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

Chapter 257 Karma Mirror Hell
Chen Ye's Eighteen Levels of Hell sounds incredibly powerful, as if anyone who is afflicted by it will be doomed forever and never be able to be reborn.

But Chen Ye himself knew very well that the main purpose of these eighteen levels of hell was not to harm people, but to save them.

There are always people in this world who are powerless to control their own destiny, foolish and confused. Some knowingly commit crimes, indulging in all the vices.

Making mistakes is human nature. After making a mistake, one should accept the punishment and then start anew.

Chen Ye's hell is not meant to harm people, but to give those who have made mistakes a chance to make amends. Only those who are utterly irredeemable and extremely wicked will be condemned to eternal damnation; anyone who truly repents can find a glimmer of hope amidst the tortures of hell.

The first level of the Fire Serpent Hell was something Chen Ye cultivated by accident, and it didn't yet have such a clear tendency.

The second level, the Bronze Bell Hell, is like a wake-up call in Buddhism, reminding us that the sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore.

The third level, the Illusory Hell, is used to banish those who are utterly wicked and never repent. If they show no intention of reforming, they will be forever condemned to hell and will never be allowed to harm others again.

Now that Chen Ye has mastered the first level of the "Eight-Nine Arcane Arts," he has experienced the feeling of his consciousness multiplying into countless parts. For him, this is an extremely profound experience, both as an observer and as a firsthand participant; everything in the world seems to have changed for him.

If this feeling could be applied to the fourth level of hell, perhaps those sinners could more truly understand the evil deeds they have committed.

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then began to circulate the spiritual energy within his body.

As Chen Ye circulated his spiritual energy, another Qi Sea changed. The originally star-like Qi Sea began to transform into illusory human figures. Each point of light seemed to be an independent life, floating and sinking in this sea of ​​spiritual energy.

As Chen Ye focused his thoughts, figures resembling him appeared one after another.

Chen Ye looked closely and saw himself setting something up in an empty space. The next moment, Chen Ye's body felt as if his soul had left his body and he had fallen into a trap, where the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was binding his soul.

"This...this is when I killed the monk Ku'e?"

Chen Ye felt as if he were being controlled by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and his own phantom was repeating the verbal argument from before. The weakness and pain of the monk Ku'e were also reflected in Chen Ye's soul.

But Chen Ye just watched quietly, without making any struggle.

A moment later, the illusion disappeared, and Chen Ye regained his freedom, as if nothing had happened.

The reason is simple: Chen Ye has a clear conscience regarding the killing of the monk Ku'e.

Even by the standards of good and evil of the world, Chen Ye's killing of Ku'e can be considered a great relief and a way of punishing evil and promoting good.

In this way, the tortures of hell would naturally become ineffective.

The illusion continues, and everything Chen Ye did in his life is repeated over and over again, except that Chen Ye becomes all the people who died at his hands, personally experiencing the despair and pain of those he killed.

If Chen Ye feels even the slightest shame and thinks he was wrong, he will suffer a hundredfold or a thousandfold torment until he atones.

However, Chen Ye remained calm, allowing his identity to change and experiencing various forms of death.

Put yourself in the shoes of the person who was killed.
What a load of rubbish!
Chen Ye has a clear conscience.

If one day he commits the same evil deed, he should suffer the same death without uttering a single complaint.

When others see Chen Ye using the Eighteen Levels of Hell Divine Power, they might think that this divine power is so powerful that it's unreasonable. But what they don't know is that the biggest problem with this divine power is that it constantly tests Chen Ye's mind.

Do you put your knowledge into practice? Do you follow the rules you set for yourself?
If not, I must first go to hell myself.

If Chen Ye commits even the slightest crime, he will be swallowed up by the eighteen levels of hell.

However, Chen Ye has always acted with integrity, and even if the roles were reversed, he wouldn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

It was precisely because of this openness that Chen Ye's cultivation in the fourth level of hell went incredibly smoothly.

Chen Ye took a deep breath and swallowed all the phantoms in front of him.

The changes in the Qi Sea quickly stabilized, and the millions of starlight transformed into millions of human figures. All those who fall into this level of hell will bear the consequences of all their "mistakes" as victims. Either you have a clear conscience, or you will experience the feeling of being victimized.

The fourth level of hell has been reached.

Chen Ye stroked his chin. What would be a good name for this fourth level of hell?

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth - hell? That seems too long."

Chen Ye didn't expect that practicing the martial arts would be so simple, but naming the technique would be the real challenge.

"The cycle of cause and effect is inescapable, and retribution is inevitable. This level of hell will reflect all evil deeds like a mirror, making you reap the bitter fruits of your actions... Let's just call it the Hell of Karma Mirror."

Chen Ye casually chose a name and then prepared to leave the underground palace.

I've been in seclusion for a long time, and I don't know how much time has passed outside. If I accidentally miss the founding ceremony of the Yellow Springs Sect, I'll become a laughing stock.

Chen Ye had only taken two steps when he suddenly felt a cool sensation on his body. Looking down, he realized his clothes had fallen off; he hadn't noticed because he was so focused on cultivating.

Upon closer reflection, Chen Ye wasn't wearing any precious robes; they were just ordinary clothes. His body had just turned into a pool of golden liquid, so how could ordinary clothes have remained intact? Naturally, they had fallen to the ground.

"That won't do. I need to get the magic weapon ready, otherwise I'll have to take off my clothes when I use the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. How can I save face?"

Muttering to himself, Chen Ye put his clothes back on and left the underground palace.

After leaving the underground palace, Chen Ye calculated the time. Fortunately, it had only been less than a month of seclusion.

In just one month, the Yellow Spring Sect seems to have undergone many changes.

First of all, there are many more living people in the city, but the ghosts in the underworld are rarely seen.

Excessive yang energy can also make yin spirits uncomfortable. As the Yellow Springs Sect has developed to this point, the situation of humans and ghosts living together has begun to improve. Yin spirits have become accustomed to hiding underground and rarely show themselves.

This is a good thing; the balance of Yin and Yang is what Chen Ye wants to see.

If the dead and the living mingle together every day, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later.

Upon returning to the Yellow Springs Palace, Chen Ye summoned his disciples and listened briefly to their reports.

During the month-long seclusion, nothing major happened at the Yellow Springs Sect. The three of them, Fu Lu Shou, were busy organizing the sect's scripture pavilion and refining the magical artifacts needed for the sect's founding ceremony.

It has to be said that these three have been incredibly busy since joining the Yellow Springs Sect; they've never been this busy in their entire cultivation lives.

If it weren't for taking the Longevity Pill, which gave them an extra few decades or even hundreds of years of lifespan, Fu Lu Shou and the others would have been working for the Yellow Springs Sect with utmost dedication.

Apart from preparing for the founding ceremony, the Yellow Springs Sect has had nothing major happening lately.

I inquired about the recent situation in the Northern Frontier from the City God of White Bones, and it turned out to be surprisingly peaceful, even favorable for crops.

The tribes of the northern frontier have gradually become accustomed to their ancestral spirits transforming into city gods, resulting in less conflict among them. When faced with truly insurmountable difficulties, the city gods respond much faster than the ancestral spirits did in the past.

Chen Ye merely ordered the City Gods not to grant their desires for something for nothing, but he did not prevent them from helping the people of the Northern Frontier to live better lives. Things like harmonizing feng shui, improving the soil, and curing plagues were all within their power.

Some city gods even mastered spells that could make sheep multiply, but Chen Ye only reminded them not to abuse them.

Ordinary people pray to gods and Buddhas simply to live more comfortably; this is human nature. As long as it's not a good deed that backfires, Chen Ye will not stop them.

The City God takes better care of the Northern Frontier than the ancestral spirits, so the people of the Northern Frontier naturally contribute more incense offerings. The power of these incense offerings, in turn, awakens the wisdom of more City Gods, enabling them to govern the Northern Frontier even better. This creates a virtuous cycle, giving the entire Northern Frontier a sense of prosperity.

Chen Ye was delighted to hear this; Huangquan Sect had finally followed his wishes and brought benefits to the region.

"Sect Master, recently more and more people from the Central Plains want to settle in Fengdu City, but there are too many of them, so we need to ask the Sect Master to make a decision."

Toya Lier, who was in charge of managing the affairs of mortals in Fengdu City, handed Chen Ye a thick report. Chen Ye flipped through it and then said with a puzzled look, "This situation is not right. People from the Central Plains are generally reluctant to leave their homeland. It's one thing for businessmen to come here and leave some employees to collect goods from the northern frontier, and it's also normal for unemployed hooligans to come to Fengdu City to try their luck. But what about an entire clan migrating north? This is too abnormal."

Toya's report detailed the list of people who had recently applied to settle in Fengdu City. It wasn't just one or two individuals, but large families of hundreds or even thousands. These families were usually large landowners, deeply rooted in the Central Plains, and were considered "local worthies" whom even county magistrates had to give some respect to.

How could such a large family possibly migrate as a whole?

Chen Ye asked, "The report didn't mention the reason for their migration. Didn't you find out?"

Toya Lier quickly explained, "Please forgive me, Sect Master. These families only sent people to deliver messages, but they are not from Luoyan Town, but from towns in the Central Plains that are much more distant. The time was too short, and my men could hardly find out much useful information."

Chen Ye did not blame Toya Lier. Her people were just ordinary people from the Northern Frontier, and they had no power in the Central Plains. It was indeed unlikely that they could dig up information about such a powerful family.

"Never mind, it's not a big deal. As long as you abide by the rules of Fengdu City, we treat everyone the same, whether they are from the Central Plains, the Northern Frontier, or overseas. If you want to settle down, come on over. Anyway, Fengdu City is short of living people to suppress the Yin energy."

Chen Ye didn't think much of it. If mortals wanted to come, they could come. Fengdu City naturally wouldn't make any distinction between the Northern Frontier and the Central Plains.

However, Chen Ye thought for a moment and then reminded them, "Be careful to distinguish them. Don't let any demons infiltrate. The world is unstable now, and there might be spies from the demonic sect among these people who have migrated from the Central Plains."

Toya Lier quickly said, "Please rest assured, Sect Master, I will carefully examine the matter, but I will need the assistance of the City Gods."

“I will have my master assist you in handling this matter.”

With the northern frontier gradually stabilizing, most of the City Gods of the Yellow Springs Sect were idle and had nothing to do. Mo Ci, as a day-roaming god, was just right to lead the City Gods in their work.

These city gods should be made to work properly instead of just absorbing incense offerings all day.

After arranging all matters concerning the sect, Chen Ye dismissed everyone and then found Qu Heng, who was meditating in seclusion.

Sensing Chen Ye's appearance, Qu Heng opened his eyes, looked Chen Ye up and down a few times, and then said in utter shock, "You kid... you've mastered the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts?"

(End of this chapter)