Wind swept across the Great Desert, and the grotto lay dim.
Two murky yellow lamps had been lit within, illuminating the ancient murals on either side. All depicted scenes of monsters being subdued and evil beings redeemed.
The central mural depicted four Bodhisattvas on Mount Sumeru, each with their own achievements, having subdued a flood dragon, a peacock, a black elephant, and a white lion respectively.
[Four Truths Demon-Subduing]
The two flames deep within the grotto suddenly flickered violently. Green and yellow mysterious radiance surged out like a sea before gathering around a yellow-robed monk.
Behind him, a storm of supremely greedy wind and sand seemed to blow. It was neither a mysterious elephant nor a pure land, but something closer to the most primal root of his nature.
"The poison of greed is complete."
He murmured, "All that remains is subjugation."
An aged voice already drifted in from outside the grotto. "Junior brother, the Great Peacock Mother has returned. If you have finished cultivating, I hope you will leave this [Demon-Subduing Grotto] soon, lest that wicked bird come looking for trouble with you."
"Thank you for the warning, senior brother."
A rare note of respect entered Gu Huaixu's voice. He slowly walked out of the grotto filled with murals and reliefs, first raising his head to see the boundless Golden Mountain in the distance and the splendid light filling the sky, before looking beside the entrance.
An old monk sat there alone.
The monk's upper body was bare, his lower body draped in red cloth, and his feet locked in iron chains, as though he were being punished. Seeing Evil Land emerge from seclusion, he merely nodded casually, showing little surprise.
He rose, back hunched, and pushed over a yellow stone disc three men tall, neatly blocking the entrance.