open. Sadly, I never succeeded. However, now that the Shroud-Heaven Alliance has been formed, I need to try again. Hopefully, if we combine all of our energy arts to create a spell formation, we can suppress the cold wave and drag up the sword. If we succeed, then all of the spirit medicines, treasures, and wealth that I have accumulated back on Frost-Drake Island will be yours for the taking."

"Of course," said one of the accompanying Lifeseizers. "You're the backbone of our group, Patriarch, so we'll do whatever you say."

Including Patriarch Frost-Drake, there were a total of eight people present.

And the group of them held nothing back as they joined forces next to the spring to set up a huge spell formation. The group of them roared at the tops of their lungs as manifestations of Humanoid True Energy took shape above all their heads, which then combined into a sphere of energy that shot into Patriarch Frost-Drake.

He shivered, then unleashed a stream of frigid true energy that shot into the depths of the spring.

Before long, his face fell, overtaken by a look of first disappointment, then despair.

"You animal! You bastard! I worked myself to the bone for that Ice-Soul God-Sword! I planned for a hundred years! I sacrificed everything. And it was all in vain. Why? If I ever find out who dared to take that sword, I'll kill him. I'll wipe him off the face of the earth!"

His true energy surged with such power that the other seven individuals coughed up blood and suffered vital energy injuries.

'So, someone did take it.' The entire group exchanged awkward glances as Patriarch Frost-Drake howled in fury.

"Come on," one of them said. "Let's get out of here and give the patriarch a chance to calm down."

Worried that the crazed patriarch might vent his anger on them in deadly fashion, the others nodded in response to the suggestion. As they flew up into the air, one of them called out, "Patriarch Frost-Drake, take some time to clear your head. Who knows, maybe some miracle will happen, and everything will turn out fine. Well, we don't want to disturb you any further, sir, so we'll take our leave."

Without any hesitation, the entire group fled.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Frost-Drake's eyes were completely bloodshot, and he looked like he was about to go crazy and kill everyone in sight. However, inside, he was still in possession of his faculties. Waves of frigid true energy rolled out from him, covering the area, freezing the sea for dozens of kilometers in every direction, and turning the island into a virtual iceberg.

Crick. Crack!

All of a sudden, cracks appeared on the surface of the frozen water.

"Who's there!?" Patriarch Frost-Drake blurted, spinning as he looked around. Although he had been venting a bit, his energy arts and cultivation base were roughly on the same level as Holy Daughter Manyflowers', so how could he not sense the energy fluctuations from moments ago?

A projection of Humanoid True Energy appeared on the island, which caused the ice to crumble around it as it walked forward, and the frigid energy to melt. It was like a spring breeze surrounded it, its aura warm, its facial features that of Yang Qi.

"Who are you…?" Patriarch Frost-Drake asked. Although he could sense that this person's cultivation level wasn't necessarily very high, his energy arts were profound, and he was definitely not the type of person to look down upon.

"Is this the sword you were looking for, Patriarch Frost-Drake?"

Yang Qi reached out, and a dark green sword shot out and began to swirl around him.

"The Ice-Soul God-Sword!" Patriarch Frost-Drake's eyes suddenly glittered with hope. Apparently, it was a person who was weaker than him who had acquired the sword, which meant that perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought. Clearing his throat, he said, "So, you little punk, you were the one who dared to take the Ice-Soul God-Sword."

Yang Qi nodded. "That's right. It was me. It was a real shock to find a sword like this in what seemed like a quiet, ordinary island."

Licking his lips, Patriarch Frost-Drake said, "Well, in that case, brat, I order you to give me that sword. If you don't, I'll have to kill you."

Already, he was circulating his true energy as if in preparation for an attack. Now that the sword he desired was in sight, there was no way he would just let it go. It represented all of his hopes to reach the Legendary level, and was just too important.

"You want to kill me?" Yang Qi said. He laughed. "Think this through for a second, Frost-Drake. Considering that I subjugated this sword, don't you think I could do the same to you? Are you really planning to attack me? Listen. Take some advice from me. After all the work you went through to reach Nonary Lifeseizing, don't do something stupid. The reason I'm confronting you right here and now is that I want information about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance. Tell me its background. And where does this Young Master Shroud-Heaven stand in relation to the Hanging Mountain as a whole? Tell me everything you know about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance and the Hanging Mountain."

Seemingly very confident, Patriarch Frost-Drake said, "Are you crazy, brat? You must be from some aristocratic clan, right? Or maybe from a big sect? Presumably you have some treasure that let you control the Ice-Soul God-Sword. There's no other explanation for how you managed to pull it up from that mysterious kingdom of ice thirty-thousand meters down. You think you can threaten me? What a joke! I'll give you two choices. One: give me the sword. Two: die. I'll let you pick between life and death."

Eyes turning icy, Yang Qi said, "You fool. You think that because it looks like I have a Quinary Lifeseizing cultivation base you can beat me? Well, I guess I have no choice but to force you to tell me about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance."

With that, he waved his hand.

SWISHHH!

The Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique swirled out, shining brightly, joined by the Ice-Soul God-Sword. They combined, like two dancing dragons, forming the fire and ice taiji symbol which shot toward Patriarch Frost-Drake in deadly fashion.

As it turned out, Yang Qi was very eager to use this fire and ice taiji symbol on Patriarch Frost-Drake, to see exactly how effective it would be.

There could be no better test subject for it than a Nonary Lifeseizer.

Besides, if he captured him, he could probably get plenty of information about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance, a group that Yang Qi had never heard of before. After all, if Nonary Lifeseizers were itching to join it, then it must be powerful.

As soon as the fire and ice taiji symbol appeared, an incredible aura spread out over the island, filling the area with the ultimate expressions of both yin and yang. Everything twisted and distorted in dangerous and painful fashion.

Patriarch Frost-Drake felt himself being wrung into a , causing his meridians and sea of energy to twinge with pain.

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Chapter 152: Sword Dao from the Distant Pas

Although Patriarch Frost-Drake was initially shocked by Yang Qi's sword, after a moment, a vicious grin spread out across his face, "Quite a powerful technique, ugly as it is! I can't believe you actually combined a fire-type sword art, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword, with the Ice-Soul God-Sword! The power of that fire and ice taiji symbol is incredible. Sadly, cultivation levels are still cultivation levels. You're in Quinary Lifeseizing, placing you so far beneath me you couldn't ever hope to reach my level.

"Furthermore, that abomination of a sword technique you've created is simply appalling to behold. Watch and learn. I'll show you what a real sword technique is supposed to look like. I practiced my cultivation without any special sword to use. I used pure technique! That's my path to the Legendary level. Presumably, you have no idea that in the East Sea, Frost-Drake is known as being so skilled with the sword that he can freeze the entire world with a single attack!"

POP!

Even as the fire and ice taiji symbol descended on Patriarch Frost-Drake, he drew a sword. Although it was impossible to tell exactly what type of material it was made from, it was clearly some sort of cold steel. Etched on its surface were designs that looked like snowflakes, as well as two words: Haughty Snow.

This was no energy weapon, it was an actual sword.

"It took me two sixty-year-cycles and an entire batch of snowflake steel to forge my Haughty Snow Sword. And now, boy, I'll draw your blood with it!"

As soon as that sword was out in the open, snowflakes filled the sky, and oppressive sword energy weighed down. From the way Patriarch Frost-Drake stood there in the snow, he looked like a consummate swordsman, the type of proud, lonely individual who would search his entire life for a worthy opponent.

Sword light flashed, and the fire and ice taiji symbol was vanquished.

Neither the Cosmic Sunflare Sword nor the Ice-Soul God-Sword were a match for Patriarch Frost-Drake. Next, he attacked, using his Haughty Snow Sword to reveal the countless variations of his sword art. As the snow fell, he hacked, chopped, sliced, crushed, stabbed, and spun. He used dozens of techniques, each one filled with immense power and speed. The Ice-Soul God-Sword was clearly not inferior to the Haughty Snow Sword, and yet, also seemed incapable of dealing with it.

It didn't take long for Yang Qi to realize that Patriarch Frost-Drake fully deserved the reputation he had mentioned. He was obviously the best of the best when it came to skill with the sword.

However, that meant that he was the perfect opponent to help Yang Qi improve his own sword skills. Without any hesitation, he released two more streams of sword energy.

"Your middling sword skills are like child's play," Patriarch Frost-Drake said, his eyes flashing with vicious light. "Take this move. Freezing Night!"

His sword technique transformed; the Haughty Snow Sword suddenly stopped moving, and a true energy vortex sprang up around it. The flowing energy caused the light to distort, casting the entire island into pitch black night. Then, Patriarch Frost-Drake vanished into the darkness.

No light was present at all; even the burning fire of Yang Qi's Cosmic Sunflare Sword was incapable of shining, let alone other types of energy.

This move from Patriarch Frost-Drake's sword technique, Freezing Night, seized good fortune from heaven and earth to bend light, and make people lose their senses. Not even mystical sixth senses could do anything against it.

Of course, this was not a technique invented by Patriarch Frost-Drake himself. His technique was actually a sword art from the distant past, created by some spectacular Great Sage.

Yang Qi could tell that he was in great danger, and quickly pulled his two streams of sword energy back into him to form a defensive barrier. He didn't resort to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, as he was mostly interested in improving his sword technique, and wanted to see exactly what Patriarch Frost-Drake was capable of.

Even as he retracted his sword energy, a burst of coldness stabbed through his shield, vanquishing the Cosmic Sunflare Sword and passing through his skin into his meridians.

"Flying Stars!" Patriarch Frost-Drake said in a cold voice.

Bam!

Yang Qi swept his Ice-Soul God-Sword out, hoping to find the Haughty Snow Sword. After all, the Haughty Snow Sword seemed to appear and disappear randomly. Suddenly, just when the Ice-Soul God-Sword was just on the verge of reaching it, it vanished, and everything turned bright and sunny again.

Yang Qi stood there, his clothing in tatters, his shoulder bleeding from where the Haughty Snow Sword had struck it. Obviously, his own sword technique had just come out on the losing end, and had been unable to block Patriarch Frost-Drake's sword, which could shake heaven and earth to the point where ghosts and gods wept.

Some distance away, Patriarch Frost-Drake stood there, looking at the blood dripping off of his sword. Smiling, he said, "Ever heard of the expression jack of all trades, master of none? That's exactly what your sword technique is. Not even getting the Ice-Soul God-Sword will help you."

In reality, Yang Qi's blood was pure and nearly transparent, like porcelain sagefire. But because of the God-Devil Seal, it appeared to be bright red, just like any ordinary Lifeseizer.

"What sword technique is that?" Yang Qi replied coolly. "It definitely wasn't invented by you. You might be a Nonary Lifeseizer, but you couldn't possibly come up with moves like that. Come on, at least tell me the names of the stances. It's obviously some sort of ancient sword art."

"You have sharp eyes, brat," Patriarch Frost-Drake said, his eyes glittering. "This sword technique is from the remnants of a sword manual I came across, something invented in the distant past. It has seven moves: Freezing Night, Flying Stars, Rustling Wind, Broken Moon, Shocking Clouds, Ravage Law, Ravish Heaven. The only moves I used so far are Freezing Night and Flying Stars, and already, you're wounded. And that's because I was holding back. So, what do you think? You won't last long with my sword energy inside of you. Let me tell you, once my sword energy enters an opponent, it's impossible to drive away. Unless I personally help, you'll die sooner rather than later. Eventually, it will detonate your sea of energy, so unless you drop to your knees and respectfully hand over the Ice-Soul God-Sword, you're dead."

"It's a nice sword technique," Yang Qi said, ignoring the threats. A solemn expression on his face, he held his sword up and saluted Patriarch Frost-Drake. "Regardless of whether in terms of energy arts or sword technique, you are my superior. Your sword is marvelous and worthy of respect, and I can only offer my thanks for the fighting tips you've provided. Please show me the rest of your moves. Don't hold anything back. And if you end up getting killed, don't worry, I'll leave your corpse intact."

"What?" Patriarch Frost-Drake blurted, visibly shocked. "Aren't you having problems because of my sword energy?" Looking over, he realized that the area where Yang Qi's skin had been sliced up was completely healed, and there was no sign of blood. His skin looked just as lustrous as before, and in fact, seemed to thrum with even more energy than before, like the rising tide crashing against the seashore.

"Please, go on with the rest of your moves," Yang Qi said, holding his sword out and looking very solemn. At the moment, he seemed like he was one with his sword, and vice versa. He was simply waiting there calmly for Patriarch Frost-Drake to make a move, which made him seem even more intimidating than if he had launched an attack.

All of a sudden, Patriarch Frost-Drake felt himself trembling.

Yang Qi seemed to have transformed into a different person, reaching a higher level in terms of both sword energy, sword will and sword stance. It was as if being stabbed had transformed him from a simpleton into a consummate genius.

"Freezing Night, Flying Stars, Rustling Wind, Broken Moon, Shocking Clouds…."

Patriarch Frost-Drake had a bad feeling, and therefore, flew up into the air and held nothing back, attacking with five moves in quick succession, each one of them designed to kill his opponent. In the blink of an eye, the island was smashed, boulders transformed into dust, and the ground razed flat.

After experiencing these five sword moves, the former island of peach blossoms would soon vanish into the East Sea and become a thing of the past.

Yang Qi had already merged his thinking and mind with his sword, and was thus unconscious of the boundary between himself and his weapon. In that moment, his Cosmic Sunflare Sword and Ice-Soul God-Sword truly fused, becoming a single sword, the mixture of yin and yang, the ultimate expression of the power of the origin of the universe.

Clanging sounds rang out as his sword countered the twisting power of Freezing Night. Whatever moves Patriarch Frost-Drake made, it seemed like Yang Qi was capable of locating his Haughty Snow Sword and meeting it head-on.

Yang Qi could now directly sense the mysterious aspects of the sword technique, and thus, was easily able to vanquish Freezing Night and Flying Stars.

When Rustling Wind came, the sword energy became like rain falling in the wind. Before Yang Qi could even detect where it was coming from, the sword light was suddenly right at his throat.

As for Broken Moon, it seemed to Yang Qi like some consummate swordsman flying through the sky and splitting the full moon in half.

Finally was the last move, Shocking Clouds.

He suddenly found himself in the midst of a sea of clouds, filled with millions upon millions of crashing waves.

Facing these moves seemed to incite his potential even further, pushing him to another peak. The Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique and the Ice-Soul God-Sword were like twin dragons coursing through the sky, launching forth countless streams of sword energy.

Bam!

Finally, Yang Qi and Patriarch Frost-Drake separated, flying away from each other to land on either end of the island, placing them several kilometers apart.

The island was now filled with countless crisscrossing ravines, into which the sea water flowed. The spring had been destroyed as well, releasing massive amounts of frigid energy into the area.

More wounds could be seen on Yang Qi, including on his neck, forehead, and abdomen. Those three came from Rustling Wind, Broken Moon, and Shocking Clouds.

However, none of the three wounds seemed particularly serious.

By now, Patriarch Frost-Drake was too shocked to speak. That was especially true when he saw Yang Qi's wounds healing up in front of his own eyes. Within a few breaths of time, they were completely gone.

Patriarch Frost-Drake was very familiar with his own sword technique, and knew how deadly all of the moves were. In fact, the blow he had landed on Yang Qi's throat should have been powerful enough to cleanly cut off the top of a mountain.

And yet, it was like a mere scratch to him.

As for Broken Moon and Shocking Clouds, they were profoundly formidable, but inflicted only temporary wounds.

"Alright," Yang Qi said, "you have two more moves, right? Ravage Law and Ravish Heaven? Let's see them."

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Chapter 153: Capturing Frost-Drake

In this battle of profound sword techniques, Yang Qi benefited significantly.

There was no doubt that Patriarch Frost-Drake was a first-class swordsman, and an elite amongst Nonary Lifeseizers. He had a sword technique from the distant past, and although it was impossible to tell how long the man had immersed himself in its study, one thing was for certain: each stance within the set of sword techniques was different, and contained varied meanings. However, in the end, they were all designed as killing moves.

The five consummate stances, Freezing Night, Flying Stars, Broken Moon, Rustling Wind and Shocking Clouds had sliced Yang Qi full of holes, and were it not for the fact that the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth made him virtually impervious to all sorts of weapons, he would have died several times over already.

From that alone Yang Qi could tell how profound Patriarch Frost-Drake's sword technique was, and that it was the type of thing which would require much time to master.

Only a year ago, Yang Qi had been one of the 'young elites' in Yanhaven, a brat who was little more than a frog in a well.

For someone to advance in such spectacular fashion in such a short time was something that was rarely seen, even in ancient times. Sword techniques, martial arts stances, and enlightenment were all things that required time and training. Slacking in even one area would lead to major deficiencies. And the fact that Patriarch Frost-Drake had lived for hundreds of years indicated that he had likely worked with this sword technique for about the same length of time.

When a young punk fought an old man with hundreds of years of practice under his belt, it was only natural that the latter would have the clear advantage.

Yang Qi was well aware of that, and yet, wasn't ready to acknowledge defeat. Instead, he was excited, and wanted to fight even harder in the hopes of improving his own technique. And he even hoped to come out on top in the end.

Of course, so far, Patriarch Frost-Drake had only unleashed five stances from his ancient sword dao. He still had two more, those being Ravage Law and Ravish Heaven. Together, they formed the ancient saying to ravage law and ravish heaven, which implied defying all sorts of laws and principles. Those two moves were completely different from the previous five, and were obviously designed to be the mightiest of them all, the most ultimate type of kung fu. Trump cards.

Yang Qi very much wanted to see them, but unfortunately, Patriarch Frost-Drake hadn't resorted to them yet.

Patriarch Frost-Drake could sense what Yang Qi was up to. He knew that this opponent was inferior to him in terms of sword technique, but at the same time, was impossible to defeat. It was like fighting some sort of devil or giant.

Even worse, the more fiercely Patriarch Frost-Drake fought, the more this young opponent seemed to improve. It made him feel like he had taken on the role of a teacher. In fact, he was already contemplating how to escape the situation.

However, he still couldn't resign himself to the fact that Yang Qi had the Ice-Soul God-Sword. That sword was simply too enticing to him, considering that it was his ticket to reaching the Legendary level.

The Lifeseizing level was essentially about building up enough reserves to seize life over and over. It was only Legendaries who truly began to receive the benefits of energy arts cultivation, and could connect with heaven and earth.

The nine phases of the Energy Arts level were about reaching out to make contact with vital energy. The nine levels of Lifeseizing were about remolding the fleshly body and building a solid foundation to step into the Legendary level. With enough longevity to work with, Legendaries would easily be able to work on gaining enlightenment of magical laws and their transformations. The gap between a Nonary Lifeseizer and a Legendary was even greater than that between a Master of Energy and a Lifeseizer.

Patriarch Frost-Drake had been a Nonary Lifeseizer for many years, and had never been able to make that final push into the next level. Now that he finally had the chance, he wouldn't let it go easily.

Looking at Yang Qi, he gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, punk. Since you want to die, I'll accommodate you. The last two moves, Ravage Law and Ravish Heaven, are so lethal that they'll kill you before you even shed any blood. And if they do draw blood, it will mean catastrophe for the entire world, an armageddon involving rivers of gore and millions of corpses. From the time I mastered these two moves until now, I haven't used them to kill a single living being. But now, I'll use them on you, even if it means I end up bedeviled."

"Wow," Yang Qi said. Although he had assumed the moves were deadly, the fact that they could lead to bedevilment made them even more interesting than before. After all, other people might fear bedevilment, but not Yang Qi.

The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was designed to slaughter devils and monsters, and crush hells. So why would he possibly fear bedevilment?

"Time to die! Ravage Law!"

It was with bloodshot eyes that Patriarch Frost-Drake swept his sword out, his aura instantly transforming into something like an unfathomable ghost-god from the netherworld.

The sky grew dark, and the light of the sun and moon were obscured as the wailing of a ghost-god filled the air. As for the Haughty Snow Sword, it suddenly seemed stained with an aura that resembled both ghosts and gods, but at the same time, neither of those. It was a ghost-god aura that towered to the limits of heaven, that despised celestial might, and that repudiated magical law.

Ravage Law!

Then, Patriarch Frost-Drake suddenly vanished, in much the same way that Yang Qi had when mastering the inimitable dao of the quick strike. Patriarch Frost-Drake's one move destroyed countless natural and magical laws, and demanded that a life be taken. It struck Yang Qi's mind so harshly that he couldn't think, and could only stand there waiting to be slaughtered.

One sword move destroyed natural law, ravaged magical law, and attacked the heart and mind. It was simply beyond compare. Although Yang Qi's mastery of the dao of the quick strike was on par with this in some ways, there were miraculous elements to this sword technique that far surpassed it. After all, this was a technique created by a Great Sage of the distant past, based on enlightenment that Yang Qi's deathblow art couldn't possibly match up to.

Use one sword technique to destroy a myriad of laws. It was truly ravaging law!

In the blink of an eye, the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth stirred, and Yang Qi came to his senses. Without even thinking about it, he swept the Ice-Soul God-Sword out in front of him to meet Patriarch Frost-Drake's sword. At the same time, his aura surged, and his Infernal Deity Plate Armor swept out to cover every part of him.

When the Haughty Snow Sword met the Ice-Soul God-Sword, their auras exploded in a tempest of sword projections. In the blink of an eye, the Ice-Soul God-Sword was shoved out of the way, and the Haughty Snow Sword was stabbing toward the Infernal Deity Plate Armor.

However, Yang Qi's armor was already the color of porcelain, and no matter how sharp Patriarch Frost-Drake's sword was, all it could do was scratch its surface.

"Ravish Heaven!"

Wicked light shone in Patriarch Frost-Drake's eyes, making it seem like he had been possessed by a host of devil-gods, and that he was ready to challenge the legion of gods to battle. Brilliant light shone off of his Haughty Snow Sword, sword energy in the form of numerous enormous stars that first rose high into the sky, then fell to converge on the tip of his sword.

One sword strike to pierce the heavens. Ravage Law, Ravish Heaven. Defy all laws and principles!

Patriarch Frost-Drake was confident that his sword will was able to conquer every obstacle, and therefore, it didn't matter how powerful Yang Qi's armor was, or how abundant his true energy was, it wouldn't be able to stop this attack.

This one sword move was as strong as a storm of falling stars.

This one sword move could exterminate all forms of life.

The tip of that sword contained power that seemed capable of absorbing the heart and mind, and sucking away Yang Qi's entire body. Any attempt to dodge, evade, or fight back would be laughable. The only option was to meet it head on.

Pop!

Sword light shone brightly as the Haughty Snow Sword finally pierced the Infernal Deity Plate Armor and prepared to enter Yang Qi's body and take away all of his life force.

Patriarch Frost-Drake's eyes immediately began to glitter with the light of success.

But then, his Haughty Snow Sword suddenly stopped moving.

The moment that the Infernal Deity Plate Armor was pierced, it suddenly shone with brilliant light, and then came alive. Cracking sounds rang out as it suddenly sent a massive backlash attack into the sword, which began to vibrate loudly. Then, cracks appeared on its surface, which widened, glowing, until the sword shattered.

Countless bits of sword shrapnel exploded out, flying through the air in all directions.

In the end, it never pierced completely through the Infernal Deity Plate Armor, and was in fact destroyed by it.

Then, the backlash swept into Patriarch Frost-Drake's meridians, forcing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. Disbelief filled his eyes; how could his Haughty Snow Sword, and the deadly Ravage Law, Ravish Heaven move, be unable to pierce this person's defensive true energy? Only a Legendary should be able to do something like that. Even a Nonary Lifeseizer who faced an attack like that should have been killed.

However, what happened next was even more unimaginable.

A hand reached out, pulsing with an energy field that could control everything. Before he could even react, it latched onto his throat, sending a stream of true energy toward his dantian region.

Only then did he realize how powerful Yang Qi's true energy really was; it was beyond the level of ordinary humans.

Trembling, Patriarch Frost-Drake said, "You… are you even human? A human couldn't possibly have true energy this powerful. Human bodies can't take it. In fact, you're stronger than some primeval devillings! Who are you? You're definitely not from this continent. Don't tell me you're from the Quake-Dawn Continent?!"

"Quake-Dawn Continent?" Yang Qi shook his head. "No, I'm from the Rich-Lush Continent. Alright, Patriarch Frost-Drake, now do you mind telling me about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance? Who is Young Master Shroud-Heaven?"

Even as he spoke, he used his true energy to search Patriarch Frost-Drake thoroughly, revealing a small sword manual, as well as a tiny medicinal pill bottle that was no larger than a snuff bottle, which contained some very small green-colored beans.

Despite their small size, they were clearly very powerful, and a single sniff of their aroma confirmed that they were some sort of treasure that surpassed high-grade medicine. Designed to replenish blood and energy, and to improve the nascent divinity, they were obviously not the type of pill that ordinary individuals could concoct.

As for the sword manual, it was extremely ancient, and not even made from paper, but rather, leather of some sort. A single glance at it, and it was obvious it was some sort of mysterious, powerful technique. In fact, the cover had no name, and the inside contained only seven pages. Each page featured one of the moves that Patriarch Frost-Drake had just used, described in densely-packed text accompanied by tiny illustrations. In fact, the information was so tiny that ordinary individuals wouldn't even be able to read it; only top experts like Yang Qi would have the requisite eyesight to make out the details.

The illustrations were the size of a grain of rice, and the words, a million times smaller.

Considering all that, it was difficult to determine how much information the book actually contained. Upon pouring some true energy into the book, Yang Qi felt like his soul was being drawn into the text, where he found a burial mound made of swords. In the middle of the burial mound was a proud, heaven-defying individual training with a sword, perfecting a technique to slaughter great daos, to destroy the shackles of heaven, and to bring an end to innumerable natural laws.

Thankfully, Yang Qi had very strong willpower, and was able to pull his mind out of the book, which he then tossed into his thumb-ring.

1. In this case, the "bedevilment" literally means "to have a devil enter". But there is a bit of nuance. The two characters are part of a four-character idiom that is a common expression in Chinese. If literally translated, it would mean "go through fire and have a devil enter". Nowadays it's used figuratively to mean "spellbound, absorbed, utterly devoted, obsessed with, etc." But it originally goes back to Buddhism and Daoism, and would refer to a situation in which someone "misguidedly focused on hallucinations that arose during meditation". In that case the "have a devil enter" implied that the person would act as though they were possessed. In wuxia novels, the term basically meant the same thing, in which a martial artist practiced their internal martial arts incorrectly and suffered mental or physical afflictions as a result. Traditionally, it is translated as "fire deviation" in kung fu and wuxia novels, movies, etc. When I translate cultivation novels, I twist the term a bit and call it "cultivation deviation." In this passage, only the last two characters of the four-word idiom are used, "to have a devil enter". Given the nature of the story, I think it could be interpreted both figuratively and literally.

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Chapter 154: Behind-the-Scenes Information

As of this moment, fear gripped the heart of Patriarch Frost-Drake. No longer did he harbor any thoughts of taking the Ice-Soul God-Sword. After all, he knew that his life was in the hands of his opponent. "Just who are you? How are you so strong? Why do you want information about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," Yang Qi replied coldly. "Tell me what I want to know." Keeping his grip tight on Patriarch Frost-Drake's neck, he added, "Otherwise I'll detonate your sea of energy. And you know what will happen if I do that."

"Y-yes, yes, of course…." Patriarch Frost-Drake stammered. "The Shroud-Heaven Alliance is a coalition personally put together by Young Master Shroud-Heaven. There are already hundreds of smaller organizations throughout the seas who have joined up. The alliance headquarters is on Heavenly Demon Island in the middle of the Sea of Chaos. People say that Young Master Shroud-Heaven is actually the son of the immensely powerful Great Sage Shroud-Heaven from the Hanging Mountain. The Young Master is a Legendary, and he came here with the specific purpose of forming an alliance of forces to bring great transformations to all heaven and earth. He's going to change the entire Rich-Lush Continent! Oh, and he's also come for revenge."

"Revenge?" Yang Qi asked. "Revenge against whom?"

Patriarch Frost-Drake didn't hesitate at all to answer, almost as if he were worried he might be speaking too slowly, and that Yang Qi would impatiently kill him as a result. "Supposedly, this isn't the first time Young Master Shroud-Heaven came here. Years ago, on his first trip, he encountered the Crown Prince from the Demi-Immortal Institute. When they fought, the Young Master lost, and was forced to flee back to the Hanging Mountain."

'The Crown Prince again?' Yang Qi thought. 'Well, if this Young Master Shroud-Heaven is against the Crown Prince, then that's a good thing for me. Then again, he's a demon-devil. Different races think differently, so it's not like I can just become friends with him right off the bat.'

Knowing that his life was on the line, and not wanting to hold anything back, Patriarch Frost-Drake continued, "The Crown Prince Society is huge, and has connections to many of the major organizations in the lands. That's why Young Master Shroud-Heaven is forming a coalition, to have enough people to fight the Crown Prince Society if necessary. During the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition, Young Master Shroud-Heaven will make his move, formally challenge the Crown Prince, and kill him. That will earn him a reputation that will last for all time."

"Hm, I see," Yang Qi said. "Excellent. By the way, what were those medicinal pills I just took off of you? They don't seem like something that a Lifeseizer could concoct."

"Those were a gift from Young Master Shroud-Heaven. They're called Nascent Divinity Pills, and their base ingredient is a divine medicine from beyond the heavens. You'll never find pills like that in the Rich-Lush Continent. Our continent is just too low-level."

"I see," Yang Qi said. Now that he had the answers to his questions, he needed to think about what they implied.

As for Patriarch Frost-Drake, he said, "Please, spare my life. It hasn't been easy to practice cultivation down to this point. I don't want to die! I can be your servant! I'll work myself to the bone for you!"

"I would feel a bit uncomfortable having a servant as powerful as you," Yang Qi said with a chuckle. "But I'm not going to kill you. Of course, I can't just let you go. I'm going to take away your sword energy so that you can't perform any more evil. The Shroud-Heaven Alliance was founded by one of the Demonfolk, so there's no way they're up to any good. From here on out, you're going to be my eyes and ears there. If you do a good job, eventually, I'll unseal your sword energy."

With that, he sent a powerful stream of true energy into Patriarch Frost-Drake.

Patriarch Frost-Drake shrieked as seven tiny swords of true energy appeared in his dantian region, which represented his seven killing moves of Freezing Night, Flying Stars, Rustling Wind, Broken Moon, Shocking Clouds, Ravage Law and Ravish Heaven. That was all of the sword energy that he had painstakingly cultivated over the years.

Yang Qi wanted to master those same seven sword moves, and if he had to practice them the normal way, who knew how long it would take him to do so. But if he simply extracted the sword energy, then he could master them in only a few days.

Most people couldn't do such a thing; the heterogeneous true energy conflicts would be too severe. But with the Hellfire Crucible, it would be an easy thing for Yang Qi.

Without any hesitation, he extracted the seven tiny swords from within Patriarch Frost-Drake, who then sagged as limply as a deflated balloon. Although he was still a Nonary Lifeseizer, it would be hard to find another Nonary Lifeseizer weaker than him. In fact, it would probably be easy for a peak Octonary Lifeseizer to defeat him in battle.

Yang Qi had raked the firewood from beneath the kettle, and there was no way that Patriarch Frost-Drake could prevent animosity from flashing in his eyes as a result.

"What. You hate me to death now? That's fine. I'm also going to place a sealing mark in you so that you can contact me if necessary. At the same time, if you harbor any thoughts of crossing me, you'll be done for good." With that, he sent some of the true energy of the God-Devil Seal into Patriarch Frost-Drake.

He was already in complete despair. Even after circulating his own true energy through his body, he had no idea where that sealing mark was. And yet, he could sense that Yang Qi truly did have ultimate control over him.

From now on, it would be impossible for him to work against Yang Qi. He could only do what he said, and hope that Yang Qi somehow ended up getting himself killed.

With that, Yang Qi flew up into the air, and right before he disappeared into the sea of clouds, said, "Take care of yourself, Patriarch Frost-Drake."

Patriarch Frost-Drake slumped down onto the ground of the island that he had just nearly destroyed with his sword energy. As of this moment, he was crestfallen, and almost felt like drowning himself in the water to commit suicide.

However, after some time passed, he decided that killing himself probably wasn't the best thing to do. Flying into the air, he headed off into the distance.

And thus, Yang Qi managed to place a pawn into the Shroud-Heaven Alliance.

That pawn would surely be useful in the future, especially when conflict broke out between the Crown Prince Society and the Shroud-Heaven Alliance. It was just like the old adage, when the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.

Feeling very pleased with how everything turned out, Yang Qi headed back in the direction of the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Thanks to the way things had played out, he could now openly show power that was much closer to his true level.

The combination of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword with the Ice-Soul God-Sword, and the other seven techniques he had acquired, would enable him to dominate and likely kill anyone in the Lifeseizing level, even a Nonary Lifeseizer.

He could now destroy anyone in his cultivation level without relying on the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, which meant that putting all the other students in the Demi-Immortal Institute in their place would be no difficult task.

Of course, the Demi-Immortal Institute was a mysterious, unfathomable place, and there were plenty of experts among the conclave students, some of them probably more powerful than the rogue cultivator Patriarch Frost-Drake. Therefore, he couldn't let his guard down. But in his current state, he was confident that he would still be able to surpass any of them.

As he flew back, he took the seven streams of sword energy that he had taken from Patriarch Frost-Drake and refined them in his Hellfire Crucible. Soon, they became parts of his own sword technique.

Now, he truly was a master of the sword, just the same as any other swordsman who had spent a hundred or more years immersed in the study of the weapon.

It didn't take long for him to leave the East Sea and reach the Demi-Immortal Institute. He didn't make a big scene, but instead, returned to his quarters and sent a message to Li He, He Jili, Hua Yinhu and Liang Dong. All four of his sworn brothers were Lifeseizers now, and were elite students. The entire time since being promoted, they had stayed in the College of Elite Students, making it impossible for Yun Hailan or the Crown Prince Society to do anything against them. After all, killing was prohibited there.

It was for that very reason that, not too long ago, Jiang Fan, Gu Fenxian, and the others had taken Yang Qi out of the College of Elite Students before trying to do anything to him. Otherwise, they would have been punished.

As soon as he sent his message, his four friends arrived at his temple, all of them very excited.

"Brother, have you heard?" Li He said. "Something big happened! Song Haishan and Gu Fenxian are dead! They went out with another elite student named Jiang Fan, and got ambushed and killed by some demon-devils. There was already an investigation, and Jiang Fan and some other members of the Crown Prince Society were punished because of the matter. Of course, for us, it's a great thing."

Yang Qi nodded. "You're right, that is a good thing for us. I guess they dug their own grave." Of course, he didn't say anything about his involvement in the matter. If they knew, and then the matter came to light, they couldn't deny being involved. And the fewer people who knew about the truth, the better. After all, if they got captured by the wrong person, it was possible that soulsearching energy arts could be used to extract the truth from them.

Sounding very authoritative, Hua Yinhu said, "It seems the institute knows about Chu Tiange's death as well. The Hall of Corrections assigned several elders to investigate. They already interrogated everyone from the Gentlemen's Society who was present that day. Thankfully, they all told the same story. After entering the Fiendcorpse Mountains, they parted ways from Chu Tiange, and never saw him again. I guess no one brought up the encounter with us, because the elders never came to ask any questions. It seems we're really in the clear now."

Yang Qi nodded. "Alright. For now, let's keep our heads down and focus on our cultivation. On my trip back home, I came across some treasure that should be of help to all of you. And I also found some good fortune of my own that will help during the martial arts competition. It will be the perfect opportunity to make a name for ourselves."

With that, he prepared to take out some life force springwater.

But then, he stopped moving and said, "What Elder Brother has come for a visit?"

Something like a gentle breeze could be heard from outside, accompanied by a voice. "We're from the Gentlemen's Society. Junior Brother Yang, please come out for a quick conversation."

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Chapter 155: Join Us

Before Yang Qi could give the life force springwater to his brothers, people from the Gentlemen's Society came for a visit. Therefore, he and his four friends flew up to the top of his temple.

There, three people were waiting for him.

Two were women and one was a man, and from the auras they emanated, they weren't elite students. They were conclave students!

Furthermore, their garments were embroidered with platinum characters that read: Demi-Immortal.

That was further proof that they were conclave students. Being in the Conclave was a holy position that countless students in the Demi-Immortal Institute could only dream of. It was a position of true power.

Li He and the others were visibly shocked, and quickly bowed their head respectfully. "Our respects, Elder Brother, Elder Sisters."

Conclave students were treated with utmost importance by the institute, and were given plenty of resources in the hopes that they would become Legendaries. Legendaries were the true powers within the institute, and students who were in that level were called holy neophytes.

Most other students in the institute would feel incredibly pressured when facing conclave students. But Yang Qi wasn't very impressed at all. Back home, he had killed Senary and Septenary devil-ghosts, and had even faced the invincible Ghost Emperor Yama. He also had numerous sworn siblings, with whom he had faced fiend-devil viscounts. Afterward, he had subdued the Ice-Soul God-Sword, captured the Nonary Lifeseizer Patriarch Frost-Drake, and then turned him into a pawn in the Shroud-Heaven Alliance.

Considering he had done all that, he wouldn't be intimidated by anyone less than a Legendary.

Looking at the three conclave students calmly, he said, "What matter does the Gentlemen's Society have to discuss with me?"

"How dare you speak so disrespectfully to us!" one of the female students said coldly. She had almond-shaped eyes set in a very attractive face. She also carried a long green sword in her hand, the sheath of which was clearly made from the pelt of some unknown devilling, and was inset with numerous gems. From the true energy fluctuations emanating from that sword, it was obviously incredibly sharp, and if its sword energy were released, it would be shocking to the core. "You lot just reached the Lifeseizing level and became elite students. Who do you think you are? You can act tough in front of freshman students, or students from the Outer or Inner Campus, but what gives you the gall to talk like that to us?"

Apparently, this young woman had already decided that Yang Qi deserved some punishment, as a stream of sword energy suddenly shot out from the hilt of her sword, moving like a snake to wrap around Yang Qi. Apparently, her plan was to cut off Yang Qi's hair as a warning.

The rules for conclave students within the College of Elite Students were strict; they were not to resort to violence. However, as long as they didn't kill or severely injure one of the elite students, they could usually do as they wished.

Without even taking time to think, Yang Qi reached out and clamped two fingers down onto the snake-like stream of sword light. In response, the light twisted and distorted, and yet, could not free itself.

Then, flames burst out of his fingers, igniting the sword energy and transforming it into dust.

"Elder Sister from the Gentlemen's Society, I'm afraid you still need to work on your sword energy. It's not quite strong enough to hurt me. Look, I'm a bit busy with my cultivation at the moment. If you have something you want to say, spit it out. Otherwise, I'll head back in and you can see yourselves out."

The young woman's eyes flashed in shock. Apparently, she couldn't quite believe that Yang Qi had actually dispelled her sword energy. Although she had only sent out a tiny bit of it, she was at the peak of Quinary Lifeseizing, whereas Yang Qi had only just become a Lifeseizer.

The Gentlemen's Society had done their research into Yang Qi. They knew that he had only broken through a few months ago, so clearly, it should have been impossible for him to stand up to a Quinary Lifeseizer.

Throughout the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of years that the institute had existed, there had occasionally been geniuses who could do such things. For instance, the Crown Prince. And there were certain members of the senior generation who had been like that when they were young. However, according to the information that the Gentlemen's Society had gathered, Yang Qi hadn't shown any signs of being like that.

The elders in the Academy of Sage Studies had only given him ordinary marks.

But now, things seemed different.

"You think I underestimated you? That bit of sword energy was just to check your cultivation base. Now I'll use my full strength. Let's see how you do this time!" The young woman reached down to draw her sword, but before she could, the male student reached over to stop her.

"Slow down, Junior Sister Tao. This is the College of Elite Students. We can't start a fight here. Furthermore, the Crown Prince Society has eyes on us everywhere. Don't give them an excuse to make a move against us. If word spread of us behaving poorly, it could damage the reputation of the Gentlemen's Society as a whole."

Turning his attention to Yang Qi, the man continued, "I'm Yuan Kun. We've come here today to invite you to join the Gentleman's Society, that's all. There's no need for the hostility."

"Yuan Kun the Flying War-King?" Li He blurted, a shiver passing through him. Eyes shining with disbelief, he said, "You're the genius who, sixty years ago, traveled to the northeast with nothing but his halberd to execute the seven evil cultivators known as the Seven Scourges of the Sea of Trees?"

Yuan Kun nodded. "Yes, that was me."

"Brother Yang," Li He said, "the Seven Scourges of the Sea of Trees were evil villains who took over the northeastern jungle sixty years ago. They practiced a wicked energy art in which they killed people to collect their souls. They committed every crime imaginable. Eventually, they reached Quinary Lifeseizing, and formed evil true energy vestiges. Even worse, they acquired the remnants of some sort of ancient, villainous encyclopedia called the Sutra of Myriad Evils.

"In the end, they were all cut down in a single fight by this very man standing in front of you. He became an overnight sensation! And that was when he was an elite student, not a conclave student like he is right now."

Yang Qi nodded. "I see. In other words, when he was only a Quaternary Lifeseizer, he cut down seven Quinary Lifeseizer experts. He didn't just beat one enemy of a higher level, but seven at once." It was obvious that this was an impressive individual.

Of course, it went without saying that students of the Demi-Immortal Institute, regardless of who they were, were not ordinary.

Clearly pleased with how impressed everyone seemed, Yuan Kun said, "It seems to me that you're hiding the truth about how strong you are, Yang Qi. Back when you became an elite student, you defeated Gu Fenxian. Given, he didn't use his Painting of Immortal Immolation, but still, that was no small feat. Obviously, the five of you have come across some good fortune, otherwise you wouldn't have gone from being freshman students to elite students in less than a year. Considering how strong you are, it would be a real shame if you didn't join a powerful organization. Besides, the Crown Prince Society clearly isn't happy with you, and there's no way that you can stand up to them. Why not join the Gentlemen's Society? We can keep you safe."

"Many thanks," Yang Qi said, his voice cold. "We appreciate your good intentions. But I have a rule in life: I don't take orders from anyone. If I joined the Gentlemen's Society, I would definitely be saddled with a lot of annoying responsibilities. I'd rather practice cultivation in peace and quiet, with my freedom and independence intact. Thanks for the offer, but no. Now, will that be all?"

"What?" blurted the female student with the almond-shaped eyes. Never could she have guessed that Yang Qi would refuse their offer just like that, and not even give them any face. "Elder Brother Yuan personally came here to try to recruit you and you're just going to refuse? Do you know who Elder Brother Yuan is? And do you know who you people are?"

"None of that is important," Yang Qi replied. "We're all just students in the Demi-Immortal Institute. The rules of the institute don't mandate that students join a society. Furthermore, the rules imply that we shouldn't form cliques for personal interest."

Yuan Kun was no ordinary individual. He was considered impressive even within the Gentlemen's Society, in which he had a very high rank. The fact that he had been sent here to recruit these five students went to show how much the Gentlemen's Society wanted their additional strength.

After all, five elite students were nothing to look down on.

Normally speaking, outer and inner campus students of promise were recruited into the societies when they were Masters of Energy.

For five Lifeseizers to have never joined a society was rare indeed, and made them prize prospects.

Even more puzzling was that this group of five had a problem with the Crown Prince Society. It made perfect sense for them to join the Gentlemen's Society for their own safety. And yet, their ringleader Yang Qi refused the offer.

Yuan Kun felt like he had just been slapped hard in the face, and there was no way he would start begging after that. If word got out that he had, he would definitely become a laughing stock.

However, he still had to make one last effort. Livid, he said, "I know you five worked hard to reach the Lifeseizing level, so I'm going to give you a bit more time to think. Are you going to join the Gentlemen's Society, or not?"

"We're not joining the Gentlemen's Society under any circumstances," Yang Qi replied with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. "Now, I'll have to ask you to leave. We need to start cultivating in preparation for the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition."

"Fine!" Yuan Kun barked, his face green from rage. "So be it! You've got some real nerve, you people. I can't believe you actually refused an important person like me. Tired of living? Is that what it is? You think you're going to join the martial arts competition? You won't last until then! You'll be dead before it ever comes around. Understand?"

By this point, Yuan Kun was resorting to outright threats.

Yang Qi looked back at him coldly. "What. We'll die if we don't join the Gentlemen's Society? Alright. Let's wait and see how you people arrange for my death. I guess you're even scarier than the Crown Prince Society."

At this point, the young woman with the almond eyes said, "This is your last chance. Join the Gentlemen's Society, and offer whatever good fortune you've come across as a gift to us. If you don't, things won't end well for you. Maybe you won't get killed, but you'll definitely regret being alive."

"I look forward to seeing how you pull that off." Eyes flashing, Yang Qi turned back into his temple, followed by his sworn brothers. As he did, an energy field sprang up, preventing the three from the Gentlemen's Society from entering.

"Elder Brother," the other young woman said, "let's just break through this spell formation and drag them out. Then we'll see if they dare to refuse again."

"Hold on," Yuan Kun said, smiling grimly. "We have plenty of time, and there will be other opportunities to get them to submit. It won't be long before those five are crawling on their knees to us, begging to join us and handing over their good fortune. It's unusual for them to have reached the Lifeseizing level so quickly. The best outcome would be for them to join us so that we can get our hands on their secrets. And if they don't join us… they'll be the ones to experience utter humiliation!"

1. Considering that they outrank him, Yang Qi should offer respectful greetings, address them formally, etc. Instead, he just directly asks them a question, the way a superior would to someone of lower rank.

2. Most cultivation novels emulate ancient Chinese culture, in which everyone wore their hair long. The only time someone would cut their hair would be if they went into mourning, or if they became a monk/nun. To have one's hair forcibly cut off would be extremely insulting and also embarrassing.

3. In Chinese culture, the polite thing to do is to see your guest out, and perhaps even escort them part of the way home if they are higher than you in social status. Only someone of much higher social status would refrain from seeing a visitor out. For Yang Qi to say this to someone of a higher rank than himself would be taken to be rude at best, and more likely, insulting.

4. Yuan Kun: Yuan is a common surname. Kun has a variety of meanings, but in xianxia novels it often is associated with the Kunlun Mountains.

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Chapter 156: Power Rising Everywhere

"Brother," He Jili said, "you really wouldn't back down to those experts from the Gentlemen's Society. That Yuan Kun is anything but a nice guy, you know. Back when he killed the Seven Scourges of the Sea of Trees, he got their incomplete version of the Sutra of Myriad Evils, which contains all sorts of evil energy arts cultivation techniques from the dao of devils. Although he handed the scripture over to the institute, he definitely took a look at it first."

"That's right," Hua Yinhu added. "What are we supposed to do if we're enemies of both the Crown Prince Society and the Gentlemen's Society?"

"Yang Qi did the right thing," Li He said. "If we joined them, it would cause no end of trouble."

"No end of trouble?" Liang Dong said. "What do you mean?"

"A year ago we were freshman students. And now, we've blazed ahead to our current position. It's obvious that we must have come across some sort of good fortune, and nothing trivial at that. If we joined the Gentlemen's Society, they would definitely require an explanation. And then what? It's not like they're going to keep all our secrets for us. Word would get around eventually." Li He looked at Yang Qi. "That's what you were thinking, right Brother?"

"Exactly," Yang Qi said with a grim smile. "They aren't a bunch of humanitarians. They're fierce and domineering, just like the Crown Prince Society. None of these organizations got where they are by following the rules; they definitely did their fair share of cheating and robbing on their way to power. I'd rather just refuse them outright than make things complicated by joining them. In any case, their leadership isn't going to do anything outrageous against us as long as we're in the institute."

"Fair enough," said Liang Dong. "But back to the topic at hand. The Gentlemen's Society just lost a lot of face, and they're not going to let it drop. If word spread, they would become a laughingstock amongst the sea of students, and it would make their future recruitment efforts much more difficult. I guarantee you they're going to retaliate, so we have to be careful."

Yang Qi nodded. "I know. But it doesn't matter. I can guess what those petty fools are thinking. They'll wait until we leave the institute, then surround us and humiliate us to no end. Or, they might try to do something to our clans to force us to acknowledge allegiance to them. Either way, we can deal with any of that. From now, until the martial arts competition, we'll keep our heads down in the College of Elite Students, and focus on cultivation. After all, I already got my hands on something to help you achieve another breakthrough."

Even as the words left his mouth, he waved his hand, causing four streams of light to fly out and enter his brothers' seas of energy.

All of them could feel their life force quintessence surging within them as a result.

"Brother, what spirit medicine was that!? It's so strong!"

"Don't worry about the details. Absorb it, and you should be able to reach Secondary or possibly even Tertiary Lifeseizing. The stronger you are, the more importantly the institute will view you, which means that anyone who made a move against us would risk offending the elders." Next, Yang Qi went on to explain certain matters of sword enlightenment. Long after night fell, he left, and surreptitiously made his way toward the Heaven Lode Mountains to see Holy Daughter Manyflowers and Yang Susu.

He didn't give the seven powerful sword stances to his brothers. After all, they couldn't cultivate them now even if they wanted; it would simply have been a waste of time and energy. It would be much better for them to work on perfecting their Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique. Later, when they reached Quinary Lifeseizing, they could form true energy vestiges.

Freezing Night. Flying Stars. Rustling Wind…. The ultimate meaning of the seven deadly moves was profound to say the least. At long last, Yang Qi didn't need to rely on the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to fight a Nonary Lifeseizer.

But right now, he was anxious to see how his Aunt Susu and Holy Daughter Manyflowers were doing. He moved with incredible speed along the same path as before, passing through the numerous castles, temples, and campuses of the institute until he was in the seemingly endless mountains that were the Heaven Lode Mountains.

Almost immediately, he could sense the milky quintessence energy flowing through the meridians and springs beneath his feet. Magical power surged, pushing the subterranean true energy into the mountains, which then flowed into Yang Qi, providing both a pleasing sensation, and also, a significant boost to his own true energy.

Based on what he could sense, it was almost like a sea existed beneath the Heaven Lode Mountains, milky white true energy and subterranean quintessence. It was as if this place were the mother of all creation.

However, that milky sea had been sealed down tight so that none of it leaked outside.

Comparing the Heaven Lode Mountains to the spring he had encountered on the island of peach blossoms was like comparing a mighty beast to a tiny worm.

It made sense, considering that the Demi-Immortal Institute was the number one power in the Rich-Lush Continent.

'No wonder conclave students reside in mountains. From there, they can connect to the milky, subterranean sea, and use that energy to further their cultivation. Although cultivating in such a fashion might seem slower than using an energy formation of the dao of monarchs, it will actually lead to much quicker progress. Unfortunately, you have to be a Quinary Lifeseizer to take up residence here. If it weren't for the special control the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth has over the land, I wouldn't be able to absorb any of it.'

He licked his lips as he looked out at all of the mountains, each and every one had a spring connecting to the quintessence below.

Some of the springs were larger, and some were smaller, depending on the resonance between them and the milky, subterranean quintessence and spirit energy. Off in the distance were some mountains that were particularly mighty and impressive. Likely, those belonged to important conclave students, Nonary Lifeseizers who would likely become Legendaries sooner or later.

Yang Qi looked around here and there as he made his way through the Heaven Lode Mountains toward Manyflowers Peak.

The last time he had been here, his cultivation base had been so low that the experience was completely different. Now, he realized that the mountains almost looked like they had been painted in place, creating a huge image that almost looked like a meridian map of the human body.

And as for that milky sea of spirit energy, it was like that body's sea of energy in its dantian region.

The Heaven Lode Mountains were like a huge giant, laying there silently, slowly practicing cultivation, just waiting for the day in which it would wake up and dominate all the lands.

Just looking at the mountains, Yang Qi could grasp at slightly better enlightenment of various martial disciplines.

'Don't tell me that there are martial truths hidden within the Heaven Lode Mountains themselves? Does understanding the mountains and the way the energy and water flows through them lead to profound insights into martial arts?' Although Yang Qi was shocked, he didn't have the extended time that would be required to seek enlightenment right now.

Even as he pondered the subject, he suddenly realized that a huge burst of true energy was rising up beneath him, a heaven-defying ripple that rose up into a massive, terrifying wave, the type that might result if a mountain or a star were violently thrown into the ocean.

Considering that Yang Qi's true energy was already connected to the milky, subterranean quintessence, he instantly sensed that, off in the distance, a huge gravitational force had appeared on one of the mountain peaks. It was currently absorbing the quintessence madly, forming something like a huge tornado, or a black hole that was sucking in massive amounts of quintessence.

Wind raged through the mountains, to the shock of many experts in the area, who Yang Qi saw flying up into the air and looking toward the same mountain he was.

Despite it being some distance away, Yang Qi suddenly realized that what he was looking at was actually Manyflowers Peak!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering event was playing out there.

'Crap! How could this be happening? Considering the energy forces at play, does it mean that some powerful expert is at Manyflowers Peak right now? Is someone trying to capture Holy Daughter Manyflowers and Aunt Susu?'

Even as Yang Qi was preparing to fly over to the mountain, some of the other experts who had flown up into the air began to comment in loud voices.

"Earthlode activity? Vital energy eruption? Astrological phenomena? Is someone becoming a Legendary? Holy Daughter Manyflowers must have succeeded. She's finally going to reach the Legendary level!"

'What? Holy Daughter Manyflowers is stepping into the Legendary level?' Yang Qi had never witnessed something like this before, but considering everything, he was confident that he knew what was going on, and was delighted. 'She's going to become a Legendary, and Aunt Susu is her only apprentice. From now on, nobody will dare to look down on either of them ever again. Holy Daughter Manyflowers is incredible! Not even forty and already a Legendary? Back in Yanhaven, people who reached the seventh phase by forty were considered the best of the best.'

Yang Qi remained in place, looking over at Manyflowers Peak. Vital energy of heaven and earth swirled madly everywhere, and as it did, monsters appeared, deadly beings from beyond the heavens.

Yang Qi knew exactly what these were: heaven-devils. 'When becoming a Legendary, heaven and earth are shaken to the core, and the monsters react with envy. That's when heaven-devils appear!'

Their hope was to interfere with Holy Daughter Manyflowers and make sure she didn't become a Legendary.

The heaven-devils were bizarre in appearance; some had tentacles like an octopus, others were like shapeless specters. There were many that took humanoid shape, with green skin and long fangs.

Lightning gathered in the sky, terrifying to the extreme, so powerful that even Yang Qi felt his hair standing on end. Shockingly, the lightning bolts also began to take human shape.

Yang Qi even saw a palace, which began to descend in crushing fashion toward Manyflowers Peak, as if to level it into dust. The energy emanating off it seemed like that of tens of thousands of Legendaries all self-detonating at the same time.

Tribulations of all sorts appeared, expressions of earth, water, fire, wind, and endless baleful energy. The air shattered as everything within dozens of kilometers became a massive Legendary tribulation.

When one reached the Legendary level, one was no longer human, but rather, close to being an immortal. That was when one came to understand magical laws, and thus, would be the subject of jealousy on the part of heaven and earth. This was a tribulation a hundred times as severe as that from the Lifeseizing level. The only way to succeed was to defeat the monsters and subjugate the tribulation, with the alternative being permanent death.

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Chapter 157: Becoming a Legendary

Holy Daughter Manyflowers was becoming a Legendary, and in many ways, it was an eye-opening experience for Yang Qi.

Strange signs appeared, subterranean quintessence erupted, and lightning gathered. Yang Qi had never seen so much lightning before; it was filled with celestial winds and the roars of dragons and tigers, heavenly palaces, heaven-devils and earth-fiends, and more.

In fact, countless stars above seemed to emit destructive starlight, as if to rip Manyflowers Peak out of the ground and crush it into ash.

Yang Qi got the feeling that if he were in that tribulation, he wouldn't make it out alive.

All prospective Legendaries had to pass this massive tribulation to reach the next level.

'Crap,' he thought. 'Aunt Susu is on Manyflowers Peak too, which means that she might get killed if Holy Daughter Manyflowers doesn't pass the tribulation. Well, I guess the only thing I can do is prepare to charge in there and rescue her if things go bad.'

Meanwhile, the surrounding experts were discussing the goings-on.

"Her Legendary Tribulation is profound to say the least. Having a cultivation base that strong shows that this girl is really a genius. She reached Nonary Lifeseizing twenty years ago, and now she's doing this? I wonder if she'll succeed. If so, our institute will have another Legendary."

"It's hard to say. That tribulation is nothing to take lightly. Look, there's a heavenly palace in the lightning! The rulers of heaven aren't happy at all!"

"Her apprentice Yang Susu is there with her. You know, I've always wondered about that. Yang Susu doesn't seem particularly talented. Why would Holy Daughter Manyflowers pick her as an apprentice? Was it really worth it?"

"Supposedly, Yang Susu has a unique background. She's been here at the institute for ten years, but only has a middling cultivation base as far as I'm concerned. Well, you can't compare her to Holy Daughter Manyflowers or the Crown Prince. In any case, she's no weakling. I heard that she hasn't opened her apertures, but if she does, she'll be extraordinary beyond belief."

"Opened her apertures? What does that mean?"

"Even I'm not really sure. It has something to do with a physique-type from the distant past."

"Look, the heavenly tribulation is growing more intense. Incredible! Her apprentice Yang Susu is actually fighting by her side. Is Holy Daughter Manyflowers crazy? She's actually using the power of the tribulation to temper her apprentice! Wait, don't tell me she's using the tribulation to help her open her apertures?"

More and more people were gathering to watch the events playing out at Manyflowers Peak, including elders, conclave students, and even some elite students who happened to be around at the time. Mixtures of both envy and fear could be seen on the faces of those present.

On the one hand, some people envied the fact that Holy Daughter Manyflowers was becoming a Legendary, and on the other hand, some people feared the power of the tribulation.

Yang Qi could sense two auras in the tribulation, one strong, one weak. Obviously, the weaker one belonged to Yang Susu.

To his surprise, he realized that Holy Daughter Manyflowers was actually guiding some of the tribulation power into Yang Susu.

'What heaven-defying secret magic is that? Can Aunt Susu take it?' He had just overheard people talking about Yang Susu having some sort of special physique, and that if she 'opened her apertures', she would make astounding progress.

The fact of the matter was that Yang Susu was only a bit over twenty, and had just started to make a name for herself. She was already a Secondary Lifeseizer, and because of that, was considered something of a prodigy. And yet now they were saying she would become vastly stronger if she opened her apertures?

WHIZZZ!

The lightning above swirled together to form a huge bell, which descended to encompass the entirety of Manyflowers Peak.

Many people were now letting out exclamations of shock.

"I can't believe she provoked tribulation lightning like that!"

"That's the Universal Polarity Godbell! Its appearance indicates that the person in question cannot be permitted in this heaven and earth, and has aroused the rage of both the legion of gods, and heaven and earth! What is that kind of tribulation lightning doing here? Our Demi-Immortal Institute is a righteous, orthodox organization. From what I've heard, this type of tribulation would only appear for the most evil wretch-devils in the distant past."

"That phenomenon is incredible. About a hundred years ago, I was in the deep mountains when I saw an incredibly powerful wretch-devil facing a tribulation like this. He set up countless grand spell formations, and even performed blood sacrifices. And yet, the bell came and reduced him to ash. Don't tell me that Holy Daughter Manyflowers cultivates some sort of devil art?"

"How is that even possible? If she cultivated a devil art, the elders would have found out about it a long time ago. I'd guess it's because her strength is literally heaven-defying. She's forcing the tribulation to help her apprentice, which is inciting even more tribulation to come. She's really got some guts, I'll give you that. Isn't she afraid of dying? Not only does she have to worry about passing the tribulation herself, but she also has to take care of her apprentice."

"She's killing two birds with one stone. I heard that last time she went to the Minorcosm World, she got in an argument with Patriarchs Wind and Cloud, who said that her apprentice doesn't match up to their new apprentice, Yun Hailan. Maybe that's why she decided to go and defy heaven to this degree."

"She's going to get herself killed."

WHIZZZ!

All of a sudden, the bell that had covered Manyflowers Peak began to vibrate, as though something inside were banging against it with incredible force.

Ninety-nine times, the bell trembled, cracks spreading out on its surface until, finally, it exploded into countless fragments that became a vortex swirling around the area.

"Void Severing!" It was Holy Daughter Mayflowers' voice, accompanied by a projection of Humanoid True Energy. As it floated above the mountain like a goddess, it hefted a sword and then slashed it upward, causing a bizarre black rift to open up in the air. The resulting imbalance with heaven and earth instantly caused the heaven-devils, lightning, and other tribulations to be sucked inside.

In the blink of an eye, the heavenly tribulation vanished.

At the same time, a voice spoke out that would incite any lesser person who heard it to drop to their knees in worship.

"Success! This is the Legendary level!" With that, Holy Daughter Mayflowers' energy projection sank down and merged back into her.

The experts in the area were all muttering amongst themselves. "I can't believe she broke through. She actually destroyed the Universal Polarity Godbell! Come on, let's go pay her a formal visit to offer congratulations. Her status in the Demi-Immortal Institute will be completely different from now on. I wonder if her apprentice opened those apertures?"

Soon, a stream of experts was heading toward Manyflowers Peak.

Yang Qi also flew over.

By the time he arrived, the place was already buzzing with activity. Experts of all types had come: old, young, men, women. After all, the rise of a new Legendary was no small event.

When Yang Qi touched down, he saw that, in the palace halfway up Manyflowers Peak, there were two prayer mats, upon which knelt Holy Daughter Manyflowers and Yang Susu.

Yang Susu shone with brilliant light, making her look like a living treasure. She had concentric halos floating behind her, and she emanated the fluctuations of a Tertiary Lifeseizing cultivation base. Even more marvelous, her blood seemed to contain seven colors, making her look more like a god from heaven than a human. However, there was some power within her concealing some aspects of her true strength.

"A Seven Apertures Sprite Body!" one of the experts exclaimed. "That's a Seven Apertures Sprite Body! According to the legends, it exists only in the blood of an ancient race of sage-like beings from the distant past. It's a saintly body-type of the Spritefolk. No wonder Holy Daughter Manyflowers was always so devoted to that apprentice of hers! Who would have thought that she actually had that type of holy body?"

Yang Qi looked over to a nearby expert, a conclave student who was a Quinary Lifeseizer.

"What's a Seven Apertures Sprite Body?" he asked.

"The Spritefolk were a people from the distant past who had boundless potential in cultivation," the student explained. "Later, as heaven and earth transformed, they disappeared. However, some people still have their blood in them, and every once in a while, a person like that will awaken their bloodline and become a top expert because of it. Who would have thought that Yang Susu would have Spritefolk blood in her? Now that she's opened her apertures, it will definitely attract the attention of the leaders in the Minorcosm World. I wouldn't be surprised if the chancellor himself shows up. Reaching the heavens in a single bound. That's what she's done."

'I can't believe Aunt Susu has powers like that!' Yang Qi thought. All he remembered was that his grandfather had raised his Aunt Susu for a time before she was taken away by Holy Daughter Manyflowers. To think that she possessed the holy body of an ancient race of people, the Spritefolk.

At this point, Holy Daughter Manyflowers said, "Ladies and gentlemen, reaching the Legendary level was very draining. I'm afraid I'm not up to entertaining all of you. If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a time to recover. After I report to the leaders in the Minorcosm World, I'll make sure to take time to visit all of you."

"Rest well, Holy Daughter Manyflowers. We just wanted to offer our congratulations. We'll come again on a more appropriate occasion to offer gifts."

It was with such words that everyone took their leave, until only Yang Qi remained behind.

Looking at him, Holy Daughter Manyflowers waved her hand, causing dense mists to spring up and cover the mountain. "So, you're back. How strong are you now?"

Silence reigned. Yang Qi could sense the immense magical power within Holy Daughter Manyflowers, and knew that not even his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth would be a match for her now. Her true energy had transformed significantly, to the point where it was now connected with the natural and magical laws around them.

That was the Legendary level.

Yang Qi was already very wary of people like this. After all, he could handle Nonary Lifeseizers, but Legendaries were a totally different story.

And yet, it turned out that Holy Daughter Manyflowers was actually more shocked than Yang Qi was right now. The last time they had met, he had been strong, but only in an ordinary way. Now, he was completely different. He seemed like a sword sharp enough to rip the sky apart and slash the earth to pieces. His sword techniques had obviously reached the point where ghost-gods could hardly fathom them.

"Did you start studying a new sword technique?" she asked. "And is that the aura of a divine sword I sense on you? Let me see it."

"Yes," Yang Qi replied. With the wave of his hand, he summoned the Ice-Soul God-Sword, which became a streak of green as it flew toward Holy Daughter Manyflowers.

Reaching out, she grabbed it. Upon running her finger down the length of the blade, and reading the characters inscribed there, she said, "What?! The Ice-Soul God-Sword!?"

1. As the dialogue makes clear, it isn't obvious even in Chinese what it means for her to "open her apertures". To "open the apertures" is a real word which has a few meanings. One meaning essentially means to achieve enlightenment. Another meaning relates to traditional Chinese medicine, and refers to clearing passageways within the body. My initial assumption on reading it was that it was referring to the latter, or maybe something like Might Guy and Rock Lee's Eight Gates (from Naruto). Again, though, the dialogue implies that even the top experts in the story don't really know the details.

2. I mentioned a couple chapters ago that, when the conclave students came to visit, Yang Qi should have greeted them and addressed them with titles. That was the case because it was an official visit, and a formal conversation. This is a different situation. Here, they are both essentially bystanders to some event that everyone is watching. Leaning over and asking a question like this wouldn't necessarily be construed as an initiation of a formal conversation. Thus, there wouldn't necessarily be a need for greetings or use of titles

3. I would like to point out that there was a mistake in the original release of chapter 1. I incorrectly said that Yang Qi's father Yang Zhan adopted Yang Susu "as a sister" which was incorrect. It was actually Yang Qi's grandfather adopting her as a daughter, which would make her Yang Zhan's adoptive sister and Yang Qi's adoptive aunt.

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Chapter 158: Seven Apertures Sprite Body

"This was the signature sword of Guru Ice-Soul, years ago," Holy Daughter Manyflowers continued. "He forged it from Perennial frigidjade, and imbued it with the quintessence of an ice soul to give it a spirit of its own. It was tempered for an entire sixty-year-cycle in flame lightning, and when its full power is unleashed, it can freeze everything for hundreds of kilometers, and can even divert rivers. This is not the kind of thing that can be easily subjugated. How did you get it? And how did you get it to submit? Even a Legendary would have a hard time with it. And a Nonary Lifeseizer would definitely fail."

"This sword and I are kindred spirits of a sort," Yang Qi replied. "I encountered it by chance out in the East Sea. There was an old man out there named, what was it? Oh right. Patriarch Frost-Drake. He was fighting to pull the sword up from a spring on an island of peach blossoms. The two of them were seriously hurt in the struggle, and I swooped in at the end to take the sword." Yang Qi told his tale very smoothly, leaving no holes whatsoever in his story.

"Oh? Patriarch Frost-Drake?" Holy Daughter Manyflowers nodded. "I've heard of him. He reached Nonary Lifeseizing quite some time ago. He acquired some snowflake godsteel, which he used to forge his Haughty Snow Sword. And supposedly, he acquired an old manual describing seven sword stances from the ancient Ravaging Dual Sword Sect."

Holy Daughter Manyflowers didn't have any reason to doubt Yang Qi. After all, it made sense that he might be able to snatch the Ice-Soul God-Sword after it experienced a protracted battle with Patriarch Frost-Drake that left both of them injured.

If she had been told that it was Yang Qi himself who dragged the Ice-Soul God-Sword out of the depths of a frozen kingdom, and then went on to defeat Patriarch Frost-Drake, there was no way she would have believed it. After all, only a Legendary should be able to do things like that.

"Lucky. So lucky," she said with a sigh of admiration. "Although, don't forget that the Cosmic Sunflare Sword and the Ice-Soul God-Sword are completely incompatible. Be careful."

"Don't worry about that, Senior," Yang Qi said. "I already gained enlightenment of yin and yang, and of the dao of water and fire. I even used the frigid energy of the Ice-Soul God-Sword to temper the burning flame of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword."

"Oh?" Holy Daughter Manyflowers said, looking a bit surprised. "Do you mind doing a little demonstration?"

Yang Qi nodded and flicked his finger, sending out a spark of flame that transformed into a sword of fire, which then fused with the ice sword.

The two bursts of sword energy were like yin and yang, making a taiji symbol that rotated without cease.

He didn't use any specific sword stances or techniques; he just revealed his profound understanding of the dao of the sword. After taking the sword energy that Patriarch Frost-Drake had worked for a hundred years to build up, and after seeking enlightenment for so many days on the island of peach blossoms, he now seemed like a grandmaster of the sword.

"Not bad," Holy Daughter Manyflowers said, "Not bad at all. You understand the transformations of yin and yang, and the dao of the opposed sword energies of water and fire. Unfortunately, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword is actually a set of techniques, whereas the Ice-Soul God-Sword isn't a technique at all. How about I teach you the Moonset Hyperlunar Sword technique? It was created by a member of the senior generation to be a counterpoint to the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique. That would be the perfect combination to use with the Ice-Soul God-Sword."

"Many thanks, Senior. I really need to work hard on my sword technique. With the big martial arts competition coming up, I definitely have to win honor for the institute."

"You'll have a chance of making a scene with the Ice-Soul God-Sword." Looking him up and down, she asked, "What level is your cultivation base now anyway?"

"Er, I've actually been in Quinary Lifeseizing for a while now, but I've been hiding it. The tallest tree attracts the most attention, right? Not only is the Crown Prince Society plotting against me, but I also offended the Gentlemen's Society. So I've been trying to keep my head down."

"Quinary Lifeseizing? You're progressing very rapidly." Holy Daughter Manyflowers was slowly coming to the realization that she was dealing with a real genius in Yang Qi. "Well, do as you wish. Incidentally, Susu has opened her apertures, and released the godpower of the Seven Apertures Sprite Body. The upper echelons will definitely take note of that, and spend extra resources to guide her. I'll be taking a trip to the Minorcosm World tomorrow to report the matter. Hmph! Just wait until those Patriarchs Wind and Cloud see how amazing my apprentice is!"

At this point, Yang Susu looked over at Yang Qi.

"Qi'er," she said by way of greeting. She then took a breath, and the vital energy of heaven and earth thrummed in resonance. She rose to her feet, and the seven-colored glow inside of her radiated out into the open; clearly, her true energy was now far beyond that of any conclave student.

"I'm in Tertiary Lifeseizing already?" she blurted. "And my true energy is ten times beyond what it was before?"

"That's right," Holy Daughter Manyflowers responded. "You've fully activated your holy body, but that's only the first step. From here on out, your cultivation will proceed even more quickly than before. I realized back when you were a child that you had the blood of the Spritefolk in you. Unfortunately, your cultivation base wasn't high enough to open your apertures at that time. Thankfully, I was able to use my rise to the Legendary level to awaken the latent potential in your blood. No one will possibly dare to underestimate us now."

"But Master, what is a Seven Apertures Sprite Body?" Yang Susu asked.

"It is a type of physique among the Spritefolk. They were a holy people from the distant past, who supposedly had the blood of the gods in them. If you can awaken their power, it will be enough to move mountains and fill in seas. In antiquity, there were eight other types of godly bloodlines, and the Spritefolk were only one of them. Another example is the Seafolk, who have the blood of sea gods, although it's very out of the ordinary. Yun Hailan is one of the rare few who have it." Turning to Yang Qi, she said, "Do you understand now, Yang Qi? Yun Hailan is no one to take lightly. It would be very difficult for you to beat her in a fight."

"Yes," Yang Qi said, nodding. 'But if I used the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, not even ten Yun Hailans could kill me. But I probably wouldn't be a match for her just using the Ice-Soul God-Sword. Besides, she also has the Crown Prince backing her.'

"Yang Qi," Holy Daughter Manyflowers said, "are you thinking that your cultivation base is actually high enough to take on Yun Hailan? You might be almost invincible now with your Ice-Soul God-Sword, but she has the backing of the Crown Prince, and he's far, far more powerful than the Ice-Soul God-Sword. He has countless treasures of unimaginable power, so many that he wouldn't think twice about giving one or two to Yun Hailan as a gift. Beyond all that, Yun Hailan doesn't just have the blood of a sea god in her, she also has the blood of a divine dragon. That gives her the power of a dragon in the sea."

"The power of a dragon in the sea?" Yang Qi was actually chuckling inwardly, but outwardly, put on a look of confusion. "Senior, perhaps I really do need some more assistance from you."

"Well, you're not my apprentice, but you are Susu's nephew, so in some ways, I'm obliged to help you." Holy Daughter Manyflowers waved her hand, causing projected images of people to fill the hall. Some practiced sword techniques, some performed breathing exercises, some sat in meditation, some simply remained in place motionless…. All were working on the Moonset Hyperlunar Sword technique, which was soft and feminine, graceful and lonely in nature.

After giving Yang Qi plenty of time to memorize them all, she said, "This is the quintessence of the sword technique. You and Susu work on your cultivation here while I go for a trip to the Minorcosm World." With that, she vanished.

The projections disappeared along with her, leaving behind only Yang Qi and Yang Susu.

Yang Qi closed his eyes to contemplate the new sword technique. Sometime later, he opened them. "Incredible! It's actually the perfect complement to the Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique. Cultivating this will be of great benefit to me."

"Qi'er," Yang Susu said, "your cultivation base is advancing by leaps and bounds! What good fortune did you come across?" By now, Yang Susu was convinced that there was much more to his cultivation base than he was letting on. After all, they had grown up together, and therefore, she could read him much better than others could.

"Let's talk about that later," Yang Qi said. "Aunt Susu. I have something amazing that should push your cultivation base even higher." With the wave of his hand, Yang Qi produced the huge bottle gourd, which filled the hall with a powerful aura of life force.

"Life force springwater?" Yang Susu said. "Isn't that what the Crown Prince Society uses? How did you get your hands on it?"

"I'll explain everything later, Aunt Susu. For now, let me help you push your cultivation base to a higher level. With your Seven Apertures Sprite Body, you could probably make use of a big portion of life force quintessence." He clenched his hand into a fist, causing water to fly out of the gourd and into Yang Susu.

A moment later, the seven-colored glow inside of her was even stronger than before.

Meanwhile, some distance away, Yun Hailan stood atop a mountain peak, clad in a blue garment, looking through the mist and clouds toward Manyflowers Peak. A seemingly bottomless cliff stretched out below her, and her delicate garment fluttered in the breeze.

In this moment, there was something quite odd about the way she carried herself.

"What's wrong, Junior Sister Hailan? Are you feeling pressured?" Behind her stood a man with a warm smile on his face. He seemed graceful and refined, and looked more like a scholar than an energy artist.

And yet, standing behind him in deference were a host of experts from the Crown Prince Society.

The conclave student who had lost the life force springwater was there, the Septenary Lifeseizer Lei Tao, who cultivated the Grand Thunderclap Swordplay.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Xie Feng," Yun Hailan said coolly. "No, I'm not under any pressure. Yang Susu might have opened her apertures and activated the supposed Seven Apertures Sprite Body, but I could strangle her while she slept if I felt like it."

The scholarly young man was none other than the Nonary Lifeseizer Xie Feng, who was just on the verge of becoming a Legendary, and was considered the leader of the conclave students in the Crown Prince Society.

The Crown Prince put a lot of trust in him, both to lead the society, and to accomplish all sorts of important tasks.

Whenever people outside of the institute talked about Xie Feng the Heaven-Toppler, they would shiver in fear. Once, he single-handedly waged war on eighteen sects, all because they had spoken ill of the Crown Prince.

And on one occasion, he killed a general from the Sage Ancestor Dynasty for saying that the Crown Prince didn't deserve his name. The man had claimed that only the actual crown prince from the dynasty could legitimately be called that. In the end, Xie Feng killed him, and the Sage Ancestor Dynasty didn't do anything about it.

Although he looked gentle and civilized, when he struck, he never showed any mercy, and never left any loose ends.

"Holy Daughter Manyflowers is a Legendary," he murmured, "and so will I be, soon."

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Chapter 159: Martial Arts Competition

The people gathered on that high mountain were the best of the best, the conclave students, the core power of the Crown Prince Society.

In the Demi-Immortal Institute, the student body was divided into freshman students, outer campus students, inner campus students, elite students, conclave students, and finally, holy neophytes. To become a conclave student, one needed to be a Quinary Lifeseizer. As for the holy neophytes, they were even rarer. After all, the number of people in the Rich-Lush Continent who could become Legendaries was few and far between.

Because of that, the fundamental situation was the same in all the big institutes; the Lifeseizers in the Quinary level or higher, the conclave students, were considered extremely prestigious, and most capable of living up to their potential.

And Yun Hailan was now brushing shoulders with just such individuals, not just because of her having found favor with the Crown Prince, but also because of her own skill and ability.

"Holy Daughter Manyflowers is a genius," Yun Hailan said. "From what I've heard, she reached Nonary Lifeseizing when she was around twenty or so. Now, less than twenty years later, she broke through all the requisite shackles to become a Legendary. And yet, I will still surpass her. I'll reach the Legendary level ten years before she did."

Yun Hailan was currently twenty, so if she could do as she claimed, and become a Legendary at the age of thirty, it would be shocking to the extreme.

Perhaps most people would take her claims to be mere boasting, but she was absolutely confident. After all, few people knew that the might of gods and dragons lurked inside of her. Of the people present, only Xie Feng had an inkling of the secrets she kept.

And yet, despite being a Nonary Lifeseizer, not even he was able to see the truth about her level, which was quite surprising to him.

'The Crown Prince has taken a liking to her,' he thought, 'which in and of itself indicates there's something incredible in her blood. Plus, she took Patriarchs Wind and Cloud as her masters. And she just spent two days practicing cultivation here in the Minorcosm World. I wonder what level she's reached. From what I heard, the Crown Prince is in some dangerous location cultivating a powerful energy art, the Son of Heaven's Godfist. Even still, he transported a powerful treasure to her, something that makes her unreadable even to me.

'I know she has the blood of a sea god, that's without doubt. But why does she also seem to have true dragon blood in her as well? The power of 'a dragon in the sea' is nothing to look down on. The treasures the Crown Prince has access to are godly to say the least. If he gave her something truly powerful, doesn't it mean she'll take first place in the martial arts competition?'

All of a sudden, Yun Hailan turned around, looked at Xie Feng, and said, "Elder Brother Xie, what do you think about the upcoming martial arts competition? The whole point of the competition is to watch the Nonary Lifeseizers from the various institutes fight it out, right? The holy neophytes won't take part. And since you're the best of the best in the Crown Prince Society, sir, does that mean you'll be able to dominate the rest of the competitors?"

"Dominate the rest of the competitors? Well, that's easier said than done." Xie Feng smiled. Although he made a show of being humble, he was actually very confident in himself. "In all four of the institutes, elite students are as common as sand on the seashore. There are plenty of Nonary Lifeseizers, some of whom have been in that level for hundreds of years, and are right on the verge of becoming Legendaries. I'll do my best, but there's no telling what will happen. Junior Sister, I know you're quite the ambitious type, and would love to make a name for yourself. There are some amazing rewards available during the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition. From what I heard, whoever takes first place will receive a magical item from the distant past."

"Oh? And what might that be, Elder Brother Xie Feng?"

Xie Feng's eyes glittered as he replied, "I'm not sure. I heard that the chancellors of the four institutes had a meeting about the subject, and ended up making a bet. One of the chancellors lost the bet, although I'm not sure who. In any case, that chancellor is the one who provided the grand prize. One thing's for sure: it's definitely a precious treasure. And I'm going to be the one taking the prize and reaching the Legendary level. As for anyone who gets in my way, they'll end up dead!"

When he said the word dead, everyone present shivered, with the exception of Yun Hailan, who stood there by the cliff, looking like the picture of eternal purity in her blue gown. As the wind blew past, she said, "In that case, I guess I should offer my congratulations now, Elder Brother Xie Feng. Oh, by the way. The death of my cousin Song Haishan needs to be thoroughly investigated. There's something extremely peculiar about the whole situation."

One of the other leaders of the Crown Prince Society said, "Peculiar? What do you mean? According to Jiang Fan, they were ambushed by monsters. There doesn't seem much more to it than that. There are students every year who get killed by monsters. It's just the will of heaven, and you know you can't defy that."

"In that case, I'll just have to look into the matter myself. You'd better hope I don't find any new evidence. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time explaining things to the Crown Prince."

Before anyone could say anything else, Yun Hailan suddenly exploded, becoming countless blue streaks of lightning-like light that vanished into thin air.

"What incredible true energy," Xie Feng said, visibly moved. "That's Flight of the Thunderbolt Diffusion, one of the most powerful escape magics of Patriarchs Wind and Cloud. I can't believe she can use something so incredible."

"Elder Brother," one of the conclave students said, "this Yun Hailan is no one to take lightly. The Crown Prince is holding nothing back to help her progress, and she's already strong enough to dominate Quinary Lifeseizers. I'd say there's a high likelihood she's actually much stronger than that. And I bet she's actually going to try to take first place in the competition. You know, only true geniuses can challenge people multiple levels higher than them. In antiquity, there were supposedly some Lifeseizers who could defeat Legendaries, but they were the children of gods. Although no such beings exist nowadays, there are still people who are close."

'I'm aware of all that,' Xie Feng thought. 'I'm not sure what the Crown Prince has in mind, but if he wants her to take first place, I won't interfere. Of course, in the interests of fairness, I'm sure the Crown Prince would compensate me for that.'

"In any case," he continued out loud, "the most important thing right now isn't Yun Hailan, it's the Shroud-Heaven Alliance that was recently formed. The Crown Prince's old defeated foe Young Master Shroud-Heaven is back. Apparently, he's mastered an invincible devil art unique to the Demonfolk. In fact, that's why the Crown Prince went to a distant danger zone to cultivate that extremely deadly energy art of his; to kill Young Master Shroud-Heaven. That technique is so amazing that not even the fabled Great Sage Shroud-Heaven himself will be able to resurrect his son after his nascent divinity is killed.

"Let's keep track of all the movements of this alliance. That's our most important task right now. By the way, considering the matter is connected to the Hanging Mountain, you all need to be very careful. Most organizations in the lands fear the Demi-Immortal Institute enough that they wouldn't dare to do anything to us. But the Hanging Mountain harbors no such fear. It's been quite some time that they've been eyeing the Rich-Lush Continent like a tiger eyeing prey.

"Mobilize all our spies and agents. Make sure we know everything about the Shroud-Heaven Alliance!"

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh…. Blasts of wind swirled out as the students blurred into motion.

Meanwhile, Yun Hailan hovered high above the sea of clouds, looking down at the conclave students vanishing into the night. Shaking her head, she murmured to herself, 'Everyone in the Crown Prince Society thinks that all my success is because of the Crown Prince. Little do they know that, as far as I'm concerned, the Crown Prince is no different from that Yang Qi. They're all pawns. I'll never let any man use me…. The Crown Prince Society people treat me politely, but in their bones, they hate me. Eventually, they'll all be forced to kneel in front of me.'

Expression flickering, she turned to look in the direction of Manyflowers Peak. 'Yang Qi…. I have to admit that I underestimated you. You were once nothing more than a country bumpkin brat, but you've changed. You really stand out from the crowd now. It's almost hard to believe how vicious and merciless you've become. If only you would bow your head and swear loyalty to me, I could use you to accomplish incredible things here in the Demi-Immortal Institute. I need to find a good opportunity to force you to submit….'

Suddenly, her eyes flickered with shining light. 'I know that you were involved in the deaths of Song Haishan and Gu Fenxian. And I can't help but admire how perfectly you covered it all up. But I know you. You're an amateur, so you definitely left some evidence somewhere. Once I find it, I'll push you into a life-or-death situation in which you have no choice but to agree to become my slave.'

Back in the grand hall on Manyflowers Peak, Yang Qi continued to send a flow of life force springwater into Yang Susu, who was glowing with dazzling light. Unexpectedly, there were seven specific locations within her that were absorbing the life force and, as a result, transforming into seas of true energy.

'What? Seven seas of energy?' Yang Qi was shocked at what his acute senses were telling him. There was no doubt about it; they were not acupoints or meridians, they were seas of energy.

Seas of energy and acupoints were very different. Seas of energy converted life force quintessence, and also balanced the blood and energy in the body. In Quinary Lifeseizing, one formed true energy vestiges, but all they did was store true energy that was built up during breathing exercises. Eventually, it would be turned into animadestiny true energy, which could then flow out into the acupoints.

In contrast, seas of energy were like furnaces. They were a core element of the body that simply couldn't be substituted or replaced.

And yet, now Yang Susu had seven swirling vortexes inside of her that were becoming seas of energy. Those seas of energy could absorb power from outside the body, and transform it into true energy.

In other words, when Yang Susu took a single breath, she would be absorbing seven times the normal amount of spirit energy. Obviously, she could also circulate her energy at a much higher speed than ordinary people.

Furthermore, Yang Qi could also sense that those seven seas of energy were larger than normal. If he closed his eyes, shutting Yang Susu's physical form from his senses, he could see the seven massive vortexes, spinning endlessly as they sucked in vital energy.

The seven seas of energy also served to organize, sort, and distribute the absorbed vital energy in a perfect way, and used it to cleanse the fleshly body.

Those seas of energy, each one a furnace, were nearly as marvelous as his Hellfire Crucible.

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Chapter 160: Seven Seas of Energy

For seven seas of energy to have formed inside Yang Susu was something completely unprecedented.

From that, Yang Qi was starting to understand how terrifying the Seven Apertures Sprite Body was. Yang Susu now had seven furnaces that could refine vital energy, and although the function wasn't quite as marvelous as his Hellfire Crucible, it was still astonishing.

"Spritefolk Godfurnace…." Yang Susu murmured. Massive amounts of vital energy surged within her seven seas of energy, gradually transforming into true energy expressions that resembled pill furnaces. Each breath she took was now like the breathing of dozens of Lifeseizers, and the milky vital energy quintessence from beneath the ground seemed almost incapable of keeping up with it.

Yang Susu had experienced such a fundamental transformation that, instead of being human, she was now more like a god, immortal, or sage.

Now, it seemed as if she possessed some incredibly unusual energy art.

"Aunt Susu, what energy art are you cultivating?" Yang Qi asked. He was very curious about what marvelously enigmatic technique she was working on, which was clearly something that ordinary humans would never possess.

Eyes mostly blank, Yang Susu replied, "It's something I was enlightened about after opening my apertures. A mental dharma of the Spritefolk. It seems to be something buried deep in my blood."

"Oh?" Yang Qi replied, thoroughly taken aback. Some demonlings could awaken cultivation techniques that were buried in their memories or souls, but who would have thought that a similar thing would happen with Yang Susu and her Seven Apertures Sprite Body? Even stranger, it seemed that it all happened because of the forming of those seven seas of energy.

There happened to be a spring built into this hall of Manyflowers Palace which contained a milky-white flow of energy that was none other than the quintessence of the earth.

Also in the depths of that spring was an enormous spell formation, something that far surpassed an energy formation of the dao of monarchs. This was an energy formation of the imperial heaven, something that only Quinary Lifeseizers or higher could make use of.

However, not even the quintessence provided by that energy formation could possibly have been enough for Yang Susu. It was only thanks to the life force springwater that Yang Qi had provided that she was able to grasp this new mental dharma.

Before long, densely packed lightning bolts could be seen taking shape above her, as well as monsters, bane-devils, baleful energy and the like. Flames covered her.

Tribulation had come!

She was breaking into Quaternary Lifeseizing, and so Yang Qi prepared to stand guard.

And yet, even as the tribulation formed, her seven seas of energy erupted to life, sending energy out to form a huge vortex that easily sucked in the lightning, monsters, and other aspects of the tribulation.

Just like that, the tribulation vanished.

Yang Susu's cultivation base was advancing by leaps and bounds.

Even as Yang Qi breathed a sigh of relief, all of a sudden, the vital energy of heaven and earth fluctuated, and even more powerful monsters began to take shape, burning with ghostfire, their faces vicious to the extreme.

Another tribulation was starting!

'Another one? Is this the tribulation of Quinary Lifeseizing?' To his shock, Yang Qi realized that, right after reaching Quaternary Lifeseizing, the incredible power of the life force springwater was providing life force quintessence that was the equivalent of over a hundred years of bitter cultivation. Unexpectedly, that was provoking Quinary Lifeseizing tribulation.

Massive amounts of intense lightning began to fall, and in the blink of an eye, the entire hall was filled with baleful energy, devil-ghosts, lightning, earth, water, fire, wind and vital energy as sharp as a blade. Even Yang Qi was in danger because of it.

But then, a burst of sword energy swirled out to protect him, preventing any of the ill effects from affecting him.

Yang Qi looked into the nearly-empty bottle gourd, quickly absorbed all of the remaining life force springwater, then sent the resulting true energy out into his limbs and bones.

His life force springwater was completely used up. Back on the island of peach blossoms, he had used a significant amount to subjugate the Ice-Soul God-Sword, and drag it up from the mysterious kingdom of ice. He had then given some to his sworn brothers. And just moments ago, he had also provided a large amount to Yang Susu. Taking the last amount that he just had yet again caused his cultivation base to rise. At the same time, the life force springwater instantly fueled a new level of enlightenment of the sword energy of the Moonset Hyperlunar Sword that Holy Daughter Manyflowers had given him.

"Ice-Soul God-Sword; Moonset Hyperlunar Sword technique!"

All it took was a thought on Yang Qi's part for the martial technique to be fully employed. Two streams of sword energy shot out, one like yin, one like yang, which swirled around him like supple dragons. Together they formed a shield, half of which was ice, the other fire, a barrier that was impenetrable, and that could conquer every obstacle.

"Yin-Yang Tower Shield!"

The countless variations of Yang Qi's sword technique could quickly shift back and forth from a defensive shield to a sword formation. As it turned out, he was using Yang Susu's Quinary Lifeseizing tribulation to hone his sword technique.

It took an entire day for the tribulation to fade away. When it was all over, Yang Susu had transformed on a fundamental level. She opened her eyes, and saw Yang Qi working with numerous streams of sword energy, which were combined into a magnificent tableau. However, at the same time, the vital energy of heaven and earth vibrated as another tribulation began.

It was Senary Lifeseizing tribulation!

One spectacular event after another was taking place on Manyflowers Peak. First was Legendary tribulation, and then, Yang Susu experienced tribulations of Quaternary and Quinary Lifeseizing. And to top it all off, Yang Qi was now preparing to face Senary Lifeseizing tribulation.

After all, he was already at the peak of Quinary Lifeseizing, and was now working on combining the yin and yang aspects of his sword technique, backed by a sizeable amount of life force springwater.

Suddenly, the hundredth particle within him erupted, and the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was stirred.

'What? Another tribulation?' Yang Susu was simply stunned by what she was seeing.

Around that time, a graceful woman appeared at the entrance of the hall, who was none other than Holy Daughter Manyflowers.

"Master!" Yang Susu blurted loudly.

Holy Daughter Manyflowers looked at the tribulation brewing, and her eyes sparkled with strange light. 'He's challenging Senary Lifeseizing tribulation? His cultivation base is even more amazing than I realized. He definitely has some profound secret that he's hiding. Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me.'

"Susu, come with me. The chancellor wants to see you!"

"What? The chancellor?" Yang Susu replied, clearly surprised.

"That's right. The most powerful person in the Demi-Immortal Institute: the chancellor." Holy Daughter Manyflowers seemed to be in too much of a hurry to worry about Yang Qi. Sending out a stream of true energy, she wrapped up Yang Susu and said, "Everyone in the Minorcosm World knows about you activating your Seven Apertures Sprite Body. The chancellor himself wants to help train you now! There's no time to lose. Let's go!"

"But what about Qi'er?"

"He'll be fine. Manyflowers Peak is locked down tight, so no one could possibly interfere. And letting him gain enlightenment of his cultivation base on his own will be better for him anyway." Even as the words left her mouth, Holy Daughter Manyflowers sped away with Yang Susu.

With them gone, Yang Qi could breathe a sigh of relief, and could actually call upon all of his true levels of power. Writhing silver snakes burrowed into his blood vessels, and devil energy erupted from the ground. Heaven-devils descended, and devilish projections appeared that tried to drag him down into the depths.

Completely unfazed, Yang Qi shouted as he summoned his Hellfire Crucible. As it erupted with gravitational force, it began to transform on a fundamental level. A pitch black doorway seemed to rise up from inside, which slowly opened, reaching out with force to drag all of the tribulation manifestations toward it like a river.

And yet, even more tribulation manifestations appeared everywhere, with shapeless monsters that lunged viciously at Yang Qi.

These monsters were like inner devils, and yet, had corporeal shape. The more powerful someone became, the more their inner power could affect the material world, and even the vital energy of heaven and earth.

The sheer number involved would be completely exhausting to virtually anyone who faced them.

Manyflowers Peak was now like a hive of devils, and if Yang Qi made one wrong move, he himself would transform into one of them, after which the full might of the Demi-Immortal Institute would be harnessed to destroy him.

And yet, he simply remained in place, a cold smile on his face as the monsters besieged him. Circulating his energy, he fought, his thoughts transforming constantly as he grew more used to this state, to this way of using martial arts, energy arts, vital energy, and the like.

Seven days and seven nights passed. By that point, all of the monsters which had appeared on Manyflowers Peak had been smashed into nothing but dust.

As for Yang Qi, he was calm in an unheard-of way as heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations occurred within him. One after another, particles began to awaken. One hundred and one. One hundred and two. On and on it went until a total of one hundred and eight particles were awake.

He was now fully in Senary Lifeseizing.

As for his sword technique, it only continued to rise along with him. He had his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique, Moonset Hyperlunar Sword technique, and the seven moves he had learned from Patriarch Frost-Drake. Thanks to Holy Daughter Manyflowers, he now knew that those seven moves were from an ancient organization called the Ravaging Dual Sword Sect.

Unfortunately, that sect had long since been destroyed.

In the distant past, great sects had flourished, and there had been far more than four prominent ones. That was back when the Rich-Lush Continent was just a tiny speck in the Yore-Wilds Continent.

The Ravaging Dual Sword Sect had been more powerful than all of the four great institutes combined, and yet, had not been able to survive the destructive nature of the passage of time.

'Now that I'm in Senary Lifeseizing, my sword technique is complete. I don't even need to use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to defeat any Lifeseizer in the Rich-Lush Continent. I only need to fear Legendaries, with their ability to manipulate magical laws. Now, I can leave and get ready for the martial arts competition.'

Feeling wonderful, he flew into the air off of Manyflowers Peak.

Even as he looked out at the beautiful sunlight streaming down over the mountains, a voice reached his ears. "Yang Qi, there's something I want to talk with you about."

"Hmm?" To Yang Qi's shock, that voice belonged to Yun Hailan.

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Chapter 161: Treachery

Yang Qi's initial thought was that it must be about the deaths of Song Haishan and Gu Fenxian. However, he was still confident that Jiang Fan and the others wouldn't reveal the truth even if they were beaten to death.

And if the institute had come to suspect him in the matter, they would have sent investigators to talk to him. But they hadn't. Yun Hailan had come alone.

'This Yun Hailan is full of craft and cunning. What scam is she trying to run on me now? Let's see just how strong she actually is. If the right opportunity presents itself, I could….' His eyes were already flashing with killing intent. If he did get an opportunity to make a move against her, he definitely wouldn't show any mercy. He had once been in love with her, but now, he didn't feel an ounce of pleasure when he heard her voice.

It was very telling that he heard her voice before seeing even a flicker of motion to reveal where she was. Her voice projection energy arts were clearly at a very high level. Apparently, she had been watching him, waiting until he emerged from seclusion to send a message.

Smiling coldly, Yang Qi replied, "What schemes and intrigues are you up to now, Yun Hailan?"

"Schemes and intrigues? I admit that I underestimated you before, Yang Qi. But I just want to talk. You were careless in something, are you aware of that?"

"What do you mean?" Although Yang Qi kept his voice even, his heart was starting to pound a bit. It seemed to him that Yun Hailan really did suspect that he was involved in the deaths of Song Haishan and Gu Fenxian. And if the truth got out, it would have severe ramifications. At the very best, he would likely be exiled from the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Considering how crafty he knew Yun Hailan to be, there was no way he would trust anything she said.

"What do I mean?" she said coolly. "Follow my voice to me. I want to talk with you in person."

"I'm already getting tired of this charade. You deceived me back when we first met, but things are different now. Fine. Scheme away and let's see what happens."

With that, he flew high into the sky, piercing through the sea of clouds. Leaving the Demi-Immortal Institute, he eventually reached a wide-open plain of verdant grass.

There was even a little stream off to the side. When Yang Qi realized where he was, his heart skipped a beat; this was the exact location where he had killed Huang Hong, one of Jiang Fan's lackeys.

Standing next to the stream was a beautiful, curvaceous young woman in blue, looking down at the silver fish dancing in the water.

At first sight, he recognized Yun Hailan.

As he landed next to the stream, his energy arts caused the water to stop flowing, and even froze the fish in place.

"Impressive," she said, turning to look at him. She was stunning, like a goddess, with her long hair slowly fluttering in the breeze, and a fragrant aroma surrounding her that was intoxicating to say the least.

Yang Qi's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what trap was about to be sprung. "Whatever you want to say, Yun Hailan, say it. You're an elite student. I'm an elite student. You looked down on me in the past, but now, you have no hope of surpassing me."

"I really did misjudge you, Yang Qi. How many times have you seized life so far?" She looked him up and down, her eyes sparkling. "I know that you didn't achieve this with some airmastery plant. You acquired greater good fortune, didn't you? There's no other way you could have advanced so rapidly. You've helped Li He and your other friends to reach the Lifeseizing level, and I even heard that your father Yang Zhan broke through as well. And imagine my surprise when I caught wind of rumors you felled Blightking Skulkdevil from the House of Shadowblight with a single blow. You're a Secondary Lifeseizer, aren't you? Tell me the truth. What good fortune did you come across? How did you get so strong?"

"Why should I tell you?" Yang Qi replied with a chuckle. All of a sudden, he felt very pleased with how things were going. "Who are you to me? What makes you think you have the right to know my secrets?"

Yun Hailan shook her head. Softening her voice, she said, "Looks like you're really holding on to that grudge, aren't you? I can tell how much you hate me. Maybe too much for this to be resolved. Are you really sure there's no way we can get past our misunderstandings?"

From the look of it, she really did want to make things right with him.

"The enmity between us cannot be resolved," he said firmly. "Not until one of us is dead. I guess you could say that, to me, you're already dead. Incidentally, it's fairly obvious you don't really want to 'put the grudge behind us'. I've gotten stronger, so you want to use me. Unfortunately, you won't be able to pull the wool over my eyes twice."

"It's your hatred of me that has fueled your efforts at retaliation, isn't it? You were the one who killed Song Haishan. Am I right?" Although she spoke in a soft tone, her words struck him just as powerfully as a bolt of lightning.

"What do you want me to say? Yeah, I'm glad Song Haishan's dead. And it's too bad I couldn't kill him with my own hands." There was nothing untruthful about what Yang Qi had just said. After all, he hadn't personally killed Song Haishan. "Whatever freakish hellion killed him sure did me a favor, I suppose."

"That 'freakish hellion' was you, Yang Qi," Yun Hailan said, her voice suddenly turning quite sharp. "You're like an open book to me, you know. I understand you too deeply. You're decisive, and once you choose to do something, you don't hesitate. That's exactly why you were willing to throw your clan away to steal that Latent Dragon Pill for me. Right? I've already investigated the matter thoroughly, and I know that Song Haishan, Huang Hong, and Gu Fenxian all died on this plain, and—"

"That's sheer nonsense," Yang Qi interrupted. "I honestly can't believe you would stoop so low in your attempt to hurt me. Of course, I know that you're a despicable villainess. I mean, I nearly died getting that Latent Dragon Pill for you, and even betrayed my clan in the process. Don't you feel even the least bit guilty for all that? And now, having failed to manipulate me a second time, you want to frame me for a crime? Do you really think I wouldn't kill you?"

"Don't waste words trying to deny the truth," Yun Hailan said, glaring at him. "I know exactly what happened. It started with Jiang Fan and his friends coming to talk with you, right?"

Face remaining completely expressionless, Yang Qi said. "So what if they did? And so what if they didn't?"

He really was curious to see where Yun Hailan was taking all of this.

"Somehow, they convinced you to come out here. Then, for some strange reason, they decided to go out hunting monsters, and ended up falling into a trap. Meanwhile, you had returned to the institute, almost as if you were hiding. To me, it's obvious what happened. You killed Huang Hong, Song Haishan, and Gu Fenxian, right here on this plain. Then, you somehow blackmailed Jiang Fan and the others into going out on a supposed hunt for wretch-devils, all as a pretense to explain how those three were killed. That's what happened, isn't it?"

The entire time, Yun Hailan stared deeply into Yang Qi's eyes hoping to get more proof of her theory.

'This woman is incredible! I can't believe she figured out almost every detail! I knew all along that she was smart, but I never realized she's this much of a genius.' More than ever, Yang Qi felt his heart burning with the desire to kill her.

However, he held back. Obviously, the fact that she was stating these things so outright indicated that she wasn't worried about him attacking her. In fact, maybe she was just waiting for him to try to kill her. Then she would spring her trap, and he would end up dead.

Keeping a firm grip on his killing intent, he said, "It's a good thing you were never appointed to law enforcement duties in the institute, Yun Hailan. Considering how you casually make up baseless theories, slander innocent people, and make accusations without any evidence, it's hard to say how many poor students would have been executed thanks to you. If the only reason you asked me out here today is to blabber this nonsense, then I think we're done. Just wait until the martial arts competition, then we'll see if you're strong enough to justify running your mouth like this."

Yun Hailan suddenly chuckled. "Calm down, Yang Qi. The reason I wanted to talk with you is to tell you that all of this coincides with my plans. I can tell from the look in your eyes that you did it. And honestly, I'm impressed. If you had been like this back when we first met, things would have turned out very differently. How about this: join me. If you do, I'll make sure no word leaks about what you've done."

Yang Qi immediately burst out into loud laughter.

"What are you laughing for?" Yun Hailan said, her expression turning cold.

"I'm laughing at the fact that you're delusional. You think I'm going to start working for you? You think you can use some random bits of speculation as a threat? Even if the entire Rich-Lush Continent was destroyed, and all heaven and earth collapsed, I would never, ever do a single thing for you. The only thing I'm going to do is kill you! I'll take every chance I can get to do it. And when you finally end up dying, there won't be any need for an investigation. Everyone will know that it was me. If you have proof to back up your claims, go give it to the institute. Otherwise, leave me alone."

At long last, Yun Hailan realized that Yang Qi's hatred for her went deeper than the four seas, and that any efforts to control him would be futile. Not even exterminating his clan would do anything to stop him from coming after her.

All of a sudden, she felt a spark of fear in her heart. 'His hatred for me is too intense. He's definitely too dangerous to leave alive. And any thoughts of controlling him are infantile jokes. How could I have missed this before?'

"In that case, Yang Qi, don't blame me for turning a blind eye to our past affections." Without warning, Yun Hailan vanished, to be replaced by a conglomeration of vital energy and seawater, which then splashed down onto the grass. The only thing that remained behind were a few echoing words. "I'll find the proof I need. And then you'll be dead!"

Yang Qi looked down at the soaked ground, shocked that he hadn't noticed that the Yun Hailan he had been speaking to wasn't her true body. Obviously, she had been using some powerful magical item to form a seawater clone of sorts, something that not even a top expert like him could identify.

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