Sage Monarch

The Heaven-Wretch Continent wasn't far from the Nacrelight Sageland. It was a hodgepodge of good and bad people, but it was also true that both the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty and the Nacrelight Sageland would go there to rid the world of devils and demons, and occasionally clash with each other. In the end, it was more of a battleground between the righteous and wretched cultivators.

It was also true that the ancient Wretch God had perished there.

The Wretch God had been an apex entity. In fact, during Yang Qi's time on the Ancient Road to the Gods, he had been imprisoned by the Executors of the Ancient Road, who threw him in a cell with the Wretch God Apostle. That was when he had acquired the cultivation method for Wretch God Ultimate's Obsidian Flame.

He had also acquired a wretch-god cultivation manual called Wretch God Ultimate's Legendary Sutra, which was strong enough to devastate people like King Immortal-Slayer.

The True Devil, the Wretch God, the Demon Master, and King Immortal-Slayer.

Together, they were called the Four Scourges of the god world of yesteryear, and they had jointly opposed the Sovereign Lord. As for the Wretch God, after perishing, his flesh and blood permeated the Heaven-Wretch Continent, filling it with darkness and causing the living beings there to become freakish and vicious. And deep within those lands were the mausoleums erected to the Wretch God, which contained all sorts of treasures. Of course, they were a big target for grave robbers. There were even some disciples from the House of God Ordainment who had acquired items from such mausoleums.

The Heaven-Wretch Continent was a place full of peril, but also bursting with treasure.

Therefore, Yang Qi planned to head there first, then hopefully slip into the Nacrelight Sageland to look for the piece of the Mahātmā Jade and advance his business interests.

After all, there was nothing more for him to take from the House of God Ordainment, and sitting around working on cultivation in the normal way wouldn't lead to much progress.

"Alright, I'm going to take some people with me to the Heaven-Wretch Continent. We'll find out who has dared to target us." He sent a message to Jadefall, and also had Zhang Jufang select some members of the Sage Monarch Society. Together, they headed to the teleportation portal to make the journey to the Heaven-Wretch Continent.

**

Their departure did not go unnoticed.

"Junior Houselord, it looks like our plan worked! By making moves against the Sage Monarch Consortium, we've forced Yang Qi to head to the Heaven-Wretch Continent to investigate. We can now move on to the next phase of the plan!"

Delighted, the junior houselord exclaimed, "Excellent. The brat is going to have a hard time escaping justice now! He could have strolled his way to heaven, but instead, he barged into hell! It would've been impossible to make a move against him if he hid out in the god kingdom, but now he's going to the Heaven-Wretch Continent, a place of immense peril. If he doesn't lose his life there, he'll at least suffer major losses."

"Should we try capturing him alive, Junior Houselord? The downside is that he didn't take any of his core people with him. He's only taking some of the lower-ranking members of the Sage Monarch Society."

"It doesn't matter. He's the main target. Jadefall will be in huge trouble without his support. Besides, he's the only Consummate God among them." The junior houselord burst out laughing. "Maybe I should go myself and see exactly what they're up to. I've always gotten the sense that this Yang Qi is keeping some big secrets, so after we capture him, I can personally interrogate him to find out the details. Besides, it won't do us any good if he just gets killed by wretch-devils. We have to get our hands on him. Maybe I'll even save him, then assimilate him and turn him into a clone. That would make it a lot easier to get close to Jadefall and win her over."

With that, he faded out of sight.

**

Yang Qi and his people left the god kingdom via teleportation portal, eventually arriving in a city in another location. From there, they went to another teleportation portal and repeated the process. It took about ten days of travel in this manner before they found themselves in a huge fortress made of metal.

It was a fortification that belonged, not to the House of God Ordainment, but instead the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. Its perimeter covered an area of millions of kilometers, and its metallic walls were covered with spell formations. Troops stood watch everywhere, keeping an eye on the numerous slaves that were mining ores, smelting iron, and doing other things to further fortify and strengthen the position.

This was a strategic border location for the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty.

If they went past these walls, they would be in the Heaven-Wretch Continent, where the slaughter was brutal, and the aura of wretch-gods abounded.

Of course, there was a constant stream of people coming and going. Some left seeking fortune, some came seeking peace and refuge.

Inside the fortress was the sovereign territory of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty, where it was forbidden to cause trouble. In contrast, the area beyond was outside the purview of the law.

Yang Qi was about to walk out the gate when some soldiers of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty stopped him and demanded treasure to pass. However, he simply pulled out his authentication token from the Crown Prince society, and they dropped back in terror. Not daring to cause any problems, they respectfully let him pass.

With that, they flew outside.

"Milord," said Zhang Jufang, "we're now on the Heaven-Wretch Continent, which means we could come under attack at any time. If you look up ahead, you can see cities where fighting and bloodshed are completely commonplace."

Looking off into the distance, Yang Qi saw the cities he was referring to. They glittered as if with flames and blood, as though fighting was going on at every moment. And they were rife with an aura of rot and evil. Anyone who stayed in an atmosphere like that for too long would risk becoming stained with a wretched, devilish aura. It was even present in the ground itself, which was pitch black and covered with bizarre, misshapen trees and vegetation. At one point, Yang Qi saw a huge tree, three thousand meters tall, with enormous vine-like tentacles that would shoot out to capture any living things that got too close.

There were animals that stalked the forests, all of which were very dangerous. There were even bugs such as scorpions, who roved in packs and attacked with devastating weapons that could pierce defensive godpower.

Yang Qi and his people flew high in the air, avoiding contact with anything below. Most other gods wouldn't be able to do this, but Yang Qi's energy arts were advanced enough that they could help his people pierce through the air.

"Milord," Zhang Jufang said, "if we keep flying along this course, we'll eventually run into the Wasteland Bazaar. It has no rules or ruler, although there are certain powerful warlords who have staked out areas of power and businesses. In the Heaven-Wretch Continent and the Wasteland Bazaar, everything comes down to strength. Whoever is strongest gets the biggest share of everything."

They continued flying forward until they reached a city made up of all sorts of random buildings and structures. There seemed to be no order or structure to it at all, with random streets going in different directions. There were even people fighting out in the open.

"Welcome to the Wasteland Bazaar," Zhang Jufang said. "Milord, our Sage Monarch Consortium established an outpost on the bank of the Wretch-Dragon River, right there. Unfortunately, our building came under attack and our people were wiped out. Other people then swooped in and occupied the area."

Yang Qi looked in the direction Zhang Jufang had indicated and saw a majestic river that seemed to teem with all sorts of bizarre animals. There were also many buildings on the banks, one of which seemed larger than the others, and flew a flag with a bizarre and wretched design on it.

Yang Qi and his people looked around, then dropped down into the Wasteland Bazaar.

The streets were wide, and they teemed with cultivators, who walked to and fro, patronizing the buildings and stalls with their business. There were some instances in which people tried to rob or steal, but were cut down immediately when they tried.

No one seemed to be in charge, and the scene was generally chaotic.

Yang Qi could sense Lesser, Common, Greater, and Consummate God auras, and even a few auras of Perfect Gods. All in all, it made the Wasteland Bazaar seem like a booming and prosperous place.

Yang Qi had brought about a hundred people with him, which was no small force. They attracted a bit of attention, with some people being just curious, but others who seemed to be sizing them up to rob them.

"Milord, that building over there is the one that our Sage Monarch Consortium built." Zhang Jufang said, pointing at a huge structure off in the distance. "After it was taken over, its name was changed to the House of Blood Sacrifice."

"Okay, let's go check it out."

As they made to enter, their path was blocked.

"Stop right there. What are you doing? You here to buy stuff, or not?" A handful of individuals stood in their way, all of them clad in blood-red clothing. They also had red skin and hair, with eyes like rubies and long sharp nails. "According to the rules of the House of Blood Sacrifice, it doesn't matter who you work for, you can only enter in groups of ten. Everyone else can wait outside."

Yang Qi could tell that these were all Lesser Gods who were just on the verge of the Common God level, with the exception of their leader, who was already a Common God.

1. The events with the Wretch God Apostle started around .