Stranger Danger

There were two millstones, one black and one white. The black millstone was on the ground, and the white millstone in the sky.

When the two millstones rotated, they emanated what looked like shockwaves of primal chaos and dragged countless ghosts into them. Then, their flesh, blood, bone and soul were ground into dust.

But of course, death was not the end. The ghosts revived in the waves of primal chaos and were dragged into the millstones again, and again, and again.

“So, this is the Hell of Mills…”

Ye Qing was both stunned and disturbed. It was because he could sense an unbelievably vast aura from the millstones of yin and yang; a kind of innate great way and law that he couldn’t describe. He had no doubt that even he would be ground into dust if he was pulled into the millstones, and that worried him as a matter of course.

The Hell of Millstone was the seventh hell of the eight major hells. Anyone who committed the Ten Evils would plunge into this hell and suffer the pain of grinding.

The Ten Evils in Buddhism referred to killing, stealing, promiscuity, lying, spreading evil, cruelty, swearing, gossiping, coveting, to harbor malice, and to stay ignorant. It more or less encompassed all of the sins that were stated in the previous six hells.

“You do not harbor any one of the evils. Merciful…”

The voice boomed, and Ye Qing let out a huge sigh of relief. He did not want to experience being ground into dust. He could tell just by looking at the ghosts that the experience would have been painful beyond imagination.

The hell after the Hell of Mills was also the last hell of the eight major hells. It was none other than the infamous Avīci.

After Ye Qing was judged to be innocent, a wave of primal chaos somehow blew him into the Avīci.

Compared to the seven hells before, this one had no distinct shape or form whatsoever. Wherever he looked, he only saw chaos and more chaos. There was neither sky nor celestial bodies above his head, no such thing as a horizon, and no colors.

Despite this, he could see countless ghosts screaming and wailing at the top of their lungs. Their faces were warped into varying visages of torment, unable to live or die. The stench of despair on this level was so much thicker compared to the previous hells that it wasn’t even funny.

The final hell of the eight major hells, Avīci, was the worst hell of them all.

The “Nirvana Sutra” stated this: “‘A’ means ‘nothing’, and ‘vīci’ means ‘interval’. Together, they mean no time, no space, and the realm of karmic retribution of no limits. Therefore, Avīci was also known as the ‘uninterrupted hell’. Those who committed the Ten Sins or the Anantarika-karma (Five Sins of Immediate Retribution) would plunge into this hell and suffer ultimate and uninterrupted suffering, never to be freed.”

Although Ye Qing knew that he was now sin-less, he still could not help but feel chilled to his every core as he stared at Avīci and the ghosts suffering within it. Every hair on his body was standing on end, and he had to wrestle with the impulse to run away ASAP.

“You have not committed the Ten Sins or the Anantarika-karma. Merciful, merciful…”

The voice boomed, and Avīci trembled. The next moment, Ye Qing found himself rising higher.

At first, Ye Qing did not understand what was going on. It wasn’t until he was high up in the air that he realized that he was standing on a Buddha’s palm.

The Buddha’s hand was gigantic and seemingly infinite. It felt as if all eight hells were resting on the Buddha’s palm.

As the Buddha’s hand continued to lift him upward, he found himself passing through Avīci, the Hell of Mills, Tapana, the Hell of Frigid Ice, the Hell of Yin Wind, Kālasūtra, Saṃjñā, and finally the Hell of Molten Copper. Then, he found himself standing in a Pure Land.

Inside the Pure Land, the springs flowed clearly, the golden lotuses bloomed, the auspicious beasts ran freely, and the birds flew without worry. It painted a stark contrast compared to the eight hells to say the least.

“You have overcome the eight major hells and cleansed yourself of all your sins. Merciful and excellent…”

It was at this moment Kṣitigarbha Buddha appeared out of nowhere and stepped toward him. He was riding the Diting again, and the Diting’s footsteps were marked by golden lotuses.

“I greet you, Kṣitigarbha Buddha.” Ye Qing saluted him.

“Excellent…”

Kṣitigarbha Buddha chanted kindly before asking, “Since you have cleansed yourself of your sins and taken refuge in the Buddha, are you willing to receive my mantle and inheritance?”

“This disciple is willing.”

Ye Qing perked up. It was clear from Kṣitigarbha Buddha’s words that he was the first person to overcome his trial and arrived at this place.

Kṣitigarbha Buddha asked him if he was willing to receive his mantle and inheritance, and in his opinion, only an idiot would say no. Why else had he wasted all that Profound Yellow Mother Qi? It was all for this moment, was it not?

Sure, his initial plan was for the North Duke and Chu Wangsun to beat the shit out of each other over the Ten Directions Stupa and play the fisherman, but what could he do? Man plans, and the heavens laugh. Sometimes, you just gotta adapt to the situation, man!

Besides, once he received Kṣitigarbha Buddha’s inheritance and mastered the Ten Directions Stupa, it would be easy for him to take out Chu Wangsun.

One way or another, his vengeance would be fulfilled. So long as he achieved his goals, who cared if the way he took was totally different from the one he planned to take?

“Excellent. Now, lower your mental defenses, and do not resist.”

Kṣitigarbha Buddha smiled as he came to a stop in front of Ye Qing. Then, he lifted a finger to tap Ye Qing on the head.

Why do these seniors always like to pass their inheritance via touching someone in the forehead?

Ye Qing was complaining in his head when suddenly, he realized that something was amiss. It was because Kṣitigarbha Buddha’s eyes suddenly turned pitch black and bottomless. It was like a portal to Avīci itself.

Before he could react, Kṣitigarbha Buddha abruptly appeared inside his headspace. However, the Buddha no longer looked nearly as merciful and radiant as he was before. Instead, there was only eeriness and evil. His eyes were pits of abyss, and his aura was evil and anomalous. The jeweled crown he wore had transformed into a crown of black lotus, and his kasaya had turned into the darkest black. The jeweled beads in his left hand were unfathomably dark, whereas the Daśacakra Kṣitigarbha Sūtra in his right was dripping with blood. Even the halo behind his head was shining with chaos instead of white light and reflecting scenes from the eight great hells.

The Diting he was riding was no different. Half of its body was rotting and skeletal. It looked both savage and ugly.

Realizing that he had been tricked, Ye Qing immediately channeled his yang god. The Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon immediately rose from his black lotus throne and made to crush the Buddha.

This was Ye Qing’s headspace; his homeground. Naturally, the palm strike seemed all-encompassing and omnipotent.

“Nether Buddha…”

Kṣitigarbha Buddha chanted, and his Kṣitigarbha beads emitted a terrible dark light. In an instant, countless ghosts burst into existence and flew upward to meet the giant hand, consuming and eroding it in no time.

Not only that, the dark light was overflowing with a dark, filthy corruption that instantly eroded or corrupted his demonic thought, eating away at his Paranirmita Vasavartin Heaven bit by bit.

“Freeze!”

Ye Qing’s Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon yang god commanded, and dark yellow light rippled out of its faceless, formless body. Despite their seeming lack of weight, they were really as heavy as mountains and as thick as the earth.

The Paranirmita Vasavartin Heaven immediately stopped crumbling. The dark light could no longer progress an inch further.

“You are not the Kṣitigarbha Buddha. What are you?”

While protecting his mind with the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, Ye Qing glared at the floating Kṣitigarbha Buddha and asked harshly.

“Nether Buddha…”

“Kṣitigarbha Buddha”’s smile was both sympathetic yet evil. “Before the myriad tribulations, Kṣitigarbha Buddha was me, but I am not Kṣitigarbha Buddha. After the myriad tribulations, I am Kṣitigarbha Buddha, but Kṣitigarbha Buddha is no longer me.”

“However, I dislike the name Kṣitigarbha Buddha. You may call me Nether Kṣitigarbha instead!”

“Nether Kṣitigarbha?” Ye Qing frowned deeply. He had never heard of such a title before, nor did he understand what the fuck Nether Kṣitigarbha was talking about earlier.

“Before the myriad tribulations, I am both Kṣitigarbha Buddha’s malice and the artifact spirit of the Ten Directions Stupa. I assisted him in suppressing the eight hells, purifying the evil ghosts, and assisting them in transcending worldliness. That is why Kṣitigarbha Buddha was me, but I am not Kṣitigarbha Buddha.”

As if he could guess Ye Qing’s thoughts, Nether Kṣitigarbha explained kindly, “After the myriad tribulations, Kṣitigarbha Buddha perished, but I remained. Hence, I am Kṣitigarbha Buddha, but Kṣitigarbha Buddha is no longer me.”

“However, I am born from evil, and I exist in darkness. Hence, I call myself Nether Kṣitigarbha. From now on, there will only be Nether Kṣitigarbha.”

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