After a few dozen breaths of time passed, his eyes began to glitter brightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but then was shocked to discover that he was incapable of speaking out the answer he had formulated.
It was as if as of this moment, his mouth had been sealed up, and he was a mute!
Meng Hao’s mind trembled as he looked at the Reincarnation Mountain.
Ke Jiusi looked at Meng Hao and then slowly said, “Reincarnation Mountain asks three questions, and then seals your mouth. Any answer which does not conform to your soul, cannot be uttered. This first question is asked of your heart.
“Open your mind and heart. Search your soul. Find the true answer within you, and you will be able to speak it out. You are searching for your heart, your nature, your self.” A profound look flickered within Ke Jiusi’s eyes.
Meng Hao was silent for a bit longer. He looked at the incense stick, and saw that it was already one third burned out. His eyes filled with a complicated look, and then he closed them.
Everything was quiet….
“There was a withered slave on this mountain who said that life is pain,” thought Meng Hao. “He wished to free himself from the sea of bitterness. That sea is like an inescapable flame that can burn everything. Afterward, he called this place Withering Flame, and made a solemn vow that he would eradicate the sea of bitterness. He would ensure that all living things no longer experience bitterness, but rather, freedom!
“That was his choice. Perhaps that person was none other than one of the illustrious three Greater Demons of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Withering Flame Demon!
“I don’t know how the other two Greater Demons of these Demon Mountains appeared, but as for Reincarnation Mountain, if even a single slave could become a Greater Demon… then this mountain is a defiance of the Heavens!” Meng Hao took a deep breath and then calmed himself inwardly.
“If I were him… facing the sea of bitterness, what would I do?” Meng Hao murmured. “Would I do the same as him, vow to eradicate the sea of bitterness? Or… would I make a different choice?” He gradually forgot that he was in the Demon Immortal Sect. He forgot everything as he immersed himself in his mind and heart, as he sank himself into his own soul.
He whispered to himself, seeking for the true answer within the depths of his own self.
Suddenly, a vision appeared to him. Within the vision, he was one of the slaves on Reincarnation Mountain. He climbed the mountain constantly, struggling to reach the summit and the pit of flames. Finally, he jumped in to be burned up by the flames and the molten rock inside.
When he opened his eyes again, he was at the bottom of the mountain, where he once again began to stride the same path as before. Over and over again, this happened, an endless cycle.
“He was right, but also wrong,” murmured Meng Hao.
“This could be viewed as a sea of bitterness, but also… not. If you believe everything to be bitterness, then it is. If you believe that everything is not bitterness, then it is not.
“Leaping into the pit of fire represents death. Reappearance at the bottom of the volcano represents birth. The climb up the mountain represents the process of life….
“I would not swear to eradicate this place. Nor would I sink myself into cowardliness. What I have… is the determination to set my foot where I wish to set it. I control my own fate. I may not be able to control my own birth, but I can decide how I die.
“And the final destination will definitely NOT be the pit at the top of the volcano.” Although he had been murmuring, Meng Hao’s voice actually echoed through the entire Demon Immortal Sect, even though he didn’t realize it.
As his voice echoed about, Meng Hao’s vision changed. His incarnation as a withered slave no longer conformed to the cycle. It did not leap into the fiery pit, but rather, stood outside of the volcano. Unlike the other withered slaves around him, he looked up into the sky, his expression no longer blank, but rather, awash with emotion.