Legend of the Great Sage

In the depths of hell, on top of the harsh glaciers.

A tall, skinny figure followed the craggy ridge of the mountain, making his way towards the top step by step.

The fierce winds dispersed the accumulated snow. Beneath his feet were gorgeous dead flames, frozen and burning away for eternity.

Li Qingshan was unshaven, weathered by the frost. He grabbed a clump of ice and snow and chewed away at it in his mouth, swallowing in a single gulp. He exhaled a breath of hot air.

Even a decade of feasting on snow struggled to cool his burning blood.

In the distance, the blue ghost gazed at the travelling black figure in this world of ice and snow. “H- how is that possible?”

According to the laws of hell, reality arose from the heart, and the mirror was formed from the heart. All wicked fiends would be trapped for eternity once they ended up here, never to be able to break free.

That was why Li Qingshan could not approach the glacier, but what was going on now? He was summiting the peak!

And before he knew it, the dead flames stopped reigniting, remaining sealed by the bluish-white ice in the great glacier.

“Heh, reality arises from the heart?”

Li Qingshan’s smile was even colder than the chilly winds. His gaze towards the top of the mountain was even hotter than the dead flames.

It was all thanks to the laws of hell and the bowl of granny Meng’s soup that his Yang Soul was never truly destroyed as it was forged by ice and fire. He did not even use up a single sliver of his powers, all properly sealed up and maintained.

Pain was like a great hammer, beating him viciously, not only failing to beat him in, but even unlocking the true power in his heart instead.

He was like a blade, out of the furnace and into the water, coupled with countless beatings and forging, such that his edge was now on full display!

Crack, crack! Rumble, rumble!

Countless cracks appeared on the ice beneath his feet. The dead flames began to budge.

Li Qingshan did not hesitate at all, continuing onwards with great strides. He said with composure, “I seek great liberty and obtain great liberty. That is the desire of all living creatures. Where is the crime in that?”

As a result, the ice did not collapse. The dead flames did not burn.

Following the path of great liberty did not require any power or technique at all, yet his aura flooded the glaciers and overwhelmed the hell of flames.

He was like a blade drawn from its sheath, slicing through the many illusions of reality.

When he finally made it to the summit, he spat out the thick, black soup with a great hurl. That was granny Meng’s soup that sealed up all of his powers.

He wiped his mouth without any concern and gazed out. The mountains were bleak and the glaciers stretched into the distance, without any end in sight.

The sky was within arm’s reach. His mind had never felt more open!

Suddenly, he recalled that Maheśvara was a god of asceticism. He spent all year round meditating and cultivating at the top of a great snowy mountain, comprehending the deepest of wisdom and the most terrifying of powers.

Everything was very fair. If he sought great liberty and great liberation, how could he go without facing all that pain and suffering?

As a result, he smiled calmly and sat down as well, circulating the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and beginning a round of arduous cultivation.

The blue ghost had no idea what to do. Clearly, something extremely major was occurring here. He should return and report it to the adjudicator.

Li Qingshan seemed to sense him, glancing at him from afar. There were countless mountains and glaciers between them, but it was still just as unnerving as before.

As a result, he felt fear and fright, curling up deeply on the ground.

Li Qingshan shut his eyes again. His expression was solemn, tranquil, and at ease. Even though his skin had turned blue from the cold, he gave off an aura of understanding that was clear like glaze. He was like a statue of a god.

However, the blue ghost felt great shivers and great fear. He had witnessed countless vicious fiends in his lifetime and he had grown accustomed to the cycle of life and death, the tortures and the torments, yet he had never experienced such a great horror before. This was the aura of a god of destruction.

Day after day, night after day, this continued into eternity.

Li Qingshan was reduced to an ice sculpture. His figure was blurred, seeming bizarre and twisted under the illumination of the dead flames. The sculpture was also freely carved by the chilly winds, which made it seem even stranger. He became an ancient statue of a god.

The blue ghost fell asleep at the foot of the glacier, facing nightmares after nightmares. There would always be that shivering gaze in his dreams.

Suddenly, the rumbling of thunder appeared in the distance. He jerked away from his nightmares and gazed at the sky in confusion.

Boom! A bolt of lightning struck the statue! Even in the depths of hell, the heavenly tribulations would still pay a visit like anywhere else.

The statue shattered, and a dark figure stood up slowly, gradually twisting and spreading his four limbs. It was an extremely strange sight, yet it also seemed to be filled with some kind of strange charm, like a ritual dance.

The Heretic God awakened.

Rumble! The heavenly tribulation descended, pouring down with thousands of bolts of lightning.

The blue ghost extended his neck to watch. He was dumbfounded. All he saw was the lightning weave into a glorious haze behind the “Heretic God’s” head.

The “Heretic God’s” movements suddenly froze. He stood with his right leg bent and his left leg extended, his arms raised elegantly. His eyes were half-closed and half-open, condensing both the dynamic and the static, both force and beauty, exhibiting Maheśvara’s dancing form, Naṭarāja.

In the next moment, his arms began to flow like water, leaving behind countless afterimages.

Bang! He abruptly stomped down with his left foot. All of the ice shattered together, reduced to a roaring sea of fire.

The lightning cascaded down on him.

Li Qingshan stood above the sea of fire, suddenly forming a glare and exhibiting Maheśvara’s fearsome form, Bhairava. A third eye opened up on his forehead, producing a jet of black flames that pierced all the lightning.

He laughed away madly. Since all of his restraints were already gone, it was time to dance!

His Yang Soul turned into an Origin Soul, facing the sixth heavenly tribulation.

He felt unprecedented liberty, freed from the endless pain, dancing within the tribulation lightning and hell flames. There were no such things like skandha-māra or kleśa-māra to disturb him. He himself was a demon among demons!

……

After who knew how long, the sea of fire burnt out, no longer transforming back into glaciers. The echoes of the furious lightning continued to reverberate across the scorched earth that was covered in ashes as he danced around madly.

Li Qingshan stopped dancing, and the afterimages all vanished. He felt like he still had not had his fill, but he felt extremely feeble, unable to continue dancing. He thought, It’s time to visit that “fifth brother”. If I’ve guessed correctly, he should be the Wind-coursing Great Sage, the Macaque King!

He said to the blue ghost, “Take me to adjudicator Lu!”

“Yes, sir!” The blue ghost’s eyes were filled with fervency.

The newly-born Heretic God gained his first follower.

Li Qingshan threw himself at the blue ghost, melding into his body.

Before long, the blue ghost returned to the Office of Reckoning Mirror.

Adjudicator Lu happened to be presiding over a case. He said impatiently, “Why are you back again? What happened to the kid?”

The blue ghost smiled. “Sir, the kid first cursed at me aloud before giving into the torture and pleading for mercy!”

Adjudicator Lu said in disdain, “Tsk, I knew it! As long as I’m still a judge, he can forget about leaving hell!”

“The kid told me a great secret, just so he could be allowed a quick death!”

“A quick death?” Adjudicator Lu smiled viciously. “Send him to the tenth layer of hell!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Also, what secret did he tell you?” Adjudicator Lu asked.

Given the circumstances he was in, it must have been something great that he offered up. He might not necessarily be interested in it, but for some reason, he was suddenly overcome with an irrepressible sense of curiosity.

“I don’t dare to keep it to myself, but…” The blue ghost looked around. All of the ghost guards were listening closely.

Adjudicator Lu curled his hand, and the blue ghost walked up, whispering into his ear.

“What did you say?” Adjudicator Lu frowned and leaned over. A black shadow suddenly shot out of the blue ghost’s mouth, diving into adjudicator Lu’s ears and eyes before slowly fading away.

Adjudicator Lu’s expression became blank. He stiffened up as if he had been left speechless by some great secret. His face suddenly changed drastically, filled with struggle.

The blue ghost lowered his head and sneered. The ghost guards whispered away among themselves.