Hell Emperor.

Chapter 619 Ye Jie - Ascension to Immortal Official
The immortals looked around as Ye Jie, dragging his heavily injured body, slowly stood up from the ground.

The Book of Life and Death in Ye Jie's arms was faintly warm. Since obtaining this extraordinary book, Ye Jie had not had a moment's peace. Wherever he went, he would cause conflict. Among those enemies were many renowned Nine-Turn Realm beings. The moment he got his hands on the extraordinary book, he stood at the center of the Three Realms vortex.

Seeing Ye Jie, covered in wounds and struggling to stay upright, Xuan Nu sighed, feeling both regret and confusion, and said:
"Why are you doing this? That extraordinary book does not belong to you. It was created by the creation of heaven and earth. Returning it to the Supreme Being Haotian, who reigns supreme over the world and rules the three realms, is the most appropriate choice. It is better for you, for all living beings, and for the Heavenly Dao."

The goddess's gaze was indifferent, but the meaning behind it was unmistakable.

A book like the Book of Life and Death, which records the files of all living beings and carries the cause and effect of all things, is not something that just anyone is qualified to handle. If an ordinary person casually alters the files on it, it will cause the heavens and earth to tremble and disrupt the cause and effect of the human world. Who knows what might happen? If one is not careful, it could even destroy the order of the three realms.

Just as Sun Wukong's casual alteration caused countless shocks and implicated countless lives, resulting in undeserved calamities, it is feared that even with the best efforts of many celestial officials, they would not be able to erase all the impact.

The only one who can decide who stays or leaves the Book of Life and Death, and who should hold it, is the ruler of the Three Realms. Ye Jie, who refuses to accept it, will likely suffer a terrible fate.

Despite the hostility of many immortals, Ye Jie remained solemn. If he handed over this extraordinary book, all calamities would be averted, and no one would bother him anymore. He could finally live in peace. But how could he possibly give up the greatest opportunity he had ever had? Even if an abyss awaited him, he would not give up this extraordinary book!
"If you want this book, then come and snatch it yourself!"

Ye Jie's gaze darkened, and a ray of light shone from his palm, drawing the attention of the surrounding immortals.

"what is that?"

"He must have decided to put up a last-ditch effort; quickly capture him!"

"Wait...that looks like the South China Sea coral used for decoration on the screen inside the hall. What does he want with the coral?"

"How ridiculous! He must have completely lost his mind and panicked. Does he think he can kill us with coral?"
Faced with the mocking and sarcastic tones of the celestial officials, Ye Jie merely sneered. Did they want the Book of Life and Death? Then let them experience the power of the Book of Life and Death!
With a thought, the coral he had picked up when he knocked over the treasures in the hall earlier also completely disappeared.

[Book of Life and Death Records:]

In the autumn of the 140th year of the Moro calendar, Ye Jie used a piece of South China Sea coral to modify his rank records.

[The peak of the Fifth-Rank Kitchen God has been changed to the early stage of the Sixth-Rank Treasure-Gathering Celestial Venerable.]

The authority and power of the Kitchen God have been inherited.

[The quality of the South China Sea corals exceeds the minimum promotion requirements; the Celestial Official's powers have been unlocked.]

[The Celestial Venerable of Treasures: Heavenly treasures have their laws, earthly treasures have no darkness. The Celestial Venerable of Treasures excels at discerning wealth energy and using it to distinguish the quality of magical artifacts. He can activate the Golden Eye, which allows him to observe the flow of wealth energy, capture it, and condense it into gold ingots. The Golden Eye can only be activated once per day, lasting a maximum of one incense stick's time. When using magical artifacts, the power of all artifacts is increased by 30%. He can consume wealth energy to repair damaged magical artifacts. Unlocking other powers of the God of Wealth will grant additional effects.]

[Has acquired the powers of the God of Wealth and the Heavenly Venerable of Treasure Gathering, and the bonds with the Three Gods of Wealth are unlocked.]

[Three Gods of Wealth Bond: Gain an extra portion of wealth each time you acquire it. Wealth can be consumed to replenish the uses of Celestial Official Powers.]

As the words in the Book of Life and Death fell, Ye Jie's aura changed drastically. Not only were his injuries completely healed, but his aura also rose to a higher level, entering the early stage of the sixth level!

The early stage of the sixth rank is nothing special in the eyes of the powerful celestial officials of the Heavenly Court. Which of the many divine generals and heavenly kings present did not have the sixth rank? But for Ye Jie, it was a completely different story.

Reaching the sixth level of cultivation also means that Ye Jie can better unleash the power of his Great Dao techniques! Using fifth-level Immortal Essence to activate Great Dao techniques and using sixth-level Immortal Essence to activate them are two completely different things!
Since obtaining the complete Book of Life and Death, Ye Jie has not yet used it to modify the powers of the celestial officials. The reason for this is that the treasures used for job changes are too difficult to find. Even if Ye Jie tries his best, it is difficult to find what he really wants.

But now that he has arrived at the Heavenly Court, Ye Jie suddenly understands. Those items for the advancement of celestial officials must be obtained from the celestial officials themselves, right? And the place where those celestial officials gather is none other than the Heavenly Court right now!

In other words, the Heavenly Court is full of treasures, and there are rare items everywhere that can help Ye Jie advance. Entering this place is like entering a treasure mountain, so how can he leave empty-handed?

Before this, Ye Jie had been somewhat restrained, considering the possibility of offending other celestial officials. But now that they had completely turned against each other over the Book of Life and Death, Ye Jie no longer needed to restrain himself. He immediately snatched the suitable treasure and chose to advance!

Sensing the change in Ye Jie's aura, the nearby celestial officials were somewhat dumbfounded.

To their surprise, the person who should have given up resistance and surrendered when surrounded by many divine generals was not frightened by the scene before him. Instead, he took the opportunity to improve his own cultivation level. Did that person not know what kind of place this was?

This sudden turn of events surprised not only the nearby celestial officials but also the Mystic Maiden. Now she understood why Ye Jie's strength had increased so rapidly. It turned out that his cultivation was not achieved through his own hard work, but by altering records and deceiving the Heavenly Dao.

"So that's why your strength has improved so rapidly..."

Xuan Nu shook her head. As the defender of the Heavenly Dao, she should eliminate all those who defy it. Naturally, she wouldn't be kind to Ye Jie for deceiving the Heavenly Dao. It was already a good thing that she didn't turn on him on the spot.

"What are you doing? Take him down right now!"

Ye Jie's advancement in cultivation level made the Jade Emperor slightly embarrassed; this was not a place where he could run wild! He immediately summoned his divine generals to prepare to capture him.

Sensing the hostility coming from all directions, Ye Jie became vigilant, but his movements were not slow at all. He looked at the Jade Emperor who was giving orders, and his pupils turned golden. What stood out in the golden light was not the nobility of a divine dragon being born, but the wealth adorned with gold!
What Ye Jie used was the unique power of the Heavenly Venerable Nazhen: the Golden Eye. As the Golden Eye was activated, the world before him changed, as if some impurities had appeared in the space. Upon closer inspection, these impurities were soft and slender, like threads, spreading in all directions, especially on the nearby immortals. However, to ordinary people, these threads that filled the heavens and earth were completely invisible.

Ye Jie sensed something; the threads that appeared in his eyes were the wealth energy mentioned in the powers of the celestial officials.

As one of the celestial officials, Nazhen Tianzun is most skilled at distinguishing the quality of magical artifacts by observing the wealth energy they emit. Moreover, Nazhen Tianzun has a unique method to condense wealth energy into tangible gold ingots, which can be described as creating something out of nothing and generating wealth from nothing.

But what Ye Jie wanted to do was not as simple as making money.

In his eyes, it wasn't just the magical treasures used by the immortals that exuded wealth; the wealth emanating from the immortals themselves was even more intense, especially from the Jade Emperor in front of him!
As the supreme ruler of the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor's aura of wealth is inexhaustible. Just by standing there, his aura overwhelmingly surpasses that of all other immortals. Even the wealth emanating from a first-grade divine artifact is insignificant in front of him.

And this was exactly what Ye Jie was looking for! As Ye Jie reached out and grasped, the wealth energy outside the Jade Emperor's body was also drawn to him, and then condensed into a form in his palm.

Upon closer inspection, the silk threads appearing in Ye Jie's palm were not the ordinary golden light of wealth, but rather exuded a sense of weight and vastness. It was not the aura of wealth that symbolized riches, but the aura of Haotian that belonged exclusively to the Supreme Haotian!

"So this is the aura of the Heavenly Emperor. It is indeed extraordinary..."

Ye Jie sneered. Back when he first used the Book of Life and Death to modify the positions of the immortal officials and thus improve his own cultivation, he had seen a mysterious object called Haotian Qi. At that time, he was also full of curiosity about Haotian Qi. He never expected that the so-called Haotian Qi was actually condensed from the body of Haotian Supreme!

"Where is the Heavenly King? Stop him!"

The Jade Emperor's gaze darkened slightly. He sensed a familiar aura from the silk thread in Ye Jie's hand. Although he didn't know what Ye Jie was planning to do, he knew that things couldn't continue like this. So he immediately summoned the Heavenly King to prepare to capture Ye Jie!

In the distance, several powerful auras broke through the air and arrived, but Ye Jie was not afraid at all. With rapid condensation, a whole handful of Haotian Qi appeared in his hand. Roughly counting, there were probably a thousand threads thinner than a hair, which also met Ye Jie's prerequisite for advancement!
From afar, a mysterious sound rang out, and a majestic figure appeared, holding an ancient ruan in his arms. It was none other than the Guardian King of the East.

Not only him, but also the Heavenly King of Growth, wielding the Green Edge Sword, and the Heavenly King of Abundance, carrying the Treasure Umbrella, arrived at the same time to capture Ye Jie!

"The Heavenly King, I wonder what unique celestial powers he possesses..."

Ye Jie's eyes narrowed. The celestial official position promoted by the Haotian Qi was the position of Heavenly King. He wondered what they would think when they saw that he had also been promoted to Heavenly King.
As Ye Jie's thoughts stirred, the words in the Book of Life and Death reappeared:

[Book of Life and Death Records:]

In the autumn of the 140th year of the Moro calendar, Ye Jie spent a thousand strands of Haotian Qi to modify the rank records.

[The initial stage of the Sixth-Turn Treasure-Gathering Celestial Venerable has been modified to the peak of the Sixth-Turn Four Heavenly Kings]

[The powers and authority of the Celestial Venerable Nazhen have been inherited.]

[The quality of the Heavenly Qi exceeds the minimum promotion requirements; Celestial Official powers have been unlocked.]

[The Four Heavenly Kings: Standing as the pinnacle of the four cardinal directions, revered by all across the eight wastelands. They can bind to a continent without protection, becoming its protector. While located on that continent, their cultivation speed doubles, and the power of their techniques doubles. They can observe the continent's fortune and, carrying on the will of Heaven, eradicate evil spirits threatening the continent. Each time they slay an evil spirit, they will receive additional blessings from Heaven and rewards based on the severity of the harm caused. The maximum upgrade is one level for any cultivation technique.]

"So this is the power of the Four Heavenly Kings? Directly increasing cultivation speed and the power of techniques—quite simple and unpretentious. No wonder there are always rumors that defeating them on a continent protected by the Heavenly Kings is extremely difficult. I didn't expect there to be such a reason. However, this isn't their territory, but the Heavenly Court's domain. I wonder how much of their strength they can still unleash..."

Seeing the power of the Heavenly King, Ye Jie nodded slightly. The Heavenly King is related to protection, and to unleash its full power, it can only be done in their own territory. Once they leave, its power is greatly weakened.

"That aura..."

"His aura...this is impossible..."

As Ye Jie completed his advancement, the Heavenly Kings who rushed over upon hearing the news also changed their expressions drastically. The reason was simple: they could actually sense a protective aura emanating from Ye Jie that was of the same origin as their own. However, that was impossible; only the Four Heavenly Kings who protected the continent could display such an aura!

The heavens have four poles, and since ancient times there have only been four Heavenly Kings. Now, they actually sensed the aura of a Heavenly King from Ye Jie. How could they not be surprised?
Ye Jie didn't care about their thoughts. At first glance, the celestial powers belonging to the Four Heavenly Kings didn't seem to improve him at present, but the peak of the sixth level was a real achievement!
With just two promotions to the celestial official rank, Ye Jie's cultivation level soared from the peak of the fifth rank to the peak of the sixth rank, surpassing the accumulation of an ordinary immortal for hundreds of years. If the news were to spread, it would likely cause a huge uproar.

And this is precisely the power of the Book of Life and Death! Along the way, Ye Jie understood the power of the Book of Life and Death better than anyone else. With it, one truly possessed the qualifications to challenge the heavens and the earth. No one, no matter who, could take this extraordinary book away!

Feeling the boundless immortal energy surging from his limbs and bones, Ye Jie was about to unleash his power and defeat the nearby divine generals when an even more overwhelming pressure descended upon him, rendering him unable to move.

Ye Jie struggled to turn around stiffly, only to see that the Jade Emperor had finally become angry.

Previously, the Jade Emperor had only given Ye Jie a slight punishment, repelling him, and then handed the matter over to other celestial officials. If he were to handle everything personally, then who would be the Jade Emperor? Who would have thought that Ye Jie would be so troublesome? Not only was he not captured, but he also continued to modify the records and advance in realm. If this continues, the Heavenly Court will probably lose all face.

As the pressure of the Supreme Haotian descended, Ye Jie realized that the situation was not good, but he had no room to resist. Even moving was a luxury. The difference in realm was so obvious that he probably couldn't even keep the Book of Life and Death in his arms!

(End of this chapter)