Trembling, the Netherworld Envoy accepted the paper money, not daring to say more. He forced his ghostly face into an ugly smile and continued forward.
Heaven knows why this Supreme Immortal had come down to the netherworld. At first, all the ghosts of Boundary Mountain had rushed to stop him, but who could have imagined that with just a lift of his sleeve, five thousand spirits were destroyed completely—both form and soul annihilated—without even having the chance to wail before vanishing without a trace.
The little ghosts all loved to feed on immortal energy, and the energy emanating from this one was indeed fresh and delicious. Yet within half a li, no ghost dared approach him.
His temper was too fierce.
The Netherworld Envoy worried whether he would even survive to return to the King of Hell’s Palace.
Fortunately, the remaining journey wasn’t long, and this Supreme Immortal didn’t show any further anger. He only occasionally looked back, as if concerned about something.
In the netherworld, only those with lingering attachments would frequently look back.
The Netherworld Envoy wanted to remind him that looking back too often made the path of the underworld difficult to traverse, but then thought that this immortal could probably walk it backward with no trouble. It certainly wasn’t his place to worry. So after guiding him to the entrance of the King of Hell’s Palace, he disappeared from the spot like a fleeting breeze.
The cold, gloomy palace had blood seeping from the plaque above its entrance. Li Ye looked at it coldly, feeling inexplicably irritated.
…
…
“Has she returned to the Nine Heavens?” he asked.
Zhu Yan, with his hands tucked into his sleeves and a beaming smile, didn’t ask who he meant. He simply bowed and replied: “Once we entered this realm, news from the outside was cut off. This humble immortal is not quite certain.”
Li Ye pressed his lips together, his face dark as he strode through the door.
As soon as his cloud boots stepped onto the stone floor, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface. As the water-like patterns spread, the surroundings transformed—suddenly lush with flowers and trees, with flowing streams.
“Li Ye,” someone called out coquettishly.
He lifted his eyelids to see Er’er dressed in snow-white robes, joyfully flying toward him.
Her soft body pressed against his arm, warm and affectionate.
“Why are you so slow? You arrived even later than I did,” she said with crescent-shaped eyes, tilting her head to look at him. “Your face is dirty.”
A handkerchief with a milky fragrance brushed against his cheek. Li Ye turned his head to avoid it, but she held his chin firmly.
“Don’t move,” she scolded gently, rising on her tiptoes to draw closer to him, her soft fingers tracing his features, gradually wiping away the dirt.
They were very close, so close that if he lowered his head, he would touch her lips.
His Adam’s apple moved slightly as Li Ye lowered his eyes: “Step aside.”
The person before him froze, then her face fell: “You’re being mean to me again.”
“…”
“Didn’t you miss me?” She pouted. “I’ve traveled thousands of li to find you, what more could you want?”
His body tensed slightly as Li Ye’s eyes filled with a trace of ferocity: “I missed you?”
Playfully poking his chest, the person before him giggled: “Why hide it? Nothing can be hidden in this place. I know everything you’re thinking in your heart.”
“For instance, right now,” she narrowed her eyes, her index finger tapping his Adam’s apple, “you want to kiss me.”
“…”
His fiery red sleeve raised, five fingers reaching toward the towering trees nearby.
Boom—
With a tremendous sound, the surrounding illusion instantly collapsed. The ancient trees fell, the canvas tore, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled continuously.
Li Ye looked coldly at the scene as it reverted to the King of Hell’s Palace, then glanced at the now pale-faced “Er’er,” unable to suppress a sneer: “Do you take me for some naive child, using such a trivial trick to welcome guests?”
His voice shook the area, frightening “Er’er” so much that she fell sitting on the ground, crawling backward in panic: “My Lord, save me!”
She transformed back into a wisp of bewitching purple smoke, trembling as she fled back into the arms of the person on the throne.
Zhong You lovingly embraced her, gently stroking her form, and smiled: “If you were smarter, you should have maintained that appearance. He might have spared your life then. Now that you’ve changed back, it’s hard to say.”
Li Ye laughed coldly: “Even after tens of thousands of years, they still haven’t locked you up as a mute.”
Releasing the purple smoke, Zhong You rose, brushing his robe as black as the deep night, and stepped down the stairs one by one: “If I became mute, there would be no one in this world who could speak the words in your heart. How dull would that be?”
Zhong You, Lord of the Netherworld, could bypass all protective barriers and read people’s hearts. The Heavenly Dao Diviner feared him and banished him to the Eighteenth Layer of the Netherworld Realm, forbidding him from emerging into the world.
The former Li Ye had not feared his mouth at all, because there was nothing in his heart. But now…
Li Ye reached out, mercilessly gripping his neck.
The force in his hand was extreme; he could destroy this physical form in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t,” Zhong You stopped smiling, raising his eyebrows and his hand. “There are no outsiders here. What are you afraid of?”
“I came to find you, not to watch your demons and monsters perform,” he said, his gaze cold as it swept across Zhong You’s face. “You should know that.”
Raising both hands in a gesture of helplessness, Zhong You sighed: “We’re old friends. I’ve always known what you want to do, but previously, you looked down on this decaying death resentment energy and were unwilling to speak much with me. Now that you’ve personally visited my humble abode, how could I short-change you?”
Standing behind them, Zhu Yan heard this and smiled: “The Supreme Immortal has indeed not short-changed you. That thing, I presume, has already reached your hands.”
The fleeing Death-Life Door had not caused further harm to the mortal realm but had directly returned to the netherworld below.
This thing returning to his hands was more valuable than anything else.
Zhong You pressed his lips together, freeing himself from Li Ye’s grasp and painfully rubbing his neck: “In the spirit of reciprocity, I won’t take that thing for nothing. Two hundred thousand units of death resentment energy, I shall offer with both hands.”
“Two hundred thousand?” Li Ye smiled lightly.
After a slight pause, Zhong You waved his hand: “Those below often report incorrect numbers, and as a nominal king who idles away his time, I can hardly be too harsh. Then… three hundred thousand? I’ll throw in some other treasures for you.”
He had opened the Death-Life Door for cultivation; what importance did other treasures hold?
Li Ye turned his palm over, intending to take back the Death-Life Door on the spot.
Zhong You’s expression changed slightly as he hurriedly pressed down Li Ye’s hand: “Don’t be hasty. Guests who come from afar deserve hospitality. You haven’t even had a drink, nor met many people. How can we resort to force so quickly?”
“People?” Li Ye narrowed his eyes. “What people in this place are worth meeting?”
“Well, there are some,” Zhong You pointed to the wisp of purple smoke huddling in the corner and smiled. “You don’t care to look at the fake one, but what about the real one?”
“…” Li Ye looked at him, his eyes suddenly filled with killing intent.
“No, no, I didn’t capture her. That little miss came here of her own accord and even injured quite a few of my mountain-guarding spirits,” Zhong You waved his hands. “I’ve placed her in the Water Pavilion nearby. If you want to see her…”
“I don’t,” Li Ye coldly interrupted. “One million units of death resentment energy. If there’s even one unit less, I’ll settle accounts with you properly.”
His face turning green, Zhong You frowned: “It’s not that I don’t want to give it to you, Supreme Immortal. You have tens of thousands of years of cultivation; if you swallow so much death resentment, I fear something catastrophic might happen.”
“That’s none of your concern,” Li Ye turned with a sweep of his sleeve. “Lend me your Palace of the King of Hell.”
“Don’t you want to go to the Water Pavilion?” Zhong You spread his hands. “If you want to go, then go. I won’t laugh at you.”