Yama Rising

Qin Ye clasped his hands behind his back and closed his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, his beaded bracelet fell into his grasp, and he began to gently massage it as he calmly considered the situation.

Fragments of memories came together one after another to create a complete image, and he raised his head to look up at the sky in a slightly absentminded manner as he murmured to himself, "I've always found it strange that all nations are labeled on the world map of the underworld, but there's nothing to indicate the existence of the Australis. There's no underworld or death gods there, and what's even stranger is that no one has tried to conquer it. Even I've become more and more greedy for territory and population, and I'm sure it must be the same for the other ruler gods of the three pillars. I didn't think carefully about this in the past, but now..."

He turned toward the second King Yanluo and speculated, "I'm guessing some type of terrifying being was discovered in Australis, and that being has been kept strictly confidential ever since its discovery. This is a being that is extremely intelligent, and due to certain reasons, you're unable to kill it, which is how the four pillars came into existence."

"You think I was involved in the creation of the four pillars?" The second King Yanluo was rather surprised to hear this.

"That's right!" Qin Ye replied in a confident manner. "You selected the four most powerful underworlds in the world to create the four pillars, and one of the main responsibilities of the four pillars is to guard this place. Don't try to deny it, you're the only one with sufficient authority to do something like this. In fact, I'm even beginning to suspect that the first King Yanluo passed the throne down to you because of the discovery made in Australis."

"Is that all?"

"No, there's another reason for this," Qin Ye continued. "If I follow my current line of logic, it would only make sense that the relationship between the four pillars isn't one of pure competition. Instead, it's one where competition and collaboration coexist. You knew all of those from the very beginning, and that further solidifies my confidence that you were the one who founded the four pillars."

The second King Yanluo's mouth gaped open slightly as he stared at Qin Ye in a stunned manner. With his tall stature and his bushy eyebrows, that expression actually made him look rather adorable.

"This assumption also stems from the black box itself. You said that the world's biggest secret is sealed within the box, and that there are four guardians of this secret. It's then a very easy assumption to make that this was the reason for the four pillars' emergence. At the very least, this is one of the main reasons that the four pillars came into existence. Can you stop trying to look adorable?! It's really disgusting when you do it!"

The second King Yanluo shut his mouth.

Qin Ye rolled his eyes before continuing, "Given all of what I just said is true, another explanation for this grand script of death on the new continent has arisen. You confirmed that this script doesn't come from any underworld. Instead, it comes from something else, and that thing should be what you've been guarding in Australis. Ah, I forgot to mention this, but I'm certain it's in Australis as New Zealand acts as a barrier to the right of Australis, while the Sanfotsi Islands lie above it. Those places all have underworlds, so looking at the map, the only place where the problem could've possibly arisen is in Australis. The fact that this grand script of death came from Australis tells me that the being in Australis possesses an extremely high degree of intelligence. On top of that, it wasn't a coincidence that the grand script of death drifted across the sea all the way into the hands of three Caribbean death gods. On the matter of what to do with the three Caribbean death gods, you and Nothingness have conflicting opinions. An idiot like you... Ahem! Ahem, ahem, ahem! What I meant to say is, someone as shrewd and mighty as yourself would definitely choose to get rid of them."

As soon as the words "an idiot like you" slipped out of his mouth, a murderous gleam instantly appeared in the second King Yanluo's eyes, and Qin Ye immediately cleared his throat violently out of self-preservation before continuing, "However, Nothingness has more of a cautious and observant personality, so they would definitely want to get something out of the three Caribbean death gods."

The idiot nodded with a satisfied expression, clearly very pleased with the adjectives of "shrewd" and "mighty" bestowed upon him.

Qin Ye lowered his head to hide his disdainful expression as he continued, "However, it's undeniable that striking at the wrong time would have a detrimental effect. This is quite possibly the first grand script of death that being has released in the past several thousand years, and you wanted to observe and see exactly what that being wanted to accomplish with this grand script of death. Thus, neither you nor Nothingness were in a place to intervene. Ah, allow me to add something here. The Heavenly Dao is the ultimate observer and would never actively intervene in any situation unless the stakes were extremely high. In light of that, is it correct of me to assume that the being inside is a threat to all of the living beings in this world?"

He put on a seductive expression as he urged, "Come on, tell me, it won't hurt you to do so!"

The second King Yanluo raised an eyebrow before replying with a surly expression. "That's correct."

I thought so!

Qin Ye hurriedly pulled out the black box and thrust it into the second King Yanluo's hands as if he couldn't wait to part with it. "Please don't give something like this to me ever again!"

The second King Yanluo's eyes widened with incredulity as he stared at Qin Ye. "Are you sure you don't want to... reconsider?"

"No, no, it's fine. I am just an ordinary King Yanluo with no aspirations and... Hold on, put down your fists! We can talk about this like civilized people!"

A drop of sweat began to slide down Qin Ye's forehead as he frantically tried to keep the second King Yanluo's intimidating fists at bay. "Come on, we're both educated people, aren't we? We both went to school, right? Didn't your teachers tell you to play nice and renounce violence?"

The second King Yanluo's fists were giving off a gleam that said "I'm going to beat the crap out of you", and he shook them in a menacing manner as he repeated, "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

"No, there's no need for that, I've already made up my mind to accept this responsibility!" Qin Ye said as he pulled out a silken handkerchief to dab at the sweat on his forehead. "It is an honor for me to undertake such a meaningful duty, so put down your fists and let's talk! At the very least, I can hold onto the box until the next King Yanluo replaces me!"

At the end of his reply, Qin Ye's voice was already on the verge of cracking, and the second King Yanluo dropped his fists with a pleased expression. "As expected, violence is always the right answer in this world."

Rude! Neanderthal! Bully! Idiot!

Countless insults flashed through Qin Ye's mind as he gritted his teeth before continuing, "Continuing from where I left off, this is the root cause behind your conflict in opinion with Nothingness. Nothingness wants to find out more about that being through the three Caribbean death gods, yet you're of the opinion that they've already lost all value and should be disposed of, thereby resulting in that run-in not long ago. At the same time, both of you were concerned that that being may have done something to that grand script of death that would alert that being as soon as either of you intervened. Thus, you could only observe in the past. However, once the grand script of death drew to a conclusion, you finally realized something. Which wise, handsome, powerful, talented, breathtaking, graceful, regal, and extraordinarily capable figure was it who had resolved this issue?"

Qin Ye's words were coming thick and fast like a barrage from a machine gun now. "Who was it that resolved all of this when neither of you could intervene? Who was it that stepped up when both of you were completely stumped? Who was it that had ventured straight into the enemy's stronghold alone and intercepted the grand script of death like the genius that he is? Who was it that prevented the three Caribbean death gods from attaining godhood while also making that being fail to detect your intervention?"

The second King Yanluo was completely stunned by this string of shameless questions, and after several seconds of hesitation, he asked, "Are you referring to yourself?"

I mean, it clearly is him, but why is it that I felt like he had done a good job prior to this, but I no longer feel that way now? Is it because of how shameless he is?

Qin Ye puffed out his chest in a tall and proud manner as he nodded in response. "That's right! I'm glad you've finally realized just how brilliant I am and are beginning to worship me, which is why you finally decided to pass the black box onto me. By the way, can I really not return that thing?"

"No," the second King Yanluo replied with a stony expression. "On top of that, you have to open it as soon as possible."

"Alright, I'll be sure to open it in the next 3,000 years... Hold on, put your fists down! Can't you be a bit more civilized?"

The second King Yanluo harrumphed coldly before dropping his fists again. "Is that all you have to say?"

Qin Ye was trembling in the face of the second King Yanluo's blatant intimidation, and he replied, "That's all."

"Well done," the second King Yanluo said as a smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Everything you said was basically correct. I knew that even if you couldn't go in, you would still be able to figure out everything through extrapolation and analysis. Is it really that beneficial to train and gain experience in the mortal realm? Does it help broaden one's horizons?"

"Not necessarily," Qin Ye replied. "It's just that everything is too stiff and bland in the underworld, and that's not a joke. In the mortal realm, you get to experience so many things, even though your experiences are limited by your lifespan, and it's truly very difficult to describe. Even now, when I occasionally think back to all of the joy, the sadness, the anger... everything that I experienced during my time in the mortal realm, it's still a wave of mixed emotions. However, it's different in the underworld."

A complex smile appeared on his face as he heaved a faint sigh. "Due to the existence of cultivation, there is a clear power hierarchy that cannot be overcome. On top of that, Yin spirits don't have human limitations such as fatigue and hunger. If worse comes to worst, they can just live in caves without ever setting foot outside, whereas that would spell death for someone in the mortal realm. As such, the underworld was always bound to be more bland and inflexible. It's simply an unavoidable reality, and if I had to compare the two, I would say living in the mortal realm for 100 years is far more fruitful than living in the underworld for even 500 years."

The second King Yanluo nodded with a contemplative expression upon hearing this.

It seemed that Granny Meng had chosen the right person to take over as the third King Yanluo.

"Hold on, what is that look of approval I see in your eyes? Please don't look at me like that! I'm constantly thinking about how I can quit this job!"

The second King Yanluo ignored him and turned toward the harbor as he said, "There's actually something else I haven't told you. Do you know how many warships and weapons there are here?"

Qin Ye shook his head in response.

The second King Yanluo turned back to him and said, "There are a total of 200 warships and in excess of a million units of all types of bows and crossbows here! This is the real reason I brought you here! No one else knows what you brought back from the new continent, but I do! We both know what Xu Fu's notes could potentially contain!"

His breathing was beginning to accelerate as he unconsciously drew closer to Qin Ye, and Qin Ye could see the fervent excitement in his eyes.

"They have no idea how drastically that tiny notepad can change the entire world! You're right, the underworld is too bland and rigid, but was it really unable to discover a new energy resource even after several thousand years? No, that's simply because the underworld never had a pressing need for a new energy resource. With a cultivation system in existence, mid and high-grade underworld emissaries can live better lives than if there was no energy resource. Hence, they've never been in a hurry to find one, and that's why no energy resource exists in the underworld. Once you invent this new energy resource, you'll be able to stun the entire world!"

He placed a hand onto Qin Ye's shoulder as he continued, "On top of that, this place is in an even more dire need of a new energy resource. With a new energy resource, we might be able to bring some hypotheses into reality. Perhaps we'll be able to create stronger and more durable mechanical ships powered by the new energy, rather than manually operated wooden ships! Perhaps we'll even be able to invent firearms and cannons! I'm not talking about the firearms from the Europa underworlds, which are more for decoration than practical usage, having to cool down for 10 minutes between each shot, I'm talking about true weapons of mass destruction like the ones in the mortal realm! The world needs this! Once you usher in this new era, that will be the time for you to open the black box, and the army of the Cathayan Underworld will be able to enter this place! When that time comes, you'll have earned the right to know what type of secret lies beyond this gate! This is why I had to bring you here to take a look no matter what."