Yama Rising

The violent energy finally subsided a little, and the Yin runes and explosion were waging war against one another. Veins were bulging on Zhao Yun's forehead as he stared intently at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

As the one resisting the explosion, he was more aware than anyone else that this still wasn't enough.

It would only be a matter of time before his resistance failed, so should he just give up?

If he stayed for even just a moment too long, he really would be swept up by the explosion, and he would be facing an explosion even more powerful than an ordinary forbidden art!

This was a clash between power, a showdown between life and death. His mind was almost entirely blank, and any thoughts that appeared in his mind lingered for no more than a second. All he could do was release his Yin energy with all his might. After 10 seconds of absolute silence, a thunderous boom suddenly rang out from above the vortex.

Rumble!! 

It was as if a lightning god had descended upon this world, and radiant white light had illuminated the entire sky above the vortex. This was an indication that the seal at the very top had already collapsed, and the deathly radiance shone upon the horrified faces of millions of netherworldly citizens down below.

"My god..." Huang Liangchuan joined his palms together as he fell to his knees. If ghosts could cry, he would be a sobbing mess already.

"Is it still not enough?"

"Are we going to die?"

"I don't want to die! I finally made it to Ashmound, I still have so many things I have to do? How can I die now?"

"I've done nothing wrong! Why is this happening to me?! I was a good person during my life as well!"

BOOM!!! 

A resounding boom shattered the prayers of millions of Yin spirits, and scorching white light scattered through the sky, completely outshining the moon and the stars. In the sky above the vortex, all of the countless Yin runes dimmed layer upon layer, then dissipated into Yin energy. Immediately thereafter, the lethal white radiance completely erupted.

It had been trapped in this space for far too long, and it was exploding even more violently than before! It was as if it were enraged that it had been confined for so long, and it was returning with a vengeance.

Boundless Yin energy instantly erupted out of Zhao Yun's arms, and the crisp crack of broken bones rang out. At the exact same moment, the Harken transformed into a gust of Yin wind that completely enveloped Zhao Yun, then frantically carried him away.

"We have to go!!"

However, the Harken had only sped away for a split second before turning around to look at Zhao Yun with a stunned expression.

It hadn't managed to move him.

Zhao Yun remained completely still, standing like an immovable pillar amid the eruption of devastating white light. The Harken's mouth gaped open slightly, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you going to reveal your true form?"

A smile appeared on Zhao Yun's face.

Despite the fact that he was enveloped in lethal white radiance, his smile was very relaxed and carefree, completely unbefitting of the situation that he was in, and that only made the smile more impactful.

"Do you hear it?" Zhao Yun asked in a calm voice as streaks of inky-black Yin energy rapidly spread across his entire body. The Harken faltered slightly upon hearing this, and it was just about to ask what Zhao Yun was referring to when it suddenly heard the waves of prayers ringing out behind them.

"Hold on! You have to hold on!"

"Waaah... I don't want to die, please... save us!"

"You can do it, General Zhao! We're all counting on you!"

It was exactly because of this that Zhao Yun didn't dare to turn around.

He was afraid that turning around would place him face-to-face with their beseeching eyes, so he didn't dare to reply.

He was afraid that his reply would destroy the final ray of hope that these people were holding in their hearts.

Before the Harken had a chance to continue, a burst of unprecedentedly devastating Yin energy rose up into the heavens. Its power was so enormous that even the surrounding shockwaves faltered slightly, and even the Harken was blasted several hundred meters away.

"Have you gone insane?!" The Harken clawed desperately at the ground, leaving several deep rivets in the ground as it did so, and it raised its head as it roared with all its might, "You've already done enough! Enough, do you hear me?! If you reveal your true form, the Heavenly Dao will definitely detect you!"

However, it didn't get a chance to finish. The surrounding earth suddenly trembled violently, and all of the loose rocks and stone shards on the ground began to rise slowly up into the air as if they had lost all their weight. Immediately thereafter, a clear phoenix cry rang out, and boundless Yin energy surged forth from all directions. The sheer amount of the Yin energy was so vast that day had transitioned into night.

This wasn't just the Yin energy from the Eastmount Province anymore, all of the Yin energy from the nearby provinces were also swirling violently, forming a gargantuan vortex around Zhao Yun that was several kilometers in size. The enormous power was able to stop the devastating white radiance cold in its tracks, preventing it from being able to advance even an inch further!

The terrifying shockwaves clashed with the Yin energy, producing such fierce winds that even the netherworldly citizens situated several kilometers away were unable to remain on their feet. Black and white light seeped out from around the vortex in a frenzy, and right at this moment, a dull thump suddenly rang out from the center of the vortex as a figure shot forth like lightning toward the all-encompassing light, like an arrow shooting toward the sun.

"You motherfucker!!" The Harken's voice had spiked up into a piercing shriek, and it was the only one who could clearly see Zhao Yun in his true form as a ghost king.

He was still in a humanoid form, yet boundless karmic flames were swirling around his lower body. A trail of footprints formed by karmic flames was left in his wake, and one red spider lily after another bloomed from those footprints.

He only had a single wing, making him appear as if he were an angel that was missing a wing. His hair had grown to several meters in length, and their tips had also transformed into karmic fire. Crimson patterns had spread over his entire body, and he had a pair of Asura-like long azure horns on his head. On his back was a huge red eye that took up the entire area of his back.

It was only one man and one spear, yet he was charging ahead with no fear or hesitation.

One attack...

Zhao Yun knew that he was only capable of unleashing a single attack in this form.

If that still didn't work, then he had to leave right away!

Hence, he had to give this attack everything that he had!

For himself, for everyone else, for the sake of his conscience, he had to give it his all!

He was being watched literally by millions of people. The Harken had already adopted his own true form, and at the first sign of anything going amiss, it would immediately take Zhao Yun and leave. Meanwhile, the millions of netherworldly citizens behind them were looking on with awe and veneration, watching as a lone man challenged the sun for their sake.

He was drawing closer and closer, and the two were seemingly a hair's breadth away. Right at this moment, the muscles on Zhao Yun's hands bulged as he gripped onto his Courage of Dragons Silver Spear, then plunged it forward with all his might, leaving no power left untapped.

It was a very ordinary posture.

It was a very ordinary movement.

It seemed to be a very ordinary spear strike.

However, the Harken's pupils abruptly contracted, and its entire body shuddered as it exclaimed, "He's reached the Godless realm!"

BOOM!!! An earth-shattering boom rang out across the entirety of Ashmound and boundless light erupted forth, more so than any previous occasion. All of the Yin spirits, including the Harken, closed their eyes in unison.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gou Yongjun slowly opened his eyes. During that brief moment of darkness, everyone was waiting uneasily for death while pitifully praying for a miracle. However, they had to face the reality eventually.

The scene up ahead gradually cleared up, and in the instant that they were able to see everything, everyone drew a sharp breath, and Gou Yongjun was trembling as he murmured in a hoarse voice, "My god..."

His Adam's apple trembled a little, and he wanted to say something else, but he was unable to find the words. All of the Yin spirits around him were also looking on in a completely speechless manner.

This entire day felt like a dream to them, and it was a day that they were never going to forget.

However, everything had finally come to an end.

The light had fallen completely still. 

It was still the violent, devastating sun as before, but a massive hole had appeared at the center of the sun, and a figure with a single wing was standing inside the hole with his spear grasped in one hand, looking as if he were an immortal who had just descended upon this world.

All of the shockwaves around the hole seemed to have been devoured by the hole, and the entire sun was rapidly collapsing toward it, shrinking at an alarming speed. No matter how much the light warped and twisted, it was unable to spread any further.

With a single spear strike, he had sliced through space and time, spearing through the heart of the sun.

After what seemed like an eternity, someone murmured in a trembling voice, "Long live, Hell..."

"Long live, Hell!"

"Long live, Hell!"

One Yin spirit after another immediately echoed his voice as a subconscious reaction.

Their voices slowly grew louder and louder, and within the span of less than a minute, their voices had formed a raucous wave that was sweeping across the ravaged land of Ashmound.

"Long live, Hell!!!"

"Long live, General Zhao!!"

"Long live, Hell! Long live, Hell!!"

"We're alive! We're still alive! Hahaha! We didn't die!"

"I can't believe it... We're all still alive!"

The Harken's lips were trembling as it cast its gaze toward the ground down below. Within that terrifying explosion, Ashmound Port had exploded and transformed into a part of the sea. A massive section of the city had been razed to the ground, and boundless true energy was rising up from the ground like smoke in the aftermath of a war.

It immediately flew up into the sky and arrived beside Zhao Yun before asking in a trembling voice, "Are you... alright?"

Zhao Yun was panting heavily, and cracks had opened up all over his entire body, making him appear like a piece of broken chinaware. Wisps of Yin energy were slowly seeping out of the cracks, but he was also rapidly healing.

He didn't even have the energy to give the Harken a response, and he merely raised a hand to gently push the Harken away before pointing up at the sky above him.

The Harken faltered slightly before immediately looking up.

There, a vortex that was around 100 meters in size had already taken shape, and at the very center of the vortex was an eye that was staring at Zhao Yun with an unblinking gaze.

"It's... here..." Zhao Yun raised his head and heaved a long sigh as a wry smile appeared on his face. "But I don't regret anything..."

"You're a fucking idiot!!!" All of the scales on the Harken's entire body raised up, and it rushed up toward the sky without any hesitation, but it had only risen up to an altitude of around 100 meters before the entire sky shuddered slightly.

It was a very light shudder, but to the Harken, it was as if the weight of countless mountains had descended upon him, preventing him from rising up even a single meter further. 

Just like when the Plumed Serpent God had descended, the white mist that emerged from the vortex seemed to have a mind of its own, draping down as wisps of cloud and smoke.

It was like a warm and gentle hand welcoming its own creation back to Heaven.

"Run!!" The Harken's eyes had turned completely bloodshot. "What are you just standing there for? Are you actually an idiot?!"

Zhao Yun smiled in response. "I... can't move."

Having just given everything that he had in that last attack, he was completely unable to resist the shackles of the Heavenly Dao. As a Yama-King who had withstood a forbidden art head-on and survived, this was already a feat that was enough to put him down in the history books. However, some things were like fireworks, and they simply couldn't linger for long.

"It's a pity that I won't get to see Lord Qin lead Hell to the pinnacle of the world again..." He shook his head with a faint smile, and as his black hair drifted behind him, it was as if he were an impossibly handsome ethereal god. He turned toward the Harken and said, "Take care, this is farewell."

The Harken was struggling and thrashing with all its might, snarling incessantly as its scales stood up on end, and it spat through gritted teeth, "You're an idiot... You're a fucking idiot! Dogballs told you not to do this! Did you not fucking understand what he said?!"

Despite its struggles, it could only look on helplessly as a beam of golden light shone down upon Zhao Yun, and countless tendrils of clouds enveloped him before slowly dragging him upward.

However, right at this moment, all of the cloud tendrils suddenly vanished, and the giant eye in the vortex cast a horrified gaze toward a certain direction before rapidly dissipating!

Meanwhile, Qin Ye was far away in the Fujian Province. Fate had suddenly flown out of his sleeve before pointing in a certain direction with golden light radiating from its entire shaft and tip.

However, Qin Ye didn't have the spare capacity to pay attention to Fate. This was because right in front of him, a pillar of silver light that was over 100 meters thick had risen up in front of him, completely illuminating the night!