Yama Rising

They were currently squaring off in the core resource centre of the old Hell.

The two men locked eyes. Both were filled with great vigilance. Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly, because… the other man was also an Anitya Hellguard!

The other man clutched at his chest nervously. He was just about to speak up when Qin Ye suddenly wagged his fingers at the man, “And don’t give me a stupid reply and say things like you’re my colleague. The old Hell has collapsed, and I’m the only genuine Emissary of Hell that remains in existence right now. Even if you once were an Emissary of Hell, right now…”

Silence.

Emissaries of Hell were a tyrannical force against all evil ghosts!

The Yin energy around them suddenly sank heavily, while innumerable spots of netherflames suddenly surged from the ground, almost as though they had been transported into one of the great abysses of Hell. A split second later, countless swords congealed from Yin energy emerged from the ground and rushed straight towards Qin Ye without any warning.

Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed - This is definitely one of Hell’s Arts. Unfortunately…

Clatter! Qin Ye’s body glowed brightly in the instant that the Yin energy swords arrived by his side. A layer of pitch-black aura appeared to wrap around his body, and the Yin energy swords that slammed into it instantly crumbled like dust and transformed back into clouds of Yin energy.

This was because he could sense that, right behind him, Qin Ye had just cut his fingertip, and a drop of blood had already landed onto the spirit streamer in his hand.

The spirit streamer rested softly on the man’s back, causing his entire body to tremble in fear. Resigned to his fate, the man gnashed his teeth, “... Darkfeather operating under the instructions of the Lord of Jiaozhi… special agent Ma Liu.”

Why would I need to ask you if I knew who exactly he was?!

“Speak.”

Despite having been mentally prepared for what was to come, Qin Ye couldn’t help but gulp nervously at the man’s response.

His emotions surged from within - Emperor Wu of Song, and Prince of Lanling… How many other such foreign garrisons does the old Hell actually have? How many famous generals are there eagerly awaiting my arrival to escort them back to the new Hell?

Ma Liu closed his eyes and continued to hold up his hands, “Looking at our historical interaction with Hell, all feudal officials are required to return to Fengdu Necropolis to pay tribute every fifty years. However, Jiaozhi hasn’t received any such edicts from Hell for the last fifty years, and the feudal officials are unable to return to Hell without an edict. Thus, Lord Lanling instructed us to return to take a look. Unfortunately, the Yin energy in Hell was in great chaos, and none of us were able to take a single step into Hell. Then, it wasn’t until a few days ago when the opposing straits suddenly erupted with the presence of the Book of Life and Death that Lord Lanling once again instructed his darkfeathers to scout the old Hell once more.”

Ma Liu chuckled bitterly.

We’re talking about the misfortune of ages!

Qin Ye was considering just how he should deal with Ma Liu. Just then, a loud tremor rippled through the Pavilion of Transcendence, and it began to tilt once more.

They immediately turned to glance at the countless cabinets that were sliding towards the valley from above like a massive avalanche. Fortunately, they were standing in a clear aisle in the middle, so they watched with bated breaths as the mountain of cabinets crashed down onto the two growing piles of cabinets. The mounds grew to a height of over ten meters within moments.

Apart from a few clear passageways around them, the entire room appeared to be filled with mounds of cabinets that had collapsed all over. Furthermore, as a result of the dangerous tilt of the building, they found themselves now… standing directly on the windows.

Before he could even finish speaking, a cabinet that was dangling dangerously at the top of a cabinet mound on the right suddenly fell with a great clatter like a boulder rolling off a cliff. Bang, bang, bang! A split second later, it came crashing down right onto where they were standing.

Gulp… Both men gulped nervously as they wiped off the cold sweat on their foreheads.

The sight was simply dizzying.

Neither men spoke. Both were reeling in shock from the earlier close call.

There was no doubt that the building would collapse as soon as its tilt goes beyond a critical angle.

“You’re still thinking of killing me at a time like this?!” Ma Liu’s breaths grew shallow as he glanced at Qin Ye and licked his lips, “I can help you out, but we’ll split the profits evenly!”

Gao Changgong… is thinking of rebelling!

If this hadn’t been Gao Changgong’s intention in the first place, the darkfeather under his command would never of his own volition make such a request. In fact, it only stood to reason that Gao Changgong was planning such a rebellion. After all, he was a highly accomplished man while he was alive, only to have been poisoned to death as a result of his king’s suspicion back then. If Hell had truly lost its power, they would never be able to obstruct his usurpation of the throne.

Boom!! A split-second later, the Pavilion of Transcendence could no longer hold up its own weight, and it snapped at the foundation. The entire building slammed down to the ground once more, kicking up a massive shockwave of dust and debris. Then, just as wooden splinters and dirt scattered everywhere, Qin Ye and Ma Liu made their moves at exactly the same time!

Qin Ye didn’t even care about the skulls that were approaching him. Instead, he swung his spirit streamer like the dance of a silver dragon, and set it flying straight towards Ma Liu’s legs.

When he first saw the strike approaching him, he was already prepared to lose a leg in order to preserve his own life. Yet when the crash resounded, he didn’t feel a single ounce of pain emanating from his lower limbs!

In that instant, everything became patently clear to Ma Liu - He wasn’t aiming for me…

So long as he destabilized the base of the cabinets, the cabinets on top would most certainly fall down. And then, Ma Liu would be sent smashing straight out of the Pavilion of Transcendence, and into the open arms of the sea of blight vermin below…

“Hellguards can fly for short distances.” Qin Ye didn’t even bother to look back as he toyed with the spirit streamer in hand, “But would that really be the case under the weight of these A-grade gloomwood cabinets?”

1. Jiaozhi is the term used to refer to several provinces, prefectures and counties in northern vietnam. Gao Changgong (541-573) was a high ranking general of the Northern Qi Dynasty who was given fiefdom in Lanling County, thereby earning him the name Prince of Lanling. Legend has it that he looked beautiful like a woman so he wore a mask in battles to appear more fearsome to the enemy.