Hell Emperor.

Chapter 606 Li Feie - Decision
"This statue..."

Upon arriving at the statue, Ye Jie gazed at it intently, and a look of delight immediately appeared on his face.

On the statue, a lifelike monkey face, with its fur neatly combed and its eyes revealing a hint of cynical laughter, is none other than the Monkey King that everyone is looking for on this journey.

Recalling what he had seen before, Ye Jie made up his mind: "This is the man we are looking for."

"So, who were you looking for? It turns out you were looking for that monkey." Yuanxu shook his head.

Seeing that he seemed to know something, Ye Jie asked, "Have you heard of him before?"

“I’ve not only heard of him, but I also saw him in the Bodhi Hall not long ago,” Yuanxu replied.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jie couldn't help but show a look of joy. He hadn't had a clue just now, but he didn't expect to get an answer so quickly.

However, Ye Jie still had one question: "What was he doing in the Bodhi Hall?"

"What else can we do? Of course, we can learn from the Palace Master and find the way to immortality." Yuanxu snorted. "I don't know what's wrong with the Palace Master. Instead of taking in good cultivation talents, he takes this monkey who came from the East across the sea as his disciple. Everyone else in the palace is quite dissatisfied with this."

Ye Jie was stunned. He never expected that the legendary Great Sage Equaling Heaven was not born with his skills. He had also learned and cultivated them. His teacher was the Lord of the Bodhi Palace. He just didn't know who this Lord of the Bodhi Palace was.

Ye Jie withdrew his gaze and looked at the statue in front of him, asking, "Is this the statue you built for him?"

Yuanxu curled his lip: "The others in the hall are already being kind by not driving him away. How could they possibly carve a statue and erect a monument for a wild monkey who doesn't even know his own name?"

Ye Jie asked in confusion, "If that's the case, then who erected this statue?"

Yuanxu went behind the statue and found a row of tiny, barely noticeable characters:

"Let me see... It was erected by a group of mortals, who said they were grateful to him for ridding the evil demons. However, they had limited gold coins and could not erect the statue in the center of the town, so they could only put it in a remote corner."

Ye Jie understood. According to the rules of Yingling City, anyone could erect a statue for a deity as long as they paid money. Perhaps the Taiyin Star Lord sensed the location of the statue and sent everyone here.

Yuanxu continued, “When mortals erected his statue, they didn’t even know his name. What name would a monkey have? They could only call him Hanuman. Apart from those mortals, few people came to the statue to offer sacrifices and worship. Perhaps soon, Yingling City will dismantle this statue and replace it with a statue of a deity that receives more incense.”

Ye Jie shook his head, saying that the money was offered as tribute and worship to the statue, but in the end, all the money went to Yuan Xu and the others: "This place is a town under the jurisdiction of the Bodhi Palace. You people are so good at fooling the masses, using the name of immortals and gods to actually extort money. I don't know how many people have been deceived by you."

Yuanxu didn't think so: "You're wrong. Look at the people in the city. Did we force them to come here? They clearly enjoy it. What Yingling City sells is something that even the richest people can't buy. It's a medicine called hope. Just one drop can free them from the cruel reality."

Ye Jie looked up and saw long lines of enthusiastic people on the distant streets, kneeling and worshipping before statues of gods and immortals of various shapes and sizes, their expressions devout and sincere, not daring to overstep or offend in the slightest.

Ye Jie glanced at him: "Even if you can escape temporarily, in the end, nothing will change."

Yuanxu simply said, "Life is uncertain, death is uncertain. Such is the fate of mortals. It is not a bad thing to find some solace beyond oneself in a life as short as a mayfly's."

Ye Jie remained silent. In this era, even unseen virtues had not appeared. Ordinary people could hardly find the meaning of life throughout their lives and could only sink into endless cycles of depravity. It was no wonder that this was the case.

Now that we've found traces of the Monkey King, all that's left is to pinpoint his exact location.

Ye Jie asked again, "Where is he now?"

Yuanxu pondered, "The last time I heard news of him was in Fulousha City. If you go there, you should be able to find him."

"Fulousha City? Isn't that where the King of Hell resides?"

Recalling the intelligence he had heard before, Ye Jie couldn't help but frown.

To his slight surprise, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was now in Fulousha City with the Yama Emperor, which complicated matters.

After inquiring about the information, Ye Jie seemed to remember something and asked again, "What do you have to say about the human skin and bones in the Bone Hall?"

Yuan Xu's heart trembled. Despite Ye Jie's calm tone, there was a murderous intent hidden beneath, making him feel uneasy. It seemed that his life depended entirely on the answer he was about to give.

Yuanxu dared not be negligent and hurriedly replied, "This is the order of the Yama Emperor. The Yama Emperor likes magic treasures made of human materials the most. He said that magic treasures are tainted with human spirituality. Therefore, he ordered the construction of bone storage halls in various places. Not only that, we must hand over a considerable number of human bones every year. If the number is less, we will be severely punished."

Having understood the situation, Ye Jie asked his companion, "What should we do with him?"

Driven by a deep sense of justice, Li Feie immediately spoke up: "Of course we should kill them! Didn't you hear what he just said? If it were a weak rogue cultivator or a mortal who came here, they would have suffered a terrible fate at their hands!"

Shen Qingge hesitated slightly, then lowered her voice and said:
"Don't forget, this isn't our time. Everything here happened long ago, and even if we kill him, it won't change anything. On the contrary, our actions might derail the course of history, and that's when things will get really troublesome..."

Hua Xiaomei agreed, saying, "The people of this continent look and dress very differently from the places we used to live. Not only do they have dark brown skin, but they also like to wear headscarves. We don't need to care about the people here."

Ye Jie nodded. What they said made sense. Everyone came here to find their way home, not to meddle in other people's business.

Seeing that everyone had reached a decision after discussion, Li Feie objected: "What is this? Are we supposed to stand idly by in the face of evildoers? Just because these mortals were born in Xiniu Hezhou, do they have to suffer? If Xia Wei were here, she wouldn't do this..."

As she spoke, Li Feie glared at Ye Jie, a hint of reproach in her eyes: "You have already reached the realm of a sage. Why should a sage act so timidly?"

Helpless, Ye Jie could only ask, "Then, in your opinion, what should we do?"

"What should we do? Of course, we should act on behalf of Heaven and kill him!" Li Feie answered without hesitation.

As if sensing the meaning in Li Feie's eyes, Ye Jie nodded: "Alright then."

"Wait! You can't kill me, I am a Venerable One of the Bodhi Hall..."

Upon hearing this, Yuanxu panicked. How could this be different from what was agreed upon? Wasn't it said that as long as he answered the questions honestly, he would be spared? Why was he still going to die in the end?
Just as Yuanxu was about to speak, all that appeared deep in his pupils was the ever-enlarging shadow of the copper coin sword. In an instant, the light and shadow spun around, and although his perspective seemed to be falling to the ground, his legs were still standing perfectly still in place.

Ye Jie slowly sheathed his sword, the copper coin sword not a speck of blood on it, as if what he had just done was nothing more than an ordinary thing.

Looking at the dissipated Yuanxu, Su Miao's expression turned slightly serious:
"You really killed him? He was a Venerable One of the Bodhi Hall, with a cultivation level of six, and a very prestigious position. To die at your hands like this will likely cause a lot of trouble..."

Ye Jie smiled faintly: "No need to worry. After all, I have now reached the Saint Realm. Even if the Bodhi Palace intends to cause trouble for him, they will have to think twice."

With all his cultivation techniques having reached the Supreme Saint level, and his strength comparable to Ye Jie at the Eighth Rank, he wasn't afraid of the Bodhi Palace coming to cause trouble. What he was truly worried about was that doing so might change the course of history.

But thinking about it carefully, this is Xiniu Hezhou after all. Neither Ye Jie nor the other companions are from here. Even if they changed a little, it would be impossible for them to cross continents and affect other places, right?

Shen Qingge rubbed her forehead. She didn't approve of killing Venerable Yuanxu, but she didn't blame Ye Jie. Instead, she looked at Li Feie beside her, her eyes filled with reproach:

"Moth, why are you so unreasonable? This is clearly not our time, why do you insist on being so stubborn?"

Li Feie shook her head, her gaze firm: "Master is wrong. Stopping evil deeds is the most sensible choice. Should I remain indifferent? Now I am also going to be a master, so of course I cannot set a bad example in front of my disciple."

"You...hey."

Shen Qingge's cold eyes narrowed, her gaze revealing a hint of sternness. However, Li Feie raised her chin, refusing to back down in front of her master, and insisted that she was right. In the end, Shen Qingge could only sigh.

Seeing this, Ye Jie quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Right, let's focus on something more important. Now that we know the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is in Fulousha City, we'd better set off now. What do you think?"

Hua Xiaomei pondered, "According to the legends circulating in the Underworld, the Monkey King once tampered with the Book of Life and Death, and even killed the Emperor of the Underworld. Could he be going there to cause trouble? If we go there, we might be in danger too..."

Ren Changhong was also quite worried: "We have all witnessed the miraculous effects of the Book of Life and Death, but we don't know which part the Great Sage Equaling Heaven changed. Did he change lifespan and virtue, innate supernatural powers, or cultivation techniques and ranks? We can't say for sure."

Ye Jie couldn't help but frown. Apart from the Underworld Emperor, there was no one in the world who understood the power of the Book of Life and Death better than him. When the power of the Book of Life and Death was brought to its extreme, even reality would be distorted by the words on it. Looking at it this way, this trip was indeed quite dangerous.

“However… if the Underworld Emperor is in Fulousha City, then the complete Book of Life and Death must also be there. Although this trip is dangerous, it is also a great opportunity,” Ye Jie pondered.

Looking back, the power of the nine sewn pages had been completely sealed by the Lord of the Demon Palace. Ye Jie only had one usable main account left. Moreover, he was being hunted down by the Asura Kings of the Demon Palace. Even if he could hide for a while, he couldn't hide forever. If things continued like this, the Lord of the Demon Palace would find him sooner or later. At that time, he would lose both the only remaining main account and the Underworld Emperor's Ghost Seal.

Now, by a twist of fate, Ye Jie has also arrived in this era that does not belong to him. If the legends of the past are true, as long as he follows the trail of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, he may have a chance to obtain the complete form of the Book of Life and Death. At that time, even if he returns to five hundred years later, he will not have to fear the threat of the Lord of the Demon Palace!

Thinking of this, Ye Jie's eyes also became fervent. All along the way, he had relied on the power of the Book of Life and Death to interfere with reality, defy fate, and finally possessed power comparable to a saint. Ye Jie would never hand over this divine artifact to anyone. Even if the unfathomable Lord of the Demon Palace or the legendary Emperor of the Underworld stood in his way, he would never back down.

Yunxiu's gaze remained fixed on the deceased Yuanxu, or more precisely, on the magical artifacts he carried. After consulting with Li Feie, she began searching.

Soon, the rich harvest made Yunxiu grin from ear to ear. Although Yuanxu was easily killed by Ye Jie without being able to put up any resistance, the magical artifacts he carried were quite abundant. Not only did he have the majestic three-pronged divine pestle, but he also had a large and exquisite soul banner.

"What kind of magical artifact is that? Let me see it."

Li Feie's words immediately suppressed Yunxiu's joy, and she instead presented all her recent gains to Li Feie like a treasure:
“Master, look, this magic pestle is ranked fourth grade, just one step away from becoming a true divine artifact. It is a rare and precious magic treasure. This banner is even more extraordinary, a genuine third-grade magic artifact. I didn’t realize he had so many magic treasures. If he hadn’t met us, ordinary immortals would have been helpless against him.”

Li Feie's gaze turned slightly cold as she said, "Then destroy all these magical treasures."

"what?"

After listening to Li Feie's instructions, Yunxiu opened her mouth, her eyes showing a hint of reluctance.

Having heard many legends about immortals from the Xuan Nu Sect, she had long coveted those incredibly powerful magical artifacts. Now that she had finally obtained a true divine artifact, although it was only a third-grade artifact, it was still a divine artifact after all. The power and Daoist essence contained within it were something that ordinary magical artifacts could never match.

However, Li Feie asked her to destroy all these magical artifacts, which Yunxiu could not bear to do.
Seeing that Yunxiu remained motionless, Li Feie spoke coldly. Her exceptional eyesight allowed her to immediately discern the materials used in those magical artifacts. Considering what she had seen in the Bone Storage Hall earlier, her expression turned sour.

"This pestle is made from human bones, and that banner is made from boiled human skin. If you don't destroy them, are you trying to become a heretical cultivator?"

Upon hearing this, Yunxiu seemed to be frightened as well. She saw that these magical treasures were of extraordinary quality, with precious light flowing around them and full of vitality. She thought they were rare treasures, but she never expected them to be so ominous. She immediately gave up her greed and destroyed the magical treasures one by one.

(End of this chapter)