Yama Rising

Ksitigarbha cast his gaze into the distance with a pleased smile, and he said, "I'm most glad that you think this way. However..."

His smile faded as he turned to Qin Ye with a serious expression. "Have you thought about what it means to go against the flow?"

Indeed, there was still a major problem that was still yet to be resolved, and that was the issue of immortal energy.

If they couldn't resolve this problem, then the costs of producing the new energy resource would be too high, and it wouldn't be possible to distribute it to the entire world.

If they couldn't do that, then they wouldn't be able to play any of their subsequent cards.

Qin Ye was silent for a moment before asking, "Why did you say that there was a possibility earlier?"

Ksitigarbha shook his head with a smile as he asked, "If you want to know the answer to that question, then why don't you meet them?"

Qin Ye didn't immediately give a reply.

His mind was racing as he thought about what he had to do next. Firstly, he had to negotiate patent usage rights with all of the scientists. Only with their patents approved for usage to the Cathayan Underworld would the future path be a smooth one, allowing him to play the rest of the cards he had prepared.

Those scientists' patents seemed to have nothing to do with the new energy resource, but in reality, even though the internal structure of the new energy resource was different from electricity, there was an 80% degree of similarity between the two. Thus, the patents, theses, and experiments related to electricity under the ownership of all of the scientists would be related to the new energy resource. If he couldn't secure their patent usage rights, then the Cathayan Underworld would immediately be sanctioned by the entire world during the new energy resource's release.

The energy resources were too similar, and as a result, there was no way to fully distinguish between the two. All of the theories that applied to electricity in the mortal realm applied to the new energy resource as well, and in particular, following the emergence of the new energy resource, all of the leading physicists' patents, which had scarcely seen use in the underworld prior to this, would instantly become extremely hot commodities! As a result, all scientists would be able to earn sizable incomes, and this was something that had never happened before.

If the World Energy Resource Research Organization wanted to step in and moderate, then that would take at least a year or so. If the negotiations went awry, then the scientists would be asking for exorbitant patent usage fees during this time. This was an energy resource that was going to be used across the entire world! If a scientist asked for a one billion dollar patent usage fee, do you give it to them or not?

Furthermore, there were some patents that he had to secure, such as Faraday's electric motor patent, the Lumière brothers' patents related to movies, and John Logie Baird's patents related to televisions.

There were many other patents on this list, such as ones related to batteries, electric generators, computers, etc. The fact that the new energy resource was so similar to electricity meant that its release would inevitably sweep up an inventor's boom as inventors of the underworld would be able to steal ideas directly from the mortal realm to be used with the new energy resource!

This was the true trump card of the Cathayan Underworld!

The future ahead was so beautiful that Qin Ye's pulse was racing just thinking about it.

Never did he think that he would be able to directly participate in the rise of a major nation.

"However, in order to accomplish all of this, we have to secure all of the patents first, then set everything else into motion. Of course, prior to all of this, the most important thing to do is to establish the price of the new energy resource, and that price would be directly related to the heavenly waterfall. I wonder what kind of place Heaven is," Qin Ye murmured to himself.

Heaven was a realm that was full of secrets to both the mortal realm and the underworld.

"You'll know everything after you speak to them in person," Ksitigarbha said with a complex smile. Qin Ye didn't know whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he felt as if he could spot hints of amusement, sympathy, and schadenfreude in Ksitigarbha's smile.

Qin Ye slowly vanished on the spot as he said, "Tell them that I'll be arranging a banquet to welcome them in person in the Yin Mountains Research Center's banquet hall in two hours."

Ksitigarbha was insisting on putting up a mysterious front, so he would just have to tear this veil of mystery apart.

Two hours later, Qin Ye slowly pushed open the doors to the banquet hall.

Even though this was the banquet hall of a research center, it was still extremely intricately constructed. It had already been a decade since the unification of the Cathayan Underworld, and it had become far more prosperous than the bleak and impoverished new Hell from before that time.

The red carpet was embroidered with an extremely life-like image of the Aurogon, while lampstands carved in the shape of the Harken's head were hanging from the surrounding walls. There was also a huge golden spider lily palatial lantern that was exquisitely crafted hanging overhead, as well as large lampstands in the design of the Pixiu Chimera or the Aurogon positioned all around the room, burning with rows of netherfire candles to give the entire hall a lavish and auspicious atmosphere.

At this point, there were already several dozen heavenly officials gathered here. The men among them were handsome and dashing, while the women were beautiful and seductive. As soon as Qin Ye pushed the doors open, all of the heavenly officials immediately extended respectful bows as they greeted, "We pay our respects to Yanluo Qin. May you live as long as the heavens, and may your name forever go down in history."

"Take a seat," Qin Ye said with a casual nod, then made his way onto the main stage under the protection of several underworld emissaries.

For the sake of this meeting, slight adjustments had been made to the hall. All of the round dining tables had been removed, replaced by rows of circular chairs in the style of the Ming Dynasty.

The circular chairs were all black in color with golden reliefs embedded onto the armrests, and they were separated by elegantly carved, antiquated square sandalwood tables. The several dozen heavenly officials were seated in three rows, and after everyone had taken a seat, Qin Ye raised a hand as he said, "This is our first meeting, and you may or may not be aware of the way I like to do things. However, in order to ensure that we have a smooth and enjoyable discussion from here onward, I would like to lay down a ground-rule first."

His smile faded as he swept his gaze across all of the heavenly officials present, then declared in a serious voice, "If there's something to be said, then make it straightforward and concise. If there's nothing to be said, then we conclude this meeting. Understood?"

"Yes."

Qin Ye crossed his legs as he sat on his chair, then picked up his teacup and took a sip of warm tea as he swept a furtive glance across all of the heavenly officials present.

Let me see what these beings from Heaven are all about! So many historic deities and renowned figures are gathered in a single place... What kind of world is Heaven like?

Amid the silence, a young heavenly official rose to his feet, and he extended a deep, respectful bow, with a genuine smile of admiration on his face as he said in a voice as soothing as spring rain, "Yanluo Qin, I am an official who serves under the Yellow Emperor."

Qin Ye gently set down his teacup upon hearing this, and a serious look appeared on his face.

The Yellow Emperor was a legendary Cathayan sovereign and a cultural hero of Cathay!

We're certainly starting off with a bang! Qin Ye wore a calm expression as he listened to what the young man had to say.

The young man continued in a respectful voice, "Seeing as the new Hell has already been established, the Yellow Emperor Retirement Home is wondering when investments will resume."

The serious look on Qin Ye's face instantly gave way to astonishment, and even his eyelids had begun twitching slightly as he stared at the young man with a blank expression.

Are you fucking kidding me?!

The young heavenly official's head was still lowered, so he was naturally oblivious to Qin Ye's reaction, and he continued, "The Yellow Emperor Retirement Home is situated near Yaochi Mountain within the western heavenly gate, and it's an extremely beautiful and scenic location. For 500 years straight, it has been rated as the best retirement home in Heaven for five consecutive terms. Recently, it was decided by our higher-ups that we will be constructing new facilities within the Yaochi Mountain basin, including a golf course and a ski facility, among other things."

He paused momentarily before continuing, "This decision comes from our retirement home's Vice-director Bo Yikao and the chief of our development department, Bao Tianzi. The projects will require an estimated investment of seven hundred million 'tongbao', so your investment would be greatly appreciated."

The entire hall had gone completely silent, and a very peculiar atmosphere had arisen.

Qin Ye was struggling to repress the urge to throw up a mouthful of blood.

"Hold on a second." He couldn't take this any longer, and he raised a hand to gesture for the young man to sit down, then repressed the urge to swear out loud as he pointed at one of the female heavenly officials. "Who are you?"

"Esteemed Yanluo Qin!" The female heavenly official immediately stood up before extending a deep bow as she replied in an excited manner, "I am an official serving at Half the Sky Retirement Home. [1] Our director is Nüwa, and our vice-director is Princess Wencheng, who was once an Abyssal Prefect."

I don't need you to tell me that she's an Abyssal Prefect! She's not just an Abyssal Prefect, she's also Arthis's teacher and the owner of the Peach Blossom Lantern! The problem here is... Isn't there something wrong with all of this? You're ruining the image of Heaven!

His eyelids were twitching insistently now, and before the woman had a chance to finish, he gestured for her to take a seat again before pointing at another heavenly official.

"Yanluo Qin, I am an official who serves under the Yellow Springs Retirement Home. Most of Hell's Yama-Kings are staying in the Yellow Springs Retirement Home, so you can't not invest in our retirement home! Our Yellow Springs Retirement Home is situated near the Great Rift Valley of Heaven, and there's beautiful scenery there throughout all four seasons of the year..."

"Next."

"Yanluo Qin, I am the chief of the Ancestral Dragon Retirement Home's development department. Please pardon me for being frank, but all of the heavenly officials of our Ancestral Dragon Retirement Home have served in Hell for long periods of time and have made significant contributions to Hell..."

"Next!!!"

As it turned out, every single one of the heavenly officials present were retirement home representatives.

Around 15 minutes later, Qin Ye looked up at the sky with a wooden expression, looking completely suicidal.

I was wondering why Heaven had the most labor and capital out of the three realms, it's all because of these fucking retirement homes!

It was no wonder that everyone was so eager to ascend to Heaven after their retirement. Even though they had left Hell, they were still expecting investments from Hell!

Qin Ye was feeling a little depressed.

His glorious image of Heaven had been completely shattered, and he finally understood why Ksitigarbha had put on that expression at the mention of the heavenly officials.

He massaged his own temples in an exhausted manner before turning to all of the heavenly officials present with a suicidal expression. "So... all of you are here to request investments?"

All of the heavenly officials immediately nodded in response.

An awkward silence instantly followed.

I'm so fucking poor that I'm almost tempted to sell my own body! Where am I supposed to find money to invest in your retirement homes?!

The silence was a little long, so much so that all of the heavenly officials were starting to grow a little uneasy. Finally, Qin Ye broke the silence in a cold voice. "Get out! Get out of my sight right this instant!"

"Yanluo Qin, you can't do this!"

"All of our retirement homes' retirees are people who have made significant contributions to Hell in the past? You can't do this!"

"Your Excellency, the three realms each have their own roles, and it was agreed upon by the rulers of all three realms that Heaven would be responsible for elderly care! You can't go back on this agreement on a whim!"

Qin Ye's head was throbbing with pain!

Who could've imagined that Heaven would be one massive retirement home?!

He had envisioned ascension to be this glorious experience, but it was a complete farce!

Which motherfucker wrote all those legends?! It's no wonder everyone's so eager to ascend! Why work hard in your cultivation when you can just ascend to Heaven and progress slowly in your cultivation even if you do nothing?! You want me to invest in your retirement homes?! Get fucked!

After a long while, Qin Ye finally repressed the fury in his heart. Having waited for so long to see the truth behind Heaven, he was extremely disheartened to find out that it was all just one massive retirement home. All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him.

"Hold on, which one of your retirement homes is closest to the heavenly waterfall?"

"Me! Over here, Your Excellency!" A young heavenly official who was around 183 to 184 centimeters in height immediately rushed out from the crowd of heavenly officials as if he had just been given a shot of stimulants.

"I am an official who serves under the Xi He Retirement Home! All of the rulers of the underworld since the Tang Dynasty are staying at our retirement home, and we are situated extremely close to the heavenly waterfall!!"

[1] [The expression "half the sky" refers to a saying that women are responsible for carrying half the sky in society. In other words, they contribute to society just as much as men do. Thus, the expression "half the sky" is directly related to women, so judging from the name of this retirement home, I'm assuming it's run exclusively by women, perhaps accepting only female retirees as well.]