Yama Rising

Countless helicopters had formed a circle in the sky, and all of the helicopters were connected by lengths of thin rope. These lengths of rope were crafted from neither metal nor fabric, and all of them were already blackened with age. There were countless bone shards hanging from the rope, and they were clattering together in the wind like a soothing lullaby.

The pilots of the helicopters were constantly inspecting the monitor screens in front of them while their hands were resting beside a blue button, which was present in each helicopter. If any unrest or disturbance were to arise, they would immediately press those buttons without any hesitation.

True Energy Spirit Vanquishing Missiles were the most advanced weapons against Yin spirits developed by the mortal realm during the 10 years of supernatural disasters, and they were only used to deal with evil ghosts at or above the Infernal Judge level.

There were over 100 helicopters present in the area, and each one was carrying four True Energy Spirit Vanquishing Missiles.

Below the helicopters were countless armored tanks that had arranged themselves into rows, and behind the tanks was an army of tens of thousands of troops. All of the soldiers and weaponry had yellow talismans plastered to them, which was quite amusing to behold, but no one was in the mood to be laughing.

Everyone's attention was focused intently on Zhuolu, and the Yin energy there had already gone beyond the threshold, making it clearly visible even to humans.

It was exactly because of this that everyone was extremely fearful. The entirety of Zhuolu had already transformed into a viscous vortex of Yin energy, and if it weren't for the protection of artifacts, no one would've been able to stand here. Furthermore, just the mere sight of the enormous pagoda was enough to strike further fear into the hearts of the beholders.

Zheng Shuguo and all of the Judge-level branch directors of the Special Investigations Department had already arrived on the scene, and scholars from the SRC were working frantically around them to calculate the Yin energy values.

"Five billion... 5.5 billion... It's still rising... Six billion... It's still rising!"

Zheng Shuguo didn't even bother to continue listening.

A Yin energy reading in excess of one billion was already beyond the threshold of the mortal realm, and these readings had already gone well beyond that.

At this point, all he could do was pray for Hell's victory.

……………………………………

Gusts of fierce wind were blowing while Yin energy surged in waves. Within the dark passageway, that lonely sense of isolation resurfaced once again, but Qin Ye didn't pause as he rushed directly toward the vortex up ahead.

The wind was howling past his ears as he slowly calmed himself down.

On this occasion, he was truly all on his own.

The vortex up ahead was growing larger and larger in his field of view as he drew closer to it.

He was charging into the final showdown, and there was no room for fear or doubts.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed over a distance of several hundred meters, rushing directly into the vortex.

In the instant that he appeared, all of his blood and flesh faded, revealing a black skeleton that was wearing a regal crown and a golden dragon robe. Boundless Yin energy erupted out of his body as his longsword was drawn with a sharp whistling sound.

This was his true form as a Yama-King!

He had to face off against the inner demon and hold his own long enough until Zhao Yun arrived, so there was no room for any complacency or lapses in concentration.

As he descended upon the top of the pagoda, the Yin energy vortex expanded dramatically, opening up layer upon layer like a blooming flower. At the center of the pagoda was Qin Ye, but as soon as he arrived, a series of formidable attacks immediately erupted toward him.

It was a boundless storm of swords!

The storm of swords consisted of swords of 13 different colors, and it formed an enormous sword lotus flower outside the Yin energy vortex that Qin Ye had emerged from. As soon as he appeared, all of the swords immediately came crashing down in a torrential downpour.

Countless swords of light plunged into the center of the vortex, and at the same time, Qin Ye let loose a loud roar as he slowly drew his longsword in response to the flurry of attacks.

This was a challenge from the inner demon, daring him to cross through this lethal storm to the other side.

In the face of this gauntlet thrown down by the inner demon, a streak of dazzling white light swept through the entire space.

The white radiance seemed to have sliced the very air apart, and the sea of swords disintegrated into black butterflies in the face of Qin Ye's almighty attack. Amid the storm of black butterflies, Qin Ye and the inner demon finally found themselves face to face with one another.

In that instant, time seemed to have stood completely still.

Several seconds later, Qin Ye slowly raised his sword before pointing it at the screen formed by the black butterflies. "We meet again."

Beyond the screen, a familiar voice rang out in response. "Indeed... You've certainly grown since our last meeting a century ago."

In the instant that the voice rang out, Qin Ye's pupils abruptly contracted. Prior to reaching the top of the pagoda, he had already adjusted his mentality to its best possible state, but in this instant, his heart was filled with unbridled killing intent!

A burst of pure white sword energy swept over the ground, and the entire top of the pagoda was almost sliced in half. The sword strike had been unleashed by Qin Ye, and the ground before him split up toward either direction, while the black butterflies up ahead dissipated into Yin energy, finally revealing a familiar face.

It was an elderly man wearing a set of simple and crude attire.

This was a face that had always remained in Qin Ye's heart, but one that could never bring himself to think of.

It was Qin Zhongguo!

Even those with the most exceptional mental fortitude had vulnerabilities in their hearts, and exploiting those vulnerabilities was what the inner demon excelled at the most. Not only did it enjoy pouring salt on the wounds of others, it relished tearing open old scars and mutilating them as much as possible.

There was no way that one could completely ignore the sway of their emotions, and Qin Ye's attack had been unleashed without any planning in advance.

There was only a single thought in his mind: "I'm going to kill him!"

However, the burst of sword energy had been stopped cold in its tracks by a single raised finger from Qin Zhongguo. It then raised its head slightly as it chuckled, "Humans really are predicta..."

Before it had a chance to finish, Qin Ye's foot had already struck its face with vicious force!

Teeth, blood, and saliva were sent flying in all directions as the inner demon's head twisted around with a bewildered look on its face.

It was shocked that Qin Ye could be so decisive and ruthless!

It didn't have access to Qin Ye's memories, but it did possess Qin Zhongguo's memories, so it was very much aware of Qin Ye's emotional attachment toward Qin Zhongguo, which was why it was certain that Qin Ye would hesitate!

Once the vulnerability in Qin Ye's heart was uncovered, it would be able to take full advantage.

Before it had a chance to finish that thought, Qin Zhongguo's elderly body suddenly doubled over like a prawn. A punch had just landed on his stomach, and it had been thrown with such vicious force and decisiveness that it was as if Qin Ye were trying to punch cleanly through Qin Zhongguo's body!

The inner demon threw up another massive mouthful of blood as it was sent flying back several dozen meters, and it was completely astonished by the heartless display that Qin Ye was putting on!

Right at this moment, a figure appeared above it.

It was none other than Qin Ye.

Tears were following out of his empty skeletal eye sockets, but the netherfire in his eyes didn't waver in the slightest. It was a very strange paradox, as if Qin Ye's body were weeping, but his logic remained completely unshaken. The drastic contrast between the two had caught the inner demon completely off guard.

He had never encountered a situation so strange before.

In the next instant, the Yin energy behind Qin Ye exploded violently, revealing a giant and complex rune that was constantly changing. At the same time, he accelerated even further, until he was barely traceable to the naked eye, and the golden sword in his grasp was slashed directly toward the inner demon amid a flurry of silver light.

"I see..." the inner demon murmured to itself, right before it was inundated by the wave of sword energy.

The sword energy was so vast and ferocious that the entire top of the Myriad Soul Pagoda began to tremble violently, and a series of cracks instantly began to rapidly extend in all directions. Sword energy was surging throughout the entire space, and countless dazzling white sword marks were lingering in the air, refusing to fade.

The assault was so fierce that the inner demon was almost shredded into countless pieces. Amid this devastating storm, Qin Ye's hand suddenly drew to a halt, and only then did the countless sword marks in the air begin to slowly fade.

Boundless Yin energy converged toward his arm, giving his entire arm an illusory appearance, and in the next instant, he unleashed the most powerful sword strike of his life!

"Get out of my grandfather's body!"

With that earth-shattering roar, the sword strike was unleashed, and even the sun and the moon paled into insignificance in its wake, while heaven and earth groaned and quaked.

This was a truly unmatched sword strike that was a culmination of every single ounce of power in Qin Ye's body.

However, in front of this almighty attack, a hand suddenly appeared.

It was a hand that was covered in blood and riddled with wounds, and it didn't belong there, but it had appeared there nonetheless.

With a flick of a finger, all of the sword energy unleashed by Qin Ye was instantly shattered. From Qin Ye's perspective, he could only see boundless light surging back toward him, following which he was struck by a burst of immense force that he was unable to pose any resistance against. In that instant, he felt as if all of his senses had faded, and before he knew it, he had already been sent back flying several hundred meters.

White radiance filled the entire space as powerful shockwaves triggered a string of explosions in rapid succession in the surrounding air. The shockwaves erupted layer upon layer like a blooming lotus flower, feeding into one another as they proliferated outward in all directions, causing the entire space to tremble incessantly.

Qin Ye fell heavily down onto the ground at the center of the top of the pagoda. His robes had been torn to shreds, his ribs had been broken, and his hair was completely disheveled.

He laid a hand over his own chest as he immediately rose to his feet, staring intently at the inner demon as he did so.

The inner demon didn't continue to attack.

It wasn't that it didn't want to, it was simply incapable of doing so.

Qin Zhongguo's body was hanging on by a thread, and if it were to move, the entire body would fall apart.

His entire body was riddled with wounds, and blood was gushing out incessantly. The inner demon slowly inspected its own body as he raised its arms. "I see that the origin rune of emotions and desires is the source of your confidence, but can you control your own instincts?"

The inner demon grabbed onto its own head, and as it did so, all of the joints in its body were twisted to an unimaginable degree, making it resemble a human corkscrew.

Crack!

It snapped its own neck with its own two hands, and its head was dangling to the side as it abruptly turned around. "So what if I do this?"

It then laid its hands onto its own stomach before pulling its hands apart, and Qin Zhongguo's entire body was drawn apart like a kite. "Humans really are fragile."

Qin Ye let loose a guttural roar of fury upon seeing this. Tears were still flowing out of his eye sockets, but the netherfire in his eyes remained completely unmoved, and he charged toward the inner demon with all his might.

The origin rune of emotions and desires was rapidly revolving behind him, but to no avail.

This was an instinctive reaction that wasn't governed by emotions. It was only natural that one's first reaction would be to lash out and exact revenge upon seeing their closest relative being mutilated.

He's fallen for it! Even though they've been evolving for thousands of years, humans haven't made any progress at all. All of them are just slaves to their emotions and desires. How pitiful!