Sage Monarch

"Hold on!" Huang Hou shouted, eyeing the Infernal Deity Spear. The truth was that he was actually very afraid of dying. It had been no easy task to reach the third Legendary transformation and become a holy neophyte. To die at this point would be a huge waste. And considering how ruthlessly Yang Qi had just killed a whole group of conclave students, Huang Hou knew that he wouldn't hesitate to finish the job.

Now that he was staring death in the face, he finally gave in.

The Infernal Deity Spear hovered an inch in front of his forehead for a long moment, allowing the Nightfall Symphony to caress his ears, which in turn caused him to break out in a cold sweat.

"I'll talk! I'll tell you where the Crown Prince is. I'm a top leader in the Crown Prince Society, and I'm in charge of the mission to create the Superheaven Altar. So of course I know where he is. Just don't kill me. I don't want to die here! Let me go. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. I won't hold anything back."

Yang Qi laughed. "Why weren't you like this earlier? Acting macho didn't really help you, did it? And it's not like I'm your father or your grandfather. It would be a real waste for you to just throw your life away." He retracted the Infernal Deity Spear, and wiped the smile from his face. Already, he knew that he had made more progress with his master plan, and was pushing the Crown Prince closer and closer to death. In fact, the Crown Prince might not even know what hit him when it happened.

As a Space-Void Legendary and a holy neophyte, Huang Hou was on a similar level as Patriarchs Wind and Cloud. He was one of the top leaders of the Crown Prince Society, perhaps even more important than Yun Hailan. It was only reasonable that he would know where the Crown Prince currently was.

That was one reason why Yang Qi had been so quick to kill Lei Tao and even Xie Feng. It was highly unlikely that any of them knew anything about the Crown Prince's whereabouts.

"Alright, spit it out. Where is he? Remember, I've killed everyone else; there's no one left who could reveal that you betrayed the Crown Prince." There was something enticing about Yang Qi's tone of voice, almost like a devil-ghost luring a human into the depths of darkness. "Besides, if the Crown Prince dies, you would have a chance to rise even higher within the Demi-Immortal Institute. Maybe you could become the next chancellor. Why waste your time with the Crown Prince and Yun Hailan? The stronger I get, the more you'll benefit."

Looking very serious, Huang Hou said, "If I tell you where he is, will you really let me go? You won't kill me to keep me quiet?"

Yang Qi laughed. "Of course I'll let you go. You're working for me from here on out. Besides, I need you to spread word about how everyone died here. They were killed by the House of Shadowblight and the Blight Legion Church. And of course, the Demi-Immortal Institute will send experts to wipe those two organizations out of existence, even their stronghold in the Western Continent. Remember, after you tell me where the Crown Prince is, there will be no going back. You'll belong to me and me alone."

Yang Qi was being particularly clear and logical in the hopes of calming Huang Hou down a bit.

"Fine," Huang Hou said. "The Crown Prince is hiding in a fractured section of space-time, an area severely damaged during the ancient God-Devil Apocalypse. When the forces of hell fought the Yore-Wilds Continent, it opened up a land that came to be known as the Superheaven Badlands."

Yang Qi's initial reaction was one of suspicion. "The Superheaven Badlands? You're not lying to me, are you? How come I've never heard of any place like that before?"

"I'm not lying!" Huang Hou said. "Really, I'm not! The Crown Prince is definitely in the depths of the Superheaven Badlands. Very few people know of the existence of that place, and it's not even listed on maps in the Demi-Immortal Institute. I don't know how the Crown Prince learned of it, but he gave me a space-time navigational chart. As long as you follow the path marked out on that chart, you can find the place. I've never been there, so I couldn't claim to be able to lead the way. And since I'm only in the third Legendary transformation, there's no way I could survive the spatial tempests along the way. The most I can do is create holes in space to perform minor teleportations here on the Rich-Lush Continent. Anyway, only someone in the sixth Legendary transformation, a Personal-Domain Legendary, could possibly reach the Superheaven Badlands alive."

"A space-time navigational chart?" Yang Qi said.

Obviously, that was the most important part of this whole thing. If he could get it, then he could definitely trade it to the Shroud-Heaven Alliance or the Hanging Mountain. And he had a pawn in the Shroud-Heaven Alliance already, that being Patriarch Frost-Drake.

Who knew how valuable that chart would be to the Crown Prince's enemies? In fact, he could probably demand something of equal value to the Grand Emperor's Pagoda.

Of course, he would have to be very careful when trying to make the deal. It would be as dangerous as asking a tiger for its skin.

"I have the chart right here," Huang Hou said, pulling his garment aside to reveal a jade pendant hanging around his neck. Yang Qi used the Infernal Deity Spear to pluck the pendant off of him. Grabbing it, he sent some true energy inside, causing an arched door to appear. As it turned out, the pendant was a dimensional treasure.

After searching the dimension quickly, he found what looked like a map crafted from unknown materials.

It was a complex chart featuring numerous complicated, interconnecting passageways. There were no mountains or rivers, but instead, pathways through space, and various spatial nexuses. With this map, one could traverse the complexities of space-time itself. In one location in the middle of the map was an enormous area of darkness with one bright light in it. That was obviously where the Crown Prince was located.

Looking at the map, he shook his head. Even with the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, there was no way he could traverse space to reach that location. If he got lucky, the spatial tempests might blow him to some other stranger world. If he got unlucky, he would be ripped to pieces.

To reach the Superheaven Badlands, he would need to be in the third Legendary transformation, and use all of the powers of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda.

However, that wasn't something he was worried about.

Still not sure he could trust Huang Hou, he looked at him and said, "Another question. After you got all the spirit stones you needed, and actually built the Superheaven Altar, how would you get it to the Crown Prince?"

"It's like this," Huang Hou said, shivering at the knowledge that his own life depended on how well he explained things. "The Crown Prince sent word that we were supposed to acquire the spirit stones and take them to a magical altar that he had already begun to set up in the Demi-Immortal Institute. It's branded with his nascent divinity, which would automatically use the spirit stones to complete the Superheaven Altar. At that point, the Crown Prince's domain would fuse with the altar, and he would reach the Great Sage level."

Yang Qi snorted coldly. "That's it? Then what's the point of this map?"

"No, you don't understand. First of all, you have to know where the correct spatial nexuses are located in both the Rich-Lush Continent and the Superheaven Badlands. That part is required to reach out to the Crown Prince. At the same time, there is a part of the Superheaven Badlands which uses spirit stones to create a spatial roadmap of sorts, which can guide the power from the Demi-Immortal Institute to the Superheaven Badlands, and link it up. The nexus is located in a place deep in the Minorcosm World. You can even go check the place yourself. Look, I'm not lying to you. I'm selling out the Crown Prince, which means that I'm now an enemy of the Crown Prince Society. And the Crown Prince severely punishes traitors."

"Alright. Everything you've said makes sense. And I doubt you could have made all that up on the spot. However, I still need to keep you locked up in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda for a time. After I make my deal with the Shroud-Heaven Alliance, I'll let you out. You can explain the whole thing to them. And of course, I'll split the profits with you." Considering everything Yang Qi had experienced in life up to this point, there was no way that he would actually let Huang Hou go.

When the time came to deal with the Shroud-Heaven Alliance, he would have Huang Hou as a living witness to the information he was providing. Plus he would have the navigational chart. In fact, maybe he could even sell Huang Hou to them.

Around this time, the screams and sounds of fighting on the island had died down, and Blightczar Manyrivers returned. "I've killed everyone, my lord. No one was able to stand up to my poison arts. Unfortunately, the other vice-houselords are all away."

"Fine. Well, I'll just loot this place and leave it empty. That way returning here will do them no good." Yang Qi then used one of the abilities of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, causing an enormous gravitational force to spring up that sucked all of the treasures on the island into it, including spirit stones, medicinal pills, magical items, spell formation materials and the like. Considering how wealthy the House of Shadowblight had been, it could only be imagined how much Yang Qi was profiting in this moment. There were even cases of royal-grade medicinal pills, and divine weapons of all sorts. All of it would be of great help to the Yang Clan, and would mean they were close to being on the same level as a clan with a Great Sage.

'With this wealth, the Yang Clan will be set for the next hundred years. We'll be a powerful kingdom on the same level as the House of Spring and Autumn or the Tabernacle of Flame. And if I can become a Great Sage, the Yang Clan could even become an institute! The fifth in the continent.' Sighing, he thought, 'I guess it's time to head home. I'll deliver all of these goods to the clan, and come up with a more fully fleshed-out plan of how to work with the Shroud-Heaven Alliance.'

It took about an hour for him to clear out all of the treasure stores. Then, he flew up off the deserted island and vanished into the night.

The House of Shadowblight had been exterminated.

Never again would an organization like theirs exist again in the Rich-Lush Continent.

He also had Blightczar Manyrivers captive, a Space-Void Legendary. With his help to shore up the spell formations in Yanhaven, it would be even more secure.