Yama Rising

What was wrong? What was right?

There had never been a clear and definitive divide between the two.

None of Xu Fu's actions had actually caused any substantial harm to the Cathayan Underworld. He had gathered some intelligence, but he had kept it all to himself solely for self-preservation purposes. At its core, everything that he had done was for the sake of survival and to live a better life.

However, he had been indirectly responsible for the heinous crimes that had taken place in the Huang Clan's earthen building, and who knew how many more light towers in the mortal coil existed? Every single one of them was a relic of a heinous chapter in history. In addition to that, there were the countless innocent mortals that had fallen prey to the Peach Blossom Spring during the past 2,000 years. All of them were praying and hoping for Xu Fu's apprehension!

Furthermore, he had been taking the wrong stance from the very beginning. During the past 2,000 years, he had constantly been provoking Hell's authority, it was just that he didn't have the courage to commit treason.

"Fine," the second King Yanluo said in an indifferent voice, "I'll grant you a swift and painless death in this life."

As soon as his voice trailed off, Xu Fu's head flew up into the air, and no one had even seen the second King Yanluo move. Even as it was sent flying, Xu Fu's head was still etched with an incredulous expression, and blood spurted up into the air, forming a gorey flower.

Before Xu Fu's headless body had even slumped to the ground, the second King Yanluo reached out and made a grabbing motion. Wisps of white Yin energy evolved as they rose upward, forming a glowing white ball in his hand.

He was using a soul search technique.

Qin Ye was looking on with an intense gaze. He had been intent on hunting down Xu Fu partly due to all of the crimes that he had committed, but what was more important was the new energy system that Xu Fu had developed!

Anyone who seized control over the next new energy resource would essentially have grabbed the next era by the scruff of the neck, and this was what Hell was relying on for a rapid resurgence!

A new energy resource could benefit the entire nation, and it would allow the second King Yanluo's development of forbidden techniques to accelerate significantly. With a new energy resource, there was a chance that the underworld could catch up to the mortal realm within the next century!

It would have internet, Alipay, WeChat, televisions, an entertainment industry, a manufacturing industry, a real estate industry... A wide variety of industries could be built upon the back of this new energy resource!

The fact that Gui Xu had exploded didn't matter as long as they could obtain the core concepts of its construction from Xu Fu's mind.

"Thank you." He reached out to take the white ball of Yin energy from the second King Yanluo, but the second King Yanluo shook his head and closed his eyes before gently stroking his thumb over the surface of the ball of light, following which he chuckled, "What a sly old bastard."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to ask any questions, the second King Yanluo continued, "He's set up restrictions all over his most important memories, and if anyone dared to try and open those restrictions, his soul would immediately be destroyed. He's a member of the living dead, and an abrupt and unexpected death would allow him to be resurrected as quickly as possible. These restrictions are tied directly to his soul, and once set, they can't be removed. Even if he's resurrected countless times, these memories will still remain sealed. Even if he were to be reincarnated into a normal person and someone wanted to try and glean his memories through hypnotism, his soul would immediately be destroyed, thereby leading to this death. All of these restrictions had been set up during the past few days."

Qin Ye cast a grim glance at the ball of light. This was Xu Fu's most deeply buried trump card.

He had already prepared himself to be captured, and he had also guessed that if he were to be captured, his soul would definitely be searched. Upon discovering that all of his important memories had been sealed by restrictions, they would definitely attempt to undo those restrictions.

In doing so, his soul would be destroyed, and Xu Fu would be truly dead. However, as a member of the living dead, he would be reincarnated very soon, and it would be far too difficult to capture him again.

After all, who could've anticipated that he would be so decisive and relegate his most important memories over the past 2,000 years into limbo? These restrictions were directly connected to his soul, and similar to the restrictions he had planted in Bu Wantian's memories, only when an examination had been carried out to a certain depth would the restrictions be activated.

If anyone tried to glean his most important memories, his soul would immediately be destroyed!

He certainly possessed cunningness and decisiveness in equal measure, but his actions were ultimately going to be futile.

"Can you undo the restrictions?"

"It'll take me three days. After all, this is the soul of an advanced Yama-King," the second King Yanluo replied as he stowed Xu Fu's soul away.

Qin Ye nodded in response, and he couldn't help but caution, "Brother Xu, please do be careful. His soul is extremely important, and his memories could even hold the key to the resurgence of Hell!"

"Do you think I'm an idiot like you?" The second King Yanluo aimed a derisive glare at him before vanishing on the spot as a gust of Yin wind.

At this point, the Peach Blossom Spring had just emerged from the Array of the Nine Gods. Without the countless profound Yin runes surrounding it, it was once again basked in the light of the dazzling sun.

"It's finally over..." Qin Ye was standing at the front of the port, and from there, he could even see the land of Formosa not far away as he raised a hand to shield his own eyes from the sun.

All of this had finally drawn to a close!

Of course, there were still many things left to dig up, such as who had been in contact with Xu Fu? What had they told him in the past 2,000 years? Which underworlds had he been colluding with? Who had been engaging in trade with Mirage City? What had Xu Fu done in the past using his previous identities?

However, none of that was important anymore.

Once the restrictions on Xu Fu's memories were lifted, all would be revealed!

With that in mind, he stepped over Xu Fu's headless body with a steely expression before making his way toward the Peach Blossom Spring with anticipation in his heart.

"Now then, let's see what you've left behind. Hopefully it's worth the swift and painless death that Brother Xu granted you."

This was a treasure trove of an advanced Yama-King who had lived for over 2,000 years, and even more importantly, there was a very good chance that important files and documents such as the blueprints of Gui Xu and records pertaining to the usage of the Taisui fungus could be found in the Peach Blossom Spring, so how could he not be excited?

As he stepped forward, the sea breeze lifted his golden dragon robes, and countless messenger birds were released into the air, flying to all parts of the underworld.

………………………………………………

"What are you looking at?" A curious voice rang out as the second King Yanluo appeared in a pavilion.

Qin Ye withdrew his gaze upon hearing this voice. This was a Buddhist monastery from the Southern Song Dynasty, and it had a radius of 50 meters and was seven stories tall. It was situated on the peak of the tallest mountain in the Peach Blossom Spring, and it was known as the Star Plucking Pavilion. From here, one could see the scenery of the entire Peach Blossom Spring island, and it had to be said that this was an extremely beautiful place.

If it weren't for the fact that millions of undead individuals had once lived here, this would be a brilliant tourist attraction. The island was littered with peach blossoms and exotic trees and plants of all descriptions. It was as if every single plant was a meticulously crafted masterpiece. With its clear creeks, aesthetic mountains, and lush greenery, it was truly an immortal paradise on earth.

A sea breeze blew past, and the sea of peach blossoms waved and danced in the wind, producing an intoxicating sight and aroma.

A day had already passed since Xu Fu's execution. On that same day, Yin soldiers had entered the Peach Blossom Spring to tally the spoils. In the process, Qin Ye learned the terrain of the Peach Blossom Spring. The island had seven mountains, and on each mountain were 72 areas consisting of different types of buildings. The areas were concealed within the countless peach blossoms and standing above the white clouds and mist, making them appear as if they were immortal abodes.

All of the inscriptions here had been written by Xu Fu in person, and what was even more remarkable was that the styles of every single dynasty, from the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, could be found here. Even Qin Ye couldn't help but wonder just how bored Xu Fu had to have been.

He had lived for over 2,000 years, and there had been far too much free time for him to meticulously look after this island. Unfortunately for him, his painstakingly created masterpiece had fallen into the hands of Hell.

"I'm looking at a map of the Peach Blossom Spring," Qin Ye replied as he turned around with a smile. "I just found it from Xu Fu's secret chamber. Would you like to take a look?"

The second King Yanluo only took a glance at the map before taking a seat beside the window. He then picked up a teacup and raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What do you plan to do with this thing?"

Qin Ye made his way over to the table, and he gently stroked his fingers over a scroll that was over a meter and a half in size. Instead of giving an immediate reply, he asked, "Why do you think Xolotl's Screen exists on the sea?"

The second King Yanluo casually took a sip of tea before replying, "Not only is there Xolotl's Screen, there are other examples such as the Hindustani Underworld's Six Petal Lotus Screen at the Strait of Malacca and the Aegyptian Underworld's Osiris Screen at the inlet to the Red Sea. What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that these screens exist as devices for underworlds to stake claims on areas of the sea," Qin Ye replied. "In order to ensure the safety of our land, we have to first ascertain who is entering our territory and for what reasons. The seal on the Cathayan Underworld will have to be removed at some point, and when that happens, the battle for naval supremacy will be the first major problem that we'll have to face. In the past, I didn't even bother to consider this as without a suitable energy source, there's no way we can achieve real-time communication as seen in the mortal realm. Our territory spans over ten million square kilometers, and it's simply unfeasible for me to scour our territory every single day with my infernal eyes. However, the emergence of the Peach Blossom Spring has opened up new possibilities to potentially remedy this issue in the future. However, that's not the most important thing."

He pointed at a spot on the map and said, "Take a look."

The second King Yanluo took a glance to discover that Qin Ye was pointing at a cross-sectional diagram of the section of the Peach Blossom Spring that was below sea level. According to the diagram, there was a huge hidden room concealed beneath the sea.

It was situated completely underground, and there was an instructional diagram on the side. The instructional diagram depicted a detailed dissection of a circular object, at the center of which was what appeared to be a pointer needle.

"What is that?" the second King Yanluo asked as his brows furrowed slightly. He had never been a fan of engaging in activities that required the expenditure of brainpower.

Qin Ye licked his own lips before replying in an excited voice, "It's a radar! This radar is used by the Peach Blossom Spring to detect the things in the sea around it during its journeys!"

The second King Yanluo blinked with a blank expression in response, and through his eyes, Qin Ye could see a simple question: "So?"

So even you have some things that you're not an expert in! 

Qin Ye's voice unconsciously took on a slightly smug tone as he explained, "A radar's transmitter shoots electromagnetic wave energy toward the space in a certain direction through antennae, and that energy will rebound off objects in that direction. The radar will then receive this information through its antennae and the information will be processed in its reception device, where data on the aforementioned object will be extracted. In doing so, the radar will be able to calculate things like how far away objects are and how long it'll take the ship and the object to reach one another. "

"Why does it feel like you're acting a little smug all of a sudden?" The second King Yanluo was rather perplexed.

You idiot! 

Qin Ye disguised the joy in his own heart as he replied, "This means that our territory will be safe!"

"Oh." The second King Yanluo nodded in response before returning to his seat with a disinterested expression. "So it's useless. I can just inspect our entire territory with a single glance."

An awkward yet still polite smile stiffened on Qin Ye's face.

"Ahem, that's not the main point!" He immediately unleashed his "that's not the main point" interjection skill, and his smile faded as he continued, "Did you know that Xu Fu has managed to develop a type of energy that's able to be used across the mortal realm and the underworld! He even managed to use it on Gui Xu, transforming its body into an undead warship!"

The second King Yanluo was finally intrigued upon hearing this, and his eyes narrowed slightly in contemplation.

Qin Ye looked directly into his eyes and continued, "Xu Fu only managed to complete the development of this new energy resource in the past century, and the fact that this radar has emerged indicates that he's experimenting with this energy resource for military purposes and perhaps even everyday use! It's a good thing we managed to catch him when we did. Otherwise, there's a very good chance he could arm the entirety of the Peach Blossom Spring in the future, and the consequences of that would be utterly catastrophic! If this radar can be used, then are there other things that we can use?"

He quickly made his way over to the scroll and gently stroked a hand over it, struggling to repress the excitement in his own heart. "For example, what about bazookas? There are blueprints for that in the mortal realm, all we need to do is replace the energy resource used to fire the projectiles with this new energy resource, and once that happens, Hell would be able to enter a brand new military era!"

His heart was already thumping violently. If this could be achieved, it would be a monumental moment in the underworld. As such, he was extremely eager for the second King Yanluo to unlock Xu Fu's memories as quickly as possible. In contrast with those memories, all of the treasures that he had cleared out from the Peach Blossom Spring during the past few days were completely insignificant, to the point that he couldn't even work up the interest to see the tallied list of spoils

Silence.

Regardless of how lackadaisical the second King Yanluo, what Qin Ye had said was enough for him to realize just how important this opportunity was. Several seconds later, he smiled and said, "Why don't you ask him whether the radar can be used or not?"

He then raised a hand, and a stark white soul appeared in the pavilion.

The soul was none other than that of Xu Fu's!