358: Chapter 345 Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's "Silent Meditation"

Outside Senluo Hall, the originally pitch-black sky of the Netherworld was now illuminated by ten thousand zhang of golden light.

That was not the light of the sun, but pure Holy Light.

A massive twelve-petaled Golden Lotus of Karma drifted slowly over. Seated atop the lotus platform was a monk with a solemn and dignified appearance. He wore a brocade kasaya, a Vairocana crown on his head, held a nine-ringed khakkhara staff, and cradled a luminous pearl in his left hand, illuminating the darkness of the Netherworld.

Beside him lay a Divine Beast that looked like a dragon but wasn't, like a tiger but wasn't, like a lion but wasn't, and like a Qilin but wasn't—Di Ting. This Divine Beast had its ears drooping, as if listening to the sounds of all things in the Three Realms.

The person who had arrived was the true boss of the Netherworld, the ruthless individual who had made the great vow: "I will not become a Buddha until Hell is empty"—Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

With his appearance, the murderous atmosphere that had been present due to the arrival of Lin Feng's fleet unexpectedly turned peaceful. The shivering lesser ghosts seemed to have found their backbone, kneeling in worship, their eyes filled with hope.

"Benefactor Lin."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva pressed his palms together, his gaze as calm as water, yet it radiated an unquestionable firmness and majesty. "The Netherworld is a crucial site of Reincarnation, concerning the balance of the Three Realms; it is not a child's game. You have used force to barge through the Ghost Gate Pass, and forcibly tampered with the book of life and death, disrupting the order of Yin and Yang. This is a great disrespect, a grave sin. I ask that you put down your butcher's knife and turn back to the shore."

His voice was not loud, but it seemed to contain a certain magic, making people unable to help but want to prostrate themselves in worship and cast aside the baleful energy in their hearts.

Even Nezha was momentarily dazed, and the Fire-Tipped Spear in his hand nearly fell to the ground.

"Hmph!"

Lin Feng snorted coldly, his Mental Energy erupting instantly, piercing through this mental charm like a sharp awl.

He looked at this monk who came with his own "Holy Light special effects" and couldn't help but laugh, laughing unscrupulously.

"Turn back to the shore? My shore is right in front of me, why should I turn back?"

Lin Feng took a step forward, the Aura of his "Chaos Demon God Body" erupting instantly, actually forcing the sky-filling Holy Light back by three feet. "Old monk, spare me that empty nonsense. When this bunch of Yama Kings wanted to seek independence and cut off the book of life and death, why didn't you come out and say 'turn back to the shore'? Now that I've come to collect the debt, you've run out to take sides? You play the double standard game quite well!"

"Amitabha."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva shook his head, his expression unchanged. "This monk simply does not wish to see the suffering of living beings. The shot you fired earlier destroyed the Ghost Gate Pass and injured countless ghost soldiers; this Karma is too heavy. Even if you are powerful now, you will ultimately be unable to escape the cycle of the Heavenly Dao."

"Karma?"

Lin Feng sneered, pointing at the fleet in the sky. "My cannons are Karma! My words are the will of Heaven! Instead of talking to me about Karma, why don't we talk about your great vow."

"I heard you swore that 'I will not become a Buddha until Hell is empty'?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva nodded, his expression solemn: "Indeed. If I do not enter Hell, who will? As long as there is one evil ghost left in Hell, I will not become a Buddha, but will reside in the Netherworld, saving all living beings."

This was also what made Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva most admirable, and also most troublesome. It was a moral high ground that bordered on being shameless, and it was the Foundation of his supreme authority in the Netherworld.

"Good, very good, I am very moved."

Lin Feng clapped his hands, then suddenly snapped his fingers. "Then can I understand it as, as long as Hell is empty, you can become a Buddha and then roll back to your Spirit Mountain?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was stunned. Theoretically, that was the case, but he felt there was a trap in Lin Feng's words, and his brows furrowed slightly: "Although this vow is grand, it requires the merit of hundreds of millions of kalpas; saving evil ghosts requires transforming their hearts..."

"No need for hundreds of millions of kalpas, why go through so much trouble? I will help you realize it right now."

Lin Feng waved his hand, pointing toward the one hundred interstellar warships behind him that had long been ready to fire.

"Pass the order!"

"All warships, charge main cannons!"

"Target: The Eighteen Levels of Hell! Starting from the first level, the Tongue-Ripping Hell, all the way to the eighteenth level, the Knife-Saw Hell!"

"Blast every single evil ghost, fierce ghost, and vengeful spirit inside—whether they are guilty or innocent—into dust using the 'Positron Annihilation Cannon'! Leave none! Send them all to Nirvana through physics! Let them completely return to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!"

"As long as all the ghosts are killed, won't Hell be empty? Physical clearing is still clearing, right! Can't you, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, become a Buddha then? This is a win-win! I'll help you complete your quota, you hurry off to report to the Western Paradise, and everyone will be happy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire place was in an uproar.

The Ten Yama Kings were so scared they nearly fainted. Blast the Eighteen Levels of Hell empty? Then what the Hell is the point of the Netherworld! That is the Foundation of the Netherworld!

A crack finally appeared on Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's originally calm face, and the corners of his eyes twitched wildly. The golden lotus beneath him even swayed twice.

"You... you are distorting the truth! This is sophistry!"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's voice changed. "This is slaughter! It is not salvation! Salvation is about letting them cast aside their obsessions and go to the Western Paradise, not letting their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"

"So what if it's slaughter?"

Lin Feng looked completely justified. "If you kill them, they won't have to suffer in the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and they won't have to generate any more obsessions. Isn't this the greatest compassion? This is called the 'Nuclear Peace' salvation method. High efficiency, no pain, no side effects, and it gets the job done in one step."

"Come, come, don't be polite. Prepare—"

"Click, click, click—"

The main cannons of the hundred warships simultaneously lit up with destructive light, and the terrifying energy fluctuations made the entire Netherworld tremble. That light pointed directly at the Eighteen Levels of Hell deep within the Netherworld.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's heart pounded wildly.

He could feel it; that madman was not joking. He really dared to fire the cannons!

If he really let him blast Hell empty, not only would the Netherworld be destroyed, but Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's great vow would become a joke. He wanted to save evil ghosts, not eliminate them! This was like a doctor treating an illness; if the doctor killed the patient to eliminate the disease, there would indeed be no patients, but the doctor would have to go to jail!

Furthermore, if that shot went off, his dojo, Cuiyun Palace, would probably turn into ruins as well.

"Wait! Wait!"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could no longer keep up the act, suddenly standing up, the khakkhara staff in his hand trembling. "Benefactor Lin! Let's talk this over! Do not act! This is a great calamity for the Three Realms!"

"What? You don't want to become a Buddha anymore? This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity." Lin Feng looked at him teasingly, his hand still raised in the air, ready to wave it down at any moment.

"This monk... this monk thinks that the matter of salvation should be gradual, convincing people with virtue, and cannot be rushed." Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said through gritted teeth, cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

"Then are you going to move out of the way or not? Who will manage the Netherworld from now on?" Lin Feng pressed, his Aura surging like a rainbow.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva took a deep breath, glanced at the hundred main cannons that could fire at any moment, and then looked at the insane, lawless Lin Feng.

He knew that reasoning would not work. Fight? Although he was a Quasi-Saint, facing these hundred "cannons" that could blast a Golden Immortal to death, he had no certainty of victory. More importantly, he could not afford to gamble.

"Forget it, forget it."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sighed heavily, sat back down on the lotus platform, closed his eyes, and looked as though his heart had turned to ash.

"This monk has recently caught a cold, my throat is uncomfortable, and I need to practice 'Silent Zen'. I will no longer concern myself with the worldly affairs of the Netherworld. As for today's events, this monk... cannot see, and cannot hear."

After saying this, he directly rode the golden lotus, bringing Di Ting with him, and without looking back, turned into a streak of golden light, diving back into his Cuiyun Palace.

"Bang!"

The doors of Cuiyun Palace closed tightly.

Immediately following, one layer, two layers, ten layers... a full one hundred layers of defensive barriers lit up outside Cuiyun Palace. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had completely sealed off his mountain, terrified that Lin Feng might have a slip of the hand and accidentally injure him.

The entire place was deadly silent.

Only the sound of the wind blowing could be heard.

The Ten Yama Kings looked at this scene in despair, too stunned to even reset their dislocated jaws. Even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had been retorted into "seclusion" and scared away?

This Netherworld had completely changed.

Lin Feng withdrew his gaze, looked at the group of shivering Yama Kings, and yawned, as if he had done a trivial thing.

"Alright, the biggest nail has been pulled."

"Now, let's talk about the future management fees for the Netherworld. I see the black pearls in your Styx River are not bad; load a few carts for me..."