Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 459: Intent to Take Control

Taibai Jinxing led Ksitigarbha and Wukong into the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds, saying with a smile, “This place is gloomy and cold; I’ve only been here a few times myself.”
When the three reached the bottom of the abyss, they saw that the original cave entrance had been expanded into a large gate. On the gate hung a plaque with white characters on a black background, reading “Netherworld Palace.” Two rows of little demons stood beside the gate. Upon seeing Taibai Jinxing, they rushed inside to report. In no time, Judge Cui stepped out of the gate. Seeing Taibai Jinxing leading Wukong and Ksitigarbha, he first greeted Taibai Jinxing and then bowed deeply to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the former ruler of the Netherworld Palace. He was known for his fairness and impartiality, earning widespread respect. Judge Cui’s bow was truly sincere.
With Judge Cui around, there was no need for Taibai Jinxing to lead the way. Judge Cui guided the three into the main gate and asked Jinxing, “Wait a moment. I’ll go invite the palace master, the Southern Pole Immortal, to meet you.”
Now, the Southern Pole Immortal was the ruler of the Netherworld Palace. Ksitigarbha’s arrival was a major event, and it was only proper to have him come to greet them. Taibai Jinxing glanced at Ksitigarbha, who said, “There’s no need for that. I’ll just take a look and leave.” Taibai Jinxing didn’t dare disregard etiquette and looked at Wukong for guidance. Wukong said, “There’s no need to trouble the immortal. Today, we’re just revisiting old places with Ksitigarbha King. Nothing important is at hand.”
Hearing this, Judge Cui felt much more at ease. Ksitigarbha King was kind-hearted and refined, so everything could be discussed. But Sun Wukong was infamous in both the Heavenly Court and the Netherworld. He had once dared to challenge the Heavenly Court with the power of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Who knew what he might do?
The group entered the Netherworld Palace. The first grand hall was that of the Wheel King in the Tenth Hall of the Nether Capital. After the Netherworld Palace was destroyed, the former Wheel King disappeared without a trace. Only the new Wheel King stood in the hall, taking the souls from the little demons one by one to examine carefully.
Those brought before him were none ordinary—either immortals from the heavens, demons from the earth, or wealthy and powerful people from the human world. They needed to be carefully evaluated by the Wheel King, who would then decide their fate and instruct the little demons to send them across the bridge to the four great continents.
Ksitigarbha King stood outside and shook his head slightly before moving on to the next hall. Wukong noticed this subtle movement and asked telepathically, “What’s wrong?”
Ksitigarbha King replied, “Here, reincarnation is not determined by good or evil, but by status.” After observing for a while, he saw that some of those souls, who had been kings, nobles, and generals in their past lives, were still deemed to be wealthy and powerful in this life by the Wheel King. Yet those who should have suffered endless torment in hell due to their evil deeds could easily be reborn.

Moving forward further, there were the palaces of the King of Equality, the King of the City, the King of Mount Tai, and the King of Biancheng. All four were places where copper snakes served as chains and iron dogs as pillars, inflicting agony by breaking bones and scorching the body. Although Wukong had been here before, seeing the various cruel punishments and strict laws in the palaces still made him feel uneasy.

Tai Bai Jin Xing had already closed his eyes, pretending not to hear the screams reaching his ears. Only Judge Cui and Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha remained calm; to them, the various horrors of the netherworld were nothing new.

The palace of the King of the Turning Wheel was countless times larger than these four. Each palace contained sixteen small hells, all surrounding a vast pool of blood. Wukong knew that this pool of blood was actually used to cultivate life force. It seemed that many of the punishments in the netherworld were similar to those in Buddhist hell realms, using torture to extract life force from people. After seeing these palaces, Ksitigarbha frowned deeply. Indeed, the current netherworld made no distinction between good and evil; regardless of whether someone was good or evil, they were all subjected to cruel punishments to force out their life force first, with their rebirth being left to fate.

After passing through these four palaces, they arrived at the fifth palace, the Yama Palace. Wukong glanced inside and saw that the ruler of the Yama Palace had changed. This person was someone he recognized—Wang Shan, the assistant of the True Lord You Sheng who had fought against him in the past.

Wang Shan already had an extraordinary appearance, and as the ruler of the Yama Palace, he exuded even more dignity and authority. He sat in the main hall, giving orders to the lesser demons below with a complacent air.

Ksitigarbha glanced at the Yama Palace and said to Wukong, “Back in the day, the Yama Palace was originally the first palace in the netherworld.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. Why has it become the fifth palace now?” Wukong asked.

Ksitigarbha replied, “Because the original ruler of the Yama Palace had a pure heart. He repeatedly released unjustly imprisoned souls back to life to clear their names. He was also compassionate, turning a blind eye to those with minor faults. As a result, the Yama Palace produced the least life force each year. The Jade Emperor became angry and demoted him to the fifth palace.”

Wukong nodded. He hadn’t known about this story. This former ruler of the Yama Palace seemed like a good person. He asked Ksitigarbha, “Where is the first ruler of the Yama Palace now?”

Ksitigarbha said, “After the Yama Palace became the fifth palace, its ruler was replaced. The first ruler was taken to the Thirty-Six Heavens, and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since.”

As they spoke, the group passed by the palaces of the Five Kings of Senses, the Emperor of Song, and the King of Chu River. Ksitigarbha, with his ability to judge good and evil, could see everything clearly. Whether it was evil people who oppressed the weak, harmed the good, were ungrateful, or committed grave acts of disrespect, or good people who were honest, selfless, trustworthy, and willing to sacrifice themselves for others, they all suffered in various hells without any distinction.

After seeing this, Ksitigarbha sighed softly and said, “One day, I will take back the Netherworld.” These words came from the bottom of his heart. When Wukong heard this, he laughed and said, “If King Ksitigarbha truly has such an intention, I will surely assist you.”

Tai Bai Jin Xing and Judge Cui were shocked upon hearing this. King Ksitigarbha really spoke without restraint, saying whatever he thought in his heart, without holding back in front of them. But since they had heard it, they naturally had to report it to the Jade Emperor. Alas, even the Jade Emperor was not within Ksitigarbha’s perception.

They arrived at the first hall, which had originally been the Hall of King Qin Guang but was now renamed the “Hall of the Immortal King of Longevity,” indicating that it was now under the control of the Great Emperor of Longevity in the South Pole.

Wukong looked inside and saw that the Immortal Lord of the South Pole still retained his elegant demeanor, with a carefree expression on his face. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the atmosphere in the Hall of Longevity was even more rich in vital energy than elsewhere.

As a Divine Ape of Vital Energy, Wukong was highly sensitive to such energies. There was no pool of blood in the hall, only a Mirror of Evil. Where did all this vital energy come from?

After searching carefully throughout the hall, he finally discovered the clue: beneath the floor of the main hall lay a strange-looking furnace, about twenty feet in diameter. This furnace looked very familiar. Wukong immediately remembered the furnace used by the four stars, Fang Xin Tu, to collect vital energy in the Heavenly Court—it was similar to this one, though that one was much rougher in comparison.

He remembered Fang Xin Tu saying that the method of collecting vital energy was learned from the Immortal Lord of the South Pole using an Elixir of Laozi. Seeing this furnace now proved that Fang Xin Tu’s words were true.

The Immortal Lord of the South Pole had volunteered to be the ruler of the Netherworld, clearly with ulterior motives. Collecting vital energy here was an extremely secretive act. Since there was no concept of vital energy in the Heavenly Court, and as long as the difference wasn’t too great, it would be easy to deceive them. That old man from the South Pole truly had clever tactics!

Wukong kept this in mind. The vital energy in the Netherworld was still of mortal origin. King Ksitigarbha’s actions had crossed his limits, but with the impending war between the Heavenly Court and Buddha, it was better to tolerate the Immortal Lord of the South Pole for now. After that matter was settled, when King Ksitigarbha reclaimed the Netherworld, they would settle accounts.

After passing by the Hall of the Immortal King of Longevity, Ksitigarbha turned to Tai Bai Jin Xing and said, “This trip was worthwhile. Thank you, Jin Xing.”

Tai Bai Jin Xing quickly bowed and said, “I dare not accept such praise. It is a blessing for the Netherworld that King Ksitigarbha has come.” Wukong laughed beside them. That old man, after hearing that King Ksitigarbha wanted to take back the Netherworld, still dared to speak in such ambiguous terms—truly extremely cunning.

Ksitigarbha said to Wukong, “Go now.”

Wukong replied, “Alright.”

The two of them swiftly left, not taking Tai Bai Jin Xing with them, and emerged from the Netherworld, arriving at the Abyss of Nine Shadows. They found that the sky was filled with stars. Wukong said, “There are still two days left.”
Dizang responded with an “Hmm” and said, “I haven’t seen the Three Pure Ones, the Immortal Maidens, and many people in Qitian Ridge for a long time. I miss them quite a bit.”
Wukong laughed and said, “A Bodhisattva should uphold the principle that all things are empty. How can you still have attachments?”
Dizang replied, “Though all things are empty, one’s perceptions and beliefs matter. Everything in the world exists within my mind.”
After hearing Dizang’s explanation, Wukong sighed and said, “This is indeed the way of engaging with the world.”
In Qitian Ridge, everything was silent, except for the bustling Wind-Through Cave. Wukong sent Dizang to Dayu and then followed the noise. It turned out that Wu Zhiqi was telling the story of obtaining the Sea-Submerging Whip from the Sea Dragon. Wu Zhiqi had never been so excited before. Standing in the cave, he gestured wildly and said,
“…Lao Wu refused to give it to me. I said, ‘It’s the Ancestral Dragon Zhenwu who sent me to get it! How dare you refuse?’ Lao Wu glared at me and retorted, ‘The Ancestral Dragon has never lied. Since this whip was given to me by him, how could he give it to you?’ When I realized my lie had been exposed, I had no choice but to beat him up to take the whip. When Lao Wu saw that I was about to attack, he was terrified and begged for mercy, saying, ‘Fourth brother, let’s talk it out. Don’t use force.’ I was furious. As the fourth brother, how could I not show respect for the fifth?”
“Haha!” Wukong found it amusing. He stepped into the cave and asked, “Is what you’re saying true or false?”
Seeing Wukong enter, Wu Zhiqi smiled sheepishly and said, “Of course it’s true.”
Wukong asked, “What about the Sea-Submerging Whip?”
At the mention of the whip, Wu Zhiqi’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He exerted a little magic, and a strange transformation occurred to his body—a silver-white long whip emerged from his skin, tightly coiled around him as if he were wearing armor.
Wu Zhiqi shook his hand and took the whip into his grasp, saying, “This whip can not only submerge the seas but also create water!”
With a light tap, he pointed the tip of the whip at the stone wall in the cave, and a stream of water shot out like an arrow, creating a deep hole in the wall.
Wu Zhiqi was known as the “Water-Generating Divine Ape” because he became energetic when in water. What he feared most was the lack of water. That’s why back then, the Great Sage and National Advisor Wang Bodhisattva trapped him in the Fire Oil Cave. After obtaining the Sea-Submerging Whip, he no longer had to worry about water shortages. In fact, this whip had another use: it could store water essence—a skill even the Sea Dragon couldn’t master.