Yama Rising

Chapter 510: Jaunt of a Thousand Ghosts (3)

Who was it?

Was it really an illusion?

He shook his head to dispel these thoughts in his mind. Even then, he found himself unable to shake off that niggling feeling at the back of his heart. And then, he furrowed his brows once more.

And it’s stirring greatly.

“What’s going on? Is this an illusion?” His mind was on fire. Everything had been done in haste, and hasty decisions were never good decisions. He fervently suppressed the anxiety that was brewing in his heart as he delved deeper into the consciousness of the Yin spirits in the vortices.

Evil ghosts…

Thousands of evil ghosts… were being born right now!

A nethergale swept past and Arthis soon coalesced right by his side, “The gates of Hell are open. The attraction I was talking about is a natural, primal response to the Yin energy that pours out from within. The three major ghost festivals are when the separation between realms are the weakest, and countless beings of the netherworld ride on this opportunity to return to Hell. That said, these are also times when the pure and dense Yin energy of Hell permeate the mortal realm, feeding the Yin spirits around and causing many to awaken and develop spiritual intelligence.”

Qin Ye massaged his throbbing temples - Instincts. Damn them and their stupid instincts! The jaunt of a thousand ghosts may mean the influx of Yin spirits to Martial City, but it also means a greater number of evil ghosts taking shape! I’ve been too poorly prepared for a situation like this… But… who can I blame?

His perspective of things was slowly transforming and taking shape in the face of the harsh realities of the world.

He turned to the daolord of the asura, only to be greeted by a flattering smile. “Stay right there.”

“Are you certain?” Arthis whispered back softly.

“Then don’t ever forget who it was who allowed this all to pan out in the first place!” Arthis retorted with incisive words spoken from the moral high ground, “It’s been two months since you’ve taken Ashmound! Had your heart and mind been more focused on the matters in Hell, do you think we wouldn’t have warned you about these things to come?!”

“Do you think you can continue to manage Ashmound City just like you’ve governed the City of Salvation? That’s wishful thinking! Has it finally gone through that thick skull of yours that Hell and the mortal realm are completely different places?!!”

At once, there was a tense silence. But, just then… the entire city turned red.

Whoosh… All at once, hundreds of thousands of Yin spirits looked over towards Qin Ye, and not even he could help but feel a chill run down his spine.

“One of the other ironclad rules of Hell.” Arthis stared at the sky as she explained, “All Yin spirits would naturally be attracted to Yin spirits of a higher order.”

All that remained were deep, ragged breaths that rustled softly in this kingdom of the dead.

She glanced to the rest of the city, “They would simply swarm over - eager to devour, or be devoured.”

At once, the previously prostrated Yin spirits clambered back to their feet like maddened spirits, shrieking at the top of their voices and rushing right over like a furious tide, eager to consume all in its path.

It was a chilling sight.

His mind went blank in an instant. He no longer asked Arthis why she hadn’t told him about all these things. Instead, he simply glanced about in all directions, watching vacantly as the netherflames around him poured directly towards him.

He didn’t know that the gates of hell were going to be open tonight. His preparations were made in haste, and he didn’t even have time to properly muster the Yin energy from the Book of Life and Death. Then, as the gates of Hell opened, the Yin energy that poured out drew to it all Yin spirits, and even triggered the development of spiritual intelligence in some.

The six paths of reincarnation… According to legends, the six paths were formed out of the body of Goddess Mother Earth…

How could they not go wild in the face of such temptation?

Qin Ye finally realized his mistake. With a great shudder, he immediately turned back and bellowed at the daolord, “Get back down to Hell right now!!”

“Right now! Head back to Hell immediately!” Qin Ye drew a deep breath - No… you cannot lose your cool! If the daolord of the asura discovers that the Hungry Ghost Festival isn’t being handled as well as he thought, his subdued attitude might take a turn for the worse.

The invisible threads that were spread all around him had finally come together, binding him up so tightly that he could barely breathe.

The wheels of Fate would always give rise to results.

“Yes…” The daolord of the asura responded. Then his lips parted slightly, almost as though he were saying something.

RUMBLE!!! An earth-shattering sound rumbled from the abyss beneath the daolord’s feet. In that instant, the pit had already expanded to tens of thousands of meters wide, swallowing up the countless streets and parks around it. Soon after, a monstrous pillar of Yin energy erupted from behind the daolord of the asura, sending his clothes and hair scattering everywhere.

“It’s too late.” Arthis muttered softly under her breath, “The gates of Hell have finally surfaced.”

It was a statue of himself.

The base of the statue was etched with a few words - ‘King Yanluo of Hell, Qin Ye’.

Is something like this also surfacing in the other Cathayan cities?

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of time to ponder over these things. With a great rumble, the building continued to rise higher and higher into the sky! What lay right beneath the statue was an ancient-looking ceremonial door. The height of the ceremonial door wasn’t yet visible, but anyone could tell that the width of the ceremonial door was already thousands of meters wide.

Rumble… The rise of the building lasted ten full minutes, until finally, a massive door appeared right in front of Qin Ye’s eyes.

The red lanterns swung hanging on the sides of the doorway swayed with the wind, depicting the words of a pair of couplets.

The second couplet read: And the wicked with trepidation.

The three major ghost festivals marked the appearance of Hell’s gate where Yin spirits roaming the mortal realm could finally make it to Hell. Qin Ye stared vacantly at the massive door before him. Just then, there was a soft click.

Oooooooo… A faint moan of ghosts emanated from within. Even then, what took Qin Ye by surprise was the fact that it wasn’t Ashmound City that appeared in the doorway. Instead, they were… hands!

It was almost as though anyone who drew too close to the entrance would find themselves forcibly dragged down to the pits of Hell.

To make matters worse, there was clearly a wave of Yin spirits that were rushing straight towards him like a rapid river!

In that instant, Qin Ye felt immeasurably helpless.

Was I… truly abdicating from my duties and responsibilities?

“Hoo… What a coincidence…” Just then, a hoarse voice cut through the tense silence of the night, jolting Qin Ye right back to his senses.

Strong…

They’re definitely stronger than Arthis! In fact, they’re probably not far off from Liu Yu’s strength. Furthermore… they’re wearing a Nipponese uniform, which means that they’re extraterritorial emissaries! There’s no way I’d be able to instakill these Yin spirits!

There was only Arthis around.

The other 8,000 Yin soldiers… had already been deployed to various other parts of the city.