After the long thunderstorm, an unceasing rain fell upon the Netherworld.
Yama Palace, suspended in the air like a moon, had long since vanished without a trace. The white hound named Truth Listener had also fled to shelter from the rain.
There was a fissure in the Celestial Vault amid the rain, leaving behind in the underworld a scar across the heavens that would never heal.
The chanting faded. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Pudu Sutra finally dwindled into the distance, scattering between heaven and earth.
Jiang Wuliang, dressed in green, slowly walked out through the palace gates.
Outside stood the Yang God Ling Zha, leaning on the purple banner of East State.
Rain soaked the Dharma robes and streamed from the purple banner, making it rustle bleakly. Their long silence roared amid the rain.
"Spirit Saint King." Jiang Wuliang said slowly, "I will not overturn the late ruler's promise. Henceforth, Qi State shall have two kings: one the Ming King, one the Spirit Saint. I shall not regard the Buddha Land and the Netherworld differently."
Ling Zha leaned on the banner without speaking, and Jiang Wuliang stood quietly waiting as well.
Suddenly, He began to cough.
He wiped His mouth with a handkerchief, and brilliant golden blood stained it.
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Rain struck the palace eaves, as though time itself were endless.
The White Bones covering the ground had all become shattered porcelain.
Ling Zha lowered His head. "I shall naturally honor it."
His head bowed, but the drooping purple banner rose.
It billowed through the rain like a Dragon, becoming the canopy of the new ruler's crown.
Jiang Wuliang's golden eyes gazed into the distant ages as he declared brightly through the rain, "The Netherworld belongs to The Present World, and The Present World belongs to the nations. All-Under-Heaven