Yama Rising

He raised his knife and fork with his hands, then smiled as he gently brought them together with a light clink.

"You're saying planes will collide?" Qin Ye asked.

"No, but they will come into contact with one another," the second King Yanluo replied with a smile. "That's completely different from the mortal realm, right? Due to this difference, I'm willing to bet that the space exploration model of the mortal realm definitely isn't suited to the underworld. I'm sure you must be wondering what this exit of the underworld is supposed to be, right?"

Qin Ye nodded in response. These were all questions that he had wanted to ask earlier, but the rejection of his plan to dabble in space exploration using the technology of the mortal realm had made him forget all about this.

The second King Yanluo smiled as he continued, "When the planar scale reaches 90 degrees, a supercritical tide will be observed, and that is the only way to exit the plane. This happens once every 50 years. Do you still think the technology of the mortal realm is applicable to the underworld now? I'm willing to make a bet with you right now that the only possible way to enable space exploration in the underworld is by relying on Yin energy and Yin runes. In the underworld, only power can oppose power. If the materials of the mortal realm were to come into contact with the supercritical tide, they would instantly be torn apart! The universe of the mortal realm and the universe of the underworld are completely different things!"

"I see." Qin Ye stood up as he nodded at the second King Yanluo. "Thank you for the advice. Once I get back, I'll begin conducting experiments right away."

The second King Yanluo smiled as he raised his cup in response. "I'm glad to hear that. You aren't ignoring my advice, nor are you accepting it without any skepticism. A capable ruler must learn to think critically and independently. In that regard, you're already doing very well, all you need is to address this final flaw of yours."

Qin Ye nodded in response before immediately turning to depart.

He couldn't wait to return to the Cathayan Underworld to put the second King Yanluo's claims to the test.

"By the way," the second King Yanluo suddenly said. "If you really want to gain a better understanding of Yin runes, I think there's a certain place you should go to."

"Oh?"

"That place is San Juan Teotihuacán," the second King Yanluo continued. "Pass through the Avenue of the Dead, and at the center between the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, you'll arrive at a place that can't be found in the underworld, but does exist in the underworld. In 1 AD, the underworld peace and equality treaty was signed there. The first King Yanluo and the three pillars left an indescribable defensive setup there, and the concept of the setup is so exquisite that even I was extremely impressed."

A serious look appeared on his face as he continued, "I can see that your fate will be completely altered there. Also... Oh? You were planning to go there anyway? Did someone already tell you to go there?"

Qin Ye's expression changed slightly upon hearing mention of the underworld peace and equality treaty.

That was an extremely important treaty that bound all underworlds, creating a foundation for a world where no nation was permitted to invade or harass other nations.

So that's where that treaty was signed...

His brows furrowed slightly as he replied, "The Plumed Serpent God offered me the treasure vault of the Aztec religion as thanks. However, that treasure vault is in the Caribbean Sea. Does that have something to do with this place?"

The second King Yanluo chuckled in response. "So it was the Plumed Serpent God. San Juan Teotihuacán is located in Mexico, and to the right of Mexico is none other than the Caribbean Sea. My advice to you is to be careful when dealing with the Plumed Serpent God. The circumstances behind why he was devoured by the Heavenly Dao aren't that simple."

Qin Ye wanted to ask more questions, but it was clear that the second King Yanluo had no intention of speaking about this matter any further.

This had always been the second King Yanluo's style. He always provided Qin Ye with the minimum required information so that he could learn and adapt on his own.

Several minutes after Qin Ye's departure, the second King Yanluo picked up his cup of wine before taking a sip. "I must say, I'm quite surprised by how capable a King Yanluo he turned out to be. He's only been serving as King Yanluo for less than 20 years, yet he already has his sights set on the heavens. The ruler death gods of the three pillars have lived for thousands of years, but they don't even have the acumen that a newbie like him does."

An amused smile then appeared on his face. "Perhaps it's exactly because he's a newbie that he has no fear. He doesn't know what space entails, which is why he dares to think along those lines..."

Right at this moment, a server appeared beside him with a respectful smile. "Sir, that comes to a total of 23,452 Yin jade. Would you like to pay now or after your meal?"

The second King Yanluo was instantly rooted to his chair as he turned around with an incredulous expression. "He didn't pay the bill?!"

"I'm afraid not."

"... Motherfucker..."

……………………………………………………

Black Death City.

This city was situated at the center of Jianghan Province, but it wasn't the province's capital city. Among all of Jianghan Province's cities, it ranked third.

It was most renowned for its mining industry, and it only produced one type of S-grade ore, which was shadow paraffin wax. This just so happened to be the type of S-grade ore that was the easiest to mine. As for other types of S-grade ore, several mines containing them had also been discovered, but they were too difficult to mine.

Each S-grade mine had large amounts of associated ore, and shadow paraffin wax was no exception to this. Thus, the mining industry was the city's main industry, and mining companies of different scales could be found all over the city.

The First Mining Department of the Cathayan Underworld was also situated here, but it was only responsible for regulating A-grade ore and didn't actually engage in any mining activities. This department had the largest collection of auditors and accountants out of anywhere in the entire Jianghan Province.

"Zhou Jin." The door of the finance branch was pushed open, and a Yin spirit hurriedly made his way into the room. "The boss wants to see you."

A young man raised his head from behind a stack of files. He had a rather gentle appearance, but he gave off an innate gallant disposition, and he was the type of handsome chick magnet that would be sure to attract a lot of attention from the opposite sex.

Unfortunately, he was wearing a pair of old-fashioned wooden glasses that were large and heavy, concealing much of his handsome face, and he was also dressed in a very bland and ordinary Mao suit.

"Which boss wants to see me?" he asked as he adjusted his own glasses, and his voice was also quite attractive.

"The big boss," the Yin spirit replied with a smile. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you? The boss has clearly been in a rather foul mood of late. Actually, no, that can't be! You haven't set a single foot wrong during your time here!"

Zhou Jin shrugged as he stood up before quickly making his way up to the top floor of the First Mining Department building.

Since ancient times, leaders had always enjoyed elevating themselves, and the director of the First Mining Department was no exception to this. Along the way, many of the female staff in the building put on their best seductive smiles for Zhou Jin, drawing much ire and envy from their male colleagues.

Zhou Jin paid no heed to them. He had never met the director during his time here, so this was a first for him.

Upon reaching the top floor, he rounded a corner, upon which he was immediately greeted by the sight of the department director pacing back and forth in front of the door to his office, looking extremely agitated.

As soon as the director caught sight of him, he immediately rushed over to Zhou Jin before grabbing onto one of his hands. "You're finally here! What's going on? Why is there someone from the Department of Social Security here to see you? Did you... Did you get into some trouble?"

"Not that I can think of," Zhou Jin replied in a respectful manner. "In any case, it would be rude to keep them waiting, so I'll go in now if that's alright with you."

"Alright..." The director stepped aside with a complex expression and a worried look in his eyes.

Zhou Jin was renowned for being a grounded and sensible individual. He had already been here for over five years, and during his time here, he had never made any mistakes in his work, and he shared good relationships with all of his colleagues, so surely he hadn't done anything wrong!

In that case, why was he receiving a visit from the Department of Social Security?

Zhou Jin knocked on the door, then opened it and made his way into the room before closing the door behind him.

The atmosphere in the room was a little tense. In the director's chair sat an elderly Yin spirit with a head of white hair, while a pair of younger Yin spirits were seated on either side of him.

All three of these Yin spirits were giving off an indescribable aura, and Zhou Jin immediately identified it as an aura of someone who had been on a battlefield before.

With that in mind, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he extended a slight bow.

Before he had a chance to say anything, the white-haired elderly man at the center of the trio stood up before extending a hand. "I am Zhang Huaien, the leader of the first team of the Department of Social Security."

"I am Zhou Jin, an employee at the First Mining Department."

Zhang Huaien patted Zhou Jin's shoulder with a smile as he said, "Never did I think that I would get to meet you in person... You're my idol, Commander Zhou Gongjin."

Zhou Jin habitually adjusted his glasses as a wry smile appeared on his face. "That's all in the past now."

Zhang Huaien opened his mouth again, as if he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so in the end. After a brief handshake with Zhou Jin, he said in a serious voice, "Mr. Zhou Gongjin, it was decided by the government to send you and the other 12 envoys down to the grassroots units. I admire you for your historic achievements, but from the government's point of view, I don't think the wrong decision was made."

Zhou Yu's wry smile became even more pronounced upon hearing this.

After pledging their loyalty to Qin Ye, they hadn't received any favorable treatment. At their point, their actions were already pointless.

If they didn't surrender themselves, then Zhao Yun would've captured them in person, and they wouldn't have been able to put up any resistance. They didn't have top-tier military arrays, nor weapons capable of destroying nations, so in the face of a being above the Yama-King level, they were completely powerless.

Thus, they were sent to work in various grassroots units and were strictly prohibited from revealing their pasts to anyone. If they went against this mandate, then they would immediately be thrown in prison.

If they had known that this would happen, then they certainly wouldn't have acted the same way that they did.

Having said that, who could've anticipated that the Cathayan Underworld would develop so quickly that in less than 20 years, it was in a position to reap profits from the entire world!

They had been watching the entire time as Hell had risen up from nothing more than rubble and ruin to the global powerhouse that it was today...

"It's all in the past," he said with a forced smile.

The commander who had dominated the Battle of Red Cliffs was long gone.

"Not necessarily," Zhang Huaien said in a low voice.

Zhou Yu's soul shuddered violently upon hearing this, but he was immediately able to compose himself again.

"Mr. Zhou Gongjin." Zhang Huaien took a few steps backward, then extended a military salute as he declared, "Hell is summoning all of the old Hell's underworld emissaries to Everburn for an assembly. However, you can choose not to go."

Zhou Yu finally raised his head, and in that instant, he suddenly felt as if he had been given a new lease on life.

Having reached the heights that he had scaled in the past, of course he wasn't content to live out a mundane afterlife before entering the cycle of reincarnation! There was naturally still an urge within him to return to his original position!

"Am I the only one being summoned?"

No, Zhang Huaien replied with a shake of his head. "Mr. Qin Hui, Ms. Su Daji, and the past 12 envoys have all been summoned to return to Everburn if they wish to do so."

"Why?"

Zhang Huaien shook his head in response. "I don't know. All I know is that Everburn has new missions to assign to everyone. Now then, are you willing to go, Commander Zhou?"

"Of course!" Zhou Yu replied without any hesitation as a scorching light appeared in his eyes.

He was desperately yearning for an opportunity to make his return!

Despite how slim the chances were, he had constantly been hoping to be granted such an opportunity, and it was finally here!