Yama Rising

Spectral rabble, disperse. None shall enter.

Drip… A bead of cold sweat rolled off Master Kamo’s nose. His snow-white, gleaming sword was raised in front of him, reflecting his impeccably staid look. Then, just as the bead of sweat struck the surface of the ground, Tachibana Dosetsu made his move.

His approach was so quick that the three human beings were unable to consciously react in time. This was a battle where their subconscious reflexes formulated by years of gruelling training took over. Before Master Kamo could even make his move, Dojin had already slammed his hands onto the ground. A split second later, ten thousand silver waves rushed up from the ground, giving breath to innumerable Sanskrit words that faded away as quickly as they blossomed.

Master Kamo was only a Soul Hunter, so how could he possibly react as quickly as an Anitya Hellguard? He had only managed to pull out an origami from his sleeve when the ground shook with an earth-shattering tremor, almost as though the entire cruise liner had been split entirely in half.

“Damn it!!!” Dojin bellowed furiously as he made another series of hand seals and slammed his palms together. Kakaka! The Moonlit Night immediately flourished with a silvery lustre once more, instantly erecting four consecutive barricades in an instant.

“Ahhhhh…” “No… I don’t want to die…” “Wuu… wuu… It hurts… It’s terrible…”

It was almost as if… they had descended into the deepest abysses of Hell.

They’re unstoppable…

We’re dead… we’re definitely dead…

There was dead silence within the cargo hold right now. Apart from the faint silvery light emanating from the Moonlit Night, their surroundings were completely obscured in darkness by the dense cloud of Yin energy all around them. And just then, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly opened up in the darkness.

It was almost as though they were walking along grass plains at night, surrounded by endless darkness, and a multitude of ghosts that were staring intently at them.

“I’m surprised that you were able to block that strike from Chidori, A Thousand Birds… It looks like Mount Koya hasn’t been slacking off over the last hundreds of years…” A hoarse voice spoke through the darkness, causing the Yin energy outside to flow once more. Just then, Dojin was struck with a sudden realization. He gasped stiffly in horror, and instinctively took several steps back.

It was like an anchor that had sunk to the bottom of the river. Every time it moved, it would naturally stir the waters around it.

“Then… to reward your efforts, I shall give it my all as an expression of gratitude towards you…”

Gusts of nethergale swept through the cargo hold with each word that was enunciated. And though the nethergale seemed harmless and benign, its soft caresses against the Moonlit Night actually whittled away at it until it was no more! It was almost as though… the source of the soft nethergales were the breaths of a massive prehistoric beast!

This was the first time he had felt such despondence in the face of an evil ghost.

With two great tremors, the curtain of Yin energy was swept aside, and two hellish asuras stood right in front of them!

The one on the right had white hair, long fangs which protruded out of the mouth, and two faces on a single head. Its entire body was crimson red, and it wore accessories made out of human bones everywhere. It brandished its spear menacingly. Yin energy poured out of its seven apertures with every breath it took, taking on an ephemeral image of evil spirits before quickly fading into the surroundings. Both of its feet were standing on human skulls which blazed with raging netherflames.

The strength of any Yin spirit depended on three main factors. The first was the extent of its grievances and resentment, as well as its status in life. The second was the opportunities presented to it after death. And the third set of factors were only applicable to a small sliver of people whose lives had been incredibly stormy and tumultuous. Only these people would become Rakshasas upon death, and their strength… their strength… Hang on!

Something suddenly occurred to him.

Where’s the last person?

Thundergod and Red Demon had dazzled them with their appearance so much that none of the humans noticed Qin Ye’s shadow… had already risen from the ground.

“Stop!!” Master Kamo screamed at the top of his voice. Simultaneously, the two Rakshasas made their move.

The world appeared to go silent at that very instant.

“Moon--…” The only thing that Dojin could see right now was the billowing Yin energy that filled the room. His hands were already primed with the next technique to be unleashed. Unfortunately, the tide of Yin energy was already wild beyond belief, thrashing about and sending them flying several meters away before they could even react with a single move. Blood instantly began to seep out of Dojin’s seven apertures.

“Ssss-- Yaaaaahhh!!” Red Demon unleashed a heaven-defying cry as his white hair scattered about wildly. Then, his entire body transformed into a gale of Yin energy that rushed straight towards the silhouette that was silently seated on the ground.

There it is!!

“Lord Nobunaga… I’m coming… I’m finally coming for you! Hahahaha!!!” Thundergod also let out a shrill shriek as he stabbed straight at the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl in front of Qin Ye. Meanwhile, the shadow that was looming over Qin Ye’s body was also no more than a decimeter away from Qin Ye’s neck!

Buzz… The eyes of the three evil ghosts flickered wildly, and they instinctively retreated several meters as they warily sized up Qin Ye.

It was the final trump card that was protecting Qin Ye.

And then, it sighed wistfully, “I didn’t want to resort to this… But since you’re courting death, then don’t blame me for what I’m about to do…”

An extreme sensation of fear suddenly washed over Thundergod’s heart, and he gasped in horror. Then, without another word, it transformed into a cloud of Yin energy that rushed back out of the cargo hold, screaming as he went as quickly as he could. Red Demon and Viper did exactly the same thing. Three great streams of Yin energy rushed out of the cargo hold just like that. In fact, even Kuki Yoshitaka paused where he was and turned to look at the cruise ship abruptly.

With that, the singularity on the surface of the mirror that appeared to contain the universe finally exploded with such great force as if it were giving birth to new stars and planets!

The entire Strait of Tsushima quaked violently in the very next second. Boundless netherflames immediately filled the entire region around the strait, and then… as though they had heard the imperial summons, they began to rush straight towards the cruise liner!

That’s far too terrifying… What in the world is that thing?! But… even if I can’t escape, I’m not going to let you have it easy either!

But as soon as the shadow serpent arrived in front of Qin Ye, a powerful source of Yin energy abruptly erupted from within Qin Ye’s body. And then, a spirit streamer appeared in the air, spinning like an umbrella and preventing all further advances from the shadow serpent.

Qin Ye had finally opened his eyes.

“I seem to have timed it perfectly.” Qin Ye stood up slowly as hundreds of scarlet eyes lit up in the dark vortex behind. Every single eye stared intently at Viper.

It’s almost as though he has crawled back through the vast rivers of time…

The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven… has finally returned!

“Ahh… I’d never expected you to be the first one to greet me… dear father-in-law…” An excited whisper echoed through the vortex of Yin energy as a massive head peeked out from its depths, “Tremble before me… Nippon, I, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, have finally returned to this world!!!”