Hell Emperor.

Chapter 562 Ye Jie - Intelligence
"what?"

Upon hearing the price, Li Feie immediately objected.

Just kidding, she thought the old man invited them to burn incense in front of the statue of the Netherworld Emperor to show respect to the once world-renowned Nine Revolutions Emperor. She never expected that it was all for their spirit stones.

As Li Feie became enraged, blazing arcs of electricity erupted, crackling in the air. Her power as a sixth-level cultivator allowed her to raze an area of ​​ten miles to the ground with a mere flick of her wrist.

The old man was also frightened. As a second-stage cultivator, he was no better than an ant in front of a sixth-stage immortal. He quickly waved his hands.

"No need, no need. Consider these exquisite incense sticks a gift from me. I only wanted to exchange them for some materials for their cultivation because of their superior quality. They were made by the cultivators on the island who worked day and night to obtain whale musk and agarwood, and then combined them with precious materials such as patchouli and sandalwood. However, since the immortal does not wish to give them away, it must be because these incense sticks do not meet the immortal's standards. Of course, I dare not force them..."

Li Feie became even angrier upon hearing this: "What do you mean I don't want to give it? Do you think I can't afford a few mid-grade spirit stones? Do you think I need to renege on my debt to you? It's clearly..."

"Alright, it's just some incense, why make a fuss about it?"

Ye Jie raised his eyes indifferently, took out a high-grade spirit stone from the Crossing Yin Banner, and threw it to the old man. The old man immediately smiled from ear to ear and bowed to everyone repeatedly.

Shen Qingge subtly took two steps back, standing far away from Li Feie.

Even though they've already reached the sixth level of cultivation, they still get into a huge fight over some mid-grade spirit stones, arguing endlessly. They don't have the clear-headed and unmoved temperament of the founder of the Xuan Nu Sect at all. If word got out, Shen Qingge would be embarrassed to admit that she is her master.

Li Fei'e pouted, staring at Ye Jie with some dissatisfaction. Without saying a word, she pulled him aside to a secluded spot, put one hand on her hip, and pointed at him with the other, saying, "Why are you going against me?"

Ye Jie rubbed his forehead: "When did I ever oppose you?"

Li Fei'e stamped her foot: "I said I wouldn't give it to you, but you insist on giving it to me. Isn't this just going against me?"

As she spoke, Li Feie opened her mouth, revealing sharp canine teeth, looking as if she was about to bite:
"Do you think I'm really blind? I've cultivated diligently in Mirror Moon Cave for many years. Although it's not as many as the five thousand years recorded in the archives, it's still a solid thirty years. Do you think I can't tell which incense is good and which is bad? And this whale musk agarwood? The incense that person gave us was clearly the most ordinary and cheapest coreless incense. A single low-grade spirit stone could buy a whole room of it, but he charged a mid-grade spirit stone for each stick. He was obviously ripping us off, and you, on the other hand, gave him a high-grade spirit stone. Isn't that just going against me?"

Li Feie spoke rapidly, her sharp voice ringing in Ye Jie's ears like a machine gun. In the end, she even put her hands on her hips and stared at Ye Jie, as if she wouldn't let him off the hook until he explained himself clearly.

Ye Jie was quite helpless, and couldn't help but sigh that Li Feie truly lived up to his reputation as a thunder cultivator, even his words carried the roar of thunder:
"Have you forgotten why we came here? The high-grade spirit stones I gave him were not just incense money, but also intelligence fees for gathering information. If we don't offer him something attractive, how can he tell us the truth? If we can really get valuable information, what are a few high-grade spirit stones compared to the Underworld Emperor's Ghost Seal?"

Li Fei'e was stunned. She hadn't thought that much about it. Although the years of arduous cultivation in Mirror Moon Cave had allowed her to advance her cultivation level by leaps and bounds, she hadn't made much progress in other areas. She almost really thought Ye Jie had been deceived:
"But even so, what if he doesn't know anything? Then wouldn't all the high-grade spirit stones you took out be wasted?"

Ye Jie glanced at her: "That's how things are in this world. You may not get anything even if you put in the effort, but you definitely won't get anything if you don't put in the effort. Even if that person doesn't know anything, being able to befriend them can help you gather intelligence later."

Li Fei'e pouted, then suddenly realized that she was clearly angry with Ye Jie, so how had she almost been persuaded by his reasoning? She turned her head away.
"Even so, one high-grade spirit stone is still too much. Just give a few mid-grade spirit stones as a token. Or did you pick up the extravagant habits after becoming the God of Wealth? If you continue like this, no matter how many spirit stones you have, you'll squander them all sooner or later!"

Ye Jie smiled helplessly: "In that case, I will entrust all the financial affairs of the Ziwei Palace to you from now on, and let you manage the expenditure of Yin virtue within the palace. Is that alright?"

Hearing Ye Jie's promise, Li Feie's expression improved slightly, and she scoffed, "Who wants to look at those boring financial documents? Besides, trying to lure the successor of the Mystic Maiden to work for you for free isn't that easy..."

At this moment, Ye Jie also sensed several gazes coming from afar. Looking up, he saw several curious faces peeking out from the grass at the edge of his vision. They were ordinary children living there.

The adults on the island, having seen more of the world, understood that the beings who had just arrived were extraordinary immortals, and dared not approach them. But the children did not have so many concerns, and they looked at the strange immortals who had descended from the sky.

Ye Jie shifted his gaze and glanced at Shen Qingge, only to see her turn her face away as well, which puzzled him.

In the distance, the image of the Underworld Emperor also came into Ye Jie's view:

"Unexpectedly, there is a statue of the Underworld Emperor here. I have been a ghost messenger for many years, and the gods and immortals in the sky cannot protect me. Being able to burn incense and worship the Underworld Emperor is not a wasted trip. I just hope to get a good omen so that we can successfully obtain the Underworld Emperor's Ghost Seal."

In any case, the goal of this trip is the Ghost Seal belonging to the Underworld Emperor. Now that we have seen the image of the Underworld Emperor, it is not wrong to burn incense and pay homage.

Li Fei'e pouted, still brooding over what had just happened:

"The ancestral hall is overgrown with weeds and the walls are covered in moss, looking like it's been neglected for years. It's likely that no one ever comes to clean it. Even the statues are eroded by the wind; if you didn't know better, you'd think they'd just rolled around in a fire pit. How could you see the majesty of the Underworld Emperor? Now they know to bring us here, claiming it's to worship the Underworld Emperor, but the money we offer still ends up in their hands. Even a single stick of incense costs a mid-grade spirit stone. In my opinion, the people here are just using the name of the Underworld Emperor to swindle and cheat, taking the opportunity to line their own pockets!"

Ye Jie smiled and said, "You can't say that. If it weren't for these people, this statue and this ancestral hall would probably not exist anymore. Although they are suspected of embezzling funds, they still managed to preserve this statue."

After much persuasion, Ye Jie finally managed to calm Li Feie down and returned to the old man's side. The old man then asked earnestly:
“You immortals have come from afar, surely to pay homage to the Emperor of the Underworld. I see that you have not brought any offerings with you, so let’s use the ones on the island. I will have them slaughter cattle and sheep for you to offer to the Emperor of the Underworld.”

Li Feie said with a forced smile, "The cattle and sheep you killed, could they also be some kind of celestial spirit beasts?"

The old man coughed lightly: "Immortal, you flatter me. The cattle and sheep on the island, though not rare or exotic animals, are still quite extraordinary. Those chosen to be offered to the Underworld Emperor are all exceptional sacrifices. Sheep kneel to suckle their mothers, and cattle lick their calves; these are sacrifices that the Underworld Emperor greatly favors. As long as they are offered to him, you are guaranteed future promotions, wealth, and continuous good fortune..."

Li Feie sneered, "What kind of promotion? A promotion to an official position in the underworld? Do you think the Emperor of the Underworld is so powerful? Can he protect everything?"

The old man looked slightly embarrassed, but still said, "Well... since we're already here, you might as well give it a try..." Ye Jie then spoke up, "Actually, besides paying homage to the Underworld Emperor, we have another important matter to attend to here."

The old man asked, "I wonder what brings you here, Immortals? I see that you are all in a peaceful state of mind, without any of the arrogance of those evil cultivators. You should not be here seeking revenge."

Ye Jie looked into the distance: "I've heard that there's an island called Solid Rock Island not far away. The island is full of strange rocks that are incredibly hard. But we've come here and haven't found any trace of Solid Rock Island. Could it be that there's some kind of illusion array in the sea around here?"

"Illusion array?"

The old man paused, pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head, saying, "To my shame, I have lived here for over a hundred years and have never heard of any illusion array. After all, the Northern Underworld is the place where the Underworld Emperor attained enlightenment. In the past, many immortals came here, hoping to find the inheritance left by the Underworld Emperor, but in the end, they all returned disappointed. Over time, apart from some ghost cultivators, no one came anymore. As for the Solid Rock Island that the immortal mentioned, I have never even seen it."

"Yeah……"

Ye Jie nodded. It seemed that the old man didn't know much. If he wanted to find out information about Jianyan Island, he would have to ask others.

"Please kill a sheep and offer it to the Emperor of the Underworld on my behalf."

After leaving behind a high-grade spirit stone, Ye Jie gave some instructions to the old man, and then left with the others.

On the way, Li Feie rolled her eyes at Ye Jie and said, "I already told you, that person definitely doesn't know anything."

As she spoke, she looked at Yunxiu beside her and instructed her, "You must never follow his example in the future, and you must cherish your spirit stones!"

Yunxiu nodded vigorously; having witnessed Ye Jie's example, she was deeply impressed.

Ye Jie looked slightly helpless and was about to speak when a voice suddenly came from behind, stopping him:

"Wait a minute... Immortal, I suddenly remembered that the island you're looking for, I think I've heard someone mention it before."

Turning around, I saw the old man in the gray robe rushing over.

"No way?" Li Feie opened her mouth, this was really unexpected, and immediately said, "Have you really heard of that island? Don't talk nonsense, if you make us waste time, we will definitely not forgive you."

Li Feie looked suspicious, feeling that the old man was lying to them. He must have coveted the spirit stones Ye Jie had offered, and that's why he was using false information to deceive everyone. By the time everyone realized what was happening, he would probably have already fled far away.

Ye Jie's expression remained calm as he asked, "You said someone mentioned that island? Could it be that someone bypassed the illusion array and personally landed on that island?"

"This……"

The old man didn't know what to say. He glanced at Ye Jie, then at the furious Li Feie beside Ye Jie, and could only say, "Please come with me, Immortal. I will personally lead you to find the person who said these words."

Ye Jie nodded. He had finally obtained clues about Jianyan Island from the old man, so he naturally couldn't let them slip away so easily.

Seeing everyone set off, Li Feie, though disbelieving, could only follow behind, wanting to see who the old man was taking them to see—maybe his swindler accomplice.

Even after seeing the person in person, Li Feie was still dumbfounded. The person the old man had mentioned was clearly just a boy even younger than Yunxiu, who was looking at everyone with a helpless expression.

"Xiaofeng, didn't you keep saying that you saw an island? Tell these immortals everything you know."

The old man stopped the boy and told him to stand properly in front of Ye Jie. Upon hearing that Ye Jie and the others were unfathomable immortals, the boy immediately straightened his back and showed great respect.

Ye Jie spoke slowly: "No need to be reserved. We are here to ask you some questions. Judging from your appearance, there is a small amount of spiritual energy gathered in your body, accompanied by some hidden injuries. You must have tried breathing exercises, but did not get the right method. If you answer truthfully, I will give you a book to help you embark on the path of cultivation."

After receiving Ye Jie's promise, the boy's eyes lit up, and the joy on his face was genuine. However, when he thought about what he had to say, his joy vanished, and he said hesitantly:

"I will tell you everything the immortals want to know. However, after hearing what I said, my companions all laughed at me mercilessly, and even the adults did not believe what I said."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jie raised his eyebrows and looked up at the old man in the distance. Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to explain:
"Xiaofeng was the son of a fisherman. He often went out to sea to fish with his father. Once, a mythical beast swept across the island, stirring up a storm of thunder and lightning. Xiaofeng and his father were unable to return in time and unfortunately perished. Many days later, people found the surviving Xiaofeng on driftwood that had drifted back. His father was not so lucky."

After a pause, the old man continued, "After waking up, Xiao Feng kept shouting that he saw a pale white island not far from here. But I have lived here for hundreds of years. Do you think I don't know which islands are around here? He must have had a hallucination when he was on the verge of death... That's what we all thought at the time."

As he spoke, the old man frowned and looked at Ye Jie beside him: "It's been a long time since then, and I've long forgotten about it. If it weren't for the Immortal's words, which made me quite concerned, I probably wouldn't have remembered this matter. Since the Immortal mentioned that there might be an immortal island nearby that is hidden by an illusion array, I guess it might be the one Xiao Feng mentioned. However, this is only a guess after all. If the investigation ultimately disappoints the Immortal, I hope the Immortal will not be angry."

"A pale island?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Jie did not react, but Shen Qingge's pupils immediately contracted. According to the records left by Fairy Beichen, the Jianyan Island that everyone was looking for did indeed appear pale white from the outside.

(End of this chapter)