Yama Rising

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"No one asked us to prepare anything, and we didn't receive any data that we had to study in advance..." Gu Changyou said as he skimmed his finger absentmindedly along the rim of his cup. He then shook his head with a resigned sigh. "There are no clues for us whatsoever."

"Well, that's not entirely true," Liao Handong said with a serious expression. "Do you all still remember the orders that Yanluo Qin has issued since unification, particularly the most recent ones?"

Li Lanzhi's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and several seconds later, her eyes lit up as she replied, "I recall very correctly that the first order that was issued was to construct canals and waterways along the major cities to connect with neighboring provinces. To be precise, this order was actually issued as far back as the commencement of the war of unification, not after unification. With each city that was conquered, construction of the city and construction of the waterways progressed simultaneously alongside one another. Construction on all of the waterways across the nation was only completed just last month, and the waterway system is virtually an identical replica of the Yellow River system in the mortal realm."

"I also remember that order," Gu Changyou chimed in. "That was the order that was most perplexing to the entire nation. Are you suggesting that this meeting has something to do with that?"

Liao Handong picked up a peanut and placed it into his mouth as he murmured, "Who knows? Construction of the waterway system was only completed recently, and now, we're being summoned to attend this meeting, so it's hard not to see a connection there. With the sudden demise of the last Hell, too much was wiped out, and many things had to be built up again from scratch. As a result, there are some orders that only Yanluo Qin and his core circle will know the purpose of."

"Indeed. In the past, we had thousands of years of accumulated knowledge, and new ghosts who come down can easily learn everything they need to know from others, yet now, everyone has to attend weekly lessons at their neighborhood committees."

"After we graduate from the national general knowledge course, we have to go on to learn about the state of the world. The education sector hasn't been officially established yet. If you ask me, I think Yanluo Qin is trying to drill all of this general knowledge into everyone first before working on establishing a sound system of education."

"This is going to be a monumental task that could easily take another decade to complete."

"It has to be done no matter how difficult it is. We're already dead, so we can't look at this world through the same lens as we did in the mortal realm."

"Indeed. Haven't you noticed that there are no instances of Yin spirit progression aside from among King Yanluo and his core circle? Apparently, this used to be a commonplace occurrence among all Yin spirits..."

"Let's have some food first," Li Lanzhi suggested with a wry smile after the discussion went on for a while longer. "It's rare for us to get together like this. We don't know anything, so the same can probably be expected of everyone else as well."

She picked up her chopsticks and plucked up a piece of Cathayan perch. The golden flesh of the perch was dripping with caramelized sugar, stuck to which were pieces of spring onion. "Let's wait and see, we'll know everything in three days anyway."

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Three days passed by in the blink of an eye, and on this morning, the area within a kilometer radius of the North Yin Pavilion was packed with Yin soldiers standing on guard. High-ranking officials from all over the nation were arriving at the North Yin Pavilion in carriages drawn by Yin beasts, and countless netherworldly citizens were gathered around the plaza to spectate.

"What's going on now? I didn't hear about any major events taking place today."

"I'm just as confused as you are. Normally, they'll always notify us in advance whenever there's some important ceremony."

"Hehe, what makes you think the government would notify you whenever something important comes up? Who do you think you are?"

"Hey, no need to get all snarky, I'm just trying to keep up with current affairs."

Li Lanzhi listened to the chatter ringing out all around her, and she repressed the curiosity in her own heart as she made her way into the North Yin Pavilion in an elegant and dignified manner.

The conference was being held in a side hall on the third floor. It was a tiered hall that wasn't particularly large, and the black flag of the Qin Dynasty was hanging up on the wall in the back. The decor was very simple and minimalistic, but there was a bright blue "Qin" character formed by Yin energy inscribed overhead, and it was warping incessantly, lending the hall a sense of authority.

Li Lanzhi sat down quietly before opening her notepad. There were still 10 minutes left until 9 AM, which was when the meeting was scheduled to commence.

10 minutes passed by in a flash, and at 9 AM on the dot, the doors of the conference hall swung shut, while a series of talismans lit up. All of a sudden, none of the sound coming from outside could be heard anymore, and the entire hall was so silent that even a pin drop would be clearly audible.

The netherfire in Li Lanzhi's eyes flickered slightly, and all of the other high-ranking officials in the hall also adopted serious expressions.

A procurator took a deep breath and analyzed, "We currently don't have any external enemies, and during our weekly lessons, we were told that the second King Yanluo sealed the Cathayan Underworld, so there's no way anyone can eavesdrop on us. This is a meeting between high-ranking provincial officials, so this is an extremely high-level conference. Without the possibility of anyone eavesdropping on these meetings, there have been no precedents of the doors being shut and sound-isolating Yin talismans being activated. It looks like today's meeting is truly going to be an extremely important one..."

All of these high-ranking officials were sly old foxes in their own right, so everyone else had figured this out for themselves as well. Currently, everyone's attention was focused on the empty stage at the center of the hall. In the next instant, streaks of Yin winds converged, and a series of figures appeared on the stage. At the very center was Qin Ye in his Emissary of Hell form, and he was accompanied by the Harken, Zhao Yun, Arthis, and Oda Nobunaga.

These were the people who stood at the very pinnacle of the Qin Dynasty's political hierarchy!

Qin Ye took a sip of tea before clearing his throat. "Welcome, everyone. I'm sure you're all very confused about why you were invited to Everburn without any prior notice. The reason for that is that this is an extremely important meeting, so we had to take all of the precautions that we could to make it strictly confidential. If the contents of this conference are somehow leaked, then all of you will be subjected to sky lantern punishment."

A string of faint gasps rang out within the hall in response to this stern declaration. Qin Ye waited for a few seconds before continuing, "As I'm sure all of you are already aware by now, the so-called three realms truly exist, and they are the realms of heaven, earth, and mortal. The underworld is the earthly realm, but our territory has never been complete. The true purpose of the underworld is to connect Yin and Yang to complete the cycle of reincarnation, but our underworld currently doesn't have this function. Due to Ksitigarbha's ascension, all of the personnel from the old Hell unexpectedly ascended to Heaven. As a result, reincarnation came to a grinding halt, and there was no one to judge the virtuosity of Yin spirits. The six paths of reincarnation is the most basic and most important function of Hell. Half a month ago, General Zhao, the Harken, and I traveled to six forsaken lands, gathering six irredeemably heinous souls, and now, we finally have the resources required to create another six paths of reincarnation!"

The entire conference hall fell deathly silent, and all of the officials attending the meeting reflexively sat up straighter as they stared intently at the stage in the center of the hall.

They had all guessed that the content being discussed during this meeting was going to be extremely important, but none of them could've anticipated it to be this important!

This was a declaration of no lesser magnitude than the founding of the nation!

Only with the six paths of reincarnation rebuilt could Hell be said to be truly complete. With each passing day that the six paths of reincarnation remained absent, Hell would only exist in name, but not in substance. Now, they were finally about to witness a pivotal moment in history, the moment that Hell became whole again!

Everyone's breathing began to speed up, and Qin Ye continued, "The six paths of reincarnation require six irredeemably heinous souls, all of which have been gathered. However, the other prerequisites to its establishment are that King Yanluo's Seal must be whole, and that the Yellow Springs must flow freely. Only then will Hell be able to operate as normal."

Everyone had grown accustomed to Yanluo Qin's straightforward and to-the-point way of speaking. It had to be said that he delivered his points far more clearly than the officials who held meetings in the mortal realm. In those meetings, it was often the case that half an hour of sleep-inducing drivel would pass by before the speaker finally cut to the chase. Through his actions, Yanluo Qin was telling everyone that he had no time for time-wasters, and that he was only interested in getting things done.

In the wake of this declaration, everyone immediately thought of the recently completed project to construct the waterway system.

Could it be that we're about to guide the Yellow Springs into the waterway system? Li Lanzhi thought to herself as a hint of astonishment appeared in her eyes.

Qin Ye swept his gaze across the officials present and continued, "Currently, the recuperation of King Yanluo's Seal is complete, and it only needs to be activated. Similarly, all that's needed for the Yellow Springs to flow into our waterways is an order from me. However, this will set off a series of chain reactions, and that's what we're going to be discussing today."

He turned to the Harken with a slight nod, and the Harken immediately rose to its feet with an authoritative expression. "Everyone, in order to understand why the six paths of reincarnation are the foundation of Hell, you first have to understand its purpose. To explain this on a theoretical basis, we have to talk about the Laws of Yin-Yang Coaction. Yin and Yang have always formed a cycle. Upon reaching the end of the Yin realm, otherwise known as Hell, one would return to the Yang realm, otherwise known as the mortal realm, through the six paths of reincarnation. After that, they'll return to Hell upon reaching the end of their lifespan in the mortal realm, and thus, the cycle repeats itself. The six paths of reincarnation are vital to ensure the smooth operation of this cycle. It's responsible for erasing everyone's memories of their past lives, and it connects all living beings in the world. It guides different souls into the bodies of different living beings according to the verdict that Hell has delivered upon them. The stagnation of the six paths of reincarnation will result in only people dying in the mortal realm, but no one being reincarnated. As a result, the cycle of Yin and Yang is destroyed. If it weren't for the second King Yanluo using his incredible power to reverse the Heavenly Dao, Cathay would've most likely already ceased to exist by now. So long as the six paths of reincarnation exist and nothing major goes wrong in the mortal realm, Cathay will continue to thrive, and that's why the six paths of reincarnation are the foundation of everything. However, two prerequisites must be fulfilled before it can be activated."

A serious look appeared on the Harken's face as it continued, "Firstly, the Yellow Springs’ Yin energy must be converted into kinetic energy. The six paths of reincarnation isn't a technique, nor is it a Yin artifact, so it's not listed as one of Hell's three divine artifacts. At its very core, the six paths of reincarnation are the body of a god!"

The officials seated in the hall were listening carefully, taking full advantage of this opportunity to get a better understanding of Hell. After all, a thorough understanding of Hell would form the basis for their work.

"I'm sure all of you have heard the story of the Goddess Earth Mother's body transforming into the six paths of reincarnation. This is a true story. Thus, the six paths of reincarnation is a godly existence to begin with; it's comprised of an ancient god's whole body, including their blood, flesh, bones, and skin. Rebuilding the six paths of reincarnation was originally going to be an extremely difficult feat, but there was a pleasant surprise waiting for us at the conclusion of the war of unification."

The pleasant surprise being referred to here was naturally none other than the Chalice of Preiddeu Annwn and the ancient god, Yu Kiang, that was engaged in battle against it.

Of course, this was information of the absolute highest level of confidentiality, and no more than 10 people were aware of which god's body formed the foundation of the new six paths of reincarnation.

"Our second objective is to find one of Hell's three divine artifacts, the Judgment Pen. During the collapse of the last Hell, the Judgment Pen went missing. The Book of Life and Death records life and death, while the Judgment Pen passes judgment on good and evil, and King Yanluo's Seal guides Yin spirits into the six paths of reincarnation. This is the complete system of reincarnation, and any missing component will prevent the cycle from being complete. Admittedly, we currently still don't know where the Judgment Pen is, but the nation has already been united, and the Judgment Pen emerged within the past two to three years, so there must be leads! In order to welcome its return, some things must be prepared in advance."

Its voice took on a grim tone as it continued, "Once the six paths of reincarnation are rebuilt, the array set up by the second King Yanluo will lose a part of its functions, and from that moment forth, we'll be responsible for overseeing the cycle of reincarnation. Perhaps those of you present still haven't familiarized yourselves with the mortal realm. This is not a good thing as Hell needs to constantly know what's going on in the mortal realm. All of the information that you need to know will be given to you by the city god. If you already have some understanding of the mortal realm, then you'll know that the mortal ream is entering the initial stage of an aging population, and that it's experienced 10 consecutive years of decline in its birth rate! The decline in the birth rate is caused by a variety of factors, such as the policies of the mortal realm. Due to increased living expenses, many people don't want to and can't afford to get married, but that's only one factor. Another major factor is the incomplete six paths of reincarnation. The second King Yanluo may have reversed the Heavenly Dao, but that's only a band-aid fix. In order to truly resolve this issue at its roots, the six paths of reincarnation must be rebuilt, and once that happens, we must immediately organize for Yin spirits to enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

All of the officials present fell silent upon hearing this.

Everyone finally understood what the crux of this meeting was.

The construction of the waterway system fulfilled the requirements for the Yellow Spring to flow throughout the entire land. This was fantastic news. From now on, there would be a new mode of transportation between provinces, thereby making the entire nation more connected.

However, this brought about a major dilemma.

During the past six years, the netherworldly citizen population of the Cathayan Underworld had reached over a hundred million, and all of them were accustomed to living in the underworld. Once the six paths of reincarnation were complete, who were they going to get to enter the cycle of reincarnation?

If they weren't careful in this process, it could easily lead to a revolt from the Yin spirits!

Everyone was living good lives down here, and many citizens were already starting families. Who would want to enter the cycle of reincarnation at a time like this?

Furthermore, the nation had only just been united, and it didn't take a genius to know that this was the perfect opportunity to be building a career. The rapid development of this new nation presented countless opportunities in all fields and sectors, and everyone wanted to take advantage of this to earn a foundation of wealth for their descendants.

Perhaps there would be many Yin spirits willing to enter the cycle of reincarnation in the future, but there definitely wouldn't be many now.

As such, it was extremely important to consider two things: who should be selected to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and what measures should be taken to convince them to comply with the decision.