Yama Rising

As he fell silent, the entire room also descended into silence.

Mo Changhao was the first one to speak again. "So you're saying that the giant beast was surveying the underworld outside of a certain array, and it was wounded by the tsunamis. It was unable to escape, and as a result, it was forced to flee into the Yin Yang Mezzanine. After arriving in the mortal realm, it succumbed to its wounds, and a chunk of its body was detached, is that correct?"

Everyone nodded in response. There was no concrete evidence at all to support this theory, but it was impossible to refute based on the circumstantial evidence.

"In order to determine whether this was actually the case, all we need to do is check whether there's been any underwater activity in the mortal realm that was even more fearsome than a nuclear explosion," Qin Ye replied. "If not, then there's no way that anything can harm it under such immense water density and pressure. The underworld tsunamis were able to accomplish this firstly due to their sheer size, and secondly, due to the enormous power of the Yellow Springs."

Mo Changhao's brows were tightly furrowed as he said, "Is it possible that there could be foreign evil ghosts and Yin beasts engaged in an underwater battle just outside of the underworld's array?"

Qin Ye shook his head firmly in response. "That's impossible. Our sensory scope can only reach the borders of the Cathayan Underworld, but if there was something like that happening, then we would've eradicated them long ago. The Cathayan Underworld has only been absent from the international stage for just over a century, there's no way that such a terrifying beast could've arisen during that time."

Everyone fell silent once again.

Mo Changhao had already lost count of how many cigarettes he had smoked, and after snuffing out his latest one, he turned to one of the investigators and said, "Examine the records of the Oceanic Administration using the special rights of the Special Investigations Department. Check for any deep-sea geographic changes that have taken place within the past week 100 nautical miles east of Wuyang Port."

"Yes!"

If there really were no such records, then it could virtually be confirmed that there really was the largest Yin Yang Mezzanine in history hidden on the seabed!

Just the thought of such a thing had chills running down Mo Changhao's spine.

During these past few years, the underworld and the mortal realm had kept in close contact with one another, and they were aware that between the underworld and the mortal realm was a place known as Limbo.

This Limbo wasn't under Hell's control. In fact, none of the underworlds had any control over this place.

Its geography was completely different from that of the underworld, as was its biosphere. It was a vast land that was rife with monarch beasts, and danger lurked around every corner. With such a massive Yin Yang Mezzanine present, it would only be a matter of time before supernatural disasters swept across the entire nation again. No, on this occasion, it could even affect the entire continent!

Nippon, Daehan, Singapura, Malaya, Siam, the Felipinas... None of them would be exempt!

"What do you think?" Mo Changhao turned toward Qin Ye as he pulled out another cigarette, but he didn't light it, and his fingers were trembling slightly as he held the cigarette.

Qin Ye clasped his hands behind his back with a grim expression, and only after a long while did he reply, "If there really is such a Yin Yang Mezzanine, then I'm more concerned about how it came into existence."

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, he continued, "The detection methods for Yin Yang Mezzanines in the underworld are far more accurate than those of the mortal realm, and with the Harken, General Zhao, and myself, the underworld currently has an Abyssal Prefect, a Yama-King, and a being above the Yama-King level. If this Yin Yang Mezzanine truly exists, how have we failed to detect it even though all of us have stayed in Wuyang for relatively long periods of time? Yes, it's outside of the array, and we're unable to detect things outside of our national borders aside from large-scale Yin energy fluctuations, but why is it that such a massive Yin Yang Mezzanine has appeared right outside the array? That sounds too suspicious to be a mere coincidence to me."

There was another extremely important point that Qin Ye had refrained from mentioning, which was that the buildings on the giant beast's back were constructed in the same Qin and Han Dynasty style as the buildings in Bu Wantian's memories!

The main color scheme of the buildings was black, and they weren't as luxurious and beautiful as the buildings of the Ming Dynasty, but they gave off an almighty aura. In particular, when the entire cluster of buildings began to move on the back of that giant creature, the aura they gave off was truly asphyxiating.

"Is it you?" He gently stroked his fingers along the desk as he murmured to himself in a voice that was inaudible to everyone else. "You saw the return of the Yellow Springs and began to panic, so you revealed your eyes in secret."

His voice was very quiet, but Mo Changhao was seated not far away, and he managed to overhear him. After several seconds of silence, he asked, "Did you come to the mortal realm in person because even Hell was unable to uncover the truth behind that giant beast? Are you concerned that someone is spying on the Cathayan Underworld from just outside your national borders?"

This would be the equivalent of a foreign underworld parking their warships right next to the Cathayan Underworld. While it was true that they hadn't and weren't able to enter the Cathayan Underworld's territorial sea, this was a gesture of direct provocation, it was like a slap in the face for Hell, which had stood for thousands of years.

Neither the underworld nor the mortal realm could simply let this level of provocation slide!

Qin Ye nodded in response, and Mo Changhao continued, "Could it be... the Nipponese government?"

Due to the communication that had taken place between the two realms during the three-year-long war of unification, the mortal realm had developed a certain level of understanding of the situation in the underworld.

"They wouldn't dare," Qin Ye replied with a cold smile. "Izanami is only a peak Infernal Judge. Even though the Nipponese Underworld is sure to have accumulated a significant amount of power during its thousands of years of existence, there's no way she would be foolish enough to think that this would be enough to allow her to overstep her boundaries like this."

However, that man in the kariginu was clearly an emissary of the Nipponense Underworld, so how could that be explained?

Right at this moment, Ye Xingchen suddenly raised his head and declared, “Director Mo, we've received a response from the Oceanic Administration. They say that no significant deep-sea geographic activity has taken place during the past half a month in the specified area.”

Mo Changhao closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

This was the absolute worst situation...

This was a giant beast the likes of which neither realm had ever seen. There was no significant deep-sea geographic activity, and none of the known living beings in the sea would be capable of harming it, so where had its injuries come from?

There was only one answer.

It had to be those super tsunamis from the Cathayan Underworld. At the same time, this was proof that there really was the largest Yin Yang Mezzanine to date situated 100 nautical miles east of Wuyang Port!

Several seconds later, he reopened his eyes and said in a grim voice, "I'll notify the chief right away. At the same time, every single member of the Special Investigations Department is prepared to fight until their final breaths for the safety of the people!"

"Let's not rush things now." Qin Ye's expression was also extremely grim. The existence of a Yin Yang Mezzanine that was several hundred kilometers in size had virtually been fully confirmed. Thus came the question of whether it had arisen naturally or been artificially created.

If it were the latter, then what were the intentions of those who had created the Yin Yang Mezzanine, and how powerful were they?

Qin Ye didn't even dare to imagine such a possibility.

"The messenger bird I've released has already notified an emissary who was once a resident of Nippon, and he should be here soon." Despite the tension in the air, Qin Ye sat back down and took a sip of his tea, which had already turned cold. "Director Mo, the decisions you've made are correct. What we're going to be facing this time is very likely going to be a war. Hell will be participating in this war, and all of you have to as well because it's extremely likely that this war is going to be fought in the mortal realm. The first order of business in any war is to gather intelligence. All information that we can gather right now would be of the utmost importance. For example, we need to find out the identity of that Nipponese emissary."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he turned toward the entrance of the room, which seemed to be completely deserted, and said, "Come on in."

As soon as his voice trailed off, a cloud of Yin energy converged before rapidly revolving. Specks of netherfire lit up within the Yin energy, and all of the electronic devices in the room began to flash and zap incessantly. Several seconds later, a humanoid figure emerged before cupping his fist in a salute. "Apologies for my tardiness, Lord Qin."

It was Oda Nobutada.

All of the investigators' hands had already reflexively crept toward the weapons strapped to their waists, and they relaxed again upon seeing this. Qin Ye nodded in response. "You're just in time. Come and take a look at who this is."

The LED screen flickered slightly, and soon, the image of the winged evil ghost that stood on the surface of the sea appeared. Upon first glance, the netherfire in Oda Nobutada's eyes immediately flickered violently.

"My Lord..." He gulped nervously as he requested, "Please zoom in a little."

The image rapidly zoomed in at his behest, and Oda Nobutada stared at the figure on the screen for a full two minutes before turning around with a grim expression. "Pardon me for asking, but where did you see this evil ghost?"

"Outside of the array. Who is he?"

"Otakemaru," Oda Nobutada replied in a grim voice. 

"Otakemaru?" Qin Ye's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Right at this moment, another incredulous voice rang out. "You mean one of Nippon's three ghostly deities?"

Everyone immediately turned to discover that it was a thin young man who had spoken, and he faltered slightly in response to the widespread scrutiny he was suddenly receiving, then immediately explained, "According to Cathayan records, Nippon's three ghostly deities are Tamamo-no-Mae, Yamata no Orochi, and Daitengu, but Daitengu is actually supposed to be Otakemaru. In 2005, a false entry of Daitengu was made in Wikipedia, but following a subsequent verification process, the page was deleted. However, the records in Cathay's Wikipedia never changed. In reality, the two are completely different things. The gods that Nippon believes in are completely different from those of Cathay, and Daitengu belongs in the Amatsu kami system, while Otakemaru belongs in the Kunitsu kami system."

"That's right," Oda Nobutada confirmed in a grim voice. "However, those are all myths and legends. According to the classification system of the Nipponese Underworld, above all ghosts are the Dusk Legionnaire, which are the most fearsome ghosts in Nippon, and above them are the three ghostly deities. If we keep going up from there, we reach Izanami and Susanoo. Between the three ghostly deities and the death gods are the two enforcers, the Crow Tengu and the Black Yasha. This is the reason why Izanami visited Cathay in person last time despite the massive risk involved."

That made sense. After all, he had captured her second-in-command, so it was no wonder that she was extremely flustered.

"Otakemaru is an evil ghost from the Suzuka Yama, and it was said that he once fought with Daitengu over the position of deity. However, Daitengu is a manifestation of Emperor Sutoku. Thus, Otakemaru was defeated and reduced to a ghostly monarch, and from there onward, he resided in Suzuka Yama. At the time, Shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was ordered to conquer Suzuka Yama, but was kept at bay by the ghostly deities led by Otakemaru. After that, the shogun received the assistance of Suzuka Gozen, who was the daughter of the Daiyonten Maou, after which he was able to obtain the two treasured swords, Daitsuren and Shotsuren, allowing him to successfully slay Otakemaru." 

Qin Ye turned to Oda Nobutada and asked, "Is that a relative of yours?"

Oda Nobutada: "???"

My Lord, what nonsense are you spouting now? 

"She's the daughter of Daiyonten Maou... Isn't your father the Dairokuten Maou?" [1]

Oda Nobutada: "..."

He had no way to refute this...

"That's not the case, my Lord. My father was referred to as an enemy of the Buddha and the Dairokuten Maou because he burned down Mount Hiei. The six demon kings are connected to the six heavens of the world of desire, namely Catumaharajika, Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tushita, Nirmāṇarati, and Para-nirmita-vaśa-vartin. In Para-nirmita-vaśa-vartin resides the paramount demon king Mara, which reflects my father's attitude in renouncing Buddhism. As for the fourth heaven of the world of desire, which is Tushita, its leader is Maitreya-nātha."

Qin Ye's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and Oda Nobutada didn't dare to continue in his explanation.

Qin Ye didn't say anything. He wasn't interested in hearing the life stories of Otakemaru and the Daiyonten Maou. He made his way over to the window and cast his gaze toward the sea, then suddenly asked, "Do you want to go and take a look at the seabed?"

"Of course!" Mo Changhao replied with a serious expression. "If there really is a massive Yin Yang Mezzanine there, then as the director of the Special Investigations Department's Eastmount Province branch, I would be committing malfeasance if I didn't go to investigate in person!"

Qin Ye nodded in response. "We'll set off from here in three days. General Zhao and I will both be coming, let's go and see exactly what's on the seabed 100 nautical miles away."

"I can be prepared in just half a day!"

Qin Ye's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "There's no hurry. I'm currently very curious about whether there's something at the same location in the underworld as well. This is a mystery left behind by the second King Yanluo. He was unable to solve it, so it's time for me, the third King Yanluo, to continue his work!"

[1] [Daiyonten Maou translates to fourth demon king, while Daorokuten Maou translates to sixth demon king, hence the correlation.]