Yama Rising

Why hasn’t there been any response yet?

Why can’t I even see them yet?

The oracle.

Sigh… She sighed softly and took a sip of tea to quell the anxiety in her heart, and yet to no avail. But just then, the door suddenly swung open, and several representatives of the Alkebulan Underworlds entered with downcast expressions, “That’s unfortunate. Here I was, thinking that Hell had opened up completely, but Hell has only allowed us access to the region around the docks… Nadia? What’s wrong with you? The netherflames in your eyes are pulsing wildly. Are you… upset about something?”

The other representatives shrugged their shoulders and left her to her own devices. Nadia sighed quietly when the door shut once more. But it was just then that her legs suddenly went limp, and she gasped as she hurriedly knelt down to the ground, “G-g-greetings, esteemed Emissary of Hell!”

In fact, it was almost as though the face had somehow grown on the door of the room, and upon closer inspection, the fine lines of the face would reveal that this was none other than Wang Chenghao’s face.

Nadia lay prostrate on the ground and responded with great humility, “This is all thanks to the blessings of my ancestors.”

“I’ll do my best”

“Child of God.” Nadia didn’t hide anything, “There are a total of five Children of God across the Alkebulan Underworlds. There are a few requirements in order to be made a Child of God. Firstly, you need to have no roots. Secondly, you need to possess the ability to see the other realms, an ability that Cathayans call the Yin-Yang eyes. Thirdly… one must have no faith. In other words, throughout the course of our lives, we must not have placed any faith or trust in any of the totems that exist in Alkebulan.”

The human face remained indifferent, “And where is this oracle?”

“When the time comes, the Plumed Serpent God will descend into this world and manifest in my body as a vessel. I sincerely hope that Lord Qin would grant me the opportunity for an audience like that…”

This was the Plumed Serpent God she was talking about - the one true ancestor of all Alkebulan Underworlds. How powerful was he? But even then, she had no choice but to humbly request an audience before one of the strongest underworlds in the netherworld.

“Divine descent, huh?” The face on the wooden door slowly vanished, “You’ll meet Lord Qin tomorrow night at ten. You should know what to do.”

………………………………………………………

Nadia waited somewhat nervously in her bedroom. She had already cancelled all of her meetings tonight, and made the necessary arrangements. Then, she sat apprehensively in her seat, clutching the hem of her skirt and glancing at the clock every now and then.

The Yin energy gently wrapped around her entire body. Tens of seconds later, she vanished from her room. When she opened her eyes again, she immediately gasped and fell on her knees, “Na-na-na…”

Yes… Nadia’s lips parted and closed several times, and yet she wasn’t able to eke out a single world. She didn’t have a heart, but she could practically feel the wild thumping of her heaving chest. Her netherflames were flickering wildly from fear, and she struggled to keep herself together.

It was in that instant that she realized she was nothing more than a speck of dust in the grand netherworld out there.

She couldn’t even tell where the other source of Yin energy was coming from, but her instincts told her not to even bother tracing the source of it, because it would be an impossible task! She could tell in an instant that this was an entity that could easily cause her to go up in smoke with a single glance!

Lord Qin’s bodyguard? That’s… terrifying! I’ve not felt such terror from any Yin spirits in the Alkebulan Underworlds before! No… in fact, it might not even be an exaggeration to say that this Yin spirit is far stronger than even the Plumed Serpent God himself!

Gulp… She gulped nervously, and then proceeded to infuse Yin energy into her right hand. At once, the netherflames in her eyes went out, and she fell to the ground with a thud.

Zhao Yun flicked his finger, and an invisible cage appeared to contain the terrifying shockwave at once, forcibly suppressing the eruption of energy that appeared to be pulsing in every direction. Meanwhile, the lustre on Nadia’s body slowly intensified, until she was no different from a radiant sun trapped in Zhao Yun’s invisible cage!

Whoosh!!! A minute later, the void in the cage appeared to shatter into countless fragments shaped like glass, revealing a portal to what appeared to be a cosmic world glowing with blue light. And then, a figure finally stepped out from within.

Nadia stood right in front of a raised platform upon which Qin Ye’s throne sat. Meanwhile, there was another chair placed right beside Qin Ye, and another Yin spirit sat right on that chair. However, no matter how much he tried staring at that Yin spirit, he wasn’t able to discern the appearance of that Yin spirit.

A power beyond that of a god of death…

“One of the Sixfold Ghost Kings, General Zhao Zilong.” Qin Ye stood up and walked down the steps of his throne, “Plumed Serpent God, it’s been a while.”

There were a multitude of thoughts in the Plumed Serpent God’s heart right now, including both excitement, shock, awe and disbelief. Finally, after processing everything, Nadia finally turned around and nodded deeply, “Hello again.”

“I suppose you can put it that way.” Qin Ye smiled, “I’ve been fortunate enough to be favoured by General Zhao.”

“It was a fluke.” Zhao Yun responded placidly.

Do you know how much I would've liked to have a fluke like that?!

No… But I shouldn't be thinking about these things now… The Plumed Serpent God breathed heavily as he hung his head low. He was completely ecstatic right now!

“What a surprise…” With that, he finally turned back to Qin Ye, “Mr Qin, I believe you might have already guessed my intentions here.”

The Plumed Serpent God hated such high and mighty responses. Unfortunately, he knew he had no choice here.

What the hell is that?!

Qin Ye lowered his eyes. He knew that this was Zhao Yun’s explanation to him. The fact that it was held in such high regard by an existence above the realms of a Yama-King meant that this artifact must by no means be ordinary.

There was even a slight quiver in his voice. Qin Ye’s heart leapt slightly, and he continued to listen intently to Zhao Yun, “The Chalice of Preiddeu Annwn… There are too many legends about it spread throughout history, but suffice it to say that its status is akin to the artifacts linked to the creation of our system of gods, including the Jade Tables or the Chaos Lotus. Who would’ve thought that the Plumed Serpent God actually holds leads to artifacts like that? And the fact that he’s offering something like that to you is only testament to how desperate he is in his current situation right now.”

“And that’s the Holy Grail.”

Zhao Yun promptly continued, “It is indeed the Holy Grail that you’re thinking of. Don’t say a word. We don’t want to jeopardize our chances here. Any sudden movements here might scare the Plumed Serpent God away, or draw the attention of the Heavenly Dao. And if that happens, or if the Plumed Serpent God dies, then I’m afraid that this secret might remain buried forever in the recesses of the Heavenly Dao…”