"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva..." Zhong Kui finally made out the man's appearance and hurriedly fell to his knees.
The Bull Demon King and the others also wore looks of disbelief.
The gaunt old monk smiled kindly. With a wave of his hand, he closed the Ghost Eye Vortex that even Zhong Kui himself could no longer shut, then said, "Preserve your lives so that you may still be of use. Do not make pointless sacrifices..."
"Ksitigarbha, impossible... You should have been dead and gone long ago..." Huang Mei cried in terror.
"Amitabha Buddha. Life, death, and extinction are all but emptiness. As for you, you committed a grave wrong all those years ago. Must you remain lost and refuse to turn back even now?" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva asked after invoking the Buddha's name.
"A grave wrong? I merely followed the tide. What wrong was there in that?" Huang Mei demanded.
"You followed the tide, but not the Dao. With the Dao absent, how could you be right?" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said, shaking his head.
"If I follow the tide and destroy the Heavenly Dao, and the Great Dao follows the Demonic Path, wouldn't that mean I was following the Dao?" Huang Mei sneered, still refusing to admit his mistake.
"So be it, so be it. Let me show you the Dao you seek." Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said no more and pressed his palm down.
His aura surged instantly. Though he stood within Huang Mei's consciousness sea, he seemed to be the master of this domain. As his palm descended, heaven and earth around him changed color.
Huang Mei tried to resist, but the scene before him instantly became a sea of flames. All around him was murky darkness and billowing black qi. Endless slaughter, wails, and cries of grief filled every corner, while blood and