Yama Rising

Whoosh… Qin Ye stood in the sea of green and white coloured fog, doing his best to channel his Yin energy. The vortex emanating from his hand spun quicker and quicker, and grew wilder and wilder!

Ka-ka-ka-ka… A number of ancient, golden words suddenly began to emerge from every direction around him as they slowly converged towards the vortex. Arthis was startled, but her astonishment soon turned into an ecstatic display, “Approbation of the Heavenly Dao! This is the approbation of the Heavenly Dao!”

However, Qin Ye no longer had the energy to ask what this meant. The blood vessels on his arm were already bursting at their seams.

Arthis was keenly aware of this, so she continued explaining herself, “The establishment of Hell naturally requires the approval of the heavens. And this is heaven’s response to you! The Heavenly Dao is watching you! This is the ultimate affirmation of your efforts!!”

Buzz… The number of golden sigils in the surroundings slowly increased and converged into the heart of the vortex, releasing projection after projection into the surroundings.

There were projections of great rivers flowing with flames, quaint yet creepy houses, as well as trees with scarlet leaves… Countless images continued to flicker by.

Roar… ROAR!! Simultaneously, the cry of the Harken continued to grow, while his eyelids only trembled more and more.

It was desperately attempting to open its own eyes.

It had already sensed that there were several thieves in the vicinity who were attempting to steal the Yin energy it had painstakingly gathered. It could have left them alone. After all, the amount of Yin energy at its disposal was vast as the ocean, and the amount currently being seized was but a drop in this ocean.

However… its intuition told him that these thieves weren’t going to stop at just that. If it didn’t wake up right now, there was a good chance that these thieves were going to steal infinitely more Yin energy from it!

“Hang in there…” Arthis grew incredibly nervous. Her emotions right now were incomparably complicated.

At the start of their interactions, Arthis had always been filled with an intense desire to kill Qin Ye and be done with it. Yet after all this time, and when Qin Ye was finally beginning to reestablish Hell, her mindset had already changed completely.

If… I could successfully help him reestablish Hell, then… wouldn’t I be reinstated in my previous position as an Infernal Judge of Hell?

He possessed two shards of King Yanluo’s Seal and Hell’s Records to boot. No other Emissary of Hell had ever had such a good start that he had. 

No, in fact… as a founding member of the new order of Hell, she would be a step… or perhaps several steps ahead of the position she had previously been in!

And if Qin Ye ever decides that he no longer wishes to be a Yama-King, wouldn’t she then be given a glimpse of power as the paramount source of authority across the lands?

With such thoughts at the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel worried and concerned for Qin Ye.

“You must hang in there! Lord Harken is about to awaken. You have to try and accomplish everything before he wakes up!”

Then, just as she finished speaking, the entire vortex erupted with a massive explosion!

The entire realm shook violently!

The howls of endless ghosts cried out from every corner of Limbo as the entire heavens and earth quaked.

A circle of pure black lustre rose from the shard of King Yanluo’s seal just like the rising sun. It carried the shard and rose into the sky, until finally… it became a blazing black sun!

“It’s done… it’s done!!” Arthis shrieked ecstatically. But just then, an incomparably hoarse roar that seemed to be backed by every last bit of strength in its owner’s body resounded across the lands.

ROARRRR!!!!

Qin Ye was already incredibly tired, and struggled to keep his eyelids open. On the other hand, Arthis simply looked down below in a daze.

The Harken had previously buried part of its head in his body as it rested its body. But now, it had already shifted its head out with much difficulty. At the same time, it opened its golden eyes and glared directly at the duo in the sky.

One man, one sphere, and one beast had just locked eyes.

Even though Qin Ye couldn’t understand the language of the beast, he could nevertheless tell from its expressions that it was incredibly infuriated right now.

There was no room for hesitation. Arthis immediately turned tail and shot away, “Run!!”

Without thinking more, Qin Ye also dashed towards the sky at full speed!

On the other hand, the Harken remained completely still and silent.

If they had been close enough, they would have heard the Harken grinding its teeth together in its massive mouth. And then, with all of its might, it released an earth-shattering roar!

ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!

As soon as it cried out, the scales on its body immediately stood up and shot towards the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal that was hovering in mid air!

The Harken’s reverse scale!

Shk shk shk shk… Wherever the scales passed, the skies also resounded with a crackling sound. The golden scales had actually cut through even air itself, revealing countless lingering crevices that could be seen with the naked eye.

“Tearing the void…” Arthis gasped as she slipped into Qin Ye’s pockets, “Faster!!”

“Bloody Hell… get out!” Qin Ye gnashed his teeth.

“Scram! If we’re going to die, you should be the one to die first!” Arthis bellowed back in fury.

As though thousands of golden coloured fireworks rising into the sky with trailing ribbons of dark light, the golden scales suddenly exploded in unison. Just then, the blazing black sun in the sky suddenly trembled, and then it…. opened.

That’s right. It opened.

Like a blooming black lotus flower, layer after layer, each piece of petal that was formed by condensed Yin energy spread out, growing larger and larger… Finally, it transformed into a massive one-square-kilometer black spider lily right underneath Qin Ye, majestic and magnificent!

Boom boom boom!!! The golden scales smashed into the petals of the black spider lily, and endless netherfire scattered into the sky. However, the petals remained completely unscathed. Just then, a plot of floating land began to materialize right in the middle of the sky!

Roar… Sss!!! The Harken stared at the black spider lily in the sky. The exertion of its strength had caused copious amounts of golden blood to flow out of its back. It roared and hissed, and it collapsed to the ground once more.

Rumble… It’s collapse kicked up a massive cloud of smoke and dust.

Its pupils were still staring transfixed at the blazing black sun in the sky. Its limbs stirred weakly as it desperately attempted to get on its feet again.

Back in the sky, Arthis and Qin Ye could already sense that they had rushed past the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal. That said, they could nevertheless tell that the light below had vanished, and a vast expanse of darkness like the boundless oceans had taken its place.

“Shit!” Qin Ye couldn’t resist it any longer. This was his blood, sweat and tears. It was the establishment of his own land!

One look… just one look! No matter what, I only want one look at this place!

As he continued forward at full speed, he gritted his teeth and turned back to catch a glimpse of his efforts.

As far as the eyes could see, an entire plot of land had already materialized out of nowhere. There were rivers of flames, trees with scarlet leaves, as well as several ancient-looking chinese buildings.

Spots of green netherfire hovered eerily about the lands, almost like fireflies on a summer night. Crimson lanterns hung from the eaves of the buildings, each of which had the word “Qin” written in striking black ink.

It was the land of the dead.

A paradise for the souls of the dead!

Yet what was visible was only an area that was approximately fifty meters wide. The rest of the area was still a vast expanse of darkness that hadn’t cleared up yet. Arthis screeched, “Go!!! The expansion of the land will automatically complete within the week! If we don’t leave now, we’re only going to become food for the Harken!!”

Buzz… Just then, all of the petals of the black spider lily suddenly began to contract and close up gracefully. Within seconds, it transformed into a powerful vortex of Yin energy that was visible to the naked eye. And the vortex continued to grow and expand without any signs of slowing down!

Down below, the Harken’s body collapsed heavily to the ground. His eyes were filled with hatred as he watched the two figures flying through the air.

Hateful… hateful!!

The display of might that came with Hell’s initial formation was covered with the protective blessings of the Heavenly Dao, and it had been invulnerable during that time. This was what allowed the two little thieves to have made their escape successfully in the first place.

“Tiger’s Fall Leveling Sun…” The Harken opened its mouth, revealing its rows of sharp teeth as it spat out four words while gasping for air like bellows. Then, as the two silhouettes drew further and further into the distance, it suddenly opened its mouth wide, and a pale white light burst out from within!

This strike appeared to have drawn down the last bits of its energy. The golden luster on its body dimmed slightly, and its eyes closed quietly. It no longer had the energy to see the results of its final attack.

Fast.

Incredibly fast.

It was indescribably quick. Hell’s black spider lily had already closed up by now, and it no longer possessed the ability to shield Qin Ye from the Harken’s final attack. By the time Qin Ye discovered the approach of its attack, the beam of light was already ten meters thick and less than one hundred meters away!

And it wasn’t that he had just discovered it.

Rather, there was simply no time to react to it!

A devastating, suffocating atmosphere instantly engulfed Qin Ye. The pillar of light left a dark red scar wherever it passed, even in Limbo. In this instant, Qin Ye smelled death for the very first time.

He wasn’t afraid of death. But he still hated it. After all, he no longer retained the memories of his previous lives whenever he was reborn, and he would have to start from scratch all over again… He cherished every moment of his past.

“Shit!!!” He turned around with a roar, but he knew that there was no escape. His fists tightened. His Hell’s Emissary uniform fluttered about wildly. Mustering every modicum of Yin energy remaining in his body, he let out a desperate cry as he attempted to cut the pillar of light that was quickly approaching him.

A Soul Hunter that was less than two meters tall.

Mustering all his strength against a severely wounded beast that was on its final breaths.

From a distance, it appeared almost as though an ant were attempting to shake a giant tree.

“Just…” Veins bulging, and with bloodshot eyes, Qin Ye roared, “Shatter!!!”

However, someone else had reacted quicker than he had.

A sphere had already appeared in front of Qin Ye before he could even react to the situation.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment. The pillar of light was no more than twenty meters away from Qin Ye now.

It was a colourful silhouette with long flowing black hair that appeared like a nest of snakes was emerging from their nest. A long tongue extended all the way to the ground. A striking projection had appeared just outside the soul sphere’s container.

“Arakshasa…” Qin Ye was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Arthis actually came at a time like this…

“Heh…” Arthis chuckled, “I can’t believe I’d acted this impulsive…”

“Kid… It seems like you’re going to have to complete the reestablishment of Hell on your own…”

As soon as her final words fell, her entire body ignited with boundless netherfire that extended hundreds of meters in all directions as though constellations revolving around the moon. This was qualitatively on a whole different level compared with Qin Ye’s abilities. It was… celestial prairie fire!

The display of Arthis’ ability was as ghostly as it got. Yet in Qin Ye’s eyes, the present Arthis looked as if she were the saintly Goddess of Mercy descending from the skies, with millions of constellations twinkling in support behind her. 

Ghosts have human hearts as well.

She, too, knew emotions.

Standing tall against the soaring pillar of light from below, Arthis opened her bloodshot eyes and muttered, “Ten Thousand Ghosts Ravage the Soul.”

0.1 second.

A miniscule 0.1 second.

Thousands… no, tens of thousands of skeleton-like green ghosts instantly gathered behind Arthis and then rushed madly towards the pillar of light below!

Rumble!!

The clashing of might caused Limbo to quake violently. Every single creature on Limbo could feel with every fiber of their beings the mighty clash of forces right this instant.

If the Harken’s powerful strike were likened to the genesis of the world, then Arthis’ attack could only be described as the reversal of the rivers of stars flowing in the skies.

An Infernal Judge versus a Yama-King!

“Pfft!!” A mouthful of blood sprayed out from Qin Ye’s lips. He was already fading in and out of consciousness right now. The impact of the clash of abilities was far too great, and he didn’t know what was happening anymore. Like a kite with a broken string, he was knocked backwards by the impact, and he flew deeper into the sky.

Nobody was aware of something else that occurred. When the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal first established and formed the new order of Hell, the entire Fengdu Necropolis which had stood for thousands of years, together with the projection of the image of Fengdu Necropolis at the depths of the Three Gorges River, collapsed with a muffled sound.

The old Hell has passed.

The new Hell has been established.

From this moment forward, there were no longer the Ten Abyssal Courts, the Eighteen Abysses of Punishment, or the six paths of reincarnation.

There was only a... village called Hell.