Capítulo 1282: Chapter 1280: The Jade Emperor Punished
Ksitigarbha’s figure crashed directly into the wall, spitting a mouthful of fresh blood, and looked at the Jade Emperor with astonishment.
Ever since taking on the role of overseeing the reincarnation of Immortals and Buddhas, whenever any Immortal or Buddha falls, many would come to plead for leniency beyond the law. Yet, these people have only ever resorted to temptation, never forcing, let alone directly assaulting me.
But today, the Jade Emperor actually attacked me directly?
As the lord of the Three Realms, doesn’t he realize the consequences of such an action?
Yet, the Jade Emperor seemed to not care about such things anymore. Thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years of camaraderie, the Jade Emperor and the Empress were almost like one person.
After waving his hand and sending Ksitigarbha flying, the Jade Emperor rushed over to the Soul-Cleansing Pool and fished out the Empress’s soul.
“Yaoji, how are you? Yaoji?” After pulling the Empress’s soul from the Soul-Cleansing Pool, the Jade Emperor called out.
Under the Jade Emperor’s summons, the Empress’s soul slowly opened her eyes.
Looking at the Jade Emperor’s face, after a brief silence, she asked uncertainly, “Are you… Haotian?”
“Wonderful! You still recognize me!” Hearing the Empress call him by name, the Jade Emperor seemed relieved and said.
This Soul-Cleansing Pool can erase all memories of lost souls. When Maitreya Buddha was buried, his soul was thrown into this pool.
Although Tathagata and others successfully retrieved Maitreya Buddha’s lost soul, in reality, he had lost his memory.
The Jade Emperor was truly afraid the Empress might experience the same situation.
Thankfully, it seems he acted swiftly enough; at least she still recognizes him now.
“Haotian, where are we now?” After recognizing the Jade Emperor, the Empress immediately asked.
“We are in the Underworld, don’t worry, it’s alright!” A smile appeared on the Jade Emperor’s face as he spoke to the Empress.
“The Underworld? What is the Underworld? Why do I have no knowledge of it at all?” But upon hearing the Jade Emperor’s words, the Empress looked confused and asked him.
“This…” The Empress didn’t even know what the Underworld is? The Jade Emperor, who was initially relieved, suddenly froze.
“What do you still remember?” After a moment of silence, the Jade Emperor asked the Empress.
“I remember the teacher has completed his sermon three times, talking about the path of the Saint, and distributed the Hongmeng Purple Qi to everyone!” The Empress hesitated for a moment before responding.
“And then?” Hearing the Empress mention that time, the Jade Emperor’s expression darkened considerably.
“And then? I’ve heard recently many are coveting Taoist Friend Hongyun’s Hongmeng Purple Qi, not sure if he has found a way to protect himself…” continued the Empress.
“So, all her memories since the War of the Witches and Demons have completely vanished?” At this point, the Jade Emperor mused internally.
Regarding the Empress’s current state, the Jade Emperor had a rough guess which weighed heavily on his heart.
“Haotian, why have you become like this? And, what is the Underworld? Why have I never heard of it?” The Empress asked out of curiosity as the Jade Emperor remained silent.
“The Underworld, established by Empress Earth out of compassion for all beings, offers a place of refuge for lost souls through reincarnation!” The Jade Emperor sighed internally and explained.
After saying this, the Jade Emperor paused slightly before continuing, “Additionally, the War of the Witches and Demons has long ended, you have lost old memories, I’ll find time to recount them for you!”
Rumble!
As soon as the Jade Emperor finished speaking, suddenly, thunder roared through the heavens, as if inciting the wrath of the Heavenly Dao.
Sighing deeply, the Jade Emperor raised his hand to contain the Empress’s soul and then looked skyward with determination.
Since deciding to act against Ksitigarbha, the Jade Emperor had already prepared himself mentally; as long as he could rescue the Empress’s soul, he was ready to face the corresponding punishment.
It seems now, the punishment he deserves, has arrived.
Whoa!
Amid the thunderous rumbling between heaven and earth, a mysteriously vibrant flame, as crimson as blood, appeared out of thin air and began to spread over the Jade Emperor.
Watching these flames, vibrant as blood, the Jade Emperor’s expression changed, he wanted to evade, but how could he possibly do so?
Could only watch helplessly as these flames attached themselves to his body.
“Ah!”
Under the burning of these blood-colored flames, even though the Jade Emperor is the ruler of the Three Realms, he couldn’t help but let out painful cries.
“Sss, what a terrifying punishment!” Beside him, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, watching the Jade Emperor completely engulfed by the blood-colored flames, couldn’t help but draw a cold breath, feeling deeply shocked.
The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva naturally recognized these flames as Karmic Fire.
The Karmic Fire descended by the Heavenly Dao has power that is beyond words.
Facing such punishment from the Heavenly Dao, not to mention a Quasi-Saint, even a Saint cannot withstand it!
As the Jade Emperor was burnt by the Karmic Fire, crying out in pain continuously, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva stood quietly beside him, not speaking a word, just watching.
Like this, the scorching flames continued for a full hour before they slowly extinguished.
Looking at the Jade Emperor again, lying on the ground, appearing extremely miserable, his skin charred black, making him look sinister and terrifying.
“Such a terrifying heavenly punishment! I just acted against Ksitigarbha to save Yaoji, and such a terrifying heavenly punishment fell upon me!” Lying on the ground, the Jade Emperor felt dispirited, and silently murmured to himself, gaining a clearer understanding of the situation regarding his heavenly punishment.
The burning by Karmic Fire wasn’t just a one-time occurrence; it’s a continuous burning for an hour every day, on and on for a full forty-nine days before it ends!
Just this first burning has already made him feel he can hardly endure it, and there are still forty-eight days to go? Each time to be burnt for a full hour?
Just thinking about it, the Jade Emperor felt a chill throughout his body.
Even though he had psychologically prepared himself to face the punishment from the Heavenly Dao’s wrath, the Jade Emperor couldn’t have imagined that the punishment from the Heavenly Dao would be so terrifying!
As the burning of the Jade Emperor came to an end, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva stood quietly beside him, without a word of greeting.
I was just directly knocked flying by the Jade Emperor into the wall, and now I have to greet him? Such a thing is something the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could not do.
Lying on the ground, in an extremely miserable state, the Jade Emperor spent a long time before he seemed to slowly recover slightly.
Then he crawled up, under the surge of immortal power, restoring his appearance to how it was before.
Similarly, as the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had no intention to greet him, the Jade Emperor also had no thought to greet the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, turning directly to leave the Ksitigarbha Cave, heading towards the Heavenly Court.
“Jiang Liu, the Empress’s soul was taken away by the Jade Emperor…”
After the Jade Emperor left, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was silent for a moment, then opened the dialogue box, sending a message to Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu was originally quietly cultivating the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture in the Glycyrrhiza Garden, hearing the sound of the incoming message, he glanced at it and frowned slightly.
Last time when I killed Maitreya Buddha, his soul wasn’t kept by the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, leading to Maitreya Buddha returning to the Quasi-Saint level of cultivation today.
Now, after finally killing the Empress, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva couldn’t keep the Empress’s soul again?
“I wonder what kind of treasure the Jade Emperor took out that made it difficult for you to refuse?” After pondering for a moment, Jiang Liu felt a bit displeased, and soon sent a message back to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
Generally, when an immortal or Buddha is fallen and wants to resurrect, they need to present a treasure, then the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva might let them off.
Today, Jiang Liu wanted to know what kind of treasure the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva received after he labored to kill the Empress.
“I received no treasure, rather the Jade Emperor directly acted against me, his cultivation level beyond my capacity to stop, I could only watch him take the Empress’s soul!” It wasn’t clear if the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva understood the mocking tone in Jiang Liu’s words, soon sent back a message explaining.
“So, the Jade Emperor acted directly against the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?” Seeing the message from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Jiang Liu paused, then felt a bit guilty.
“So that’s the case, I’m sorry, Bodhisattva. I assumed you took some treasure and thus let go of the Empress’s soul!” Having wronged the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Jiang Liu straightforwardly expressed his apology.
After sending the message, without waiting for the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s response, Jiang Liu soon sent another message asking: “Then Bodhisattva, how are you? Did the Jade Emperor dare to strike against you, are you alright?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, the Jade Emperor only wanted to rescue the Empress’s soul, did not wish to kill me!” The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva replied.
Similarly, without waiting for Jiang Liu to inquire further, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva quickly sent another message detailing the events that occurred in the Ksitigarbha Cave, explaining everything to Jiang Liu.
“Although I was slightly injured, the Jade Emperor suffered more, the Heavenly Dao descended Karmic Fire, burning him for a full hour, I’m sure his situation now is even worse than mine!”