Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

The Iron Tree Hell was originally a punishment for those who, in their previous lives, instigated discord between fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, or spouses, or alienated friends, due to their harmful intentions. After death, they would be sent to the Iron Tree Hell.

Normally, people like this, once they enter this place, will, as the name suggests, be nailed to the iron tree. The iron tree is covered with sharp blades, like a mountain of knives, and the sinner will be hung on it from behind.

Such punishment is already extremely painful, because the iron tree here is exceptionally sturdy. Unless you have suffered enough torture, the iron tree hanging you will break off a branch.

This means your punishment is complete, but getting the iron tree to break its branches is harder than praying for rain in the desert.

But today, these sinners have begun to sense that the branch is starting to sway.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but more and more people felt this strangeness, and so did the King of Hell.

This Iron Tree Hell is a huge source of income for Yama, the King of Hell. If he were to release all these sinners, he would feel a pang of regret for a long time, but he has no choice at the moment.

I can't very well show up myself; if I did, everyone would probably point the finger at me. So, for the sake of the bigger picture, I can only leave for the sake of the people first.

King Yama angrily slammed his fist on the table, and his large hand squeezed the servant sitting on his lap. The already shy woman couldn't help but let out a moan, which was quite suggestive.

Chapter 877 Femininity Meets Masculinity

Already irritated, King Yama had no choice but to vent his anger on this. "You weren't yelling this loudly a few days ago, but you're quite something today. It seems I must punish you properly tonight, to show you the might of King Yama!"

"Your Majesty, no!" The woman felt a surge of fear at the thought of the enormous Yama King. If this guy were to unleash his fury on her, then...

The consequences were too much for him to bear, so he could only sit silently on her lap, watching the scene in the pearl without uttering a word.

The savage Yama, as if unleashing his beastly nature, completely disregarded the woman's feelings and ravaged her with abandon.

And so, when they looked back, they saw that even the Third Iron Tree Hell could not escape being shattered into dust.

As one hell after another was shattered, Yama's rage intensified. The poor woman could only grit her teeth and endure it, while constantly forcing a smile.

When they were transferred to the fourth level of hell, the Antarctic Longevity Emperor and the Third Spirit Monkey had already temporarily ceased their fighting.

However, the five of them are now in a three-way balance of power.

Originally the oldest and most senior Antarctic Longevity Emperor, he is now the weakest among them, even though Jin Chanzi treats him with great respect.

However, if a fight really breaks out, everyone will naturally prioritize protecting their own interests, since everyone is looking out for themselves.

Sun Wukong asked Tang Sanzang, "Master, if we eliminate the Antarctic Longevity Emperor first, then the opposing demonic sect is the strongest. This third-ranked monkey is already quite difficult to deal with. Adding the Six-Eared Macaque to the mix, the two of us would probably be split 40/60 with them. In that case, they would take away all the final advantage."

In fact, Tang Sanzang thought the same way, so after hearing Sun Wukong's opinion, he also started to use his brain.

Suddenly he said, “Elder, look. We have a very close relationship and are easy to talk to. The power of the Demonic Sect is extremely domineering. If they take it away, the whole world will suffer.”

This Jin Chanzi truly lives up to his reputation as someone who has read countless books; when it comes to profound principles, he has a whole repertoire of them.

Of course, the Antarctic Emperor of Immortality wasn't stupid. He was currently the weakest party, so talking about respect was just bullshit.

So, regardless of the circumstances, it's naturally a good thing that someone is willing to form an alliance with me. They've given me a way out, so why not take it?

“What you say, Jin Chanzi, makes a lot of sense. I think so too.” After saying that, the old man tactfully walked over and said with a friendly expression, as if he were a good brother who hadn’t seen each other for a long time and missed each other very much.

However, if the Jade Emperor, who is in charge of the Three Realms on the surface, didn't have some trump cards, he would be considered a complete failure.

It turns out that the Jade Emperor, having held such a high position of power for so long, had become incredibly cunning. Although the Antarctic Longevity Emperor was his good brother, he still kept a trick up his sleeve to ensure the mission was completed.

So when he sent the Longevity Emperor to Antarctica, he immediately arranged for someone else whom he could absolutely trust.

That is, back then, the Long-Armed Ape, one of the Four Great Spiritual Monkeys, was originally called Yuan Gong. He was a Long-Armed White Ape who had cultivated in Chu for many years and was extremely powerful. He had even caught eighteen arrows from King Gong of Chu.

At the time, it was a symbol of power and authority.

However, in the original Investiture of the Gods, this gibbon had already cultivated for a thousand years and transformed into a human. He was the leader of the Seven Monsters of Meishan and was called Yuan Hong.

He even led troops in battle for King Zhou, becoming a great general of the Shang Dynasty. However, he was later unfortunately struck down by Nuwa and returned to his original form, becoming trapped in the Mountain and River Map.

Originally, the goddess Nuwa wanted to destroy the demon monkey, but due to the nature of the world, she still needed to expend some energy.

So, after thinking of a few solutions, he wanted to ask one of his fellow Daoists for help.

Everything was already arranged, but just when the mysterious Lu Ya Daoist was about to use his flying knife, which could slay gods and destroy Buddhas, to annihilate him, the Jade Emperor seemed to be very interested, realizing that this monkey would surely become his powerful assistant in the future.

However, he couldn't openly ask for it, so he secretly used every means at his disposal to send his armor over.

Therefore, thanks to the Heavenly Dragon Armor, the Long-Armed Ape's primordial spirit was completely protected, and it can be considered that he was saved by the Jade Emperor.

Afterwards, he secretly brought it back to a secret base in the Heavenly Palace, and the Jade Emperor did not tell anyone about it.

This was something even the Jade Emperor hadn't told his own queen mother, with whom he shared a bed, and had always instructed the Long-Armed Ape to recover its strength in a secret place.

He personally arranged all aspects of his life, which was a nice way of putting it, but the monkey's daily needs were not of much use. As long as he had enough time to heal himself, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was the best nourishment.

Time passed little by little, and the two, who initially had some reservations, gradually developed a better relationship and their barriers disappeared.

The Jade Emperor even cultivated it as his confidant, because the loyalty of animals was a way to reassure him.

The simple-minded gibbon regarded the Jade Emperor as its savior, and readily uttered vows of going through fire and water for him.

However, once spoken, the Long-Armed Ape was true to its word, and thus, thousands of years have passed. The Long-Armed Ape, now only possessing its primordial spirit, has been taken under the Jade Emperor's command to repay his life-saving grace.

Furthermore, having recovered their strength, their power increased dramatically.

The Jade Emperor fed him a lot of elixirs and magic pills, and with the extremely talented Long-Armed Ape's own cultivation, he is now a Great Luo Immortal.

It is even slightly stronger than the Antarctic Immortal Emperor.

Chapter 878 Bewitching People

The Antarctic Longevity Emperor has aligned himself with the Buddhist sect, thus stalemate has once again broken out between the two sides.

In this respect, Yama knew that to break through, more stimulation was needed.

So, the five people's positions seemed to have begun to shift, a feeling of being unable to control their own destiny, but after all, Yama was the master of this hell.

They do possess this capability, though it's not exactly about creating new possibilities. However, after thousands of years of familiarity with the system, making changes using existing resources is still quite easy.

Sure enough, after the shifting of stars and constellations began, one could feel the figures of everyone suddenly becoming ethereal.

But in reality, nothing has changed; the feeling of relative displacement remains the same.

The principle behind this is to connect the third level of hell to the tenth level of hell, thus skipping the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth levels.

This directly led the five people to the area clearly visible to the Yuan Tu and Ami swords.

This is like putting a piece of fat meat between two vicious wolves.

Instantly, the atmosphere became tense, and the Six-Eared Macaque could no longer contain his excitement.

"Is this what the Lord asked us to find? It does look like a fine treasure. I wonder what the effect would be if I used it?" The Six-Eared Macaque said, reaching out to touch the gas, which was hundreds of times denser than the gas they had encountered before.

The red-bottomed macaque immediately stopped them, as if it was about to say something.

But the Six-Eared Macaque pushed him away, as if someone wanted to steal his things.

Sensing the immense power of the Six-Eared Macaque, the Red-Bottomed Macaque's emotions were immediately stirred.

He wanted to go over and teach him a lesson, but he was stunned by a look from the Six-Eared Macaque. There was no emotion in his eyes. Although the two of them did not usually have a good relationship, the current situation was definitely not normal.

Moreover, this is not only true for the six-eared macaque.

Furthermore, Sun Wukong's behavior also began to become unusual.

Once they left the vicinity of Tang Sanzang, their movements became exactly like those of the Six-Eared Macaque, and they too began to lose their composure.

Tang Sanzang couldn't help but call out, "Wukong, come back quickly!"

However, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque seemed to see each other as natural enemies and wanted to fight over their treasures.

They actually started fighting each other, and compared to before, this fight can be said to have returned to its most primitive form, that is, without any rules or methods.

There was no magic, no movement.

Some were merely a contest of strength, with each of them throwing punches at the other, brutally damaging the other's body inch by inch.

The Antarctic Longevity Emperor saw that Tang Sanzang still wanted to go up and see what was going on, but he stopped him and said, "These two no longer have any emotional communication. All they have are their most primitive instincts as monkeys. This kind of harm is the first thing the Creator learned when he created them."

It now appears that the source of this dark energy influenced their minds and clouded their hearts.

"Then what should we do?" Tang Sanzang was a little anxious, after all, the other party was someone he had been with through thick and thin for so long.

"There's no rush. Didn't you notice that their fighting style is just a simple physical exchange? As Grand Luo Immortals, they won't suffer any damage to their bones from this level of injury. At most, they'll only suffer some superficial wounds."

Listening to what the Antarctic Longevity Emperor said, it's no wonder he's considered one of the most senior figures; his perspective is truly exceptional.

The red-bottomed macaque was also completely bewildered after hearing this, saying, "So that's how it is."

At this moment, the crowd no longer distinguished between friend and foe. This place where the black energy was located was actually able to erode the minds of two Grand Luo Immortals. Would they be so easily corrupted?

Or is it because these two accidentally touched something?

Is it because they are all monkeys?

Of course, all possible questions lingered in their minds once.

Therefore, in their view, before knowing the origin of this treasure, it's best to focus all of everyone's attention on it, otherwise...

Otherwise, if everyone's true intentions are concealed, then it would truly be a laughing stock.

What? One day, five Grand Luo Immortals arrived in Hell, only to be wiped out by a mass of black energy of unknown origin.

That would be a laughing stock in the world.

Therefore, they unanimously put aside their sectarian conflicts for the time being.

This was completely unexpected for Yama, who had originally gone to great lengths to make the fight even fiercer, ideally to the point of a life-or-death struggle between the two sides.

But I never expected things to turn out this way.