Yama Rising

The corridor was filled with silence.

Both mother and daughter glanced at their hands in astonishment, and then at the golden light. Their clothes were no longer torn and tattered, and their bodies were no longer bloodied. Apart from the bullet hole that still remained in their foreheads, they had both returned to the instant right before their death.

It’s now or never!

An earth-shattering sound erupted from right ahead of them. The dark Yin energy on both sides of the corridor swept back like a tsunami crashing down onto a frail little boat. A split second later, a crimson figure burst forth from the heart of the tsunami, exuding copious amounts of Yin energy and netherflames all around as he rushed right over as quick as lightning.

One minute.

The Second King Yanluo didn’t tell him what this time was meant for. However, Qin Ye’s “Crazy Dave” plan was contingent on his ability to improvise and react to the situation. Naturally, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste.

He trusted in Fengdu’s legacy of over three thousand years. He also trusted the Second King Yanluo with his back.

The ground on the corridor began to crack and split open in the wake of his approach. Yin energy mounted like a tide, and his murderous intent exploded as he maintained a deadly gaze on the mother-daughter duo. 20 meters… 15 meters… 10 meters!

Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed.

However, his hands that were holding the spear didn’t tremble in the slightest. He charged forward at full speed as though soaring on nethergale. The veins in his arms even bulged slightly with excitement.

Whoosh!!

Like a sword, he plunged straight through the 10-meter restricted zone!

SSS!!! The mother-daughter duo instantly snapped back to their senses. Alas, it was already too late to block the incoming attack. They immediately dodged to the side, leaning back against the sides of the corridor at once. Everything had happened out of pure reflex. Having never participated in an actual duel before, everything they did was borne out of pure instinct. However, it was precisely because of the manner in which they avoided Qin Ye’s attack that… a path finally appeared right between them.

BOOM!!!

With a mighty crash, the door to the captain’s room ruptured violently, and Qin Ye dashed straight into the room with his entire body wrapped in Yin energy.

Dust and debris scattered everywhere. It wasn’t a large cabin by any means. Thus, as soon as the door broke apart, Qin Ye immediately saw a man wearing a black clergy robe appear in front of him.

This was Mukov, administrator of the second part of the script of death!

“We finally meet…” Qin Ye’s heart was finally filled with some measure of assurance. He could see that Mukov’s entire body was trembling from fear. The dark clergy robe fluttered everywhere as a result of the violent nethergale that rushed into the room, revealing the numerous scars that were all over his skin. Qin Ye could even hear the sound of his teeth chattering due to the immense fear that filled his heart.

Simultaneously, the mother-daughter duo turned their heads around at the exact same time. Their eyes had turned scarlet once more, and they stared intently at the clergyman in the room.

The thick stench of the living dead filled them with bloodlust. With two heart-rending screams, their hair lashed over like a violent wave!

Years of hunger.

Years of resentment.

They simply weren’t willing to allow anyone to seize this man from right underneath their noses!

This was their vengeance from the graves. This was the obsession of the evil ghosts! All who stood in their way must die, even if it meant perishing together!

They might be quick, but unfortunately, Qin Ye was quicker. Mukov was only a Hellguard. But as soon as he was about to say something, Qin Ye’s spear plunged straight through his chest.

“AHH… ARRGGHHHH!!!” Judge-class Yin energy poured straight through his flesh at once, sending a black lustre filling his entire body, almost as though he’d just swallowed a black sun. He looked up at Qin Ye in horror and despair.

He had already sensed the presence of two terrifying Judges waiting outside the door. He’d thought for a long time, and he wanted to tell them that he was also a victim of circumstances. He wanted to tell them that he was forced to comply. Unfortunately, Qin Ye made his move even before he could say his piece.

He wasn’t given the opportunity to speak at all.

His entire body turned to ash and slowly began to scatter into the surroundings. The only thing that remained was his cloak that swiftly fell to the ground. Qin Ye immediately reached over.

The one that died was only Mukov’s fleshly body. As an emissary, Qin Ye knew full well that the soul does not perish, but lives on forever.

He didn’t need Mukov to tell him anything. After all, he had a more reliable way of seeking the truth from a soul, such as by putting him through the process of soul searching.

But just as he reached over, he discovered to his dismay… that he could no longer do so.

Crrkk… Crrkk… In the split second that truly mattered, the hair of the mother-daughter duo had rushed over just in time to restrain his hands altogether. In fact, the hair wrapped around his hand so tightly it appeared no different from cobras trying to break his bones!

They once again bore the appearances of evil ghosts, with disheveled hair and bloodied bodies as they stared at Qin Ye with bloodshot eyes.

“You… killed him… You’ve killed him…” The little girl’s features were completely distorted. The excessive shock and anger at Qin Ye’s actions had allowed them to completely wrestle free from the Second King Yanluo’s seal which had earlier suppressed their abilities, “You… deserve… DEATH!!!”

“You deserve to die… You deserve to die!!!” The pregnant lady also unleashed a shrill, hoarse shriek as her body trembled from anger and resentment, “DIE!!!!”

Qin Ye was astounded - What kind of Yin spirit is this?! How could they actually break free of the godly Second King Yanluo’s seal?!

Unfortunately, time waited for no ghost. A split second later, the clergy robes flopped to the ground. Riding the wave of tension and confusion, a black humanoid-shaped shadow frantically fled towards the door in an attempt to make its escape.

Qin Ye reacted reflexively. Without thinking, chains rushed out of his sleeves in an instant, wrapping around the right hand of the humanoid shadow. At once, Mukov’s scream echoed through the corners of the captain’s cabin.

SSSS!!!

But just as Qin Ye was about to pull him back, he discovered that a black-and-red tongue was concurrently also wrapped around the left hand of the humanoid shadow. Mukov’s scream of agony wasn’t purely because of the tightness in which his hands were bound, but it also arose from the fact that he was currently being pulled by Judges on both sides. The soul of a mere Hellguard couldn’t possibly withstand such punishment for long.

At once, one man and three ghosts stood in a three-way deadlock. The mother-daughter duo were still restraining Qin Ye’s hands. At the same time, a tongue stretched out from the pregnant mother’s womb, wrapping tightly around Mukov’s soul, while Qin Ye’s chains were also tethered to Mukov’s soul.

There was a brief moment of peculiar harmony.

Crrk… Clatter… The hair, tongue and chains tightened at the same time, while Mukov simply gasped for air. There was a tense moment of creaks and clatter. Finally, the pregnant lady gnashed her teeth at Qin Ye, “You… let go!!”

“Give him… to me! I… will never stand in your way!”

“Otherwise… even if it means risking my life… I… will take you down with me!!!”

As she spoke, the cobra-like clumps of hair tightened their grip around Qin Ye’s body, intensifying in strength as it continued to creak with a hair-raising sound. Meanwhile, Qin Ye fervently resisted her attacks as he continued to tug unrelentingly at Mukov’s soul.

Granted, he wasn’t going to fall just because of a few clumps of hair. However, if he channeled any more energy to dealing with the hair that was binding his arms, there was no doubt that the Terror Toddler would gain control and possession of Mukov’s soul at once!

“Listen.” Qin Ye barked back with gritted teeth, “He’s not the mastermind for your deaths. The true culprit is someone else!”

As he spoke, he gently loosened his grip over Mukov. He was afraid that if he maintained his grip, Mukov’s soul would be torn to bits by the two opposite forces within moments.

“Hahaha…” The mother-daughter duo chuckled hoarsely, “Regardless of who it might be… This soul… is still mine!!!”

There was simply no room for negotiations!

Crises can surface even in the best of plans. The three factions were clearly trapped in a deadlock, and neither dared to push their luck too far. Qin Ye retracted his gaze and took a deep breath.

“Is there really no room for negotiation?”

“You… let go!!”

Qin Ye sighed softly.

A split second later, his eyes flickered wildly, and a spot of golden light appeared from his left sleeve and thrusted straight at the mother-daughter duo!

It was a gamble.

He was gambling on Fate transcending the bizarre 10-meter restriction. So long as he could even get them to defend themselves, the soul of Mukov would be his for the taking.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side.

He stared intently at the mother-daughter duo as soon as he sent Fate hurtling towards them. He was ready to tug at the chains wrapped around Mukov at the moment’s notice. However, the mother-daughter duo only flinched for a moment, before promptly turning back to Mukov, instantly pulling him closer to them by a large margin!

They didn’t give a damn about Fate at all!

Did it fail?

How is that possible?!

Qin Ye stared at Fate with great disbelief. He simply refused to believe that they could be that indifferent to Fate. The only reasonable explanation for this was that they didn’t know what Fate was. However, his heart soon sank to rock bottom at the sight of reality. The golden beam of light shot straight into the 10-meter restriction zone, and then… abruptly slowed down, as though it had just fallen into a thick mire!

“That’s impossible…” A lump swelled up on his throat. Although he didn’t infuse Fate with any of his Yin energy, it was still a Yama-class Yin artifact that was used by the Second King Yanluo of Hell! It was a Yin artifact that could easily crush an Infernal Judge, and yet it couldn’t even breach the mother-daughter duo’s restricted zone?

Disbelief filled his mind, and disappointment filled his heart. Unfortunately, he simply didn’t have the luxury of time to dwell on these emotions. At once, he softly loosened the chains and chuckled bitterly, “He’s all yours.”

He had already wasted far too much time here. The Second King Yanluo’s suppression of their abilities had given him some hope, but all he’d gained at the end of it was a deeper understanding of how bizarre this Yin spirit actually was.

And if he couldn’t seize Mukov’s spirit, the next best thing he could do was to locate Richard’s soul as quickly as possible.

Just then…

Whoosh… Another golden light blossomed just like a rising sun on the darkest of nights. Following that, everything in the captain’s cabin froze completely!

A voice suddenly boomed in his ears, “Number 5 - Spirit of Avernus. Her unique ability is that she can never be touched.”

Second King Yanluo? Qin Ye glanced around, only to realize that the mother-daughter duo were completely frozen in place, almost as though they were trapped in a frozen frame. That said, he could still see a dark cloud of Yin energy writhing madly within the pregnant lady’s stomach.

“How did you…”

“This is beyond you.” The Second King Yanluo promptly interjected, “These are entities to be dealt with by the likes of the Sixfold Ghost Kings. Infernal Judges don’t have the power to deal with Yin spirits like these. And when a student encounters a problem that is well beyond his depth, the mentor should naturally step up.”

Fate began moving.

Almost as though it was held firmly by a large hand, it quickly surged forward towards the pregnant lady’s crown, poised to plunge straight through it.

However, it did not.

It stopped just shy of making contact. There was nothing more than a 0.001mm gap between Fate and her head. Qin Ye immediately tilted his head with great bewilderment, wondering why the Second King Yanluo did this.

“Curious?” The Second King Yanluo continued placidly, “Even if I were here in person, I wouldn’t be able to do any more than this.”

“No matter how much force I use, the result will still be the same.”

The space between the Fate’s tip and the pregnant lady’s head trembled violently, and cracks even began to appear in the air. But no matter what happened, Fate appeared to be completely kept outside!

Qin Ye gasped - Is the Second King Yanluo actually powerless against her?

“A Judge-class Spirit of Avernus would possess 10 meters of ‘absolute domain’. In this domain of theirs, the resistance increases with every half of the remaining distance you cover. In other words, if you have infinite strength, you will be able to go infinitely close to her, but never actually bridge that gap to finally touch her. It’s the same for me as well.”

“Spirit of Avernus, otherwise known as the Spirit of Aversion to Life. It is in her nature to keep her distance due to her ‘aversion’. So long as she remains unwilling, nobody will be able to touch her. In the past, all Spirits of Avernus had to be purged by a carpet bombing of abilities, including especially shockwave-based attacks. It’s well beyond your abilities to deal with an opponent like this.”