Yama Rising

“That’s why I say that actions speak louder than words. I have to say that the quality of Cathayan cultivators are getting worse and worse with each generation that passes… If that’s the extent of abilities that Cathayan cultivators are capable of right now, it’s only going to be a matter of time before the Nipponese reigns over Cathay again.” Kuki Yoshitaka licked his lips greedily as he watched everyone fall into the waters. And then, eight tongues lashed out abruptly.

It’s unstoppable…

Such a pity… to be born a human, only to perish without the dignity of a human being… For some strange reason, this peculiar notion surfaced in Chu Mingxia’s mind in the final moments of her life, and she actually chuckled softly to herself.

But, just then--...

Instead, the only thing he heard was the shrill shrieks of the corpse of the deadly cicada.

A rain of arrows were pelting down on the colossal beast like meteorites, hurtling down from the heavens while leaving a trail of smoldering flames in its wake. The hundreds of arrows were akin to broad brushstrokes that painted brilliant streaks of light through the canvass of the night skies. The first salvo that landed had struck three of the hydra’s heads squarely!

“Reinforcements… reinforcements have truly arrived… Hang on! No! How could there possibly be reinforcements?!!”

All of the survivors on the surface of the waters were completely dumbfounded. Back in the cargo hold, Master Kamo abruptly stood up. His face was flushed, and his hair scattered about wildly as he pulled out a talisman of decree. Then, he activated it and instructed with a quiver in his voice, “Tengu army of the Onmyoji… heed the command of the current young master of the Onmyojis. This is a kill order…”

Oooooooo! A long horn sounded across the surface of the waters. In an instant, and to the great surprise of all cultivators around, the Tengu army flapped their wings and closed the remaining distance between them and the current battleground. They wore their usual white shrine uniforms and black hats, and they each held a longbow in their hands. As they flocked over to the epicenter of the battlefield, it looked no different from a migratory swarm of birds crossing the surface of the seas.

“Battle array?” Ming Quanzi gasped. This wasn’t something that one would expect any ordinary faction or alliance to have in their possession. Even the Special Investigations Department owned no more than a hundred battle arrays at their disposal. To think that they would be able to see a Nipponese force employ something so extraordinary as a battle array!

“Onmyojis… Damned Onmyojis!!!” Eight massive water spouts burst out of the water, followed closely by the emergence of its eight heads amidst a shower of rainwater. Their blazing eyes turned scarlet, and they all stared at the Tengu army that was standing squarely across from them, “How dare you muddy the waters? Well… since you’re looking for death, I’ll happily oblige and send you on your way!!!”

Whoosh… The surface of the sea began to roil and slosh about, and countless bubbles gurgled to the surface of the waters. Initially, all it generated were some small waves that quickly faded away. However, within ten seconds, the undulations of the waters grew so great that the eddy currents generated hundreds of foot-sized whirlpools that swirled about wildly!

“Pirate of Hachiman, Water Dragon Technique!!”

The image appeared somewhat blurry, yet it clearly depicted a being with three horns on its head, three eyes, and an entire body of venal patterns. As soon as it appeared, it immediately lifted its head.

Meanwhile, on the Strait of Tsushima, a man wearing great armor and armed with a ten meter spear was standing on the mast of a ship. Then, as if responding to the appearance of the illusory figure, it lifted its head.

He had the body of a human being, and he appeared complete and unharmed!

“This isn’t any different from watching a cockfight. It sure looks like there’s not going to be a single worthy opponent this time…”

Whoosh! The formidable water dragon instantly crumbled under the might of the golden arrow. But the scattering parts of the water dragon soon coalesced once more, each part drawing sufficient water from below to form their own complete body. Within a split second, the surface of the sea was filled with countless roaring dragons!

WHOOSSHHH!! The entire surface of the waters appeared to be torn asunder at once as the thunder of water dragons surged high into the sky and blasted straight at the Tengu army formation. The leader of the Tengu army stared at the oncoming attack. His eyes narrowed. The battle array was powerful, but unfortunately… their numbers were too few.

They, too, were humans. And as humans, they had their own set of beliefs and principles.

The corpse of the deadly cicada’s terrifying Yin energy had dyed the waters around it completely black in colour. The wails of countless evil ghosts echoed through the skies and the waters, only to be drowned out by the roars and sonic booms generated by the water dragons. Yet, faced with such a terrifying opponent, not a single member of the Tengu army retreated.

The image donned a Tengu mask that was far more ferocious than the ones each individual soldier wore. Its body was covered with a black feather weave, and its white hair scattered menacingly about in the sky. The massive Tengu stood over thirty meters tall, and it held a dagger in its left hand and a bell in its right. Simultaneously, the exposed skin of each individual Tengu soldier began to show signs of aging and withering.

Boom!! The water dragons arrived in an instant. And their powerful clash, caused the sea to tremble wildly in a one kilometer radius around them. The impact appeared no different from the blast of a nuclear bomb, and waves surged up like mountain ranges, generating a massive whirlpool in its wake as they rushed into the surroundings.

We can’t hold on any longer…

It was a stretch… Facing such a powerful evil ghost with just a few hundred Tengu soldiers is far too much of a stretch… Could this be… the day we all perish…?

The source of the golden light came from afar and bolted over incredibly quickly, and it instantly transformed into a golden insignia that danced and spun in the air. Within moments, it scattered into a massive ball of golden light formed by innumerable belts of lights that quickly began to shrink back once more.

The bands of light were in fact entirely composed of scriptures that hovered about like golden fireflies, standing tall in front of the Tengu army, devouring any attacks launched at it. The air trembled lightly, and the water dragons that were charging at the Tengu army were instantly sucked into the scriptures like a bottomless abyss. Then, the bands of scriptures shrank abruptly and transformed into a fist-sized ball of light as it shot off into the distance.

All eyes looked into the distance where the golden ball of light had darted towards.

And there were three men wearing conical bamboo hats and dressed in Nipponese monk’s robes standing stoic like statues right at the bow of the ship. They had the exact same posture to them, with a hand pressing down on their conical bamboo hat and the other holding onto a zen staff. The true energy that surrounded them revealed that they were existences who were only a single step away from the realms of a Hellguard!

“Guardian monks from Mount Koya?!” The corpse of the deadly cicada gasped, “Ahh… these damned Onmyojis and monks from Mount Koya. How dare you maggots come stir the pot and muddy the waters right in front of the eyes of Azai Nagamasa…”

A mortal’s struggle… was a sight that was normally beautiful to him. He thoroughly enjoyed the process of encountering mortals that were brimming with ambition and fighting spirit, only to slowly whittle away at it until they were drowning in the mires of despondence. But… not now!

“Thundergod, Red Demon, Viper… I’m sick and tired of waiting any longer. Waiting can be a joy, but right now, all I want to do is to tear them apart and swallow Oda Nobunaga’s soul.” He shut his eyes, fervently repressing the trembling excitement in his heart, “Therefore, may I invite you to make a move. I would like to see the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl placed in front of me within the next half an hour.”

Silence.

And then, a moment later, boundless Yin energy erupted from their bodies!

Yin energy wrapped around the three mighty Hellguard-class Yin spirits as they bolted towards the cruise liner, leaving a trail of grim netherflames in the wake of their path of travel!

1. Fans of Naruto might know it from there. According to Japanese lore, Susanoo-no-Mikoto is a kami and the younger brother of Amaterasu. He’s a multifaceted deity with both good and bad characteristics, and he’s often depicted as a wild, impetuous god.

2. This Tengu protects Atago shrine, which is devoted to the deity Izanagi (male counterpart and brother of Izanami). He was assigned to this job by Buddha about 3,000 years ago and considered the representative of all the other Tengu in Japan.