Yama Rising

The spear thrusted forward like a raging dragon, imbued by the full force of Qin Ye’s Yin energy as it lurched straight towards Liu Yu’s throat. Despite that, Qin Ye didn’t let his guard down one bit. He desperately shackled Liu Yu’s movement with every other bit of Yin energy he could muster.

He appreciated the fact that Liu Yu was of a class of his own. Having once been hailed as the peerless Infernal Judge of Hell, he would never fall to such frivolous attacks on Qin Ye’s part.

Just as the tip of the spear arrived within half a meter of Liu Yu’s body, he suddenly felt an electrifying sensation of crisis surge throughout his body. Without hesitation, he immediately pulled back his spear and backed away. Meanwhile, his faux Book of Life and Death abruptly transformed into a snow-white armor that adhered itself to his body.

“Pretty keen senses…” Liu Yu suddenly raised his head and revealed a bloodthirsty smile, “Unfortunately, it’s too late.”

Whoosh! At once, the countless shadows underneath his feet suddenly rushed out like a raging river, while an overwhelming murderous intent that was chilling to the bone filled the air in an instant. Qin Ye’s scalp instantly went numb, and he turned around to flee without hesitation.

The intensity of the murderous intent and the denseness of the Yin energy were both indubitably the strongest he had ever witnessed among any Infernal Judges he had encountered before!

Whether Arthis, the Shepherd of Souls, or even Honda Tadakatsu himself, none had ever filled him with such a foreboding and bleak sense of crisis before!

Qin Ye was quick on his feet. Unfortunately, the shadows were even quicker. In the blink of an eye, the shadows swept across the land, consuming an entire area within a 10-mile radius from Liu Yu in an instant!

Rattle, rattle… The chains forming the Heavenly Dragnet that bound Liu Yu’s body began to crack inch by inch. Liu Yu twisted his wrist and snickered softly, “Zhong Kui, you’re only ranked 35th among all of the Infernal Judges. You can’t even hold a candle to Arakshasa. And if she has to grovel before me, do you think you even stand a chance to act all haughty before me?”

He slowly reached out with his hand. Although it was but a single hand, it appeared so large and domineering that it felt almost large enough to blanket the earth. As he opened his palm, the shadows all around suddenly rushed right back into his palm, coalescing into a black ball 1,000 meters in circumference that completely enveloped both men.

Qin Ye didn’t say a word. In fact, he no longer had the ability to enunciate even a single word. The air of murderous intent was so dense that he could barely even breathe!

He held his spear horizontally across his chest. Surrounded by extreme darkness, he could hear every bit of raggedness in his own breaths. There wasn’t any wind or other sounds in this space, and yet he couldn’t help but feel as though someone were gently leaning over his back, breathing down the nape of his neck.

Everything was silent, save for what seemed like the breath of Death itself. A split second later, a multitude of white bone swords emerged from the darkness around, turning the black sphere of darkness into a reverse pincushion of white bone swords!

And in that instant, every single sword was pointed directly at Qin Ye!

“M-m-m-m-my Lord…” Even Ryu Changmin couldn’t help but stammer in fear, “You--...”

Before he could even go on, the bone swords plunged straight towards Qin Ye like a torrential downpour of death!

……………………………………………………

“AHHHHHH!!!” With a defiant roar, Oda Nobutada rushed down with a maddened frenzy as he rushed straight at the Gwisin. Each of his six arms held tightly to their swords as karmic fire erupted from his body like a blossoming red lotus.

He was keenly aware that if the massive Gwisin collided directly into MV Sewol’s hull, it might very well cause the MV Sewol to be dragged right out of the Yin Yang Mezzanine.

In turn, this might give Ryu Changmin a misleading signal, causing him to teleport right over, only to realize that Choi Taemin’s coffin was nowhere in sight.

He didn’t know how many layers there were to the caverns beneath the Gonjiam Asylum, but this was only the second layer from the top. They probably weren’t too far away from ground level. If they teleported over right now, Rumyantsev and Liu Yu would be right behind their backs in no time.

Right now, they were playing for time. No matter how perfect the plan was, every second counted. They needed to kill Choi Taemin in the quickest possible time. And as things were right now… it still wasn’t enough!

SSS!!! The Gwisin below screamed at the top of her voice, unleashing a mad wave of hair that rushed up like a den of snakes!

I’ve got one shot… I need to end this with a single strike… With the MV Sewol right behind his back, Oda Nobutada knew that he only had one chance at stopping the Gwisin. He couldn’t risk allowing the Gwisin to collide into the MV Sewol at all. And if he couldn’t stop the Gwisin, then… it would spell a cataclysmic disaster for the plan.

Oda Nobutada’s eyes grew bloodshot, and he chanted with a deep voice as the MV Sewol and the Gwisin drew closer to each other, “All things are void, they are neither born nor destroyed, neither tarnished nor pure, nor wax or wane…”

With each word that he chanted, the swords in his hand began to emit a crimson lustre, and the muscles of his body began to swell and bulge rapidly. His Yin energy surged to the extreme peak of all Anitya Hellguards.

300 meters!

Oda Nobutada could practically hear his soul screaming by now.

It was a stark contrast between the mighty Gwisin and the tiny Yin spirit that he was. However, he stood his ground valiant and didn’t think in the slightest bit to retreat.

“Form is but emptiness, and emptiness only form… Feeling, thought and choice, is but one’s consciousness…” His voice gradually became louder and more domineering as the beads hanging from his chest began to drift up into the air and clack wildly against each other. Meanwhile, a patch of crimson totem glowed brightly on his body, revealing a demonic sense of beauty and brilliance.

Back in the captain’s cabin. Wang Chenghao peeked out and watched every bit of Oda Nobutada’s actions with great disbelief.

This little lackey actually wields that much power on his own?!

100 meters!

ROAR!!! The Gwisin opened her mouth wide, revealing rows after rows of razor-sharp teeth within, almost as though she were about to devour the entire cavern itself. A putrid stench instantly filled the air.

Just then, Oda Nobutada finally finished reciting the last sentence of his chant.

AS soon as he did, boundless karmic fire instantly rose to the sky, and coalesced into a scarlet wheel behind him. His six hands came together and formed a massive hand seal. At once, the six blades immediately came together and transformed into a pitch-black bone sabre that was 30-meters long!

“DIEEEEE!!!!” With all his might, he swung the mighty bone sabre down violently at the Gwisin.

BOOM!!!

Pitch-black Yin energy bearing the cries of endless ghosts scattered everywhere like a dense fog. Wang Chenghao covered his eyes and waited with bated breath.

He could tell that as Oda Nobutada swung his bone sabre, the MV Sewol was no more than 30 meters away from the Gwisin.

Will we collide?

Is our missions going to fail like that

His mind went numb. He braced himself for impact.

One second passed… two seconds… three seconds…

Nothing?!

At once Wang Chenghao shot to his feet and climbed straight to the windows and peered out again.

The sides!!!

The Gwisin had been cleaved into two equal parts, while Yin energy surged up like massive tidal waves from the grisly wounds on both sides of its body. In fact, Wang Chenghao could even see its eyes that were still filled with grievances, almost as though it were in denial that it had died.

Ahead!

Oda Nobutada was hurtling forward like a fiery meteor, crying out valiantly as he cut through every obstacle that stood in their way!

Thud… Wang Chenghao shook his head and collapsed onto the ground with great disbelief.

He raised his hands slowly and wiped off the cold sweat that was beading up all over his forehead.

Suddenly, his heart was awash with embarrassment.

Wasn’t I a student of the First Academy of Cultivators back in the mortal realm? Why have I suddenly become as useless as calefare down here in the afterlife?

Qin Ye told me that I’m his personal assistant, but should I really be simply content with that? No, am I even fit to call myself his personal assistant in the first place? There are times when even a personal assistant would have to come forward and take a bullet for his master. Yet… what in the world am I doing now?

Time seemed to elude him so much that he didn’t even realize it when Oda Nobutada returned to the vessel once more.

Metamorphosis could happen to anyone without any notice whatsoever.

“Are you alright?” Oda Nobutada’s footsteps in the captain’s cabin jolted Wang Chenghao right back to his senses.

He had once again reverted back to his Yin spirit form, yet his entire body seemed far more translucent than before.

He smiled faintly. Then, he opened his lips as though he were about to say a word, before collapsing onto the ground without any warning.

“Hey!!” Wang Chenghao was so startled that he immediately rushed over to help him up. But just as he got closer, he felt Oda Nobutada grab his arm firmly.

The flames in Oda Nobutada’s eyes flickered so weakly that it seemed almost ready to be snuffed out in an instant, “No matter what happens… we must… get to the very bottom…”

Wang One Tail shuddered wildly, and then nodded vigorously.

“Even if… we can’t…” Oda Nobutada gasped desperately for air. With each breath that he took, Yin energy poured out of his body, almost as though his body were about to dissipate altogether in an instant, “You must… protect Lord Qin…”

“He… is Hell… So long as… Hell stands… we can still… be pioneers…”

Wang One Tail bit down on his lower lips and nodded with great determination.

“It’s all up to you now…” Oda Nobutada chuckled miserably, and then grew silent. The surrounding Yin energy slowly drew closer to his body and wrapped itself around him.

It’s all up to me…

Wang Chenghao covered his chest and took several deep breaths. He shut his eyes, and then opened his eyes, and then shut his eyes, and opened his eyes again. After several rounds of vacillating in his own thoughts, he finally steeled his mind and gritted his teeth with determination.

If it’s all up to me, then I’ll just have to rise to the occasion!

This is Daehan. The strongest here is nothing more than an Infernal Judge! I’m already an Anitya Hellguard! What have I got to fear?!

With that, he leapt right up to his feet and made his way straight to the bow of the ship as he peered ahead into the darkness.

The exit had already appeared right ahead in the distance like a bright spot at the end of the tunnel. And to that end, he could sense at least hundreds of different Yin energy signatures ahead waiting patiently for the arrival of the MV Sewol!

At once, he began to steer the MV Sewol and adjust the direction of its trajectory even as he stared intently at the white hole that was slowly growing larger. 1,000 meters… 500 meters… 400 meters…

He could even vaguely make out Yin spirits dressed in hanbok waiting ahead!

And their murderous intent was palpable to boot!

“Don’t be afraid… don’t be afraid! You can do this!” He repeatedly cheered himself on, “They’re just a bunch of weakling Soul Hunters and Netherworld Operatives, so what do you have to fear?! You’ve already seen the worst back in Clear Creek County!”

Whoosh… Yin energy erupted from his body, enveloping him completely in a Yin vortex. Moments later, he stepped out in his true form for the very first time.

Every ghost had a true form.

Most of them looked just as they were in the moment right before their death. However, there were a select few whose true bodies were completely different from while they were alive.

For instance, Oda Nobutada and Oda Nobunaga, Arthis, Liu Yu and Marquis Rumyantsev.

And for further instance… him.

Qin Ye wasn’t particularly outstanding, whether in terms of his cultivation level or his official rank. An Infernal Judge could be considered one of the mainstay pillars of Fengdu Necropolis’ strength, but there was still a great chasm between the abilities of an Infernal Judge and that of an Abyssal Prefect. Even then, the one thing that couldn’t be taken away from Qin Ye was the fact that the Yin energy at his disposal was incredibly pure. Having basked in such pure Yin energy both day and night, Wang Chenghao’s soul had already undergone an incredible transformation.

Unfortunately, he had never revealed this fact to anyone, nor had he ever thought of revealing this to anyone.

Boom!! The Yin energy on the prow of the ship exploded in full force, and a massive creature shrouded in Yin energy appeared right at the bow of the ship. His pupils were shaped like bizarre crosses, and he immediately roared mightily at the top of his voice.

“ROARRRRRR!!!!”

The exit was only 30 meters away at this point in time!

Just then, he saw it. The guards at the exit included Yin soldiers and the faceless palace maids that they had encountered earlier. But with this one furious shriek, the exit was instantly cleared of all guardsmen! Every single one of the Operative-class and Hunter-class Daeian Yin spirits were instantly reduced to ashes.

“Am I… actually that strong?!” He couldn’t believe his own eyes. Meanwhile, the MV Sewol plunged straight through the exit, almost as though it had crossed a barrier and entered another realm altogether. At once, his surroundings brightened.

It was… a corridor ahead.

The corridor was approximately 300-400 meters tall. As soon as the MV Sewol plunged straight into this realm, it suddenly slowed down.

What’s this… Wang Chenghao paused for a moment, and then immediately surveyed his surroundings.

Is this… the final destination?

This was the substratum of the caverns hidden beneath Gonjiam Asylum!

This was the source of all horror stories of Daehan. This was the Terminus of Terror!