V2C101

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Shi Ying sighed, “The arrow has left the string, what else can I do?”

“So no matter what, you’re still going to break your vow and go down the mountain for that woman.” The Grand Master sighed as well and finally nodded, holding up the black jade slip in his hand, “Have you really thought it through? You want to remove this divine robe even at the risk of shattering your bones and enduring all tribulations?”

“Yes.”

“No regrets, regardless if the divine form is destroyed or not?”

“No complaints, no regrets.”

“What a way to express no complaints and no remorse!” The Grand Master flicked his sleeves irritated and turned back, his white beard and long tail waving in the wind as he snapped, “Then, for the sake of your mother, I will fulfill this wish for you! Go, prostrate yourself in front of the Gods!”

With a simple step forward, Shi Ying entered the temple, pulled up his garment and bowed.

From the outside, the ceremony began with echoes of drums and strings. Countless divine attendants came in procession, surrounding the Divine Priest, and the sound of the invocations stretched as far and wide as majestic waves of water. Holding a Jade Scroll, the Grand Master bowed in front of the idols following the ancient procedures, proclaiming the Imperial Capital’s consent to the resignation of the Great Priest from the Divine Office, informing the Twin Gods of his intentions to descend into the Earthly Realm, and beginning to bestow the sumptuous three sacrificial offerings.

Those offerings were meant to gain the understanding of the Gods.

And the most important offering of all was the person himself!

The Grand Master performed the last step and joined his palms together in front of the Deity, whispering to the heavens, “The Great Divine Priest of Jiuyi, Shi Ying, became a disciple at a young age and willingly offered to serve the Gods for the rest of his life. Now that his heart has been swayed, he wishes to break his vow and leave the mountain. Today he wishes to cross the Hell of Refinement to bid farewell to the Divine Gods using his own flesh and blood!”

When he heard the Grand Master finishing the last line of the invocation, Shi Ying straightened himself up in front of the Deity statue, joined his palms deeply, raised his arms and removed the feathered crown from his hair without saying a word, bent down and took off his silk shoes, and handed over all the artifacts that the Great Priest was using, offering them in front of the Deity. When he finished placing everything down, he stepped out of the temple in a simple white robe with bare feet and draped hair.

At that moment, all the chanting outside ceased, and countless attendants gazed up together at Shi Ying, their eyes mixed with amazement at the sight of the appearance of the magnificent Divine Priest, who usually ruled so high above them.

This was the first Great Priest in the last hundred years who was ready to break his vow and descend from the Mountain.

However, the man who stepped into the Hell had a calm look in his eyes, walking onto the road of life and death as if he were embarking on a magnificent journey.

Standing in front of the altar, the Grand Master was watching Shi Ying walking out step by step, with an unfathomable sadness and tremor in his aged eyes – the old man took a deep breath and lifted his sleeves. In that instant, the black jade slip transformed into a black sword in the Grand Master’s hand, pointing straight at the North-West of the Temple. Where the sword fell, the clouds dispersed, revealing a towering Peak that usually could not be sighted!

That was the Meng Hua Peak of the Great Empty Mountain, where the Hell of Ten Thousand Tribulations was located.

“Go ahead! Complete this walk through the Hell of Ten Thousand Tribulations. Offer up your flesh and blood and atone for your sins in the presence of the Gods!”

“Only then will you be able to take off your divine robes and return to earth.”

The so-called Hell of Ten Thousand Tribulations was in fact only a path. That path starts from the Jiuyi Temple and ends at the top of Meng Hua Peak, amounting to a total of eleven thousand one hundred and eleven steps. All the divine priests who have broken their vows and committed a sin will be sent to walk through this long path alone.

The Meng Hua Peak, shrouded by clouds and mist, with its walls so tall that even birds can hardly reach the top, is full of evil spirits and demonic beasts, making it difficult to advance an inch.

However, there was a stairway that climbed up against the edge of the wall and penetrated the clouds. Each step resembles a huge, sharp sword: the handle is nestled into the cliff, with the blade sticking out across the length of the path with the edge facing upwards, piercing the void with a steely sharpness. The cutting edge of the swords surrounds Meng Hua Peak, and the cold light scintillates up into the clouds.

And the sinner, step by step, will have to walk above the edge of these swords.

The journey was nothing less than the path to Hell: streaks of lightning and thunder blasting overhead, and the flames of the Hellfire blazing beneath their feet. Once a person sets foot on this path, he can only climb upwards until the exhaustion wears him out, till his flesh and bones split into pieces making him fall off the cliff.

If by any chance they manage to complete these eleven hundred thousand steps and arrive at the top of Meng Hua Peak alive, they will be allowed to take off their divine robes in front of the Terrace of Forgetfulness, return the jade slips and undergo the punishment of the Heavenly Thunder Body Refining before the whole ceremony is considered complete.

In the past seven thousand years, out of nearly a thousand vow-breakers, only eleven have managed to emerge alive.

And him, therefore, would be the twelfth.

While countless priests and attendants were watching with baited breath, Shi Ying’s face remained composed as usual, not even lifting a single eyebrow, but looking up at the peak in the clouds and without the slightest hesitation, he gently whipped his sash and took the first step. The blade pierced the bottom of his foot and he swayed slightly, but then firmly regained his firm stance.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the summit of the Peak in the Terrace of Forgetfulness.” The Grand Master watched him set off on his way, exhorting him word for word from the bottom of the mountain, “Now go… I have important things to tell you when you make it there alive.”

Shi Ying looked stunned for a moment, with a sense of slight surprise: what was the Grand Master going to tell him? Why did he have to wait until he reached the top of the mountain before being able to say anything?

“This is a matter that regards the fate of the Kongsang Kingdom,” the Grand Master appeared to understand the doubts in his mind, nodding slightly and looking at the stairway, “If you are determined and have enough strength to step through Refinement and return to the Earth, then it will prove that you are worthy of this task. When the time comes, I will tell you all about it.”

“Alright.” With no further questions and nodding, Shi Ying turned around and proceeded to step onto the blades.

The sharp edges of the blades emerged hideously from the cliff, shimmering and forming a glistening stepping ladder. However, they were deliberately rendered somewhat blunt, so that when stepping onto them, the flesh and blood of the feet would be destroyed, but they would not cut down through the feet instantly.

Shi Ying walked in silence, step by step upwards, each step being like walking through sheer hell.

He could feel the swords beneath his feet, each of them surprisingly different from the other: some were as hot as fire while some were as cold as ice, and some were even twitching slightly – he knew that each sword on this mountain was sealed with an evil spirit, captured from all over the Yunhuang Wilderness by generations of divine officials and imprisoned on this sacred mountain.

Those evil spirits have been starving for thousands of years, and the only blood to feed on were these handful of vow-breaking sinners. Therefore, they were thirsty for blood and demented, rendering every step a great torment. Hence, each step was described as a ten thousand calamity.

Shi Ying treaded over the cutting edge of the swords, enduring severe pain as he took another step upwards, blood seeping from the bottom of his feet and staining the hem of his white robe, gradually turning it red and becoming a frightening sight to witness.

At the bottom of Meng Hua Peak, countless people were looking up at the man with draped hair and bare feet, walking into the clouds, with an expression of awe and disbelief in their eyes – why in the world would anyone be willing to endure a torment more painful than death and take this path?

Suddenly, someone noticed the speck of red on his robe and blurted out, “Look… the Great Priest is bleeding!”

“The Great Priest can actually bleed too? He has been practicing since he was a child, isn’t he immortal?”

“No matter how strong one’s spiritual power is, they are still human, how can they not bleed?”

“But he’s walking so steadily… as if he doesn’t feel any pain at all!”

Amidst the chatter, the man in white robes could be seen walking step by step across the mountain of swords, slowly disappearing into the clouds and mist, further and further away, his figure already looking like a white crane.

However, as he was approaching the clouds about halfway up the mountain, in that very moment, the clouds suddenly changed and a huge bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and swiftly struck down on the solitary wanderer!

With a violent shake, the Great Priest collapsed against the edge of the blades.

“Ah!” The people at the bottom released a collective shout of shock, only to see that in the next instant, the Great Priest’s body stopped suddenly in its tracks, reaching out to grasp the edge of the blade with a quick gesture of his hand, halting the downfall with a fierce effort.

No magic spells were allowed to be used when walking in the Hell of Ten Thousand Tribulations, so he could only grasp the blade with his bare hands, letting the blood stream down the edges of his palms drop by drop.

Thunder and lightning lingered over his body, chaining around every inch of his bones and shattering him with such pain as if his whole body had been crushed into pieces. It was only ten thousand steps to this point, and every step ahead was preceded by a thunderbolt.

This was known as the Heavenly Thunder Refining Body, which shatters the bones of the entire body inch by inch!

If you loved my translations, help me to keep up with the good work!

Your contribution is highly appreciated, Thank you!

NOTE: This translation belongs to me. It is prohibited to copy / Re-translate / Re-distribute my translations without my prior permission. Thank you.

Like this:Like Loading...

Related