Chapter 154: with translation of chapter title

Passing through the solemn Yama Hall, Zhou Shuo followed the bone spirit into the rear hall of the main hall, only to see inside a quiet chamber an old man wearing a Buddhist crown, with white curled whiskers, short and plump, kind-looking, seated upright on a meditation bed, who gave a faint smile as soon as he entered the room.

"Master." The bone spirit looked at the kind old man, quickly stopping its fluttering wings and letting out a call, proving the old man's identity: the Earth Store Bodhisattva.

"I pay my respects, Bodhisattva." Zhou Shuo looked at the bone spirit that addressed him, then hastily performed a salute.

Earth Store King Bodhisattva

"Thank you, Bodhisattva." Zhou Shuo glanced at the futon on the floor pointed to by the Earth Store Bodhisattva, blinked slightly, then bowed his body and sat down as instructed.

"There's no need for thanks; it is I who have been remiss in welcoming an otherworldly sage. This underworld lacks supplies—there isn't even a cup of clear tea." The Earth Store Bodhisattva chuckled.

"Bodhisattva, don't play Zen riddles with me." Hearing the word 'otherworld,' Zhou Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly; this Earth Store Bodhisattva knows his identity, though it hasn't said how, but as soon as he entered, he pointed to the futon on the floor and invited him to sit, yet his words were beating around the bush.

"After Pangu opened the heavens, this world has existed for over ten thousand years, with the ethereal and transcendent immortal clan, the martial and slaughter-loving demon clan; in the following several thousand years, during the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, a great demon emerged, named Chiyou, who instigated the war between immortals and demons, dragging humanity into it; the three-realm war dragged on, order collapsed, and eventually Chiyou's conspiracy was exposed, whereupon heroes of the three races—immortal, demon, and human—sealed him for a thousand years."

"Since the three-realm war, over five hundred years have passed, worldly order has been restored; today the world is divided into four great continents, and among its beings, there are the three races of humans, immortals, and demons; immortals and demons each have their own talents, while humans may be ordinary, but they can comprehend the principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, standing between the three realms."

"Although the world tends toward peace, the good-natured lotus in people's hearts gradually withers, evil desires flourish, and kindness disappears from the heart; the boundless potential of the three races is misled, and the age of Dharma's decline has already begun to arrive." Seeing Zhou Shuo speak directly, the Earth Store Bodhisattva no longer beat around the bush and began to speak slowly.

"Aside from the Western Heaven's Tathagata, doesn't the Tripitaka True Scripture exist to encourage people toward goodness?" Zhou Shuo heard the Earth Store Bodhisattva's words, glanced sideways, not mentioning Chiyou; he had already seen the hearts of people in Beigang Town—human hearts indeed lack benevolence and righteousness, all seeking profit and indulging in wickedness—but isn't the quest for the scriptures also born of that?

"Although the Western Heaven possesses the true scripture, it can only prolong things for a few hundred years; thereafter, if no fated person supports it, whether Buddhist or Daoist teachings, they will all wither away within a thousand years." The Earth Store Bodhisattva shook his head and sighed.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Zhou Shuo blinked; he couldn't manage the affairs of people's hearts.

"Where there is prosperity, there must be decline—this is the cycle of cause and effect—but this realm is innocent and should not be destroyed to that extent; yet the one who will bring about the world's end is closely related to the great sage." The Earth Store Bodhisattva pressed his palms together and let out a faint sigh; the Dharma will ultimately perish, something few can stop, yet this world faces a crisis.

"Chiyou?" Zhou Shuo's heart stirred; it was a very familiar name, one he had paid attention to for a long time.

"Exactly, it is Chiyou. That war god, like the great sage, fell from beyond the heavens, harboring a thought to destroy the world; for now we can barely block him, but once the Dharma has completely faded, he will inevitably lead all beings to destroy the world—then this realm will be in peril." The Earth Store Bodhisattva nodded; the key to the world's end still lies with Chiyou.

"..." Zhou Shuo's face darkened slightly; damn it, that Chiyou actually sneaked into this world from Qin Shi Ming Yue and still wants to pull off something huge.

"Hey, aren't you going to show some resolve?" Looking at Zhou Shuo's stern face, the bone spirit couldn't help but furrow its brows; after all this has been said, as a man, shouldn't you step up and bravely take responsibility?

"No backtalk; this great sage has his own plans." Looking at the frowning disciple, the Earth Store Bodhisattva couldn't help but reprimand him.

"Bodhisattva, to be honest, I'm not sure about this either, but I will do my best." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl who was giving him a reproachful, cute glare, then frankly told the Earth Store Bodhisattva that while he truly had no confidence in dealing with Chiyou, he could at least try his best; in any case, he couldn't let that bastard off easy—the score from last time hasn't been settled yet!

"With the great sage's words, this difficulty will surely be resolved." The Earth Store Bodhisattva chuckled and nodded.

"You brat, you're not from the same place as Chiyou, so how do you have no idea how to deal with him?" The bone spirit glanced at Zhou Shuo with a hint of contempt.

"First, I'm not from the same place as him; for this world, we're both outsiders. Second, we weren't on the same level to begin with. Speaking of dealing with that guy, I still don't know where to start; I hope the Bodhisattva can give me some guidance." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl with an increasingly agitated attitude, shrugged his shoulders slightly, and then asked the Earth Store Bodhisattva for advice.

"Although the great sage has a great heart, he will surely succeed; as for dealing with the war god, caution is still needed. Now the lotus of the human heart has withered; I, together with Guanyin and the Heavenly King Li, once went to the Western Ox-Heaven Continent to consult the Patriarch Bodhidharma in detail. For now, the primary task is the pilgrimage for the scriptures, but the five fated pilgrims destined for the scripture quest all harbor deep-seated malice in their hearts, and only a fated person can resolve it." The Earth Store Bodhisattva chuckled and nodded.

Ten Yama Kings

Heavenly Court

"Alright! I understand; for now I'll just attend to the immediate matter. Earlier I saw purple demonic energy rush from the Two Worlds Mountain into the underworld, and outside I heard Judge Zhong say they'd fled into the underworld labyrinth—why don't I go take a look?" Zhou Shuo looked at the smiling, silent old monk, knowing he wouldn't get an answer anyway, so he changed the subject and decided to find something to do.

"Master, I want to go too." Seeing Zhou Shuo speak up, the bone spirit couldn't help but hastily raise its pale arms to ask permission.

Underworld Labyrinth

"No, no! Master, please let me go; this underworld is deadly boring." While looking at the Earth Store Bodhisattva lost in thought, the bone spirit quickly deployed its coquettish tactics, showing that the Earth Store Bodhisattva usually has a mild temperament.

"Alright, alright, you may go—I can't stop you; I just hope you don't burden Zhou Shuo's patron. Those who fled into the underworld labyrinth are none other than Chiyou's subordinates, known as Yaofeng; over the years, our several major sects have sent people after him, yet we never expected him to break into the underworld." Looking at the coquettish disciple, the Earth Store Bodhisattva felt a headache but had no other recourse.

"He likely came to take the grudge souls and vengeful spirits from the labyrinth to cultivate himself; he should be captured as soon as possible. Patron Zhou Shuo, the hellish labyrinth is crisscrossed and complex, requiring a guide who knows the way; my disciple will accompany you and can show you the path, and within the labyrinth there are specialty lingzhi treasures that, if fate permits, can be taken and used at will." The Earth Store Bodhisattva's words annoyed the bone spirit, which puffed out its cheeks, though it couldn't say anything else.

"Thank you for the guidance, Bodhisattva; I'll set off now, though I have a small matter concerning Heishan Lao Yao…" Zhou Shuo rose from the futon.

"As for the Black Mountain patron, I am also aware: he was wounded by Yaofeng and another capable person, now his mind is not clear, wandering in the Two Worlds Mountain like a lonely ghost; I will inform the Black and White Impermanence about this." The Earth Store Bodhisattva knows everything about such matters.

Six Paths of Reincarnation

"I don't know much about this, but I know that in order to save a companion, he had his primordial spirit injured by a capable person; later his vital energy was gravely wounded, and then he encountered Yaofeng—that evil wretch truly vicious, swallowing the primordial spirit of the companion he had rescued to temporarily boost his power; although he drove Yaofeng away, he himself fell into a state of foolishness, like a lonely ghost."

Earth Store King shook his head, while Zhou Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly; after all that fuss, the "capable person" turned out to be himself—the tree demon granny was swallowed by the Black Mountain Old Demon in a crisis, tsk tsk, after years of eating people, she ended up being eaten herself; is that karmic retribution or not!

Knowing the situation of the Black Mountain Old Demon, Zhou Shuo had nothing more to say, while the Bone Sprite, on the other hand, deployed coquettish tactics, after sharpening a cold, keen blue‑steel spike from his master Earth Store King, he led Zhou Shuo out of the Hall of Yama, greeted Judge Zhong and Madame Meng, then took the small path straight to the Hell Labyrinth.

"Hey, are you really that strong?" the Bone Sprite said, waving its tiny wings as it hovered low, meanwhile staring at Zhou Shuo with big eyes, somewhat doubtful of what the master had said earlier.

"I don't know, so‑so! But how's your cultivation in the Underworld's practice? I'm quite curious what martial arts and techniques you have down there." Zhou Shuo looked at the terrain of hell, shook his head, he knew nothing about the abilities of this world.

(maybe "Hell Labyrinth" and "Underworld Labyrinth" are similar but both appear; we keep both)

(maybe "Hell Labyrinth Entrance" is a specific place; we include)

(maybe "Hell Labyrinth" appears line 31, 32, 38; "Underworld Labyrinth" line 27, 31; both appear)

"Well then, later let me have a good look—by the way, do you guys have cultivation realms? Is the entrance to the Hell Labyrinth over there?" Zhou Shuo gazed into the distance; he saw a pile of ox‑headed horse‑faced guards and zombie spirits at the far cliffside, those ox‑headed horse‑faced ones made his scalp tingle because they all looked identical, but upon closer inspection, in terms of hair, build, etc., there were actually subtle differences.

(maybe "Hell Labyrinth" and "Underworld Labyrinth" are essentially same; but we keep both as they are different strings)

(maybe also "Hell Labyrinth" and "Underworld Labyrinth" we can keep both)

"Oh, I see, then explain to me the cultivation realms!" Zhou Shuo nodded in realization.