Yama Rising

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, especially Qin Ye.

“But now…” Arthis glanced at Qin Ye mischievously and chuckled delightfully at his misery, “The collapse of the old Hell means the crumbling away of the old ecological system. Not even I can predict what we’ll see after the span of this last hundred years of uncertainty.”

“What?!” “Hellguard-class… that…” “Doesn’t that mean we’re going to see a land sprawling with Judge-class Yin beasts? Perhaps even Prefect-class dogs?!” “On the other hand, even if Lord Qin becomes an Infernal Judge, we’ve only got two Infernal Judges with us…”

There’s more?!

Nobody said a single word. Amidst the deafening silence, Arthis continued, “The other threat… is the netherworld itself.”

“That’s right.” Arthis drew a deep breath, before glancing out of the window with a glint in her eye, “Hell is simply too small right now… So small that we can’t even begin to fathom what we can expect of the netherworld. There are two main sources of elements in the netherworld, what we call the Great Yin and the Great Yang. There’s also the elements of wind, rain and thunder, and frost and hail… I happen to have another video footage that I’m going to show you right here… Take a gander at this. Incidentally, let me just state that the footage you’re about to see is a once-in-a-century snowstorm that had occurred in the Province of the Great Heavens that I was charged with oversight.”

It was snow.

Moreover, the snow that poured out was almost knife-like, striking the screen of light like an incessant series of vicious slashes. They could tell that the trees outside of the light screen’s protection had already been punctured with a thousand holes, and the aftermath of their destruction… was actually burning in a massive green conflagration!

Astonishing.

To think that what was once known to be soft and harmless snowflakes would in Hell transform into something so violent and destructive! There was no need for further examples. Everyone immediately understood that whether Yin beasts or natural phenomena, prudence would have them avoid these like the plague.

“There are a few immutable rules to always keep in mind if you’re looking to survive in the wilderness of the netherworld. Number one, hide when it gets dark. Number two, seek shelter when you encounter a natural phenomenon, such as rain, snow, windstorms and thunderstorms. Number three, run if you encounter Yin beasts. If you can’t escape, then do yourself a favour and take your own life. Otherwise… you might be subject to an eternity that is worse than death itself.”

Deathly silence.

It was unbelievable. Nobody could say for certain whether they would be able to return from such journeys alive.

“Something’s not right…” He probed deeper, “There used to be Yin beasts around, so what about those that still exist from the old ecological system? Wouldn’t they attack us? Are you sure they wouldn’t ambush the Mountain Beasts that we’ll be riding upon?”

So that’s how it is…

Such a journey was no different from the Journey to the West, and he didn’t even have Sun Wukong’s godly strength at his disposal!

It took thirty more seconds before the meeting hall finally began to stir once more.

Cities in the netherworld, on the other hand, were built on the foundation of blood!

Ah, and they would even have to protect the copious amounts of supplies and Yin spirit stones. After all, if Yin spirits are already considered delicacies to the wild Yin beasts hiding in the unchartered territories to be explored, then what about Yin spirit stones?

“L-let’s disseminate the information first.” Qin Ye forcibly calmed himself down and began to pass around copies of the documents that he had obtained from the First Academy of Cultivators. Simultaneously, he turned furtively to Arthis and whispered to her, “You weren’t intentionally frightening me, were you?”

Just look at how frightened you are with the truth. Had I intentionally added my own set of embellishments… Arthis’ lips curled up slightly at the thought of such possibilities.

Having noticed the ashen expression on Qin Ye’s face, Arthis finally relented and brought his mind to consider the silver lining, “Truth be told, there are only benefits to be had in leaving the City of Salvation.”

“Of course.” Arthis chuckled softly, “The terrain of the netherworld is inextricably linked to the terrain of the mortal realm, and their sizes are exactly the same. If one were to explore unchartered territories in the netherworld, someone has to first place landmarks back in the mortal realm.”

“As it happens, I’ve previously done this before, and I can vaguely still recall how to go about doing it. The more Yin spirit stones you have, the better it is for you. Ten tonnes of Yin spirit stones can be condensed into a single landmark. We don’t know just how much will be required, but a landmark will be required with every two hundred kilometers you travel. These landmarks that you’ll be planting are called the Beacons of Light. They serve as beacons to guide the armies of the new Hell, and it allows your men to remain calm and collected even when your armies are scattered and routed by a throng of Yin beasts. Those who have strayed from the main force wouldn’t lose hope either.”

“Stop interrupting me! Listen carefully! The netherworld outside of Hell is a bleak place, and it’s easy to get lost in there. The terrain is also completely different from what we’re used to back in the mortal realm. Not even compasses would work in these places. The Beacon of Light is an essential element to any exploratory efforts of Hell! From the moment you’ve decided to splinter off and set up a sea port city of Hell, you’d already sealed your fate and decided that you would no longer be staying at the First Academy of Cultivators. This is something that can only be done by you and you alone.”

I sincerely wonder how the first generation King Yanluo of Hell had managed to achieve all of these things… We’re talking about a Judge-class or even a Prefect-class Yin beast… To think that I’m now forced to tread the very same path taken by the first King Yanluo of Hell… That’s incredible…

The ministers had broken up into groups of five for their discussions, and none of them noticed the soft exchange of the first-in-command and second-in-command of Hell. Time passed by quickly. An hour went by in the blink of an eye, and the time for discussion was nearing its end. There was a dearth of information about the places to be considered. Everyone was just as blind as the other, and there was naturally little to be discussed.

Ahhhh… Has the location of my burial finally been decided…? Qin Ye slumped back into his seat in despair, “Go on.”

“Where’s that?” Qin Ye looked up with some measure of surprise.

Why?

Doubt was the best way to distract the mind. Qin Ye immediately sat up straight, furrowed his brows and began to mull over their decision. The Eastmount Province isn’t close by. From Insignia Province, we’d have to traverse across Breakwaters Province before finally arriving at Eastmount. Granted, Eastmount is located extremely close to Nippon and Daehan… Daehan… That’s it!!