Yama Rising

Beyond the gate was a round hall that was filled with ice statues of different deities, including Nüwa, Jesus, Zeus... There were a total of seven statues, each of which was over 100 meters tall, while the hall was over 150 meters in size, presenting a grand and majestic sight to behold.

At the center of the seven statues, a head that was around 10 meters in size was hovering in mid-air with its eyes closed. A series of golden chains that were completely formed by runes were extending out of space around it, disappearing into its orifices to keep the head suspended.

This was a complete skeletal head with three eyes and a head of fiery red hair.

It was no longer displaying any signs of life, yet its hair was slowly dancing in the air like a nest of snakes, and a series of extremely eye-catching scarlet patterns were visible on the skull.

The skull was giving off a sense of indescribable power that was vast and all-conquering. Even as it hovered in mid-air in a stationary manner, it was causing the space within a radius of several dozen meters around it to ripple incessantly, and it was as if it didn't belong in this world at all. It was clear that the owner of the skull had to have been an extremely mighty figure during their living days.

Qin Ye could only think of a single person who could possess a skull like this.

"Is this Chiyou's skull?" He swung around as he turned to the Heavenly Dao with a bewildered expression. "Are you giving it to me?"

The Heavenly Dao's expression remained as indifferent as ever, and They merely nodded in response. "You don't want it?"

"I do! Of course I do!" Qin Ye was ecstatic! Having resolved the crisis in both the underworld and the mortal realm, the next item on the agenda was for the Cathayan Underworld to develop its second-generation forbidden arts and space exploration technology. For these endeavors, the skull of an ancient god that was blessed with fortune and faith was an extremely useful asset!

What was he going to do with it? He was going to create a super telescope, of course!

This thing was essentially a divine artifact when it came to space technology development! It had been incredible to him that Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa had used the remains of the fifth sun god to create their telescope, and even after obtaining the document outlining the Omeyocan plan, he didn't think that he would ever be able to replicate it.

However, with Chiyou's head, the Cathayan Underworld was going to become the only nation in the underworld with a publicly known super telescope, and that was going to happen in the near future!

The Heavenly Dao took a glance at him, then swept a hand through the air, and Chiyou's skull transformed into a streak of light that fell into Qin Ye's grasp. Only then did Qin Ye discover that there was still another gate up ahead!

Before he had a chance to think about anything else, time stopped for an instant, following which both he and the Heavenly Dao arrived in front of the gate at the same time.

The Heavenly Dao laid Their hand onto the gate of ice, and They were just about to open it when They suddenly stopped before turning toward Qin Ye. "What do you think is going to be inside, Yanluo Qin?"

Qin Ye didn't immediately reply, and truth be told, his heartbeat was rapidly accelerating at this moment.

Whatever was beyond this gate had to be extremely precious. The first present provided by the Heavenly Dao was the soul of the inner demon, which was an extraordinary item that could instantly create a Yama-King. The second present was Chiyou's head, and whatever was beyond this gate had to be even more valuable than the two previous items. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't have saved it for last.

A series of possibilities quickly flashed through his mind, and several seconds later, he asked with barely repressed excitement in his voice, "Is it the Qimen Dunjia?"

This was an extremely powerful array, and it was something that only Lishan Laomu possessed.

If they could make the array large enough, it would be an all-encompassing concealment array, and that would be considerably beneficial for the potential military operations that the Cathayan Underworld could be about to undertake soon.

A faint smile appeared on the Heavenly Dao's face as They slowly pushed the gate open.

A burst of deep rumbling rang out from the gate, and natural light flooded into the hall. Instead of leading toward another room, this gate led toward the outside world.

Outside was a vast sea of clouds with the occasional mountain summit peaking through, resembling small islands on the sea.

However, Qin Ye's gaze wasn't drawn to the spectacular scenery. Instead, he was looking at the enormous entity sitting above the sea of clouds!

He was overcome by a rush of excitement that temporarily robbed him of the ability to speak, and there were fireworks going off in his head.

Up to this point, he had everything he needed to facilitate space exploration!

He couldn't wait to return to the Cathayan Underworld to begin the new journey.

"With that, we're even now." The Heavenly Dao made a grabbing motion, and the enormous object transformed into a ball of light that flew into Qin Ye's palm. "This will most likely be our last meeting unless extraterrestrial gods invade this plane."

Everything in the surrounding area was quickly fading away, and Qin Ye faltered slightly before suddenly yelling, "Why are you giving these things to me?"

There was no response.

Within the span of less than 20 seconds, everything faded away into nothingness, and it was as if the majestic palace of ice had never appeared in the first place. It was also at this moment that a slightly forlorn voice rang out. "I am destined to be bound to this plane, unable to step into outer space. However, I possess the ability to pave the way for others to step out of this plane, in pursuit of alternate worlds. The second King Yanluo told me that they really do exist..."

So They want to pass on Their dream to someone else... A gust of fierce wind swept over the summit of the mountain, and Qin Ye gently arranged his own hair as a smile appeared on his face.

At this moment, the Heavenly Dao really did seem like an intelligent being.

However, that no longer had anything to do with him.

He took a deep breath as an excited look appeared in his eyes, and his heart was brimming with motivation. He couldn't wait to finally restore the Cathayan Underworld to its rightful place at the top of the world!

Everything that he had done prior to this still wasn't enough! He wanted the Cathayan Underworld to officially regain its place on the four pillars without any dispute, and in order to do that, the Cathayan Underworld had to flex its muscles to the rest of the world!

He cast his gaze toward the direction that Nippon was situated in, then vanished into thin air in a flash.

………………………………………………..

Everburn.

Not many people were aware that their King Yanluo was absent, and the other Yama-Kings were already accustomed to having to fill in for him. Unfortunately for them, they had ended up with an unreliable King Yanluo who seemed to be absent most of the time.

Thus, Zhao Yun and the Harken took turns assessing official documents in Qin Ye's place, while Arthis returned to her leisurely job as the ruler of the six paths of reincarnation. Of course, that was only after her proposal to serve as secretary to Zhao Yun was sternly turned down by Zhao Yun himself.

The tip of Zhao Yun's pen was quickly flashing over a sheet of paper. The Cathayan Underworld had well and truly entered a period of rapid development, so there wasn't much for them to do, and they didn't need to be as careful and cautious as they had been when Hell was first founded. All they needed to do was support this rapidly growing nation to ensure that it didn't grow in the wrong direction.

News of Hell's victory over Chiyou at Fenglingdu had already spread across the entirety of the Cathayan Underworld, and it was all that anyone could talk about. Chiyou was a vastly renowned demonic deity in the history of Cathay, yet he had been defeated by their administration!

Every single netherworldly citizen was filled with a sense of patriotic pride and confidence. Following the battle, only less than 200,000 troops had remained of Hell's army, and upon their return, they had been welcomed by the netherworldly citizens of Everburn on the streets, stretching for over 20 kilometers out of the city!

During the past two years, the main focus had been to promote these soldiers who had participated in this battle up the ranks so that they could become leaders in the military and rebuild Hell's army. After all, the battle against the inner demon had put a severe dent in Hell's military forces.

As a reward for their valiant efforts during the battle, Su Daji had been promoted to become the administrative commissioner of the Pearl Delta, while Qin Hui had also had his wish of becoming the governor of the two easternmost provinces fulfilled.

All that was left was to continue to develop the education industry, as well as the industrial revolution and technological boom brought on by the new energy resource.

Phones, LED screens, televisions, lightbulbs... Everything in the mortal realm that could be useful in the underworld had already appeared in the underworld at this point. This wasn't very difficult, considering they were able to take the blueprints and designs straight from the mortal realm, then make slight adjustments so that they would be suitable for usage with the electricity-like energy string. Over the past few years of development, Hell was already progressing toward a national network.

At the moment, the Cathayan Underworld was in a prosperous state that was rather difficult to describe through words. It was filled with antiquated cities with wooden buildings, and all of the netherworldly citizens were wearing antiquated attire, while those who wore suits were looked down on. However, whenever nighttime arrived, the entire city would be brightly lit, with countless streetlights along the main roads, illuminating the carriages drawn by Yin beasts.

Zhao Yun was in the process of assessing a report filed by Heavenly Man Pictures against Southern Manor Films for establishing a monopoly. In the grand scheme of things, this was completely trivial, and if he didn't want this report to be presented to him, it wouldn't even have appeared on the desk of King Yanluo at all. However, Zhao Yun had never seen a movie before, and he was very intrigued by things like this.

"Oh? Are you interested in movies?" Right at this moment, a familiar voice rang out beside Zhao Yun, whose eyes immediately lit up as he rose to his feet with a relieved expression.

"Your Excellency, you're finally back! After the battle against the inner demon, the Heavenly Dao arrived in person to take you away, and we couldn't do anything."

Qin Ye poured himself a cup of tea before taking a sip, upon which an impressed look appeared on his face. "It tastes like tea leaf production technology has improved."

"Indeed. The improvement took place as a result of an invention from last year that uses the new energy resource." Zhao Yun smiled as he sat down onto the taishi chair across from Qin Ye, then asked, "Now that you're back, would you like to hear a report for the last two years?"

Qin Ye nodded in response.

He was extremely eager to make some big moves, but prior to that, he had to develop an understanding of where the nation was currently at.

He took a sip of tea, then said, "Get all of the department directors to make some preparations, and we'll hold an annual report tomorrow... Actually, scratch that. I'm sure they reported everything directly to you during the past two years. Just gather all of them for a meeting, there's no need to make it too official. You'll be participating in the meeting as well, and you can give me a rundown of everything that's happened while they fill in the gaps."

Zhao Yun nodded in response, following which his brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "Your Excellency, are you not planning to declare your return to all of the departments?"

He had a feeling that Qin Ye was about to make some big moves following his return.

In the past, the first thing that Qin Ye did following his return from trips would always be to inform the nation of his return, thereby assuring the netherworldly citizens. However, it seemed that he wasn't planning to do that, which indicated that he was planning to do something more important.

"There's no need for that," Qin Ye replied with a mysterious smile. "We'll be holding two conferences back-to-back, and everyone will know that I've returned by then."

"Conferences? What type of conferences?" Zhao Yun asked as his expression changed slightly.

Qin Ye smiled as he gestured for Zhao Yun to come closer, then whispered something into his ear.

Zhao Yun's pupils immediately contracted as he heard what Qin Ye had to say, and he abruptly rose to his feet with a stunned expression. "Have you already made a decision?"

"I never go make careless promises," Qin Ye replied after taking a sip of tea. "The Cathayan Underworld's return to the top of the world is inevitable, but first, we have to return to our former position, and I think there's one final step left before our position is restored. If we continue developing like this for the next five centuries, we'll be on par with the other three pillars, but 500 years is too long. I want to make a move now! I think it's time for us to flex our muscles!"