Yama Rising

No one moved. It wasn't that they didn't want to move, they were too incredulous to move. A few seconds later, a string of loud neighs rang out as several hundred warhorses descended from the vast expanse of Yin clouds with Yin energy swirling all around them.

What are those idiots doing?! How did they allow these enemy soldiers to slip through?!

The inner demon turned to the two Abyssal Prefects, then spat through gritted teeth, "So this is how Chiyou's forces fare in battle? How eye-opening!"

The two Abyssal Prefects stood up, and their faces were flushed with humiliation as they turned toward the intruders with fierce killing intent in their eyes.

Their gaze was met by hundreds of pairs of ferocious and determined eyes.

All of the Yin soldiers were carrying injuries and had suffered damage to their armor. Several dozen of them were clearly already on the brink of death, but they had made it through to their destination!

The air seemed to have congealed under the weight of the killing intent from both sides. With a flick of his finger, Zhou Yu released a messenger bird that was holding an image capture crystal with its beak. It was also at this exact moment that the two Abyssal Prefects abruptly vanished on the spot.

"Retreat!" Zhou Yu yelled without any hesitation, swiveling around on his skeletal warhorse to rush back the same way he had come from. All of the Yin soldiers under his command instantly dispersed like mercury and fled in all directions.

"You're not going anywhere!" One of the Abyssal Prefects resembled a log with tree bark all over its entire body. It had a very thin build, and its tattered black cloak was like a piece of clothing hanging out to dry on a clothesline. In the instant that the 11 envoys dispersed, the Abyssal Prefect thrust a palm down toward the ground, and a series of wilted vines erupted out of the ground like giant dragons rising up out of the sea, pouncing directly toward the underworld emissaries.

Standing atop the sea of vines was the other Abyssal Prefect, who had a short and stubby build with deathly pale flesh that was riddled with holes. The second Abyssal Prefect brought its palms together, and flowers began to bloom on the wilted vines, producing countless skulls that were burning with scorching netherfire. A menacing smile appeared on the second Abyssal Prefect's face, following which it snapped its fingers.

BOOM!!

An inky-black shockwave abruptly swept through the entire space, and countless specks of netherfire were sent flying in all directions. Amid the violent explosion, both of the Abyssal Prefects cast their eyes toward a certain direction with their eyes wide with astonishment.

They didn't die? How did they survive?!

The two Abyssal Prefects vanished on the spot, then immediately reappeared, unsure of how to proceed.

The Yin soldiers had already escaped out of the Yin cloud circle, and their mission was to protect the inner demon as it activated the Myriad Soul Pagoda. Thus, they were faced with a dilemma.

Should they give chase? That was clearly unwise. Their mission was to protect the inner demon, and if they were to give chase, only for something to happen during their absence, the consequences could be catastrophic.

However, letting the enemy go was just as unappealing an option!

They were two Abyssal Prefects, yet they had allowed a group of Infernal Judges to escape! This was no different from a slap to the face for them!

Only after a few seconds of silence did the first Abyssal Prefect speak again. "Don't be rash. The true battle begins when the Myriad Soul Pagoda is activated. Even Master Envy is refraining from attacking at this point, and we need to do the same."

"Lucky bastards!" the second Abyssal Prefect cursed in an indignant voice.

…………………………

Fierce wind was blowing past Zhou Yu's ears, and even as his horse drew to a halt, his soul was still trembling uncontrollably. That was an after-effect of enduring a near-death experience.

However, the important thing was that he had survived!

He heaved a long sigh of relief, then turned around to check how many of his comrades were left. However, as he did so, he was instantly rooted to the spot.

Not a single person had died!

How was this possible?

Right at this moment, the sound of pounding horse hooves drew closer from the distance, and his astonishment was exacerbated even further as he discovered that none of the 11 envoys had fallen!

After crossing through the entire battlefield, 403 Yin soldiers were left of the original 847 they had brought with them. After a quick count, Zhou Yu discovered that there were still 403 Yin soldiers left!

"This is impossible..." he murmured to himself.

"It most certainly is impossible!" Ma Fubo said in an excited voice as he pulled back his visor. "A Yama-King must've noticed us and given us their protection!"

Who could've been capable of doing that?

The 11 envoys quickly inspected their surroundings.

The Yama-Kings among the four demonic ghostly immortals were all locked in standoffs with their opponents, so none of them would've been able to do anything. Thus, there was only one possible candidate for the mysterious Yama-King who had protected them.

With that in mind, Zhou Yu cast his gaze up toward the heavens, then placed his right hand onto his own chest before extending a deep bow.

Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out, seemingly out of nowhere. "Looks like you're not completely ungrateful, after all."

All of the envoys' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, and before they had a chance to say anything, the voice continued, "There's no need to be alarmed, allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Ryu Changmin, Chu Renmei, and Huang Jiansen of the Dusk Legionnaire. Rest assured, our Dusk Legionnaire doesn't have any Yin energy, so the enemy won't be able to detect us."

Ryu Changmin slowly appeared before continuing, "Time is of the essence. Yanluo Qin didn't say anything to me at the time, but having been with him for 20 years, I feel like I have a decent grasp of what he's thinking, and I'm guessing that he wants to ask you one thing: are you willing to pull off something big?"

"How big are we talking?" Wang Meng asked as he lifted his visor. There was no fear at all in his eyes, only excitement and anticipation.

The 12 envoys had been repressed for almost 20 years.

All of them were vastly renowned figures in history.

During their time in the mortal realm, they had been revered and respected, yet due to their transgressions against King Yanluo, they were being treated as inferior to even normal soldiers in the underworld.

Due to their past mistakes, they had been forced to sit on the sidelines for two decades, watching as the Cathayan Underworld made its meteoric resurgence, desperately hoping that they would get a chance to redeem themselves and stamp their names into history once again.

Thus, they weren't hesitating at all in the face of this opportunity.

"Big enough to potentially have a decisive effect on the outcome of this battle," Ryu Changmin chuckled. "Let me make this clear in advance: this is not a proposal from Yanluo Qin, it's solely my idea. I just so happen to have some special abilities that can work in our favor here, so how about it? Would you like to give it a shot?"

………………………………………………..

The two Abyssal Prefects slowly returned to the inner demon's side, and the inner demon took a glance at them before giving them a faint smile.

It was only a slight gesture, but it exacerbated the humiliation of the two Abyssal Prefects by severalfold.

Unfortunately for them, they couldn't even protest, and all they could do was sit in silence beside the inner demon.

However, as soon as they sat down, several hundred arrows with Yin energy trailing behind them shot out of the Yin clouds, flying directly toward the inner demon. Upon calculating the area covered by the Yin cloud circle, it would be very easy to determine where the center was, and that was where the inner demon was situated.

The wood-like Abyssal Prefect didn't hesitate in the slightest as it thrust both of its palms down toward the ground, and a black forest of wilted trees erupted out of the ground, forming a barricade all around them.

There was no way that the arrows would be able to pierce through the forest, but right as they were about to plunge into the forest, a string of dull thumps rang out from the Yin clouds, and several hundred fiery birds flew out behind the arrows.

All of the arrows were instantly set alight before plunging into the forest, and what was extremely peculiar was that these flames seemed to be alive! In the blink of an eye, the inner demon had already been surrounded by a sea of fire!

"Don't just stand there and watch!" the inner demon yelled in a furious voice. At this point, the bone shard in its grasp was close to completely black.

Damn it!

The wood-like Abyssal Prefect gritted its teeth as it withdrew the forest that it had summoned, and right at this moment, the sound of pounding horse hooves rang out in the distance once again.

They dare to come again?!

The two Abyssal Prefects were furious at the humiliation they had suffered, and they shot forth into the Yin clouds like lightning. At the same time, the 11 groups of Yin soldiers rushed out from the Yin clouds with ferocious killing intent.

"Die!" The wood-like Abyssal Prefect was being driven made by rage and humiliation!

These Yin soldiers were coming and going as they pleased, completely disregarding the two Abyssal Prefects, and to them, this was the most blatant form of provocation!

The only way to vent their fury would be to destroy these pesky Yin soldiers!

Thus, the wood-like Abyssal Prefect wasn't holding back in the slightest as it reached out with a grabbing motion, and its Yin energy erupted in full force, causing even the surrounding space to tremble slightly.

However, much to its surprise, its targets didn't bother to take any evasive measures.

Why was that the case?

An overwhelming sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in its heart, and even as it was still reaching out with its hand, its head had already swiveled around to look in the inner demon's direction, while the netherfire in its eyes had sprung up like flaming pyres from horror.

In the face of its vicious grab, there was no way for Gao Changgong to evade it.

To an Infernal Judge, an attack from an Abyssal Prefect was unavoidable, and reddish-black Yin energy had locked onto his entire body, causing his soul to tremble violently. Even his teeth were beginning to chatter uncontrollably.

However, he paid no heed to that at all. The Yin energy of the Abyssal Prefect was rapidly chipping away at his courage, but he still looked forward with a determined expression, and the netherfire in his eyes had turned bright red.

"Charge!" he roared with all his might, as if he were trying to dispel the fear in his heart, then pressed his own body tightly against the back of his steed as he charged toward the wood-like Abyssal Prefect at full speed!

The skeletal warhorse was instantly erased out of his existence, and reddish-black Yin energy began to seep out of his soul, which was on the verge of disintegrating. The metal visor covering his face also shattered, revealing his outrageously handsome features.

His long black hair danced wildly in the wind, yet the resolve in his eyes didn't waver even in the slightest. This was the path they had chosen, and they either made a resurgence here or died noble deaths!

His determination was carrying him forward with unstoppable force!

"Your Excellency!" At this point, the sense of peril in the wood-like Abyssal Prefect's heart had already spiked to an unprecedented degree. Never had it felt anything like this, even when pitted against the Abyssal Prefects under the Yellow Emperor all those years ago!

Even though nothing had happened yet, it had already instinctively yelled out in horror.

The inner demon finally raised its head, and it was also in this instant that a series of black ripples appeared around Gao Changgong's body, forcibly pushing back all of the wood-like Abyssal Prefect's Yin energy.

It was Untouchable Love!

Gao Changgong had already drawn his sword and was roaring with all his might, putting on a display that was a complete mismatch with his cultured and refined appearance. His body was still pressed up tightly against the back of his steed, and the inner demon was the only thing in his eyes!

How did this happen?! The wood-like Abyssal Prefect looked down at its own hands with a stunned expression, then suddenly screamed before frantically rushing back toward the center of Zhuolu, only to be intercepted by the 11 envoys and all of the Yin soldiers they had brought with them.

"Piss off!" The wood-like Abyssal Prefect was desperate as it unleashed one powerful art after another, but it knew that it was already too late.

The trump card that the enemy was hiding was already approaching the heart of Zhuolu!

The inner demon looked on at the approaching Gao Changgong with a cold expression, then slowly raised a hand as it said, "Are you a possession Yin spirit? I must say, this was quite a smart trick, but unfortunately for you, you're too weak."

It gently curled a finger, and Ryu Changmin emerged from Gao Changgong's body without being able to pose any resistance. Immediately thereafter, the inner demon stabbed a finger forward, and a beam of black light shot directly toward Gao Changgong's glabella.

The attack was truly as fast as lightning!

The inner demon hadn't unleashed power beyond the Yama-King level. Advanced Yama-King level power was more than enough to do the trick.

It turned away with an indifferent expression, only to immediately turn back again as an astonished look appeared on its face.

"No!" The two Abyssal Prefects behind him let loose blood-curdling screams in unison.

Ryu Changmin had disappeared on the spot, and he had been replaced by a golden skeleton wearing a golden dragon robe and a regal crown.

The skeleton was wielding a sword, which was pointed directly at the bone shard!

This was the Dusk Legionnaire's mutual teleportation ability!

"You didn't expect this, did you?" A humanized smile appeared on Qin Ye's skeletal face. "Surprise!"