Chapter 38: Eighth Phase

Godsnake Silk Hands was a first-class energy art from the Chen Clan. It took true energy and turned it into strands of silk that then formed spirit snakes, which could be used to bind an opponent in place. It was a martial discipline that could theoretically be used to constrain all types of true energy.

Any onlookers would see what appeared to be numerous strands of white silk streaming through the air like dancing snakes as they wrapped around Yang Qi.

This was the true power of Chen Tianxiong, a ninth phase Master of Energy.

He had his Humanoid True Energy out in front protecting him, using its infinite variations like a demon or devil.

This was the power of the Hundred-Armed Demonoid.

The way he used true energy was really like demons, devils, ghosts, or monsters, and would make it virtually impossible for anyone to beat him in a fight.

Yang Qi suddenly felt as though his Infernal Deity Spear had finally met its match. As the true energy wrapped around the spear, it suddenly felt like it weighed tens upon tens of thousands of pounds, causing his arms to ache with pain just from holding it. In fact, it seemed like it might be wrenched from his grasp at any moment.

Yang Qi had hit a snag, but he wasn’t afraid yet. Without any hesitation, he drew on the power of seven ancient megamammoths, and threw it into the spear.

Suddenly, the chanting of devil-ghosts echoed out from within it, sounds that seemed to originate in hell itself.

The cries were piercing, confusing, fiendish, and seemed to be thrumming with murderous intentions. They were filled with an incomparable desire to do battle, as though they were being voiced by an army of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Snap! The silken snakes suddenly vanished as the spear erupted in raging black flames. The Infernal Deity Spear had reached a new peak, a point where it produced fire.

ZZZAAAAAP!!! HISSSSSSS!!

In the face of these flames, the true energy of the Hundred-Armed Demonoid Chen Tianxiong was instantly vanquished.

In the shortest of moments, his Humanoid True Energy shrank down to half of its previous size.

“What energy art is that? That’s not a royal-class art, is it? It surpasses royal-class! Don’t tell me it’s imperial-class!?” Chen Tianxiong was shocked, but at the same time, suddenly seemed to be filled with greed. “Don’t you know, brat? When you have something nice, there will always be someone willing to take it from you! If word got out about this energy art of yours, everyone under heaven would be trying to kill you! Listen up, experts of the Chen Clan! It’s time for the Devil-Imprisoning Formation! Trap this kid and force him to tell us how to cultivate this energy art of his!”

Not even Masters of Energy like Chen Tianxiong could avoid the temptation of an imperial-class energy art, and would do anything possible to get it.

By now, he could tell that Yang Qi was not someone who could be defeated easily, and that if the battle continued, it could end up as a bloodbath. Furthermore, the fact that this kid possibly had an imperial-class energy art made him extremely valuable.

In response to Chen Tianxiong’s words, the council of chief elders nearly went crazy.

“What? An energy art higher than the royal-class? How is that even possible? Only the institutes have such techniques!”

“Imperial-class energy arts are the type that can throw the lands into war! If word got out, it could shake the whole Rich-Lush Continent.”

“How did this punk get so lucky? How did he get an imperial-class energy art?”

“If it’s really an imperial-class energy art, then it makes sense that the direct bloodline of the Chen Clan got wiped out so easily. Even among the great institutes, those energy arts are tightly-kept secrets.”

“If our Chen Clan got our hands on this kid’s energy art, then with a few decades of hard work, we could be one of the top clans in the Rich-Lush Continent! Nobody could possibly be able to defy us. We might even be able to found a new imperial dynasty.”

“Trap this kid! We can’t let him die. Chief Elder Tianxiong can use his hypnosis arts to drag out the secrets of that imperial-class energy art.”

In the Rich-Lush Continent, energy arts were divided into third-class, second-class, first-class, royal-class, imperial-class, saintly-class, heavenly-class, and godly-class.

Most rich and powerful clans would have first-class techniques, whereas only large sects and organizations would have royal-class arts. Therefore, it could be imagined how heaven-shaking and earth-shattering an imperial-class art would be. Anyone who acquired such a technique would experience instant success in any endeavor, and would have almost no problem reaching the Lifeseizing level.

The Hundred-Armed Demonoid Chen Tianxiong was a Master of Energy, and had much experience in life. Sixty years ago, he was already a famous legend in the jianghu. Therefore, if he assessed Yang Qi’s energy arts as being in the imperial-class level, how could he possibly be mistaken?

Shouting, the more than twenty chief elders all unleashed the full power of their energy arts.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The Chen Clan’s council of chief elders was a powerful group; the requirement to join it was to be an expert in the eighth phase.

And even the weakest of them had been in that level for sixty years at the least.

All of them could perform Mind Incarnation, and they unleashed it to full effect to create an enormous projection of the eight trigrams. As the image rotated high in the air, true energy radiated out and caused all of the mountains in the area to tremble.

Cracking sounds rang out as trees snapped in two, and many boulders were reduced to dust.

This Devil-Imprisoning Formation required all the top experts in the clan to pool their true energy, and was normally used to constrain some of the most powerful demons and devils that existed in the world.

Twenty top experts, including one who was a Master of Energy: that was a force to be reckoned with.

Normally speaking, even someone in the seventh phase who got trapped in this formation would be killed for sure. It was simply too strong to fight back against.

Unfortunately, Yang Qi was something of a freak. And the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was not some trifling imperial-class energy art. It was a godly-class energy art, which was so far beyond the imperial-class that the two couldn’t even compare. It was the type of energy art that would normally be cultivated by gods, not humans.

Even more relevant was that he had the life-force quintessence of some mysterious member of the senior generation.

As such, he could deal with even more force than was present already, if he had to. He was not the type of person who could be handled by relying on common sense.

As soon as the massive pressure of the Devil-Imprisoning Formation began to crush down on him, an expression appeared on his face, not that of terror, but rather, excitement.

A sound like the trumpet of hundreds of thousands of megamammoths could be heard as the lightning mammoth inside of him roared into action. One vortex after another sprang up around him, all of them radiating the aura of hell, to the point where the entire area smelled like lava.

One of the chief elders, an old woman named Chen Tianzhen, glared viciously at Yang Qi and unleashed a massive stream of toxic energy.

This was no energy art from the Chen Clan, but rather, a technique from the House of Shadowblight.

Another of the chief elders also snarled, sending out a mountain of energy that seemed strong enough to divert rivers and drain seas. The true energy took the shape of a huge hammer that could crush boulders into rocks as surely as if it were some sort of primeval spirit.

As the attacks slammed into the pitch black Infernal Deity Aegis, the shield rippled and distorted, as one defensive layer after another shattered. The wastage of true energy was massive to say the least, and even though Yang Qi cultivated a godly-class energy art, he was not a god. He was only in the seventh phase, and was facing more than twenty experts in the eighth phase, as well as one in the ninth phase. Even if he was a god, he would still be in a tough spot.

In fact, by this point, he was already gasping for breath.

“Crush him again!” one of the chief elders shouted, smiling viciously. They almost had an imperial-class energy art in their hands, like a gift from the heavens, and thus it was only natural that, in their excitement, they would act like ferocious beasts.

‘I’m the incarnation of a godmammoth!’ Yang Qi thought. ‘I can crush the stars, and inhale the sun and moon! I can crush hell, and transform into a crucible! I can dominate all infernal deities!’ Roaring with the effort, Yang Qi fought back against the pressure, causing the latent potential of his life force to once again surge. As the attack slammed into him, it bashed through his meridians toward his sea of energy and bore down on the lightning mammoth.

In response, the lightning mammoth quintessence poured out of it, coursing into the eighth particle within Yang Qi.

With that quintessence, Yang Qi had almost no limits. Any attack that hit him would only serve to incite that life force, and help him to advance further in his cultivation. It was also the main reason he dared to fight against a whole group of powerful experts.

Even Yang Zhan or Yan Gufeng would have had no choice but to flee in the face of so many opponents. But they were exactly what Yang Qi needed for his training. Only by walking the most deadly course could he achieve the breakthrough he needed.

Suddenly, as more life force was put into the particle, it woke up.

And it caused a chain reaction, opening up the ninth particle as well.

Shockingly, the process still continued. A third particle in a row woke up. The power of three additional megamammoths began to course through his meridians. When added to the previous seven, that was a total of ten megamammoths.

Yet again, Yang Qi’s body was remolded. As the energy flowed through his blood, he closed his eyes and inspected himself. Because of how his blood was becoming one with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, it was no longer pure red; already, it was possible to see glimmers of gold in it. Gold was a sign of nobility, grace, dignity, might, royalty, and even… immortality.

When people normally practiced cultivation, they could transform their body to some degree, but not this dramatically. Only by gaining enlightenment of the good fortune of heaven and earth could they seize life from the heavens and thus become a Lifeseizer expert. At that point, they could use energy arts to refine and transform their body.

Without doing that, growing physically stronger was only somewhat effective.

For example, even Masters of Energy like Yang Zhan and Yan Gufeng were only ordinary in terms of fleshly body.

But now, Yang Qi was once again defying the norms. And if someone in the Lifeseizing level could actually come to see what was happening, they would see transformations of a completely extraordinary nature.

After all, only by having an incredibly powerful fleshly body could one contain such unusual amounts of true energy.

With the power of ten megamammoths, Yang Qi had surpassed the Master of Energy level, and was now beyond the compare of even Yan Gufeng. As the energy flowed through him, sounds erupted out like that of rushing water, crumbling earth, raging fire, and booming thunder. His blood ignited, and his true energy surged. As he transformed, he seized good fortune from heaven and earth, and began to understand the mysterious operations of the sun and moon.

The level of his energy arts increased, his true energy grew more crystalline, and a chain reaction swept through his entire body, causing his true energy to become one with his soul and his mind.

Mind Incarnation.