“Kṣitigarbha Buddha’s malice? Artifact spirit of the Ten Directions Stupa?”

Ye Qing’s eyebrows were locked in a tight frown. To say that sounded bad would be an understatement. “So, what are you planning to do?”

“Nether Buddha…” Nether Kṣitigarbha chanted before answering, “I wish to escape the sea of bitterness through your body.”

“You want to escape the sea of bitterness through my body?” Ye Qing frowned even deeper before voicing his confusion, “I don’t understand. Kṣitigarbha Buddha is dead, so no one can restrict you anymore. Why do you need anyone to help you when you are already free?”

“Nether Buddha…”

Nether Kṣitigarbha replied smilingly, “Although Kṣitigarbha Buddha is dead, the Ten Directions Stupa still exists. It is both my host and my shackle. Only by breaking free from it can I truly escape the sea of bitterness.”

“I see. You want me to break the Ten Directions Stupa and free you from the sea of bitterness?” Ye Qing asked.

“No.” Nether Kṣitigarbha shook his head. “Breaking the stupa is easy, but escaping the sea of bitterness is not so easy.”

“Then what do you mean, exactly?” Ye Qing pressed.

“The sea of bitterness can only be crossed by a human.” The corners of Nether Kṣitigarbha’s lips slowly turned up into an anomalous, vicious smile. “Therefore, I desire to become a human.”

“Haha… you said so much nonsense when you could’ve just said that you want to possess me!” Finally, Ye Qing understood what Nether Kṣitigarbha meant. He acted like he was oh-so-pious, but in the end, he was just another sonuvabitch who lusted for his body!

“That is correct.” Nether Kṣitigarbha smiled. “Only by becoming a human may I truly unlock my shackles, escape the sea of bitterness, and attain eternal transcendence.”

“If that is all you need, then why didn’t you break free sooner? Countless people have visited this place before. Why did you want until now to choose a victim, and why me?” Ye Qing asked.

“I yearn to become a human. Naturally, I desire the strongest and most flawless body. Anything less will not be able to bear my power and assist me in achieving transcendence.”

Nether Kṣitigarbha looked at Ye Qing. “You are the Earthly Sovereign’s successor, aren’t you? You have forged a flawless Earthly Sovereign Body with the Profound Yellow Mother Qi as the base, and you have cleansed yourself of your sins and karmic hindrance via the eight major hells. There is no better body than yours to become my boat to cross the sea of bitterness.”

“I see.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose. In other words, he had stepped right into Nether Kṣitigarbha’s trap like a sheep who sheared its own fur and placed its neck on the butcher’s knife. How embarrassing!

“Nether Buddha…” Nether Kṣitigarbha chanted. “Now that your doubts are resolved, you may start extinguishing your own mind.”

“Excuse you?” Ye Qing raised an eyebrow.

“You heard me right.” Nether Kṣitigarbha was still smiling. “If you extinguish your own mind, you still have a chance of entering the samsara. But if you leave it to me to do it, then you will surely experience true death. This is my mercy to you, benefactor.”

“This is your mercy to me? You really are an irredeemable asshole from the start until the end, aren’t you?”

Ye Qing suddenly broke into a wide, unrepentant grin. “No thanks. Your mercy stinks just as badly as you, and I have no interest in taking your heavens forsaken stench into my body. You want my body? You’re gonna have to take it the hard way!”

For the first time, Nether Kṣitigarbha looked angry. “You would not extinguish yourself? Then remain and suffer the eight major hells for eternity!”

“Nether Buddha…”

Nether Kṣitigarbha chanted, and the halo behind his head unleashed what seemed like an infinite amount of dark light. The light took the form of the eight major hells and absolute samsara.

“Hah! No thank you!”

Ye Qing barked out a laugh as his yang god threw out a punch. It wasn’t aimed at Nether Kṣitigarbha or the eight major hells, however. Instead it was aimed at what looked like an empty space. Ṟ

As the punch continued to fly through space, an ancient, enigmatic bell slowly manifested into existence. It was surrounded by dark yellow light.

THANG!

The moment the punch made contact with the bronze bell, dark yellow light washed over anything and everything, and the sound of bell ringing shook heaven and earth.

The dark yellow light instantly pushed back the dark light shining from Nether Kṣitigarbha’s halo and destroyed the eight major hells.

The bell ringing also restored Ye Qing’s distorted energies and crumbling headspace.

Even the halo behind Nether Kṣitigarbha’s head—a glass that looked like a portal to reflect myriad worlds—instantly shattered into smithereens. Nether Kṣitigarbha’s own body was breaking all over as countless evil ghosts struggled to wriggle out of the cracks.

“The Earthly Sovereign Bell? Impossible! How can you possibly have the Earthly Sovereign Bell?”

Nether Kṣitigarbha looked both angry and terrified. Nether Kṣitigarbha was born in the same era as the Three Sovereigns, so of course he knew of the Earthly Sovereign Bell. He also knew that it had been missing for ages. He never expected the ancient artifact to resurface in this world, much less be used against him.

“Why are you so surprised? You said it yourself. I’m the successor of the Earthly Sovereign. It’s perfectly normal for me to possess the Earthly Sovereign Bell, isn’t it?”

Ye Qing was grinning from ear to ear, though his yang god didn’t look much better than Nether Kṣitigarbha. Its arm was broken, and half of its body was missing, though it was slowly recovering under the nourishing effects of the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared? If you are, then get the hell out of my head!”

“Nether Buddha… if you really have mastered the Earthly Sovereign Bell, then it would make sense for me to withdraw here.”

Nether Kṣitigarbha uttered with a vicious expression, “However, you clearly have not mastered the Earthly Sovereign Bell, and you can only unleash so much power. Why should I fear a neutered Earthly Sovereign Bell? If anything, you should be the one who is afraid.”

“Hahaha… is that so?” Ye Qing guffawed. “Let’s see who chickens out first then!”

Ye Qing punched the Earthly Sovereign Bell as soon as he said this. The side of his yang god that just regenerated immediately exploded once more.

The Earthly Sovereign Bell’s dark yellow light and bell ringing reappeared, but this time, Nether Kṣitigarbha was prepared. The Diting beneath him looked up and howled, mouth throwing up a flood of black, filthy water that was overflowing with bones. At the same time, Nether Kṣitigarbha himself flipped open his Buddhist sutra and caused eight powerful ghost kings to step out of the pages one after another.

The first ghost king was fiery red in color and covered in molten copper. He was the lord of the Hell of Molten Copper.

The second ghost king had iron claws growing out of his hands and possessed a savage countenance. He was the lord of Saṃjñā.

The third ghost king carried a copper pillar behind his back and wore a black rope around his waist. He was the lord of Kālasūtra.

The fourth ghost king was surrounded by yin wind, and his face was hidden from view. He was the lord of the Hell of Yin Wind.

The fifth ghost king had a body of ice, and he was surrounded by wind and snow. He was the lord of the Hell of Frigid Ice.

The sixth ghost king was made up of hellfire and carried a pair of horns on his head. He was the lord of Tapana.

The seventh ghost king was a formless entity that seemed to be made of pure chaos, and he was so tall that he seemed to be supporting the heavens themselves. He was the lord of the Hell of Mills.

The eight ghost king were countless ghosts hugging each other in uninterrupted despair. He was the lord of Avīci.

The next moment, the eight lords of hell attacked Ye Qing at once.

The lord of the Hell of Molten Copper spat rivers of molten copper that could melt both heaven and earth.

The lord of Saṃjñā swung his iron claws and sundered space itself.

The lord of Kālasūtra sent black ropes flying like living dragons and serpents.

The lord of the Hell of Yin Wind blew torrents of yin wind that were thick and dense enough to rival rivers.

The lord of the Hell of Frigid Ice summoned a hail of Sinful Snow that could freeze anything and everything.

The lord of Tapana caused hellfire to burst out from beneath his feet and burn everything.

The lord of the Hell of Mills manifested the millstones of heaven and earth and sought to grind down yin and yang.

And the lord of Avīci swung an uninterrupted sword that extinguished all hope.

The light and sound of the Earthly Sovereign Bell were instantly suppressed by the Magias of the eight lords of hell.

Seeing this, Ye Qing raised his intact left hand and punched the Earthly Sovereign Bell again.

The dimming light immediately brightened, and the weakening ringing grew to deafening volumes once more.

No Magia could exist under the effects of the dark yellow light and ringing sound. Even the eight lords of hell had crumbled into smithereens.

However, they immediately resurrected amidst the dark light and pounced toward Ye Qing once more.

The eight lords of hell were born from the eight major hells. So long as the hells remained, the eight lords of hell could never be truly eliminated.