Chapter 245

Countless black shadows surged out like a tide.

They were nothing else but, shockingly, one after another, hideous and terrifying hellish ghosts!

Wielding the torture implements of the Eight Great Hells—red copper branding irons, iron hammers, fire forks, and burning saws—with chain hooks in their mouths and karmic fire burning in their eyes, they burst forth from the depths of the Illusory Sea. Treading on fire, they lunged at Qi Xing from all directions, intending to drag [Master Leipu] into the Avici Hell as well!

However, this kind of trick was likely not enough for a civil war between Demon Kings.

Qi Xing was not afraid of these hellish ghosts; he simply focused his gaze on the seabed.

A long scroll was unfurling on the seabed.

It was an ancient, yellowish-brown scroll painting, scorched with burn marks, vividly depicting the bone-chilling and hideous scenes of the Eight Great Hells.

In the Reviving Hell, sinners slaughtered each other, were hacked and stabbed by jailers, and after death, were resurrected by karma, living and dying ten thousand times in an instant;

In the Black Rope Hell, jailers used red-hot iron ropes to saw along the lines of the sinners, causing flesh to drip and organs to spill, while the sinners repeatedly lived and died amidst their wailing and screaming;

In the Crushing Hell, millions of sinners were hammered on huge anvils, ground into paste in iron mortars, their bones and flesh shattered into rivers of blood, and melted into a single mass;

In the Screaming Hell, the surroundings were all burning iron houses; sentient beings, with wide, terrified eyes, were scorched by raging flames, enduring extreme pain, screaming and running wildly, yet there was no escape in any direction, resulting in shrill cries of despair and agony.

In the Scorching Hell, beings were not only roasted, burned, pierced, and cut, but also had molten iron and copper poured into their mouths by jailers, which sequentially melted their throats, tongues, and internal organs, with the solution mixed with flesh flowing out from various orifices—a sight too cruel to behold.

Finally, in the Avici Hell, countless huge copper cauldrons were filled with boiling molten iron and copper; beings were tormented, boiled, tossed, and stirred, their skin, flesh, bones, and blood fusing with the molten magma and blazing fire from the inside out. The extreme pain never ceased for an instant until the end of the kalpa, hence the name Avici.

—These were not just paintings.

Because from the scroll, flames broke through the sea and soared into the sky, and an army of ghosts burst out from the painting.

It was as if the scroll was not a painting, but a door to hell—the Eight Great Hells of Buddhism itself.

Where would there be a real hell in Sasa's universe? Yet here was a true Eight Great Hells, something the Demon King had created using a [silver coin].

The flames on the seabed roared, tearing through the Illusory Sea, and the howling of hell, accompanied by heatwaves, shot straight into the heavens.

The water surface suddenly bulged and then shattered. A giant hand, black as iron, broke through the waves, grabbed the water in front, and forced it apart.

"Om, Yama-daka, Hum, Phat!"

Chanting a mantra, [Demon of Anger] stepped out from the depths of the split trench.

He was no longer the smiling monk in gray robes from moments ago.

His dark blue-black skin was covered with dark red light marks resembling lava cracks, and his chest and arms were engraved with dense Sanskrit mantras, emitting a crimson glow under his intense internal energy.

On his forehead, he now wore a skull crown cast from gold and white bone, with flowing, blazing light embedded in the skull's eye sockets, rolling and surging with each of his steps.

With every step he took, the seawater beneath his feet instantly boiled, and the steam turned into thick white mist, aiding his stride.

The souls of the damned burning in fire, bitten by iron snakes, and the countless small animal creatures the monk loved so much—their endless screams emanated from beneath [Demon of Anger]'s feet.

Holding a burning giant iron hammer in his right hand and dragging a black iron chain covered in barbs in his left, the Demon King looked at Qi Xing, grinned to reveal black teeth, and laughed:

"[Master Leipu]! The King of Hell has come to entertain you personally!"

—By now, it was not hard to guess which deity this [Demon of Anger]'s mythological prototype was.

"Yama."

Qi Xing muttered, "Great, I've really met the King of Hell this time."

Although there was the concept of the "Ten Kings of the Underworld" in Chinese Buddhism, ancient Indian Buddhism certainly did not have so many Yama kings. In early Buddhism, there was only one Yama, the lord of hellish ghosts and deities.

Generally speaking, this was a legacy issue from when monks in the East translated Buddhist scriptures; as dynasties evolved, it gradually transformed from one deity into the Ten Kings of Hell.

As for the Yama that [Demon of Anger] had now transformed into—it looked like it was a hybrid version.

Regardless, although [Demon of Anger] looked imposing now, Qi Xing had forced out the enemy's mythological prototype first. According to the tradition that the one who plays their trump card first loses, Qi Xing could be considered to have the upper hand.

[Do you want me to lend you some power, like last time?]

Sasa, standing on Qi Xing's head, asked with great interest.

"Forget it. An enemy that has already revealed its mythological prototype can be dealt with by one [silver coin]; there's no need to activate dual-core drive again."

Drawing the [Dominator] silver coin, although he couldn't explain the exact reason, Qi Xing vaguely felt that this [silver coin] was the one most capable of countering Yama.

Was Yama the master of death? At first thought, it seemed so, but upon reflection, it felt wrong. Perhaps, as Sasa said, Qi Xing had not truly understood the essence of [Dominator].

Today, he would fight the Yama King and come to a proper understanding.

"Oh, oh, scary, scary!"

However, perhaps sensing the divine power Qi Xing was secretly channeling, [Demon of Anger] laughed loudly, but instead of charging straight ahead, he pulled back half his offensive and stopped.

"Senior Sister, at this stage, are you still just going to stand by and watch?"

While laughing, he turned his head to look at the woman in the green tracksuit who was still huddled in the distance, seemingly having no desire to get involved in the battle. "This [Master Leipu] is formidable! If Senior Sister doesn't make a move, you'll be watching this poor monk suffer alone!"

Although he shouted comically and boisterously, his tone sounded like he was performing on stage. Unfortunately, the frumpy, bespectacled woman in green seemed to have absolutely no interest in helping, not even bothering to lift her eyelids.

She was squatting on the ground, scrolling on her phone. No matter the erupting lava, the sweeping heatwaves, or the landslides and tsunamis, nothing could touch her. It was as if everything slid off her like water ripples before it could make contact; it was as if everything was isolated before it could touch her.

It was like someone wearing headphones, completely immersed in their own world—no matter how much the outside world roared or shouted, it couldn't penetrate her mind.

"Senior Sister?"

Regardless of how [Demon of Anger] called her, the frumpy woman kept her head down, her fingertips sliding across the phone screen, typing rapidly, as if she heard nothing.

"Your Senior Sister's meditation skills are quite high."

Qi Xing remarked casually.

"Indeed, this poor monk should learn more from her."

[Demon of Anger] sighed. "It can't be helped. Since it's come to this, this poor monk has no choice but to use methods I didn't intend to employ—[Master Leipu], you must be extra careful."

……What?

"Senior Sister—!"

Once more, [Demon of Anger] shouted at the top of his lungs, "[Master Leipu] has gotten an erection for you!!"

Huh?

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The explosions and roaring sounds from afar, accompanied by waves of divine power fluctuations, surged from the depths of the earth, causing every stained-glass window in the church to vibrate.

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of several academy heads, their faces pale as paper.

But with Count Saint-Germain presiding here, they still dared not stop their actions, only suppressing the unease in their hearts to continue pushing forward the astral projection ritual—sending Vike's astral body to the [Lunar Sanctuary].

Although this ritual was quite difficult, the principle was not complex: it was simply releasing the consciousness of a mage outside of their physical body to drift in the starry sky. The consciousness and the physical body were always connected by a silver-white thread. If this bond broke, the physical body would die.

……Although this was a serious and dangerous theory in practical occultism, for some reason, this image always evoked some impure associations. Why on earth was that?

Regardless, on the side of the academy heads, the ritual was ready.

"McKenzie, you just need to put on this helmet and sit in the magic circle; we will naturally handle the rest."

The head of the Unification Academy handed her a silver helmet and gave simple instructions.

On the floor, they had already drawn a magic circle to protect the mind using oil-based paint that wouldn't be easily destroyed. The runes shimmered with a ghostly light under the candlelight.

Everything was in silence and tension, waiting for the moment of activation.

"……There are Demon Kings fighting outside; is now really a good time for me to go for advanced training?"

Vike couldn't help but show some cowardice, asking weakly, her tone lacking confidence.

"This is [Master Leipu]'s order, and we can only comply."

The Unification Academy head shook his head with a bitter face. "Miss McKenzie, don't agonize over it here. When it comes down to it, this opportunity has fallen to you after all. I also don't believe a child like you would be some spy who snuck in to invade the [Sanctuary]. Don't hesitate."

What else could Vike say? She pursed her lips, stepped cautiously into the magic circle, cupped the silver helmet in both hands, and slowly raised it above her head—

"Miss McKenzie, if you are hesitating, just leave it to me."

—Until a sudden voice made her freeze.

Before she could react, Vike felt a sharp pain in her abdomen; she was actually kicked away, rolling heavily until she landed outside the magic circle!

When she caught her breath and looked up, she saw that particularly seductive Indian girl—Devika—already standing steadily in the center of the magic circle, holding the helmet, her expression calm as if everything was a matter of course.

"Vike!"

Queen Boudica screamed and lunged out to protect her.

The several academy heads changed color instantly, hurriedly reaching out to cut the astral connection with the [Lunar Sanctuary]!

It was her! The person who had really snuck in was indeed her!

……However, Devika just slightly raised her hand, and her fingertips lit up with a golden, flame-like radiance, blooming into a rotating Tantric mandala pattern.

"[Indra's Thunderbolt Spear]."

Violent lightning blasted out from the mandala, knocking all the academy heads to the ground in one move, not even giving them time to groan!

The lingering sound of thunder still echoed in the air, and Devika, in the center of the magic circle, had already raised the silver helmet, looking like she was about to put it on her head!

At this critical moment, there was only one person present who might be able to stop her.

The battle axe of the God-King Athena had transformed into an arc like a bright moon, slashing down directly!

Devika's figure flickered, her steps as light as a dance, letting the axe blade graze past her nose by an inch.

"Who are you?"

Xue Ning forced her back with a move, but her expression showed no sign of triumph; instead, it was exceptionally grave.

"You can't even recognize who I am?"

The seductive little girl laughed instead.

"It seems the [White God Believers] really have no talent."

Volume 6: Thunder █ Hero · Lunar Expedition: 225: Who is Papiyas?

Who?

Xue Ning really didn't know who this Indian girl "actually" was.

She only had an extremely bad premonition—

To be able to dodge her axe so casually, even if she hadn't used her full strength just now, was the level of an immortal or a god-like being.

Moreover, this person's aura was steady, unmoving as a mountain… Her power was likely not below that of any [Sect Leader], and perhaps even—

"[Vayu]."

Without forming mudras or chanting mantras, Devika just raised her hand and pointed casually at Xue Ning.

In an instant, a great wind whipped up.

The deity Xue Ning was "playing" was the primordial Sun Goddess, the God-King Athena.

However, the howling wind transformed into a huge, humanoid black shadow before her eyes, and it actually reached out and grabbed the sunlight radiating from her body!

In an instant, the brilliance shining from Xue Ning was blown away and shredded by the shadow of the wind!

—A great wind? [Vayu]? The wind that blows away the sun—this was the divine power of the Wind God Vayu!

When professionals clash, the result is that Xue Ning immediately recognized the origin of the opponent's divine power. The wind that could devour the sun chilled Xue Ning to the bone.

Fortunately, she still had one trick up her sleeve, a divine power attribute she hadn't even used when fighting Qi Xing.

At the critical moment, Xue Ning violently shattered the heavy silver armor on her body.

White light splashed everywhere, and the heavy battle axe deformed in her hands, changing into a pair of slender, sharp silver swords.

At the same time, a pair of huge white bat wings suddenly extended from her back—the wings flapped, and she transformed into a flowing shadow of white light!

"I command in the name of the deity who imparts forbidden wisdom. Come, God of Inscribed Taboo Knowledge! Follow my wish, and make the astonishing reality!"

In her light-armored form, her speed suddenly increased dramatically, and she swung her swords in a rapid-fire combo, like a storm.

The sword blades sliced through the air, stirring up the magic of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—all blasting out simultaneously—scorching flames, crashing giant waves, sweeping gales, cracking the earth, and collapsing mountains.