Who?
"Guangdu Chenlun Tianzun, a Tianzun summoned in Daoist rituals, possesses no specific form and is one of the formless Tianzuns. His primary duty is to elevate beings from hell, guide wandering souls, and facilitate their ascent to immortal realms. He is a Tianzun of salvation."
"There are many such Tianzuns without specific forms yet possessing divine positions..."
Ji Xiang picked up the decaying divine tablet. A trace of residual power remained on it, perhaps this fragment of power had opened the portal to this desolate wilderness.
At this moment, the Vajra image on his body spoke:
"Young friend, I am Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I have borrowed your body to manifest in the realm of purgatory, and for this, I am truly repentant. After this matter is concluded, if you and I can meet again, I shall fulfill three wishes for you, without fail. Should I break this vow, I shall never hear the sound of thunder, enter the spiritual mountains, touch the pure land, be consumed by karmic fire, and shall fall eternally into the Vajra Hell."
The sudden speech of the Great Vow Vajra did not surprise Ji Xiang. He said indifferently, "Since just now, it was you who has been interfering with me?"
"You first afflicted me with the three poisons, then granted me Vajra protection. Clearly, you have a request of me, yet cannot reveal yourself to me. However, you claim to be Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? Isn't Ksitigarbha already missing from the Six Realms of Dharma?"
"What, you know!"
The Great Vow Vajra was still contemplating how to reveal this without losing face and simultaneously making Ji Xiang understand why he needed to borrow his strength to enter hell. Now, with Ji Xiang's opening, he was taken aback. He showed an expression of utter astonishment, but his form was external to Ji Xiang's true body, so Ji Xiang could not see his expression.
However, Ji Xiang could sense this emotion. Thus, he spoke with a hint of teasing, "The one harmed by Yuan Huang appears before me. Do you think I would believe you? However, this Buddhist wish-power is indeed real. Even if you are not Ksitigarbha, you are somehow related to him."
"Are not the divine positions of the Six Realms Ksitigarbha and the Immovable Wisdom King both held by Yuan Huang's proxy?"
King Lu had established the Great Retribution Temple in Ying Tian to suppress the curse placed upon him by the Huiji Vajra. Therefore, he borrowed the divine position of the Six Realms Ksitigarbha to set up a formation in the Great Retribution Temple. He also possessed the divine position of the Immovable Wisdom King, who, like the Great Vow Vajra, was an emanation of Ksitigarbha.
"I am Ksitigarbha, it is true!"
The Great Vow Vajra spoke, "Since young friend knows of Yuan Huang's name, has learned of the change in ownership of the Six Realms of Dharma, and is aware of the whereabouts of the Six Realms Ksitigarbha and the Immovable Wisdom King, then our conversation will be much easier."
"I shall state it concisely."
"Currently, Yuan Huang has seized numerous netherworld Dharma realms, drawing upon folk myths and using storybooks as his foundation to gather aspirations and create a true Underworld. The Six Realms of Dharma have also been taken by him. I, however, possess a method of liberation. By abandoning my forms as the Wisdom King and the Six Realms, I was able to conceal myself within the human realm of the Six Realms of Samsara."
"Within the Six Realms, the human realm cycles endlessly. Souls entering it, if they do not reincarnate, can never be liberated and will suffer all manner of hardship, enduring the punishment of ten thousand lifetimes of reincarnation. Thus, my true body has lost the power of the Six Realms Ksitigarbha and cannot escape from the human realm. I can only attach myself to you in the form of the Great Vow Vajra."
"And to reclaim the Dharma realms seized by Yuan Huang, one needs the divine position of the Netherworld Lord. However, this divine position has long been lost... its whereabouts are difficult to ascertain. Yet, recently, I have learned something: that divine tablet may be within the Raven Cry Kingdom."
"This is a netherworld beneath the netherworld..."
The Great Vow Vajra's words were not finished when Ji Xiang interrupted, "Allow me to interrupt briefly."
"Young friend, please speak."
Ji Xiang: "So, if there is no Underworld, then upon death, souls go to different Dharma realms and pure lands depending on the manner of death and the transcender. Now, there is a true Underworld that collects all souls. Isn't this a form of regulated management? Why then should power be taken back from the Underworld?"
The Great Vow Vajra: "Young friend... are you testing me?"
Ji Xiang chuckled, "Master, why do you say that?"
The Great Vow Vajra: "The current netherworld, and the havoc that true Underworld has brought to the human world, young friend, since you know Yuan Huang, how can you not have heard of the Jingling and Wanshou Immortal Palaces!"
"Even if an Underworld is to be created, it should not be handed over to that wretch Yuan Huang! Ultimately, if the affairs of the living world cannot be fair and just, how can we expect the world of the dead to be just?"
Ji Xiang's tone suddenly deepened, "What you say has some truth to it, but based solely on the oath you just made, you expect me to believe you are not like Yuan Huang or King Lu?"
The Great Vow Vajra was silent for a moment, then sighed, "My true body is trapped within the Six Realms and cannot meet you. I cannot prove myself."
Ji Xiang, however, let out a laugh, "That's alright. At least it shows you still possess the virtue of honesty. Being able to directly utter 'cannot prove myself' makes me somewhat inclined to believe you."
"Ksitigarbha, King Lu has already disbanded his physical form. I have tampered with him and removed his temple strongholds, so it will take a long time for him to descend again. And assuming Yuan Huang has other proxies, he also cannot interfere with human affairs for at least three months."
"I will also be direct with you. The netherworld has slaughtered countless living people in the human world and repeatedly created karma. It is indeed not a good thing. I have already met with one of the netherworld's Celestial Emperors and had a detailed conversation. Their goal is to swap yin and yang and reshape the dynasty. I do not like dynasties, but I dislike them even more. Therefore, I will help you."
The Great Vow Vajra: "!"
He had many things he wanted to say. He originally thought that the person he possessed was a heaven-sent prodigy, a peerless immortal talent of this era. He never expected that the person before him seemed to have an extraordinary background!
"Young friend appears to be young, yet has already attained an immortal rank. Your talent can be described as unprecedented, unheard of in past eras!"
The Great Vow Vajra carefully considered, then asked, "However, the Netherworld Celestial Emperor met and conversed with young friend without any major conflict? May I ask whose disciple you are?"
Ji Xiang replied indifferently, "Azure Sky of the Jade Purity, Great Fu Li Land, Primordial Heavenly Venerate."
The Great Vow Vajra was stunned. He assumed Ji Xiang was unwilling to reveal his true sect and chuckled, "Young friend is joking. Could it be that young friend cultivates in the Jade Purity Heaven..."
The Great Vow Vajra stopped mid-sentence, stunned.
Ji Xiang smiled slightly.
The atmosphere became tense for a moment, but the Great Vow Vajra quickly adjusted his facial expression.
"In any case, that is not important. Consider me an immortal of this era with exceptional talent. I know what you want to know, and perhaps I know what you don't."
"Now, you can continue telling me what I don't know," Ji Xiang said.
The Great Vow Vajra was silent for a while, then slowly nodded.
"Since you are a cultivator of the Jade Purity and walk alongside me, this journey to the Yellow Springs now has a ninety-eight percent chance of success."
"Please hold the divine tablet and continue forward."
Ji Xiang took the divine tablet and continued forward. On the large stones ahead, decaying divine tablets appeared continuously. Like the first divine tablet of Chenlun Tianzun, these tablets only had a trace of residual power, like ancient tombstones abandoned here.
Duan Xie Zhang Tianzun. Unbound by form, not attached to evil obstacles.
Jin Rong Yu Xiang Tianzun. Manifests as Mi Luo, illuminating the Three Realms with compassion.
Tian Kai Huang Dao Tianzun. The heavenly gate opens wide, stepping through the void to the Jade Capital.
"These are all formless Tianzuns from Daoist legends. How did their divine tablets end up here?"
Ji Xiang expressed his doubts, naturally expecting the Great Vow Vajra to explain. The latter responded without delay, simply and directly: "Ahead lies the Raven Cry Kingdom. I once sought the divine position of the Netherworld Lord, so I came here through extraordinary means and left markers. The various netherworld Dharma realms are interconnected. The portal to the Yellow Springs Kingdom can be opened and closed at will by the Great Vow Vajra."
"These Tianzuns fell during the Tang Dynasty. In that year, the divine position of Mount Tai was divided into three. Among the great cultivators, those harmed by the Jade Purity cultivator, Master Bo Dao, who held the divine position of the Primordial Heavenly Venerate, their divine positions fell to this place, stabilizing the turmoil of the Yellow Springs. From then on, they slumbered in this land of catastrophe, forever fallen into the evil land, never to rise again."
"And since young friend is a Jade Purity cultivator, the meager means I had prepared are no longer sufficient! The Tianzuns suppressed by the Jade Purity, now, please, young friend who has been summoned by the Jade Purity, take out these three Tianzun divine tablets! For this evil path, reopen a path of good!"