Hell Emperor.

Chapter 477 Ye Jie - Moon Shooting Crossbow

Under Tian Ming's leadership, Ye Jie once again came to the forbidden area in the back mountain of Tianji Sect.

The forbidden area, which had always been solemn, was now filled with noise, with the disciples shouting and busying themselves.

"Did you see it?"

"It ran away again... How could a mere machine man be so agile?"

"If we don't catch it, we will be the ones to suffer when the elders punish us!"

Tian Ming was slightly startled when he heard the disciples' discussion. He then asked, "What happened here?"

When Tian Ming asked this, all the disciples stood up quickly and answered respectfully:

"Master, after being captured, the Third Elder refused to admit his fault. We followed the orders of the Great Elder to bring the mechanical man from the forbidden area over. However, we never expected that the mechanical man was so agile that he actually escaped from our encirclement."

Hearing this, Ye Jie also felt a little curious and asked, "Where did it go?"

"Right over there, it spread the thunderbolts stored in the forbidden area on the escape path, making the disciples who went to capture it miserable. Many disciples were not careful and were injured by the thunderbolts..."

Under the guidance of his disciples, Ye Jie also came to the outside of a dense forest. The land in front was full of big potholes, and there were disciples lying on the ground wailing nearby. The situation was quite serious.

Even Tian Ming was a little surprised: "How could it be like this... A mere mechanical man, without the control of the user, no matter how clever it is, it should be useless. After all, it is still a dead thing. But how could it be so smart that it would think of using the thunder stored in the forbidden area to escape pursuit?"

Recalling what he saw in the forbidden area last time, Ye Jie vaguely guessed the reason. Seeing that many disciples were having difficulty completing the task, he said, "Leave it to me."

Tian Ming reminded with concern: "Be careful, there is a no-fly formation around the forbidden area. Even immortals can't fly, and can only walk. The thunder mechanism is buried underground. If someone accidentally steps on it, it will cause an explosion. With the realm of Ziwei Palace Master, although he is not afraid of thunder, it is still ugly to be covered in dust."

Ye Jie waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, a mere mechanical thunder can't be hidden from my perception."

After saying that, Ye Jie walked quickly forward. Tian Ming spotted his landing position and followed carefully from behind. He did not trigger any thunder along the way and passed through safely. He soon found the third elder's mechanical man.

It was a unique mechanical man, with a lifelike face that had been carefully carved by a craftsman. Now it was covered with a little dust, and its wooden body was covered with some tattered clothes.

Sensing the approach of a strange aura, the mechanical man panicked and was about to flee, but Ye Jie had already seen the opportunity and used his evil spirit to pin it down. After approaching, a thoughtful look appeared on his face: "Sure enough, it's the same as what I sensed at that time..."

"Success!"

After capturing the mechanical man, Tian Ming was filled with joy. Seeing Ye Jie looking at the mechanical man with a thoughtful expression, he asked, "Palace Master Ziwei, did you notice anything from the mechanical man?"

Ye Jie nodded and explained the situation: "It is not an ordinary mechanical man. There is a lost soul in its body. The owner of the soul is the deceased wife of the Third Elder."

"What?" Tian Ming was slightly surprised. "How could this happen... Did you feel it wrong?"

Ye Jie shook his head: "How could the Lord of Yama Palace be so wrong about the wandering soul? He really doesn't trust me."

Tian Ming knew that he had said something wrong, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not doubting the Palace Master's perception, but this matter is too shocking for me to accept for the time being... The Third Elder actually placed a person's soul in a mechanical beast, which is something that even the Immortal Master Tianji couldn't do."

Ye Jie took a deep look at the mechanical man in front of him, took out the eight-sided stitching page, and his expression changed slightly:

"I can't see any good deeds on her body. In other words, according to the Book of Life and Death, her current state is alive... However, rather than being reborn in another body, her current state is more like that of a spirit. Although she is alive, it is only a limited life. On the contrary, because of the material of dead objects and the lack of sacrifice, she has gradually lost her self and is in great pain."

After a pause, Ye Jie asked again: "Regarding the third elder, what punishment decision have you made?"

Tian Ming answered truthfully: "As an inner sect elder, he betrayed Tianji Sect. According to the sect rules, he should be executed, and even his soul must not escape. However, considering that there are reasons for his actions, as long as he is willing to admit his mistakes to the ancestor, his cultivation will only be abolished and he will be expelled from the sect."

Tian Ming couldn't help but sighed as he spoke: "However, according to the Third Elder's personality, it is almost impossible to make him admit his mistakes. Even if he is executed, he will not think that he is wrong. Otherwise, the disciples would not have come to capture this mechanical man."

Ye Jie scratched his head, somewhat puzzled:

"Since he missed his wife, couldn't he just let her be a ghost and stay by his side? Why did he have to go through the trouble of putting her soul inside a mechanical man to suffer? Could it be that he likes mechanical men that much?"

Tian Ming smiled bitterly, "You don't know, Master Ziwei... Where Tianji Gate is located, all ghosts are under the jurisdiction of the Nether Spirit Hall. Once ordinary wandering souls appear, they will be taken away by ghost messengers in a short time and cannot stay in the human world for a long time. Only ghost immortals can travel freely between the two worlds. Speaking of which, this encounter with Master Ziwei is also the first time I have seen so many ghosts."

"I see……"

Ye Jie understood that the Yama Palace in each region had completely different approaches on how to govern ghosts and balance yin and yang. Even within the Yama Palaces, there was no way for them to interfere with each other.

The way the Underworld Palace governs ghosts is to separate humans and ghosts. Those in the human world belong to the human world, and those in the underworld belong to the underworld. As the saying goes, when a person dies, it is like a light goes out. Ordinary ghosts are not allowed to linger or interfere in the human world.

Perhaps it was for this reason that the Third Elder forcibly refined his wife's soul into the mechanical man in order to avoid being tracked down by the ghosts of the Netherworld Palace, but by doing so, he also brought irreversible damage to the dead soul.

Tian Ming sighed, "With the Third Elder's attainments in the art of mechanisms, if this hadn't happened, he would have definitely reached the level of a mechanism saint. It's a pity that he has failed now."

Ye Jie didn't think so: "I think that it is precisely because of this incident that he has the opportunity to improve his attainments to the level of a mechanical saint."

Tian Ming was puzzled and asked, "He is about to be abolished and expelled from the sect. What do you mean?"

Ye Jie glanced at the mechanical man: "Look carefully at the traces of improvement on the mechanical man. Its material has been changed many times, which was done by the Third Elder. The reason why he tirelessly studied and improved the mechanical man, and even made that mechanical hand, was because his wife's soul was placed in it. If he didn't have those experiences, would he still work hard and study the mechanical man carefully?" Tian Ming was silent, and there was a look of enlightenment in his eyes. He felt that the conversation with Ye Jie benefited him a lot, and the respect in his eyes was even stronger:

"No matter what, I hope the Third Elder can survive. Even if he is expelled from the sect, it is always good to keep his life. Master Ziwei, you are very powerful and your words must carry weight. Can you go and persuade him?"

Ye Jie frowned: "I think it is in line with his wishes to let him die for what he stands for. However, since you said so, let's go and take a look."

Under the guidance of his disciples, Ye Jie soon saw the third elder who was bound and kneeling on the ground with his cultivation sealed in front of the statue of Tianji Immortal Venerable.

When the Third Elder saw the mechanical man brought by Ye Jie, his eyes were bloodshot. Even the iron chains could not restrain him. If he had not been held down by his disciples, he would have exploded on the spot.

Tian Ming advised: "Third Elder, if you admit your mistake now, you can still save your life. Although you will lose your cultivation, with your woodworking skills, you will have no worries about food and clothing in the future..."

"How ridiculous! If you want to kill me, just kill me. Why humiliate me?" The third elder snorted, the anger in his eyes undisguised.

Tian Ming sighed. Seeing that persuasion was useless, he had no choice but to look at Ye Jie beside him. Then he heard Ye Jie ask, "Are you afraid of death?"

How could the Third Elder have a good face when facing the enemy who defeated him: "Of course I'm not afraid, kill me if you have the guts!"

Ye Jie said: "You are lying."

The third elder shouted angrily, "You're lying? If you don't believe me, come and try it. I will definitely not frown."

Ye Jie asked again: "Since you are not afraid of death, after your wife died, why didn't you commit suicide with her, but instead hurt her soul and integrated her into the body of the mechanical man?"

The Third Elder was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized, "That's because... I still have to avenge her, how can I die right then and there?"

"What happens after you take revenge? Don't tell me that you haven't taken revenge after all these years."

Under Ye Jie's repeated questioning, the Third Elder was speechless, with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. For some reason, he felt a chill from Ye Jie's eyes, as if even his soul was completely seen through.

"You dare not commit suicide with her, and you don't want to let her soul go to reincarnation. If you keep her here, you will hurt her and yourself. As for your so-called betrayal of the sect and revenge against the sect rules, it is just an escape out of guilt. The relationship between you and her is not a good one, but a bad one. If that's the case..."

Ye Jie thought about it, then called his disciples and gave them a few instructions. The disciples quickly did as he was told and respectfully left.

The third elder saw that the situation was not good and shouted anxiously: "You! What are you going to do?"

Ye Jie did not answer. No matter how the Third Elder scolded him, his heart remained unmoved.

Forgetting is the best way to resolve a bad relationship. In the past, Ye Jie might have asked the maids in the wine country for help and asked them to bring Aunt Meng's soup to make him forget everything. However, this has too many side effects. Not only will he forget the bad relationship, he will also forget who he is. But now, Ye Jie has found a better way.

Soon, under the guidance of the disciples, a figure dressed in red with his face covered with cloth was also brought here.

"Take away his love...this love will only hurt him in the end." Ye Jie pleaded with the red veil.

The woman in red veil did as she was told, and stretched out her slender white thumb and index finger from under her red dress, and pinched the Third Elder's brow, then pulled it back, and a thread of love that was wrapped in sand and dust, turbid and dim, was completely pulled out.

The emotional ties were torn apart, and intense pain swept through the depths of the Third Elder's mind, causing him to retch violently. It felt as if a sharp knife was stirring violently in his forehead, and the memories of the past were intertwined and overlapped, completely turning into a mess.

When the pain subsided, the Third Elder's expression gradually calmed down, but there was a bit of dullness in his eyes. He tried hard to recall, but felt that he seemed to have forgotten something important, but he couldn't remember it:
"I...what have I done? Why did I betray the sect? Tianji Immortal Venerable, please forgive me this time..."

"It seems he won't insist anymore...Thank you so much for this time."

Ye Jie nodded towards Hong Gaitou. Only a thousand-year-old evil spirit like Hong Gaitou had the unique ability to refine emotions. Even he didn't have it.

The red veil put the love thread into her sleeves, patted Ye Jie's shoulder, and left leisurely.

After dealing with the matters of the Third Elder, the sky gradually darkened. Under the guidance of Tian Ming, Ye Jie finally saw the abandoned Moon-Shooting Crossbow in the forbidden area.

"Is this the Moon-shooting Crossbow? Why is there only the crossbow body left?"

Ye Jie was somewhat helpless, as what appeared before his eyes was just a crossbow with most of it collapsed. From its shabby appearance alone, it was hard to tell that the thing before his eyes was actually the legendary second-grade artifact that could shoot down the moon.

Tian Ming was a little embarrassed. "The materials used in the Moon-Shooting Crossbow are all rare and precious. Even the crossbow arrows are made of Beiming Black Iron, which is not available to ordinary people. The Moon-Shooting Crossbow was completely damaged hundreds of years ago. Over the years, the ancestors of the sect did not dare to repair it. Those precious materials were idle in the forbidden area, so they were taken back to the furnace to be remade and used to build other mechanisms. Only this wooden crossbow body is preserved."

Ye Jie stroked his forehead. From what he heard, repairing the Moon Shooting Crossbow might not be that easy. "What materials do I need to repair it?"

Tian Ming pondered and said, "To repair the Moon-shooting Crossbow, three parts need to be met. The first is the crossbow body. It is best to use top-grade sacred wood such as laurel, but laurel is located on the moon, which is more precious than ordinary moon iron and is definitely not available to ordinary people. The second is the crossbow string. It is best to use the tail tendon of the Candle Dragon, but the Candle Dragon is an ancient sacred dragon. At least no one has heard of them in the past hundred years. The third is the crossbow arrow. In addition to using the North Sea Black Iron, it also needs to be tempered with the blood of the Nine-turn Immortal..."

At the end, even Tian Ming himself lost his confidence: "It's just that, among the nine immortals in the world, which one is not famous throughout the world? How could they possibly borrow blood to come out? Besides, the recasting of the Moon Shooting Crossbow is bound to face many obstacles from the Moon Palace. I'm afraid it's not that simple..."

Ye Jie took a deep breath. Even when he heard about the materials needed to repair the Moon-Shooting Crossbow, he couldn't help feeling a headache. He could only sigh that it was worthy of being a second-grade artifact. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. With so many precious materials used, it would be strange if the Moon-Shooting Crossbow was not powerful.

However, no matter how precious these materials are, Ye Jie has to find a way to collect them.

He raised his head and looked at the bright moon that illuminated the night sky. He wondered if his disciple Xia Wei was safe and sound.
(End of this chapter)