Sage Monarch

Nothing the junior superintendent did to Yang Qi had any effect.

He was like a diamond that couldn't be smashed, cut, dissolved, broken, or anything else. And his sea of consciousness was completely impervious to any assault. Even the Terrifying executors had never seen anyone with a body like this, and were now convinced that the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body was shockingly powerful.

In fact, they were now of the opinion that it could be used to fight someone with a God Legion Seal, and that it could remove the barriers that prevented them from becoming gods.

The truth was that the technique wasn't as amazing as they thought. But the longer they watched the miraculous things that Yang Qi was doing, the more amazed they were. And instead of discouraging them, it had the opposite effect, as they were convinced that they would eventually get access to the technique.

They all believed that Yang Qi would only be able to resist for so long before finally giving in.

A few months later, as the junior superintendent watched Yang Qi's energy arts and cultivation base growing higher and higher, he scowled viciously and said, "After all these months of torture, aren't you the least bit afraid? You still refuse to hand over the sheepskin scroll?"

Smiling, Yang Qi replied, "Nothing you've tried over these past few months has done a single thing to harm me. In fact, you've only helped me with my 'character' tribulations. And I refuse to believe you have anything stronger that could actually hurt me. Do you?"

He had advanced by leaps and bounds in the past months, to the point where his power index was now at five thousand five hundred. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to reach six thousand until he improved his cultivation base.

If it weren't for all of the various methods the junior superintendent had tried—various poisons, fires, bolts of lightning and whatnot—then Yang Qi's cultivation wouldn't have achieved such progress. Although he didn't have any hope of escape, his life wasn't in danger.

He had reached the fifth state of his version of the imperial-heaven pre-beginning systems, which was nothing to take lightly. He was now many times stronger than he had been when he fought the junior superintendent back in the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect. Even without any magical treasures, he could easily win if he had that fight over again.

In fact, he suspected that even if he were struck by Peaklord Grand Might, he wouldn't really be hurt.

He was now in a position to defend himself against Terrifying experts, and possibly even defeat ones who were lower level. If he were only watched over by a single Terrifying expert, he had a host of ways that he could have escaped. Unfortunately, there were seven of them keeping him locked down. And four of them were particularly strong, being far beyond the level of the average Terrifying expert. They weren't like the ones from the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect, who had used the psychic scaling systems to achieve their breakthroughs.

For now, Yang Qi was trapped.

That said, he was more than happy to "suffer the hardship" of advancing his cultivation and energy arts because of the torture.

"You!" the junior superintendent shouted. "Maybe I should just hand you over to the emperor! He could definitely deal with you!"

"Absolutely, positively not!" Ghost Ace interjected. "Junior Superintendent, this brat is incredibly strong, and very difficult to injure. Although how he's doing it is a big mystery, if he continues with this kind of cultivation, he'll eventually experience cultivation deviation. And that will be our opportunity to make a move and take control."

"That's right, Junior Superintendent," another executor said. "What good would it do us if you handed him over to the emperor? Let's just keep doing our research and wait for him to hit cultivation deviation. Without the Three Lives Stone to absorb the tribulation energy, it's only a matter of time before it happens. We definitely have to keep him alive, and his presence a major secret."

"Yeah, but to see him so unruffled really disgusts me," the junior superintendent said. He thought for a moment, then said, "Listen, punk, are you really not worried at all about cultivation deviation?"

"I am," Yang Qi said. "What makes you think I'm not? But it's not like I'm going to die. If I do experience cultivation deviation, then you people will just use your Three Lives Stone to save me."

The junior superintendent nearly choked from frustration. But then he smiled coldly and said, "If that's what you think, you've made a major miscalculation. You'll definitely hit cultivation deviation, and when you do, we won't help you. We'll just wait for the right moment to take control of your body. But right now, you still have a chance to make the right decision. It's not too late."

"Whatever," Yang Qi replied, waving his hand flippantly, the same faint smile on his face as ever.

"Fine! If you want to die, then so be it. Men, throw him into Heaven Penitentiary. Lock him up in the deepest cell they have, with the Wretch-God Apostle!"

"What?" the other executors exclaimed. "Junior Superintendent, what are you trying to do? It took a lot of hard work and planning for the emperor to capture and imprison the Wretch-God Apostle. If you put this boy in with him... well, what if the apostle kills him?"

"Ohhh..." someone said. "Junior Superintendent, you're a genius! We can't do anything to this guy, but we can have the Wretch-God Apostle deal with him. The Wretch-God Apostle probably won't be able to kill him, but if he attacks him, it will cause the tribulation energy to build up in him even faster, so he'll reach cultivation deviation that much sooner!"

"You realized exactly what I was thinking. You see, having all of you expending your true energy on him is a big waste. So far, it hasn't had any effect. So let's let the Wretch-God Apostle have a go. Not only will it weaken the apostle's true energy, but it'll also give us a nice rest. In the meantime, we can research the ancient records and see if we can get any information about how to deal with this situation. At the same time, you can all help me cultivate the Soul and Spirit Greater Teleportation Technique!"

"What? Junior Superintendent, you plan to cultivate the Soul and Spirit Greater Teleportation Technique? That's a forbidden possession method that you can only use once in a lifetime. And once you use it, you can never reverse the effects! You've spent so much effort to mold that body of yours."

"This body is powerful, but is it as good as that brat's?" the junior superintendent said. "The moment he experiences cultivation deviation, I'll possess him, release his fetters, and take control of his mind."

"That's not a bad idea," Ghost Ace said, nodding. "You're really unparalleled under heaven, Junior Superintendent. With that technique in your hands, you'll definitely become the emperor some day."

They had sealed Yang Qi's senses before they carried out this conversation, ensuring that he couldn't hear what they said. Of course, that didn't really matter. After all, when soldiers come, send a general to stop them; when flood waters come, use earth to block them.

Moments later, Yang Qi felt himself being lifted up by the seven executors and carried along a twisting and winding path. Soon, a metallic, icy aura surrounded him, and he sensed sinister winds. And the magical laws were still so strong that not even Terrifying experts could fly.

The space in this area was almost as solid as crystal, and it felt very sinister, as though the area was filled with a poisonous miasma. Clearly, many people had died here, although it was impossible to say exactly how many.

'What is this place?' he thought. All of a sudden, light filled his eyes as his senses were unsealed. Looking around, he realized he was in a prison. Everything was pitch black and made of metal, and there were clanking sounds that came from the various cells, accompanied by occasional hoarse screams that would chill a person to the bone. Yang Qi could tell that the people screaming were Terrifying experts, which was very telling.

The cells seemed to go on and on without end, as did the screams.

Suddenly, a killing aura swept toward them, prompting Ghost Ace to wave his hand and create a shield to block it. The shield cracked, but held. Spitting onto the ground, Ghost Ace said, "The psychos in the Heaven Penitentiary are only getting crazier and crazier. They should all be executed, as far as I'm concerned. If they managed to stage a revolt, it would be hard to suppress."

"A revolt?" another of the executors said. "There's no way they could ever escape from this place. Heaven Penitentiary is the most secure location possible. It was created by the legion of gods in ancient times, and never once has anyone escaped it. Once this brat is locked up in here, he won't be going anywhere! Look, we're almost there!"

Eventually, they reached what appeared to be an enormous well.

The mouth of the well was covered with countless sealing talismans, each of which featured an enormous mirror filled with fields of stars. Apparently, the talismans were made from godhood. The paper they were crafted from was as red as cinnabar, and featured writhing snakes and dragons. It could only be guessed what sort of wretch-devil they were intended to seal.

"Be careful. Only open the cell door a little bit. You know that the occupant is sealed, but even the mere energy which will come out can be very dangerous."

"I know that."

The seven executors began muttering enchantments, causing one of the talismans to slowly begin peeling back. Instantly, intense rumbling sounds filled the area, like the eruption of a volcano.

"Quick, throw him inside!"

"Alright!"

They quickly tossed him inside, which apparently alerted whatever was sealed therein, as a stream of black fire appeared that roared up in the form of a fire dragon.

Eyes widening as the fire approached, the executors quickly joined forces to suppress it. However, the fiery dragon engulfed them, causing a smell like burning grass to fill the area.

"Aaaiiiieee!" One of the executors was hit by the fire and screamed in pain. Thankfully, he had some medicine, and sprinkling some onto the wound quickly healed the damage. Meanwhile, the other executors shoved the black dragon of fire back into the well and sealed the opening.

Everyone breathed sighs of relief. "Finally. Who would've thought that the Wretch-God Apostle would be so strong? I wonder if the boy is going to get killed."