Hell Emperor.

Chapter 563 Ye Jie - Fish Woman
Seeing Shen Qingge's reaction, Ye Jie made up his mind: the island the boy had seen that day must be the Solid Rock Island that everyone was looking for. He then spoke:
"Xiaofeng, tell us everything you saw that day."

The boy struggled to recall the horrific events of the past, his face contorted with pain: "A year ago, my father and I went out to sea to fish. The weather was clear, but suddenly a thunderstorm struck. In the deafening lightning, I saw that monster. In the blink of an eye, it capsized our fishing boat. As the world spun around me, I vaguely saw a strange, pale island. That might be the Solid Rock Island that the immortals were searching for..."

Shen Qingge seemed to have figured something out: "Monster? You mean some kind of demonic beast? What kind of demonic beast is it? Describe it for us."

Xiao Feng racked his brains and said, "That monster looked like a huge fish, its body covered in sharp scales. Just the part floating on the surface was like a mountain, and who knows how many more were hidden underwater. Its teeth were sharp, like rows of serrations, and its chin had countless long whiskers, like a dragon, but without horns. Its open mouth was like a bottomless abyss. Its eyes were blue, with lightning gathering in them, so even in the darkest of nights, it could spot its prey at a glance..."

After a pause, Xiaofeng continued, "It only moved slightly, yet it stirred up a monstrous wave. I have never seen such a terrifying monster before... I heard from others that it seems to be a divine beast, but how could a divine beast kill my father?"

After listening to Xiaofeng's description, everyone exchanged glances and fell into deep thought.

Ye Jie pondered, "So it was because of the divine beast that some kind of restriction was broken, allowing the Solid Rock Island to be revealed, to the point that even mortals can see it. But what exactly is that divine beast?"

Su Miao immediately became interested and asked, "By the way, did you see the monster's fins?"

The boy nodded: "Its fins are like two large, horizontal fans. With just a slight movement, they can stir up towering waves. That's how our ship sank."

"I see……"

"I never expected it to be such a mythical beast..."

Upon hearing this, not only Su Miao, but the others also realized something, only Ye Jie was still somewhat puzzled:

"Wait a minute, what kind of mythical beast is that? Do you guys recognize it?"

Li Feie nodded: "According to his description, the divine beast he encountered should be the Kun beast that appears in the Northern Sea. There are also relevant records of it in the sect's records."

Upon learning the name of the divine beast, Ye Jie had a new question: "I see, but why is the Kun beast connected with Jianyan Island?"

At this moment, the boy seemed to remember something and said, "I vaguely saw that the monster was constantly gathering lightning and bombarding the pale island. When it made its move, there were layers of dark clouds overhead, and it was pitch black all around. Perhaps that's why the others didn't notice the solid rock island."

"Lightning... So, the Kun Beast is also skilled in the way of thunder."

Ye Jie nodded, but then Li Feie corrected him:
"Like dragons, there are many kinds of Kun, such as the Great Kun, the Rotten Kun, and the Void Kun. The one the boy encountered was probably a Thunder Kun that is skilled at controlling lightning. I just don't know whether the Solid Rock Island appeared because of lightning or for some other reason. If lightning can break the restrictions outside the island, maybe I can give it a try!"

With five thousand years of cultivation, Li Feie believed that his mastery of lightning control was no less than Lei Kun's. Upon hearing that lightning could break the restrictions, he volunteered to try it.

After learning this information, Ye Jie, as promised, took out a high-grade Earth-rank cultivation technique, which was extremely valuable in the eyes of ordinary people, and handed it to the boy under his surprised gaze. He then said to everyone:
"Let's not delay, let's go and try it now."

The flying sword took off again, and soon everyone was back above the empty sea, right where Fairy Beichen had given them the location.

"Let me uncover the truth of this place!"

Li Fei'e was full of confidence. As he unleashed his immortal energy, the five elements of divine lightning intertwined, and in an instant, electric arcs surged wildly, and silver light filled the sky. Even the space itself could hardly withstand the power of a sixth-level immortal. When the divine lightning struck, the entire sea surface boiled, and giant waves spread outwards from the center, causing even the universe to tremble.

However, apart from the louder thunder and the larger waves, nothing else happened. There was no trace of an island, no sign of any restrictions. There was nothing here, exactly the same as before.

Now it was Li Feie's turn to be dumbfounded. She had already used her most powerful lightning-based spell, so why was there still no change? Could it be that the intelligence was completely wrong?

"What do you mean it's related to Thunder? In my opinion, that guy just lied to us. Let's go back and settle the score with him now!"

Seeing this, Ye Jie quickly pulled back the furious Li Feie and said helplessly:

"The boy didn't say it was necessarily related to thunder. He only said that Lei Kun arrived and Jianyan Island appeared at the same time, but the reason is still unknown. As for the fact that thunder can break the illusion array, that was clearly your own deduction, so you can't blame anyone else."

Li Fei'e pouted: "Then what should we do now? Even with my Thunder, I can't reveal the truth of this place. Does that mean we really have no choice but to send Lei Kun?"

Ye Jie also sighed. Li Feie's mastery of lightning was absolutely top-notch in the world. Even she couldn't do anything about it, so no one else could either.

"It seems we really have to bring Lei Kun. After all, it was Lei Kun who caused Jianyan Island to appear last time... However, Beiming is so vast. Trying to find a divine beast accurately in the boundless ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack. How exactly can we lure Lei Kun here?"

Thinking of this, Ye Jie couldn't help but feel troubled. This Lei Kun was a genuine divine beast, and its strength was no weaker than that of the snake demons in the Ten Thousand Snake Cave. Even if they knew that it might be related to Jianyan Island, they still couldn't find Lei Kun.

At this moment, Shen Qingge seemed to remember something, lowered her head, and her gaze fell on the Guiming Sword beside her:
“I remember that in the inheritance of Fairy Beichen, it was mentioned that the Guiming Sword is the key to the Abyss of the Underworld Emperor. If we use this sword as a guide, we might be able to attract the Thunder Kun... However, I don’t know exactly how to do it.”

Following her words, everyone's gaze fell upon the dark blue divine sword, but they couldn't discern anything about it.

With no other options, and since standing on the flying sword in the cold wind wasn't going to work, the group returned to the airspace above the small island they had just been on.

"Ok?"

As they passed through a certain place, Ye Jie suddenly sensed something and instinctively fixed his gaze on it. He then instructed Shen Qingge to lower the flying sword, and he quickly walked to a stall.

A number of men had already gathered around the stall, their eyes fixed on it, not because the fish on display were particularly fresh, but because the stall owner himself was very conspicuous.

The stall owner was a woman with a beautiful and charming appearance. It was quite rare to find such a beautiful woman on this quiet island far from the world.

"How much are these fish? I'll buy them all if you sell them to me!" "Exactly! If you're not going to sell them, what are you doing setting up a stall here?"

"You haven't changed these fish in months. How long are you planning to keep them? They're not going to die, are they?"

The crowd continued to jeer, but the woman rolled her eyes at them and simply asked, "Why are you buying these fish?"

"Of course I'll buy it to make soup."

"It tastes best when grilled!"

The women gave varying answers, to which the woman simply shook her head and sighed, showing no inclination to sell the fish.

Ye Jie also walked over. As the immortal energy spread, the mortals gathered nearby realized that this person was not to be trifled with, and they consciously made way for him, sighing inwardly.

From afar, Li Feie also witnessed this scene and was immediately enraged:
"What's he doing? I thought he had something important to do. Why did he suddenly go to buy fish? Didn't he tell me he didn't like eating fish? He also said that fish isn't something that fills you up. Why is he so interested now? Could it be that he saw that fishmonger was pretty and just wanted to join in the fun? When he gets back, I'll make him pay!"

As she spoke, Li Feie puffed out her cheeks. Although the fish woman was pretty, the otherworldly aura of Li Feie, her master, and Su Miao was far beyond what ordinary people could match. Compared to the fish woman, the difference in their abilities was obvious. It was unclear what was wrong with Ye Jie that made him want to chat with the fish woman.

Shen Qingge swept her cold gaze across the room, an invisible frost spreading around her: "Let's wait and see."

"Immortals? You've returned?"

Just then, a joyful voice came from behind the fish woman. Xiao Feng ran over, looking at Ye Jie with gratitude. He had only flipped through a few pages of the cultivation technique Ye Jie had given him, but he could already feel its preciousness.

Ye Jie nodded. He had just sensed Xiao Feng's presence and came down to check. "We have no choice but to return here since we have searched for Jianyan Island without success."

As Xiaofeng walked out, the fishwoman reached out her hand with concern, intending to pat Xiaofeng's head, but Xiaofeng shook his head violently and shook her hand away.

Seeing this, Ye Jie seemed to remember something, glanced at the fishwoman, and asked, "I still don't know who this is..."

Xiao Feng turned his head away, somewhat ashamed to mention it, but dared not lie to Ye Jie, and answered truthfully: "She is my mother... She went a little crazy after my father died, and my friends all laughed at me because of it..."

Ye Jie understood. Seeing that the fish woman was all alone and her legs ached from standing for so long, yet she still insisted on standing there, he advised her, "Your body is already very tired. Why don't you go home and rest?"

Before she could answer, Xiao Feng said, "Immortal, there's no need to persuade her. She's just that stubborn. She won't leave until all the fish in her basket are sold."

Ye Jie glanced at the fishmonger and saw that her lips were chapped, as if she hadn't had a sip of water in a long time. He then took out a high-grade spirit stone and said, "You're not willing to sell these fish because you think the money is too little? Take this back with you, I'll buy these fish."

The fishmonger did not accept the spirit stones, as if what Ye Jie had taken out was not some cultivation item that everyone cared about, but an inconspicuous stone by the roadside. Her answer also surprised Ye Jie: "Why did you buy these fish?"

Recalling what he had heard before, Ye Jie asked in return, "What do you want others to do?"

The fishmonger smiled and said, "These fish are not for eating. I hope that after someone buys them, they will release them all back into the wild."

"I...I don't understand." Ye Jie said, puzzled. "You want people to waste food?"

The fishmonger shook her head: "Heaven cherishes life. By sparing these fish, you are sparing your own life. You will be rewarded in the future!"

Ye Jie disagreed: "Doing this is a waste of food. Do you know how many people in this world starve to death? Wasting food will deduct from your karma. On the contrary, by eating those fish, you are helping them complete their mission in this life's cycle of reincarnation, which will increase their karma and allow them to be reborn into a good family in their next life."

The fishmonger retorted, "They're not food. They're living beings just like you. Besides, these fish don't belong to anyone else. My husband risked his life to catch them. If you don't want to buy them, then don't."

Having said that, the fishwoman ignored Ye Jie completely.

Xiao Feng's brows furrowed with resentment, whether from the humiliation the fish woman had inflicted on him or something else, he said: "Immortal, please don't mind her, and don't get angry because of her talkativeness. She's not very bright. She's been like this ever since my father died. Please forgive her."

"It's alright." Ye Jie waved his hand indifferently. He wasn't about to get angry over this. He turned his gaze back to Xiao Feng and admonished him, "Since she is your mother, you should speak up for her. Disobeying and being unfilial will bring bad karma."

Xiao Feng said indignantly, "But what if she's wrong? I don't know which sorcerer she listened to, saying that as long as I release a hundred fish, my good deed will move heaven and earth, and the Underworld Emperor will send my father back. But everyone knows that's impossible. My father is already dead! And she hasn't sold a single one! I hope to get out of my grief, forget everything that happened, and live a good life from now on, but she keeps reminding me of the tragedy of the past. I can't agree with that!"

After a pause, Xiaofeng, consumed by rage, kicked over the fish basket. Water splashed everywhere, and the fish thrashed and thrashed on the ground, their strength waning. He shouted angrily:
"Even an immortal is willing to offer a high-grade spirit stone to buy your worthless fish, and you still won't sell! Do you know how precious a high-grade spirit stone is? It can save me from taking so many detours on the path to immortality and save me so many years of hard work! You only care about your dead father, can't you care about me for once?"

As Xiaofeng rebuked her, the fishwoman lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes, and she let out heartbreaking sobs.

Ye Jie sighed, raised his hand, and activated the Dragon-Capturing Hand. It seemed as if an invisible arm appeared in the air, straightening the bamboo basket, grabbing several thrashing fish, and putting them into it. At the same time, he transformed spiritual energy into water, filling the fish basket.

"Regardless of right or wrong, regardless of legal principles or reason, you should stand on the side of your family. That is the most important thing."

Ye Jie spoke from the heart, explaining that he had worked tirelessly to improve his cultivation level all the way from Beiju Luzhou, all in the hope of one day reuniting with Xia Wei, whom he had lost.

“I bought all these fish, and I will release them back into the wild.”

With a sigh, Ye Jie left behind a high-grade spirit stone, picked up the fish basket, and left, leaving behind only the fish woman sitting there, weeping, and the boy beside her, his jaw clenched and his face full of stubbornness.

(End of this chapter)