Ch.3 The Trial Of The Devil -18 Levels Of Hell (1)

Feng Jiang was startled when the orb said that the 18 levels of hell would be his next trial. He then suddenly felt the domain around him start to morph into what seemed to be a Giant gate painted with Crimson red blood and decorated with skulls of all kinds of species. There were two mythological creatures known as Ox-Head (牛頭) and Horse-Face (馬面), the guardians of the underworld.

As the name might suggest, they both have the bodies of men topped with the heads of an ox and a horse, respectively. Apart from just guarding the gates, the pair are also charged with the duty of capturing human souls that have reached the end of their earthly existence and bringing them before the courts of hell to be judged.

Feng Jiang was slightly shook for a second before shaking it off. After all, Feng Jiang had lived 888 lives and had experienced more death than any normal person.

In reality, he had killed tens of thousands of people in his life with his inventions as a famed physicist. He was reborn into the body of J. Robert Oppenheimer on his deathbed and absorbed his memories. It was not Feng Jiang who created the atomic bomb, but he did indeed absorb the memories of oppenheimer, including his knowledge, his life experiences and his sins.

He had been reborn as a mass murderer, as a biochemist, and much more. He had seen blood and it had long ceased to faze him. If any ordinary man were to see what Feng Jiang had seen he would have long gone crazy and died from just the guilt. It was only for a brief second that Feng Jiang remembered his past lives, but that brief second was all it took for his mental barrier to collapse, The raging river, that were his past memories flowed into his spirit trying to corrupt Feng Jiang's pure soul.

The originally pure white spirit was starting to turn red and black. While this was happening Feng Jiang's consciousness and spirit were pulled into the Gate by the gatekeepers and transported into the Hall of Yama. But instead of Yama, the ruler of Hell, It was the orb who was judging him.

The orb seemed to be planning something malicious, even without a face the orb looked scary to Feng Jiang. The orb saw Feng Jiang had arrived and said in a deep voice that echoed throughout hell.

[Your sins have no end, you shall repent for your sins in the 18 gates of hell, shall you pass them all, I shall grant you the right to enter the next trial]

Feng Jiang had no right to argue and couldn't even ask what crimes was he being judged for. Feng Jiang suddenly felt dizzy and when his mind cleared up he found himself in a body, it was his original body but was more mature and looked to be in his teens. Feng Jiang had been reborn in the body of scholars, from around the world and knew about the 18 Levels of Hell, but he held on to hope, because he had committed no sins in his life, the 18 Levels of hell would only punish those who deserved it.

Now after entering the First Level of hell he realized that the first trial of rebirth was not just meant to kill off his senses but to also absorb the sins of his past lives and repent them in the second trial, The orb did in fact have malicious thoughts, it had planned meticulously and knew that once Feng Jiang chose to sign the deal with it, it could make Feng Jiang suffer and practically incapable of backing out of the deal.

Feng Jiang gritted his teeth, and his eyes blazed with a raging fire, and decided to let his soul get corrupted by the darkness of his rebirths, in exchange he would gain a stronger soul that would be capable of enduring the gruesome tortures that were awaiting him. The orb had indeed made a brilliant plan to force Feng Jiang to continue the trial, but in reality, it had no need to make a plan as Feng Jiang never had the thought of backing out. He wanted revenge and power. He knew that the trial would either kill him or Let him be born anew with powers far surpassing those of his parents.

His goal was no longer just to take revenge but something more. He wished to be the strongest; he wished to decimate the heavens and the orb that took everything away from him, He will find its origin and destroy it too. Feng Jiang was no longer held back by his emotions or hatred for his parents; his goal was far above that; he wished to be omnipotent and above all, and he was ready to do what it takes to get it, No matter the cost.

The first level of hell was the Hell of Tongue-Ripping, where those who gossip and spread trouble with their words will repeatedly have their tongues ripped out. Feng Jiang had been a corrupt minister who had influenced the king with his silver tongue and hoarded benefits for himself from those who were less fortunate, relying on his influence in the minister's court.

Feng Jiang had lived 101 lives where he relied on his tongue to cause trouble or spread rumors to ruin someone's life and reputation. Feng Jiang felt hot iron tongs ripping out his tongue, and every time it was ripped out, another one grew out just to be pulled out again. Every time he was tortured, it was not just his physical body that was being injured but his soul/spirit too. The tongs that were used were made out of a special metal called spirit-cleaving iron. It was one of the rarest metals in the universe that could harm the soul directly. Once you reach a stage in cultivation where you could survive with just your soul, the only way to kill that person is to either destroy their soul with absolute power or use a weapon capable of harming the normally intangible soul.

Feng Jiang felt a part of his soul being torn every time his tongue was ripped out. The pain was not as unbearable as when his body was being destroyed, but the pain was still unbearable to a normal person. Maybe because Feng Jiang's soul was stronger than before, his pain tolerance had increased.

Feng Jiang was in the Hell of tongue ripping for 101 days; each day his tongue was regrown 100s of times just to be ripped out again; each day represented one of his lives.

101 days later, Feng Jiang's surroundings changed, and Feng Jiang's tongue grew back with no scarring, as if he hadn't suffered any sort of torture. Feng Jiang could finally heave a sigh of relief after this long period of suffering, but in the back of his mind, Feng Jiang knew that this was far from over and that this was just the beginning.

Feng Jiang's surroundings morphed into the second hell, the Hell of Scissors, where those who destroy someone else's marriage will have their fingers repeatedly cut off.

Feng Jiang recalled being born as a tyrant and a womanizer 44 times. It was not him who had committed this sinful act, but he would still bear the torture as the sins were now his. Feng Jiang prepared himself mentally and brought forth his hand willingly so as to have some freedom. He knew that even if he hadn't brought it forward, his hand would have been brought forth involuntarily and locked in that position forever.

Feng Jiang's hands were fair and smooth, capable of evoking jealousy from even the most beautiful maiden. The torture started out with Feng Jiang feeling his skin being cut apart, then his muscles being torn, and his bones being cracked with the force of the Scissors acting on his joints while trying to cut his fingers off. The pain was brutal; the Scissors were made of the same soul-cleaving metal as the tongs in the first hell. This time, instead of his soul being pulled apart, Feng Jiang felt like his soul was being cleaved by a pair of blades, cutting thinly yet slowly so as to torture him more. This went on for 44 days straight, with every day representing his lives sins. Feng Jiang held on for dear life. He went through the memory of that one life, which he hoped never ended. It was his own life, but without the orbs interference.

He lived his life like he thought he would have, had he not lost his talent; he lived under the care of his parents, loved by all. He had almost reached the peak of cultivation at the age of 999,999; just 1 more year and he would have reached the peak. He would have reached a realm even his parents couldn't reach. But the cursed orb showed up again; it blocked his way and destroyed his body, leading to him losing his life to the celestial calamity. That was his 888th rebirth.

Feng Jiang felt time passing slower than it should. He knew he was just imagining it. What felt like years was just a day. After 44 days of nonstop torture, this hell was finally done. Once again, he sighed in relief, hoping that these trials would end swiftly.

Once Feng Jiang observed his soul, he was sure that his soul was transforming into a more ethereal form. His soul was being refined by the torture; every time his soul was harmed, it was being refined into something transcendent. It was becoming stronger and easier to control. His mental burden was decreasing. Feng Jiang was excited, ignoring the pain. He was sure that by the time he was done with the 18 Levels of hell, he would have shed away all his sins and his soul would be reborn stronger and purer than before.

The surroundings yet again changed and transformed into the 3rd hell, The Hell of Trees of Knives, where those who sow discord amongst family members will be repeatedly hung from trees made of sharp knives. Feng Jiang was already used to it by now. At first, Feng Jiang thought that his rebirths were random, but he was now sure that the orb was manipulating his rebirths according to the 18 hells. He had committed this sin 55 times. Feng Jiang walked forward and willingly tied himself with a rope and handed it to the hell keeper who binded him to the tree of knives. Feng Jiang was impaled by sharp knives that were bigger and sharper than regular knives. Feng Jiang was impaled on all parts of his body. Feng Jiang felt his soul getting stabbed with knives like a pin cushion. Once again, the torture process lasted for 55 days, and his soul was further refined. The black spots on his soul that represented the darkest part of his soul were getting erased. He analyzed and guessed that two more hells would be enough to get rid of this sinful mark.

The surroundings changed, and he was brought to the 5th hell, The Hell of Mirrors of Retribution, where those who have managed to escape punishment for their crimes while alive will be repeatedly shown their true horrific selves. Feng Jiang prepared himself mentally to face those he had betrayed in his 65 lives. Feng Jiang saw a monstrously big mirror; it was covered with a long and dark drape. Feng Jiang walked in front of the mirror and removed it. What he saw in front of him was nothing. The mirror didn't even show his own reflection, and Feng Jiang thought that maybe he had no horrific self. Then the mirror in front of him cracked, and simultaneously, his surroundings started to crack at a horrifying rate.