The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

After Old Liang was swallowed by the devilish ghost, he felt a corrosive, acid-like liquid around him. He felt an indescribable burning sensation as he screamed in pain. As he howled, he saw in despair the flesh on his body disappear; there was only bone left!

“Ah! Heavens, it hurts! If you have what it takes, kill me by giving me a quick death! Since you corroded my flesh and blood, so what if I’m just a skeleton. Let’s see what else you can do to me?” Old Liang wailed as he tried his best to divert his attention. However what left him reeling in despair was that flesh would grow back again on his bones. It continued being corroded repeatedly, giving him a pain that continued endlessly! The feeling of despair and excruciating pain pushed him to the brink of a mental breakdown.

It was unknown how long it took—perhaps a few seconds or maybe a century—but Old Liang had already lost his sense of time. While lost in a stupor, he seemed to see a mountain pass between two dark mountains. There were monsters guarding the foot of the mountains, with ghost generals presiding over the area. There were large golden words written—Netherworld Gates to Hell!

In his muddleheaded state, he handed a slip before being allowed entry. He plodded down a dirt road which felt like it had an infinite suction force. He got more tired the more he walked. He felt close to buckling, but as the ghostly soldiers whipped him, he felt like his soul was about to dissipate. From time to time, he would see strange flowers bloom along the sides of the road. They were extremely beautiful…

At the end of the dirt road there was a black river, and three stone bridges covered it. Ghosts were crossing the bridge and when they came to a mud platform, it was unknown what they saw, but all of them would wail.

Some of the ghosts would drink the soup of a granny by the side of the mud platform before leaving listlessly.

Old Liang did not get to drink the soup. Instead, the ghost soldiers escorted him into a huge palace. He was still unable to hear or see things carefully, but he did seem to make up someone calling his name. “Tiger Liang, are you aware of your sins?”

He did not say a word, but the person in front of him said, “You killed 156 rabbits, 5 wolves, 3 bears… For such heinous acts, you shall be sent to Knife Mountain Hell!”

Then, he jolted to his senses!

“Where is this place?” Tiger Liang looked at the scene before him in horror. The road ahead was made of knives, and most terrifying of all, there was a tall mountain made up of knives in front. It reached high into the clouds, making its peak indiscernible!

At that instant, he recalled an ancient legend as he mumbled, “The eighteen levels of hell. Is this Knife Mountain Hell?”

Pa!

Following a crisp sound, Tiger Liang felt his spine rupture from a lash! He could not help but yell out in pain. He subconsciously took a step forward as his foot stepped into a knife. At that moment, he realized how sharp the knives were. His limbs were instantly sliced through. The pain brought tears to his eyes as he fell down involuntarily. Tiger Liang subconsciously held himself up with his hands, but with grinding sounds from his hands, his fingers were sliced apart by the knives, and his palms were separated from his arms.

“Ahh!”

Tiger Liang rolled about on the ground in pain, but this act only served to slice off his skin. He instantly turned into a body covered in blood! The pain became worse. He could not help but continue rolling about, sending flesh and blood to scatter. Soon, he was reduced to cracking bone. He became nothing but ground meat, but Tiger Liang realized that he could still feel a pain—a heart-wrenching pain! His tongue had been sliced off, yet the pain remained! He felt as though he could never extricate himself from the pain, even when he no longer had a body left.

At that moment, a ghost lashed out with a whip, gathering all the remnant body parts together. Then with a shake of the whip, Tiger Liang fell back to the place he had been in before. To Tiger Liang’s pleasant surprise, his body was reconstructed, making him whole again! He was only slightly weaker than before.

Upon seeing the Knife Mountain Hell in front of him, Tiger Liang turned, hoping to flee. But the moment he turned around, he saw a five-meter-tall devilish ghost standing behind him. It grinned and laughed sadistically, “You can forget about leaving Knife Mountain Hell if you do not reach its peak! Either you return yourself, or I’ll throw you back in!”

“Please!” Tiger Liang no longer dared treat himself as a tiger. He no longer had the ferocity he had showcased when facing rabbits, does, or Fangzheng. All that left his mouth now was pleas. The pain he had just felt had reached deep into his soul. He was now truly afraid.

“Scram!” The gigantic devilish ghost raised its foot and kicked Tiger Liang back in amid his cries. He originally believed he would fly out quite a distance, but the moment he was above the knives, his body seemed to lose all momentum. He plummeted straight down as the blades stabbed his flesh, making him feel an excruciating pain!

“Ah!” Tiger Liang cried out and failed to endure the pain once again. He rolled around, causing his body to be sliced apart, splattering flesh and blood all over. He experienced the excruciating pain once again!

It was still the ghost that gathered all his remnant body parts with a whip and threw them to the ground as Tiger Liang’s body was reconstructed. However, Tiger Liang’s eyes no longer had the pleasant surprise they had at his first reconstruction. Instead, they had infinite horror! Endless revival meant endless torture! And every time he was revived, he would lose some stamina in him. It also meant that if he continued reviving, he might never reach the summit!

As he squinted his eyes to look into the distance, the knife mountain’s summit was high in the sky. Although it did not look far, there was the saying: Mount Hope ran a dead horse! It was already unknown how far the knife road to the knife mountain was. As for reaching the summit? How would that be possible?

“You still have three seconds to rest. If you do not continue walking, I’ll send you forward,” the huge devilish ghost behind him said.

Tiger Liang jumped in fright when he heard that. If he was kicked in again, it was likely his entire body would be injured. Once he was unable to bear with the pain, his body would be left in pieces! He had to lower the pain he experienced. He could not fall, and even if he did, he could not roll around. He had to think of a way to advance!

Upon coming to this realization, Tiger Liang gritted his teeth and took one step forward. Since there was no retreat for him, he could only walk forward.

This was also the first time he was taking a step voluntarily. But the moment he took the step, memories flashed past his mind. When he was a youth, he had stolen a chicken from a neighboring village. He saw the scene of him killing it with a pole! Back then he had used a carrying pole. He had taken advantage of the moment when the hen was in her nest. He had struck the hen to death with the pole. While doing so, he also killed two baby chicks and broke the leg of one chick. The remaining two did not run. Instead, they surrounded the hen and clucked, as though they were trying to wake up their mother, or lamenting Tiger Liang’s brutality.

However Tiger Liang did not think much about it back then. He kicked the two chickens with another strike before running into the forest outside the village. He set up a fire and roasted them for his meal.

This scene flashed past his eyes as Tiger Liang felt an excruciating pain at his feet. He suddenly jolted awake, and while clenching his teeth, he took another step without collapsing.

Another scene appeared in his mind. Tiger Liang and a few other children had poisoned the guide dog of his village’s Blind Li before stewing it for a meal. Blind Li, who was childless, hanged himself three days later when he lost his dog companion.