Hell Emperor.

Chapter 597 Ye Jie - King Laurel

Following the aura they sensed, the group flew through the air and soon found Yunxiu, who was all alone.

"Fairy Maiden Fei'e!"

Upon seeing Li Feie and the rest of the group, Yunxiu visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Are you alright? Are you hurt?

Li Feie inquired with concern.

Yunxiu shook her head: "My body is fine. Since I was separated from everyone, I have stayed in the same place. I believe that Fairy Fei'e will not abandon me and will definitely come back to find me!"

Sensing the sincerity deep in Yunxiu's eyes, Li Feie sighed, "I originally intended to take you as the next successor of the Mysterious Maiden, but before you even entered the sect, you joined me in offending the sect's founder. I'm afraid your future path will be difficult..."

Yunxiu's gaze was firm, without the slightest hesitation: "No matter what lies ahead, I will only listen to Fairy Fei'e!"

Hearing this, Shen Qingge sighed, "Yunxiu has an excellent temperament and is a good candidate for cultivation. If you could be like her, I would have less to worry about."

Li Fei'e pouted, looking unconvinced: "Master, are you saying that my temperament is inferior to Yunxiu's? How could that be? I am her master, how could a master be inferior to his disciple?"

Shen Qingge rubbed her forehead: "From the moment you said those words, your character has already been surpassed. If Yunxiu were to follow your example, who knows how many detours she would take."

Li Feie muttered to herself, disagreeing with the idea; she would never lead Yunxiu astray.

At this moment, Yao Bai looked up and seemed to see something, then said to Ye Jie:
"By the way, you just said you were looking for laurel wood, right? There's a laurel grove up ahead, and the laurel wood you need is there."

After a pause, Yao Bai seemed to remember something and volunteered, "I am quite familiar with that laurel grove. There are some treasures I buried there. Do you need me to guide you?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Jie couldn't help but show a delighted expression. Although he didn't know where to find the Ming King's Peacock Feather, collecting cassia wood first would provide him with more materials for forging a divine artifact. Since he was passing by the cassia forest, he certainly couldn't miss it.
"Very well, then we'll trouble Miss Yao Bai to lead the way for us."

Yao Bai smiled and said casually, "We're companions now, it's too formal for you to call me that. Just call me Xiao Bai!"

Ye Jie nodded. As the way the two addressed each other changed, the original awkwardness and distance were immediately smoothed out, and their relationship became familiar.

Li Fei'e pouted. For some reason, she just didn't like Yao Bai in front of her. However, she needed Yao Bai to lead the way, and since he was Xia Wei's companion, she temporarily suppressed her displeasure.

Led by Yao Bai, the group continued their journey and soon arrived at a grove of trees. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance, the scent of osmanthus in full bloom. Just by smelling this fragrance, the group knew they had come to the right place.

"Is this laurel wood?"

Ye Jie's gaze also fell on the gleaming ancient tree in front of him, which was no different from the cassia tree in the mortal world. Although no other place on the moon was barren, this cassia forest alone maintained its lush greenery.

Tianming looked around, his eager gaze sweeping over the nearby cassia trees one by one. However, as he continued his search, his gaze grew increasingly somber.
"No... These are all ordinary laurels. Even if we take them, they can't be used for forging divine artifacts. If we want to participate in the forging of divine artifacts, these ordinary laurels won't do. We need the King of Laurels!"

Ye Jie understood and was about to ask when he heard Yao Bai scoff:
"Do you think the King of Laurel is so easy to obtain? Don't blame me for not warning you, the laurel is a tree that grows by absorbing the essence of the moon. Not to mention the King of Laurel, even an ordinary laurel is not something that ordinary immortals can cut down."

Tianming shook his head, not worried at all: "Ordinary immortals may be helpless against laurel wood, but I am the best at felling trees. No one knows better than me how to cut down strange trees. Even laurel wood can definitely be felled!"

"The way of thinning and clearing..."

Ye Jie nodded slightly. Back when he was at the Tianji Sect, he had heard of the great reputation of the art of thinning and felling trees. Only those who were most skilled in the art of thinning and felling trees could cut down towering trees without damaging their efficacy.

There are three thousand great paths in this world. Each path, when refined to its extreme, can lead directly to the origin. The path of clearing and dredging is one of them.

Yao Bai didn't say much, but the hint of disdain in her eyes still betrayed her disbelief. She then continued leading the way, and soon her brows furrowed:
"Strange, why has the road changed? It wasn't like this a few years ago. Even the magical artifact I hid here can't be found..."

Nan Linghe sensed her predicament and, of course, wanted to help her companion: "Is the magic treasure you hid very valuable? Let me help you!"

Yao Bai raised an eyebrow: "It's not particularly valuable, definitely not as valuable as the divine artifacts you possess. I appreciate your kindness, but this is your first time here, so how can you help me?"

Nan Linghe smiled calmly and then walked up to Ye Jie.

Ye Jie understood her meaning, and slowly reached out his hand. A cloud of black mist emerged from his palm, covering Nan Linghe's eyes and obscuring her vision.

Losing sight and shrouded in darkness, Nan Linghe felt no fear; on the contrary, he was already used to it and handled the situation with ease.

Nan Linghe walked quickly, taking over the lead. Yao Bai frowned slightly. Although he didn't know what Nan Linghe was doing, he still quickly followed.

Nan Linghe wandered around for an unknown amount of time when he suddenly felt a pulling force from behind.

The obscuring dark clouds dissipated, revealing that Ye Jie had caught her from behind. Nan Linghe asked, slightly puzzled, "Did you find Xiaobai's magic weapon?"

Ye Jie shook his head: "No... if you keep going, you'll run into a tree."

Following Ye Jie's gaze, Nan Linghe also saw the large tree two inches away from her. It was a laurel tree that seemed to touch the stars. No one knew how long it had been growing there. Even if dozens of people surrounded it, they would not be able to encircle the giant tree. Every move it made exuded a tenacious vitality.

Nan Linghe blinked: "Why is it just a tree? Where is Xiaobai's magic weapon?" Yao Bai's lips twitched: "How should I know? Didn't you say you were going to take me to find the magic weapon? Why did you bring us to the only laurel tree here?"

Nan Linghe didn't know either; she hadn't used her internal energy to search at all, she was just trying her luck: "Perhaps your magic weapon is on the tree."

Yao Bai rubbed her forehead. This couldn't possibly be true, could it? A hint of doubt arose in her mind: was Nan Linghe just teasing her?
Ye Jie coughed lightly: "Don't be discouraged. Maybe we didn't find your magic weapon, but at least we found the King of Laurel. As long as we cut down this giant laurel, we can collect a precious material for forging a divine artifact."

Tianming had this intention. After spotting the location of the Moon Laurel King, he had long forgotten everything else. The only thing that appeared in his eyes was that giant tree that reached straight to the Milky Way. If he could cut down such a divine tree, he would also make great progress in the art of felling trees. It was a precious gain that no one in the human world could find!
Thinking of this, Tianming did not hesitate. He held the large axe he used for chopping wood in his hand, his face devout and focused, as if what appeared in front of him was not a tree at all, but a god worthy of his life to worship.

A ray of cold light emanated from the axe held by Tianming. The light was so dazzling that even Ye Jie could not ignore the overwhelming power within it.

Having reached the realm of a sage, Ye Jie could better understand what that wisp of cold light meant. The Way of Slaughtering Trees was a great path specifically designed for felling divine trees, but the sharpness contained within it was no less than that used for felling immortals. If this path were honed to its extreme, even an immortal at the eighth level of cultivation would probably be cut in half by a single axe from a Slaughtering Tree Sage!
However, even with Tianming's cultivation level, there is still a long way to go before he can reach the level of a Saint of Slaughter, just like the difference between an ordinary immortal and a saint. That seemingly invincible axe blow failed to cut down the Moon Laurel King in front of him, leaving only a gap the size of a person on it.

When Tianming drew his axe, the axe marks on the King of Laurel had already healed completely, leaving no trace of abnormality, as if all of Tianming's previous efforts had never existed.

Tianming refused to give up and swung his axe again, but no matter how many times he tried, the result was always the same: whenever he pulled his axe away, the Laurel King would return to normal.

“No… With my skill in felling trees, I might be able to cut down an ordinary laurel, but I can’t cut down this King of Laurels…” Tianming sighed, and finally slowly put away his axe, choosing to give up.

He could clearly see the rare and divine tree, but he couldn't cut it down. That feeling made Tianming extremely uncomfortable, like a ghost locked in a starving prison who could see a large table of delicious food in front of him but couldn't eat a single bite.

Seeing that Tianming had chosen to give up, Ye Jie couldn't help but stroke his chin.

The types of celestial officials are all-encompassing; for every profession that has ever appeared in the human world, there is a stronger version among the celestial officials.

Among the many celestial officials, some are skilled at fishing, some at cooking, and some at chopping down trees.

If the power of the nine-sided stitched pages were still intact, Ye Jie might have had the opportunity to become a celestial official skilled in logging, and cut down the laurel king that pierced the Milky Way in front of him for Tianming.

However, with the Demon Lord blocking Ye Jie's access to the other eight main accounts, the only one left in Ye Jie's hands was the Azure Lotus Palace main account. The stitched pages could no longer display their former power, and the job change was impossible to achieve.

Without the blessing of celestial official power, Ye Jie could only rely on his supreme-level cultivation technique to cut down the Moon Laurel King in front of him.

With a thought from Ye Jie, the copper coin sword, which looked like scrap iron, shot out. Countless sword techniques and true meanings were added to it, and the entire blade exuded a kind of awe-inspiring and unapproachable divine power. However, even such a sword strike had no effect on the Moon Laurel King. The effect was even worse than Tian Ming's previous attempt.

"As expected, without the blessing of the pruning method, ordinary immortals simply cannot cut down the King Laurel..."

After a series of attempts, Ye Jie sighed helplessly. Even the Supreme Saint Technique, which was comparable to the Saint level, could not cut down the Moon Laurel King even a little bit. He had no choice but to look at the giant tree in front of him and sigh.

"What exactly do we need to do to bring down the Laurel King in front of us?" Ye Jie frowned, puzzled.

Yao Bai glanced at him and couldn't help but chuckle softly:
"Don't be discouraged. I remember there was an immortal who was punished here for hundreds of years. During those hundreds of years, he kept cutting down the laurel king, but he made no progress. How long have you been trying? Perhaps after a little longer, you will realize that the laurel king cannot be cut down and you can only obediently use ordinary laurel."

Just then, a series of heavy footsteps from afar attracted everyone's attention. Yao Bai looked in the direction of the sound and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"It's true what they say, what you say comes true, that person is right in front of you."

Ye Jie looked closely and saw a strong man approaching from afar. He had a heavy, imposing body and was holding a giant axe that was as tall as a man. His body was much larger than Tian Ming's.

The man glanced at the crowd. As he approached, Ye Jie also keenly smelled an unusual odor coming from the surroundings. It was the power of the Kitchen God that allowed him to recognize at a glance that the odor was none other than the smell of wine.

"What are you doing here? Go away, don't delay me from cutting down trees."

Upon seeing the crowd, the man opened his mouth, let out a loud burp, and then rudely drove them away, as if this were his territory.

Li Feie raised an eyebrow, about to lash out, but Ye Jie pulled her back, and together with the others, they retreated to a distance.

Ye Jie's actions greatly displeased Li Feie. She pouted, her voice tinged with resentment: "Why did you pull me away? Who does he think he is? Since I achieved enlightenment, no one has dared to speak to me like that!"

Ye Jie rubbed his forehead and comforted Li Feie, saying:
"Relax. Judging from that man's appearance, he might really have the strength to cut down the Laurel King. We can just wait patiently from the side. Even if he fails, we won't suffer any losses."

Li Feie was still furious: "He had better actually succeed."

While waiting, Ye Jie's gaze remained fixed on the man. He noticed that the man's control over the giant axe was far more intense than Tian Ming's. The unparalleled power within it seemed to cleave even space itself.

Watching the man's actions, Li Feie's expression gradually changed from dissatisfaction to solemnity. It seemed that the man was not just all bark and no bite, but truly had the confidence to drive everyone away. Even with Li Feie's current level of cultivation, if she were to face that man, she would undoubtedly be defeated.

Tianming stared intently, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "The Sage of Shufa! That person is actually the legendary Sage of Shufa!"

"What……"

Upon hearing the address Tianming used, everyone could no longer maintain their composure.

The title of "Saint" signifies the highest attainment of a great path, equivalent to a saint among cultivators. And that unassuming man was actually the legendary Saint Shufa!
(End of this chapter)