Yama Rising

The grand elder at the entrance to the room faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately turned back to the altar before rushing toward it like a madman.

The man and woman behind him were also rooted to the spot for an instant, then rushed frantically over to the altar as well before falling to their knees with a dull thump. They were so excited that their facial muscles were spasming, and the netherfire in their eyes had spiked up to two meters tall as they joined their palms in an extremely reverent manner while praying frantically.

"My lord, my sun, I'm willing to sacrifice my blood, flesh, and soul to you. Please respond to my prayers!"

Boom! The door of the room suddenly slammed shut, and the souls of the three Yin spirits were pulsing violently as they continued to pray while also surreptitiously sensing the power of the one who had heeded their call.

What cultivation rank is he at? Please don't let it be a Count! At the very least, it has to be a Marquess! Only a Marquess would have any speaking rights on the world stage!

However, as soon as the three of them released their consciousness toward Qin Ye, all of them shuddered in unison before collapsing flat against the ground like ants, unable to even complete their prayers.

Qin Ye's Yin energy was as vast as the sea in their eyes.

Just how powerful is this underworld emissary?! The grand elder was so shocked that he almost screamed out loud, but at the same time, a sense of ecstasy welled up in his heart. He bit down firmly onto his own lower lip as he struggled to raise his head. Even though he felt as if a mountain were weighing down on him, he still wanted to resist it with all his might so he could catch a glimpse of the monster that he had just summoned.

The man and the woman accompanying him were also trying to do the same thing, but Qin Ye's Yin energy was far beyond the upper limit of their tolerance, and they had only raised their heads millimeters off the ground before they were forced to kowtow onto the floor again.

What enormous Yin energy! This man is very likely to be a Marquess! A Marquesse from the Cathayan Underworld has responded to our calls! The grand elder's fingers had almost dug into the ground as all of his pores opened up in unison.

Our tireless efforts have finally paid off! There's still hope for us to survive! The new continent has forsaken us, but the rest of the world can still hear our pleas!!

Inside the Yin energy vortex, Qin Ye was standing with his hands clasped behind his back. Even though his feet weren't moving, he was able to drift out of the vortex like a wraith, and in the instant that he emerged, the entire golden hall shuddered violently.

He swept his gaze casually around the room and was quite surprised by what he saw.

What is this place?

The decor and construction of the room were clearly in the Incan or Aztec style, but there were also some items in the room such as cups and teaware in the Cathayan style. Furthermore, the people who had summoned him weren't even Netherworld Operatives!

"Raise your head," he instructed.

What he actually wanted to say was: "Thou king hast returned!"

However, ever since he became King Yanluo, he had suddenly developed a sense of shame.

He withdrew his Yin energy, but the trio of Yin spirits in front of him was still trembling incessantly. The grand elder gritted his teeth and raised his head to look straight into Qin Ye's eyes.

Qin Ye was rather taken aback by his expression.

There was no fear or concern in his eyes. Instead, there was only single-minded determination and elation.

These were the eyes of a man who had nothing to lose but had been given a glimmer of hope. What could've placed him in such a desperate situation?

"Esteemed emissary of the Cathayan Underworld," the grand elder said in a trembling voice. "I am Elder Wanpanot of the resistance army. It's an absolutely monumental honor for us to meet you. May I ask for your esteemed name?"

He was speaking fluent Cathayan.

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow as he replied, "You can call me Yama-King Qin."

As soon as his voice trailed off, the younger Yin spirit duo immediately collapsed to the ground as if all strength had been sapped from their bodies, and they were frantically gasping for air like fish that had been dragged out of water. As for the grand elder, he was completely rooted to the spot.

Qin Ye's reply was reverberating in their minds over and over again.

Yama-King Qin? This man is a Yama-King?! Is that really true?!

Several seconds later, the grand elder returned to his senses before kowtowing vigorously several times in succession as he said in a trembling, "Welcome, esteemed Yama-King! I'll notify our leader of your arrival right away so they can prepare a welcome of the highest caliber for you!"

"Hold on a minute," Qin Ye interjected in a thoughtful manner. "You're from the resistance army? Are you some of the netherworldly citizens who are unable to survive any longer on the new continent?"

The netherfire in the grand elder's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, and he was just about to reply, but the silver-haired woman beat him to it as she raised her head with great difficulty before replying in a trembling voice, "That's right, esteemed Yama-King! The underworld of the new continent is the embodiment of a nightmare! Eagle Warriors are currently capturing native Usonian souls from all over the continent, and not a single one has ever returned after being captured! We can't keep living like this!!"

The resistance army, eh? Qin Ye closed his eyes as a memory surfaced in his mind.

Back when he had interrogated Rebis in the Felipinas, she had told him that the netherworldly citizens who were desperately trying to survive on the new continent had formed a resistance army...

He cast his gaze toward the Cathayan style items around the room. He recalled that Rebis had told him that they had purchased many artifacts related to the Cathayan Underworld. Had this been done in a final desperate attempt to summon an emissary of the Cathayan Underworld?

With that in mind, he suddenly asked, "Is there a Yin spirit among you by the name of Benson?"

If he recalled correctly, Benson was the one who had been making deals with Rebis to smuggle Usonian Yin spirits out of the new continent.

"Benson is our leader, esteemed Yama-King," the grand elder replied.

I see.

Qin Ye didn't say anything as he slowly paced from side to side in the room. Even though his footsteps were completely silent, the netherfire in the eyes of the three Yin spirits were flickering erratically with each step that he took.

Amid the tense silence, Qin Ye finally said, "Your luck is quite exceptional. These shoddy artifacts of yours can only send out a call to an area as large as the city of Philadelphia at the very most, and I just so happened to be in the city. What request do you have for me?"

The man and the woman turned to the grand elder, who kowtowed a few more times before replying in a sobbing voice, "There are a total of 120,000 Yin spirits in our resistance army, and we are applying for political asylum."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, he pressed his forehead firmly against the ground, and his head was trembling as he concluded in a desperate voice, "Please..."

Qin Ye didn't reply.

In reality, he already knew what the grand elder was going to ask for after learning that they were from the resistance army.

They were calling out to high-grade foreign underworld emissaries, so there could be no other objective that they were pursuing. However, political asylum was not something to be casually granted.

Political asylum referred to asylum provided to foreigners who were being persecuted or oppressed by the nation that they came from. Political asylum entailed allowing asylum seekers to enter the nation, then giving them protection and the right to live in that nation while also refuting all efforts made by the asylum seekers' original nation to have them extradited.

To put it in simpler terms, if he agreed to this request, then the Cathayan Underworld would have to take responsibility for these people. Regardless of whether Xolotl, Ah Puch, Supay, or even Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa tried to extradite them, he had to refuse. There was clearly a conflict of interest there as Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa wanted to devour these Yin spirits in an attempt to make a breakthrough.

However, these Yin spirits could be useful to him for a certain purpose, so he didn't hesitate at all as he nodded and replied, "Get your leaders to come and see me, I'll wait for them in the meantime."

"Yes!!"

The grand elder immediately rose to his feet and departed. Less than 10 minutes later, the door was gently opened, and five people strode into the room. All of them were wearing brown linen garments with red string tying up their hair, at the back of which was a feather. It was a classic native Usonian-style get-up.

They weren't walking very quickly, as if they were doing everything in their power to remain composed and restrained, but as they caught sight of the figure wearing the black dragon robe and white jade crown, standing with his back to them in the dimly lit room, their legs almost gave out from under them, and they were unable to even take a single step further.

This was a Yama-King in the flesh!

The grand elder had just rushed over to them like a madman and reported this piece of news to them, and they couldn't even believe their own ears.

Purchasing those artifacts had been nothing more than a desperate stab in the dark, but they had actually managed to summon a true Yama-King!

Even though Qin Ye wasn't releasing any of his Yin energy at this moment, as soon as they strode into the room, they were immediately struck by the feeling that they were being scrutinized by some type of terrifying being. Yama-Kings stood at the very top of the underworld food chain, and they demanded fear and respect regardless of whether they were releasing their Yin energy or not.

The leader of the group of five men appeared to be in his forties, and his face was quite weathered and wizened. He appeared to be calm and determined, but in reality, he was wringing his hands together with all his might, and even his breathing had ceased. He made his way over to Qin Ye in a mechanical manner, then fell to his knees and brought his palms together in a reverent manner. "Welcome, esteemed Yama-King Qin."

As soon as he went to kneel down, his joints began to crack. This was a result of excessive tension in the body, and the sound was very much audible in this silent room.

However, it wasn't amusing in the slightest to the other four leaders as they were in the exact same boat. Some of them didn't even dare to raise their heads again after kowtowing to the ground.

"No need for formalities," Qin Ye said with his back still facing them. "Let's all take a seat first."

A burst of gentle Yin energy helped all of the Yin spirits to their feet, and only then did they realize that in their excitement and elation, they had forgotten to fetch tables and chairs!

The leader of the group immediately said in a trembling voice, "E, Esteemed Yama-King, I'll grab some chairs right away..."

Before he even had a chance to finish his sentence, a burst of Yin energy swept through the room, immediately following which all of the Yin spirits were stunned by the sight that greeted them.

A round table and six chairs had risen up in the blink of an eye from the golden floor, and Qin Ye had already occupied the main seat!

"There's no need to be so nervous. Take a seat," Qin Ye said with an inviting hand gesture.

The five Yin spirits exchanged a few glances, then gritted their teeth before doing as they were told.

After a brief silence, Qin Ye said in a slow voice, "I understand why you've summoned me, and accepting your request is not entirely out of the equation."

The netherfire in the eyes of the five Yin spirits immediately erupted up to several meters in height.

Qin Ye hadn't even asked them their name, and his high and mighty demeanor was extremely apparent, but none of that mattered to the five Yin spirits.

In their eyes, this was how a Yama-King should be acting!

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that such a glorious future would be granted to them so easily!

No one dared to even breathe. On the way here, they had thought of countless ways to try and convince Qin Ye to agree to their request, yet they didn't even have to employ any of those plans and their request had already been approved. They were afraid that if they were to draw breath, they would be jerked out of this beautiful dream and be forced to awaken and face their bleak reality again.

Qin Ye continued, "Not only that, but I can even grant you citizenship in the Cathayan Underworld. You'll get to enjoy the same benefits and opportunities as the netherworldly citizens of the Cathayan Underworld. However, I have a condition."

No one said anything. All of them were eagerly awaiting Qin Ye's elaboration.

Qin Ye paused momentarily before continuing in a calm voice, "I need you to send out your most elite forces to help me do something in the next few days. This is going to be an extremely dangerous mission, and the chances of survival for the Yin spirits involved are going to be quite slim. However, as a Yama-King of the Cathayan Underworld, I can promise you that your application for asylum will be approved following the event. The surviving Yin spirits among you will even have opportunities to take on important positions in the Cathayan Underworld's administration should it be deemed that you have a suitable skill set to succeed in the role."

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, he raised up a hand and continued, "Nothing comes for free in this world. I'm risking making enemies out of Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa to help you escape the new continent, so you must do this for me in return. I'll give you half a day to consider this offer, and I'll be waiting here for your decision."

The resistance army definitely had troops, and Rebis had said that they had purchased weapons in bulk. Without troops at their disposal, how had they managed to keep the Eagle Warriors at bay thus far?

They were going to be the ideal allies! They were going to be the martyrs that provided the distraction he needed to intercept the grand script of death!

Was it a cruel fate for them? Perhaps, but nothing came for free in this world, and citizenship in the Cathayan Underworld certainly wasn't cheap.