Yama Rising

Indeed, sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

In order to buy Hell another century of time for it to develop in peace, then he would have to make some concessions. International conferences were processes of constant probing and negotiation. During conferences of that scale, no one's word was absolute, and no one would perpetually benefit.

If he wanted to buy time for Cathay, then he would have to attend this 20th conference. However, he was only an Abyssal Prefect at the moment, so how was he supposed to attend?

Of course, if Hell were to agree to an expansion of the four pillars, then no one would say anything further, but they couldn't afford to accept this proposal right now.

Perhaps they could've just not held this video teleconference in the first place, but that would've led to a slow and torturous death anyway. Of course, even if Hell were to continue to remain silent, no one would dare to provoke it anyway. However, over time, Hell's regional and international influence would continue to diminish. Cathay had already been silent for a century. How many more centuries of silence could pass by before the world turned on Cathay?

After taking a moment to arrange his thoughts, Qin Ye asked in a calm manner, "What time next year is the conference going to be held?"

"It'll be held on the 7th of June at Tōdai-ji of Nara, Nippon," Thanatos replied with a smile, "Have you made your decision, Yanluo Qin?"

"Rest assured, I'll be there to represent the Cathayan Underworld." There was no alternative. Qin Ye took a sip of tea before continuing, "Is that all for today?"

"I very much look forward to seeing you there." Anubis took one final meaningful look at him before his screen turned dark.

Thanatos smiled, and said, "I hope that the four pillars can continue to work to make further contributions to advancing all of the international underworlds, and I also look forward to seeing you in Nippon, Yanluo Qin."

"There are two members of the four pillars in Asia; I hope that we can continue our cooperative relationship to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. See you in Nippon, Yanluo Qin." Yamaraja's smile was nothing short of terrifying, and with these declarations made by three of the four pillars, one screen after another turned dark, and soon, the room turned silent again.

However, the silence wasn't just limited to Qin Ye's office. All of the death gods who had just participated in that conference had fallen into deep thought.

In the Argosian Underworld, Thanatos and Hypnos were taking a stroll together in the Elysian Fields. Hypnos reached out to catch a falling flower petal, which quickly withered away on his palm. He gently rubbed the flower petal between his fingers in an absentminded manner as he asked, "What do you think of this new leader of the Cathayan Underworld."

"He seems to be a reasonable man," Thanatos replied with a smile. "At the very least, he didn't flip the tables on everyone. If the second King Yanluo was still in charge, there's no way this conference would've been so peaceful."

Hypnos's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this, and the unspeakably painful memory from several centuries ago quickly flooded into his mind.

Thanatos heaved a faint sigh as he continued, "At the very least, he acts in a reasonable and measured fashion, completely different from how the second King Yanluo did things. However, I'm sure that the successor chosen by the second King Yanluo isn't an idiot. The only thing I'm wondering about is why he needs another century."

"Perhaps it's... war?" Hypnos suggested.

"Oh?"

"I think there was a civil war, one that was extremely brutal, and the Cathayan Underworld needs time to recover. Otherwise, I can't think of any other reasons," Hypnos said with a cold smile, "Hell has clearly realized the decline in their international influence, so they want to make their voice heard. As long as they harbor this type of attitude, there will be many opportunities for us to uncover the truth in the future. Have you forgotten what the conference after the re-signing of the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts is?"

In the Aegyptian Underworld, Anubis set down his golden scepter, and his fingers, which were as black as dark obsidian, were gently stroking the armrest of his throne. After a long while, he finally looked up and cast his gaze towards the great priests before him.

"He doesn't seem to be as aggressive as the second King Yanluo," a great priest wearing a golden mask replied. "He has his own style that's calmer and less volatile; that's certainly good news."

Another great priest who was also wearing a golden mask chimed in with a hoarse voice, "We can tell that they want to make their voices heard on the international stage, but at the same time, they've told us outright that their array won't be opened for the next century. This means that they want to integrate themselves back onto the world stage, but aren't prepared to get involved in matters that will require them to display their power, matters such as..."

He paused momentarily before finding a suitable example. "The Yin spirit war of the Australis Underworld."

"So they're trying to get the best of both worlds! How naive!"

"Well, they do have the power to make demands like this."

"That's enough." Anubis slowly raised a hand as he cast his gaze out of the palace. "What do you think?"

A figure resembling a giant dragon was roaming outside the palace, and in response to Anubis's question, a rumbling voice rang out. "As long as they have something they need, they'll have weaknesses that can be targeted. If we can reduce the four pillars to three, then that would naturally be the best-case scenario. The treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts is nothing more than the first step to probing out the true state of the Cathayan Underworld; the international underworlds' trade convention will be the true test, and I'm sure that the Argosian Underworld and the Hindustani Underworld are also aware of this."

Anubis looked down at his own fingers in a casual manner. "Are you also of the opinion that it's rather strange for the Cathayan Underworld to delay the opening of its array by another century?"

"That is indeed very strange." The giant dragon was casting a dark shadow over the entire divine palace. "They want to make their voices heard, but they're only doing things halfway, and that's completely contradictory with the style of the past Hell. In fact, I can't think of any possible reason for this other than civil war. The information that Hell has released states that their underworld has recently undergone a change of political regime, and judging from the news of Yanluo Qin's inauguration, it seems that this is true. However, changes in political regime are often directly related to civil conflicts. In any case, we'll be able to get a better look at them during the next conference, and I'm sure we're not the only ones with these intentions, hehehe..."

……………………………………………………

In the King Yanluo's office of Everburn City.

Everyone was completely silent.

Qin Ye was gently stroking his armrests with his fingers. He didn't feel as if he had been insulted. After all, this was the international stage, and even during the reign of the second King Yanluo, he wasn't able to completely dominate the world stage. At the very most, he was only able to secure the biggest piece of the pie for Cathay. If he were to attempt to take the whole pie and leave nothing for everyone else, then that would undoubtedly lead to an international uprising against Cathay.

Currently, everyone was hoping that Cathay would relinquish its share of the pie so that others could capitalize.

Qin Ye was aware that this was going to be a perilous conference for Cathay. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that it was a Hongmen banquet . If Hell were to display even the slightest sign of weakness during the conference in Nara the following year, then its share of the pie would be forcibly taken.

"My Lord, this isn't something for you to worry about at the moment," Zhao Yun suddenly said, "Even though the Sixfold Ghost Kings and the Harken aren't involved in international affairs, and international conferences are mostly attended by the King Yanluo and the 10 Yama-Kings, we do know some things, the most important of which is that..."

He paused here momentarily as he looked straight in Qin Ye's eyes. "You absolutely cannot attend the conference in Nara as an Abyssal Prefect!"

Qin Ye's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this, and his brows immediately furrowed. This was something that he hadn't considered yet.

Indeed, if it were to be revealed to the world that the third King Yanluo of Hell was only an Abyssal Prefect, then Cathay would become the laughingstock of the entire world!

All of the first-rate underworlds each had several death gods among their ranks, yet the King Yanluo of one of the four pillars was only an Abyssal Prefect?

"So I have to construct the six paths of reincarnation within a year," he murmured to himself as he cast a forlorn gaze out the window.

Even though Hell had already been reunited, he still hadn't fulfilled his duty yet. The Yin spirits were unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and this was the final obstacle standing between him and a breakthrough to the Yama-King level.

The day that the six paths of reincarnation returned to the Cathayan Underworld would be the day he became a King Yanluo!

Furthermore, he had to act right away. The most powerful underworlds on the world stage had already aimed their swords at him, and there was no time to waste!

The treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts was only the beginning.

That conference would only be the entrèe before the main course, and there were many more challenges that he would have to face in the future. This was only the beginning of Cathay's return to the world stage, and he had to do everything in his power to ensure that it was a smooth and triumphant return!

He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths in succession before asking in a grim voice, "General Zhao, what exactly is the forsaken land?"

Zhao Yun replied with a serious expression, "To put it in the simplest terms, the forsaken land is a place that the Heavenly Dao cannot extend its blessings to. It's exactly the same as the rest of the world, except there won't be any Yin talismans there; only the most fundamental energies of Yin and Yang. Any type of Yin spirit could appear in the area, even special Yin spirits that are ranked first on the list."

He stuck out four fingers before continuing, "There are four ironclad rules in the forsaken lands. Firstly, unless a Yin spirit is taken out of there by an outsider, then they'll never be able to leave the forsaken lands. Secondly, the forsaken land can't be detected using Yin energy, Yin spirits inside the forsaken lands are unable to sense Yin energy or the Heavenly Dao, and everything taking place within the forsaken lands will also remain a mystery to the outside world, including the Heavenly Dao. Thirdly, the Yin spirits in the forsaken land are completely outside of the jurisdiction of all three realms. Emissaries of Hell hold no power over them, and even a god would be no different from an ordinary person there."

Qin Ye nodded in response. Essentially, these places were like the blind spots of the world.

However, if it couldn't be detected using Yin energy, then how was he supposed to track it down?

Zhao Yun seemed to have gleaned the question in Qin Ye's heart, and he replied, "Rest assured, the location of the forsaken lands remains eternally unchanged; the only things that change are the people and things inside them. There are a total of eight forsaken lands in Cathay, all of which have already been tracked down by Hell. However..."

He paused momentarily before continuing in a grim voice, "None of the emissaries of Hell sent into those forsaken lands have ever come out again. Among them were eight Infernal Judges, and not even a single messenger bird managed to emerge. On top of that, none of them made it past the first night before their soulfire was snuffed out."

Qin Ye drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. These were official emissaries of Hell, with eight Infernal Judges among them, yet they had been wiped out on the first night, which meant that there had to at least be Abyssal Prefect level evil ghosts in the forsaken lands!

These evil ghosts were impervious to the might of the three realms, and there were no Yin talismans, so no arts could be used. How was he supposed to defend himself in such a harsh environment?

"Have you been to any of the forsaken lands?"

Zhao Yun shook his head in response. "The fourth rule is that only one emissary of Hell can enter at a time. On top of that, there is no land nor any cities inside the forsaken lands."

Qin Ye massaged his own temples as a headache began to set in.

It was no wonder that no one dared to venture into these areas; only one emissary of Hell could enter at a time, and arts couldn't be used due to the absence of Yin talismans. In addition to that, their auras as official emissaries of Hell were completely ineffective, and who was to say that there weren't Yama-King level evil ghosts in there?

The quickest way for Yin spirits to evolve was to devour other Yin spirits. If a Yama-King were to venture into a forsaken land, only to encounter another Yama-King and be devoured, then an evil ghost above the Yama-King level would be born!

"What about the second King Yanluo? Did he ever go?"

An awkward look appeared on Zhao Yun's face as he replied, "He... He couldn't be bothered."

Perfect! What a fantastic answer!

Qin Ye was still holding onto a shred of hope as he asked, "Then what about Yin artifacts like King Yama's Seal or the Book of Life and Death?"

"I'm afraid they won't help you, either," Zhao Yun replied with a shake of his head, "There's no Yin energy in the forsaken lands, so Yin artifacts will be useless even if you take them with you. On top of that, if they fall into the hands of evil ghosts, then we'll be in immense trouble! Go back and rest for now, My Lord. The Harken and I will collate all of the information we have, then give you a detailed account tomorrow."

"Can I not go? I mean, I only just became King Yanluo; at least wait until I set up my harem..."

[1] [The Hongmen banquet is a historical event detailed in the iconic Chinese novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". It refers to a banquet set up with the sole intention of ambushing and murdering its guest.]