Sanstin Continent was indeed a barren continent. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to simply call it a huge desert. Very few living beings called this place home. The weird thing about this continent was its proximity to the Center of the Realm of Gods.
As mentioned before, it is located near the continents at the center, so the amount of Divine Energy available is quite high. That said, it didn't make much sense for this place to be a desert like this. If anything, it should be thriving with countless plants, demon beasts, and even some spirits or the unusual humanoid traveling.