Yama Rising

Perched atop Qin Ye's shoulder, Qi Nü was standing straight up as she looked on in disbelief.

He's dead? Xu Fu is dead? 

This was a man who featured frequently in her nightmares and was like an omnipotent immortal, yet he was dead just like that?

Initially, she had only been grateful toward Hell, but now, she was filled with a sense of profound horror.

Hell was truly unfathomable.

It was also right at this moment, that Arthis let loose a shrill shriek, and her hair erupted like the tide, filling the entire room like a black curtain. In the span of less than three seconds, this entire space had already been completely encompassed by her writhing black hair. Immediately thereafter, a series of rifts emerged within the hair, following which pairs of bright red eyes sprang open.

Countless bursts of scarlet karmic flames erupted out of the eyes, sweeping directly toward the Yin energy screen.

As the warden of the biggest jail in the three realms, she had immediately drawn upon the power of the six paths of reincarnation without any hesitation.

At the same time, Zhao Yun transformed into a gust of Yin wind and shot forth toward the Yin energy screen like lightning. A clear cry akin to the chirp of a phoenix rang out as he sped through the air, leaving a streak of white light in his wake.

His sword emerged from its scabbard, and simultaneously, Qin Ye brought his palms together, upon which the Book of Life and Death transformed into a gargantuan pillar of light that bolted the Yin energy screen firmly to the spot. Yin energy rose up from his body like steam, causing his robes to flap and dance wildly, giving him the appearance of an immortal that had descended from the heavens.

All three of them had sprung into action almost in perfect synchronicity, and the surface of the Yin energy screen immediately began to ripple violently. Furthermore, it was becoming more and more substantial, as if the power of the trio were about to connect the two spaces together. However, right at this moment, Xu Fu's headless body also suddenly sprang into action.

He immediately raised a hand to grab onto his own head, and in the next instant, a rift that was over 10 meters in length was opened up in the space in front of him. Boundless Yin energy surged out of the rift amid the screams and howls of countless evil ghosts, forming an enormous black torrent, and the entire space was trembling violently in the face of its immense power.

His pupils abruptly widened, and he could already see a dazzling sword projection sweeping out of the rift. The sword projection seemed to have risen up from the darkest depths of the abyss, crossing through the underworld and the mortal realm to take his life.

It was impossible to describe how spectacular yet terrifying this sword strike was. Its speed, power, and sheer might reached a pinnacle within a span of just half a second, and it seemed to be an attack capable of slaying even an immortal!

None of Qin Ye's trio or Xu Fu uttered a single word in this instant. In the face of this sudden turn of events, everyone was extremely focused and tense, so there was no spare capacity for conversation. This was a clash between the most powerful beings of the three realms, and no lapse in concentration could be tolerated. Right as the sword projection was about to reach Xu Fu, he suddenly raised his right hand, and a streak of golden light shot forth to shield him.

Clang!! 

The entire image trembled violently, and Qin Ye and Arthis both drew a sharp breath as they could sense that their power had been repelled by this golden light!

It was as if a level 10 earthquake were taking place, and only after three full seconds had passed did the Yin energy screen stabilize itself again.

Within the screen, Xu Fu had already gently placed his head back onto his own neck, and he was holding a golden pen in his mouth.

Qin Ye heaved a forlorn internal sigh upon seeing this. As expected, it wasn't that easy to kill a Yama-King. Furthermore, even if he were to perish, he was still an immortal who had consumed the Taisui fungus. Who knew how extensive his research and modification into the Taisui fungus had gone? Perhaps even after death, he would have some type of trump card prepared.

The only way to be sure of his demise was to capture his soul.

The restoration of Qi Nü's soul was bait to lure Xu Fu out. As long as Xu Fu had restrictions placed upon her and dared to try and lash out as he did when Qin Ye was inspecting Bu Wantian's memories, then he would be greeted by a bombardment from the most powerful beings of Hell!

Back then, even Xu Fu had been able to cross through realms, so there was no way that Zhao Yun wouldn't be able to. Even though Arthis wasn't a Yama-King, she was the warden of the six paths of reincarnation, the only one aside from Qin Ye who was able to draw upon the power of the mutated Chalice of Preiddeu Annwn. Qin Ye's cultivation rank was also inferior to Xu Fu's, but this was Hell, and he held the home-court advantage, allowing him to draw upon the power of divine artifacts to assist himself.

Thus, the trio had set out with the sole intention of capturing Xu Fu, yet they had failed by inches.

He observed the Yin energy screen with a grim expression. The reason for their failure was none other than that pen, and even through the screen, Qin Ye could sense that this pen had an extremely close tie with Hell.

It was the Judgment Pen!

"As expected, you really do have it."

Inside the screen, Xu Fu twisted his own neck experimentally from side to side as he smiled and said, "Well done. I only displayed my ability to cross through realms once through Bu Wantian's memories, and you've already learned to use this against me. You were the one inspecting Bu Wantian's memories last time, right? It's very impressive that you were able to use my own tricks against me and take me by surprise, but it's quite a pity that you didn't have enough power to see things through to the end. When crossing through realms, the one who initiates the tearing of space must expend immense power, yet the achieved effect will be very minute. After all, tearing through space relates to the paramount laws of the Heavenly Dao, and even I can only intimidate someone through this method. If that sword strike had been dealt upon a Yama-King, it would've only caused minor injuries at the very most, yet that was the most powerful strike I was capable of unleashing."

Qin Ye nodded in response. "I see, thank you for enlightening me. It seems that I was ill-prepared and made a fool out of myself, I'll be sure to be better prepared and not disappoint you next time, Mr. Xu."

Xu Fu had already reverted back to his calm and carefree demeanor, but he still cast an extremely wary glance toward Zhao Yun. He then twirled the Judgment Pen as he said, "Over a century ago, a major crisis took place, and its effects were felt throughout Limbo, the underworld and the mortal realm. A beam of golden light shot out from the seabed, flying up to an altitude of several dozen kilometers before plunging back down into the seabed. Thankfully, I was able to find this pen. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of Hell's three legendary divine artifacts, the Judgment Pen, right?"

He then cast his gaze toward Qin Ye and continued in a tranquil voice, "With this divine artifact lost to Hell, do you really have the power to lash out at the Peach Blossom Spring? We both originate from the same roots, so why be so intent on bringing about my downfall?"

Qin Ye chuckled and chose not to reply to this ridiculous question. However, Xu Fu had no intention of stopping here, and he continued, "Consider Gui Xu a gift from me to you, and I can also return the Judgment Pen. I'll be departing right away, and I'll never return to Asia again. In the instant that I reach the Pacific Ocean, the Judgment Pen will be returned. On top of that, I'll hand over a list of all of the Emissaries of Hell who have made contact with me. What do you think?"

A cold smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he replied, "Won't I get all of those things anyway once I find the Peach Blossom Spring?"

His smile then faded as he said in a cold voice, "Xu Fu, you once served Cathay, yet you've established a nation right outside Cathay's doorstep, committing the intolerable crime of treason. In addition to that, you dared to collaborate with emissaries of foreign underworlds and constructed Mirage City right under the Cathayan Underworld's nose. Do you really think you can be spared of all of those crimes?"

"What a pity." Xu Fu heaved a long sigh. "I'm genuine in my intention to make amends, yet it seems that my proposal has fallen upon deaf ears."

A serious look also appeared on his face as he continued in a cold voice, "In that case, allow me to present you with one final present."

Zhao Yun, Arthis, and Qin's brows all raised slightly upon hearing this.

They thought that there would be no follow-up to this, yet Xu Fu didn't stop there.

A cruel smile appeared on his face as he licked his lips and said, "Gui Xu is in your possession now, right? If I had to guess, I would say that it's currently situated in a certain port in the Cathayan Underworld. Let me think... Could it be the underworld equivalent of Wuyang Port?"

A sense of extreme foreboding suddenly welled up in Qin Ye's heart. There seemed to be a thought in his mind that was struggling to make itself heard, but no matter how hard he tried to latch onto it, he found himself unable to do so. Thankfully, Xu Fu didn't try to build any suspense and immediately explained, "I constructed Gui Xu, and no one understands it better than Ido. During the process of its creation, I left a restriction on its core."

He cast his gaze toward Qi Nü, and a cold tone crept into his voice as he spoke. "Qi Nü is the key to activating Gui Xu, and if she leaves Gui Xu for five hours, then Gui Xu will immediately initiate a self-destruct sequence. Thinking about it now, four hours have already passed. In an hour, Gui Xu will detonate to create an earth-shattering explosion. As for its power, it'll be roughly equivalent to the power of a nuclear bomb from the mortal realm. I hope you can still face your King Yanluo and the netherworldly citizens of the Cathayan Underworld after the explosion, hahahaha..."

With that final bout of triumphant laughter, the light screen abruptly vanished.

Dead silence.

The hairs on the back of Qin Ye's neck were standing up on end, and his scalp was tingling.

He had neglected to consider this. At the time, he was so entranced by Gui Xu's complete energy structure and was completely absorbed by the idea that Hell was about to grab ahold of the key to the next era. As a result, he failed to consider the creator of Gui Xu!

This was a man who had planted a restriction in Bu Wantian's memories, even though they had only met once.

This was a man who had placed a self-detonation restriction in the soul of his own wife, a man who had lived extremely cautiously in the cracks of history for over 2,000 years!

He had one trump card after another, and even Zhao Yun had failed to consider that one of those trump cards could've been hiding in Gui Xu!

Arthis bit down tightly onto her own lower lip, and only after a long while did she break the silence. "So he's saying we have to go and defend Ashmound Port?"

There was no way that an explosion on par in power with that of a nuclear bomb could be withstood by an injured Harken alone! In addition to that, the Harken wasn't at Ashmound!

Qin Ye was gnashing his teeth together with an extremely conflicted look in his eyes. "That's right, and in the meantime, he's going to flee to a foreign sea. He's even more cautious than I thought!"

He didn't know what to do.

Qi Nü's soul still hadn't been restored yet, and even after its restoration, they had to plan out how to track down the Peach Blossom Spring in order to capture Xu Fu. No matter how quickly they did that, there was no way they could complete all of the required preparations in an hour while also defending Ashmound Port.

Is there no way out?

Qin Ye's mind was racing rapidly.

No, where there's a will, there has to be a way! 

He felt as if he could hear the countdown timer on the forbidden art physically ticking down beside his ears. All of a sudden, he raised his head and asked, "Is his best escape route currently to flee to the Pacific Ocean?"

If he were to go south, he would have to pass by the almighty Hindustani Underworld.

If he were to go north, then he would have to pass by the Argosian Underworld and the Russian Underworld.

Thus, the Pacific Ocean was by far the best option.

"That's right," Zhao Yun replied with a nod. "On top of that, after passing through the Japanese Ocean, he would encounter the forces of the Usonian Underworld not far up ahead in the form of the Xolotl Defensive Line!"

Qin Ye's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.

As expected, there really was a way out!