Chapter 8: Slaying Buddhas, Beheading Emperors—Delivering All Living Beings to Oblivion

Within the First Underworld Palace, True Lord Taisu Miaoguang was drinking tea and playing a game of Go with the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Thunderous Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable.

The Nine Heavens Yingyuan Thunderous Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable suddenly sensed that something was amiss. Holding a Go stone between his fingers, just as he was about to place it upon the board, he hesitated and said, “…True Lord Miaoguang, did you hear something?”

True Lord Taisu Miaoguang stroked his beard and smiled. “This is the Underworld. The Ten Halls and Four Offices govern the Eighteen Hells, each guarded by Yin soldiers and ghost generals. What sound could there possibly be?”

“Surely no one has come to cause trouble in my Underworld?”

“Haha, naturally not…”

The Thunderous Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable laughed heartily and resumed the game.

Yet as he lifted his teacup to drink, he suddenly noticed endless ripples spreading across the surface of the tea.

He froze for an instant.

The next moment, countless cracks spread across the teacup.

Then—

A resonant note from a qin rang out, as though it would split Heaven and Earth apart.

The teacup, the tea bowl, and every fragile object throughout the entire First Underworld Palace shattered simultaneously. Tea splashed over True Lord Taisu Miaoguang. He shot to his feet, his expression changing dramatically. “This is…!!!”

“Who has touched [Delivering All Living Beings to Oblivion]?!”

True Lord Taisu Miaoguang’s face instantly changed.

The Nine Heavens Yingyuan Thunderous Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable exclaimed, “That ancient artifact which transformed during the Second Kalpa Era, after the gods, Buddhas, immortals, and divine beings slaughtered one another, bringing endless suffering upon all living beings, and after Fuxi, the Heavenly Sovereign Emperor of the Divine Realm, fell?!”

True Lord Taisu Miaoguang nodded.

“Indeed.”

“It was originally the finest qin beneath Heaven. Steeped in boundless killing intent, it underwent a transformation. A Buddha once sought to redeem the slaughter contained within the qin, yet was instead slain by it.”

“In the ancient age, it came to bear the title:

[Slaying Buddhas, Beheading Emperors;

All Living Beings Know Only Suffering.

The Four Noble Truths End in Sorrow;

Delivering All Living Beings to Oblivion.]

“The divine weapon gave birth to its own spirit and massacred countless living beings. Every melody ever played upon a qin ultimately traces its origin to this instrument. It takes Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Gods, and Ghosts as its strings.”

“No one has ever been able to move it.”

“This qin has been suppressed here by Great Emperor Haotian for three entire Kalpa Eras.”

“So why has it awakened today?!”

He immediately rose, intending to investigate.

Yet the qin had truly awakened.

In those distant years, Great Emperor Haotian had cast this artifact down from the heavens like a streak of divine light. It crashed directly into the Underworld, embedding itself within all Eighteen Layers of the Netherworld. It had effectively become one with them, serving as one of the pillars supporting the entirety of the Underworld.

Now that it had stirred, the entire Underworld shook violently, as though it might collapse at any moment.

The Underworld trembled once more.

The qin resounded again with a sharp Zheng, its notes carrying nothing but slaughter.

“Ah! It hurts! It hurts!”

“My ears! My ears!”

“AAAAAH!”

Throughout the Eighteen Hells, countless evil ghosts writhed in agony, clutching their heads as they staggered about. The Ten Underworld Palaces all shook violently; the ghost wardens cried out in grief, the Yin deities roared in fury, Ox-Head dropped his battle axe, Horse-Face threw back his head with a long neigh, even the waters of the Yellow Springs were shaken into violent turmoil, waves surging upon their surface, the Judges could no longer lower their brushes, and the marshals of the Underworld lost hold of their weapons.

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord raised a hand and formed a seal, uttering a single command. “Still!”

An entire Underworld Palace was instantly suppressed.

Yet in the next moment, the second note exploded forth once more.

Layer upon layer of visible soundwaves spread outward, directly transforming into an overlapping tidal surge that smashed through the area he had just suppressed!

Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu. [TL_Note: Five musical scales]

And this was only the beginning.

The land of the Underworld beneath their feet shook violently. This was the omen of a divine weapon emerging into the world. Wave after wave of resonant ripples spread outward, nearly taking on tangible form. The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord, whose eyes were forever narrowed in an easy smile, suddenly opened them, and those eyes were exactly as they had been eight thousand years ago, forever burning with fierce battle intent and killing intent. His five fingers slowly spread apart, and with both hands he forcibly seized those terrifying ripples in midair.

Meng Po reached out to catch the various objects sent flying by the violent gale and, with a casual motion, scooped up a jade slip.

“Hm?! Why is there a jade slip here?”

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord loosened his grip.

Immediately, a wave of qin music swept straight toward Meng Po, who was curiously examining the jade slip.

“AAAAAH! My ears! My ears!”

“My ears! My ears!!!”

The beautiful young girl Meng Po clutched her ears and rolled back and forth across the ground.

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord tucked the jade slip into his sleeve and calmly ordered, “Old White, take Meng Po and get her away from here. Notify the other True Lords as well. Be careful—that qin has been awakened. Old Black, come with me. Let’s go inside and see what exactly is happening.” White Impermanence cupped his fist in acknowledgment, grabbed Meng Po by the back of her collar, tucked her beneath his arm, and swiftly departed.

“Stop shouting. You’re so noisy.”

“Aaaah…”

“Forget it. Since everything’s in chaos anyway, how about I send you off to reincarnate for a vacation?”

“Really?!” The delicate young girl immediately lowered the hands covering her ears, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

White Impermanence sneered. “Of course not.”

“Waaah… Little White, you can’t treat me like this! I was the one who picked you up from the Bridge og Helplessness back then. You were only this tiny, and so well-behaved…”

“Shut up, you old hag!”

The young Daoist knew nothing of what was happening outside. The sound of the qin was incomparably clear where he stood, crisp and gentle rather than loud. Instead, the farther it spread outward, the greater the rippling waves of sound became, their sharp resonance growing ever more piercing. Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Gods, and Ghosts—the five strings sounded one after another. Heaven was boundless, Earth deep and steadfast, Humanity clear and lingering, the Gods majestic, and the Ghosts dark and sinister. Each of the five notes possessed a different quality.

Suddenly, the ancient qin began to shake violently.

The entire treasure vault started trembling faintly.

The Northern Emperor Mirror hovered in midair, radiating streams of light. Qi Wuhuo watched as crack after crack spread across the gigantic stone-carved qin. Those fissures slowly widened before trembling all at once, and amid deafening rumbles, massive slabs of stone crashed to the ground one after another. The stone shell stood a full hundred zhang tall, yet what Qi Wuhuo did not know was that the divine essence concealed beneath it extended throughout the entire Underworld.

When the qin trembled, the whole Underworld trembled with it.

At last, once all the stone had fallen away, an ancient qin was revealed. It still stood a hundred feet thigh—without manifesting a Dharma Aspect, no one could possibly play it. Its form was ancient and unadorned, neither metal nor jade, neither wood nor stone, its entire body exuding an immeasurably ancient and desolate aura. The ripples of its music swept across the young Daoist, and at the ends of its five strings, the ancient Cloud Seal characters for Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Gods, and Ghosts gradually emerged.

Just as the Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord and the Youming Wuchang True Lord arrived together, worried that something might have happened to the young Daoist, they called out, “Fellow Daoist Qi! Little friend, are you unharmed?!” The young Daoist turned around and saw the Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord striding toward him. The two of them then saw that the ancient qin had already risen into the air, while golden characters gradually appeared in the void.

The Four Noble Truths Are All Suffering; Delivering All Living Beings to Oblivion.

Then, as the sound of the qin swept over the calm and composed young Daoist—

Four more ancient golden Cloud Seal characters appeared at the opposite end of the qin.

[Slaying Buddhas, Beheading Emperors.]

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord’s eyes widened slightly before he slowly withdrew his gaze from those four incomparably domineering Cloud Seal characters and looked toward the young Daoist, whose temples were faintly streaked with white. “Little friend… you chose this qin?”

Qi Wuhuo had not seen the appearance of those four Cloud Seal characters. He simply replied, “Yes… It only seemed to me that this was a very precious treasure.”

“This poor Daoist truly likes this qin.”

As it happened, the qin that Li Puyu had previously given him had already had its strings broken, so this one had arrived at just the right time. The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord hesitated. “This qin…”

Another voice interrupted. “This qin cannot be given away.”

The newcomer bore a dignified expression, though his features were refined and handsome. He was the third of the Ten True Lords of the Underworld Palaces—True Lord Dongming Pujing. “This object is the very backbone of the Underworld. How can it possibly be given away so casually?! Second Brother, what are you doing?”

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord smiled bitterly. “W-Well… the agreement had already been made. Every treasure kept here may be exchanged with Yin Virtue. No matter what you say now, it’s already too late.”

True Lord Dongming Pujing fell silent. “…”

The remaining True Lords of the Underworld Palaces likewise dispatched their attendants one after another, all having been alarmed by the changes surrounding the qin.

Such a disturbance was as though someone had begun replacing the very pillars supporting a house. There was simply no way those inside could fail to notice it.

Soon, they all began arguing among themselves, each holding a different opinion.

Yet the qin paid them no heed.

Its music rang out, clear and melodious, as its enormous form suddenly began to shrink. Following the young Daoist’s stature, it transformed into a qin measuring eight chi and six cun, before becoming a streak of black light that flew straight toward him.

The young Daoist instinctively reached out and caught the qin.

The string of Buddhist prayer beads given to him by the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathāgata slipped from his wrist and settled upon the strings.

The qin strings gave a resonant zheng. Its sound was incomparably clear.

For the qin is the voice of the heart.

The movement of this qin required no plucking of its strings whatsoever. The divine intent within the young Daoist’s heart naturally stirred the qin into resonance, and an ancient, unadorned melody rang out. This time, however, the commotion was even greater. The qin resounded with ringing notes as the young Daoist pressed a hand upon it, wishing to restrain it, yet clear tones continued to erupt around him, layer upon layer of ripples spreading in every direction, blanketing the surroundings like an overwhelming tide. Those waves of sound were unimaginably heavy.

Visible ripples accompanied the qin’s melody as it echoed throughout all Eighteen Layers of the Underworld.

The entire Underworld shook as though it would be overturned.

Another stream of crystalline music shot straight toward the heavens.

The Clairvoyant suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He discovered layer upon layer of ripples spreading from the entrance to the Underworld, while another wave of qin music surged upward, intent on reaching the Heavenly Realm. He immediately sought out the Clairaudient to listen more closely, only to find him clutching his ears, his face twisted in pain. Without another word, the Clairvoyant pulled the Clairaudient with him and rushed straight into the Ninth Heaven to report the matter to the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Venerable sat behind the curtain of jade beads. Having heard their report—

The Judicial Heavenly Venerable of the Shangqing Heavenly Pivot Court stepped forward and said, “This is an ancient baleful divine artifact, known as Slaying Buddhas, Beheading Emperors—Delivering All Living Beings to Oblivion. Its emergence into the world today is no auspicious omen. Great Heavenly Venerable, this artifact should be seized at once and thoroughly examined.”

No response came from behind the curtain for a long while.

At last, a calm voice said only, “Bring forth the Kunlun Mirror.”

The Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Venerable seemed to personally cast a glance through it.

Then he said indifferently, “It is merely an ancient artifact. Whether it is baleful or auspicious depends solely upon who wields it.”

“This qin has been suppressed for three Kalpa Eras. What has now erupted is merely the accumulated power concealed within it.”

“In but a moment, it will return to the ordinary.”

“There is no need for concern.”

Thus, the assembled Immortals and deities did not act because of this strange phenomenon, continuing with their affairs as they always had. Although the qin music possessed the overwhelming momentum of surging straight into the heavens, it gradually dispersed. The Yin soldiers and ghost generals throughout the Ten Directions of the Underworld, however, suffered terribly. A single melody nearly shook their organs to pieces, leaving them dizzy and disoriented. Even the entire Underworld seemed to sink a little lower. At that point, even the other Lords of the Underworld could no longer object.

It was not that they were unwilling to let the qin be taken.

They had simply feared the Underworld would sink.

Now that it had already sunk, what more was there to say?

Yet standing so close to the qin, they themselves had been struck head-on by its music. Even with their cultivation, they felt their heads spin, while a faint ache spread through their ears. The Underworld continued to descend, the Yellow Springs surged backward in reverse flow, and the qin’s music seemed to awaken certain other beings. The Yellow Springs roared, crashing directly into this place as a result of the Underworld’s descent.

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord rubbed at his ears, hearing nothing but a faint ringing within them. He smiled bitterly and said, “Little friend, you… ah.”

“Well… since you have already taken this qin, quickly come with us and leave. This place may… may collapse.”

Carrying the ancient qin, whose terrifying manifestations had already faded away, Qi Wuhuo had just taken a step forward—

When the ground beneath his feet suddenly caved in.

The Northern Emperor Mirror burst forth with brilliant radiance. In an instant, the fissures beneath his feet filled with the waters of the Yellow Springs, and then a certain existence, awakened from its slumber, emerged. An incomparably enormous hand, blue-violet in color, stretched directly out of the Yellow Springs. Vast beyond measure, it reached out and seized the young Daoist.

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord’s expression changed slightly.

“The Five Ghost Emperors?!”

This development had completely exceeded everyone’s expectations. The strength of the Five Ghost Emperors surpassed even his own, and he had struck by seizing the opportunity. The True Lords, having borne the full force of the qin’s music head-on, had no time to react. They were filled with both shock and fury, unable to understand why the Ghost Emperor had suddenly awakened, nor why he had immediately locked onto the young Daoist’s location.

The Yin Virtue Settled Rest True Lord’s eyes snapped open. Without the slightest hesitation, he stomped down, shattering the Yellow Springs beneath his feet, and charged in with his true body.

“The rest of you remain here and guard against a counterattack from the Five Ghost Emperors!”

“I’ll bring little friend Qi back!”

The young Daoist had never imagined that the Underworld would collapse, nor that the Yellow Springs would flow into this place. He had expected even less that the Northern Emperor Mirror would suddenly tug at him, causing him to be seized by an incomparably enormous, rough-hewn hand. Its owner seemed to have no intention of harming him. Gentle streams of force enveloped and protected him as the hand carried him rapidly downward. In the blink of an eye, the young Daoist saw the City of Fengdu itself swing open!

This was the true [Ghost Gate Pass]—

The one with the highest possible divine rank.

Qi Wuhuo was pulled directly inside.

The divine weapon upon his back trembled faintly. Endless Yellow Springs surrounded him, and he heard voices echoing one after another—some deep and muffled, some low and solemn, some booming like thunder, others brimming with killing intent—all speaking in a language he could not understand. At last, one commanding voice declared, “Enough. Stop arguing!”

Silence immediately fell.

The young Daoist sat cross-legged upon the giant palm.

Its owner lifted him up as though cradling a tiny kitten in its hand. Light seemed to shine all around, allowing the young Daoist to finally see where he was.

Towering before him stood one colossal, ferocious existence after another, each well over a thousand zhang tall, like mountains of the mortal world given human form. Even the true body of the Lingmiao Gong had been immense, yet compared to them, it seemed almost diminutive.

One had a blue face and protruding fangs, crimson flames faintly swirling around its body, its voice like rolling thunder.

Another possessed indigo skin, adorned with ornaments woven from enormous skulls unlike any Qi Wuhuo had ever seen, while flames burned within its eyes.

Yet another appeared as a peerlessly beautiful woman of incomparable grace, though her skin carried an unnatural hue, and a hideous gigantic serpent coiled around one of her arms.

Every one of them radiated a savage and terrifying aura.

Yet all lowered their eyes to look at the refined young Daoist.

“It is this one. He possesses immeasurable Yin Virtue, and he carries Grandfather Northern Emperor’s mirror.”

“That’s right. He also has a sword. I brought that here as well.”

The hideous being with six arms held a sword in both hands. It was none other than Qi Wuhuo’s sword, forged from the River of Blood. Evidently, the sword had been unwilling to watch its “meal ticket” be carried away and had charged in after him, only to be captured. The Ghost Emperor spoke in a deep voice, “I will never forget how Grandfather Northern Emperor beat the Blood River Ancestor into a lump before our very eyes, then hung the River of Blood across the heavens.”

“He has Grandfather Northern Emperor’s mirror. His sword was forged from the River of Blood. He possesses immeasurable Yin Virtue.”

“He recognized that qin.”

“And we can smell the power of the stars upon him.”

The terrifying beings, each more than a thousand zhang in height, exchanged glances and frowned. Though they were reluctant to believe it, every piece of evidence was genuine beyond doubt. At last, the one at their head motioned for the others to be silent, lowered his gaze toward the young Daoist, and slowly asked,

“You, we ask you this.”

“Are you the Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor of this generation, come to reopen our Fengdu City…”

“…and then slaughter the Ten Yama Kings to the very last one?!”