14: It's unfair for me not to go to hell

“Unless I’m truly done for, I really don’t want to come to this place!”

Watching the souls in the Eighteenth Levels of Hell being agonizingly sawed repeatedly by dull blades, regenerating, and then being sawed again, hundreds or thousands of times, Nezha couldn't help but shiver and complain.

“Holy Monk, we’ve searched the entire Eighteenth Levels of Hell, and there’s no entrance or Formation of any kind!” Yang Jian jumped down from a hillside and said to Tang Ku.

“That’s strange then. Since Great Immortal Zhenyuan said Avici Hell exists, it must exist, but how exactly does one go down there?”

Tang Ku frowned slightly.

“The souls here are all people who committed grave sins. Before entering Reincarnation, they are completely unconscious, so asking them would be useless. Besides, the entire Hell now doesn’t even have a single ghost messenger, so we can’t ask anyone!”

Nezha got goosebumps from the gruesome sight. “Let’s go back to Fengdu City first and discuss it again!”

“What kind of people do you think would be subjected to torture in a place called Avici Hell?”

Tang Ku suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at the two.

“Great Immortal Zhenyuan said they are great demons and Immortal Gods who committed grave sins!”

Yang Jian frowned slightly, “If the theory of a nineteenth level below is true, then the sins committed by these Immortal Gods must be significant.”

“My Buddha once said, ‘If I do not enter Hell, who will?’”

Tang Ku looked up at the sky, where the place that should have been the ground was covered in a layer of mist, like a gloomy, overcast sky. He slowly said, “What do you two think if Poor Monk experiences the punishments of the Eighteenth Levels of Hell?”

“No!”

Yang Jian was startled. “I know what you mean, but the punishments in the Eighteenth Levels of Hell are aimed at the soul. If the Holy Monk’s soul is damaged, it would be a huge loss!”

“Heh heh, even the Buddha sacrificed himself to feed tigers and cut his flesh to feed eagles. What are a mere smelly skin bag and a mere soul worth mentioning!” Tang Ku laughed, “Don’t worry, even if it doesn’t succeed, Poor Monk has a way to escape!”

Nezha was confused: “What riddle are you two speaking?”

“The Holy Monk hopes to personally experience the Eighteenth Levels of Hell. Perhaps he can find a crucial clue to the nineteenth level, or even directly open the door to the nineteenth level!” Yang Jian said.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Nezha exclaimed, “This isn’t a game; it’s very dangerous! Besides, even if you make it through, you might not be able to open that entrance!”

“I have Buddha Power protecting my body, so my soul is difficult to harm. These punishments won’t hurt me much, so don’t worry!” Tang Ku said, “Moreover, we don’t have any other methods right now, do we?”

“That’s still not right. Where did you get this conclusion about personally experiencing Hell?” Nezha said, “Isn’t this just messing around?”

“As I said before, Immortal Gods of Divine-Grade who committed grave sins will enter Avici Hell to suffer. I don’t think they would just be simply allowed in!”

Tang Ku chuckled, “Perhaps the sins they committed require them to experience all of the Eighteenth Levels of Hell before they can enter Avici Hell!”

“This is all your speculation; it can’t be relied upon!”

Nezha turned to Yang Jian and said, “Brother Erlang, aren’t you going to try and persuade him?”

Yang Jian said helplessly: “Monks don’t lie. You should know the Holy Monk’s temper. Even when he was on the pilgrimage without much Divine Ability, he was the type to go all the way to the end, never backing down because of a few words!”

“Exactly, True Monarch is the one who understands me… Hmm, you two wait here in the Sawing Hell. I’ll be back soon!”

Tang Ku laughed, “Don’t worry, Poor Monk has gone through eighty-one tribulations before; what kind of suffering haven’t I endured? This is nothing at all!”

“Believe me, Holy Monk, compared to this thing, the suffering you endured before was like a vacation!”

Nezha pouted.

Tang Ku smiled, clasped his hands together in a bow, took off his kasaya and monk’s robes, baring his upper body, and flew directly to the topmost first level of Hell.

“Oh, Tongue-Pulling Hell, specifically for those who tell lies, speak carelessly, and sow discord… Heh heh, interesting. I want to see if this iron pincer can pull out my tongue!”

Directly in front, a red-hot iron pincer hung in the air. All around, countless souls had their tongues forcibly pulled out by such pincers, over and over again, seemingly endlessly in their suffering, and the souls wished to cry but had no tears, their faces contorted with agony.

Tang Ku took a deep breath, walked directly to an empty spot, faced an empty iron pincer, and smiled slightly: “Come on, let’s see if you can pull out Poor Monk’s tongue!”

The reason Tang Ku so confidently accepted these punishments was not only because he knew he wouldn’t be harmed, but also because he wanted to earn Iron Fist Points.

In Hell, these punishments should originally be operated by ghost messengers, but it was clear that there were no ghost messengers in Hell now. Everything was running automatically due to some mechanism. Tang Ku had reason to believe that these punishments were actually formed by enemy spells, and according to the System’s rule that even getting beaten earns Iron Fist Points, his voluntarily enduring this punishment could actually be considered enduring an attack.

Iron Fist Points would definitely increase, just as the iron pincer desperately tried to pull out Tang Ku’s tongue. Although it couldn’t even break through his protective Buddha Power, the Iron Fist Points surged upwards.

Looking at the series of 0.1 numbers popping up, Tang Ku couldn't help but purse his lips: “This level is too slow…”

After dozens of seconds, Tang Ku simply moved his tongue, shattering the fiery red iron pincer, and then leaped to the next level of Hell.

It is not convenient to describe in detail what the Eighteenth Levels of Hell are like, because the punishments suffered within are truly too bloody and terrifying. Of course, for those who committed grave sins, such punishments seem to be not enough, because all souls who come here must experience the punishments that correspond to the sins they committed in the mortal world. Depending on the severity of their sins, some souls experience the same kind of punishment more than once, and the pain within is truly indescribable, especially the most famous ones like the Mountain of Knives, Oil Pot, Volcano, Sawing, and so on—they are truly self-explanatory and well-known!

Nezha and Yang Jian sat at the exit of the Sawing Hell, waiting patiently. Although they knew Tang Ku might have his own plans, they couldn't help but worry a little, after all, personally experiencing Hell had only been done before when Mulian saved his mother, and that kind of pain was truly not something an ordinary person could bear.

Now that the Monk dared to experience it, just this courage alone made them admire him.

However, this anxiety was also real, because they didn’t know if the Monk would be able to maintain his sanity after experiencing all of this, and in this Hell, it was impossible to distinguish the passage of time.

Finally, a bald figure leaped down from mid-air, it was Tang Ku, who had just passed through the Stone Mill Hell.

In the seventeen levels, he had experienced almost all the punishments, but this experience left him somewhat disappointed.

In the seventeen levels of Hell, he had only gained 6 Iron Fist Points. Added to what he had accumulated from fighting the Immortal Soldiers before, he now had 27 Iron Fist Points available.

“Alas, then let’s see if this last Hell can bring me some surprises!”

Under the respectful gazes of Nezha and Yang Jian, Tang Ku resolutely entered the Sawing Hell.