Hell Emperor.

Chapter 566 Xuanwu
"Success!"

Seeing Ye Jie successfully cast his line, everyone looked on incredulously.

The divine beast Lei Kun, which roamed the Northern Sea and whose strength surpassed that of all immortals, was actually caught by him. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it!
Li Feie approached the bamboo basket, her curious gaze falling on the Lei Kun, which was about the size of a loach inside.

"Is this the Thunder Kun? It was clearly a thousand feet tall, like a moving mountain range, how did it become so small?"

As she spoke, she couldn't suppress her curiosity and reached out to grab Lei Kun. Lei Kun let out a deep, rumbling sound, and lightning surged around its body. Li Feie was caught off guard and was shocked by the electric shock. She cried out and let go of Lei Kun, which fell back into the bamboo basket with a thud.

"It actually dared to shock me! I'm not letting it get away with this!"

Coming to her senses, Li Feie, looking sullen, prepared to have a good match with Lei Kun to see whose thunder was stronger.

Shen Qingge said with a hint of helplessness, "Lei Kun is a divine beast after all. Even though it is trapped in the fish basket, we should not torment it. We should properly subdue and educate it."

Su Miao shared the same thought: "That's right! Speaking of which, the Netherworld Palace is in dire need of a guardian beast. I think the Thunder Kun is quite suitable, so let's choose it! If we can bring the Thunder Kun back to the Netherworld Palace, we will surely receive praise and recognition from the ancestor."

Li Feie dared not talk back to her master, so she could only vent her anger on her own. Suddenly, her sharp eyes fixed on something: "Hmm? Come and see! We didn't notice it just now, but it seems like there's a piece missing from Lei Kun's belly?"

Following Li Feie's pointing finger, everyone's gaze fell on the gap under Lei Kun's belly. The gap was quite ferocious, destroying the majesty of a divine beast. It looked as if something had bitten off half of its body. Previously, Lei Kun was huge and could not be seen at a glance, so no one had noticed it. Now, it had shrunk to the size of a loach, making it quite conspicuous.

Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to Lei Kun and they had forgotten the important matter, Ye Jie couldn't help but rub his forehead: "We can talk about Lei Kun later. The key right now is to find the whereabouts of the Underworld Emperor's Seal. When Lei Kun appeared, did you discover any trace of Solid Rock Island?"

Upon hearing this, everyone remembered the most important task at hand.

Li Fei'e stuck out her tongue. Lei Kun's arrival and Ye Jie's imposing manner completely attracted her attention, leaving her no time to observe her surroundings.

"I was watching you the whole time and didn't notice anything around me. You're not mad at me, are you?"

Su Miao looked away, glancing around: "Blame it on Lei Kun's overwhelming power... Is it too late to search for Jianyan Island now?"

Seeing that everyone had long forgotten about the important matter, Ye Jie was quite helpless. Fortunately, Shen Qingge's answer made his eyes light up:
"When Lei Kun appeared, I kept a close eye on the changes around me."

"So? Have you found Hard Rock Island yet?"

Ye Jie's face lit up with joy. Sure enough, Shen Qingge was the calmest person at this moment. He quickly asked her questions, but soon his smile froze.

“I did not find any islands. The surrounding space is exactly the same as when we came. The power of Lei Kun did not activate the illusion array hidden beneath the surface, or perhaps there is no illusion array here at all.”

Shen Qingge described what she had seen: "All illusion arrays have array marks and array eyes, but there is nothing here."

“Is that so… Could it be that we’re looking in the wrong direction? There’s no Solid Rock Island here at all. Fairy Beichen’s information is wrong, but Xiaofeng clearly mentioned that he saw a pale island here, and he doesn’t seem to be lying…”

Ye Jie frowned; things were not going as he had expected.

Although he gained an unexpected advantage, becoming the Fishing Saint of the Azure Sea and even catching the Thunder Kun that roamed the Northern Sea, he still couldn't find any trace of the Solid Rock Island.

"Immortal, Immortal..."

Just as Ye Jie was pondering, urgent words coming from afar also caught his attention.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw the Imperial Ribbonfish floating on the surface of the sea. Thanks to Ye Jie's precise control of the fishing rod, even the fish, which was used as bait, survived from Lei Kun's mouth.

"That was really close! I was swallowed whole by the Thunder Kun... Fortunately, I didn't forget the Immortal's teachings. Even in the vast space inside the Thunder Kun's belly, I held on tightly to the Immortal's sword and managed to survive. If I'm not mistaken, the Immortal subdued that ferocious Thunder Kun?"

The Royal Ribbonfish cautiously confirmed with Ye Jie, while peering out to look for traces of the Thunder Kun. Without the Thunder Kun, there would be no more powerful enemies chasing and preying on it, and it would no longer have to worry about its life. All of this was thanks to Ye Jie.

Upon seeing the Royal Ribbonfish, Ye Jie asked the question that had been bothering him: "Wait a minute, what exactly happened when you encountered the Thunder Kun here last time? With your strength, how did you manage to survive being swallowed by the Thunder Kun?"

Having witnessed Ye Jie's methods, Huangji Daiyu dared not conceal anything and immediately spoke: "With my strength, I certainly could not have survived. But Lei Kun did not know that while it was chasing and hunting me, it also became prey in the eyes of others. That scene is truly unforgettable. I never thought that the ferocious Lei Kun would have such a pathetic side..."

Upon hearing this, Li Feie couldn't help but cover her mouth: "So, the bite marks on Lei Kun's body were left from that time?"

Su Miao also looked surprised and doubtful: "The body of the Thunder Kun is a thousand feet in size. According to the scale reduction, the actual size of the bite should be several hundred feet... What kind of monster is it that can bite off several hundred feet of flesh from the Thunder Kun in one bite?"

Even Ye Jie now understood the gravity of the situation. How enormous must the immortal body of a beast capable of biting off hundreds of feet of flesh in one bite be? Thousands of feet? Or even tens of thousands of feet? It was unbelievable that such a monster existed in the depths of the Northern Underworld, a place teeming with hidden talents!

Ye Jie sighed, "I thought Lei Kun was already incredibly powerful, but I never imagined there would be an even greater mountain. Even it has become prey for other giant beasts. I wonder what kind of giant beasts those are?"

Huangji Ribbonfish was also unaware: "I have never seen such a giant beast in my life, but I vaguely saw that the giant beast had two heads, one big and one small, one thick and one thin."

Ye Jie remained silent. Even the Imperial Ribbonfish didn't know the identity of that giant beast. It seemed that only by experiencing it firsthand could he arrive at the final conclusion.

Thinking of this, Ye Jie did not hesitate. He turned around, emptied the bamboo basket, and released the thunder kun he had finally caught back into the sea.

As soon as it entered the sea, Lei Kun's body began to expand. At the same time, the powerful aura of a divine beast also began to revive within Lei Kun. Without the restraint of the fish basket, its strength would soon be restored to its original state, and then it would surely be a fierce battle!
This scene shocked everyone, who couldn't understand why Ye Jie would act so rashly. Huangji Daiyu was even petrified on the spot, screaming:
"Immortal, what are you doing? This Thunder Kun must not be released! Quickly subdue it again, and don't let it go!" Even Shen Qingge could not maintain her usual composure and asked, "Ah Jie, what are you doing?"

Ye Jie waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down: "Don't be nervous, I'm just... using it to create a nest."

"Make a nest?"

Even Li Feie was confused about what Ye Jie was doing, but out of her past trust, she still chose to believe him.

Ye Jie slowly raised his head, gazing into the distance: "Last time, I used the Imperial Ribbonfish to create a fishing spot, and it attracted the Thunder Kun. This time, I'm using the Thunder Kun to create a fishing spot; I wonder what kind of being it will attract..."

Regaining its freedom, Lei Kun stretched its body to its heart's content, causing towering waves all around and making the entire ocean seem to boil. With each breath, it left a giant whirlpool on the surface of the sea. Facing Ye Jie, it opened its abyss-like maw, radiating a terrifying aura, intending to avenge the previous fishing incident!
"not good……"

Shen Qingge's expression changed slightly. Among the crowd, only she, who had received the inheritance of Fairy Beichen, could contend with Lei Kun. She immediately protected everyone behind her, summoned the Guiming Sword, her clothes fluttering, and her deep, cold eyes, like a pool of ice, were clear and firm as she confronted Lei Kun, who was a thousand times her size.

The atmosphere was so tense it was freezing. The fierce battle with the divine beast was about to break out. Just then, a huge shadow suddenly appeared from beneath the sea, enveloping everyone and including Lei Kun.

Seeing this, Ye Jie's pupils contracted, and he thought to himself, "Here it comes!" But as the waves surged, Lei Kun's body was uncontrollably lifted off the surface of the sea and completely lifted up, or more accurately, clamped in a huge mouth!
The colossal thunder kun, thousands of feet in size, was completely bitten in the middle by that enormous mouth, its body unable to move, like a toy being held tightly in its grasp, unable to put up the slightest resistance.

The precious blood of the divine beast poured down like a torrential rain, completely staining the sea red. At the same time, the full appearance of the giant creature that had clamped down on Lei Kun also appeared in everyone's eyes.

The Royal Ribbonfish trembled, not daring to look at the giant creature for long. Just as it had described, the giant creature had two heads, one short and stiff and the other long and twisted. Its powerful carapace had lost its color due to the erosion of time, and its four muscular legs were like four giant pillars supporting the sky. In front of it, the Thunder Kun was like a child who had not yet learned to walk.

"Then... what kind of monster is that?"

Li Fei'e's teeth chattered. In front of that giant beast, she, at the peak of the sixth level, could not even hold on for a single breath and would be easily crushed into dust. She never expected that such an astonishing monster was hidden deep in the Northern Underworld.

Upon seeing this colossal beast, Su Miao and Shen Qingge both paled. The teachings recorded in the ancestral scriptures allowed them to recognize the beast's identity at a glance: "That is... the sacred beast Xuanwu!"

"Xuanwu..."

Ye Jie took a deep breath and his gaze fell on the back of Xuanwu, on the gray-white carapace that stretched for ten miles and resembled a towering mountain: "It seems that this is the Solid Rock Island we are looking for."

Li Fei'e's gaze froze, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes: "You mean..."

Ye Jie nodded: "That's right, there are no illusion arrays or hidden secret realms here. The so-called Solid Rock Island is just the tortoise shell behind Xuanwu."

According to Fairy Beichen's records, Jianyan Island is entirely grayish-white, corresponding to the weathered marks on the Xuanwu tortoise shell. The rocks on the island are indestructible even to divine weapons, and there are few things in the world harder than the Xuanwu tortoise shell.

Once upon a time, Ye Jie obtained a tortoise shell rich in Xuanwu blood in order to forge a magic weapon. Those tortoise shells originated from the descendants of Xuanwu and contained astonishing power. But now, when Ye Jie saw the tortoise shell of the true Xuanwu, he realized how majestic and magnificent it was. No wonder Xiao Feng mistook it for an island.

Back when he was in the Eastern Continent, Ye Jie had seen the Azure Dragon, the sacred beast that guarded the East, and obtained an Ascension Token from it.

The Azure Dragon appears to the outside world as a dragon with a human body, dressed impeccably, resembling an enlightened immortal. However, the Black Tortoise gives Ye Jie a completely different feeling. The Black Tortoise's huge body is powerful and vigorous, exuding a primal savagery amidst its ferocity.

Shen Qingge was also quite moved. As Xuanwu appeared, the Guiming Sword in her hand trembled violently, as if it were triggered by something in front of her.

"Unexpectedly, the traces left by Fairy Beichen led us to the sacred beast Xuanwu... I can feel something ahead attracting the Guiming Sword in my hand."

Ye Jie also understood that this was a golden opportunity, and after this, he didn't know when he would be able to meet Xuanwu again. So he immediately said, "Let's go, let's go and take a look."

The group flew rapidly toward Xuanwu, and as they drew nearer, the majestic power of the sacred beast was revealed to them.

"Is this the might of Xuanwu? Just its aura alone makes people not want to fight it. To oppose it is like fighting against the entire world."

On the way, Li Feie seemed to think of something and couldn't help but feel a little regretful:

"It's a pity that my prospective disciple, Yunxiu, didn't come along. Lei Kun arrived in a hurry, and his strength was astonishing, so I left her on the safe island to help the mortals there take refuge. As a result, she missed this opportunity to broaden her horizons. How many times in a lifetime can an ordinary immortal witness the might of a sacred beast that protects a continent? It would be such a pity to miss it..."

Shen Qingge said softly, "There's no need to say that. Although she can't witness the power of the sacred beast, she is relatively safe. You should know that even we can't withstand a single move from the sacred beast Xuanwu. If we anger it, we will be in mortal danger, let alone Yunxiu."

Ye Jie looked ahead and said, "We'll come back to pick up Yunxiu once we find the Underworld Emperor's Ghost Seal. For now, let her wait patiently."

The group flew at full speed, and every undulation on the Xuanwu shell below resembled a steep mountain rising from the ground. Soon, the unchanging gray-white scene in front of them changed, and a bottomless abyss appeared before them.

The abyss was a thousand feet wide, stretching to the very end of one's sight. Black mist rose from within, exuding a ghostly aura. Upon approaching, one could feel a strong sense of evil and misfortune, sending chills down one's spine.

Li Fei'e was slightly surprised: "How can there be such a large crack behind Xuanwu? And why is it constantly seeping out ghostly energy? What exactly is going on?"

Shen Qingge took a deep breath. Gazing at the Guiming Sword, which hummed incessantly as if it had come alive, she made up her mind:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Abyss of the Underworld Emperor that we've been searching for, and the Ghost Seal of the Underworld Emperor is hidden here! The entire Abyss of the Underworld Emperor is actually a huge sword mark, and the one who left this sword mark behind Xuanwu was none other than the former Fairy Beichen!"

(End of this chapter)