The Fringe was known for its' chaos' throughout Elysium. However, there was one place that was relatively peaceful – the Omphalos, located at the center of the Fringe. The gods of the Fringe also needed to trade and purchase goods. If every part of the Fringe was unsafe, they wouldn't be able to carry out even the most basic of transactions. That was clearly unacceptable.
The Omphalos at the center of the Fringe was a simple town that was jointly managed by the five most powerful Sovereigns in the Fringe. The gods in the Omphalos were bound by the Five Sovereigns' rules and would not fight or kill each other. However, anyone who wanted to enter the Omphalos would have to pay an exorbitant fee.
If the gods who couldn't stay in the twelve dominions had enough black crystal coins, they would be able to break through the encirclement and enter the Omphalos. With the large amount of black crystal coins in hand, they could live a good life in the Omphalos. No matter how chaotic the situation was outside the Omphalos, the Five Sovereigns would not be affected. Battles between the Five Sovereigns would also take place outside the Omphalos.
Many plunderers in the Fringe would bring their goods to the Omphalos to trade. Only in the Omphalos would they be able to do so safely. Of course, this was only limited to the Omphalos. Once the traders left the Omphalos, they would have to deal with their own problems.
In other words, even if one traded goods in Tanai, they would be hunted down the moment they left the Omphalos. In the Omphalos, both the Five Sovereigns' subordinates and outsiders would not attack because of the presence of the Five Sovereigns. However, outside the Omphalos was still the Fringe. As long as one had enough strength, one could kill anyone who left the Omphalos.
This was completely in line with the rules of the Fringe!
The Omphalos was a very peculiar place. It was a relatively safe area in the Fringe. However, anyone who wanted to enter the Omphalos would have to pay at least a hundred black crystal coins. For every day one stayed in the Omphalos, one would have to pay more black crystal coins. In order to gain temporary safety, one would have to pay a huge amount of black crystal coins.
The Five Sovereigns were willing to allow the Omphalos to exist because the Fringe really did need such a place. On the other hand, the Omphalos' tax revenue was a windfall for them. They could earn more than a hundred thousand black crystal coins every day.
After traveling in a straight line for eight days, Han Shuo's group finally arrived at the Chaos Valley.
During these eight days, Han Shuo had encountered dozens of battles, both big and small. There were small skirmishes of twos and threes, but there were also large-scale battles involving hundreds of people. There were also five or six waves of people who came to attack Han Shuo, but they were all killed by Han Hao, Rose, and the others.
During these eight days, Han Shuo had a deep understanding of the chaotic Fringe. There was no such thing as morality in the Fringe. This was a special place where the most evil and vicious of the Twelve Dominions gathered. They believed in the truth that only the strong were respected. The people here were apathetic towards life and would often kill for the slightest disagreement.
Many of the villains from the Twelve Dominions who couldn't survive in their respective dominions would travel thousands of miles to the Fringe. Most of them would be killed by the local tyrants of the Fringe before they could even venture into the depths of the Fringe. Some of the more powerful gods would either join a powerful force after venturing into the depths of the Omphalos, or they would have enough black crystal coins in their hands to ensure their safety in the Omphalos.
During this journey, Han Shuo was like a fish in water. He would devour anyone he came across. In the span of eight days, more than two hundred gods had perished at the hands of Han Shuo's party, including more than ten highgods!
To others, the Fringe might be a nightmare, but to Han Shuo, it was a blessed land for him to improve his strength. As the number of demon generals in the Cauldron of Myriad Demon increased, so did Han Shuo's strength. Every time Han Shuo devoured a highgod's divine soul, he could sense the slight changes in the Cauldron of Myriad Demon.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Omphalos, Han Shuo discovered that the Omphalos was not much smaller than Ethereal City. The Omphalos occupied a vast area and was shrouded in clouds. Buildings were scattered all over the place and there were quite a number of gods walking in and out of the Omphalos. However, they all had ferocious gazes and were clearly not friendly people.
There were five checkpoints to enter the Omphalos, each guarded by one of the Five Sovereigns. Han Shuo and the others entered through the checkpoint guarded by Wasis' subordinates. The gods guarding the checkpoint had cold and gloomy eyes. They looked at Han Shuo and the others with greedy eyes. It seemed as though they wanted to take everything valuable from Han Shuo and the others.
They did not look at their divine tablets or ask any questions. However, each person who entered the Omphalos had to pay an additional one hundred black crystal coins for every day they stayed in the Omphalos. After paying eight hundred black crystal coins, Han Shuo and the others officially entered the Omphalos.
In most of the other cities in the Twelve Dominions, one would only have to pay a few purple crystal coins to enter the Omphalos. But in the Omphalos, one had to pay a hundred black crystal coins, which was hundreds or thousands of times more expensive than ordinary cities. Moreover, one had to pay another hundred black crystal coins for every day they stayed in the Omphalos.
Even though Tanai only had five thousand people in the Omphalos, the tax was five hundred thousand black crystal coins per day. What about a month, a year, or a decade?
It was no wonder that the Five Sovereigns would work together to manage the Omphalos. The tax here was simply astronomical, thought Han Shuo. Even though he was in charge of the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, he could not help but shudder at the thought of the amount of black crystal coins the Omphalos produced every year.
Due to the constant fighting and killing in every corner of the Fringe, those gods with weak strength but enough black crystal coins would not hesitate to spend their black crystal coins to stay in the Omphalos. They were spending their black crystal coins to save their lives. The Fringe had long ago led to the existence of the Omphalos, making the Omphalos a crazy money-making district on Elysium.
"Father, if we take control of the Omphalos, we will never have to worry about black crystal coins again!" Little Skull Han Hao whispered to Han Shuo as soon as they entered the Omphalos.
In truth, the Omphalos did not have a particularly strong defense. It was only guarded by squads of guards from the Five Sovereigns. These guards were responsible for maintaining order in the Omphalos and collecting taxes. After paying the taxes, a small badge would always shine on the chest of a god. After one day, the badge would stop shining. At that time, the badge would have to be refilled with that special energy and pay black crystal coins again.
When the guards of the Five Sovereigns noticed that the badge on the chest of a god had stopped shining, they would immediately demand that the god pay black crystal coins to refill the badge. If the god did not pay enough black crystal coins, the god would be mercilessly banished from the Omphalos. Only by paying the required amount of black crystal coins would the god be allowed to stay in the Omphalos.
Han Shuo stroked the badge on his chest and released a strand of his consciousness to secretly probe the energy within it. The strand of bizarre energy seemed to have its own consciousness. Before Han Shuo's consciousness came into contact with the badge, he immediately sensed the vigilance of the energy.
Han Shuo was shocked. He was certain that the badge contained a strand of the Overgod's consciousness. Just like the strange energy in Ebony's body, it had its own consciousness. Of course, Han Shuo could easily obliterate that strand of consciousness. However, doing so would definitely alarm the person who released it. In that case, Han Shuo and the others might immediately face the interrogation of a monarch. Perhaps a great battle would be unavoidable.
Han Shuo had no intention of starting a war with any of the Five Sovereigns for the time being. After withdrawing the strand of consciousness, Han Shuo nodded at Little Skull, Han Hao, and the others and said softly, "Don't touch the energy in the badge."
After observing for a moment, Han Shuo discovered that the Omphalos was not fundamentally different from the cities in the Twelve Dominions. There were also many shops, streets, and gymnasiums. The only difference was that everything in the Omphalos was very expensive. The most common were the trading stalls that could be seen everywhere. Many of the looted goods would be displayed everywhere, and one could buy or trade them with black crystal coins or some special materials. The gods who entered the Omphalos were usually powerful villains from various regions. They would take advantage of the opportunity to sell the goods in their hands.
In addition to that, there was also a special occupation in the Tanai – Guardian. It was an occupation similar to that of a bodyguard or a mercenary. The Fringe was notorious for its chaos. If one did not possess enough strength, the chances of dying in the Fringe were just too high.
It was because of this that the Guardians would naturally appear in the Fringe. As long as one had enough black crystal coins, they would protect one's life. Most of the Guardians were the direct subordinates of the Five Sovereigns. There were also some who belonged to powerful forces. They were generally quite popular in the Fringe. With such a large group of Guardians guarding the Omphalos, only those who did not have a powerful background would have the guts to leave the Omphalos.
Of course, the Guardians' price was often ridiculously high. It could easily reach tens of thousands of black crystal coins. However, in order to survive, many people were willing to pay that price. Otherwise, they would be killed the moment they stepped out of the Omphalos.
After wandering for a while, Han Shuo gradually gained a deeper understanding of the situation in the Tanai. All in all, as long as one was strong enough and had enough black crystal coins, one would be able to live comfortably in the Fringe. Otherwise, the only thing that awaited one was death.
"I like this place!" said Little Skull Han Hao softly after making a small circle.
Rose stared blankly for a moment before she took a deep look at Little Skull Han Hao. She thought to herself, 'Like father, like son. They are both equally eccentric and unpredictable!'
"Eh? Isn't that Rose? Hahaha, you actually dare to come back? " Suddenly, an unpleasant and maniacal laugh sounded from a distance. A skinny, bald, and ugly old woman flew towards them.
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