Yama Rising

A wave of darkness had appeared in the sky above the entire Cathayan Underworld, going east one moment, then traveling west the next. It was like a tug-of-war using a cast piece of black fabric, and if one could rise beyond the underworld and look down from there, they would find that the entirety of the Cathayan Underworld was enshrouded in inky darkness.

However, the darkness wasn't still and dead. Instead, it was moving like the tide, and it was formed by countless Yin clouds. Such was the force with which each side was tugging on the Yin energy that a crack had begun to appear at the center of the vast expanse of darkness.

The light of the sky filtered down through the rift, forming a radiant river of light, only to be quickly shut out again by the Yin clouds on either side of it. It was as if the entire body of darkness in the sky were a living creature.

Light and darkness interchanged irregularly, while Yin energy clashed, and it was as if two vast projections could be seen on either side, both of which were fighting over the Yin energy of the entire Cathayan Underworld.

Inside a certain city, an underworld emissary raised his head, and the Yin spirits standing in front of him, who were awaiting his instructions, were rather perplexed to see this.

The underworld emissary cast his gaze outside with a stunned expression, and soon, his colleagues realized that he was acting rather strange. Immediately thereafter, all of their mouths gaped open one after another, and the netherfire in their eyes erupted violently as they turned to stare out the window with incredulous expressions.

They were witnessing a vast river of Yin clouds!

Boundless netherfire was surging through the air, forming the most resplendent stars amid the river of darkness.

It was a truly wondrous sight to behold.

"My god…" The underworld emissary took a deep breath with a dazed expression. The enormous power in the sky was enough to strike them with a sense of asphyxiation, and immediately thereafter, all of the underworld emissaries fell to their knees without any hesitation before kowtowing to the ground.

This wasn't happening in just a single city.

Inside a university, the windows were already lined with Yin spirits, and a professor, who was in the process of marking exams, was looking up at the sky with an astonished expression, while his pen slipped out of his grasp and clattered onto the ground.

Along a production line in a factory, every single factory worker was looking out the windows with dazed expressions, allowing the production line to pass by in front of them.

In another city, all of the Yin spirits on the streets were staring up at the sky, completely rooted to the spot, and the entire city was so silent that a pin drop could be audibly heard.

All of the Yin spirits in the entire Cathayan Underworld, of which there were close to 400 million, were staring up at the astonishing phenomenon taking place above them. The vast blanket of Yin clouds, the enormous Yin energy, the millions of specks of netherfire… Never had they witnessed something so astonishing.

This was the paramount pursuit of all Yin spirits, and they couldn't help but tremble as they watched it unfold right in front of their very eyes.

"What is that thing?" An elderly man was seated in front of his house, and the pipe in his hand had already fallen onto the ground as he stared up at the sky with a slack-jawed expression. "Why is it that my soul yearns for it so intensely?"

Tens of thousands of underworld emissaries were hovering in the air outside of the fiery mountain. They were the most direct witnesses to this monumental scene that was worthy of nationwide celebration. Not only were they not any more composed than the other Yin spirits, they were even more astonished as they were seeing this up-close.

This was their ultimate goal!

There were only a total of three Yama-Kings in the entire nation, and right before their very eyes, another one was about to emerge.

They were envious, but not resentful. Witnessing this spectacle would only serve as motivation to fuel them to work even harder.

"One day, I'm going to climb to these lofty heights and become the pride of the entire nation as well!" a young underworld emissary vowed through gritted teeth with his fists tightly clenched.

The same sentiment was ringing out in the hearts of countless other underworld emissaries.

Amid the deathly silence, everyone's eyes were focused on Arthis. No one dared to disrupt this historic moment. As for Arthis herself, she was completely oblivious to the inspiration that she was providing to all of the underworld emissaries across the nation.

However, Zhao Yun and the Harken were not looking very pleased.

"What can we do? Is there a way to stop this?" the Harken asked with a grim expression. "Who's the other one making a breakthrough? Have you tracked them down?"

Zhao Yun also wore an extremely grim expression, and countless images were rapidly flashing through his pupils. Several seconds later, he shook his head in response. "I can't find them."

"Then what do we do now?" The Harken was so agitated that it was jumping around like a puppy. "It'll only take 30 more minutes at most before Arthis attains her death god form and becomes a Yama-King! If someone is fighting over Yin energy with her, then neither of them will be able to make a successful breakthrough! There isn't enough Yin energy in the Cathayan Underworld to support two Yama-King level breakthroughs at once! This has never been seen in history! Prior to each Yama-King level breakthrough, the entire nation is put on notice. All citizens are informed of the event in advance, and a day of work stoppage is observed. Not only has there been no prior notice issued on this occasion, both of them are making breakthroughs at once! Did they agree to do this in advance?!"

The emergence of a new Yama-King was extremely important for the Cathayan Underworld, particularly in its current state.

It served as an example to the entire nation, telling them that this was not just some unattainable dream.

The first-ever Yama-King of the new Hell had an extremely high level of symbolic importance, yet now…

Right at this moment, the force that was competing with Arthis for Yin energy suddenly vanished.

Zhao Yun and the Harken both turned toward the east with incredulity in their eyes. Immediately thereafter, a resounding boom rang out, and all of the Yin energy in all directions converged toward Arakshasa, alongside countless specks of netherfire. The entire six paths of reincarnation was inundated by the wave of Yin energy and netherfire, and it was truly a spectacular sight to behold!

"Did they leave? Are they not going to make their breakthrough?" the Harken exclaimed.

Zhao Yun immediately shook his head in response. "No! The other party has sensed that someone else is also making a Yama-King level breakthrough, and they've stepped aside! That means that they're not making a breakthrough to become a Yama-King!"

The Harken drew a sharp breath upon hearing this.

If they weren't making a breakthrough to become a Yama-King, how were they able to evoke resonance from the entire Cathayan Underworld and create such an astonishing phenomenon?

"Don't forget that there's another type of breakthrough that can trigger this type of phenomenon," Zhao Yun reminded with an intense look in his eyes.

"You mean someone's making a breakthrough to become an advanced Yama-Kings?!" the Harken exclaimed.

Indeed, that was what was happening.

In the entire underworld, only the ruler death gods of the three pillars and Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa had reached this level.

Upon reaching that level, the line that signified transcendence would be only one step away.

The Harken was beginning to tremble uncontrollably. It knew that this type of phenomenon could only be triggered in the same nation as the one that the person making the breakthrough belonged to. Thus, this being had to be someone from the Cathayan Underworld, and there was only one possible candidate…

"Is it Yanluo Qin?!" The Harken was struggling to believe this situation. "He's becoming an advanced Yama-King?! How is that possible?!"

This man was the king of shameless cowards, the spineless weakling who shied away even from the faintest impression of danger… How had he possibly reached this point?!

Had he invented his own dao of cowardice or something like that?!

The Harken immediately turned to depart, only to be stopped cold in its tracks by Zhao Yun. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Yanluo Qin! I refuse to believe this until I see it for myself!"

Zhao Yun shook his head with a serious expression. "I'll go instead."

Before the Harken had a chance to argue, Zhao Yun continued, "If it really is Yanluo Qin who's making a breakthrough, and he's given up on the Yin energy of the underworld, where can he go?"

There was only one answer: the mortal realm.

He was going to use all of the Yin energy and lost souls of the mortal realm to facilitate his breakthrough to become an advanced Yama-King!

Once he succeeded, he would reach the pinnacle of the path of cultivation.

"You still haven't recovered from your injuries, and the healing process will be significantly accelerated by the Yin energy reciprocation from Yama-King level breakthroughs. If you absorb Yin energy in the mortal realm, you'll be noticed by the entire world, and all of the other underworlds will become aware of the fact that you're severely injured at the moment. Hence, it's better for me to go instead."

The Harken nodded reluctantly in response, and Zhao Yun sped away as a streak of Yin energy.

Following his departure, the Harken turned back toward Arthis with anticipation in its eyes.

It wasn't excited for Arthis. Instead, it was excited for the Yin energy reciprocation that her breakthrough was going to provide. It would've taken 100 more years for it to recover from its injuries, but it could heal them in one fell swoop here!

It had been a very long time since it had bared its fangs to the rest of the world, and it was very much looking forward to making a triumphant return…

It took a deep breath, and countless Yin energy screens appeared across the entire Cathayan Underworld. "Warden Arakshasa of the six paths of reincarnation is currently making a breakthrough to become a Yama-King, so there's no need to be alarmed. Just continue to do what you're doing as normal, and if anyone is caught trying to take advantage of this opportunity to wreak havoc, then they will be executed on the spot with no exceptions!"

Its voice was heard across the entire Cathayan Underworld through the countless screens, and all of the Yin spirits across the nation instantly erupted into a frenzy.

"Someone really has cultivated to the Yama-King level?! I thought that was next to impossible!"

"According to what we were taught at school, Yama-King is the ultimate cultivation rank! There are tens of billions of Yin spirits across the entire underworld, yet only less than 70 Yama-Kings!"

"Now that Warden Arakshasa has made a breakthrough to become a Yama-King, our Cathayan Underworld will have four Yama-Kings!"

"This must be a once-in-a-lifetime event!"

……………………………………

A finger gently traced itself over a Yin rune. The Yin rune was massive, standing at over a meter in height, and it was extremely complex. Just the mere sight of it was enough to evoke a sense of all-consuming rage in one's heart, causing the beholder to lose their ability for rational thought.

The name of the Yin rune was Anger, and it was the final Yin rune that represented the seven emotions and six desires.

All of a sudden, the Yin rune began to revolve, picking up speed as it did so. In the end, it shrank down to around the size of a fingernail before flying into Qin Ye's glabella.

As the Yin rune entered his body, the surrounding darkness rapidly receded, and rays of sunlight shone down upon him as he was greeted by the familiar sight of the Land of Origins once again.

Initially, his vision was a little hazy, like a blind person seeing light for the first time, but everything quickly became clear.

He took several deep breaths in succession, then heaved a long sigh. "It's finally over."

Behind him, his Dusk Legionnaire appeared one after another.

Chu Renmei was already an advanced Abyssal Prefects, as was Huang Jiansen.

After them came Kwon Kyung-ho, Ryu Changmin, Jason, Freddy, Leatherface, Otakemaru… All of them had also become Abyssal Prefects!

Their cultivation bases were still a little unstable, but this was still a formidable lineup of around a dozen Abyssal Prefects, and that would be an astonishing sight for anyone.

"This is what my Dusk Legionnaire should be like." Qin Ye smiled as he withdrew his gaze. "They've all become quite powerful now, but unfortunately, their numbers are still sorely lacking. If I can fill the Dusk Legionnaire with its full quota of 100 ghosts, then no one would be willing to face me in battle."

As for elevating them to the Yama-King level, that was simply implausible.

"Also, I still need to find out whether they're able to use artifacts. This art is perfect for me! I can position them in front of me as meat shields, and all I need to do is attack from behind them!"

All of a sudden, a cold and aloof voice rang out from beside him. "I didn't think that you would be able to reach this point."

It was Nothingness.

They were standing not far behind Qin Ye, and as Qin Ye turned his gaze toward Them, They said, "I had thought you would take two or three more years to complete the trial, but you've certainly surpassed my expectations."

They swept a hand through the air, and a golden light screen appeared up ahead.

It wasn't very large, only around a meter in size, and there were over 100 names inscribed upon it. However, a small portion of those names had turned black, while most of them were gray, and only four of the names were of a dazzling golden color.

"Go on, write your name down. You have emerged from the most difficult trial in the world, and your name will be sure to go down in the history books for it!"