Hell Emperor.

Chapter 415 Ye Jie-Secret
Under the guidance of the witch, Yam soon arrived at a corner of the Witch King Shrine.

She didn't know if it was her illusion, but Shan Yao always felt that the witch's eyes were full of vigilance, and that awe-inspiring murderous look made her heart chill.

Out of concern for her cousin, she did not retreat even though she clearly sensed something unusual from Ye Jie's warning. No matter what dangers were waiting for her ahead, she had to find out.

In his arms, the torn pages slowly became hot, carrying Shan Yao's last hope. As long as he wrote the message on it, Ye Jie on the other side would receive it.

Arriving at the secret hall inside the shrine, Yam was frightened by the deathly silence.

The hall was shrouded in eternal shadows, and every inch of space seemed to be telling the most gloomy secrets. The dome was dozens of feet high, like an unfathomable deep well that swallowed up all the light. The ground was paved with the oldest bluestone slabs, each of which was covered with cracks, and a wisp of cold black smoke would spew out from time to time.

Outside the temple, many witches lined up in uniform, waiting here, like unshakable sculptures, without making a sound. Seeing this, Shan Yao couldn't help but ask, "Where's my cousin? Aren't you going to take me to see him? Where is he now?"

"If his innate magical powers are as strong as you say, then he would be here."

The witch spoke slowly, and as the door of the hall opened, the situation inside made Shan Yao stunned.

In the gloomy hall, there were ghosts who had fallen into coma. They were lying on the cold floor, having long lost consciousness. They were like dough on the chopping board about to be put into the pot, without any ability to resist. It was quite a spectacular scene.

"here it is……"

Shan Yao was shocked, and a bit of uneasiness appeared in his eyes.

"This place is blessed by a great formation. It is the place where the spiritual energy of the Witch King Shrine is the most concentrated. It is perfect for refining the heart-eroding soul."

The witch remembered something and complained, "It's all the fault of the Golden Wheel Palace Master. He stole our spiritual veins. Now we can only refine souls here. The ones displayed here are just ordinary souls. The person you are looking for should be in the room at the end."

Shan Yao couldn't contain his anxiety, so he ran forward quickly and found an ancient quiet room at the end of the hall.

No one knew what the witch did, but the door of the quiet room slowly opened and Shan Yao hurried in. The scene inside made her gasp.

The souls lying in this quiet room were not ordinary souls. Most of them were strange-looking demon souls. Even if they fell into a deep sleep due to heart erosion, they could still feel an unfathomable and majestic aura from them. Shan Yao was shocked to find that there were even many great demons at the level of ghosts and immortals.

As Shan Yao's gaze fell on one of the souls, her eyes became anxious. She could no longer suppress the anxiety in her heart and hurried forward.

Ginger, who had been missing for several days, was now lying there. No matter how Yam called out, there was no response. All that emanated from his soul was endless coldness.

"How could this happen...what did you do to him?"

Seeing that something was wrong, Shan Yao started questioning.

"He chose a glorious path, becoming a Heart-Eroding Soul, and completely contributing the power of his soul. On his own, even if he had such excellent innate magical powers, there was no time for him to practice, and in the end it was just a waste."

The witch said slowly, "Not only him, but all the souls in this quiet room are valued by the Palace Master. When the Resurrection Festival comes, they will all be refined by the Palace Master, and all their abilities will belong to the Palace Master. Only in this way can the value of their lives be truly demonstrated."

"No...what glory? It's obvious that you are coveting his natural supernatural powers and intend to harm him. I won't let you do this!" Shan Yao insisted.

The witch shook her head: "He has been valued by the master of the temple, this is his honor. The other witches did not tell you for your own good, but now you have colluded with outsiders and revealed important information in the temple. It seems that we can't keep you here! Just come here, you can also become a member of the Heart-Eroding Soul!"

Shan Yao's pupils shrank, and a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart: "No..."

A faint light flashed behind the witch, and a ghost of a warrior in armor condensed from behind her. She slowly drew her sword, and her movements were exactly the same as the ghost behind her. She was ready to show her unique skills and refine the yam into a heart-eroding soul.

Just when Shan Yao was at a loss and about to be in danger, the aggressive witch suddenly froze in place. Several sharp green rays flashed behind her. As the rays swept past, faint traces of blood appeared on the witch's body. Before she realized it, her body had been cut into several pieces.

When the witch died, the heart-eating soul in her body broke free, but was immediately defeated by the dragon shadow that passed by, and disappeared into thin air.

Shan Yao slumped on the ground, not knowing what had happened until he saw Ye Jie walking slowly behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Palace Master Ye, you are finally here... I haven't had time to write the message on the torn page, and you are here. Have you been following us since just now?"

Ye Jie nodded and admitted: "Thanks to you, I was able to find the storage place of the Heart-Eroding Soul. If I were to wander around alone, there's no telling when I would find it, and it would definitely alert the Witch God Temple."

After being rescued by Ye Jie, Shan Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully: "Palace Master Ye, this time it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't been with me, I'm afraid..."

Shan Yao paused, not daring to imagine the consequences of Ye Jie's late arrival.

After a while, Shan Yao spoke again, his tone full of worry: "My cousin has become a heart-eating soul. What should I do now? Palace Master Ye, can you think of a way to save him? He turned into a beast-shaped ghost before, and it was thanks to you that he was restored to his original form."

Following Shan Yao's direction, Ye Jie also saw Sheng Jiang, who was motionless with his eyes closed and in a state of heartburn, and spoke slowly:
"Don't worry, I will find a way. I heard from the witch just now that the Heart-Eroding Souls here are all offered to the Lord of the Witch God Temple for refining. In this way, I may be able to get close to the Lord of the Witch God Temple." Just as Ye Jie was thinking, another voice came from behind: "This is impossible. According to the secret method passed down by the master, each witch can only refine one Heart-Eroding Soul at a time. Once you plan to use the power of other Heart-Eroding Souls, you must drive out the existing Heart-Eroding Souls in your body. How can you refine so many?"

Shan Yao looked towards the source of the voice. This sight made her hair stand on end. "Looking at her attire, she is clearly a member of the witches. Palace Master Ye, quickly deal with her and don't let her tip off!"

"What are you talking about? Palace Master? Who is the Palace Master?" Bai Zaoyu was a little puzzled. There were only a few people here, so how come there was another Palace Master?
Ye Jie waved his hand, shook off the group of people who had followed him, and followed Shan Yao to the place where the Witch God Temple stored the Heart-Eroding Soul.

Among the Heart-Eroding Souls displayed in the hall, Ye Jie also found a familiar figure. It was the witch Bai Zaoyu who brought them here not long ago. However, she was severely punished for lying about her military achievements and concealing the truth. Now she has also become a Heart-Eroding Soul, waiting to be refined by other witches, so Ye Jie woke her up along the way.

Ye Jie looked at Bai Zaoyu who followed him and noticed the key information: "You said that the witch can only refine one Heart-Erosion Soul at a time? Could it be that your cultivation method is not good enough?"

Bai Zaoyu answered without hesitation: "Impossible. Borrowing the power of the Heart-Eroding Soul is not as simple as you think. Many witches cannot even refine one Heart-Eroding Soul, let alone two. Once two Heart-Eroding Souls are contained in the body at the same time, the souls will fight each other, and even the power of one cannot be exerted."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Ye Jie frowned for a moment, then turned his gaze to the witch who had just died on the ground, and whispered:
"The soul is back."

When the witch's spirit suddenly appeared and saw Ye Jie, she was furious: "Damn it, there is something wrong with you!"

"If you don't want your soul to be scattered, then tell me the truth." Ye Jie said in a cold voice, "One of your witch companions said that a witch can only refine one Heart-Eroding Soul. You said that the Heart-Eroding Souls here are all dedicated to the Palace Master. Can he refine so many?"

The witch's soul sneered and said, "You are such an ignorant thing. Of course, an ordinary witch can only refine one, but the hall master is not an ordinary person. Don't judge the hall master with your superficial eyes!"

“So, the Lord of the Witch God Temple can indeed refine multiple Heart-Eroding Souls.” Ye Jie seemed to have seen something and made this judgment.

"Why should I tell you? Don't think I will be afraid if you threaten me with your soul being torn apart. It is my honor to die for protecting the Witch God Temple!" The witch looked fearless and had no intention of answering Ye Jie's question at all.

Seeing this, Ye Jie simply said: "You have already died for the Witch God Temple once, why do you have to die for it a second time? I can let you reincarnate into a better family, and in the next life you will have stronger talents and magical powers than now. Even if you tell me the news now, the ghosts in the Witch God Temple will not know."

"What? Just you?" The witch was stunned. She didn't believe what Ye Jie said at all. "The Witch God Temple doesn't use Yinde at all. All Yinde is concentrated on the temple master. Whether you can be reborn into a better family depends on the will of the Witch God Temple Master. What qualifications do you have to say this?"

In this regard, before Ye Jie could speak, Shan Yao spoke first: "Of course he is qualified to say this! Don't you know? The one in front of you is the Lord of the Golden Wheel Palace, one of the Ten Yama Palaces."

"Master of the Golden Wheel Palace?"

The witch's eyes flickered, and she finally realized the identity of Ye Jie in front of her.

Even Bai Zaoyu was dumbfounded for a moment. She could never have imagined that she had personally brought the Lord of the Golden Wheel Palace here.

After learning about Ye Jie's identity, the witch thought for a long time, and finally gave in. With a complicated look in her eyes, she revealed the witches' secrets:

"If an ordinary witch forcibly refines more than two Heart-Eroding Souls, these Heart-Eroding Souls will fight with each other in their bodies and even devour each other. In the end, the souls, whether it is the cultivation method or the memory, will all be intertwined, and will show a more ferocious and more powerful power."

"how come……"

Ye Jie might not have felt anything after hearing this, but Bai Zaoyu, a priestess, felt a chill down her spine and couldn't believe her ears.

Bai Zaoyu, a priestess, had never considered fusing more than two Heart-Eroding Souls due to the teachings of her master. She believed that doing so would be a dead end. Now, she heard that refining two Heart-Eroding Souls would not only be fine, but would make it more powerful. For a moment, she couldn't help but regret why she hadn't tried it before.
"If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have refined a few more Heart-Eroding Souls..." Bai Zaoyu said regretfully.

In response, the witch looked at her with disdain and said, "Do you think that it is so easy to refine the Heart-Eroding Souls? Even among the witches with outstanding talents, few dare to do this. As the number of Heart-Eroding Souls increases, the memories of these souls are intertwined, their powers complement each other, and the incomplete parts are completed. A brand new ghost will be born from the continuous fusion of those Heart-Eroding Souls, and then the most terrifying Formless Ghost will be born. In turn, even the witch's own soul will be devoured by the Formless Ghost."

"A faceless ghost?"

This time, even Ye Jie couldn't help but be stunned. He seemed to have heard rumors about the formless ghost in the Golden Wheel Palace.

When talking about the formless ghost, even the previous master of the Golden Wheel Palace looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy. It can be imagined how ferocious this ghost is.

The witch sighed and said, "During the Resurrection Festival, the souls that were sealed in the witches' bodies will regain their freedom. They can either seize this hard-earned opportunity to fulfill their last wishes, or feel the fresh air of the outside world. Only the formless ghosts will wantonly kill and devour other demons and ghosts, and are completely out of the witches' control."

Ye Jie seemed to have heard something, and a chill rose in his heart. He could not help but ask, "Since the Formless Ghost is so threatening, why did the Master of the Witch God Temple want to refine all these Heart-Eroding Souls? Does he have the confidence to suppress the Formless Ghost in his body?"

This time, the witch fell into silence for a long time before she answered:
"Because the master of the Wushen Temple suffered the backlash of his skills many years ago, and his soul was devoured by the Wuxiang Ghost. Now, the one sitting in the deepest part of the Wuwang Shrine is none other than the Wuxiang Ghost King who has devoured countless souls. These specially selected souls either have unique innate magical powers or have learned extremely rare skills. They are all prepared for the Wuxiang Ghost King. Only by devouring them can the Wuxiang Ghost King return to peace and avoid greater disasters."

The witch sighed and said, "I still remember one year, because the offerings of Heart-Eroding Souls were not enough, the Formless Ghost King flew into a rage and devoured half of the witches in the Sorcerer God Temple. The temple was flooded with blood... Do you understand? These Heart-Eroding Souls in front of you all chose to sacrifice themselves to maintain the peace of the Sorcerer God Temple."

Ye Jie was stunned. He didn't expect that the master of the Wushen Temple had such a secret. After swallowing a large number of souls and gathering countless skills and innate magical powers, the strength of the master of the Wushen Temple might be even more terrifying than he imagined!
(End of this chapter)