Yama Rising

Rumble... One burst of Yin energy after another surged forth from all directions, converging toward the incomplete King Yama's Seal. Soon, a giant cloud funnel with a radius in excess of 10 kilometers took shape around it. Yin spirits howled and wailed as they danced around the seal amid fierce Yin winds, as if in reverence toward the almighty divine artifact.

Amid the twisted and all-encompassing darkness, a burst of purple radiance began to blossom like a lotus flower across the boundless starry sky, stirring up countless specks of golden starlight. The starlight unfolded layer upon layer, shimmering as it spread across the heavens, presenting a captivatingly beautiful scene to behold. However, aside from Qin Ye and Zhao Yun, not a single other Yin spirit was able to remain standing, not even Arthis.

"H, how terrifying... What is that thing?!" A commander of Dong Zhuo's city was laying sprawled out on the ground with his teeth chattering violently, and he was speaking to himself like a madman. As for the normal Yin Soldiers, they were also lying flat against the ground, but they didn't dare to raise their heads, and their limbs were trembling incessantly.

Within all of the houses and on all of the congested streets, all of the Yin spirits were revering this paramount divine artifact of Cathayan Hell, and not even a single one of them dared to raise their heads. The purple light continued to shine down from above, casting countless shadows across the ground. Dong Zhuo's thunderous voice rang out once again. "Will you retreat or not?"

No response.

He immediately caught sight of Qin Ye, who was standing proudly among the masses. Of course, he couldn't actually directly see him as Qin Ye was standing behind Zhao Yun, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see through the protective Yin energy around Zhao Yun's body.

However, he could sense the expression on Qin Ye's face.

It was one of derision and ridicule. The corners of his lips were turned upward in a derisive sneer, as if he were confident that Dong Zhuo wouldn't dare to go ahead with his final attack.

This was humiliation of the highest order!

"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to strike you down?" Inside the palace, countless Yin spirits were kneeling on the ground as they trembled incessantly. All of a sudden, Dong Zhuo sprang up from his chair, causing the ground to tremor beneath his feet. "I won't die from unleashing the power of King Yama's Seal, but all of you will be annihilated! Aren't these Hell's most elite troops?! Are you not afraid of death?!"

His voice was like rumbling thunder, sweeping up ferocious gusts of Yin winds that surged out of the palace, but Qin Ye merely gave an indifferent smile and replied, "No."

Fine! You asked for it... 

Dong Zhuo gnashed his teeth together audibly, and in the next instant, he let loose a deranged roar of fury as he injected all of his Yin energy into King Yama's Seal before crushing it all with all his might!

Time drew to a standstill.

Sound completely disappeared.

All of the trembling Yin spirits of West Capital, the ones who were lying flat against the ground and didn't even dare to raise their heads; all they heard was a dull buzzing sound, immediately following which what felt like a super typhoon blew past above their heads. After that, the entire world was basked in scintillating radiance.

…………………………………………

On the surface, there were also countless people paying close attention to the final outcome of the battle. They couldn't see anything, but they kept their Yin energy detection devices constantly activated in the hope of being able to detect something. 

Lei Jun had arrived in person at Lotus City's Special Investigations Department, accompanied by two elderly men with heads of white hair and epaulets with three golden stars on their shoulders. A circle of bodyguards were situated around them, and they were currently seated in the Special Investigations Department's surveillance room. They had already been here for a very long time, but they weren't displaying any displeasure or impatience.

Qin Ye had already informed them of the progress of his war of unification. Tens of billions of US dollars worth of resources had been burned in the mortal realm to support their cause, and in exchange, one province after another had been liberated from the supernatural disasters that they had previously been plagued by. They were also eagerly watching and waiting to see the final outcome of this battle. However, they had already been waiting here for four hours since this morning, but they hadn't received any news.

"Sir," a police officer suggested in a low voice, "Why don't we go and wait in the guest hall? There's most likely not going to be an outcome anytime soon..."

As soon as his voice trailed off, the ground suddenly began to tremor, immediately following which the Yin energy detection devices began to beep in a frenzy!

Beep beep beep! 

"Don't panic!" Lei Jun raised a hand as he appraised the detection device before him with a solemn expression, seemingly completely oblivious to the tremors running through the ground. A few seconds later, he declared in a trembling voice, "There's been a massive eruption of Yin energy, causing tremors that have passed through the Underworld and registered even in our mortal realm! Gather the relevant data right away! Hurry!"

A massive computer up ahead immediately began to operate rapidly at his behest.

This was a Yin energy detection device connected to a supercomputer, and it was cutting-edge technology that had been developed during the past few years, able to detect Yin energy below three billion units.

After less than a second, the Yin energy meter began to rapidly rise. "120 million... 350 million... 870 million... One billion and thirty thousand... 1.536 billion..."

Everyone present was completely dumbfounded by these numbers, and even the two generals had risen to their feet in astonishment.

A new record has been set!

In the blink of an eye, the meter had sprung up to 2.3 billion, and it was still climbing!

"What's going on in Hell?" One of the generals was becoming quite anxious. "Could it be that there's been some type of accident?"

No one had an answer for him.

Everyone, including the police officers, were looking on in a slack-jawed manner as the number continued to rise rapidly, displaying no intention of stopping at all!

2.5 billion, 2.8 billion, 30 billion!

"Beep... Limit has been exceeded... Limit has been exceeded... Data collection is being put on pause... Repeat..."

A mechanical voice echoed throughout the room, but it was greeted by dead silence.

However, he wasn't the only one in this world to have sensed this burst of terrifying Yin energy.

In the Underworld.

At the buffer zone between Hell and the mortal realm, all of the Yin beasts and Yin spirits had climbed down, and they were trembling as they knelt in reverence toward a certain direction. There, an inky-black pillar of light had erupted straight out of Hell, piercing through the three realms to fuse as one with the sky of the Underworld, which was gradually being turned black!

This was the complete release of a creation-grade divine artifact, something that had never been witnessed before.

Laos.

Laos University was very dilapidated compared with the university in Cathay, yet right at this moment, a young man suddenly rushed out of one of the dormitory rooms before looking up at the sky with incredulity in his eyes.

A student that was passing by while drinking a beverage was startled by his sudden exit, yet just as they were about to say something, they noticed the peculiar look on his face.

There was shock, astonishment, incredulity... He didn't think that humans were even capable of mustering up such a diverse expression. Just as he was about to ask if the man was alright, he heard the man murmuring to himself, "A divine artifact has been released... How is this possible?" 

Inside a Buddhist temple in Burma, a middle-aged man who was in the process of meditating suddenly opened his eyes. He stared blankly into thin air for close to a minute, and only after that did he return to his senses before laying a hand onto his own chest.

Something's happening... Something's happening in Cathay... Something big!

"A creation-grade divine artifact has been released! Who did this? Have they gone insane?!" He abruptly sprang to his feet, and the servants around him immediately asked, "Where are you going, Wave Quelling General? [The title of Wave Quelling General is a title of individual merit awarded to exceptional generals in ancient China.]"

"Prepare a horse! I must return to Cathayan Hell right away!"

In the Philippines, Yang Jiye was looking up at the sky with a sorrowful expression. In the direction of Cathay, countless dark clouds were spreading through the sky like black waves, and an aura that could only be referred to as divine might was surging throughout the entirety of Asia.

They were not the only ones alerted by the stunning turn of events taking place in the underworld, Malaya, Singapura, the Lord of Sanfotsi... all of the 12 envoys had sensed this terrifying eruption of energy, and all of them immediately set off for Cathayan Hell without any hesitation.

…………………………………………

Westriver Province, Lotus City Hell.

In the sky above, blinding light, ferocious winds, and violent shockwaves had come together to form a storm of destruction. Dong Zhuo's lips were trembling, and he cast his gaze toward his own hand through narrowed eyes with extremely complex emotions in his heart.

King Yama's Seal was like the jade seal of the first emperor of Cathay, yet an artifact of this caliber had been released by him. The seal would only have a chance of being reassembled again if the second King Yanluo was still alive, but now, the entire Cathayan Hell had essentially been ruined by his hands...

"You made me do this..." He gritted his teeth as he stood up straight, yet just as he was about to hide, he was suddenly rooted to the spot as if he had been struck by lightning.

Despite the blinding light permeating through this entire space, he could see that the unfathomable figure standing in front of Qin Ye had sprung into action.

Light, wind, fire, and clouds warped violently toward him from all directions, forming a giant black hole around him that was several dozens of meters in size!

This was a true black hole. The power of the explosion from the release of King Yama's Seal surged into the black hole, but it remained completely unmoved. The only change that was taking place was that as more and more of the power was absorbed, the Yin energy around the figure began to fade.

That white robe… That silver spear... That's... That's... 

"ARRRGH!!!" The fearless Dong Zhuo suddenly began to scream in horror as he rushed deeper into the palace like a madman. His robes were snagged on his chair, but he didn't even notice, and his robes were torn as he frantically fled.

That's... That's Zhao Zilong! One of the Sixfold Ghost Kings! 

The Sixfold Ghost Kings specialized in detaining high-grade evil ghosts, and they had the power to execute evil ghosts without even having to consult with their superiors! Their status was on even footing with the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces, but all of the evil ghosts of Hell knew that the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces were a lot less fearsome. They only possessed administrative power but weren't necessarily all that formidable in battle. However, the Sixfold Ghost Kings were truly terrifying!

The one that a murderer on the run feared the most definitely wasn't the head of the police force. Instead, it was the SWAT officers that were tasked with capturing them.

"Please... Please don't kill me!!" He frantically rushed deeper into the palace as his fear completely robbed him of any ability to think rationally. There weren't any good hiding places in the palace, but all he wanted was to find a place to bury his head into so that he wouldn't be able to see his pursuer.

"Why is he here?! Isn't he supposed to be dead? If he didn't die, then why did he allow us to do as we pleased for the past century?! This is impossible.. There's no way this is actually happening..."

Clang... His crown fell onto the ground, but he paid no heed to it and cast a fearful glance back toward the front of the palace. It was also at this moment that Zhao Yun sprang into action.

He moved in a completely silent and nondescript manner.

He was like a gentle breeze, like light rain, and every single one of his movements abided by the natural order, as if he were an envoy of the Heavenly Dao.

He appeared to be moving very slowly, but from Dong Zhuo's perspective, he could clearly see Zhao Yun rapidly approaching him. He saw the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear being aimed directly at himself, while Zhao Yun's body seemed to have already fused as one with the light and the wind.

He could see Zhao Yun, so he could naturally sense him as well, and the killing intent emanating from Zhao Yun's body made him feel as if his heart had been plunged into a glacial pit. He didn't pause to wonder why he was able to see the movements of a Yama-King; all he did was reflexively raise his hands to protect himself.

However, only then did he discover that he was unable to raise his hands.

In other words, he was too slow. In contrast with Zhao Yun, he was far too slow. His mouth gaped open in shock, and he suddenly realized that all he had managed to catch sight of was Zhao Yun's afterimage. The speed disparity between the two was like that between a tortoise and a plane.

All of a sudden, a clear phoenix cry rang out, and all of the scattered light and shadows abruptly converged toward Zhao Yun, forming a golden phoenix within the span of half a second. The phoenix then rapidly expanded within Dong Zhuo's horrified eyes.

Whoosh... 

An instant passed by, but it could've also been an eternity.

Zhao Yun's cap had already risen up behind him, and Dong Zhuo's entire body was trembling uncontrollably. A large hole had appeared on his chest, and within the hole, a soul sphere was slowly revolving on the spot.

"You're not a Yama-King..." His face was already deathly pale, and his lips had turned blue as he turned back toward Zhao Yun. "There's no way that a Yama-King would be able to withstand the power of a released creation-grade divine artifact... You've... You've already reached the level of the second-generation King Yanluo!"

The netherfire in his eyes began to flicker erratically as the soul sphere in his chest began to emit a loud buzzing sound. It was revolving faster and faster, rapidly sucking in Dong Zhuo's burly body like a lamp sucking in a genie.

"Spare me... I beg of you! I don't want to die... I don't want to go to the six paths... Arrrgh!!"

The fierce winds subsided, and Zhao Yun's long hair trailed back down around him like the feathers of a black crow, presenting an unspeakably majestic sight to behold. He raised his spear, pointing it directly at the soul sphere that had taken Dong Zhuo's place.

"It's too late. No one can escape the King Yanluo’s decree of death!"