When Qing Sanxiao saw that neither of them responded, he was not annoyed. He merely smoothed his disheveled hair, cleared his throat, sat up properly, and began reciting:
"Heartfire burns the heavens; waves rise in the sea of blood. With blood as the guide and fire as the medium, I turn my body into its furnace. The seven emotions and six desires can all be burned; greed, anger, delusion, and arrogance all become ash..."
He recited at an unhurried pace, enunciating every word clearly.
His voice drifted over the solitary boat on the sea of blood, sounding strangely like an old monk striking a wooden fish in a temple, beat after beat, making their hearts tighten as they listened.
Qing Sanxiao recited some six or seven hundred words in this fashion, deliberately leaving out several passages totaling roughly a dozen sentences, before falling silent. He let out a long breath, a hint of self-satisfaction appearing on his face.
Seeing that he had finished, Five Gu True Lord did not demur. He straightened his back, sitting cross-legged, coughed once, and began reciting:
"The Five Hells are named thus: first, Heartfire; second, Blood Bones; third, Crimson Eyes; fourth, the Other Shore; fifth, the Sea of Suffering. Heartfire refines the soul, Blood Bones tempers the body, Crimson Eyes establishes the foundation, the Other Shore forges the spirit..."
The old fellow recited even less than Qing Sanxiao, stopping after only four or five hundred words.
After finishing, he even sighed and shook his head. "This is all I obtained. I cannot compare with Elder Qing. Not at all."
Qing Sanxiao smiled without speaking, his mind as clear as a polished mirror. This old Gu worm has certainly hidden plenty. Who does he think cannot see it? Still, we are both doing the same thing.