I subdue demons and monsters, and cultivate immortality in hell to become a saint.

At this moment, a distinguished young man stepped forward, his voice steady yet powerful: "Brother Monkey, you're mistaken. The Six Paths of Reincarnation are not evil; they are the pivot of the universe's operation, a lifeline for the weak."

"Those who died in battle, those who died of illness, those who were murdered, and the weak among the demon race—should they all be abandoned by heaven and earth? The cycle of reincarnation is to give them a chance to start over. In this life they are plants, trees, birds, and beasts, but in the next life they may be human and be able to escape their fate."

"Furthermore, if the strong roam freely and slaughter indiscriminately, without anyone to restrain them, the world will eventually be destroyed by them!"

As soon as the young man finished speaking, everyone chimed in, offering their own explanations of the Great Ape King.

"Without rules, the world will descend into chaos; without restraint, power will inevitably lead to disaster! If there were no Book of Life and Death, and everyone desired immortality, how could this world possibly contain them? In the end, there would only be widespread suffering and the collapse of the world!"

"The eighteen levels of hell are for the most heinous villains; they have committed countless evils and deserve to be punished!"

A group of ordinary people taught the Great Ape King, who had lived for countless years, a lesson.

The simple-minded Monkey King was like a blank sheet of paper. When two completely different statements collided, his mind became a mess, and he couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong for a moment.

However, it cannot be denied that after everyone said this, his hostility towards the underworld has weakened considerably.

"What you say makes some sense to me, but I don't believe it entirely."

The Great Ape King suppressed his anger, his tone resolute, "I will go to Star Sand City to verify this myself!"

He had been in this small town for three days, had had his fill of fun, and it was time to investigate the truth.

Seeing that he was about to leave, everyone became anxious and tried to stop him.

Firstly, the Monkey King is naturally simple-minded, neither arrogant nor fierce, making him very approachable;

Secondly, the spiritual fruits and jade fragments that the Monkey King casually gave them over the past three days have greatly benefited them.

"Brother Monkey, stay a few more days, we'll take you to eat some delicious food again!"

"Yes, Xingsha City is nearby, but you're new here. What if you say something inappropriate and cause trouble?"

The Great Ape King was confused and eager to find the answer, so he was unwilling to stay any longer.

He waved his hand, decisively refusing everyone's offer.

Seeing that their efforts to persuade him were in vain, the crowd had no choice but to give up, and they all said, "Brother Monkey, have a safe journey, and remember to come back and visit us when you have time!"

"Once we arrive in Xingsha City, we must never speak ill of the City God. The City God of Xingsha is the most benevolent deity in the world, and we all revere him as a god!"

"You must not be easily swayed by others again; always be more cautious!"

Hearing everyone's sincere words of advice, the Great Ape King felt a slight warmth in his heart.

He was simple, but not stupid. Yuan Kong and these ordinary people he had just met told completely opposite stories, so one of them must be deceiving him.

At this moment, he already had a slight bias in his mind, but he still needed to verify it himself.

After leaving the small town, the Great Ape King did not immediately ride the clouds at high speed. Instead, he slowed down and took a leisurely stroll, observing the various aspects of life in Nanling Province.

He still had some lingering interest in the human world and wanted to see what the human world, which everyone said was protected by the underworld, was really like.

After traveling for half a day, past the small town ahead, we entered the territory of Xingsha City.

Just then, the Great Ape King raised an eyebrow, and his spiritual sense instantly spread out, a dense aura of malevolence suddenly intruding into his perception.

With a thought, his figure vanished instantly, and with a light touch of his toes, he floated into the air. His gaze swept across the scene below, where a woman was holding an infant in her arms, preparing to push open the door to go home.

But just as she grasped the doorknob, a dark figure suddenly blocked the doorway, exuding a fierce aura.

It was a vengeful ghost with a blue face, fangs, and blood-red eyes. Its body was filled with murderous aura, clearly there to take lives.

A fierce glint flashed in the Great Ape King's eyes, and spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips as he prepared to swoop down and attack.

He never liked to meddle in other people's business, but in his rules, the strong bullying the weak was the biggest taboo.

When he was still weak, he was competitive with the other monkeys, but after he became stronger, he never bullied the weak.

This vengeful ghost dared to bully an orphan and a widow; it was simply an insult to him!

But just as he was about to make his move, he suddenly stopped.

The woman, who was powerless to even kill a chicken, was somewhat frightened when she saw the vengeful ghost, but there was no fear in her eyes.

Holding the baby, she pointed at the vengeful ghost, her tone icy, each word ringing with conviction: "Thirty kilometers from this town lies Xingsha City! Xingsha City has a City God presiding over it, and the Supervisory Council patrols outside the city. You, a mere vengeful ghost, dare to harm me? Do you wish to be utterly destroyed?"

The ghost's expression changed drastically, and it screamed shrilly, "You dare to bluff me?"

The Great Ape King remained hidden in mid-air, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He could see clearly that the vengeful ghost, though fierce on the surface, was actually intimidated by the woman's words, and its malevolent aura had weakened somewhat.

The woman remained unfazed, her tone growing increasingly aggressive: "I'm not bluffing you, I'm just telling the truth. Open your eyes and look around, in this entire Nanling Province, what ghost would dare to openly harm people? The laws of the underworld are not to be trifled with!"

"If you dare harm my child and me today, you will have nowhere to hide even if you flee to the ends of the earth! Once the soul messengers catch you, they will surely cast you into the eighteenth level of hell, where you will never be reincarnated!"

As she spoke, she carried the baby and stepped forward, her eyes showing no sign of backing down.

The vengeful ghost's expression shifted between light and shadow, yet it was forced to retreat repeatedly by a mere mortal, its eyes filled with apprehension.

The Great Ape King was utterly shocked; this completely shattered his understanding of the world!

This woman had no cultivation whatsoever and was utterly powerless, yet she exuded an invisible confidence—a power born from absolute trust, from unwavering faith in the underworld and the City God.

Seeing that the vengeful ghost hesitated to act, the woman pointed to the inner room, her voice even deeper: "In my house stands the memorial tablet of the City God of Xingsha. His eyes are like lightning, and his power is unparalleled. He might be watching you right now!"

"I'm going home now. If you dare to hurt me, then do it; if you don't, then get out of here and I'll pretend nothing happened."

The woman grew even bolder, stepped forward, and directly reached out and pushed the vengeful ghost aside.

The vengeful ghost was already hesitant, and being "humiliated" like this by a mortal made it furious. Its malevolent aura surged. After all, it was a vengeful ghost, how could it be bullied by a defenseless woman?

If we don't teach him a lesson today, how will he ever be able to stand in this place again?

But just as it was about to flare up, the woman pushed open the door. Inside, directly opposite the doorway, stood a memorial tablet of the City God of Xingsha. In front of the tablet was an incense burner, filled with incense ash, clearly indicating that the woman offered incense and worshipped sincerely every day.

Upon seeing this, the vengeful ghost was so frightened that its soul almost left its body, and it dared not act recklessly again.

With a scream, he turned and fled out of town.

The Great Ape King's expression flickered. He glanced deeply at the sleeping baby in the woman's arms, then moved swiftly and silently chased after her.

He wanted to see where this vengeful ghost could escape to, and he also wanted to see if the underworld laws the woman spoke of were truly as ubiquitous as everyone said.

The vengeful ghost fled in panic, wishing it had more legs. But just as it escaped the town, a black iron chain suddenly descended from the sky, binding it tightly and suppressing its malevolent energy, rendering it unable to move.

Immediately afterwards, a group of soul soldiers dressed in black and holding magical artifacts appeared out of thin air, exuding an awe-inspiring righteousness. They were the night patrol soul soldiers of the Star Sand City Supervisory Council.

The leading soul soldier glanced coldly at the bound ghost, his tone icy: "Bold ghost, how dare you wreak havoc in the Southern Ridge territory and violate the laws of the underworld! Seize you!"

"A mere vengeful ghost dares to cause trouble here? It's courting death!"

The inspector's voice was icy cold, radiating murderous intent.

Before he finished speaking, a crack suddenly appeared in the ground beneath his feet, and the Earth God emerged, his body hunched over.

Although he was only a minor deity, he still held a legitimate divine position. The inspector suppressed his murderous aura and greeted him politely.

"Inspector, rest assured, this vengeful ghost dared not do anything evil! I've been watching it the whole time; if it dares to harbor any harmful intentions, I will take action on the spot!"

The local earth god hurriedly said that he was the one who first reported the matter of the vengeful ghost to the Inspectorate, which led to this roundup.

"He's smart to know his place. If he had really hurt someone, he would have been utterly destroyed!"

The inspector formed a hand seal with his fingertips, instantly locking the vengeful ghost in place. He then turned and left with his soul soldiers, his figure disappearing into the thick fog in the blink of an eye.

As the local official was about to escape underground to return to his residence, his vision suddenly blurred, a golden shadow flashed by, and a large, hairy hand grabbed his neck, lifting him into the air.

"Hey old man, what makes you think you can just pop out of the ground?"

The monkey with the hairy face and thunderous mouth grinned, its voice like thunder, its aura as violent as a prison.

The Earth God's heart pounded wildly, and he secretly realized something was wrong. This great demon's aura was terrifying beyond compare, and he was definitely not someone he could afford to provoke! He quickly put on a fawning smile and said, "This old man is the Earth God personally appointed by the City God of Xingsha. It is my duty to live underground and guard this place for peace."

The Great Ape King raised an eyebrow and nodded, his tone tinged with doubt: "The Underworld entrusted you with guarding the people, what benefits did they give you?"

The Earth God was taken aback, then said seriously, "As the Earth God, protecting the peace of this region is my duty. How can there be any talk of benefits?"

These words startled the Great Ape King, a flash of realization crossing his eyes. He realized that the way of the gods was not about taking, but about giving.

He casually tossed the local earth god statue to the ground, his tone playful: "You old geezer are quite interesting. I'll come back to play with you again sometime!"