Hell Emperor.

Chapter 678 Ye Jie - Prerequisites for Introduction
On the snow-capped mountain, a man with a thick build and a face as dark as the bottom of a pot sat upright, listening to his subordinates' reports.

After a long while, he finally sighed deeply:
"Is that so... The previous battle caused the pillar of the sacred mountain to be damaged, and a total of a thousand peaks were affected, which can be considered a disaster that has not been seen in a thousand years."

He paused, then instructed, "I will be leaving this place soon. In the meantime, continue searching for the wounded and make sure they are properly cared for. This is truly an undeserved disaster; let's not drag any more innocent people into this."

"Yes!"

"Yes, Marshal Zhao."

At Zhao Gongming's command, his subordinates obeyed and quickly got to work, leaving him alone in the spacious tent.

Only after everyone had left did he set aside his outward toughness and let out a deep sigh:
"Now, the Heavenly Demon is causing chaos above, the Demon King is running rampant below, and even the sacred mountain has suffered such severe damage. The guardian goddess of the mountain has also disappeared without a trace... Normally, even a single event would be enough to keep the immortals extremely busy. Now, such events are happening one after another. What on earth has happened? Could it be that a calamity is about to befall us?"

As he sighed to himself, he suddenly noticed something and turned around. The scene before him made his heart tremble, and he was unable to calm down for a long time.

But behind him stood a man in black robes. The man's face was calm and composed, his eyes were like bottomless pools, and he exuded an unparalleled pressure that surpassed the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

"you!"

Upon seeing this person, Zhao Gongming immediately recognized him as the Heavenly Court's most wanted criminal who had stolen the power of the celestial officials, single-handedly confronted Emperor Gouchen, and destroyed most of the sacred mountain.

An invisible sense of vigilance instantly filled Zhao Gongming's entire body. The person in front of him was unfathomably powerful, and his presence here could not be anything good.

"Don't worry, I'm here to see you."

Ye Jie spoke slowly. His Xuan Ying Step, a technique at the Great Dao level, allowed him to teleport to places where he had fought before or where he had left his Xuan Ying, saving him a lot of trouble.

In order to obtain information about the wealth-bringing messenger of this era, Ye Jie thought and thought, and finally a face appeared in his mind. It was Zhao Gongming, the future God of Wealth. As long as he could find him, he might be able to meet the wealth-bringing messenger, obtain the treasure of good fortune, and unlock the most powerful bond of the Five Gods of Wealth.

"What do you want from me? I don't remember when we became so close. You disobeyed Emperor Gouchen and damaged the sacred mountain. I haven't settled the score with you yet."

Zhao Gongming's expression was stern, completely ignoring Ye Jie's words, and his eyes revealed a resolute determination to die for his cause.

Ye Jie waved his hand, he wasn't here to cause trouble, and said, "I want to see the Wealth Messenger. I heard you have a good relationship with those Gods of Wealth, could you introduce me?"

Upon learning of Ye Jie's request, Zhao Gongming's eyes showed a hint of suspicion:
"What do you want to see the Wealth-Bringing Messenger for? You don't mean you want to use the Wealth-Bringing Messenger's power to obtain inexhaustible wealth, do you? That's just a lie. Since you can use the powers of a celestial official, you should know that such power doesn't exist at all."

Recalling the records of Ye Jie by the celestial beings not long ago, he not only killed the king of the mortal world and seized the Book of Life and Death, but was also suspected of having connections with the Heavenly Demon. Furthermore, he destroyed the sacred mountain, making him an extremely dangerous being. It is likely that nothing good will come of wanting to see the Wealth-Bringing Messenger.

Ye Jie shook his head: "I've heard that the Wealth-Bringing Envoy possesses a wondrous item called the Treasure of Good Fortune. I'm seeking him out to borrow that item; as for anything else, I don't care." "The Treasure of Good Fortune..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming narrowed his eyes, carefully observing Ye Jie's expression. Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he understood the general idea, but he wouldn't easily agree to Ye Jie's request.

"Even if I know the Wealth-Bringing Messenger, why should I help you? The Treasure of Wealth is the Wealth-Bringing Messenger's unique treasure. I won't bring trouble to my friend just to protect myself."

Upon seeing Ye Jie, Zhao Gongming shook his head. This man was so dangerous, and his face was veiled by a hazy illusion, making it impossible to see his true appearance. He had an air of unease from the very beginning, so of course it was impossible for him to help.

Ye Jie felt somewhat helpless. The information about the Wealth-Bringing Messenger was right before his eyes, yet he couldn't access it, which was quite frustrating. Since there was still some time before the Ullambana Festival and the gathering of the Holy Guardians, he spoke up:

"In that case, what can I do to make you believe that everything that happened before was just a misunderstanding? If you hadn't pressed me so hard and imprisoned the person I was looking for, things wouldn't have come to this."

"Misunderstanding?"

Zhao Gongming looked around, and all he could see were the icy mountain ridges utterly destroyed by the violent force, and the countless lives buried beneath the avalanche. Even if it all started as a misunderstanding, it couldn't be easily resolved now.

"So what if it's a misunderstanding? You've caused immeasurable damage to the sacred mountain, and the residents here have all been affected because of you. Unless you can compensate them, I won't introduce you to the Wealth-Bringing Envoy," Zhao Gongming said slowly.

Ye Jie nodded. Given the magnitude of what had happened, some compensation was perfectly reasonable. He then asked:

"What kind of compensation do you want? Spirit stones or other gold and silver jewelry?"

Speaking of which, Ye Jie once obtained a rare artifact from a Buddhist pagoda that could continuously increase the amount of gold. If it was just a matter of compensating with some gold and silver jewelry, it wouldn't be a difficult task for him. Even if more gold and silver were needed, he could produce it.

However, Zhao Gongming's words surprised Ye Jie: "How can mere gold and silver compensate for the losses suffered by these living beings?"

Sensing trouble brewing, Ye Jie rubbed his forehead: "In that case, what do you plan to do? With my current strength, even if you asked me to restore the mountain range, I could still uproot the towering snow-capped peaks."

Zhao Gongming shook his head: "Have you heard of the Demon King who has recently become famous?"

"Demon King? What are you talking about?" Ye Jie frowned, not understanding what they were talking about. Weren't they talking about the Wealth-Bringing Messenger and making up for the losses? How did they get onto the Demon King?
A powerful demon whose strength surpasses all others can be called a demon king. Demon kings exist in every era, and there are quite a few of them. Could the mention of demon kings at this time be related to the Wealth-Bringing Messenger?

In response, Zhao Gongming simply replied:

“Recently, a demon king has committed an unforgivable crime, openly challenging the Heavenly Court. Many celestial officials have already died at his hands, and I have also been summoned to prepare for his extermination. If you can help me defeat this demon, I will introduce you to the Wealth-Bringing Messenger as you have said.”

(End of this chapter)