Yama Rising

The banquet stretched on for two hours before Qin Ye rose to his feet and departed.

As he vanished on the spot, all of the kabuki dancers extended deep bows, and just as they were about to depart, Honda Tadakatsu suddenly said, "Hold on."

He turned around with a smile as he said, "That was quite a performance. You deserve a reward."

The lead dancer raised her head with a surprised expression upon hearing this, following which a genuine smile appeared on her face. "Thank..."

Before she had a chance to finish, five bursts of bright light flashed through the hall, and all of the dancers were reduced to specks of netherfire before they even had a chance to cry out.

The sound of blades being returned to their scabbards rang out across the hall, and five figures slowly rose to their feet within the darkness.

"Master." Honda Tadakatsu's smile faded as he cupped his fist in a respectful salute.

The person that he was speaking to was a slightly chubby man who was around 170 centimeters in height, with a small mustache on his face.

He was wearing a traditional black official's hat, with a black kariginu to match, upon which was embroidered round golden chrysanthemum flowers. There was a katana hanging from his waist, and he was holding a hand fan.

His appearance was very ordinary, but he was giving off a regal aura of superiority.

The four men behind him were also wearing the same black hats, but their robes were white in color, and they had decorative accessories hanging from their waists. They were all different in appearance, but there was one shared trait among them, and that was the intense killing intent that they were giving off.

The man made his way over to the railing, then cast a meaningful gaze toward the direction that Qin Ye had departed in before heaving a faint sigh. "You did very well, Tadakatsu."

"It's just a pity that we weren't able to find out his true intentions. I don't even know if he understood what we were trying to tell him," Honda Tadakatsu replied.

"I must say, this was quite the coincidence," the man said as he took a seat. "Iwasaki Kyouya was one of the people we've been keeping an eye on. He's about to reach the end of his lifespan, so our underworld emissaries were already waiting nearby, and they just so happened to see Yanluo Qin give Iwasaki Kyouya a visit."

One of the white-robed men's brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "While it's true that Yanluo Qin and Iwasaki Kyouya had some past ties, is it really true that Yanluo Qin came to Nippon just to bid him farewell?"

This man was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shōgun of Nippon!

Honda Tadakatsu, Sakai Tadatsugu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Ii Naomasa were known as the Shitennō, and at this moment, they were all gathered in the same tenshu pavilion.

"The ruler of one of the four pillars wouldn't have that much spare time on their hands." Tokugawa Ieyasu took his rightful place on the main seat, then continued, "Make sure to silence all of the underworld emissaries who have seen Yanluo Qin tonight."

"Yes!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu was silent for a moment before musing, "If you ask me, I think he understood what we were trying to convey to him."

Sakakibara Yasumasa was just about to say something, but Tokugawa Ieyasu raised a hand to stop him. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have mentioned Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hōjō Tokimune, and myself when he extended that invitation to Tadakatsu San. It might be a little bit of an overstatement for me to say this, but the three of us represent the three eras of Nippon. As such, it stands to reason that we would be the ones most unwilling to be oppressed, and we're also the most influential figures among all of the daimyos."

No one denied this, and they all lowered their heads with contemplative expressions.

Hōjō Tokimune managed to fight back two invasions from the Mongol army. Even though the divine wind was the reason they were able to force back the Mongol troops, he benefited from being the ruler of Nippon at the time.

As for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he united Nippon even before Tokugawa Ieyasu, but due to his greed, he did something that ultimately proved to be his own downfall, which was lashing out at Daehan.

At the time, the king of Daehan, Yi Yeon, had been banished, and all of the eight provinces of Yi Dynasty Daehan had also been conquered. He was extremely resentful, but couldn't do anything. Thus, he could only turn to Daehan's backer, which was the Ming Dynasty empire at the time, for reinforcements.

The Wanli Emperor was very displeased to hear about what Nippon had done, and thus, Song Yingchang and Li Rusong were deployed alongside an army of 40,000 troops to reinforce Daehan, comprehensively crushing Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army of 150,000.

At the time, the morale of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army was at an all-time high. It had just united all of Nippon, and it was quite a formidable army, but unfortunately for them, cannons had just been invented in the Ming Dynasty empire.

Thus, the battle became completely unfair. By modern standards, cannons back in those days were inaccurate and lacking in firepower, but don't forget that they were being pitted against soldiers who were only equipped with primitive weapons like swords and spears!

As soon as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army stepped onto the battlefield, it was hit by a barrage of unknown steel balls, and the battle was quickly over.

Five years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to have a second try, and the outcome was much the same. Through those two battles, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces were dealt irrecoverable blows.

At the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's reign was forged on the foundation of the five major subordinates under him, namely Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Ukita Hideie, Mōri Terumoto, and Kobayakawa Takakage. During the two Daehan wars, three of those clans suffered heavy losses, and as a result, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful of the five subordinates due to the fact that he had always conserved his own forces. Thus, the foundation was set for Tokugawa Ieyasu's subsequent rise to power.

Tokugawa Ieyasu heaved a long sigh. "So long as Izanami continues to be in power, none of us will truly be free."

The entire hall fell silent.

This was the root of the conflict between the daimyos and the gods and demons.

"That's not even to mention Ashikaga Yoshiaki..." Honda Tadakatsu said in a resentful voice.

……………………………………………………

Time in the underworld passed like sand in an eternal hourglass. The sand was constantly slipping away, but no one could sense its departure.

Half a year passed by in the blink of an eye, and for underworld emissaries like Honda Tadakatsu, it seemed like nothing had changed, but all of the top rulers of the Asian underworlds were beginning to pay special attention to their calendars.

Starting from the beginning of the month, the Golden Temple of the underworld became extremely busy. This temple existed in the mortal realm as well, and it was in Hindustan, a nation where religion was extremely revered. Thus, most of the important religious landmarks of Hindustan in the mortal realm were replicated in the underworld as well.

The Golden Temple of the underworld was even more massive than the one in the mortal realm. In Hindustan, the Golden Temple had been constructed using 750 kilograms of gold, but its equivalent in the Hindustani Underworld had been constructed using an entire metric ton of gold! Virtually the entirety of the interior was constructed from pure gold.

At this moment, there was a woman with a thin veil over her face, wearing a five-colored cape, standing at the entrance of the temple.

She was extremely beautiful, and it was clear form her features that she was Hindustani in ethnicity. There were images depicting all types of legends etched onto her cape, and she looked just like an ordinary woman from the mortal realm, but no one dared to look down on her.

This woman was none other than the Sky Serpent King!

Among all of the Hindustani Underworld's death gods, she was the one closest to the advanced Yama-King level, and she was also the prime minister of the Hindustani Underworld.

Her smile was impeccable, and there was a line of Yin spirit servants with white turbans on their heads standing behind her. She raised her head as she asked, "How long until Yanluo Qin arrives?"

"No more than five minutes," one of the servants replied.

The Sky Serpent King nodded in response and didn't say anything further.

She knew that this conference was not going to be a simple affair. Each international conference was an opportunity for underworlds to fight for speaking rights, and in particular, the Cathayan Underworld was attending this conference as the second host.

Indeed, the Asia-Pacific Economic Development Conference had two host nations, and this was due to the fact that Asia was the only continent in the entire underworld with two members of the four pillars.

Countless pairs of eyes were focused on this place, and everyone wanted to see what moves the Cathayan Underworld was going to make during this conference.

After all, it was their first time hosting an international conference since their century-long absence.

The servant paused momentarily before continuing in a hesitant voice, "Also, there's something else I need to tell you about."

What were you doing before this?

The Sky Serpent King's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and the servant hurriedly explained, "This is something that was raised by Mistress Izanami less than 10 minutes ago, so we've only just been informed as well..."

"Go ahead," the Sky Serpent King urged before the servant had a chance to finish.

The servant pursed his lips, then said, "There will be two Nipponese representative teams attending this conference."

The Sky Serpent King's body remained completely still, but her head swiveled around 90 degrees, and three snakes slowly converged toward the center of her pupils as she asked in a frosty voice, "Why have you only just been informed of this?! Tell me what's going on!"

The servant felt as if his soul had been plunged into a glacial pit, and he hurriedly explained, "One of the representative teams is led by Izanami and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, while the other one is led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hōjō Tokimune, and Honda Tadakatsu."

"They're not led by Izanamizz/"

"No..."

"Then what right do they have to attend this conference?!"

"They also have letters of invitation..."

The Sky Serpent King's fury instantly faded, and her eyes narrowed slightly in a calculating manner as she asked, "Who sent them their letters of invitation?"

"They were from the Cathayan Underworld," the servant replied. "We haven't prepared any places for them to rest, nor any seats for them in the conference venue. Should we..."

"Allow them to participate in the conference," the Sky Serpent King said in an indifferent voice. "This is the Nipponese Underworld's issue. All parties with letters of invitation are allowed entry. Also, make sure to reprimand Izanami for not clarifying the number of representative teams from her nation in advance."

"Yes." The servant released a messenger bird into the air, and at the same time, the Sky Serpent King's eyes abruptly sprang open as a warm smile appeared on her face.

At the end of the road, a giant carriage that was over 10 meters tall and crafted in the form of a Yin beast was slowly approaching the temple.

It was a moving palace.

Even all of the bells hanging outside the carriage were extremely intricate, having been crafted entirely from underworld gold, and the carriage itself was constructed from the A-grade material, Linglong Crystal, which was able to withstand 10 Yama-King level attacks. That wasn't even to mention the top-tier Yin runes inscribed upon it.

As a foreign death god, she was very envious of the Cathayan Underworld.

Even she couldn't understand these Yin runes, so they had to be Yin runes from the 10th circle, and only King Yanluo's Seal could give rise to such Yin runes!

She repressed the envy in her heart as she lifted the hem of her lavish dress, and right as the carriage drew to a halt before her, she extended a deep bow. "It is my honor to welcome Yanluo Qin to the Hindustani Underworld."

Classic Hindustani music had already begun to play, and female dancers on either side began to dance along to the music. Qin Ye was the final death god to arrive, and the conference was about to begin.

Countless pairs of eyes were already peering through the walls, focusing on the young King Yanluo.