Hell Emperor.

Chapter 324: Shura Jie - Prison
As Ye Jie's verdict came down, the two ghosts with frightened faces were swept up by the cold wind and thrown directly into the oil pan.

The oil pan was huge, with hot oil all over the steep walls. Any ghost trying to climb out of the pan would be unable to hold on because the pan was too slippery, and would burn their hands instead. It was quite convenient for dealing with ghosts without cultivation, but if the ghost in the pan had a higher cultivation level, it could even jump out of the pan directly based on its own realm, and the effect would not be so good.

Including the two ghosts thrown into the pot, there were a total of four ghosts wailing in the pot. The situation of the fried dough sticks also scared the surrounding ghosts, and they were glad that they had not done anything unforgivable in their lifetime.

The last ghost among the three, and the only one that was free, was looking relieved, thinking he had heard it wrong.

After seeing Ye Jie's verdict, he trembled in his heart, thinking that he would not be able to escape punishment. Unexpectedly, apart from being evaluated as insensitive, he did not suffer any other punishment. He felt relieved for surviving the calamity.

Shan Yao was a little unhappy when he saw this, and said to Ye Jie: "Palace Master, this man was a close friend of the village tyrant Cui Kun when he was alive. He often hung out with him, drinking and having fun. How can you let him escape punishment?"

Ye Jie glanced at Shan Yao and asked, "So?"

"So..." Shan Yao was a little unsure of what Ye Jie meant, but still said, "So of course he has to go to the oil pan too! How can he be a good person if he can hang out with someone like Cui Kun? How can we let him go so easily?"

Ye Jie shook his head: "But I looked at his file and he has never done anything bad in his life. Should he be punished just because he made bad friends?"

Shan Yao still didn't want to give up: "But..."

Ye Jie interrupted her: "If there is anything wrong with him, it is that he turned a blind eye to Cui Kun's oppression of other villagers. He was indifferent and even had fun with Cui Kun even though he knew it. But indifference cannot be a reason to punish the evil ghost."

"Why?" Shan Yao looked puzzled, not understanding why Ye Jie said this. "The Palace Master said he was callous, why not punish him for this?"

Ye Jie flicked his sleeves and spoke slowly: "Because people are all living a day-to-day life and are indifferent. Take the rest of you villagers for example. You knew that the village tyrant was bullying you, so why didn't you join hands and drive him out of the village? But you didn't. You accepted him and would rather endure the unfair oppression, and no one stood up. If indifference can be used to convict, should I punish Cui Kun's friends or you?"

Ye Jie's indifferent words made Shan Yao completely stunned and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

For some reason, although Ye Jie looked younger than her cousin, his demeanor and far-sightedness in looking at the world's affairs were something that no one else could achieve.

Ye Jie's words also reached the ears of the ghost who escaped the disaster. He knelt on the ground and cried bitterly:
"Palace Master is wise! I never thought that the things I did in my life would lead to punishment after death. If I had known this earlier, I would have drawn a clear line between myself and Cui Kun at the first opportunity. If the Palace Master does not forsake me, I am willing to become a ghost messenger and will not accept any reward in the future, just to pay for the unjust actions I committed in my life!"

His words also attracted discussions from the ghosts around him. They were full of emotion in their words. They never thought that the old friend of the village bully would be influenced by the Lord of Yama Palace and turn over a new leaf one day.

Ye Jie glanced at him and asked, "What's your name?"

"I am Zheng Xuan!"

"From now on, you will be the ghost catcher, codenamed Ghost Catcher Xuan." Ye Jie spoke slowly. His words made Zheng Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground, overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly.

Ye Jie took out seven stitched pages, and in front of the ghosts in the middle, he slowly spoke: "In the presence of all the ghosts in the Golden Wheel Hall, I will pass on the Soul-Breaking Arrow to you. This method can help you better complete your soul-catching function, but if you encounter a fierce and fierce ghost, do not fight it to the death. It is best to return to the hall and report as soon as possible."

As Ye Jie's mind moved, a series of records appeared on the seven stitched pages.

[Bookkeeping of life and death:]

[In the autumn of the 639th year of the Moruo calendar, Shura Jie spent a thousand Yin De to modify Guicha Xuan's martial arts files.]

[Soul-breaking Arrow (beginner) has been added to the column of skills learned by Guicha Xuan. ]

When Ye Jie finished speaking, Zheng Xuan stood there in a daze, feeling as if something extra had appeared in his mind.

He slowly raised his hand, and a tiny black arrow condensed in his palm. The black arrow shot straight into the sky. He watched the black arrow go away until it completely disappeared, and then he came to his senses.

His actions also caused the nearby ghosts to exclaim:
"What is that... Could it be a technique that was forbidden to practice in the past?"

"It must be the Palace Master's gift that allowed Zheng Xuan to learn the technique!"

"If I were shot by that arrow, there would definitely be a hole in my body... The Palace Master actually gifted Zheng Xuan this kind of skill. If we complete the task assigned by the Palace Master diligently, we may have a chance to see the power of this skill."

Listening to the ghosts' discussions, Ye Jie's expression was calm, and he continued, "The Soul-Breaking Arrow technique is placed in the Dharma Transmission Hall. With only 10,000 Yin De, you can have a glimpse of it in the Dharma Transmission Hall. The Soul-Breaking Arrow is only the lowest level technique. In addition, there are more powerful techniques placed in the Dharma Transmission Hall. With enough Yin De, you can comprehend the profound meaning of them."

Ye Jie's words immediately ignited the enthusiasm of the ghosts around him. Every ghost wanted to go to the Dharma Hall to take a look at the advanced skills. It was a pity that they did not have enough good karma to even learn the Soul-Breaking Arrow, let alone those advanced skills.

The more advanced the skills, the more valuable they are. Even the villagers who have never practiced have no doubt about this.

Although they do not have enough Yin De, the Palace Master has already pointed out the ways for them to obtain Yin De. As long as they conscientiously complete the tasks assigned by the Palace Master and contribute to the development of the Golden Wheel Palace, they can obtain sufficient Yin De.

At this moment, the ghosts were very enthusiastic. Many of them had already left, some were carrying bone fragments, some were smelting them outside the oil pan, full of energy.

Seeing this scene, Ye Jie nodded with satisfaction. He just had to wait until there were more ghosts in the hall, and then the Golden Wheel Hall would be back on track.

On the other side, Shan Yao still looked unhappy. Ye Jie noticed her abnormality and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shan Yao turned his head away, deliberately not looking at Ye Jie: "Nothing. ~"

"Really?" Ye Jie coughed dryly. Even though she said it was nothing, her actions did not show that it was nothing.

Seeing Ye Jie asking again and again, Shan Yao finally couldn't help it and gritted his teeth and said, "It's fine if Zheng Xuan is not punished, but did the Palace Master forget to tell Zheng Xuan that he owed a lot of Yin De? How much was it? Now I remember, it seems to be 11,000 Yin De!"

Ye Jie shrugged helplessly. He finally understood why Shan Yao was so weird. He was obviously dissatisfied with his teaching Zheng Xuan the skills. He could only say, "Didn't you hear what he said? He won't need any good deeds in the future, so he won't owe any debts. Besides, with him as a role model, the other ghosts will be more motivated."

Shan Yao was still nagging about his experiences: "Why do I owe so much merit? I should be the role model!"

Ye Jie held his forehead with his hand: "If from now on, you don't want any good deeds, then you don't owe me anything." Shan Yao thought about it, curled his lips and said: "Forget it then."

Ye Jie's eyes twitched. After saying so much, he decided to just forget it. He really didn't know what to say.

“Speaking of which, Palace Master, if a situation like Cui Kun appears again in the future, where he is clearly an evil ghost but becomes a ghost messenger, what should we do?” Shan Yao suddenly thought of something and became a little worried. “If Palace Master hadn’t been here, I’m afraid he would have been able to get away with it and become a ghost messenger…”

Hearing what Shan Yao said, Ye Jie couldn't help but frown slightly. Just as Shan Yao said, that was indeed a big problem.

If the ghost catchers have the remaining pages of the Book of Life and Death on them, they only need to check the information on the remaining pages to have a general understanding of the ghost's past life, and thus distinguish between good and bad ghosts, and will not allow evil ghosts who have done all kinds of bad things to become ghost catchers.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of the main account of the Golden Wheel Palace, Ye Jie was unable to distribute the remaining pages of the Book of Life and Death to all the ghost officials in the palace one by one, and had to find another way.

"After the ghost catcher brings the souls of the dead to the Golden Wheel Palace, I have to judge their deeds in life to see if they are qualified to stay in the palace or if they should be punished. But when I am not in the palace, how to deal with those ghosts is a problem..."

"If there is a Document Hall, the front hall of the Document Hall can be used to handle this matter. But the Document Hall cannot be built yet, so we can only find another way..."

After thinking about it, Ye Jie had to turn his attention to the seven stitched pages, trying to find a suitable building.

[The Netherworld Prison: The prison in the Yama Palace, where ghosts can be imprisoned. The prison can hold ghosts of level 3 and below, making it impossible for them to escape. A formation ritual can be set up to strengthen the prison's ability to detain. Depending on the severity of the prison, the ghosts inside will have resentment. For every 100,000 soul wisps consumed, one resentment is expected to be generated. Construction requires 500,000 Yin De and 50,000 pounds of steel bones.]

As Ye Jie's mind moved, a building of the underworld appeared on the seven stitched pages.

As long as the Netherworld Prison is built, the ghosts brought back to the underworld by the ghost catcher can be placed together and then wait for Ye Jie to judge. Not only that, the prison can also imprison the evil spirits that cannot be locked up in the frying pan.

"Cyborg...why do you need Cyborg again?"

However, the steel skeleton needed to build the Netherworld Prison made Ye Jie's eyes go dark.

In the underworld, no matter what kind of building is constructed, steel frames are required. Without steel frames, one can only sigh at the building entries.

Unless it is a simple open-air building like a cafeteria, steel frames are necessary.

Due to the lack of steel bones, Ye Jie was unable to build the Netherworld Prison and had to find another way.

"Apart from the Nether Prison, are there no other buildings? It would be best if they don't require any steel at all..."

Ye Jie was quite helpless. Soon, the text on the seven stitched pages changed again, showing the answer that Ye Jie needed most at the moment.

[Ice Prison (unlocked on three sides): A special prison in the Yama Palace that can imprison ghosts in the Ice Prison, making them suffer from the cold. The Ice Prison can hold ghosts of level 5 and below, making it impossible for them to escape. The formation ritual can ensure that the ghosts inside will not be scattered. For every 10,000 soul wisps consumed, one resentment is expected to be generated. Construction requires 10 million Yin De and 2 million soul wisps.]

[Fire Prison (unlocked on three sides): …………]

[Bone-picking Prison (unlocked on five sides): A specialized prison in Yama Hall that can imprison ghosts in the Bone-picking Prison and subject them to torture by beasts. The Bone-picking Prison can hold ghosts of the second level and below, making it impossible for them to escape. The formation ritual can ensure that the ghosts inside will not be scattered. For every 100 strands of soul charm consumed, one resentment is expected to be generated. The Bone-picking Prison requires the Rakshasa King to be stationed. Construction requires 30 million Yin De, 5 million strands of soul charm, and 100,000 strands of dark fog. ]

[Beast Crushing Prison (five sides unlocked): …………]

"Why are there so many prisons..."

After reading the messages on the seven stitched pages, Ye Jie couldn't help but rub his forehead.

He just wanted to find a place to temporarily house the wandering souls, not to throw all the wandering souls into prison to be punished.

What's more, just by seeing the names of these prisons, Ye Jie had a bad feeling in his heart.

It's called a prison, but it's more like a place to torture ghosts, thus generating resentment. The later the building is unlocked, the more powerful the punishment is, and the more resentment it generates.

This is not what Ye Jie wants. He doesn't want to throw all the ghosts into prison at once. Only evil ghosts should be punished with torture.

Using these specialized prisons to temporarily house ghosts is obviously a wrong decision. Ye Jie couldn't help scratching his head. Why is it so difficult to find a suitable underworld building?

On the side, Shan Yao saw the problem Ye Jie was facing and took the initiative to speak: "Palace Master, are you worried about settling those ghosts?"

Ye Jie nodded and said without hiding anything: "That's right."

Shan Yao thought for a moment, pointed to a row of houses in front and said, "In that case, why not use the empty rooms over there to temporarily house the ghosts that come to the temple, and wait for the temple master to come back and make a judgment?"

Following where Shan Yao pointed, Ye Jie was stunned for a moment.

At the place pointed by Yam, there was a large row of empty houses. With the disappearance of the former ghost messenger of the Golden Wheel Palace, those rooms became empty, making it the best choice for temporarily housing ghosts.

"That's right. We just need to find a place to gather the ghosts. There is no need to build additional underworld buildings..."

After thinking through the key to the matter, Ye Jie smiled helplessly.

After witnessing the strength of the underworld's buildings, he subconsciously placed the solutions to the problems in those buildings with different functions, while ignoring more direct solutions.

He did not need to build additional prisons. He just needed to find a place to temporarily house the ghosts while they waited for him or other judges to come and make judgments. Placing too much hope on the buildings of the underworld would make it difficult for him to see the key to the matter.

With the guidance of Yam, the issue of placing the ghost was also successfully resolved.

(End of this chapter)