Hell Emperor.

Chapter 456: Southern Spirit Crane - Barrier
In the desolate mountains, a group of people are walking slowly.

The man in the lead looked very strange. He could not see, and half of his head turned into smoke and disappeared. There was a dent in the middle, leaving only his mouth and ears intact. Behind him was a worried young girl.

The girl's feet were missing, so she had to hold on to the man in front of her tightly with her hands, leaning her entire body weight on him, constantly looking around to show him the way.

"Be careful, there is a rock ahead, don't trip over it... It's a slope, let's go around it from the left..."

Nan Linghe's tone was filled with uneasiness and uneasiness. Under the suppression of the Dharma Ending Array, everyone had lost their power. If they did not quickly flee from this place, the ghosts would eventually cease to exist.

Under her guidance, Ye Jie moved forward cautiously and finally managed to stabilize his balance.

At the beginning, Ye Jie was not used to it. He had no vision and no spiritual power to use. In addition, he was carrying Nan Linghe on his back. He almost fell to the ground several times. He was supported by other companions and avoided falling.

Hua Xiaomei's arms disappeared, and she murmured, "The Dharma Ending Formation is so cruel. Will it really not give ghosts any chance to survive?"

Li Fei'e looked reluctant and sighed, "Now even Ziwei Palace has fallen from the sky. If this hadn't happened, we might have already arrived in Northern Julu Continent."

Ren Changhong's breath weakened, and his entire body became transparent and thin, as if a gust of wind would blow it away:
"Speaking of which, thanks to Ajie turning Ziwei Palace into a land boat, we were able to get close to the edge of the continent. Otherwise, if we continued to stay in the center of the continent, under the suppression of the equality formation, I'm afraid not a single ghost in the palace would be able to escape. Before leaving the continent, their souls would be scattered, and the entire Ziwei Palace would cease to exist..."

Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes to Ye Jie. In a sense, thanks to Ye Jie's actions, they were able to escape disaster.

In response to this, Ye Jie just sighed. Now he understood why the Fairy Wanshou left early. It turned out that she had known that this place was not a good place and would encounter disaster sooner or later:
"Everyone, this matter was caused by Xia Wei and I acting on impulse. Not only have we failed to preserve the grand occasion of the ascension of all living beings, but we have also implicated this continent, causing the lives here to lose their chance of becoming immortals. From now on, no one will be able to cultivate, and even ghosts will no longer exist. In the final analysis, this is all my fault..."

Ye Jie's words were filled with unspeakable impatience and worry. The power of the Dharma Ending Array was so terrifying that he couldn't imagine what tragic consequences the living beings on this continent would have to bear.

Shen Qingge's eyes softened, and he spoke slowly: "This is not your fault. Helping Xia Wei and leading all living beings to ascend is a decision we all made together. How can you take all this responsibility on yourself? If there is any fault, it is all our fault."

Hua Xiaomei also nodded vigorously: "You are right, this is clearly the fault of the Lord of Pingdeng Palace and that thief God! We have all survived the world-destroying thunder tribulation, but they are still unwilling to let all living beings go. What is our fault?"

Xie Xinyu coughed dryly, feeling that it was not good to slander the heavens like this: "Things have already come to this. No matter how reluctant we are, we can only choose to accept it. The most important thing at the moment is to quickly get out of the range of the Dharma Ending Array. When we are ready in the future, it will not be too late to go and find the Lord of the Equal Hall to argue."

As he was talking, Guazi ran over from behind with a sad face, holding something in his hand, and begged repeatedly: "Hurry up and take a look, what happened to Meng Junyao? Find a way to help her..."

"hiss……"

"How did she become like this? This is impossible..."

Hearing the screams of the crowd, Ye Jie was filled with anxiety. However, because half of his head was missing, he couldn't see the things in front of him clearly. He could only ask: "What happened?"

Soon, he heard Nan Linghe's confused whisper:

"It was Sister Guazi. She brought a white snake over and actually said it was Sister Junyao. Did she make a mistake..."

Hearing this, Ye Jie also understood the problem and immediately took a breath:
"No... She is not wrong. Under the suppression of the Dharma Ending Formation, the monsters will lose their intelligence and gradually degenerate. For a dragon, once it loses the power in its blood and its own spiritual power, it will degenerate like a snake. The white snake in your eyes is probably Yao'er..."

Although Ye Jie couldn't see, he understood that the situation was not optimistic. Even the dragon that soared in the sky had now degenerated into a snake crawling on the ground.

The only answer Ye Jie got was the constant hissing sound.

Like the tiger before, the degenerated Meng Junyao did not remember anything that happened in the past, let alone her former companions. She instead followed the instincts of a wild beast, and her weak and boneless pale snake body struggled constantly. If the maids had not held her down, once she found the right opportunity, she would have bitten the people around her fiercely and then quickly slipped away.

Looking at the white snake that had lost its mind, Nan Linghe whimpered, "How could this happen... Can sister Jun Yao recover?"

"As long as we leave here, she will definitely recover."

After comforting the worried maids and asking them to look after Meng Junyao, the group continued on their journey, but this time, everyone quickened their pace at the same time.

As they were walking, everyone exclaimed, as if something unusual had happened ahead.

"What happened this time? Is there another beast blocking the road?"

Ye Jie took a deep breath, but he couldn't see clearly what was in front of him, so he had to ask.

"There's fog ahead. The fog is so thick that we can hardly see what's inside. I'm afraid it's pitch dark. If we rush in, the team will probably get separated."

Su Miao's reminder sounded beside Ye Jie's ears. The sudden rise of fog was like a difficult problem, blocking everyone's way.

Ye Jie pondered for a while, it seemed that things were indeed difficult to handle.

The suppression of the End of Law Array is not without any benefits. At least it allows Ye Jie to conclude that the fog ahead is naturally formed and not man-made.

"Find a few long hemp ropes and tie them together. Let the people behind hold on to the ropes and move forward. If a ghost loses both arms, tie the ropes around its body. This way, it won't get lost."

Ye Jie thought about it and came up with a solution. He gave the order and the others followed suit.

Yao Yin stared at the thick fog ahead and suddenly asked, "Which one do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?"

"Let's talk about the good news first. Now something unexpected has happened and the team's morale is low. If we hear bad news again, I'm afraid no one will be able to accept it." Ye Jie didn't know what she was trying to say, so he spoke. "The good news is that after passing through the fog ahead, we will be out of the territory of Dongsheng Shenzhou and no longer be suppressed by the Dharma Ending Array. Maybe our strength will return to normal."

Yao Yin's words immediately made everyone look delighted.

The array of the end of the law has tortured everyone severely, and both humans and ghosts are full of complaints. Now that they know the way to escape is just ahead, how can they not be happy?
As long as they can leave the Array of the End of the Dharma, all living beings can return to their original state, and their cultivation can be used without having to worry about the threat of their souls being torn apart or their spiritual intelligence being degraded.

Unlike the others who were so excited, Ye Jie seemed to have noticed something and asked, "What about the bad news?"

Yao Yin spoke slowly, "The bad news is that the fog ahead is not that easy to get through. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the barrier protecting the Dongsheng Continent, which has the effect of preventing living beings from passing through. Once you enter, you are likely to be completely lost. If our cultivation is still there, the barrier will naturally not stop us. But now, it is not so easy to cross the barrier with a mortal body."

"What……"

Ye Jie took a deep breath, and many rumors about the boundary barrier flashed through his mind.

For practitioners who have achieved a certain level of cultivation, crossing the boundary barrier is not difficult. Shen Qingge and Li Fei'e had both crossed the boundary barrier before and came to Jambudvīpa where Li Tang was. However, for mortals, crossing the boundary barrier and going to another continent is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Unfortunately, everyone's cultivation was suppressed by the Dharma Ending Formation, and now they can only feel the plight of mortals.

Shaking his head, Ye Jie quickly made up his mind:
"No matter what is waiting for us in the barrier, that is the only way out. If we continue to stay here, all the ghosts will be scared away. There is no time to hesitate. Let me lead the way."

Hua Xiaomei was stunned: "You can't even see, how are you going to lead the way? Let sister Xinyu, who is good at geomancy, go ahead, and you go back to the center of the team where the most security is."

Ye Jie was unmoved and still insisted: "Although I can't see it, there are people who can see it."

"You mean..." Xie Xinyu blinked, her eyes also fell on the Nanlinghe carried by Ye Jie, guessing his plan, "Yes, in the thick fog, all roads are blurred. No matter how ordinary people go, even if they use geomancy to find the way, they will inevitably get lost in the end. It's better to leave it all to luck."

Everyone's eyes fell on Nan Linghe.

Feeling the hopeful eyes of the crowd, Nan Linghe seemed to have an invisible burden on her shoulders. The force almost completely crushed her frail body. Only when she leaned on Ye Jie's broad back did she feel a little better.

After some preparation, Ye Jie tied a hemp rope around his waist. The rope extended backwards and everyone grabbed it tightly. In the thick fog, this was the only hope to move forward.

"Have the people behind us grab the hemp rope as well. No matter what happens, don't let go. If they get lost in the barrier, no one will come to rescue them."

After giving instructions to everyone, Ye Jie carried Nan Linghe on his back and walked into the thick fog.

Nan Linghe's pretty face turned pale and her teeth were chattering. In the thick fog, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She couldn't see the road ahead at all, let alone how to find the direction. No matter how long she wandered around here, she couldn't get out. This place was like a deep maze, enough to swallow up any mortal who strayed into it.

Whether it was Ye Jie or anyone else, they all placed their hopes on Nan Linghe, which made her very uneasy.

What if she pointed the wrong way and led everyone to a dead end? What if, because of her, no one could escape and everyone died here?
All kinds of pressure and worries filled Nan Linghe's heart, causing her to choke unconsciously. She was like a frightened little animal, and could only curl up her body, not daring to face the terrible predicament.

Ye Jie walked forward slowly with firm steps, and suddenly heard Nan Linghe's choked whisper:

"I...I'm so scared, Brother Jie, what should we do if we can't get out of here?"

"Don't be afraid, just follow your feelings. I believe in you, we all believe in you, you will definitely lead us out!"

Feeling the uneasiness in Nan Linghe's heart, Ye Jie tried to comfort her, but his words also invisibly made Nan Linghe's inner pressure even greater, almost crushing her spirit completely.

If Nan Linghe was alone, maybe she could just walk out of the barrier. However, now that things have come to this, she has to shoulder not only her own life, but also the lives of everyone.

She didn't even know if her innate magical powers would still work under the suppression of the Dharma Ending Formation. What if she also lost her power? What if she also became a mortal and lost her good luck? How could she lead everyone out of this place?

Once she began to doubt herself, her past luck gradually drifted away from her. Anyone who wastes luck will be punished by luck.

"Are you ok?"

Seeing that Nan Linghe remained silent for a long time, Ye Jie asked with concern.

Nan Linghe shrank his neck, leaned against Ye Jie's back, and said timidly:
"I can't do all this. I can't show you the way forward... How can someone like me do this? Only someone like Sister Xia Wei can stand up in times of crisis. Compared to Sister Xia Wei, I am really useless... Why not let Sister Xinyu show you the way? I heard that in the art of geomancy, there is a way to find the way without spiritual power..."

Although Ye Jie couldn't see her appearance, he could hear her hesitation and deliberation from her words. It was indeed too heavy a burden for the gentle Nan Linghe to shoulder the lives of everyone.

Ye Jie smiled, as if what he was facing was not some fatal disaster, but just an ordinary thing:
"You should believe in yourself. You can do what Xiaowei can do. The only thing you lack is her determination. We all believe in you. Even if you are wrong, no one will blame you. This is our common choice. Even if we fail in the end, we will die together."

Nan Linghe was still hesitating, and Ye Jie seemed to have thought of something and said nostalgically:

"Look at us now, a blind man and a lame man, just like when we first met. At that time, I was living in Guangwang Palace in a daze, unable to find the direction to move forward, just like a blind man. At that time, you had a first-class innate magical power, but didn't know how to use it, just like a lame man. This is how we cooperated with each other, trusted each other, and moved forward. This is how everything happened later, isn't it?"

Under Ye Jie's persuasion, Nan Linghe's eyes sparkled with tears and her pretty face was filled with emotion. She finally put aside her worries and mustered up the courage to point the way.

(End of this chapter)