Yama Rising

Whoosh… As he spoke, a vast pressure descended on the mountaintop with a loud bang. At once, everyone apart from Qin Ye, the Harken and the few survivors around, found themselves completely frozen in place!

Whether centaur or Yuan Emperor or Imperial Preceptor, everyone felt the Yin energy in their bodies completely seize up, almost as though they had been completely locked up by an external force. And then, the surrounding Yin energy slowly began to recede.

The Yin energy had earlier gathered at the mountaintop once more because of Zhao Yun’s breakthrough. But now, it was instantly purged from existence. It was 7.30 a.m. Rays of sunbeam peeked through the mist and fog in the area. But what was more surprising was the fact that the horse’s head peak was actually surrounded by dozens of helicopters!

And all of their weapons were aimed directly at horse’s head peak. Zhao Yun turned to Qin Ye, “Do you want me to clear the zone?”

Qin Ye shook his head.

There was no need.

The best part about being an Emissary of Hell was the fact that they could remain invisible to the eyes of mortals, including cultivators, as and when they liked. Naturally, they also had the option to reveal themselves to the mortals if they so desired, just like right now.

Qin Ye didn’t hide his form from the mortals at all. After all, now that he had already resolved to enter into negotiations with the mortal realm, it was better to allow the mortal realm a better understanding of how the netherworld functioned.

“Send them into the cycle of reincarnation.” Qin Ye waved his hand and beckoned, and the Harken immediately crawled into his bosom, “Let everyone know that Hell continues to have charge over the Yin spirits on earth.”

Zhao Yun nodded. At once, he turned back to the Mongol Yin spirits that were still standing around. A split second later, the entire skies darkened.

Day turned to night - the deepest night. There were no stars and no moon, and everything around them vanished. Even the horse’s head peak vanished completely, leaving them all drifting about in what appeared to be eternal darkness.

Qin Ye and the Harken glanced over. A split second later, the Harken exclaimed, “Spatial transformation… To think that I didn’t sense the slightest bit of its activation at all!”

Back in the helicopter. Lei Jun’s eyes flickered, and he nearly shot to his feet.

“Sir?” The attendant beside him reacted instinctively. But before he could say anything further, Lei Jun waved his hands dismissively at him. And all this while, Lei Jun continued to stare intently at the three Emissaries of Hell.

Did I just… sense a change in law?

And with such ease? It’s… it’s almost as though he’s ignoring the Heavenly Dao! No… perhaps it might be more accurate to say that the Heavenly Dao has simply given its nod of approval!

This… this is completely different from the records we have of a Yama-class existence! Is this the Harken? Both the reports and that Emissary of Hell have mentioned that the Harken exists. Is this the might of a Yama-King?!

But he wasn’t given the time and space to marvel at the sight, because what soon followed was the emergence of a colossal hand formed from netherflames from the darkness around!

It spanned tens of thousands of meters from end to end, blotting out the entire heavens and the earth as soon as it appeared. It slowly rose up from below, and as it ascended, Yin energy could be seen cascading down the fingertips like roaring waterfalls. Everything appeared incomparably small next to the emergence of the otherworldly hand. It was a shocking sight, yet magnificent and majestic at the same time. Meanwhile, the Yuan Emperors stared blankly at this sight, watching as they drew closer and closer to the final burial of their dynasty as they knew it. Several seconds later, Kublai Khan shook his head and muttered softly, “Tengri on high…”

Phagpa finally managed to bring his palms together once more, and he, too, shut his eyes in submission. Not a single other person in the entire army said a single word.

This was spatial transformation - one that happened with ease at that. They knew full well what that meant. Any thoughts of putting up a last stand were instantly ejected from their minds, and all thoughts of resistance dissipated at once.

They were now resigned to fate.

“We should leave when it’s time to leave…” The other Imperial Preceptor looked into the distance with a deep, abstruse gaze in his eyes. Faced with a power that could completely suppress their abilities, they were no longer even contemplating the possibility of resistance. All that was left was to embrace resignation.

Rumble… The colossal hand rose slowly from the darkness. Meanwhile, Director Lei rested his head on his interlocking fingers, staring intently at the grand spectacle without even batting an eyelid. This was the realm of the dead, and the truth of the afterlife. Naturally, nobody noticed that the hero of the mortal realm was actually shivering at his calves.

And he was already doing fine for himself. The other investigators around him were all shivering so hard that their teeth were chattering, and their fists were all clenched tightly.

“How frightening… How absolutely terrifying… Is this the true strength of Hell? Have they finally begun to recover the mortal realm proper? This is a good thing… but…” Director Lei gnashed his teeth as he jolted right back to his senses, “This power is well beyond the means of our government…”

“Hell is clearly changing. I hope that the Third King Yanluo of Hell can act in the same fashion as the ones who have come before him. I hope that he won’t interfere with the mortal realm… otherwise, we simply don’t have the means to resist their advances! I’ve heard once that Hell has every intention to enter into negotiations with the mortal realm. We should engage in negotiations as soon as possible, and not two years later as they had previously suggested…”

Director Lei wiped off the cold sweat on his palms, drew a deep breath, and then turned to his assistant, “Have you taken photographs of this?”

“Yes… ah?” The assistant shuddered, and then immediately responded hoarsely, “Ah… yes, r-r-right away.”

Director Lei’s eyes gleamed brightly, “Don’t miss a single detail!”

“This is an unprecedented sight. This is the first time the mortal realm has been exposed to a battle of such scale. It will be a blemish on the name of the Divine Protectors if we miss even the slightest detail of these for the records!”

Their exchange was naturally not known to Zhao Yun, Qin Ye and the Harken down below. Zhao Yun was as calm as ever. Everything he was doing looked completely natural to him right now. Just then, the five fingers that had emerged from the ground like five towering mountains finally came together, clamping down hard on the Mongol forces around. Zhao Yun sighed softly, “Vanish…”

BOOM!!!

An earth-shattering sound erupted from the horse’s head peak. At once, a second sun seemed to appear atop the mountaintop, blazing with intense radiance, bringing with it the power to destroy both the heavens and the earth. Then, a split second later, the sun exploded abruptly, sending shockwaves of interweaving light and shadow rippling out into the surroundings. It was almost as though the void in the sky was the surface of a tranquil lake, and the sun had crashed violently onto its surface, sending terrifying waves rippling out into the distance. The darkness of the night faded away, replaced instead by an ocean of light, just like the descent of a divine kingdom of light.

An intense chill soon followed. At once, everyone on the helicopters, including the pilots, subconsciously shut their eyes, lowered their heads and covered their eyes. Even then, they could sense their helicopters getting blasted backwards. The propellers and tail fins spun with a miserable wail.

When the dust finally settled after an inordinate amount of time, Lei Jun finally opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an astounding sight.

Horse’s head peak had completely vanished!

No… To be more precise, a substantial part of the Yin Mountains had vanished completely. Furthermore, what remained of it wasn’t filled with crumbling rocks of the mountains or shattered splinters of trees, but everything had instead transformed into a desert that spanned tens of thousands of meters from end to end. And what lay right in the heart of this desert were traces of burial ground of the Yuan Dynasty of the past.

That was the last of the Mongol cavalry.

Apart from the Yin spirit dressed in dazzling white armor, Instructor Qin, as well as the dog in his hand, the surroundings had been completely washed clean of all traces of the Mongols.

What power… Director Lei gulped nervously, “Head down.”

“Sir…” The assistant responded in a daze, and he stared aghast at the newly-formed desert in front of him as he continued, “That… doesn’t seem too appropriate…”

“Who are you to tell me if it’s appropriate or not?” Director Lei stood up, “Let me say it again, head down right now. This is our duty!”

Such unrestrained might is dangerous! I need to understand their interests right now! Although the Sword Master and Master Chan Ming had both inquired about this before, he hadn’t!

Hearing about it isn’t quite the same as asking about it himself!

Meanwhile, Qin Ye held the Harken and stroked its fur as he watched the helicopter land some distance away from where they were. Then, Director Lei marched over with a grave expression on his face and extended his hand, “Director of the Special Investigations Department, and Contemporary Chief of the Divine Protectors, Lei Jun.”

Qin Ye smiled, “Director Lei should already know my name. After all, we were former colleagues, weren’t we?”

The corners of Lei Jun’s eyes twitched.

He had mixed feelings. After all, he was the one who had sent albatrosses after Qin Ye to suss out his true identity to begin with. And in the end, it sundered their relationship of trust with each other, leaving them with nothing more than a transactional relationship.

Did he regret it?

Perhaps.

But if he were given a chance at a do-over, he would still have chosen to do the same.

After all, what was important was to keep any potential variables in check! From the government’s perspective, anything that could be considered a variable had to be checked out thoroughly, even if there was a higher than 50% chance that he was none other than the King Yanluo of Hell. Besides, Hell hadn’t interfered with the affairs of the mortal realm for over a hundred years, so why would they do so now?

Thus, there was nothing wrong with what he did from the perspective of the mortal realm. If anything, it would be the Emissaries of Hell who were at fault.

Qin Ye stroked the Harken as he made introductions, “This is the Harken.”

Lei Jun drew a deep breath, and then bowed respectfully. These were mythical existences that were well beyond him. He didn’t even bother to introduce himself to the Harken.

Because the Harken didn’t ask.

Then, he turned his gaze to the last Yin spirit before him. Although he didn’t understand the difference between a Yama-King and one who was beyond that, he could sense that this Emissary of Hell… carried an aura that was similar to that of a god! He was clearly the most terrifying existence of the trio!

Who the hell is this?!

The previous generations of Divine Protectors have never recorded an existence of such strength!

His eyes blazed intently as a multitude of questions surfaced in his heart. Naturally, Qin Ye saw every bit of this - Show hand. This is the strongest combination of cards we’ve revealed thus far. Qin Ye smiled, “This is one of the Sixfold Ghost King, General Zhao Zilong.”

Lei Jun bowed deeply - Ah, so it’s Zhao--... Hang on a minute?!?!

He looked up abruptly with widened eyes, staring intently at Zhao Zilong for a dozen or so seconds, before he finally responded with great trembling, “Is… Is this the same Zhao Zilong that I’m thinking of?”

“If you’re thinking of the hero of the Battle of Changban, Zhao Zilong, then you’re probably talking about the same person.” Qin Ye smiled.

It’s actually him… Lei Jun’s mind was set abuzz with thoughts. The Harken and the Torch Dragon were legendary existences that he’d already read about from the records, and he wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see them over here. But… to see a great hero of a bygone era appear right before his own eyes after nearly 2,000 years absolutely shook his world view!

Is this the true strength of Hell?

We’ve already seen two Yama-Kings. How many more Yama-Kings do they have under their charge?

If Zhao Yun is here, who else are we going to see next? Liu Bei? Cao Cao? Or perhaps even the emperors of the great dynasties of the past? No…

He dragged himself back to his senses. His lips were already parched, and his heart thumped wildly, “Were the ones earlier… the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty?”

Qin Ye nodded slightly, glancing back at the burial grounds of the Yuan Emperors that had finally emerged after hundreds of years, “The 16 Yuan Emperors, including Temujin himself, are all buried here. Their souls had been trapped here all this while, and they had transformed into terrifying Yin spirits. But… everything is over now.”

Lei Jun couldn’t believe his ears.

He might not be an Emissary of Hell, but even he was keenly aware that the higher one’s status in life, the stronger one would tend to be in death. Earlier, given Zhao Yun’s display of terrifying might, he’d overlooked the existence of the other Yin spirits around. But come to think of it…

There were at least a dozen Judges, two Prefects, and tens of thousands of Yin soldiers earlier!

And every single one of them perished under a single palm strike!

This was what a domineering force looked like! Hell’s strength… was simply unfathomable!

No… I’ve got to expedite the negotiations between Hell and the mortal realm as quickly as I can! It’s only at these high-level negotiations that I can suss out Hell’s true interests. Otherwise, I can’t even begin to consider what might happen if Hell decides to turn on us. This is a power that the government would never be able to keep under reins. If anything happens, nothing in this nation will be able to stop Hell’s forces!