Yama Rising

Whoosh... Within the grey sea of mist, Xu Fu abruptly raised his head and cast his gaze toward a certain direction.

The light tower in the mortal coil has been lit up... His hand froze in mid-air along with the teacup that he was bringing to his own lips. Even though he had already predicted that this would happen, it was still extremely terrifying now that it had actually taken place. The feeling of pumping adrenaline that he hadn't felt in countless years began to spread through his body like wildfire, filling every single pore and inch of his skin.

There was only half an hour left!

I should've never let Qi Nü live! I shouldn't have let my sentimentality get the better of me back then! 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His beard swayed gently in the breeze, and several seconds later, he opened his eyes again before casting his gaze toward the sundial down below on the pavilion

Strangely enough, there was no sun here, but there was still a shadow registering on the sundial, and it was indicating that it was 9:15 PM.

"Gui Xu's self-destruct sequence will take effect at around 9:35 PM... How long left until we reach Xolotl's Screen?"

"20 more minutes, your Excellency!"

"Keep accelerating!" he ordered in an implacable voice. Theoretically speaking, he wasn't going to encounter any obstruction, but with each passing second that the screen remained out of sight, he found himself unable to calm down.

Time was fair for both sides, and the countdown timer of destruction applied to both Ashmound and the Peach Blossom Spring. In this race against time, the loser would lose it all.

"Your Excellency, we're already traveling at top speed..."

"Throw in all of the Yin spirit stones!" Xu Fu rose to his feet, and his robes flapped around him in the cold wind as he said, "Money is not important. Once we reach Usonia, we'll have countless more opportunities to make money. Where are Hell's troops right now?"

"Your Excellency, they've disappeared! We can't track them down!"

Damn it... His breathing began to accelerate, and he closed his eyes once again.

For some reason, the sense of foreboding in his heart didn't fade as they continued to approach Xolotl's Screen. Instead, it was becoming more and more pronounced.

20 minutes, eh? He reopened his eyes, and his eyelids were twitching slightly as he adjusted his own robes. 

"Send out The Fantasy! I'm going on ahead to meet this Xolotl in person."

Never in the past 2,000 years of his life had he felt time to be so precious and urgent.

………………………………………………

Hawaii.

Unbeknownst to everyone on this heavenly island, only several dozen nautical miles away from them, a giant louchuan had just emerged from the water amid a resounding boom. Boundless sea water came crashing down from the louchuan like a 360-degree waterfall, and the angular tip of the louchuan rose up, immediately followed by the rest of the ship itself, which had been crafted in a classic ancient Cathayan site. It was like a giant beast leaping out of the sea, sending countless splashes of water spraying in all directions.

Splash! It was as if a curtain of beads were falling around the louchuan, revealing the man standing at the bow. The man had an ethereal air about him, and he was gently massaging a string of jade beads as he looked forward with an intense gaze.

At his level, using infernal eyes was virtually second nature to him, so he could immediately see that around five kilometers away, there was a gate that was 100 meters tall, and on either side of it were city walls that stretched as far as the eyes could see.

It was impossible to describe just how grand and majestic it was. It was a true city in the sea, and it was also a massive defensive line, the largest and most magnificent one in existence. Aside from the antiquated stone gate at the center, the city walls on either side were completely paved within bones, and boundless netherfire was burning in the eyes of each set of remains, making one feel as if they had reached the nation of death.

He took a deep breath before slowly raising a hand.

During this grueling journey, every second had felt like a year, and all of his anxiety instantly fell away as soon as he caught sight of that defensive line.

All he had to do was pass through here, and he would reach a brand new world!

He abruptly pressed his palm downward, and in the next instant, the louchuan accelerated at an extraordinary rate, leaving a trail of afterimages in its wake as it shot forth like a speeding arrow toward the defensive line, sweeping up waves that were close to 20 meters tall on either side of it.

The closer he drew to the defensive line, the clearer it became in his field of view, and the fierce sea wind was making his robes flap audibly. Salvation was imminent, and it was so close that he could almost taste it. He stared intently at the defensive line, and it was the only thing in his eyes. Right as he reached within two kilometers of the majestic construction, a graceful smile appeared on his face as he greeted, "How have you been, Death God Xolotl?"

At the same time, his aura as a Yama-King erupted forth in a frenzy, sweeping up layer upon layer of tsunamis over the surface of the sea. By the time his voice trailed off, the louchuan had already drawn to a halt at the foot of the defensive line.

This was the conclusion of the race.

I won...  Xu Fu heaved an internal sigh of relief, and the immense pressure that he had been under this entire time finally abated. Right in front of him was a giant archway that was around 100 meters tall with extremely life-like statues of figures from Incan, Aztec, and Indigenous Usonian legends on either side of it. The louchuan was situated in a man-made harbor, and on either side of it was a dam, which resembled a pair of arms extending up from the seabed. The dam was over 20 meters tall, and it was like a circle with a chunk missing, encompassing the entire louchuan within it.

"Oh?" An authoritative voice rang out from above the giant gate. "You're still alive? That is truly a surprise to me."

After a brief moment of relief, Xu Fu had become tightly wound once again.

There was still one final step left to take before he could reach the new world.

The more he approached the finishing line, the more cautious that he had to be. This was a lesson that he had learned over the course of his long life. A faint smile appeared on his face, and he asked, "Why is the gate not open? Am I not worthy to enter through it?"

The only response he was greeted by was complete silence, a silence that was tinged with a hint of killing intent.

Xu Fu's smile immediately stiffened, and he reflexively swept his gaze over the surrounding area. The senses of a Yama-King were extremely potent, and if he wanted to, he could conduct surveillance over an entire nation. Following his inspection, his heart immediately skipped a beat.

There were Yin soldiers everywhere...

The area around this harbor was already packed with Yin soldiers, all of whom were vastly renowned Eagle Warriors from Aztec legends. They wielded spears in their left hands and shields in their right as they surrounded the harbor, observing the louchuan with cold expressions. At the same time, countless crossbows that were giving off cold gleams had appeared on the city walls on either side of the harbor, and all of them were also aimed at the louchuan!

While it was indeed true that precautionary measures had to be taken in the face of a Yama-King, everything had been set up here far too quickly.

No one knew that he was coming, and the Peach Blossom Spring was in the Dream Flower, so there was no way that Xolotl could have sensed it. In that case, why did it look as if he had already made preparations well in advance?

How had he known to get ready?

Who had tipped him off?

All of a sudden, a bone-chilling sensation welled up in his heart, and the sense of foreboding that had already disappeared from his heart reared its ugly head again. On top of that, it had become more intense than ever before! A voice was frantically roaring in his head, telling him to get away immediately.

However, it was already too late.

After just three brief seconds of silence, a storm of arrows came flying toward the louchuan like a swarm of locusts.

There seemed to be no end to the arrows, and they formed a bright blue light barrier in the sky above the harbor. It was impossible to see what was happening beneath the light barrier, and it stood in place for a full three minutes before finally fading. At this point, the louchuan was resembling a pincushion, yet Xu Fu was still standing at the bow, completely unscathed. He swept a cold gaze over the surrounding Yin soldiers, then looked up at the structure above the city gate. "What is the meaning of this?"

Xolotl replied in a resigned voice, "Someone is asking for my help, and they've made me an offer that I can't refuse. He says that no matter how well concealed you've kept yourself up to this point, you'll have no choice but to reveal yourself here. It's been several centuries since I've seen the detainment of a Yama-King..."

A calm smile appeared on Xu Fu's face, and before long, he was bursting into raucous laughter.

After he had laughed enough, he returned his gaze to the giant gate and asked, "Who was it? How did they know that I was coming?"

Xolotl chuckled in response. "It was a death god that you'll never think of. As for how he knew you were coming, I'm not sure of the answer to that question myself. How about you ask them?"

BOOM!! 

As soon as his voice trailed off, a metal fence abruptly rose up from the entrance of the harbor behind the louchuan, and countless Yin runes were revolving around the fence. At the same time, around a dozen massive ships rose up from all directions within the harbor, sending sea water rising up into the heavens like reverse waterfalls.

The sea water then came crashing back down in a torrential downpour, thereby revealing the true appearance of this fleet of ships.

These were ships with square bows, at the front of which were carved giant images of the Harken's head. They were comparable to the louchuan in size, and they were packed with Yin soldiers. Countless inky-black flags bearing the "Qin" character in a blood-red color were waving in the wind, and Yang Jiye was standing on the ship at the very forefront. Even though he had an elderly appearance, he was as resolute as a fortress, and he yelled, "You're not getting away, you traitorous dog!"

His cry was immediately followed by the tens of thousands of Yin soldiers on the dozen or so treasure ships, all of whom declared in unison, "By Hell’s Dictum, all rabble shall disperse!!"

Their voices shook the entire Pacific Ocean!

It was as if their voices had produced substantial soundwaves, which reverberated incessantly within the sealed-off harbor. At the center of this giant net were the dozen or so treasure ships, while outside of them were thousands of elite Eagle Warriors waiting to strike at the drop of a hat. At the very top, Death God Xolotl's gaze was like a dagger digging right into Xu Fu's heart, and in this instant, Xu Fu was completely surrounded and all on his own.

He took a deep breath. How long had it been since he had felt these emotions? Never did he think that he would encounter such a perilous situation again...

The entire harbor was extremely quiet, basked in an oppressive silence that was teeming with killing intent. It was truly the calm before the storm. Xu Fu repressed the agitation and killing intent in his own heart and pulled out a pocket watch before taking a glance at it.

It was 9:40 PM, and there were still three minutes left until the explosion of Gui Xu.

Much to his surprise, this race against time still wasn't over.

He had thought that this was the finish line, but it was only the beginning.

How had things become like this?

He had set up so many trump cards, and at this point, both sides were revealing their trump cards without holding back any longer, so what exactly had he missed? And why was Xolotl so firm in his stance?

He was already unconsciously rubbing his palms together as the true energy in his entire body began to awaken. He cast a meaningful gaze toward the top of the gate, and with one final shred of hope in his heart, he asked, "Don't you want to know what I have to offer?"

Before Xolotl even had a chance to reply, he immediately continued, "If you open this gate and let me through, the entire Peach Blossom Spring and I will become your ally. On top of that, I'll hand over one of the Cathayan Underworld's three divine artifacts, the Judgment Pen, to you."

In the instant that the words "Judgment Pen" left his mouth, the netherfire in Xolotl's eyes flickered violently, and he fell into deep thought.

"I see..." Several seconds later, he murmured in a voice that was audible only to himself, "Quetzalcoatl has hidden this bit of information from me. Then again, without the assistance of a divine artifact, how could a Yama-King have possibly been able to escape from the jaws of the Cathayan Underworld? Similarly, without this stolen divine artifact, how would the Cathayan Underworld possibly have made such a significant promise to someone like me? It all makes sense now... This is a massively pleasant surprise. It seems that the balance is beginning to tip! I'm very pleased to see this!"