Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)
Chapter 865: Getting the Tiger and the Wolf to Kill Each Other

Yang Qi had known all along that the Joyflower Palace would be difficult to deal with. Therefore, he had immediately decided to use the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect as a scapegoat. Either he could directly foster conflict between the two sects, or at least frighten the Joyflower Palace to some degree. After all, he knew that the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect was a major faction. Although they weren’t necessarily as big as the Joyflower Palace, they were powerful enough that a fight between the two would be a deadly affair that wouldn’t easily be resolved.

As expected, as soon as he pulled out the command medallion, the women from the Joyflower Palace all reacted with shock.

They had shown up very aggressively, planning to force Yang Qi and the Dao Defense League to submit to them, and were prepared to use the most ruthless methods necessary to succeed.

But now that they realized experts from the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect might be involved, things were different.

Junior Sister Fragrant snorted coldly. “You despicable brat. You think we’re scared of a little command medallion from the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect? If so, you’re gravely mistaken. The Joyflower Palace is far larger than the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect, and they’re in no position to get in our way.”

“I know that your sect is larger and stronger than theirs,” Yang Qi said, looking perfectly meek and humble. “But the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect didn’t act so aggressive and overbearing when they tried to recruit me. I understand that powerful people from the Ancient Road to the Gods like you are expected to be domineering. To people like you, we from the immortal dao civilization are little more than ants.”

“Well, that’s a given,” Junior Sister Fragrant said grimly. “And ants don’t have the power of choice. Destroy that command medallion immediately and swear allegiance to the Joyflower Palace. If you do, we’ll pardon your crimes. That's the only way you’ll get out of this alive.”

Yang Qi completely ignored Junior Sister Fragrant and instead looked at Orchid Purity, who he knew to be one of the ten flower goddesses of the sect. “Ma’am, you’re the leader of this group, correct? Have you really made the decision to destroy the Dao Defense League?”

Orchid Purity thought for a moment, then said, “It’s simple. If you renounce the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect and join the Joyflower Palace, you’ll profit greatly. Considering the level of your cultivation base, I’ll even make you a god-general. Presumably, the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect offered you some other rewards?”

“That's right,” Yang Qi replied, not batting an eye. “One of their top experts offered me a powerful collection of destiny to bolster my lair here and begin conquering the surrounding areas. He personally blessed me with his will, pushing my cultivation base to an even higher level. By the way, let’s say I do join the Joyflower Palace. What happens if the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect sends people to attack me? I'm obviously too weak to defend myself against them.”

“We can match the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect’s offer,” Orchid Purity replied. “As for them coming after you for revenge, there’s no reason for you to worry about that. We can set up some spell formations in your Dao Defense League that will ensure you can defend against any such aggression. In fact, you should be able to easily slaughter them. Then it will be very obvious who is stronger, the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect or the Joyflower Palace.”

Upon hearing this, a greedy grin appeared on Yang Qi’s face. Of course, it was nothing but an act. “I see. And what other benefits might you be able to give me? I obviously want to advance my cultivation base to a higher level of enlightenment.”

In response to his greedy expression, Orchid Purity frowned. Although she was getting the impression that Yang Qi was easily manipulated, she also was careful to keep her guard up. “Once I appoint you as a god-general of the Joyflower Palace, you can come to our headquarters to further your cultivation. With the techniques we’ll impart to you, you can accomplish missions for the sect and rise to even higher heights.”

When the other women heard Orchid Purity’s words, they marveled inwardly.

‘Eldest Sister really knows what she's doing,’ they thought. They all knew that in the Joyflower Palace, god-generals were essentially slaves. Cannon fodder. They did all the grunt work, for example, exploring the most dangerous locations in the Great Necropolis. However many were killed, that many more would be appointed to replace them. Although Orchid Purity made it seem like becoming a god-general meant that the sect would be grooming Yang Qi for higher levels of authority, the truth was that she just wanted to enslave him. Then the Dao Defense League would be like a headless snake, easily controlled and manipulated.

Doing things this way would be like killing two birds with one stone. They would get the Dao Defense League, plus a powerful pawn to sacrifice.

Of course, Yang Qi was no fool and could guess exactly what was happening here. Thanks to information he had gleaned from Flower Mildcloud, he knew what god-generals in the Joyflower Palace were like. The god-generals were always men, and they were little more than lackeys to the powerful women.

That said, his primary goal right now was to get into the Joyflower Palace. If he needed to make a quick exit, he could always use the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, so it didn’t seem likely that he would be in any true danger. Thanks to Flower Mildcloud, he knew that there were plenty of treasures in the Joyflower Palace. They had been exploring the Great Necropolis for thousands upon thousands of years, and had acquired all sorts of things during that time. If he could find his way into the treasure storehouse of the Joyflower Palace, he was confident he could rise to an even higher cultivation level!

Why spend time painstakingly excavating a gold mine when one could get into a stocked treasury?

‘These people from the Joyflower Palace are really aggressive, so I’ll just give them what they want for now. They can take control of the Dao Defense League for the moment. I’ll suck it up and join them, hopefully to my benefit. As the saying goes, you can’t catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger’s lair. Eventually, I’ll clean them out and leave them with nothing. Whatever treasures they’ve accumulated from the Great Necropolis, I’ll take them all and add them to my own storehouses in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart!’

Yang Qi already had a very vicious plan in place.

For now, he would be slipping out of a predicament like a cicada sloughing its skin.

After seemingly putting a lot of thought into the matter, Yang Qi said, “So that’s your offer? Sounds incredible. Well… fine. I agree. But, is there any way you can give me a reward up front? The Cipher-Devil Sword Sect did.”

Junior Sister Fragrant smiled coldly. “You want more rewards? How about I kill you!”

“Enough, Junior Sister Fragrant,” said Orchid Purity, smiling faintly and holding out a hand to prevent her from lunging forward. “He's going to be a god-general in the Joyflower Palace from now on. As one of our subordinates, we certainly need to treat him well.” Waving her hand, she sent a stream of light over to Yang Qi, which resolved into a pearl that landed onto his palm. “That’s a pearl from the god world,” she continued, “a consummate treasure called the Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl, which can negate the effects of heterogeneous true energy. Whatever blessings the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect gave you, it surely left you with some discordant energy and power. Consume that pearl, and your cultivation base will be able to produce Myriad Flowers True Energy. It's one of the signature treasures of our Joyflower Palace, and using it in your cultivation will provide immense benefits.”

“Alright!” Yang Qi said, immediately consuming the Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl. As soon as he did, he could sense an influx in power that could easily combine and refine various types of true energy.

The other women from the Joyflower Palace all looked at him with sly grins on their faces.

The truth was that they were all thinking the same thing. ‘Ha! The truth is that now that he’s consumed that Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl, it will convert all of the true energy inside him into Myriad Flowers True Energy, which will eventually wipe away his distinguishing male features, transforming him into a genderless eunuch. Only people like that can loyally serve the women of the Joyflower Palace.’

Of course, Yang Qi realized the truth from the moment he laid eyes on the pearl, and as soon as he consumed it, he used his Heaven-Devouring True Energy to negate any of its effects. Furthermore, studying the power of the Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl would surely give him further insights into the mysteries of the Joyflower Palace.

“Excellent,” Orchid Purity said. “Now that you’ve consumed the Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl, you're one of us. Do you have any further objections, Junior Sister Fragrant?”

A condescending smile appeared on Junior Sister Fragrant’s face. “No, of course not. He’s definitely one of us now. After he’s been in the Joyflower Palace for a while as a god-general, if his cultivation base gets high enough, maybe he can come work for me.”

“Alright,” Orchid Purity said. “Deactivate the god formations and hand over the Dao Defense League!”

Although Yang Qi was acting very obedient, inwardly, he was chuckling coldly. His plan was already set; he would pretend to hand over control of the Dao Defense League, even letting them absorb the universal fortune of heaven and earth. As long as he kept a tiny bit of control, he could easily turn the tables on them.

And because he had consumed the Myriad Transformations Energy Pearl, they weren’t even the least bit worried about him. So he sent all of his most trusted people into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, leaving behind the ordinary old-timers.

Without hesitation, the people from the Joyflower Palace descended to the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple. In the blink of an eye, the entire temple became an endless world of flowers.

The old-timers reacted with looks of dread, but thankfully they had already been secretly warned by Yang Qi about what was to come. Quickly dropping to their knees, they raised their voices and said, “Oh goddesses of the Joyflower Palace, let your reign last for all time, and may you be eternally deathless! Your arrival in the Dao Defense League has brought a blossom of flowers to the void! Your mere presence brings the most profound honor!”

Words of praise flowed out ceaselessly.

The women had been prepared to carry out a large scale slaughter of any who resisted them, but considering how things were playing out, they quickly changed their mind. After all, their goal was to take universal fortune, therefore, keeping the destiny of the Dao Defense League stable was key. Terrifying the populace would cause instability and loss, so avoiding it was the best thing, if it were possible.

“Excellent, you understand the situation!” Orchid Purity said. “Henceforth, you are not the Dao Defense League. Your league-lord has joined our forces as a god-general, so from now on, you are members of the Joyflower Palace. Understand?”

Instantly, Yang Qi could sense a shift in universal fortune as it left him and flowed toward the Joyflower Palace in the Great Necropolis.

So far, things were going just as expected.