Yama Rising

Qin Ye swept his gaze toward the side before quickly withdrawing it.

This city was full of blood, sin, and desire. Every single evil ghost that resided here deserved to die 1,000 times over, and he didn't want to let even a single one of them escape. This had nothing to do with a naive sense of justice. Instead, it was related to the powers behind these evil ghosts.

The underworlds were treating this place as an outpost, and behind every single one of these evil ghosts stood an underworld. For the completely unsubstantiated promise of amnesty, they were buzzing around like mosquitoes, constantly trying to burrow their way into the Cathayan Underworld.

Under these circumstances, he would either have to constantly worry about these evil ghosts or eradicate all of them once and for all.

He withdrew his gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly.

If I'm going to strike, then I have to make it count. I can't allow even a single one of them to escape. In that case, let me develop an understanding of the situation first. Perhaps some of the memories of these evil ghosts won't have restrictions placed on them by death gods. In order to avoid prematurely alarming them, I have to be careful... 

This one good quality that he had always possessed was his ability to learn from his mistakes. Perhaps he could make a mistake once, an example being the Hungry Ghost Festival incident, but he would never make the same mistake a second time.

He heaved a faint sigh, and he made no effort to keep his voice down, so he immediately attracted the attention of all of the evil ghosts present. Otakemaru raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is going on with you today, Teana? I've approached you on many occasions in the past, and you've always given me ambiguous responses, but today..."

He made his way over to Qin Ye and stared directly into his eyes. Yin energy was revolving within his inky-black eye sockets as he licked his own bright red lips before continuing in a raspy voice, "You seem to be very expressive."

His voice wasn't very loud, it was like a sinister whisper from a roaming malicious spirit at midnight, carrying a sinister tone that sent chills running down one's spine.

"Are you displeased with my arrangements?" His neck elongated like a snake, extending out of his suit of armor. The skin concealed beneath the armor had already been completely torn apart, revealing countless meridians and deathly pale skinless flesh. His head circled around Qin Ye's head like a python that was about to strangle its prey as he whispered into Qin Ye's left ear, "Or are you unhappy with this operation altogether? I already told you that once you decide to take part in this plan, there's no turning back. If you dare to change your mind, you will be incurring the wrath of everyone present, so I'd advise you to think carefully about this, Madam Teana."

He withdrew his neck, and Qin Ye raised his skeletal head as netherfire flashed within his eyes. "You're wrong. It's exactly because I approve of this plan that I'm being so picky."

"Oh?" Otakemaru raised an eyebrow in an expressionless manner.

Qin Ye continued, "Today, I got an Emissary of Hell to speak to me."

The vampire's hand suddenly stiffened as it hovered over the surface of the Yata no Kagami, and he immediately turned to look at Qin Ye, as did all of the other evil ghosts.

Qin Ye paid no heed to them as he continued in a grim voice, "The owner of the Peach Blossom Spring hasn't entered the Cathayan Underworld before."

"How do you know that?" Talina asked.

"Because there are no records," Qin Ye replied, making things up on the fly. "Perhaps you're skeptical and think that there's no way that an Emissary of Hell who isn't even a Netherworld Operative would know anything. However, these seemingly insignificant Emissaries of Hell are actually brilliant sources of information. The Emissary of Hell that I spoke to was a clerk. He didn't tell me exactly what type of clerk he was, but his job was to archive and record documents, and all documents had to pass through him. He made it very clear that there were no signs of high-grade underworld emissaries entering the Cathayan Underworld's territorial sea near Eastmount Province. The owner of the Peach Blossom Spring is a Duke. That clerk may not be able to detect him, but surely the Cathayan Underworld would react to a Yama-King entering their territorial sea. At the very least, a Yama-King would be deployed to the scene. However..."

He paused momentarily before continuing, "There have been no signs of any disturbances near Eastmount Province for the past few years."

Otakemaru remained silent with an indifferent expression, while the vampire slowly withdrew his hand from the Yata no Kagami as he asked with a smile, "What does that have to do with our plan?" 

Indeed, all they had to do was use the Yata no Kagami to illuminate the route that the merchants of the Cathayan Underworld had taken. As for whether they would actually enter the Cathayan Underworld through the Array of the Nine Gods, it was most likely the case that they wouldn't. After all, news of the location of the rift in the array would already be enough to grant them amnesty.

Of course this had nothing to do with the plan, Qin Ye was just stalling for time! However, he obviously couldn't admit that...

"It has everything to do with this plan!" Qin Ye rose to his feet with a cold smile and intentionally paused for a few seconds, as if to build suspense, but in reality, he was rapidly scrambling for what to say next.

How could he connect this false story of his to the plan?

After around 10 seconds of silence, Otakemaru's voice rang out as if from the very depths of the abyss. "I don't like people who make unsubstantiated claims."

He slowly drew his two legendary blades, Daitsuren and Shotsuren, and they slashed through the seawater in a beautiful arc. "You really are acting extremely strange today, Madam Teana. The Yata no Kagami has trembled quite a few times already during this meeting. This is a sign that it's sensing danger, and on every single one of those occasions, the danger it sensed has come from you! This hasn't happened even once in the past few centuries, so I hope you can give me an explanation."

"Danger? From me?" Qin Ye asked in a calm manner, and he finally found a way to connect his story with this plan.

"In that case, I'm even more confident in my own judgment now," he said as he slowly raised his head. "In the past, the owner of the Peach Blossom Spring strictly prohibited us from going to the Cathayan Underworld, isn't that right?"

This was common knowledge among all of the evil ghosts in the city.

"So why is it that he's changed his mind now? He discovered this seabed trade route and established contact with the Emissaries of Hell, which means that he wants something from the Cathayan Underworld. However, all he's done is maintain this trade route without taking any further steps and that's self-contradictory."

Before he had a chance to finish, a hint of red appeared in Otakemaru's inky-black eye sockets, and he interjected, "That's not difficult to understand. The owner of the Peach Blossom Spring has lived for over 2,000 years, and he's established his own nation here on the seabed. Even though he's never directly provoked the Cathayan Underworld, establishing his own territory would still be seen as treason by the Cathayan Underworld's ruler, and that is entirely unacceptable. Thus, he wouldn't dare and can't return to the Cathayan Underworld. He doesn't want to gain anything from the Cathayan Underworld, but with such a threatening powerhouse so close to him, he has to gather some trump cards. Hence, he grabbed ahold of this opportunity, which has been presented by the rift in the Array of the Nine Gods! Even though the merchants from the Cathayan Underworld never say anything, their presence tells him everything. As long as they can continue to arrive here, it shows that the rift continues to exist! This is the ultimate self-preservation trump card for the Peach Blossom Spring. After all, the other three pillars would most definitely be very interested in this rift! With this information, he could seek out political refuge at any time. Perhaps you would ask why he didn't establish a city elsewhere. There's a very simple question to answer: establishing the city near one of the four pillars is an extremely potent form of protection. It's a double-edged sword. If the city were to be discovered by the Cathayan Underworld, then he would be executed for treason, but at the same time, no one would dare to attack a city so close to one of the four pillars. All he had to do was spread a false rumor that the Cathayan Underworld gave permission for him to establish the Peach Blossom Spring here, and it's become a safe haven for all of us. Now then, do you have anything else to say, Teana? Spencer! Give her the Yata no Kagami!"

The vampire smiled as he passed the Yata no Kagami over to "Teana" in silence. Everyone's attention was focused on Qin Ye. Michael's hand was already resting on the hilt of his knife, while Jason had placed his hands under the table. A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Freddy's face, and he licked his own metal claws, while the vampire also bared his fangs in a menacing display.

Qin Ye remained calm and said, "So why is it that he never traced this route in the past, but is getting us to do it now? Do you still not understand? There's a very good chance that the Cathayan Underworld has already discovered this place! Perhaps its army is marching toward this city right now, and if we travel to the Array of the Nine Gods, there's a very good chance we'll run headfirst into the regular army of the Cathayan Underworld!! Do you want to contend with the regular army of one of the four pillars?! Have you all gone insane?!"

Deathly silence instantly settled over the room.

Somehow, Qin Ye had managed to make his statements make logical sense, and Otakemaru lowered his head slightly as he heaved a silent sigh.

Qin Ye's words had been delivered with a tone of near-desperate urgency, and they were resonating in everyone's hearts. He had a theory that this sudden decision to allow everyone to travel to the Array of the Nine Gods wasn't due to any chance that had taken place in the Cathayan Underworld. Instead, it was due to a change in the light tower in the mortal coil of Cathay in the mortal realm.

The light tower in the mortal coil had been destroyed, and a wily old fox would definitely be fearful of whether it was the Cathayan Underworld that had discovered it. He knew that with the power of the Cathayan Underworld, it would definitely have a deep understanding of the light tower in the mortal coil, and he didn't want to risk being found.

Hold on... If that's the case, then doesn't that mean that the true Peach Blossom Spring can be found through the light tower in the mortal coil? 

The true Peach Blossom Spring wasn't Mirage City. Instead, it was the paradise for evil ghosts that had hidden itself in the cracks of history for over 2,000 years!

He made a mental note of this observation. Going along this train of thought, the abnormal actions being taken by the owner of the Peach Blossom Spring could be explained. He was afraid of the light tower in the mortal coil being discovered, so he wanted to abandon the passive stance he had adopted this entire time to seize the initiative and actively make use of this trump card.

It’s impossible not to leave traces in the path one has taken, and all of those traces have led to here, culminating in a breakthrough.

After a full 10 minutes had passed, Otakemaru finally looked up and asked, "What do you think we should do then?"

The tense atmosphere and killing intent in the room had already faded, and all of the evil ghosts were acting as if nothing had ever happened. Qin Ye adjusted his skirt in an elegant manner, looking as if he had performed the same gesture a million times in the past.

The sword that he had been hiding this entire time could finally be drawn now.

"I agree to take part in this operation. After all, I also want to be granted amnesty. However, what I don't want is to be used as cannon fodder. Hence..."

He looked straight into Otakemaru's eyes and continued, "What rank is the other stand-in mayor at? I want him to come with us! The other stand-in mayor must be an extremely important subordinate to the owner of the Peach Blossom Spring. If anything happens to us, the owner of the Peach Blossom Spring would be sure to come and save him, and perhaps we'll also be saved as a result. After all, it would be very bad for him as well if we were to fall into the hands of Emissaries of Hell, isn't that right?"

Otakemaru stared at Qin Ye for a long time before replying with a smile, "That is indeed true. Once everyone has injected their Yin energy into the Yata no Kagami, I'll take you all to see the other stand-in mayor. He's an advanced Abyssal Prefect, and he almost never appears, but he's always been in this city."

"Is that right?" Talina mused as she injected her true energy into the Yata no Kagami. The surface of the mirror immediately rippled like the surface of a lake before falling still again.

"I've only ever received orders from him, yet I've never had a chance to see him. Is he a turtle? Why is he hiding in his shell all the time?"

Qin Ye was very pleased to hear this.

The fact that the other stand-in mayor was only an advanced Abyssal Prefect meant that there were no Yama-Kings in this city!

"If we could get the city's army to come with us, then that would be even better," he mused.

Spencer was very amused to hear this. "There's no way that would happen. There are at least close to 10 Marquess-level vengeful spirits in this city, what gives him the right to lead the army? In this city, power is everything. In any case, a so-called army of 30,000 zombies isn't even enough to split between us. He has the support of the Peach Blossom Spring's owner, so he has no need to rely on things like that."

Qin Ye was even more pleased to hear this.