This Emissary Red Lotus was a subordinate of the Holy Mother, and was here for Yang Zhan. Apparently, this was not an instance of monsters invading the Rich-Lush Continent.

Once everyone realized what was going on, they calmed down.

And it was around this point that Ghost Emperor Yama finally showed up.

Yang Qi had entrusted him with the Rich-Lush Continent, and it was a responsibility he was taking seriously. After all, if he did a good job, then Yang Qi was supposed to give him the Infernal Deity Spear, and that was a technique that, if he got it, would put him in the position of being able to kill virtually any enemy he faced.

‘She represents the Holy Mother? She’s Emissary Red Lotus from the Hanging Mountain, one of the Holy Mother’s five Lotus Emissaries!’ Not even Ghost Emperor Yama would take these women lightly. After all, they were from that most powerful of planetary systems, the Hanging Mountain.

The Hanging Mountain was known as a holy land of the Demonfolk, and in ancient times, they had been considered the most pure and orthodox of living beings. Humans had been a mere subsidiary branch of the Demonfolk. Of course, evolution amongst living beings would always lead to becoming human, and usually, even demons would take human form through the course of their cultivation.

The leadership of the Hanging Mountain was split between the Holy Mother and the August Patriarch.

The Holy Mother led the female Demonfolk, and the August Patriarch commanded the males.

Rumor had it that the forces of the Holy Mother were actually superior to those of the August Patriarch. In fact, they had built Greensura Cathedrals in many planes, continents and planets, all to spread worship of Amaranthine Greensura. Of course, as a result, they could gather the power of faith from the worshipers, and reach greater heights of cultivation.

Ghost Emperor Yama knew of such things. Although he had been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years, the will of his nascent divinity had been able to drift through the void, and thus, he was aware of much of what had occurred in the outside world.

Truth be told, Emissary Red Lotus didn’t scare him, but the Holy Mother did. He knew that she was beyond the Great Sage level, and was a person who could crush him out of existence with ease.

She was a Demi-Immortal, and even the weakest such expert, a Lesser Demi-Immortal, was as far above Ghost Emperor Yama as he currently was above a Legendary.

Chuckling coldly, Ghost Emperor Yama said, “Why might you be here, Emissary Red Lotus? Don't tell me this is an invasion of some sort?”

WHOOSH!

A host of red lotuses flew out of the space-time wormhole, swirling about to create a paradise of flowers. In the middle of it was Emissary Red Lotus herself; she was beautiful, and looked to be no more than sixteen years of age. And yet, her eyes were ancient beyond belief, and seemed capable of perceiving all matters of love, hate, and emotion.

“Ghost Emperor Yama? So, you're finally free. Well, I’m not here for you, and this is no invasion. The Holy Mother has ordered me to find an old friend. Besides, the Rich-Lush Continent is actually subsidiary to the Hanging Mountain. Yang Zhan, step forward!”

‘Holy Mother? Don’t tell me….’ Yang Zhan suddenly blurted out what he was thinking. “Wait, was Greensura appointed as the Holy Mother?”

“Yes. She rose to power twenty years ago,” replied Emissary Red Lotus. “Back then, upon cultivating the highest level of the Red-Dust Spectral-Dream Heart-Sutra, her true energy dissipated into the void. During that time, she relied on you to survive. You did much to help her, which was why she said that you could see her again when you united the Rich-Lush Continent under your rule. Of course, the Rich-Lush Continent has been united, although, not by you. Instead, your son did it.”

[1]

“Are you saying that I can see Greensura again?” Yang Zhan said, mixed emotions playing out on his face, including both grief and joy.

“No. The Holy Mother commands unmatchable respect, and controls an entire planetary system. What makes you think you deserve to see her? Besides, you’re a man. Men are not permitted to enter the land of women in the Hanging Mountain. Alright, I’ve wasted enough words on you. I'm here to issue a decree from the Holy Mother. 

“Where is your son, Yang Qi? Ask him out. The Holy Mother is aware of everything that’s happened recently in the Rich-Lush Continent. Yang Qi’s phenomenal growth has exceeded her expectations, and she wants him to come see her in the Hanging Mountain.”

“Yang Qi already left on his own to go to the Hanging Mountain,” Yang Zhan replied. “You should have come a few days earlier, when he was still in the Rich-Lush Continent. He knows about his past, and wanted to go seek out his mother on his own. Although, he has no idea that she's become the Holy Mother.”

A look of shock overtook Emissary Red Lotus’ face, and she angrily said, “That miscreant! The political situation in the Hanging Mountain is very delicate right now! The mighty immortal plane above, Titan Emperor Heaven, has issued numerous decrees to us. For him to go there without permission is courting death! Hurry up and call him back! You have that ability, don’t you? Just tell him something big is happening in the Rich-Lush Continent.”

“Yes, yes of course….” Yang Zhan stammered. “I’ll send him a message via talisman and tell him to return.”

“He’s in the Quake-Dawn Continent right now,” Ghost Emperor Yama said calmly. “It won’t be hard to get him back. I’ll send him the message.”

Snapping his fingers, he produced a paper talisman, which he crushed, causing black energy to form into a dragon, which then vanished without a trace.

“Well, that’s good,” Emissary Red Lotus said, a smile returning to her face. “The Holy Mother issued orders that no one is to trifle with the Rich-Lush Continent. From here on out, this place is going to flourish for centuries and millennia on end.”

Chancellor Sun Moon was trembling inwardly with shock; the thought of a powerful Great Sage from the Hanging Mountain coming for a visit was hard to wrap his mind around. “Please, come relax for a moment. Sage Monarch City is a simple and crude place, but we’ve done our best to fix it up.”

“Very well. Everyone else, remain behind in the space-time wormhole.” Waving her hand, she sent her retinue back into the wormhole, then closed it.

** 

Back in the Quake-Dawn Continent, Yang Qi was in a remote, mountainous valley, in the middle of a spell formation. Using the Grand Emperor’s Pagoda, he was absorbing subterranean spirit energy for his own uses.

Because of the energy field emitted by the pagoda, everything for a few thousand kilometers in every direction now emanated the aura of the Rich-Lush Continent. That was a function of the pagoda, and it's desire to conquer all other lands around it.

After killing the Crown Prince, Yang Qi had acquired all of the remaining legacies of Grand Emperor Rich-Lush, including his command medallion, which he had long since sent into the pagoda to be absorbed. The result was that the pagoda was now more than a sage item; it was a half immortal item.

And at its core, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda was made to conquer.

As it conquered the essence of other worlds, it would grow more powerful. Unfortunately, the essence of the Quake-Dawn Continent was far beyond that of the Rich-Lush Continent. For the weak to conquer the strong was generally an impossible task, and a backlash attack from the essence of an entire continent could easily kill even a Great Sage.

Thankfully, Yang Qi had acquired the Yore-Wilds’ Heart fragment.

The Quake-Dawn Continent had once been part of the Yore-Wilds Continent, and therefore, was powerless to resist that fragment.

Therefore, it didn’t take much work before the power of the Quake-Dawn Continent’s essence submitted to Yang Qi and poured into his God Legion Paradise.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi was working with the power of the heavenking thistle, whose strange characteristics caused pure immortal power to pour into his blood and quintessence. Moments later, immortal energy was coursing into his God Legion Paradise.

Soon, green grass began to sprout from the porcelain-like ground of the God Legion Paradise, a result of the vital energy of the heavenking thistle.

‘This might be pure immortal power, but to the legion of gods, it’s like nothing. It shall be melted in my Hellfire Crucible!’ Without even thinking about it, he summoned his Hellfire Crucible, and sent the vital energy inside. Almost instantly, the crucible surged with porcelain-colored fluid, as though it were an actual immortal being refined.

Once the power had been subdued, Yang Qi examined it closely, and found that it was like the quintessence energy of dozens of Great Sages, all combined together. If people like Chancellor Sun Moon or Chancellor Sea God were to be immersed in immortal power like that, they would be instantly killed.

No wonder Wilds Everlasting had been able to dominate his contemporaries so easily.

‘Time for the Astral-Star Transformation!’

Yang Qi extended his hand, and his fingers tore at the sky, revealing a glittering, silver river of stars. He breathed in, and the silver river oscillated. Then, the power of stars poured into his God Legion Paradise, causing constellations to gather.

The process lasted for some time, and when it was finished, the God Legion Paradise looked very different from before. It thrummed with the power of stars, and even faint traces of the energy of the sun and moon.

At the same time, massive life force rose up from the depths of the pure land, as though a new heaven and earth were being born.

RUMBLE!

Tribulation water suddenly poured down from the sky, which was followed by Night Queen Flame. This time, the tribulations were far more intense than when he had reached the Ghost-God Transformation. And yet, with the power of the heavenking thistle to support him, he easily negated it. After all, it was an immortal grass, and when it was consumed by a puny energy warrior, it was hard to imagine how much power it would provide.

A day and a night passed, and the tribulation faded away. The sky of the God Legion Paradise was now filled with countless bright stars, and Yang Qi himself was filled with their power. He took a breath, and ten million ancient megamammoths stirred within him. As of now, they were all clad in suits of armor, which were decorated with patterns of the stars. Clearly, they were like mammoths of the starry sky, and were now on their way to becoming godmammoths.

Upon entering the Astral-Star Transformation, no megamammoths within him awoke. However, the ten million he already had advanced in quality. Now, even one of them was as powerful as ten had been before. And when their power was combined, it was enough to pluck stars and snatch moons, making Yang Qi vastly more powerful than any ordinary Great Sage.

Unfortunately, Yang Qi knew that he had reached a bottleneck. Even if he reached the Never-Dying Transformation, or became a Half Sage, it wouldn’t change him on a substructural level. He absolutely needed to reach the Great Sage level to do that.

Only then would he fully understand the Fist of the Halls of Heaven, and then push forward to acquire the Hand of the One God.

It was around this time that a pitch black paper talisman suddenly flitted toward him. Grabbing it, he rose to his feet and listened to the message inside. 

“Get back to the Rich-Lush Continent!”

1. In this passage, the “red dust” refers to the mortal world.

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