Yama Rising

"What just happened?" On The Morning Star cruise ship, a woman was looking at a worker on the cruise ship with a displeased expression. "Wasn't it declared that we were going to arrive in Hawaii in two hours? Why have we stopped here? You better not tell me that we've run into pirates."

"It's definitely not that..." The worker was wearing a crisp black vest outside a white dress shirt, and he was also at a complete loss. What exactly had just happened? Why had the Cathayan Navy directly contacted the helmsman and commanded him to stop the ship?

"We're not sure what's going on, either, but this is a decision passed down by the central government, so..."

The woman waved a dismissive hand in an impatient manner, and the worker immediately scurried away as if he had just been pardoned on the brink of execution. Only then did she cast an irritated gaze out the window, and as soon as she did so, she immediately rose to her feet, and her hand flew over her own mouth in disbelief.

What the hell is that?! 

And she wasn't the only one. Countless passengers on the cruise ship had stood up in unison in this instant to stare out their windows with incredulous expressions. Even the helmsman and the ship's staff, who spent most of their lives out at sea and had seen everything the sea had to offer, were completely stunned.

"My god..." A sailor dropped the broom in his hand as he looked out to sea with a slack-jawed expression. He then rubbed his own eyes vigorously before rushing over to the window, pressing his hands against it as he stared intently at the sea.

On the top-floor deck of the cruise ship, a young woman wearing a bikini pulled down her sunglasses in disbelief as her jaw dropped straight to the floor, and she quickly stood up to look out at the sea. Everyone around her had also completely stopped what they were doing, and despite the fact that there were over 1,000 people on this entire ship, it was instantly plunged into complete silence in the face of the incredible scenes unfolding in the distance.

It was light...

White light was seeping out of the horizon before rising up like the sun, igniting the entire surface of the sea. Countless passengers pulled out their phones to check the time, upon which they discovered that it was 11 PM at night.

"How.. is this possible?" A young man was holding a glass of fruit juice, and the glass in his hand slipped out of his grasp before falling onto the table, staining the entire table with orange juice, yet he completely failed to notice.

A massive sun had risen up from the sea in the middle of the night! After the extreme shock came the horror.

"ARGH!!" Someone suddenly screamed before picking up a towel to wrap around their own body, then fled toward the cabin as quickly as they could. Immediately thereafter, the entire deck was plunged into complete chaos as everyone frantically fled toward the cabin as well.

However, the show had only just begun.

The waves of the sea swayed like liquid black jade, and the gentle white light tore a rift right between the sea and the sky. The light was of a pure white color and it wasn't very bright, but it had illuminated the entire surface of the sea. Right in the midst of it, an indistinct figure could be seen.

"Captain..." Inside the bridge, the first mate called out to the helmsman in a trembling voice. He didn't know what to say, all he wanted was to seek some solace from the helmsman.

The helmsman was already in his fifties, and having lived on the sea for so long, his skin had become very wrinkly and wizened, but he was still in very good health. At this moment, he was biting down on his own lower lip, and only after a long while did he manage to utter the words: "Bring... Bring me my binoculars."

Unbeknownst to everyone, even the helmsman who had been living on the sea for over 20 years was trembling uncontrollably.

The binoculars were quickly brought to him, and as soon as he looked through them, his entire body shuddered as if he had been electrocuted, and the binoculars fell onto the operating desk with a dull thud. All of the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together as he stared at the white light in the distance in a slack-jawed manner, unable to utter even a single word.

Atlantis? Is that Atlantis I just saw?! 

He felt as if his heart had come to a stop, and he was completely unable to believe his own eyes.

Just a brief glance was enough for him to see that the indistinct figure within the light was a small island!

It wasn't just a small island, there were countless buildings constructed upon it in an ancient Cathayan style, and pink clouds formed by peach blossom petals were drifting over the entire island, giving it the appearance of an immortal paradise.

"What on earth is that thing?"

………………………………………………

Xu Fu was looking up at the sky with a calm expression.

He was standing on the tallest pavilion in the Peach Blossom Spring. This pavilion had been named by him as the Star Plucking Pavilion. It was situated on the Peach Blossom Spring's tallest mountain, and from this vantage point, one could see countless peach blossoms, buildings, lush mountains, clear creeks, and scenic valleys with clouds drifting through them in a carefree manner. The colorful wildflowers were like pieces of vibrant silk, even further contributing to the ethereal beauty of the island.

This was the manifestation of over 2,000 years of blood, sweat, and tears.

Furthermore, he could see the sea and the sky. The sky was very clear on this night. A bright moon was hanging up above, bordered by countless dazzling stars. The sea was like a gargantuan piece of shattered black jade that was glowing with specks of starlight. He looked on in silence, and after a long while, he suddenly grabbed onto his own head with both hands, digging his fingers into his own hair, and he was biting down onto his own lower lip so hard that he was drawing blood.

The Peach Blossom Spring was no longer surrounded by murky grey mist. Instead, it had been dragged out into the open. Right in front of the Peach Blossom Spring was a silver line that was rapidly pulling it toward the east. Never had he felt the beautiful scenery of the world to be so harrowing and full of despair.

How could this have happened? 

His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and he was frantically thinking of any way for him to turn the tables.

"Your Excellency..." Right at this moment, a thin man in a set of robes from the Qin Dynasty made his way over to Xu Fu before informing in a trembling voice, ""The messenger birds sent to the Russian and Nipponese Underworlds have returned...

Xu Fu's fingers were trembling slightly as he combed them through his own hair, rearranging the strands meticulously as he asked in a strained voice, "What was their response?"

The man paused slightly before replying, "They both refused to accept us. Your Excellency, why haven't you sent a messenger bird to the Hindustani Underworld?"

A wry smile appeared on Xu Fu's face upon hearing this. If the situation could allow that, of course he would've done so already!

However, the light tower in the mortal coil had already been lit up, and he was on a straight course headed directly for the Fujian Province of Cathay. On the way there, the only other underworlds that he would pass by were the Nipponese and Russian ones. In fact, even the Russian Underworld was a bit of a stretch, let alone the Hindustani Underworld!

Is there no way out? Is this really the end for me? 

He didn't want to give up. He had lived a glorious life for the past 2,000 years, yet he was about to fall into the hands of Hell. He still had so many things that he wanted to accomplish, and the freedom that he cherished above all else. Was all of that about to be stripped away from him?

He had considered the consequences, and there was simply no way out for him. He had committed far too many crimes, and every single one of them warranted the death sentence. There was simply no way that Hell would forgive him!

He even recalled attacking King Yanluo in his memories, on more than one occasion, as a matter of fact. Furthermore, he had set off the nuclear explosion in Ashmound. With all these crimes that he had racked up, even death would be too kind a fate for him.

In fact, there was no way that he would be killed.

With that in mind, he couldn't help but shudder. For the past 2,000 years, he had felt extremely fortunate to have been an immortal, yet now, it seemed more like a curse than a blessing.

"No, I can't just sit around and give up!" He cast his gaze out toward the sea with bloodshot eyes. "Seeing as I can't escape the pull of the light tower in the mortal coil, then I have to devise a strategy to combat Hell!"

The night sky was growing darker and darker, and Xu Fu continued to stand at the top of this pavilion in silence, welcoming the dawn of one new day after another.

……………………

Cathay, Fujian Province.

All of the residents living near the Huang Clan's earthen building had been temporarily evicted, and the entire place had been completely surrounded.

The Special Investigations Department, the police force, Hell... Everyone had sent personnel to surround this inlet, and around a dozen destroyer ships were already waiting within a kilometer of the port, ready to lash out at any moment.

At the forefront were the military police, and in just a short time, all types of defensive measures had already been set up here. One machine gun after another was situated in the rear with their inky-black barrels pointed forward, and near each fortress was an investigator. The area ahead of all of these fortifications had been sealed off by metal chains, upon which were attached countless Yin talismans. Right behind the three defensive lines, Lei Jun and an elderly Taoist priest were seated on an SUV, and the elderly Taoist priest was holding a sleek longsword.

The sword was supposed to be quite long, but it had been snapped. It was sealed in its scabbard, and a strip of bright yellow cloth was tied around the scabbard, upon which were inscribed a series of Sanskrit runes inscribed in blood. There was also a silver chain wound around the hilt and scabbard of the sword, and it was occasionally flashing with faint blue light as if it had a life of its own.

This was the damaged Xuanyuan Sword!

Behind them, tens of thousands of Emissaries of Hell were spread out in a horizontal line. A day had already passed since the explosion of Ashmound Port, and countless Yin soldiers had traveled to this place. Counting all of the humans and ghosts, there was an army of at least 100,000 gathered here!

In addition to that, there was Qin Ye who had been in the earthen building this entire time.

Just as Xu Fu had his attention focused on the east, he had also been watching the west from afar this entire time. It was as if their eyes could meet even though there were countless kilometers between them, and intense sparks were flying between them.

With such a formidable army gathered here, Qin Ye was determined to bring down Xu Fu once and for all!

"The report from Ashmound states that Brother Zhao and the Harken are safe and well..." His eyes narrowed slightly as he gripped tightly onto the windowsill. "We have two Yama-Kings, one being above the Yama-King level, and tens of thousands of Yin soldiers bolstered by the Wumu military array. You are a cultivator, and this is the mortal realm. No matter how astute the defenses of your Peach Blossom Spring are, there's no way it'll be able to survive a bombardment from the missiles of the mortal realm!"

The two realms had come together, and there was no escape for Xu Fu!

It's a pity that Brother Zhao has fallen unconscious and is still yet to wake up, but that's not an issue. Now that the Peach Blossom Spring is returning to Cathay, as soon as Brother Zhao wakes up, Xu Fu will be nothing more than a cornered rat!

"In Brother Zhao's absence, I'll have to step up..."

"Looks like you know your place after all." Right at this moment, a calm voice rang out behind him, and Qin Ye faltered slightly upon hearing this. He had barred everyone else from entering this room, and Chu Renmei, Huang Jiansen, and Otakemaru were standing guard outside, so how had this person made it into the room?

Also, why was this voice so familiar?

After three seconds of silence, Qin Ye drew a sharp breath. 

It's him! Why is that scumbag back?! Oh right, he said that he would return once more before I became a Yama-King, but it's already too late! Why is he here now? Having said that, he's come at just the right time... 

After taking a moment to arrange his own expression, he turned around with a fawning smile and was greeted by the sight of the second King Yanluo's cocky face. He was seated on a chair in a casual manner, watching Qin Ye with a half-smile on his face.

"Brother Xu, to what do I owe this honor? Come, have some tea." The last thing that Qin Ye wanted to do right now was smile, but he had to force himself.

The second King Yanluo glanced at him and gave a slight nod of approval. "So you've finally become a Yama-King. Looks like I wasn't wrong about you."