Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 195 The most important thing is fairness
This was the first time Chen Ye had dragged a living person into that hell constructed by supernatural powers.

To outsiders, all they knew was that Qiu Shuixian was shrouded in darkness, but Chen Ye could clearly sense everything.

Autumn Cicada's physical body rapidly melted away under the scorching flames. Her soul was forcibly stripped away and exposed to hell, beginning endless torment.

The raging flames are not ordinary fire, but a searing pain that penetrates to the very source of the soul; the venomous fangs bite and gnaw, gnawing not only at the illusory soul, but also at every inch of the nerves deep within consciousness.

Each episode of pain was a hundred times more intense than any torture she could have imagined in her life, and she had no way to escape it, not even to faint.

Chen Ye was no longer an ordinary bystander; amidst Qiu Shuixian's agonizing cries, he also witnessed the sins of this demon's entire life.

Those who fall into demonic possession usually have a miserable first half of their lives.

Qiu Shuixian was no exception. She was displaced in her childhood and sold into prostitution when she was a little older. She spent several years struggling in that quagmire. When she was a little older, she contracted a terrible disease that was hard to cure and was thrown out by the madam. She almost froze to death on the street.

Perhaps it was the resentment and bitterness she felt on the verge of death that finally erupted, but she mustered her last breath and sneaked back into the brothel, where she killed several of her former enemies who had bullied her.

If the story ended here, it would only be considered settling scores.

However, during her escape, in order to avoid being hunted down by the authorities, she killed the entire family who had kindly taken her in, just to avoid revealing her whereabouts.

Thus began his journey of "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me."

Perhaps it was the overwhelming, unyielding evil and resentment emanating from her that finally attracted the attention of her "kindred spirits." Just as her old illness relapsed and she was about to truly burn out, a passing Nirvana Sect sorcerer discovered her and took her in as a vessel for cultivating the Joyful Zen.

They survived, but only by the means of prolonging their lives.

Qiu Shuixian hated the world even more, and became even more cruel and inhumane in her daily life.

Killing people to practice martial arts is a common practice in the Nirvana Sect, and Qiu Shuixian will surely be used for martial arts practice in the future as well.

She was lucky, though; the "master" who had treated her like a slave was dead.

Qiu Shuixian didn't know how he died; in short, he went out once and never returned. Qiu Shuixian simply chose to fake his death, actually hiding away to cultivate diligently, eventually reaching the Tongxuan Realm before returning to the Nirvana Sect.

Qiu Shuixian herself couldn't remember exactly how many people she had killed during that time. It wasn't until she fell into hell that she remembered them one by one, and every sin she had committed turned into a crimson fire serpent that returned to her.

The flames burned endlessly, and the venomous fangs gnawed without ceasing.

Autumn Water Fairy kept wailing, even wanting to die to end it all.

But once you fall into hell, you can no longer control your own life and death; until you repay all your sins, you can only continue to be tormented like this.

The supernatural powers of these eighteen levels of hell will not give him any pleasure in revenge. On the contrary, Chen Ye needs to feel the weight and pain brought by this sin in order to be qualified to control these eighteen levels of hell.

Perhaps that is why this supernatural power is so potent.

Seeing Chen Ye subdue Qiu Shuixian with a secret technique, everyone felt a sense of unease. This was the power of the Yellow Springs Sect Master; he could devour this demon so silently.

Xi Yue was even more excited. After seeing her benefactor in person, she realized that seeing him in person was better than hearing about him. Chen Ye was even more capable than she had imagined.

It seems that I made the right choice in coming to the Northern Frontier to seek refuge with the Yellow Springs Sect.

Having learned the main objective of this trip, Chen Ye then inquired about the Moon Gazing Tower. Although Xi Yue was not a demon of the Nirvana Sect, the music at the Moon Gazing Tower was intoxicating, and Xi Yue's previous tunes did indeed have a bewitching effect. Chen Ye still wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Xi Yue didn't hide anything and frankly told Chen Ye that this was a secret technique passed down in her family, which could use music to arouse people's seven emotions and six desires.

"Sect Master, please rest assured, this method cannot harm people. It can only amplify the emotions in people's hearts and transform them into the worldly emotions of the seven emotions and six desires. After being contained by the formation, it can be used as a pill for cultivation. It is not harmful to mortals."

Xi Yue led Chen Ye directly to the highest point of Wangyue Tower, where they could see the array set up on the tower from above.

After careful observation, Chen Ye could also discern many mysteries.

However, when Xi Yue took out the pill that was supposedly formed from "worldly energy," Chen Ye discovered something amiss.

This is hardly the essence of worldly affairs; it is clearly a crudely made "incense pill."

No wonder Xi Yue said that the worldly energy is not very useful for cultivation. This mixed and impure incense energy is indeed not even as good as the Blood Pill. On the contrary, Xi Yue's ancestral musical score is more valuable.

The music Xi ​​Yue used on Chen Ye wasn't meant to bewitch him, but rather to stir up his emotions, amplifying his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. This caused him to lose control of his emotions, making him easier to deal with once he revealed a weakness.

However, Chen Ye had already mastered the supernatural power of the Bronze Bell Hell, and the sound of the bell could shatter these distracting thoughts.

Although it wasn't of much use to Chen Ye, this piece of music must have a significant origin.

Chen Ye had no greed for other people's secret techniques, as long as Xi Yue didn't use them to harm people. Now, Wangyue Tower not only doesn't harm people, but also provides a place for those brothel women to live, and the money they earn is also being used to support the widows and orphans in Luoyan Town under the management of Tuoya Lier.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye began to sense something was amiss. However, Xi Yue spoke with great enthusiasm, as if she had done something incredibly good for the Huangquan Sect. Chen Ye didn't want to dampen her spirits, so after offering a few words of comfort, he made an excuse, saying it concerned matters of the Huangquan Sect and that he needed to speak privately with Tuoya Lier. The others tactfully left, leaving Chen Ye and Tuoya Lier alone in the private room of Wangyue Tower.

Chen Ye's gaze fell on the seemingly submissive but actually stubborn woman from the northern frontier, and he slowly asked, "Toya Lier, tell me honestly, what exactly is your intention in building this Moon Gazing Tower in Luoyan Town?"

Toya Lier trembled slightly and quickly lowered her head to explain, "Reporting to the Sect Master, my encounter with Miss Xiyue was truly by chance..."

“I have never doubted that.” Chen Ye interrupted her, his eyes sharpening. “I’m asking you, why did you instigate Xi Yue to build the Moon Gazing Tower here? Why did you imprison that demon from the Nirvana Sect here instead of reporting it directly to the sect or dealing with him yourself? Also, you’ve spent a fortune here to win people’s hearts and secretly planted many spies. What exactly are you trying to do?”

Toya Lier clearly came here to learn papermaking and paper figurine making, so why did she start doing business here and make such a fuss?

Xi Yue seemed somewhat naive; she believed Tuo Ya Li'er's claim that the Huangquan Sect was based on benevolence and had helped countless people in the Northern Frontier. However, after asking a few more questions, Chen Ye discovered that most of the money from Wangyue Tower was being given to beggars.

It's not that there's anything wrong with helping beggars. But Chen Ye knew very well that there were certain ways to operate in the begging business. The truly destitute and helpless only made up a portion of the population; the majority of beggars who gathered in groups were practically just like local thugs and hooligans.

Toya Lier was incredibly intelligent; she couldn't possibly be unaware of this. The purpose of investing so much money in these beggars was far more than simply "helping the poor."

This little trick might fool others, but how could it fool Chen Ye's eyes?
Chen Ye's words exposed her true intentions, and a hint of panic flashed across Toya Lier's face. She quickly explained, "Sect Master is very perceptive. I did do it intentionally. However, it was also for the greater cause of the Yellow Springs Sect."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "When did my Yellow Springs Sect ever have a great cause? I'm not trying to conquer the world and become an emperor. What kind of great cause is that?"

"Sect Master, please understand!" Toya Lier's tone became more urgent as she continued, "Is the Yellow Springs Sect's incense and faith destined to be confined to the barren northern frontier forever? Although the northern frontier is vast, how can its population and resources compare to the prosperous and bustling Central Plains?"

"If we can make the people of the Central Plains also believe in the City God and revere reincarnation, how many more statues of gods would be added to the City God's Pavilion? How far would the prestige of the Yellow Springs Sect spread? Sect Master, I believe that Luoyan Town should become the first base of our Yellow Springs Sect in the Central Plains and be brought under our jurisdiction!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye wasn't particularly excited. Instead, he stared at Toya Lier and asked, "Judging from your tone, you don't seem to have much of an aura of dominance; instead, you seem to harbor a lot of resentment. Tell me, have you suffered some injustice here?"

Toya Lier remained silent for a moment, then lowered her head under Chen Ye's gaze.

She hadn't expected Chen Ye to see the problem so quickly. With a mix of shame and helplessness, she said in a low voice, "Sect Master's eyes are truly discerning. Your subordinate is willing to accept punishment."

"Alright," Chen Ye waved his hand, interrupting her apology.

"You should be very clear about the rules of my Yellow Springs Sect. Don't give me that 'thunder and rain are all divine favors' nonsense. You might as well explain the cause and effect clearly, and the truth will be judged by the public."

Upon hearing this, Toya Lier explained with a mix of grievance and anger: "I brought several fellow countrymen from the Northern Frontier who wanted to learn a craft to Luoyan Town. We sincerely sought their guidance, but we have been subjected to countless scornful looks and difficulties!"
“They themselves are just ordinary, impoverished craftsmen, but when they face us, the people of Northern Xinjiang, they immediately put on an arrogant and condescending attitude! Not only did they insult us to our faces and charge us tuition fees that were far higher than usual, but they also acted as if they were doing us a favor. When they were teaching us their skills, they were very secretive, as if they were afraid that we would learn the real skills!”
“They can turn around and deny everything they agreed on beforehand! What’s worse, they even secretly informed the government, falsely accusing us of being spies sent from the northern frontier, saying that we were plotting something nefarious! They not only want to swindle all our money, but they also want our lives!”
"If we hadn't met Miss Xiyue, we probably would have already clashed with the local government!"

Perhaps because she had never experienced such blatant regional discrimination and exclusion, Toya Lier, who was a prominent figure in the northern frontier, harbored deep resentment towards certain people from the Central Plains in Luoyan Town.

It was this resentment that gave her the audacious idea of ​​turning Luoyan Town into the territory of the Yellow Springs Sect.

Let a City God Temple be built here, and let it be incorporated into the order of the underworld. Then let's see if those once arrogant people from the Central Plains will still dare to discriminate against these "barbarians" from the northern frontier.

Building the Moon-Gazing Tower, bribing beggars, setting up a network... all of this was paving the way for the "expansion" of the Yellow Springs Sect. In her view, once the time was right, she could erect the Yellow Springs Sect's first Central Plains City God Temple in Luoyan Town.

After listening to Toya Lier's explanation, Chen Ye comforted her, saying, "Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. This saying is so widespread in the Central Plains that some people have heard it so often that they naturally take it as a truth that transcends all morality and right and wrong. You're just unlucky to have encountered such a narrow-minded group of people."

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and regard all people from the Central Plains as enemies. Within my Yellow Springs Sect, there has never been a saying that anyone is more noble than anyone else. Whether they are from the Northern Frontier or the Central Plains, once they enter my Yellow Springs Sect, they must abide by the same rules. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be superior to anyone else."

Chen Ye originally considered himself a person from the Central Plains, but since cultivating the Eighteen Levels of Hell, his identity has changed somewhat. For this system to truly function, the most important thing is fairness; double standards must be avoided.

The Yellow Springs Sect uses common human feelings as its standard, and this person represents all people in the world.

Today you can distinguish between the two regions of Central Plains and Northern Frontier, but tomorrow others will be able to distinguish between cultivators and mortals. In a few more days, this classification will certainly not be enough, and they will also distinguish between male and female, and then between rich and poor.

Standards can be subdivided infinitely, so how is that any different from the world we live in today?

Regardless of how you measure right and wrong in morality, established rules are rules, and should be universally applicable.

If one is not upright, how can one correct others? How can one uphold justice?
Toya Lier naturally understood Chen Ye's implied meaning and quickly lowered her head, saying, "This subordinate knows her mistake and begs the sect leader's forgiveness."

"Hmm." Chen Ye nodded. "Although your actions were driven by selfish motives, they weren't truly heinous, so we won't pursue the matter further. I'm just reminding you that the Yellow Springs Sect's rules always emphasize 'every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor.' Whoever bullied you or made things difficult for you, you can go and get revenge. The Yellow Springs Sect will stand up for you."

"But if you extend your hatred to the entire Luoyan Town, or even to all the people of the Central Plains, then how are you any different from those who have bullied you? Right and wrong must be distinguished."

Toya Lier replied with heartfelt admiration, "Your subordinate will remember the Patriarch's teachings!"

Seeing that she was genuinely remorseful, Chen Ye didn't pursue the matter further. Toya Lier was a rare talent under his command, intelligent and capable, and he believed that after this lesson, she would be able to figure out the key points herself.

After finishing their business, Toya Lier seemed to remember something and spoke up again: "By the way, Sect Master. Xi Yue strongly agrees with the Yellow Springs Sect's ideals and has long admired you, Sect Master. Having spent time with her, I know she is of upright character. I dare to suggest that you recommend her to join our Yellow Springs Sect. I wonder what your opinion is?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye asked doubtfully, "You can make decisions for others so easily. Does she herself want to join the Yellow Springs Sect?"

Toya Lier smiled and said, "How could she not be willing? As long as you, Sect Master, nod your head, Xiyue is willing to serve you."

(End of this chapter)