Sage Monarch - Chapter 256

Chapter 256: 256

‘The reason the chancellor refused to give those spirit stones is that he knows if I reach the Space-Void Transformation, I’ll kill the Crown Prince . ’

After leaving the Demi-Immortal Institute, Yang Qi headed toward the Sun Moon Institute .

In his heart, he was laughing coldly . He had just performed the greatest service imaginable, and yet the chancellor refused to reward him at all . At this point, he couldn’t be more disappointed with the Demi-Immortal Institute, and especially the chancellor . The man was outright protecting the Crown Prince, and although he surely had his reasons, he was the leader of an institute . His priorities should have been fairness and justice . But it was more clear than ever that they were not . As far as Yang Qi was concerned, the man didn’t deserve to be the chancellor .

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about the matter right now . In the world Yang Qi lived in, everything was about power and strength . The chancellor could act even more unfairly than he already was, but he was a Great Sage, and therefore, nobody could do anything about it .

Yang Qi had intimidated a lot of people, and yet, everyone was convinced that he had a backer who was stronger than a Great Sage . Only he knew the truth of the matter . Sometimes the God Legion Seal worked, other times it didn't . Despite all the danger he had faced in his last mission, it hadn’t helped him at all .

Clearly, he couldn’t just assume that the seal would save him from every dangerous situation .

‘That’s fine . For now, I’ll go talk to Hua Tianxiong and see if he has any ideas about how to get spirit stones . I absolutely have to reach the Space-Void Transformation as quickly as possible . If I do, I can help him make a move against the Crown Prince . ’

With the power of three hundred thousand megamammoths fully activated, and the ability to pierce through the bindings of space, his cultivation base would be shocking beyond belief .

With the added power of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, Yang Qi was confident that he, Young Master Shroud-Heaven, and Hua Tianxiong would be strong enough to slay the Crown Prince .

Some distance away from the Sun Moon Institute, he pulled out a paper talisman, burned it, and then landed on a nearby low-lying mountain . Although it wasn’t a particularly prominent mountain, the scenery in the area was beautiful . Magical mushrooms and mystical ginseng roots grew everywhere . Immortal peaches could be seen, and snow-white deer and apes frolicked here and there . All sorts of plants and flowers could be seen, and there were even gurgling spirit springs .

Almost as soon as Yang Qi touched down, an immense force weighed down on the area, and Hua Tianxiong arrived . After looking Yang Qi up and down, he said, “The development with the Planar Pearl… was that you?”

“Yes, all of it,” Yang Qi replied, not mincing any words .

“What?! Really? Considering what you've done, any crimes you committed in the past should be forgotten . So, I guess your backer is stronger than the Great Sage level . A Demi-Immortal, I assume?”

“I hope you can forgive me for not offering an explanation . It's complicated . And if word leaked about the truth, it would be very bad for me . ”

“Of course you can’t reveal the secrets of an invincible Demi-Immortal . ” Hua Tianxiong looked at Yang Qi for another long moment . “Your cultivation base… . It’s inciting pressure from the void, and the power of expulsion . Just how far have you progressed since we last met?”

Because Hua Tianxiong was a Never-Dying Legendary, to his eyes, the world looked different . Yang Qi was surrounded by the power of space, a power that seemed leery and even terrified of him . It was almost as if he were so strong that, before long, space itself would try to expel him .

Normally, this sort of thing would happen if a Demi-Immortal tried to enter the Rich-Lush Continent . Because the power of such an expert was too intense, the plane itself would immediately try to eject such a person . After all, that level of power would eventually destroy the continent as a whole .

Once experts reached a certain level, they would be forced to either ascend to higher planes, or risk destroying the plane they currently occupied .

And yet, the spatial power around Yang Qi was already preparing to confine, expel, or destroy him .

There was a favorable aspect to the situation: it was forcing him to temper himself . It would be similar to a mortal human who walked around with an enormous sandbag on their shoulders . After doing so for an extended time, all they had to do was throw the bag down to be vastly more limber than before .

Yang Qi would be similarly benefited once he could pierce through space .

“I acquired some good fortune,” Yang Qi explained . “When I was purifying the Planar Pearl, I was blessed by the will of the ancient sages . My body was remolded, and I grew much stronger . However, there’s a downside . That power has become something of a limitation, and I need spirit stones to negate the effects . A lot of spirit stones . That’s the only way to further my cultivation now . In fact, that’s why I've come, Uncle . Do you happen to know where I might be able to get a large amount of sovereign-grade spirit stones?”

“You need spirit stones for your cultivation?” Hua Tianxiong said, sounding a bit confused . “Well, that's simple . The Demi-Immortal Institute has plenty in their reserves . Considering you just saved the world, and also helped your institute to open up previously sealed space-time wormholes, your chancellor will definitely give you some spirit stones . I’d bet he’d even give you sagely-grade stones . ”

“Hmph!” Although Yang Qi was still very angry about the subject, he managed to calmly explain the situation with the chancellor .

Snarling coldly, Hua Tianxiong said, “Damn that chancellor . Because of mere sentiment, he’s refusing to acknowledge your services . So what if he had something going on with the Crown Prince’s mother? [1] Nobody knows for sure the extent of their relationship . However, it was shortly after she gave birth to the Crown Prince that people came from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral and took her away . That was when she asked the chancellor to watch over her son . And that is why he’s gone out of his way to help him over the years . And now, he's bending the law to help the Crown Prince and keep you down . Yang Qi, you should just leave the Demi-Immortal Institute . Join our Sun Moon Institute, and I’ll put in a good word with our chancellor . He’ll definitely do everything he can to protect you . ”

Yang Qi shook his head . “There’s no need for that, Uncle . I will never forget the chancellor’s heartlessness . One day, I’ll make sure he realizes that protecting the Crown Prince was a huge mistake . Incidentally, this reminds me of another major problem . If we go to kill the Crown Prince, the chancellor isn’t just going to sit on his thumbs and let it happen, is he?”

Hua Tianxiong thought about the question for a moment . “It's possible he could step in and do something . However, myself, Young Master Shroud-Heaven and the Crown Prince are all Legendaries . The chancellor is a Great Sage, so if he interfered, it's likely other Great Sages would get involved . And nobody wants Great Sage Shroud-Heaven in the picture . You know, if you reached the Space-Void Transformation, you could probably join us in our attempt to kill the Crown Prince . ”

“But where could I get all the spirit stones I need? The chancellor mentioned that the Western Continent has plenty, but I don't want to just go there without a plan . The spirit stone mines there are definitely going to be guarded by powerful organizations . It would be silly to get in so much trouble there that I can’t deal with the Crown Prince later . ”

“Unfortunately, if you want spirit stones, the Western Continent is probably your best bet . Besides, a lot of organizations trade demon cores from the Rich-Lush Continent for spirit stones from the Western Continent . ” He thought for a moment . “The Western Continent is a huge place with a lot of mines . If you really plan to go, I can give you a secret map from the Sun Moon Institute that shows all the major locations there . ”

Yang Qi nodded . “I would very much appreciate that, Uncle . By the way, how is Fengfeng doing?”

“She's in seclusion right now, trying to reach the Legendary level . It’s a tense time . Reaching the Legendary level isn’t easy, and failure leads to death . I was initially opposed to her decision, but she wouldn’t back down, so here we are . ”

Yang Qi’s heart pounded a bit at the news . Breaking into the Legendary level was a process that some described as going from being a mortal to an energy warrior . The death of failure involved the vital energy of heaven and earth crushing one into dust . And no interference from anyone could stop that .

Even if Yang Qi were a Great Sage, he wouldn't be able to provide any assistance . In the Lifeseizing level, it was possible to receive outside assistance to strengthen the meridians and build up true energy . But the Legendary level was about the understanding of magical laws, and therefore, was entirely a personal matter .

“Uncle, if you and Young Master Shroud-Heaven go to kill the Crown Prince, you have to be very careful . Young Master Shroud-Heaven is a profound schemer, and I’d say it's highly likely he has a plan to take you out as well . ”

“Don’t worry, I was thinking the same thing . Considering he laced those five phases treasures with a heaven-demon seed, it seems a foregone conclusion he’ll try to take me out . ” With that, Hua Tianxiong waved his hand, producing an ancient, bronze-encased book entitled Western Continent Atlas . It contained detailed maps of the Western Continent, as well as all sorts of records and information . It explained which organizations controlled which areas and which mines, and featured cities, mountains, temples, states, and just about everything one could imagine .

The Western Continent was much larger than the Rich-Lush Continent . The lands were fertile and prosperous, and the population was enormous . Even more shocking, the entire continent was unified under the rulership of one large imperial dynasty . It was nothing like the Sage Ancestor Dynasty, a sham of a dynasty that could best be described by the adage advertising mutton, selling dog meat .

“The Sky-Heaven Dynasty controls the entire Western Continent,” Hua Tianxiong explained . “They have the true power, and exercise jurisdiction over every single city that exists there . Even the sects there pay fealty to them . In fact, anyone who wants to start a sect has to submit a formal application, and go through all sorts of formalities . Furthermore, the churches in the Sky-Heaven Dynasty all worship a god-spirit named Amaranthine Greensura . ”

“Amaranthine Greensura?” Yang Qi immediately thought of the fact that his mother was called Greensura .

“Amaranthine Greensura was the most powerful entity among the ancient Demonfolk, who unified all of the countless Demonfolk that existed in the Yore-Wilds Continent, and then went on to found the Hanging Mountain . The Sky-Heaven Dynasty of the Western Continent is something of a subsidiary of the Hanging Mountain, and everyone there exercises faith in the leaders of the Hanging Mountain . Throughout the years, the holy daughters of the Hanging Mountain have all been called Greensura, because Greensura is actually a surname . In one way or another, all such holy daughters have the blood of Amaranthine Greensura in them . ”

‘So that’s how it is,’ Yang Qi thought, his heart beginning to pound . ‘The dynasty that rules the Western Continent is a subsidiary of the Hanging Mountain! I have to go there! This is the perfect chance to get in touch with the Hanging Mountain!’

1 . When describing the chancellor’s relationship with the Crown Prince’s mother, Hua Tianxiong uses a vague word that can be interpreted in different ways . On the one hand, it could be interpreted as “love affair”, but on the other hand, could be “close personal relationship (without a romantic element)” . I asked Madam Deathblade what her opinion was, she said the former, but also conceded that the wording is ambiguous enough to not be able to say for sure .