Legend of the Great Sage

In the hell realm, King Qinguang ruled over the first court. The hall towered three hundred metres tall, sinister and gloomy inside.

Two colossal ghosts stood at the entrance, wielding metal chains and forks. They were vicious-looking and frightening.

In front of the hall was the Mirror of Retribution. It stood three metres tall and fifteen metres wide, hanging towards the east. There was a plaque above that read, "From the heart".

All deceased souls that arrived here would be forced before the Mirror of Retribution. The Mirror of Retribution was also known as the Mirror of Karma. It could reflect all the sins they had committed in their lives.

TL: The Mirror of Retribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieh-ching-t%27ai

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If they had done more good than bad, then the mirror would shine. If they had done more bad than good, then the mirror would become filled with black mist. If their good and bad deeds were balanced, then it would show nothing, neither light nor mist.

In the world of people, the wicked were always more numerous than the good, and even if they were good people, how could they go an entire life without committing any mistakes? As a result, this saying was also common, "There are no good people before the Mirror of Retribution."

The first court primarily managed the rewarding of the good and the punishment of the wicked. It was said that depending on the deeds they had committed in their lives, they could reincarnate as humans or be reduced to beasts. It varied from case to case. Those of great sins would be sent to Avīci for punishment.

However, with how many deceased souls there were, how could King Qinhuang manage these miscellaneous matters as a mighty True Immortal? He would only make arrangements beforehand and personally preside over the court if Human Immortals or Daemon Immortals passed away.

As a result, the main court remained closed most of the time, establishing the four adjudicators that watched over the four side halls. They were the Office of Reckoning Mirror, the Office of Underworld Law, the Office of Rewarding Good, and the Office of Punishing Wicked.

With a thump, a figure fell heavily into the Office of Clear Mirror. He was dishevelled and dirtied. Before he could even climb to his feet, a group of vicious ghosts rushed over, some twisting his arms and some tugging at his head, dragging him into the hall, right before the plaque that said, "The mirror of reckoning hangs high".

A pale-faced judge in deep-red robes with a black gauze cap sat behind a tall table. When he saw this, he furrowed his brows, about to scold them.

Ox-head, Horse-face, and granny Meng entered the hall together, and the ghost guards immediately fell silent. The pale-faced judge walked out from behind the table. "How may I help you?"

Granny Meng screeched, "This damned brat ruined a pot of my fine soup!"

Horse-face sneered. "He probably still doesn't know what place this is!"

Ox-headed A'pang said sternly, "This person deserves a heavy sentence!"

Adjudicator Lu was surprised as well. Just who was this kid? He had actually angered three Ghost Immortals into making a case against him, and the three of them were basically the most impressive figures of the Hell realm. Their statuses were even greater than his.

In particular, that Ox-headed A'pang possessed unfathomable strength, and his lifespan was extremely long. Apart from the ten kings of hell, the ten yanluo, everyone who saw him had to call him "big brother ox".

With a quick thought, he coughed gently. "We still have to bring him before the Mirror of Retribution before any sentencing."

He had to respect these three figures, but surely he had to extort him a little before that. How could a mighty Ghost Immortal like him just be allocated a job like this? If there were no benefits, what was he doing in the Office of Reckoning Mirror?

Ox-headed A'pang's face sank as he thought, I knew this Lu person was greedy, but I didn't think he'd actually be so greedy. These judges really are getting worse with each one! In the past, when the Hell realm had just been established, the judges had still been fair and just. Afterwards, they went off to Sukhāvatī to cultivate. Who was willing to stay behind in the gloomy and frightening underworld to judge people?

Adjudicator Lu cried out in an aggrieved manner, "Big brother ox, you've been around in the underworld for a very long time. These are all rules, rules! What can I do? Once I deal with this case, I'll definitely give the three of you a satisfying conclusion."

The old man who had arrived with Li Qingshan peered deep into the hall. Since Li Qingshan had spilled the pot of thick soup, he also pretended to be broke. He had bribed Horse-face beforehand, so he would not expose him either. Granny Meng was in a hurry for revenge, so she could not bother with him either, which earned him a free bowl of clear soup. It saved him a significant amount of "karma", which was far more valuable than that piece of spiritual jade.

However, he was not someone to be trifled with when he was still alive. He was renowned for his pettiness. When he saw this, he only sneered away. You foolish kid, don't even think about getting through this third checkpoint!

The Hell realm had a total of three checkpoints that required bribes. The first was the Hell Guard or soul collect who came to take them. If they were not properly bribed, they would face trouble on the Road to the Yellow Springs.

The second was for that bowl of Granny Meng's Soup. If they did not purchase the clear soup, everything would fall into shambles, and they would forget their past. They might not even be able to make it through the tortures of hell.

The third checkpoint was the four adjudicators, as well as the most important checkpoint. Whether they were rewarded for their good or punished for their wickedness was completely up to their whim. It took a sizable sum if they wanted to clear their crimes and escape punishment.

At this moment, one of the ghost guards outside called out, "Old man, what're you staring for?" He walked over viciously with a staff of water and fire.

Normally, why would the old man take the puny ghost seriously at all? He could erase him from existence with a single strike. But now, he was forced to obey, shoving another spiritual jade over to him.

The ghost's expression changed slightly as if he was smiling, but his face was just as vicious as before. He rubbed his head. "You sure are a clever one. Here, even dragons better stay coiled and even tigers better keep their tails tucked. It's all useless whether you're some Yin Soul or Yang Soul. Seeing how obedient you are, I'll let you in to take a look!"

The old man smiled dryly and followed behind him up to the hall. Apart from the three checkpoints, the various ghost guards and envoys encountered along the way needed bribing too. Otherwise, they could make trouble, and there would be plenty of suffering for him to go through. He cursed Li Qingshan even more inside, Why do I have to be so submissive, yet that kid can act so arrogantly? Let's see just how you die!

Adjudicator Lu arrived behind his desk again. A few vicious ghosts were about to drag Li Qingshan over to the Mirror of Retribution when granny Meng mocked him. "Lu, don't even bother. He's broke!"

"Broke!" Adjudicator Lu was still rather reluctant to accept that. He asked, "Who are you? Do you have any 'respect' for me?"

Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. "Dear sonny, you're going to give some respect to your daddy?"

The hall fell silent. Whether it was the colossal ghost outside the hall or the ghost guards inside, they were all stunned. They had never seen someone who still behaved so rudely and arrogantly within a king of hell's court.

Adjudicator Lu was taken aback as well as if he had never imagined someone actually had the courage to speak to him like that. He said furiously, "What did you say? Say it again?"

"Dear grandsonny, you're going to give some respect to your granddaddy?" He fell by another generation.

Bang! Adjudicator Lu slammed the desk and rose to his feet, flying into a fury. "Drag him off to the third, fifth- no, ninth layer of hell immediately!"

The vicious ghost guards surged over again, some twisting his arms and some grabbing his head, dragging him out of the hall.

Li Qingshan did not struggle, nor did he erupt with curses. He just glanced deeply at adjudicator Lu before glancing past the four words, "The penetrating mirror hangs high." again. He could not help but smile, which soom turned into roaring laughter. Even when he was dragged outside, his laughter continued to echo in the hall.

Adjudicator Lu shivered for some reason. "What an improper person. He has no respect for the law at all! Fellows, are you satisfied with this?"

Granny Meng felt strange inside. She did not feel any delight from victory at all. She ground her teeth. "You should have sent him to the eighteenth layer of hell so that he can never be reborn!"

Ox-headed A'pang thought, If only that happened.

However, it would not be that simple. Apart from the tenth court, King Zhuanlun, the Wheel-turning King, the nine other courts were responsible for two layers of hell each. Even if he was sent to the ninth layer of hell, he had to go through each layer one by one, and each major layer of hell had countless minor hells, which came with endless pain and torment—climbing up mountains of blades, falling into pots of oil, crossing forests of swords, bitten by wasps, insects and snakes, wading through rivers of pus, fire and ash…

That was where the name Avīci, or endless, came from!

Kid, hopefully you can last through it all!