Yama Rising

Arthis’ voice echoed back through his mind, “It’s that, and more. I’d even go so far as to say that you’re a man born to thrive in politics. You were completely different from your usual self.”

That’s right… It really wasn’t bad. But… I still don’t think it’s enough!

“Everyone.” His voice thundered through the skies once more, “Silence. Now, we proceed to the final item lined up for you in the divine artifact induction ceremony of ours.”

Qin Ye allowed the citizens to stir slightly with anticipation before he finally continued, “Hell presently covers a very small area of approximately five square kilometers. That said, Hell’s domain is a variable that can be changed. Whenever we retrieve one of the major divine artifacts of Hell, or when Hell attains a certain level of development, it will automatically undergo a great transformation and expansion.”

Perhaps it was, if it were made for the purposes of a single Yin spirit. But if it were to fit a hundred thousand Yin spirits, it would easily be considered far too small, and far too plain.

So… should I be hoping that Hell would soon transform so much that I could even hope to travel to different localities in future?

He wasn’t the only one whose thoughts immediately wandered to these things. After all, most young people bore a certain inclination to adventure and predisposition to exploration, and their eyes naturally lit up as soon as they heard these news. Several of them looked up and gazed into the distant sky.

The huge head floating in the sky nodded slightly and turned to the crowd, “Mortal realm Cathay has a plethora of sights and sounds to offer. So does Hell. Different cities have different sights, sounds and even unique cultures of their own. Where we are right now is merely the temporary capital of the new Hell. It’s presently located in the nether regions of the City of Salvation. As Hell expands, so will the number of cities under our central government, each of which occupies a place that corresponds to a different part of Cathay. Sights and sounds that you cannot even begin to fathom will soon appear in Hell, one by one. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ so much as it is a matter of ‘when’.”

“Then, when the old Hell expanded into the Southriver Province, a lake spanning a million meters across from length to length appeared from nowhere. There were even mountains extending out of various parts of the lake, while the rest of the majestic lake appeared so still and tranquil that it looked no different from a massive mirror. It was named the Mirror Mirage. It was a mystical realm altogether, something that one could never see back in the mortal realm.”

“... And when Hell expanded into the reaches of Jiuzhai, it actually created… a fairyland in Hell. It was paradise - the only place in Hell that resembled the most idyllic scenery back in the mortal realm. There was a nine-coloured lake where nine-coloured divine deers lived and pranced about. Each mountain in the region had a slightly different hue of colour from the other… And this is not to mention the valley located in Rich Province known as ‘Nineteenth Abyss of Punishment’, Southskirt Province’s ‘District of Three Realms’, and the famous ‘Immortal Ice’ of the three eastern provinces… The sights and sounds, and specialty produce of each area of Hell would be completely different from that of the mortal realm.”

Man feared the unknown, yet they also enjoyed mulling over the possibilities as well.

Everyone was silent.

“Haa--!!” Arthis cried out softly, and the Book of Life and Death instantly erupted with a great explosion of incomparably dense Yin energy. Qin Ye whipped his head around in surprise, only to realize that the density of this wave of Yin energy was so thick it was practically mind-numbing!

Thus far, the strongest source of Yin energy he had experienced was that which flowed from the body of the Harken. Yet, to think that the quality of Yin energy that flowed from the Book of Life and Death was even purer than that of the Harken - and by a mile at that!

If one were to say that the brilliance of the Book of Life and Death earlier were akin to the rising sun in the east, then the explosion of light right now would be akin to the intense light energy bursting forth from the singularity when the big bang occurred. It was on a completely different level!

It was as though he had opened his eyes, only to discover that he was the only one remaining in the entire world. His surroundings were filled with roiling clouds of Yin energy that slowly swirled and sloshed about like an ocean tide. Thunder rumbled in the distance, as though something were looming far away from him.

Just then, both Qin Ye and Arthis abruptly paused and looked up with great astonishment.

Something in the black mist… is staring intently at us!

“This Yin energy… This is… this is…” Even Ming Shiyin couldn’t prevent his teeth from chattering this very instant, “This is… Lord Harken?!”

Qin Ye could feel his scalp go numb in an instant. How terrifying was the Harken?! Having faced it once, he never wanted to face it ever again. Yet, to think that he would suddenly awaken now, of all times!

“What’s it trying to do?” His throat felt parched, and he fidgeted about uneasily, bracing himself to return to the mortal realm at a moment’s notice, “Is it… attempting to confront us?”

“Do you think you’d be able to escape?” Arthis sneered, “We’re currently seizing Lord Harken’s Yin energy. Based on our previous estimates, he should only have reawakened at least five hundred years later, or even eight hundred years later if we’re lucky. It’s definitely mad at us. So, rather than run, why don’t we confront it directly?”

But before it could even take effect, a series of golden eyes suddenly appeared in the black fog around without any warning. If not for the fact that they were staring intently at him, he would’ve thought that they appeared no different from the bright stars in the sky.

“You call this low-risk?! Not by my standards! Dear, please hear me out… if you can’t beat them, then there’s nothing better to do than to run like the wind--... Holy crap! What are you doing?! You--...”

He wasn’t even given the time to curse out loud. Violent wind rushed past his ears as he sank straight into the abysses of Hell, almost as though he had descended through the eighteen levels of Hell in just an instant. Then, when he finally stopped, he was already back in the space right below where Hell was located.

There wasn’t any fog of Yin energy around him.

Countless streaks of netherflames surged through these streams of Yin energy like ribbons of light, painting the up-falling waterfall in brilliant colours. From time to time, the illusory figures of Yin spirits would peek out from the surface of these streams, moaning and groaning as though they were suffering in pain. The entire space they were in looked no different from the deepest Abyss of Punishment. It sent chills down Qin Ye’s spine.

But Qin Ye knew better - it was the rustle of Lord Harken’s scales…

It looked like an ocean of Yin energy below, except that the Harken lay sprawling in the middle of everything, almost akin to a majestic dragon. Its body would emit copious amounts of Yin energy from time to time, most of which would end up being absorbed by Hell, which lay above it. The Harken had already awakened from its slumber at some point in time, and it was presently staring intently at Qin Ye and Arthis with its golden eye.

ROAR!!! The Harken responded with an infuriated roar, causing the ocean of Yin energy below to quake violently, scattering Yin energy everywhere like a chaotic volcanic eruption. Innumerable spots of netherflames flickered and even went out in an instant. But, immediately following that, the Harken coughed violently, and its body which it had painstakingly propped up earlier crashed straight into the ground once more.

“ARAKSHASA!!!” A domineering voice thundered with fury as the Harken glared murderously at them, “You’re an Infernal Judge of Hell! How dare you sneak up on a divine beast of Hell like that?! Aren’t you afraid of being punished by King Yanluo himself?!”

1. This was the hometown of Confucius.

2. Referring to an idyllic location in China called Jiuzhaigou.