As Yang Qi set about healing himself, he found that the power streams inside him were in complete chaos. His injuries really were quite severe. Luckily, he had acquired many holy medicines in the Joyflower Palace’s treasure storehouse, and he didn’t hold back at all in using them. As he did, the streams of power slowly began growing more orderly, and his meridians were repaired.
His immortal-slaying clone assisted. Although his main body couldn’t take advantage of the godhood stars, the clone could use the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart itself to help. The power within the chart could be converted to god vitality, which took the form of long needles that were then inserted into Yang Qi’s various acupoints.
Eventually, Yang Qi was covered with needles. At that point, the needles began sinking deeply into his acupoints, becoming a liquid that coursed through him, making him feel weak and limp, but at the same time revitalizing him.
White steam began to rise up from him.
Off to the side, Battle Resister looked on in shock as he realized that there was also a sinister devil light within the white steam. As the steam gathered above like clouds, scenes from hell could be seen, with devil-gods everywhere. However, above them were the godmammoths, who crushed them and caused radiance and light to abound. The combination of the two forces made a taiji symbol that contained both radiance and darkness.
The radiance and darkness fought and struggled, creating a marvelous cycle that gave Yang Qi the ability to transform between devil and god with a mere thought.
Whizz!
Both of Yang Qi’s hands began flashing incantation gestures, each of them more profound and enigmatic than the one before, causing enigmatic and profound rumbling sounds to fill the area. By this point, the needles were all gone and he rose to his feet, a bit taller than before and his injuries healed. Meanwhile, the golden imp that was his own nascent divinity flew out of his forehead and began devouring the magical symbol that was the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic.
“Such arrogance!” the symbol screamed as it was devoured. However, Yang Qi had been baptized by Terrifying will, and as such, was completely different than he had been before. His nascent divinity ripped the symbol to shreds as it devoured it, until it was completely gone.
“Such arrogance!”
As the voice faded away for the last time, Yang Qi vanquished the knowledge-devils, whereupon golden light shone out from him in all directions. Battle Resister was visibly shocked.
‘Such a strong will convergence!’ he thought. ‘How did he cultivate it? He’s definitely at the peak of the Destabilizing level, and I can even sense traces of the true meaning of that which is Terrifying. I bet he has a chance of eventually reaching the Terrifying level.’ People like that were considered true geniuses on the Ancient Road to the Gods. Few people could even rise from the middle of the Destabilizing level to its peak. In fact, there were even many people who could never go past Stupendous.
Even the Stupendous level was considered impressive. People like that were like dragons amongst men.
Those in the Destabilizing level were considered hegemons and luminaries, sages and mahātmās.
As for the Terrifying level, they were gods, and weren’t even considered human.
After devouring the magical symbol, Yang Qi realized that his nascent divinity had acquired some vajra characteristics, things that could pierce through anything and everything, devastate ancient history, and shake the world of mortals. And they belonged to him and him alone. They weren’t an inheritance of buddhist characteristics, because that would have put him under the control of mysterious and powerful figures from above.
After sensing those scraps of vajra characteristics, Yang Qi realized that he really needed to go find the other scriptures that belonged to the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic. Upon cultivating them and vanquishing the knowledge-devils contained therein, his nascent divinity would grow even more stable and strong.
Perhaps that would be his ticket to reaching the Terrifying level.
“Leaf Dao-Denier,” Yang Qi said, looking down at his withered and emaciated form. Sending some true energy into him, he said, “I’m going to heal you, then you’re going to tell me where to find the rest of the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic. You must have some clues!”
“You might as well quit dreaming!” Leaf Dao-Denier said, his eyes overflowing with venom as he was healed. “You dirty little swine, Yang Qi! I’m not going to let you get away with this. And I’ll never help you find those secret scriptures. You may have unlocked the secrets of part of that technique, but I’ll never help you finish the job. If I did, what hope would I ever have of winning my freedom?”
“You’re still thinking of getting away?” Yang Qi said calmly and without anger. “The reality is that I should be thanking you. If I hadn’t rescued you, I would already have been killed by Empress Joyflower. Considering I’m alive because of you, I’m going to allow you to continue living.”
“Continue living?” Leaf Dao-Denier laughed bitterly. “It would be better to be dead than to live like this. If you’ve really got the guts, Yang Qi, then let me go. Let’s have a fair fight to the finish. If you beat me, I’ll accept my loss and stop opposing you. In all fairness, I realize that you’re favored by the heavens. The fact that you escaped from Empress Joyflower and mastered the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic goes to prove that. But I still want to settle things with a fight.”
“Enough with your posturing, Leaf Dao-Denier. Besides, I don’t trust you a bit. I have you captive, and your life is mine to experiment with as I see fit. I’m going to use my vivicreation and genetic systems to analyze your body, then make some scientific clones of you to serve me.”
“You evil villain!” Leaf Dao-Denier blurted, his face turning as white as a sheet. He knew full well what it would be like to have scientific clones made of him; he would essentially be a living experiment, residing in a terrifying hell of Yang Qi’s making.
“Fine, Yang Qi, I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything. Just let me live. We can work everything out, alright? Better a bad life than a good death, right? In fact, I don’t mind if you just turn me into an ordinary person.”
“That’s better,” Yang Qi said. “So. Spit it out. Where can I find the rest of the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic?”
“There’s a buddhist land deep in the Great Necropolis, a place called the Cave Temple of the Vajra Māyādevī. It’s a deadly location that most people never return from alive. But I managed to acquire some good fortune there in the form of a seed from the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic. Based on my speculations, there are a total of eighteen such seeds, representing the eighteen most powerful guardians of the buddhist schools, the eighteen boundless vajra gods of the primeval era. Those eighteen gods became the eighteen seeds. Get them all, and you can cultivate the full energy art. I’d say this art is roughly on the same level as the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. After all, in the ancient god world, the buddhist schools were able to compete with both King Immortal-Slayer and the Sovereign Lord. And this is their most powerful energy art.”
Yang Qi nodded. However, there was no way he would ever fully trust Leaf Dao-Denier, and was convinced that his explanation wasn’t fully truthful.
“What do you think, Brother Battle Resister?” Yang Qi asked quietly.
“Hmm…” Battle Resister said. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ve heard of this Cave Temple of the Vajra Māyādevī, and it’s definitely a dangerous place. A lot of people have gone missing there, and presumably lay dead inside. The buddhist guardians there will kill intruders on the spot, and they’re experts in devil-subduing spell formations. I even have a friend who was killed there. However, those who are lucky, or connected by destiny to the buddhist schools, can acquire precious treasures there. There was one sect called the Blood-Death Zen Sect, whose cultivation focused on the Zen of Blood. Their Sectlord was named Blood Maitreya, and he acquired some Spritefolk Blood Sarīras from there, as well as other buddhist treasures. Because of that, he became even stronger than me.”
“The Cave Temple of the Vajra Māyādevī,” Yang Qi said. “I see. Brother Battle Resister, let’s bring your sect here into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, and I’ll go search for the rest of the seeds of the Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic after that. I suspect they’ll be very helpful in reaching the Terrifying level.”
Yang Qi had already made full use of what the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart had to offer, and if he wanted to reach a higher level of enlightenment, it would take years of ordinary cultivation. Therefore, finding a stash of god relics in the Great Necropolis seemed like a great strategy. ‘I wonder if my search for the Cave Temple of the Vajra Māyādevī will involve another encounter with Profound Valor,’ he thought. ‘If I can kill him, I’ll get the godpower seed of an Inheritor. That would definitely make it much easier to travel around the supposedly dangerous parts of the Great Necropolis.’
Profound Valor was the first person to cause major problems for Yang Qi since he had achieved his recent major cultivation advancement, and the enmity between them could only be alleviated with the death of one party.
As of now, he was certain he was strong enough to kill Profound Valor in a fight. In fact, he would also have defeated Empress Joyflower if she weren’t able to unleash Terrifying will convergence through her secret technique.
WHOOSH!
Yang Qi and Battle Resister flew out into the Great Necropolis again and headed toward the Profound House of Battle Energy, hoping to save it before the Joyflower Palace came to destroy it.
**
Far, far away in the immortal dao civilization, where so many things were changing so rapidly, there was a location deep within primal-chaos where it was said that fallen gods had once resided. The primal-chaos vital energy there was particularly strong.
In fact, it was so strong that it was difficult to fly through it. Even Grand Emperors with power indexes in the hundreds and extremely strong energy arts would have trouble traversing this area.
The truth was that the millions upon trillions of streams of primal-chaos paleo-energy had been crushed down with such might that they had crystallized, becoming the perfect ingredient to forge god items.
In that area of crystallized primal-chaos, there was a cavern that shone with golden light. And it thrummed with such power that everything in the area trembled. At a certain point, a golden imp flew out from the cavern.
