Yama Rising

Pak… A twisted pale hand reached out of the soil at the bottom of the pit. Following that, the soil around the hand immediately caved in, giving way to a one-meter wide fissure that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The black hair of the evil ghost scattered about. She was dressed in white, ancient garments, and her hands were holding the head of a grotesque, malformed baby whose head was covered with a layer of fine, wispy green hair. One could tell through the shape of the evil ghost that it was a lady.

What a familiar smell…

And if that were all, it wouldn’t have justified burrowing through the pit of a thousand and scrambling to the surface in order to take a look for herself. The true reason why she felt an intense wave of uneasiness sweep over her was because… she could sense fear drifting about in the dreary night sky.

She glanced around, and yet… she couldn’t even see a single Yin spirit in sight!

The attraction of stronger Yin spirits was undeniable to weaker Yin spirits. In the past, this evil ghost would invariably see a multitude of Yin spirits hovering about the vicinity whenever it emerged from the pit of a thousand. Thousands - and quite possibly ten thousand - wandering spirits would linger around these parts of Valley County. As long as she even released a single breath outside, the wandering spirits would all come scrambling to her, hoping to snag a wisp or two of Yin energy as nourishment for their own bodies. However… all of that was missing today.

Her chest rose and fell greatly. A split second later, she steeled her nerves and scrambled right back into the fissure from where she came from.

“Who is it?!!!” She whipped her head around and hissed menacingly. Rings of sound waves visible to the naked eye instantly swept across the ground, sending dust and debris scattering about. Her hair had once again begun to scatter like a black tide, while the green hair on the head of the baby stood up at its roots, as though in fear.

How terrifying… What the hell is this thing?! Is this an evil ghost? But… I’m an evil ghost too, so why do I feel so rattled by his existence?

She glared vigilantly at the figure that had appeared out of the darkness as he raised the katana slightly and ran a finger across its surface, “Had you known this was going to be the outcome, would you have done it all in the first place?”

She naturally obeyed her instincts.

Unfortunately… as soon as it approached the fissure, a scarlet light instantly appeared at the top of the pit. One scarlet spot… two scarlet spots… ten spots… fifty spots… a hundred spots… a thousand spots!

Ssss… The female jiangshi immediately froze on the spot. Something deep within her heart told her that so long as she took another step forward, her enemy would immediately release a volley of those dangerous red bolts, puncturing a thousand holes straight through her body in an instant!

He cut straight to the case. A mighty skeletal horse and its rider instantly leapt straight through the air.

Fast.

It was swift as lightning, and fleeting as a rainbow.

The thousands of Yin soldiers that were lingering about immediately came forward. The female jiangshi gritted her teeth as she clutched at her wounds. The left part of her torso, starting from the left shoulder and running straight through her left abdomen, had been completely cleaved away from her body in an instant!

I… was actually defeated in a single strike?

“How… is this… possible…” She stared at the valiant horseman in great astonishment. Unfortunately, the horseman immediately stamped down on her head and sent it straight into the mud below.

…………………………………………….

He wasn’t the only one. Zeng Shuai, Chen Nian and some others were all staring at the surveillance monitors, completely flabbergasted. In an instant, the thumb-sized red blip on the screen representing Predatory Zone A-49 had shrunk to the size of a single dot, and it was even moving straight towards the county hall!

Is this the might of Hell?

Zeng Shuai was the first one to snap back to his own senses. He immediately looked at the time. It was 4.30 a.m.

Although they were currently located in the basement, they could sense that this phenomenon definitely wasn’t caused by any particularly powerful Yin spirit. Rather, it felt more akin to… the convergence of countless ants!

This was the ultimate goal of all investigators around. Unfortunately, it was an immensely tall order than none had ever accomplished. Yet… to think that they were on the cusp of making their dreams a reality like that!

No. The skies were no longer as dark as they had been before.

There were old and young, and male and female Yin spirits alike. None of them possessed any sentience, but they could still instinctively feel fear. Just like that, they knelt on the ground with their heads bowed low. Not a single one of them dared move a single muscle at all.

“To think they used only four and a half hours…” One of the human Judges gasped coldly, “To purge a hundred years’ worth of Yin spirits within Valley County.”

Not only were they located at the plaza in front of the county hall, they were even spilling over into the surrounding streets. It wasn’t even an exaggeration to call this a tide of Yin spirits right now.

What a spectacle to behold!

Ta-ta-ta… A skeletal warhorse carried Oda Nobunaga all the way to the entrance of the county hall.

Is it finally about to go down? Everyone back in the county hall was staring intently at the plaza. Zeng Shuai and other lower-ranking cultivators even left the safety of the county hall and arrived right outside the plaza. The tide of Yin spirit out there was a shocking sight to behold. Zeng Shuai shut his eyes softly, and could immediately sense a mild throbbing sensation in his eyelids. He couldn’t believe that everything he had ever dreamed of was now standing right in front of his very eyes.

“Nine years…” Chen Nian’s response was equally drifty. One could even hear him choking up slightly, “To think that we would one day see salvation like this…”

Dead silence. Then, suddenly, the Yin energy in the vicinity converged towards the center of the plaza, forming a massive vortex of Yin energy, from which Qin Ye stepped out in his Hell’s Emissary state.

The two human Judges couldn’t help but gulp nervously. What a majestic sight… This is what a genuine Infernal Judge looks like! He holds all authority over millions of lives in his hands! He’s the true master of life and death!

She was trembling profusely. Her lips parted several times, almost as though she wanted to say something. Unfortunately, a confluence of awe and fear completely overwhelmed her, so much so that she was rendered completely speechless. She made nary a sound, yet the opening and shutting of her mouth appeared to be a wordless plea - Have mercy…

Qin Ye looked away. Then, when he looked up once more, the netherflames in his eyes were instead blazing with golden flames that were as bright as the sun. He spoke with great indifference, “All Yin spirits of Valley County are charged with the crime of conspiring to kill King Yanluo of Hell. You are hereby convicted and sentenced to the sky lantern punishment forthwith.”