Chapter Fifty-Five: The Supreme Magus Descends into Hell

“Congratulations, Master, on transcending the mystery of life and death, untying your heart’s knot, and elevating your state of mind!” Yang Xin spun around abruptly, his voice brimming with excitement.

The Supreme Sorcerer, Gu Yi, opened her eyes. In those eyes, stars flickered—at once the birth and destruction of a universe.

“So this is the Alaya Consciousness?” Yang Xin was momentarily stunned.

Gu Yi did not answer. Instead, she reached out to catch a drifting flower petal, and smiled faintly, leaving all unspoken.

For a moment, Yang Xin felt dazed. The Supreme Sorcerer before him exuded a serene grace reminiscent of the Buddha’s silent smile with a flower in hand. Where once she had been aloof and peerless, looking down from an unattainable height like a deity among mortals, now, having unraveled her heart’s knot, she seemed less aloof, more unrestrained.

“Master, may I ask you something?” Yang Xin grinned cheekily. “According to the world view in ‘Saint Seiya,’ those who awaken the Alaya Consciousness can freely enter and exit the Underworld. Does this world have an Underworld?”

“The Underworld? You must mean Hell. Hell has existed since ancient times. Legend says Hell is ruled by seven sovereigns. I have never met these seven, but I have dealt with Mephisto, Lord of Hell, many times. Over these centuries, Mephisto has tried more than once to invade the mortal realm, but I have repelled him every time,” Gu Yi replied, hands clasped behind her back, gazing at the petals cascading through the sky.

As Yang Xin listened to her calm words beneath the shower of petals, he could imagine the storms of blood and chaos hidden within their serenity.

“So, Master, can you now freely enter and exit Hell?” Yang Xin pressed on.

“I could freely enter and exit Hell three hundred years ago,” Gu Yi replied as serenely as ever.

“Heh heh…” Yang Xin forced a laugh. It seemed he had underestimated his master. Her comment was reminiscent of “I haven’t been the boss for many years”—a phrase loaded with meaning.

“Why do you ask such questions?” she countered.

“Because, in the near future, I will face a formidable enemy. He calls himself the universe’s greatest population controller. Strictly speaking, my adversary isn’t a villain—on the contrary, he’s a dreamer worthy of everyone’s respect, someone willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good of the universe, a man who dares to fight for his ideals.”

He continued, “He believes the universe is constant, its resources finite, while the desires and development of living beings are endless. Eventually, the universe’s resources will be depleted, and that will signal the universe’s death. So, this so-called greatest population controller was born from a dream to prevent the destruction of the universe.”

“What is this dream?” she asked.

“To randomly eliminate half the beings in the universe, thereby reducing energy consumption and achieving a balance between expenditure and output. For him, killing planet by planet would be too slow, so he must collect the Infinity Stones. And in gathering the Stones, he will inevitably come into conflict with Earth…”

“How do you view this dream?” Gu Yi inquired.

“Well, I can’t say I agree or disagree…” Yang Xin shook his head. “Take Earth, for example. As the population rises, conflicts intensify, and human activity increasingly impacts nature. Fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions grow, the greenhouse effect worsens, polar ice melts, sea levels rise, land is submerged, and living space shrinks, leading to a cascade of conflicts…”

“The scarcity of resources restricts development. When Earth’s resources are exhausted, it spells mass extinction. Precisely because of this, the universe’s supreme population controller does not want to see life propagate without restraint—eventually, resources will run dry. That’s why Thanos conceived his idea: to wipe out half of all life, then control population growth and allow the universe to recover.”

“No one can deny these objective facts. Although Earth is but one planet in the universe, its issues are representative—the same problems exist on other worlds. Any discerning person can see that.”

“So, you agree with your adversary?” Gu Yi asked suddenly.

“I acknowledge the objective reality, but I don’t agree with his methods—they’re too extreme!” Yang Xin replied firmly.

“Do you have a solution?” Gu Yi’s curiosity was piqued. She understood this disciple well; every gesture, every word, was deliberate. Since he brought up the problem, he must have a solution.

“Eliminating the universe’s greatest population controller addresses the symptoms but not the root. His methods are too harsh to accept. If you look at it one way, his approach is to restrict, to throttle population growth for balance. My solution is to create new sources.”

“So…?” she prompted.

“So, I’d like to ask Master to visit Hell, to investigate whether it’s merely a minor parallel dimension linked to Earth, or a boundless, vast space. Personally, I believe Hell is an immense superdimension connected to Earth—it might as well be another universe altogether.”

“If Master can confirm this, then we could construct a portal to Hell. That way, my adversary, the self-proclaimed greatest population controller, could invade Hell, conquer it, and ultimately occupy it. This would be a great benefit for our universe, a merit for the ages! We would not only expand our territory and plunder resources, but also fundamentally resolve the imbalance in our universe. It’s a win-win—sometimes I’m amazed at my own brilliance!” Yang Xin praised himself unabashedly.

“You’re actually considering attacking and conquering Hell?” For the first time, Gu Yi’s expression changed, looking at her disciple as if he were a fool.

“Why not? Since Hell is ruled by lords like Mephisto, there must be all sorts of demons. The legends say Hell reeks of brimstone…”

“And the chemical symbol for sulfur is S, atomic number 16, atomic mass 32.06, electron configuration 3s2 3p4, third period, group VIA, common oxidation states -2, 0, +2, +4, +6. Covalent radius 104 pm, ionic radius S-2 184 pm, S+6 30 pm, first ionization energy 1000 kJ/mol, electronegativity 2.5.”

“Though sulfur is a solid element, the fact that its odor permeates the air means there is gas in Hell. From another angle, if the demon lords and all the great and lesser demons can breathe, that means there’s air in Hell. Whether it’s sulfur dioxide or sulfur trioxide… forgive my poor chemistry, but all those compounds have oxygen. If there’s oxygen and the demons can breathe, why not humans? If humans can breathe, why not animals and plants? With oxygen, at the very least, Hell meets the minimal requirements for human survival.”

“You… Fine. I’ve been to Hell. You can breathe there, though the smell is unpleasant, and Hell is indeed boundless—no smaller than our universe.”

“That’s incredible!” Yang Xin spread his hands.

“But the environment there is far too hostile. Never mind the demons—the conditions are simply unfit for plant life. There is no sun in Hell. Do you expect me to create a sun in Hell?”