Hell Emperor.

Chapter 620 Sun Wukong - Official Position
"Oops……"

Under the suppression of that vast aura, Ye Jie felt as if his body was filled with lead, and even moving was a luxury.

Facing the supreme ruler of the heavens and earth, Ye Jie also felt an instinctive pressure. No matter what kind of immortal he was, he would feel awe from the bottom of his heart when facing the ruler of the three realms.

That reverence has nothing to do with cultivation level or status, but is like the instinctive shock felt by an ordinary person who has lived a whole life and suddenly sees a real dragon. It comes from the pressure deep in the soul.

Ordinary people, no matter how bitter their past lives were, and after countless reincarnations, will eventually have a lucky moment when they can transcend the mortal realm and become immortals.

The Supreme Being Haotian before us has survived countless reincarnations, going through countless cycles of life and death, accumulating experience with each trial, and finally becoming the Supreme Being Haotian. He has single-handedly comprehended the Dao of Reincarnation. Anyone who has experienced reincarnation will feel genuine shock and awe when standing before him.

"not good……"

Feeling the unique pressure emanating from the Jade Emperor, Ye Jie knew he was in trouble. Techniques at the Great Dao level were merely the threshold for fighting against a Nine-Turn Immortal, while the Jade Emperor's strength far surpassed that of all Nine-Turn Immortals. Just his aura alone was enough to render Ye Jie unable to move.

The effects of the Golden Eye continued, and in a daze, Ye Jie seemed to see countless figures emerging from behind him. These figures were of different kinds, and some were not even human. Their faces were blurry, like a wisp of dust that had long been forgotten by the world. They all reached out and firmly bound Ye Jie to the spot. They were the real culprits who made him unable to move!
Among those countless faces, there were a few that Ye Jie found exceptionally familiar.

One of the thin figures was an inconspicuous yellow dog. Unlike the others, it did not tear at Ye Jie's robes, but instead lay prostrate on the ground, uttering indistinct low barks.

Another figure was a cicada, no bigger than a thumb, chirping wildly, its calls tinged with sadness and death.

The last figure was a small, thin baby girl with sunken eyes and pitch-black pupils. As Ye Jie gazed at her, boundless tears of blood welled up in her eyes.

Upon seeing those familiar figures, Ye Jie trembled violently, as if struck by lightning. Having suffered the Three Lives Soul Destruction Tribulation, he had also, by chance, witnessed his three past lives and thus gained a slight understanding of the mysteries of the cycle of reincarnation. At this moment, that mystery quietly revealed itself, saving him from his perilous situation.

Behind Ye Jie, the indistinct figures were the marks left by his soul through countless reincarnations; each one was a past life of Ye Jie. These traces of past lives, which should have long since vanished into the dust, now reappeared in the world with the wrath of the Supreme Being of the Heavens!

Looking at his past lives, Ye Jie felt a pang of sorrow. These figures were all him, yet none of them were him. Now, the Jade Emperor had awakened his traces from the end of reincarnation, only to turn against him!
In other words, these most familiar yet most unfamiliar figures have now all become Ye Jie's enemies. They have only one purpose in appearing here: to drag Ye Jie into an abyss of no return. If Ye Jie wants to survive, there is only one thing he needs to do: to personally sever the traces of his many past lives.

Those figures from his past life, which Ye Jie had never met before, were like another version of himself to him. The feeling emanating from them was a familiarity that was stronger than blood ties and closer than that of brothers. Now, however, he had to be their enemy, and he had to personally destroy all of them as if he were breaking through his inner demons. Ye Jie felt a deep sense of reluctance.

In the distance, Xuan Nu's cold eyes gazed indifferently at the struggling Ye Jie, and she couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Only the Supreme Being of the Heavenly Realm can comprehend all the mysteries of the cycle of reincarnation. In this respect, no one in the world can compare with him. Even the Mysterious Maiden herself admits that she is inferior. However, there is one thing she knows very clearly: no matter what Ye Jie does, he will not have a good ending.

The footprints of the past life are the marks left by the soul in the world. If Ye Jie really cuts off all those past figures as if he had cut off his inner demons, it would be no different from digging his own grave. It is like cutting the roots of an old tree. Even if he can live for a while now, he will eventually be unable to escape the fate of exhausting his life force.

Conversely, if Ye Jie ignores those figures from the past, he will be bound in place by the power of those past traces, unable to move at all, and will eventually lose the Book of Life and Death in his arms.

And this is precisely the power of the cycle of reincarnation! No matter who it is, as long as they have been reincarnated, from that moment on, they are no longer a match for the Jade Emperor. From the moment they come before the Jade Emperor, they have completely lost. No matter what methods they use, they are powerless to reverse the situation!

"The outcome is already decided, but who knows what kind of punishment he will suffer..."

Xuan Nu looked at Ye Jie and couldn't help but shake her head. What did it matter if it was a cultivation technique at the Great Dao level, or the Book of Life and Death? Before the Supreme Being Haotian, who ruled the Three Realms, his fate was already sealed. What mattered most now was what kind of punishment he would receive.

For some reason, perhaps it was the concern Ye Jie showed when he rushed forward to embrace her during their first meeting that stirred something in her usually calm heart. Now, seeing Ye Jie about to suffer severe punishment and even lose his life, she felt a little concerned.

"Never mind... According to Taiyin, my reincarnation owes him a debt of gratitude. Once he produces the Book of Life and Death, I'll find a way to save his life."

Xuan Nu withdrew her gaze. Now that she had made up her mind, she would not hesitate. Even if doing so might cause her to suffer criticism from other immortals, she was not afraid of such things given her current status.

In the arena, Ye Jie was unable to move under the pull of countless past lives. It was as if he was carrying countless mountains on his back. Those past lives, their experiences, their will, were now firmly suppressed on Ye Jie. If it were anyone else, they would either be driven crazy by this scene or crushed by the heavy pressure, but Ye Jie's eyes were firm and he still stood here.

"Protecting your wealth and fortune..."

Despite the risk of suffering a backlash, Ye Jie barely managed to release his wealth energy outside his body. Wealth energy is the unique power of the Treasure-Attracting Celestial Venerable, limited to a radius of one foot around him, and can reduce the damage from all attacks.

However, those blurry, tireless figures from past lives were completely unaffected by wealth. They were not physical entities, but rather like inner demons, visible only to Ye Jie. In fact, the other immortals around him had no idea what had happened to Ye Jie. They only knew that he was unable to move under the Jade Emperor's aura, so how could they see the mysteries of the cycle of reincarnation?
"Hand over the Book of Life and Death, and I may spare your life. However, while you may escape death, you will not escape punishment. You will be imprisoned at the bottom of the Northern Abyss, where you will reflect on your sins for a thousand years before you can atone for them." Hearing the Jade Emperor's rebuke, Ye Jie's heart trembled, and a lingering regret welled up within him.

"No... With my current strength, even if I obtained the Book of Life and Death, I would still be no match for the Jade Emperor. Is this the end for me...?"

"Furthermore, in the past, the ghost messengers liked to discuss the strength of the world's top immortals in their spare time. Almost every ghost messenger believed that the Underworld Emperor, as the lord of the Underworld, had the power to rival the Jade Emperor, the lord of the Heavenly Court. But now, how come he is so far inferior? Could it be that the legends are all false?"

Thinking of this, Ye Jie couldn't help but grit his teeth, feeling that the legends circulating in the underworld in the past were all lies.

When Ye Jie was a ghost messenger, he also liked to discuss with his colleagues which true immortals were stronger or weaker. After all, with his talent, even if he worked hard for thousands of years, he would only be the lowest-ranking ghost messenger. He might as well go to reincarnation sooner. But this did not stop him from discussing the strength of true immortals with his colleagues. On the contrary, it was a good choice to indulge in some verbal sparring.

Perhaps because they were located in the underworld, the ghost messengers unanimously believed that the Underworld Emperor's strength was no less than that of the Jade Emperor. Ye Jie had thought the same thing before, but he never expected that this would lead to his downfall!

Not long ago, in Fulousha City, Ye Jie also met the so-called Yama Emperor and watched him being beaten to a pulp by Sun Wukong, and even his Book of Life and Death was tampered with. This gave Ye Jie an opportunity. In the end, relying on his Great Dao level skills, Ye Jie successfully killed Yama Emperor.

At that time, Ye Jie was filled with pride. The so-called Emperor of the Underworld seemed to be nothing special. According to the unanimous deduction of the many ghost messengers, wouldn't that mean that the Jade Emperor was even weaker than the Yama Emperor? With the Great Dao Technique in his possession, he should have nothing to fear.

It wasn't until he saw the Jade Emperor with his own eyes that Ye Jie realized how ridiculously wrong the ghost messengers' deductions were. What did they mean by saying that the Underworld Emperor could easily defeat the Jade Emperor? If they really fought, the Jade Emperor would probably be defeated in one move. The two were not even on the same level. If the difference between them were taken out, it would be enough to fill the entire starry sky.

While Ye Jie was inwardly crying out that he had been tricked, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had known that the legend was false and that the Jade Emperor was so powerful, he would not have come here no matter what the Mystic Maiden said!

However, things have come to this point, and Ye Jie is no longer in control of the situation. Under the reincarnation system controlled by the Supreme Being Haotian, Ye Jie is like a baby who has just learned to walk. How can his understanding of the reincarnation system, based on his three past lives, compare to that of the Supreme Being Haotian, who has experienced countless reincarnations? This time, he probably won't be able to keep the Book of Life and Death. Not to mention the Book of Life and Death, even escaping safely is probably a pipe dream.

Just as Ye Jie was gritting his teeth, racking his brains but unable to find a way out, a playful laugh suddenly came from afar:
"Why is it so lively here? Could it be that everyone knows I, Old Sun, am going to become a celestial official, and they've come all this way to welcome me?"

Under immense pressure, Ye Jie mustered all his strength and looked up. A familiar figure appeared before his eyes, making his eyes light up. The one who was hopping and skipping into the Lingxiao Palace was none other than the renowned Sun Wukong of later generations.

Upon seeing this person, Ye Jie's heart trembled. He was now in dire straits. Could it be that his hope of escape lay with this man?

Behind him, an old Taoist priest with a white beard quickly pulled him back: "Your Majesty, please slow down. The Jade Emperor is very busy and may not have time to deal with this matter. Please come back later..."

As Sun Wukong let out a playful laugh, the many celestial soldiers and generals who were on high alert and had tense expressions all turned their sharp gazes toward him, revealing a hint of questioning and impatience, as well as very obvious blame. Their eyes seemed to be asking who had let this impudent demon in at such a critical moment.
This situation made the old Taoist priest behind him sweat profusely with anxiety. Why did he have to come at such a time? He was just about to take Sun Wukong away when Sun Wukong refused to let him go.

"Busy? I don't think he's busy at all, standing there motionless. But you invited me, Old Sun, here, how long do you expect me to wait? The heavenly soldiers from before have already annoyed me enough, I don't want to wait any longer!"

Having said that, he walked past the crowd, ignoring the murderous gazes of the heavenly soldiers. In this solemn occasion, he stood before the Jade Emperor, rubbing his hands together with an expectant look, as if he could already see himself being appointed to a high-ranking position and displaying his power.

His arrival also made the Jade Emperor quite impatient. Originally, the appointment of officials was just a choice based on Sun Wukong's decent cultivation level. He would give him a dispensable celestial official position so that he could be used by the Jade Emperor to do dirty and tiring work. Who would have thought that this demon would not understand any manners at all? Couldn't he see that now is not the time to talk about this?

If Ye Jie had decisively handed over the Book of Life and Death from the beginning, indicating his willingness to obey the Heavenly Court's orders, he might have been able to obtain an official position. However, he chose to disobey orders and refused to hand over the Book of Life and Death, causing the other immortals to be quite embarrassed. Since that's the case, he can't blame anyone else.

However, sensing the aura within Sun Wukong, the Jade Emperor's expression hardened slightly. Simply banishing him like this might create an awkward situation, so he decided to deal with it and send him away.
"You've come at the perfect time. The Imperial Stables are in dire need of talented individuals, so I hereby appoint you as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses. From now on, the important task of raising the heavenly horses will be entrusted to you!"

Having finally obtained his celestial official position, Sun Wukong was overjoyed, his lips curving upwards, unable to contain his delight: "From now on, I, Old Sun, will also be a high-ranking official in the Heavenly Court!"

Having said that, he approached the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra, who was holding a pipa and had a serious expression. Seeing that the king's forehead was covered in sweat during the confrontation, he joked, "What official are you? I am the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses!"

Dhritarashtra was taken aback, thinking he hadn't heard clearly.

Ye Jie's eyes darted around, as if he had seen something, and he immediately shouted, "The弼马温 (Bima Wen) is just like the天马牧人 (Tianma Muren), only a second-rank celestial official. When he sees a Heavenly King with a sixth-rank official position, he should pay great respects! How can he sit on equal footing with the Heavenly King?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong froze on the spot, his hair standing on end, his eyes filled with disbelief, and he stared at Ye Jie, saying:
"What did you say? Isn't the stable boy a high-ranking official? How come he's so much worse than him? Are you trying to lie to me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a vast and powerful pressure rose up. Under that pressure, even the power of reincarnation that bound Ye Jie loosened, which further confirmed Ye Jie's suspicions.

(End of this chapter)