Yama Rising

"If they try to do anything, then just kill them," the other preacher said in a cold voice. "These inhuman creatures are relatives of demons and deceased spirits. They shouldn't exist in this world."

As soon as his voice trailed off, all of the soldiers formed a protective circle around the locust tree with their backs facing the tree and their guns directed outward. Amid the deathly silence, the elderly man who had spoken with Qin Ye on one previous occasion slowly made his way over to them while holding his cane. "What are you going to do?"

No response.

He was studiously ignored as the runes released by the preacher adhered themselves all over the trunk of the locust tree like a coiling dragon. In the next instant, boundless golden light erupted forth, illuminating the entire locust tree into a golden tree of radiance!

One profound English letter after another appeared in mid-air, and the sound of preaching rang out across this entire space. The residents of the earthen building exchanged a few uneasy glances. The equilibrium talismans had significantly restricted their memories, but their instincts were telling them that the preachers were acting upon something that was extremely important to them.

"Life is here, and life is the light of humanity. The light shines down upon the darkness, yet the darkness rejects the light..." As a convoluted passage was being chanted from a scripture, countless wisps of Yin energy were emerging from the bottom of the page, and some of them even transformed into a series of warped human faces that were screaming and screeching. The entire tree was surrounded by the scripture, and a series of burls in the shape of human faces appeared on the tree trunk. The black burls and the golden letters intertwined with one another, presenting a very unsettling sight to behold. 

Whoosh! A gust of Yin wind was suddenly swept up without any warning, and it was as if the Huang Clan's earthen building had been plunged back into the abyss. The branches and leaves of the old locust tree swayed and rustled violently as Yin energy erupted forth from all directions. At the same time, countless ghastly howls rang out, striking fear directly into the listener's heart.

"It hurts so much..."

"I don't want to die..."

"Help me... Please help me!"

The fierce winds blew back the hood of one of the preachers, revealing the head of a bald middle-aged man. The man was completely devoid of facial hair, including even eyebrows, and there were English letters inscribed all over his face. In the instant that his hood was removed, he abruptly yelled, "Now, Othilie!"

Right as he issued this instruction, the other preacher also sprang into action. He immediately raised both arms, and a cold gleam flashed beneath his robes as countless streaks of silver light shot forth before vanishing into the tree trunk, firmly nailing the hovering golden letters into place.

The streaks of silver light were nails that were around 10 centimeters in length each, and there was nothing noticeably special about their design.

"Those are Stigmata Thorns," Lee Jung-sook explained in a low voice, "They're silver nails infused with the ashes of saints, and they're only available to major churches. Those things are not cheap."

"Is that all?" A derisive look appeared on Ryu Changmin's face as he scoffed, "All they're doing is making a huge commotion without actually accomplishing much. Lord Qin, why did you let these people come in with us? In a place like this, the only fate that could possibly await them is death."

Qin Ye rolled his eyes at him in response. "Who's going to do the digging if they're not here?"

Ryu Changmin instantly fell silent.

"I didn't have to spend the money to hire them anyway, so I don't care if they live or die," Qin Ye said in an indifferent voice, "Don't forget that Chu Renmei isn't the only Prefect-level evil ghost in here. There's another one that's been lurking in the shadows this entire time. They're clearly wary of me and haven't attacked thus far, but they're closely guarding the gap between the third and fourth floors. If we want to make it to the fourth floor, then we'll have to barge our way through by force, and if we're unlucky, Chu Renmei might appear as well. In the worst-case scenario, I'll take on Chu Renmei, while Phagpa takes on that other evil ghost. My status as an Emissary of Hell doesn't grant me any advantages against the evil ghosts here, so it's most likely the case that neither side will be able to defeat the other. In the case of an impasse, who's going to the ancestral hall on the fourth floor?"

Ryu Changmin nodded in response. "Apologies for my lack of foresight, my Lord. However, the fourth floor is the core of this entire place; will they really be fit for the task?"

Qin Ye replied in a calm manner, "Well, that would depend on whether they've been sufficiently paid, isn't that right, Madam Lee?"

Lee Jung-sook smiled and said, "Rest assured, I paid them more than enough for them to put their lives on the line."

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Oh? I thought you would be reluctant to risk their lives."

"Don't make me laugh," Lee Jung-sook replied with an extremely calm expression, "They're each being paid 500,000 USD a month, what right do they have to back down now? Setting that aside for now, are we really the same type of people as them?"

Her army naturally couldn't hear what she was saying, but at this point, the elderly man from the Huang Clan's earthen building was already slowly approaching them, and he was followed by several dozen other residents of the village.

"Stop!" The elderly man thumped his cane onto the ground a few times as he yelled, "Who are you? What gives you the right to trespass on our private property? You're a bunch of lawless vandals!"

"Kill anyone who dares to come within a 30-meter radius. Don't regard them as living humans," Othilie instructed in an expressionless manner.

The surrounding soldiers immediately sprang into action, and the sound of bullets being loaded into chambers rang out in quick succession. 

A normal person would definitely fall back upon hearing this sound, but the residents of the Huang Clan's earthen building seemed to be completely oblivious to the danger, and the elderly man led the way as he continued to approach with a furious expression. "What on earth are you doing?! Who gave you the right to do this?!"

The soldiers all wore camouflage face paint, and they were appraising the approaching residents with cold expressions. As the furious eldelry man drew closer and closer, their leader suddenly declared, "That's 30 meters."

In the next instant, the sound of machine-gun fire rang out across the entire earthen building!

Even though the residents of the Huang Clan's earthen building had already lost their humanity long ago, they still had human appearances, yet the scorching bullets pierced through their bodies without any mercy or hesitation.

"ARRRGH!!" The elderly man at the forefront of the villagers was instantly reduced to a piece of human Swiss cheese, and the enormous impact of the bullets even sent him flying back several meters. In the blink of an eye, his body was already riddled with bullet holes, yet not a single drop of blood was flowing out. Instead, wisps of inky-black Yin energy were seeping out of his wounds, and they were being dragged through the air as the elderly man flew back from the machine gun fire.

All of the other residents of the earthen building around him were also sent flying by the bullets, and cries of shock and agony rang out in all directions. However, even after they fell to the ground, their voices still didn't cease.

In the face of such ferocious firepower, not even a single one of them had perished!

"They're still alive?" The leader of the soldiers faltered momentarily before a cold smile appeared on his face, and his rate of fire was instantly doubled as he laid another machine gun onto his own arm. Scorching flames were erupting from the muzzles of the machine guns from the bouts of rapid-fire, and chunks of grass and rocky shrapnel were sent flying in all directions, while countless holes and rifts were blown into the wooden walls and floorboards.

"Are you done yet?" a soldier asked without even turning his head.

Othilie was panting slightly as he replied, "We're done."

The baptism of machine gun fire lasted a full three minutes, and all of the villagers had been felled. Their bodies had fallen completely still as they laid on the ground, and just as the mercenaries were turning around, they drew a collective sharp breath.

They were greeted by the sight of a torrential downpour of flower petals as scarlet petals drifted down from the heavens, only to be swept up by the cold Yin winds blowing around the locust tree. The ghastly howls and screeches had completely fallen silent at this point, yet there was now a nauseating odor wafting through the air to assault everyone's nostrils.

It was a smell akin to the odor of a decaying animal.

Qin Ye squatted down beside the tree as he gently pressed his fingers against the ground, and he asked in a grim voice, "Do you still recall what it was like back when you ate the Taisui fungus?"

Lee Jung-sook's expression mirrored his, and she replied, "I do. It carried an extremely exquisite fragrance. During the past several centuries, I've spent countless hours researching the Taisui fungus, and all records that exist of it involve auspicious phenomena of fortune with no exceptions. At the time, I fell into a valley that felt like a sea of cloud and mist, and the Taisui fungus was like a vibrant fruit of pure bliss. It had an indescribably gentle texture upon entry, and it was like devouring a gentle breeze or a drop of delectable dew. What was the experience like for you?"

"It was about the same," Qin Ye said as he cautiously took a few steps backward. "I also thought that I was eating a cloud, or the essence of heaven and earth. The Taisui fungus can take on all types of different forms, but I've never seen a Taisui fungus like this. Is this... really a Taisui fungus?"

Following his brief inspection, he had discovered that the ground beneath their feet had a texture similar to human skin, but it was dead, rough, and coarse skin, much like the skin on a human corpse. At the same time, it was a little supple, like the body of a living being.

Each time Qin Ye pressed his fingers against the ground, faint traces of blood would begin to seep to the surface. Initially, it was only trace amounts of blood, but soon, it became a gushing flow of reddish-black blood that was pouring up from down below!

"Have you ever had a hamburger before?" Qin Ye asked, "The earth forms the buns, and the Taisui is the patty, gushing oil whenever you press it."

Even though Lee Jung-sook had already lived the equivalent of seven lives, the fine hairs on the back of her neck were still standing up on end. "What kind of hamburger is this? A human hamburger?"

"Who knows?" Qin Ye appraised the bloodstained ground ahead of him with a grim expression. The ghastly howls and wails had subsided, but the twisted aura of foreboding hadn't faded in the slightest. Instead, it had only become more chilling.

He took a deep breath and turned to the side. Without even requiring an instruction from him, several soldiers had already arrived at the foot of the tree, carrying shovels in their hands. It had to be said that this army of mercenaries provided a service that lived up to the lofty fees they charged. Even in the face of such an unsettling situation, they didn't ask any questions, nor refuse any orders.

Right as the first shovel was plunged into the ground, a sharp scream suddenly erupted throughout the entire earthen building, as if the building were a living being, and someone had just plunged a sharp blade into its heart.

The scream had come from underground.

"Phagpa!" Qin Ye called out in a grim voice, and the soul orb immediately emerged. "What the hell is down there? I've never heard of a living Taisui fungus before!"

After a brief silence, Phagpa gritted his teeth and said, "Rest assured, just keep digging. The thing below the ground here really is a Taisui fungus, but you have to mentally prepare yourself. This Taisui fungus is different from anything that you've ever seen before, and it's something that only appears in nightmares..."

"Keep digging!" Lee Jung-sook bit down gently on her lower lip as she looked on with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation in her eyes, "Let me see what exactly is down there!"

Thus, the soldiers continued digging, and each dig of their shovels would elicit a blood-curdling howl. The Huang Clan's earthen building seemed to have been plunged into a hellish abyss, and dense dark clouds had already gathered over the entire sky. Despite the vast experience that these mercenaries had with supernatural events, even they couldn't help but be stunned by what they saw as they continued to dig deeper and deeper.

The root system of this locust tree was even more well developed than that of a banyan tree! It was like a chaotic head of hair that was extending in all directions, and interspersed within the roots were countless pieces of human bones, of which there were around 40 to 50 skulls alone!

"The Taisui fungus is an entity of immense fortune! How could it have emerged in a place like this?" Lee Jung-sook's brows were tightly furrowed. This situation had completely gone beyond the scope of all of her research.

Qin Ye remained completely silent. He didn't intend to tell anyone about the nature of forsaken lands.

One hour passed, two hours passed... After two and a half hours, a metallic clang suddenly rang out, immediately followed by a sharp cry of surprise. Qin Ye immediately rushed through the crowd and cast his gaze toward the bottom of the pit that had been dug out.

The pit was already around 20 meters deep and roughly five to six meters in radius. Things like climbing rope and carabiners had been employed for stabilization purposes, and at the bottom of the pit was something that was extremely familiar to everyone, but definitely didn't belong in a place where the Taisui fungus was supposed to be.

It was a coffin, an inky-black coffin constructed in the Cathayan style, and was already beginning to show signs of decay.

The coffin was bound by some messy red threads that hadn't rotten away even after so long, and the entire coffin was riddled with talismans.

"What is this thing?" Qin Ye took a deep breath as he backtracked a few steps. "Is this a Taisui fungus? Is it a coffin? Or is it... a corpse?"