Everlasting Immortal Firmament
chapter-043

Gu Hai undid Shangguan Hen’s seal, which drew a strange look from the black tortoise. Shangguan Hen had been following him for a long time already. In the beginning, Gu Hai was just in the Innate Realm, so the black tortoise knew him very well. However, he could not figure out how Gu Hai could undo the Present Buddha’s seal. It did not make sense.

Shangguan Hen looked at Gu Hai, finding him increasingly mysterious.

As Shangguan Hen stood to the side, Gu Hai started interrogating Bodhisattva Jie Dong.

The surrounding ghosts and King Yama wanted to intervene. However, Gu Hai waved his hand and sent out a large amount of Samādhi True Flame, trapping the ghost soldiers. Then, he had Shangguan Hen hold the True Flame Calabash and keep an eye on the ghosts. When some of the ghost soldiers tried to resist, Shangguan Hen controlled the flame to burn those ghost soldiers to ashes.

Bodhisattva Jie Dong refused to say anything and ended up severely injured by Gu Hai.

However, the ghosts immediately folded and told Gu Hai some of what he wanted to know.

“The Hell Path Secret Realm is split into the eighteen layers of hell, and we are in the first layer?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.

“Indeed. Senior, this is the first layer of hell. The entrance to the second layer of hell is right there. There! Do you see the entrance?” King Yama pointed to a large, circular entryway.

Gu Hai turned his head to look. Indeed, he saw a spatial entrance amid a cluster of mountains where lightning raged. It seemed to lead somewhere else.

“Every layer of hell has one entrance? Then, how does one get out of the Hell Path Secret Realm?” Gu Hai asked.

“Get out? No. There is no way out. Only the Reincarnation Pool can bring people in or out. Heaven seems to have sealed all other entrances. There is no exit,” King Yama explained while trembling.

“The eighteen layers of hell? Why the eighteen layers of hell?” Gu Hai asked, feeling bewildered.

“The eighteen layers of hell is a place of suffering for the evil people of the world. Those who committed countless sins will suffer in hell. This layer is the one with the lightest punishments. Every layer down generates more frustration, violence, and bloodthirst. All the evil ghosts kill each other here, but they cannot die,” King Yama explained.

“They cannot die?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.

“Senior, look! Look at the soldiers who got burned earlier!” King Yama pointed to the nearby plaza.

Earlier, one hundred ghost soldiers had been burned to ashes.

In just a while, wisps of Soul Energy had gathered. Eventually, those souls reformed and came back to life.

However, after they came to life, they immediately looked at Gu Hai in horror.

“They revived?” Gu Hai said, puzzled.

“Yes. That’s why evil ghosts are the most afraid of entering hell. Once they enter hell, there will be endless killing. They will kill other ghosts while alive, but no one can die. The violent feelings and frustration will not stop, causing them to kill without end. However, they and their opponents cannot die. This is a kind of mental torture,” King Yama said with a bitter smile.

“Why?” Gu Hai asked, baffled.

“I-I don’t know. We have always obeyed the Spirit Mountain Holy Land and sent the people who committed great sins into the lower layers of hell,” King Yama replied carefully.

“Your Reverence, I’ve heard about it before,” Shangguan Hen said after some silence.

“Oh?”

“It is for Essence. The evil ghosts kill each other, expending Essence in the process. When they reform their soul bodies, the soul bodies generate more Essence. After they die, this hell absorbs the Essence. The soul bodies expend Essence while alive, and their Essence scatters after they die. This hell should be a world for collecting Essence. The entire hell is collecting the scattered Essence for the Six Paths Immortal. This Essence does not have anyone’s mark on it and is stored in this world,” Shangugan Hen analyzed.

“Essence?” Gu Hai looked around this world.

“Essence cannot be seen or touched. Although there is plenty in the surroundings, there is no way to absorb it,” Shangguan Hen said with a bitter smile.

“The further down one goes in the eighteen layers of hell, the stronger the frustration and bloodthirst? Does every layer have countless ghosts?” Gu Hai looked at King Yama.

“No, no. There are not many ghosts below the fifth layer,” King Yama said while trembling.

“What do you mean?” Gu Hai asked.

“The Lord Buddha’s Reincarnation Pool can open the passageway to the Hell Path Secret Realm for only two hours a day. There is no way into the Hell Path Secret Realm for the other twenty-two hours. So, using the Divine Continent’s time, the eighteen layers of hell can be opened only once a day for two hours each time,” King Yama said with some fear.

“Opened only once a day? Wait, did you just say the Divine Continent’s time? What do you mean?” Gu Hai asked in confusion.

“That is because one day outside is one thousand years in the first layer of hell,” King Yama said with a bitter smile.

“One day outside is one thousand years here?” Shangguan Hen said in shock, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“You specifically mentioned the first layer. Are the other layers not like that?” Gu Hai asked, frowning.

Gu Hai had seen such mismatched times before on Earth. Back then, one day on Earth was one year in Earth’s immortal realm. However, it was one thousand years here?

“Yes! Senior is wise, immediately noticing it!” King Yama flattered.

“Cut the crap and speak!” Gu Hai said.

“Yes. The time dilation in the eighteen layers of hell doubles the lower you go. One day outside is one thousand years in the first layer, two thousand years in the second layer, four thousand years in the third layer, eight thousand years in the fourth layer, sixteen thousand years in the fifth layer, and so on,” King Yama said with lingering fear in his heart.

“More than ten thousand years? Indeed, no ghost can survive for more than ten thousand years without being reincarnated. The fifth layer is indeed the limit,” Shangguan Hen said, frowning.

“No, no. Senior is wrong. There is no lifespan to speak of in hell. Everyone’s age pauses the moment they enter. Rather, one’s age goes by the Divine Continent’s time. The fifth layer? That is because the entrance opens and closes. After entering, one has to spend ten thousand years there before the entrance opens again. One would spend ten thousand years sunk in frustration and bloodthirst. One would spend ten thousand years continuously killing ghosts and getting killed, repeatedly getting revived and killing!” The more King Yama spoke about this, the more terrified he became.

Getting killed for ten thousand years?

Shangguan Hen shivered. Indeed, hell was the most horrifying place. Ordinary people would go mad.

Gu Hai’s face suddenly sank. “Earlier, you said that Kong Xuan was sent to hell’s fifteenth layer?”

“Yes, yes! We found it incredible as well. How could that Kong Xuan’s willpower be this strong? Rather, he has been tortured on top of being inflicted with those negative feelings. However, I heard he became even more arrogant instead of going mad. Hell has eight cold layers and eight hot layers. After that, the seventeenth layer is a hell of loneliness, so lonely that one’s heart will freeze over. The eighteenth layer is an eternal hell, making one feel trapped forever. No one can go down there. It is too horrifying,” King Yama said with a chill in his heart.

“How long has Kong Xuan been locked up?” Gu Hai asked.

“Going by the outside time, it should be half a month. However, inside…he was locked up in the first layer for the first day. He was stubborn and got sent to the second layer on the second day, then the third layer on the third. However, he remained stubborn. This continued until the fifteenth layer. By now, it should be about thirty-two million years already!” King Yama suddenly inhaled sharply after doing some calculations.

“Indeed. At first, the Lord Buddhas thought that Kong Xuan would be driven mad with time. However, he lived well. Furthermore, his demonic energy grew stronger with time, radiating a fiery aura filled with hatred. Even the Lord Buddhas had not endured such torture before. I heard the Lord Buddhas value Kong Xuan even more as a result. Now, it seems like they are willing to pay any price to recruit Kong Xuan into the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. They won’t just make him a bodhisattva, but a buddha. They do not mind giving him an even higher status than that,” King Yama explained.

Gasp! Gu Hai and Shangguan Hen inhaled sharply. “Thirty-two million years?!”

Thirty-two million years, and he did not get overwhelmed by hell’s bloodthirst? He must possess an incredibly strong mind due to this torture.

“The Future Buddha went to coax Kong Xuan?” Gu Hai asked.

“Indeed. It has been thirty-two million years since he was locked up. If Kong Xuan still refuses, he will be sent to the sixteenth layer of hell, where one day outside is thirty-two million years. He will eventually go mad. He will not be able to endure it,” King Yama explained.

“Great Light Sovereign Deity? What formidable willpower!” An impressed look flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.

“Your Reverence, given that the times of the eighteen layers of hell do not match, the Future Buddha might not return soon,” Shangguan Hen explained.

Gu Hai nodded.

“Haha! It looks like the Future Buddha had a reason for sending us here. Only one day passes outside while one thousand years pass here. If we were interrogated for one thousand years, we would have spilled all our secrets,” Shangguan Hen said, his face dark with hatred.

Gu Hai took a deep breath, showing an unsightly expression.

“Speak. Is there any way out?” Gu Hai looked at King Yama.

King Yama shook his head. “No, there is none aside from the Reincarnation Pool. Only Heaven can open an entrance. Otherwise, there is no way out. Heaven had sealed all the exits.”

Gu Hai could only turn to the severely injured Bodhisattva Jie Dong.

“Haha! Cough! Cough! Cough! Gu Hai, kill me if you can?!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong said with a ferocious glare.

“Kill you? You cannot die in the eighteen layers of hell anyway. We were thinking about throwing you into the eighteenth layer of hell to enjoy the place for a day. Perhaps the Present Buddha will come and get you after that,” Gu Hai said with a cold smile.

Thrown into the eighteenth layer of hell for a day? No, that would be one hundred thirty million years!

Thinking of this, Bodhisattva Jie Dong trembled intensely.

“Do-do you dare to? The Lord Future Buddha is in the fifteenth layer of hell. It’s impossible!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong said, horrified.

Bodhisattva Jie Dong firmly believed he would go mad there. He would eventually turn into a rock, devoid of conscious thought.

“That will depend on your cooperation. Speak. How do I get out?” Gu Hai demanded with a glare.

“You can’t get out. There is no exit. There is really no exit!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong insisted somewhat fearfully.

“Roar!”

Right then, a loud sound rang out behind Gu Hai. The claw of a large ferocious beast shot towards his head.

“Bodhisattva Di Ting!” King Yama dropped to his knees in fear.

Boom!

A loud report rang out. Just like how Gu Hai caught Bodhisattva Jie Dong earlier, he now caught Bodhisattva Di Ting’s beast claw.

“Hah! I have been waiting for you for a long time. It took so long for a ghost to report to you?” Gu Hai turned his head and looked coldly at the ferocious beast.

The giant beast tried to pull its arm back, but Gu Hai maintained his grasp firmly.

“Middle Heavenly Palace Realm’s third layer? Pretty good cultivation. Unfortunately, you ran into us. Lie down!” Gu Hai swung the arm down.

Boom!

Bodhisattva Di Ting crashed into the ground, causing a violent tremblor.