Sage Monarch

How could anyone have guessed that the immortal world would open up a passageway to the fabled plane that was the Hell of Mahānata?

It was one of the oldest hells, and its name itself was synonymous with grandeur, profundity, and majesty.  Truth be told, it was not very well-known among the common people. It was only in ancient times that people recognized how terrifying it was in even the smallest aspects.

All types of fiend-devils existed there, including asuras, bronzeblaze fiend-devils, and giant snakes. Also among the diabolical monsters there were warmonger giant-devils, which were similar to the giants that existed among humans, but far more powerful. According to certain legends, they often took the lead in the wars against the legion of gods.

The mere thought of such creatures was terrifying.

Now that the passageway was open, powerful devil energy surged out from inside, and it was possible to see figures in the depths of the hell, struggling to break free and feast on the flesh and blood of the living.

Even people like Yan Wubing and Ape Heavenhelve seemed to shiver in fear at what they were seeing, and Mammoth Force was visibly shaken.

The experts from the Lionfolk, Horsefolk, and Sharkfolk trembled visibly. 

‘I can’t believe it’s the Hell of Mahānata,’ many of them thought. ‘How could this be happening? Is this a mistake? The immortal world has gone crazy! If the fiend-devils from the Hell of Mahānata escaped into the Hanging Mountain, we would all be doomed! Not even Demi-Immortals would be of any help. We’d all be crushed like eggs!’

The megamammoths had an advantage because of their blood, but not even that would help them in this hell. Only godmammoths could possibly come out on top.

Of course, what was visible right now was only a tiny, tiny fraction of the Hell of Mahānata as a whole, and a border region at that.

RUMBLE!

High in the sky, an enormous golden ranking list appeared, filled with text, so large that it almost seemed like a heaven and earth of its own.

At this point, Mammoth Heaven spoke from the peak of Mount Sumeru. “All competitors shall send a scrap of their nascent divinity quintessence energy into the ranking list. Upon entering the Hell of Mahānata, the record of how many fiend-devils they’ve killed will appear on the list for everyone to see. The point system is as follows: ten thousand Legendary fiend-devils are worth one point. First step Great Sage fiend-devils are worth one point. Second step, ten points. Third step, a hundred points, and so on. Starting with ninth step Epic Saga fiend-devils, the point increase is greater.”

In response, everyone who was gathered at the base of the mountain shouted in acknowledgement and sent streams of quintessence energy up to the immortal ranking list.

Yang Qi did the same, and immediately felt a flesh and blood connection to the ranking list, something that could not be severed.

‘That list was created by immortal power, and comes from the immortal world. Because of the connection, it seems I locked onto some of the ancient immortal planes.’

As Yan Wubing stood next to Yang Qi, he slowly reverted back to his elderly appearance. Sighing, he said, “Young Master, you must be very careful. The further you get into the Hell of Mahānata, the more dangerous it will be. Not even I would dare to act without caution there. Something’s going on with the immortal world. I honestly can’t believe they selected the Hell of Mahānata.”

“Don't worry, Sir Yan,” Yang Qi said. “Haven’t you noticed that I'm uniquely equipped to deal with hells?” For some reason, Yang Qi felt particularly drawn to the passageway, almost as if it were tugging at him. The aura in there was clearly the perfect thing for the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

He could sense the spatial structure of the hell itself, and could feel his true energy trembling as if with excitement, and was fairly certain that he could achieve an almost immediate breakthrough. In fact, he was already forming some sort of resonance with the will of the hell.

From what he could tell, the Hell of Mahānata was far more complex and enormous than the Hells of Euphoria, Suras, Nagas, or any of the other hells he knew about. And all of that came from just sensing its aura.

Leviathan Truesoaring sighed. “I did notice that, sir. You have the enlightenment of the primeval infernal deities, which surpasses the blood of the Mammothfolk, and makes cultivation in hell particularly beneficial. Am I right? Even still, you need to be careful. There will be plenty of people in there who are out to get you.”

Yang Qi looked over at the Demon Sages from the Sharkfolk, Lionfolk, Horsefolk, and especially the Apefolk, and saw many of them glaring at him and cracking their knuckles. And the Mammothfolk were doing nothing to hide the killing intent flickering in their eyes.

Once he was in the Hell of Mahānata, they would gang up on him as soon as they could, and he wouldn’t have Yan Wubing or Leviathan Truesoaring to help him.

Yet again, August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven’s voice echoed out. “Very well. Since all competitors are present and ready, and have passed their quintessence energy into the ranking list, then the competition will begin. Remember to leave the Hell of Mahānata before the end of the competition. If you fail to do so, the passageway will be closed, and you will remain there for all eternity.”

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, hosts of disciples, all of them Great Sages, flew through the golden light that surrounded Mount Sumeru, heading directly toward the passageway. All of them stuck together into groups; considering that this competition was going to be incredibly difficult, that seemed the only way to stay alive.

Compared to the mighty entities that existed in this hell, most Great Sages were like ants.

Only Without Limit and Epic Saga Sages could possibly hold their own single-handedly.

However, Yang Qi’s senses were telling him that the most powerful of the competitors were only seventh step Planet God Sages. The Apefolk had people that strong, as did the Mammothfolk and the Rocfolk. All of them were famous individuals, and beyond what Yang Qi could handle right now.

As for Mammoth Force, he was only in the fifth step, and therefore, not even close to being the best among the best.

Swish!

Yang Qi’s Angel Wings unfurled, and he became a streak of light that shot into the depths of the passageway. In fact, he immediately passed up everyone.

“So fast!”

“Such incredible speed! I didn’t even have a chance to react before he was past me. I couldn’t catch him if I tried.”

“Is he really only a Legendary?”

“The Holy Mother’s son is so fast!”

Many of the experts entering the passageway saw the blur go past them, and were terrified at the implications. Even people like Chief Lion, who had just been contemplating killing Yang Qi, were visibly taken aback.

Communicating via thought transmission, Chief Shark said, ‘Chief Lion, this Yang Qi is no simple character. But we've already sent out the orders to have him killed. I wonder if he’ll manage to evade everyone in there.’

‘Don't worry, he won’t escape,’ Chief Lionfolk replied. ‘He’s only a measly Legendary. Besides, he’s alone. He won’t get far in the Hell of Mahānata. Even the Mammothfolk have to be careful in there, let alone this Yang Qi.’

Other chiefs of the Demonfolk joined in on the transmitted conversation.

‘Mammoth Force and his group are going to be the first ones to try to kill him. There’s no way he’ll escape. Although, the Holy Mother is going to be really, really angry if he dies.’

‘If she gets angry, she’ll have to take things up with the August Patriarch.’

‘Well, let’s see how long it takes the brat to get killed.’

‘Yeah, you’re right. When someone dies in the competition, their name will disappear from the immortal list, so we’ll know as soon as it happens.’

Plenty of people were hoping to see the Holy Mother’s son perish. Furthermore, everyone assumed that he had the command medallion of King Immortal-Slayer, which everyone wanted to get their hands on.

It was now publicly acknowledged that, despite being a Legendary, he could kill Great Sages. However, it was all attributed to that medallion.

Of course, he was rumored to have only one fragment of the medallion as a whole, but even that would be filled with immense destiny and power.

There were plenty of competitors, and many of them wanted to kill Yang Qi, but he disappeared so quickly that they had no way to track him down.

As Yang Qi sped through the passageway, he carefully let out some of the God Legion Paradise, which immediately began to convert the darkness and gloom into radiance and light.

‘Ah, the energy of hell. It’s so abundant here! Amazing!’ His domain perfectly conformed to the energy of the Hell of Mahānata, just like a drop of water would conform to the ocean.

Immediate transformations began to occur, and all of them felt completely natural. Streams of magical laws resonated with him, as well as magnetic fields, causing his true energy to thrum, and a never-dying aura to build up within him.

He was getting very close to his breakthrough.

RUMBLE!

Soon, he reached the end of the passageway, and shot out into the Hell of Mahānata itself.

The place was filled with endless mists and devil energy. The ground was a deep golden color, making it seem like it was actually made from gold.

‘I’ll avoid everyone at first, and just head as deep as possible into the hell to attempt my breakthrough.’ With that, Yang Qi vanished, like a fish into water.