Yama Rising

Mortal realm, Wuyang City, equivalent to Ashmound in the underworld.

Outside of Wuyang Port, around a dozen investigators were gathered, at the very center of which was Mo Changhao. A circle of cigarette butts had already been littered around him, and he was smoking yet another cigarette as he looked around with an impatient expression.

Standing beside him was a white-haired elderly man, and he also wore an urgent expression as he asked, "Why is he still not here yet?"

"My apologies. I was busy with some important matters, so there was a slight delay." All of a sudden, Qin Ye's voice rang out seemingly out of nowhere, and he emerged amid a gust of Yin wind.

Mo Changhao heaved a sigh of relief as he smiled and said, "No problem, you're right on ti..."

As soon as he turned around, he was immediately rooted to the spot.

Who is this young man? 

It was a human male with facial features that were as angular and defined as those of a chiseled statue. He was wearing a black leather jacket with the collars turned up, and the jacket was flapping violently from the fierce sea breeze blowing toward the coastline. It was an extremely handsome and dashing man.

"Mr. Qin?" he asked in an uncertain voice. If it weren't for the fact that this man had the same voice as Qin Ye, he wouldn't even be asking this question at all.

How had he undergone such a massive transformation in just three days?

Qin Ye gave a slight nod in response.

You shocked? You envious? You should be! Even I didn't think that I would be such a supermodel after growing up! 

"I must say, I'm truly surprised," Mo Changhao said with a shake of his head before extending a military salute. "Congratulations on your breakthrough to the Yama-King level, Mr. Qin."

"There's no need to be so formal." Qin Ye shook his hand as his smile faded. "Are we setting off right away?"

Mo Changhao nodded in response before making a hand signal to the investigator on his right, and the gate of a nearby warehouse slowly swung open.

This was the outermost area of Wuyang Port, and it was riddled with warehouses. In case of tsunamis, the warehouses had been constructed very close to one another in a tightly packed formation. Aside from these warehouses, there were only a series of asphalt roads and street lamps here with no other buildings present.

As the gate of the warehouse was opened, everything inside was revealed. The entire warehouse was packed full of all types of debugging devices. Several SRC researchers in white lab coats were currently in the warehouse making surveillance records, and at the very center of the warehouse was a pool that was over 30 meters in size, at the very center of which was a small navy blue submarine.

"Director!" Following the entry of Mo Changhao and the others, the SRC researchers immediately stood up before extending military salutes. Qin Ye made his way over to the pool with a befuddled expression and asked, "This is the submarine we're using?"

It was no wonder that he was so perplexed, the submarine was tiny!

The entire submarine was less than five meters in length, and aside from the helmsman's seat, there were only three seats in total. Furthermore, this wasn't a completely sealed-off submarine like a military submarine. Instead, it was an ordinary submarine with a glass dome.

It didn't look safe at all!

"This is the Diving Dragon." Right at this moment, a rather raspy voice rang out, and a thin elderly man appeared beside Qin Ye. He had a short beard and was wearing a pair of black-rim glasses. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his white lab coat, and he introduced, "This is currently the world's deepest diving submarine. Please do not doubt its safety and functionality. We are going to the seabed, and according to the information we have on hand, the deepest parts of the seabed between the eastern territorial sea of Cathay to the western territorial sea of Nippon is no more than 9,000 meters deep. However, even a military submarine is unable to descend to depths in excess of 5,000 meters. The only submarines in the world capable of reaching depths of over 5,000 meters are ones that are meant for research and development. The enormous size of a military submarine makes it impossible for it to withstand the tremendous water pressure at extremely low depths. Prior to 2010, the holder of the record for the deepest diving submarine in the world was Nippon's Kaiko remotely operated underwater vehicle. It set the record by diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is currently the limit for human sea exploration."

He paused here momentarily as he turned to the submarine with a proud expression. "In 2018, the Diving Dragon also reached the deepest point of the Mariana Trench, and it stopped there for longer than the Kaiko ROV did. After the Kaiko ROV was lost, the Diving Dragon became the only submarine that holds this record."

He made his way over to the pool and continued, "In reality, a submarine that can reach depths of 9,000 meters is enough to explore over 90% of the entire world's seabed. Its pressure reduction and shock resistance is unmatched among all of the submarines in the world. However, a normal person cannot reach such depths and hope to survive. Only a cultivator would be capable of that, and it would have to be a cultivator at or above the Infernal Judge level."

"I see..." Qin Ye appraised the miniature submarine with an intrigued expression. Could it be that he had underestimated it? It had to be said that technology truly is the supreme force of production. Even an Abyssal Prefect would only be able to reach depths of around 7,000 meters, any deeper than that and their body would begin to give out. However, with the enhancement of technology, Infernal Judges could reach depths of 9,000 meters. He was even more looking forward to seeing new sources of energy appear in the underworld now.

"And you are?"

"I am one of the three scholars of the SRC, Liao Changhui." The elderly man extended a hand toward Qin Ye with a smile on his face. "This is our first meeting, but I've heard much about you. A human Emissary of Hell, eh? If you ever get some spare time, why don't you pay our dissection department a visit?"

... Hey, that's not very friendly... Qin Ye's eyelids were twitching as he shook the man's hand, and he didn't dare to converse with the researcher any further.

"We're planning to begin our descent in half an hour, any issues?" Mo Changhao asked.

"Not at all."

………………………………………………….

Countless bubbles rose up through the water, and after a further half-hour of examination, the Diving Dragon began to descend.

Everything in the surrounding area was changing. The light was becoming dimmer, and nothing but pure blue water stretched as far as the eyes could see in all directions with not a single fish to be seen. Qin Ye sat in his seat in a leisurely manner as he appraised the blue world outside with a thoughtful expression.

After his breakthrough to become Yama-King, he would already be able to descend to the seabed with just his physical body alone, he was only getting the Special Investigations Department involved in case something went wrong.

If all of this really did have something to do with the Peach Blossom Spring, then the mortal realm would have to get involved. He had to borrow the power of the mortal realm to locate the giant beast, as well as for the personnel of the Special Investigations Department to lock down this area of the sea and perhaps even attack the Peach Blossom Spring if it were to be discovered.

After all, this was the mortal realm's territory.

He was the initiator here, so he had to bring along some troops with him. Of course, the mortal realm would still assist him even if he didn't bring any of his own troops, but that was simply not the right way to do things and would inevitably draw some dismay from the mortal realm. However, their assistance could effectively reduce the number of troops that Hell would have to supply.

As they dove deeper and deeper, the wonders of the sea began to display themselves. There were schools of all types of fish, as well as giant sharks and various types of apex predators roaming the sea. They would occasionally swim right past the submarine, making one feel as if they were in a dream.

However, this was not going to be a good dream. As the visibility dropped lower and lower, the sea creatures that they encountered became stranger and more harrowing to behold. Occasionally, a massive creature would appear not far away from the reinforced glass dome, flashing past like an eerie spirit in a nightmare.

The journey was very quiet, and everyone had already fallen silent by the time they reached depths of over 100 meters. At these depths, a type of specially designed messaging device was required for communication. Of course, that was not the case for a Yama-King like Qin Ye, who was still perfectly capable of speaking. This was his first trip deep into the sea, and he engaged in sightseeing for close to 20 minutes before he finally had enough. He sat back in his seat in a casual manner and asked, "What depth are we at now?"

No one replied.

The helmsman pointed at a meter in front of him, and Qin Ye glanced at it to discover that they had already descended to depths in excess of 1,000 meters.

All of a sudden, he realized why neither Mo Changhao nor Liao Changhui were speaking. Liao Changhui was only an ordinary person, while Mo Changhao had to look after him. With that in mind, he released his Yama-King level Yin energy, and the seawater around the submarine instantly rippled, following which everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"I almost forgot that you were still normal humans," Qin Ye said with a smile. "Rest assured, my presence will ensure that the water pressure will be manageable for all of you even on the seabed. My Yin energy has already enveloped the submarine, so no marine creatures will attack us. In their eyes, the submarine is nothing more than a drifting carcass."

"As expected of a Yama-King," Mo Changhao sighed in an envious manner. 

Thus, everyone in the submarine was able to speak again, and Liao Changhui began to provide introductions to the various types of sea creatures that they encountered during their descent. The more Qin Ye listened, the more he became aware of just how knowledgeable Liao Changhui was. There was virtually no sea creature that he didn't recognize, and in response to this, Qin Ye really wanted to ask a question...

When are you going to shut up? 

However, he would probably cop a beating for asking that, so he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

As the submarine descended further and further, the rate of its descent began to decline noticeably. Initially, everyone was still in the mood to chat, but after around an hour, the cabin fell silent again.

Several thousand meters deep in the sea, there was a special type of magical power present, one that was known as silence.

It made one feel as if making even the slightest sound would shatter this silence, and that monsters they had never seen before could emerge from the dark waters around them at any time.

Qin Hui wasn't in the mood to chat, either. He could sense that Qin Hui's Asura Legion and Su Daji's Hungry Ghost Legion were already following along behind the submarine, but they were undetectable to Mo Changhao.

Upon reaching a depth of 7,990 meters, the helmsman finally broke the silence. "We will be reaching the seabed after descending for another 1,500 meters."

"How far away are we from Wuyang?" Qin Ye asked.

"52 nautical miles, or roughly 98.28 kilometers. We are still within the territorial sea of Cathay," Mo Changhao replied with a serious expression, "This is also where I saw that giant beast last time."

Liao Changhui was silent for a moment before commanding in a serious voice, "Continue in a vertical descent."

"Yes."

The submarine descended silently toward the seabed. 1,500 meters... 1,300 meters... 1,200 meters...

Qin Ye was resting in his seat with his eyes closed, yet right as the submarine was about to reach 1,000 meters of the seabed, his eyes abruptly sprang open, and he cast an incredulous gaze downward.

Mo Changhao was right beside him, and he was slightly alarmed by Qin Ye's sudden reaction. "Mr. Qin..."

Qin Ye raised a hand to indicate for him to remain silent. He then cast an intense gaze toward the bottom of the submarine, and only after a long while did he speak with a shocked expression. "There's something on the seabed."

"What are you referring to?"

"I'm talking about Yin spirits," Qin Ye replied as his brows furrowed slightly. "Seawater has an extremely potent Yin energy masking effect, especially the seawater of the mortal realm, so I was only able to sense them upon reaching within 1,000 meters of them. There are Yin spirits down below, and there are quite a few of them, roughly 50 or so. They're lined up in a very orderly fashion, and they're currently on the move."

"What about the sizes of the Yin spirits?"

"They're not very large, each of them is only around the size of two people combined. I still can't clearly identify them yet. Get your Yin energy detection devices ready and follow me, I'll go down to take a look first." As soon as his voice trailed off, he vanished as a gust of Yin wind.

…………………………………………………..

The water density this deep in the sea was extremely high, but as a Yama-King, this was only enough to cause him slight discomfort. He sped through the water extremely quickly, and soon, the submarine had already been left far behind, while the dark seabed appeared in his field of view.

There really was something here, and it was something that he would've never imagined to see here!

These were skeletal camels. There were several dozen skeletal camels traveling along the seabed in a line.

Furthermore, each skeletal camel was accompanied by a Yin spirit wearing a dark cloak.

"How is this possible?" He looked on with a flabbergasted expression. The skeletal camels were leaving trails of hoofprints that were burning with eerie azure ghostly flames on the seabed. This seemed to be a procession of merchants, and it was utterly astounding to him that something like this could appear here!

This was the territorial sea of Cathay! It was protected by the Cathayan Underworld!

Without his orders, where had these merchants come from? What were they transporting? To whom were they transporting their merchandise?

A sense of killing intent immediately welled up in his heart. Even he hadn't noticed this about himself, but ever since he had become the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld, he had become extremely intolerant toward anything outside of his control in his territory. In the instant that he saw these merchants, his first thought was to kill them on the spot.

However, he had to be patient.

"Let me see who you're serving. Are you from the Peach Blossom Spring?" A cold smile appeared on Qin Ye's face before he vanished on the spot, speeding directly toward the rear of the line of camels.