Yama Rising

It was almost as though the fireworks were a final salute to the life they once used to have.

Their mind was in flux, and their hearts were filled with complex emotions.

“I feel… respected…” An old Yin spirit exclaimed hoarsely as he shut his eyes. It was the first time he had felt such warmth in his heart.

“I hope that this is a sign for the things to come…” Yet another young female Yin spirit smiled faintly as she prayed with her hands clasped tightly together, “This has to be Hell - the true, orthodox Hell which upholds the dignity of the dead. This is the place where all of the dead should go.”

The fireworks continued to crackle in the sky, filling the air with an atmosphere of festivity. Just then, four sets of illusory numbers silently appeared right above the city walls surrounding Ashmound City.

Only 7,200 seconds remained until the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival!

Just then, someone shouted at the top of his voice, “99.”

“97!!”

Each tick of the numbers tugged strongly at their souls. The heartfelt shouts of 20 million Yin spirits completely drowned out the crackling sound of the explosive fireworks. Sure, they might have continued to erupt with fiery passion, but nothing could compare to the earth-shattering countdown that was taking place on the ground below.

They longed for entertainment. They longed for festivities. Most of all, they longed to catch even a glimpse of the mortal realm. And now, their deepest desires would be fulfilled all at once. This night was destined to be remembered in the annals of Hell.

With the countdown now in full swing, even the most reticent of Yin spirits couldn’t help but chant along with the rest of the city. Decades of longsuffering had finally culminated in this one single moment.

Countless faces beamed brightly under the brilliant fireworks as they roared with all their hearts.

Limbo. The Harken suddenly opened his eyes. Fate had once again erupted with glorious golden lights as illusory waves began to ripple through the names previously written. A split second later, they slowly converged towards the tip of the brush, swirling about slowly as it transformed into black ink.

After a long time, he suddenly smiled, “This kid… isn’t too shabby.”

The man chuckled, “And you’re content with being a mere power generator at that?”

“9!!” Meanwhile, the unified cheers of the Yin spirits in Hell rocked Ashmound at its very core.

Meanwhile, back in Azurewaters City in the mortal realm. Whoosh… Two pairs of eyes abruptly opened in the darkness.

“Of course.” Lee Jung-sook responded without hesitation, “9 seconds till the jaunt of a thousand ghosts in Cathay. Since you guys are so bent on courting death, I’ll play along. I can’t die after all.”

Even a ravenous ghost like Crow Tengu nodded with great sobriety at the thought of the threat to his life and limb.

Unfortunately… time wasn’t on their side!

Whoosh!!! A nethergale rushed right in, causing all of the prayer flags located around the city to flutter wildly in the sky.

The fireworks continued to crackle and pop in the sky, giving Ashmound a brilliant splash of colour that was all too lacking in the dreary underworld.

That’s it… Let’s mark a clean start to Hell with a glorious bang!

He didn’t turn on his cell phone.

He wanted to witness the grand finale that he had worked so hard towards.

Besides… the daolord of the asura was still on his way, and he absolutely had to be in Hell to receive him!

After all, how could he even think of leaving an Abyssal Prefect to roam freely in the vast reaches of Ashmound?

A middle-aged man sat inside the palanquin, silently radiating the aura of an Abyssal Prefect.

Countless fireworks were illuminating the lands below that were filled with peculiar structures and buildings. It was clearly his destination - Ashmound City.

“What--...” He paused for a moment, and then gulped hard as he continued staring with great disbelief.

How is this possible?

His heart was truly shaken by the startling sight. It took him ten seconds before he finally withdrew his gaze and lowered the veil.

He wanted to see what kind of underworld the new Hell was!

“3!!!” The voices of the Yin spirits were hoarse and cracking. There were a total of nine gates, one large one and eight small ones, and they were all slowly opening up in front of their very eyes.

Meanwhile, back in the mortal realm. Wu Wenqing held onto his phone with great astonishment as he reported back to Zhou Xianlong, “Sir! We can’t get through to Mr Qin’s cell phone! It doesn’t seem to be in any service area!”

Has the day… finally come?

They were in the conference room, where all the captains of the Martial City branch of the Special Investigations Department were located. “Let’s begin.” He shut his eyes and muttered softly. At once, everyone stood up and responded with a sharp salute, “Yes, sir!”

This is going to be the festival of the dead, and a jubilee for the living… so long as we can keep our guard up.

This was how things had been like for the past ten years, and not a single person in the mortal realm had witnessed Hell’s gates for the longest time. From past experience, it was clear that the wandering spirits were going to continue patrolling the streets from dusk to dawn for the next two nights.

Zhou Xianlong slowly rose to his feet, drew a deep breath and then cupped his hands respectfully to every single person around, “Everyone, please take care.”

“I don’t wish to see your souls wandering the streets at the next Hungry Ghost Festival.”

“1!!!” Meanwhile, the bell perched atop the Mythic Palace of Reflections finally tolled, sending waves of cheer resounding across every corner of the city.

Because what appeared in front of their eyes was a gorgeous world that they had never imagined possible!

It was also in that very moment that Hell trembled with a deafening bang, both in the City of Salvation and Ashmound City alike.

It was a sound that could only be heard by Hellguards or stronger Yin spirits.

A blood-coloured rift had torn the skies above the two cities apart. At once, a mighty black tide soared up from both cities and straight into the sky!

“And now that a city has appeared in Ashmound, and a nest of ghosts in the City of Salvation… Yanluo Qin, haven’t you considered what might appear in the mortal realm during the Hungry Ghost Festival?”

“This is going to be the first time in a century that the gates of Hell are opened once more. This… is a night that will go down in history. Yet you’ve… completely failed to consider the implications of something as important as Cui Jue’s Law of Yin-Yang Coaction…”